"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight barked from the her library's living room, up to her own room on the second floor, currently being used by a certain cyan pegasus.
Rainbow Dash was fast asleep in Twilight's room in the library. Since her wing was broken, she had nowhere else to go, so Twilight had offered up her room. But now, it was apparently time to get up. Still sore, and not feeling up to the task of actually getting up, Dash rolled onto her good side and covered her head with a nearby pillow. For a moment, there was blissful peace. That was until she heard hooves trotting up the stairs...
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight burst through the room door, making her way towards the bed. "It's almost noon and we have to go."
"Go...?" Rainbow Dash managed to mumble. "Where in Equestria do we have to go now? Do I look like I'm in any condition to go anywhere?"
"You look like you're being lazy." Twilight used her magic to remove the pillow and blanket that covered up her friend. Her eyes shot immediately to the bandages that still wrapped around Rainbow Dash's left wing. Twilight sighed, remembering everything that had transpired. "How's your wing?"
"It's fine," Dash lied. Stubborn, she sat up to prove that it was fine, and that she wasn't lazy. But on her way up, she was forced to grimace slightly from the pain. Twilight glared at her friend upon seeing this. "Where are we going now?"
"Princess Celestia wants to meet with me, and instructed me to bring you."
"Why? Can't you take somepony else?"
"Applejack is busy bucking apples. Fluttershy is gathering up birds for some kind of a concert. Rarity went to Manehatten to pick up fashion supplies. And Pinkie Pie ran out of balloons from your party last night, so she went to a shop in Fillydelphia for a liquidation sale. So, you're the only pony here I can bring."
Rainbow Dash sprung to her hooves, her one good wing flaring up in excitement and an ear to ear smile on her face. "The princess requested ME personally? What for?!"
Seeing how excited her friend was, Twilight could only answer truthfully, "I don't know. All she said in her letter was to meet her in the castle, and bring you."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"Well, I was waiting for you..."
"Not anymore, let's go!"
Rainbow Dash lept to the window as if she were about to take off. But remembering her broken wing, she slid to a stop against the window. Letting out a sorrowful sigh, she bowed her head in defeat, a sight Twilight, or any pony for that matter, hardly ever saw. The sudden rush of emotion caused Twilight's wings to flare. Dash noticed this before even Twilight did, peering out of the corner of her eye. Out of all of her friends, it was Twilight who could fly instead of her.
"Rainbow," Twilight began in a soft, comforting voice, "for what it's worth, I'm sorry."
"I know..." Rainbow Dash could see that Twilight was trying her hardest to keep her wings down, but was still having trouble controlling them. "There's nothing you can do about that, by the way. Your wings will betray your emotions."
Twilight paused. "Well, the train's leaving in a few minutes. We should get going."
"Yeah..."
The two ponies headed downstairs, Rainbow lagged slightly behind. Before leaving, Twilight instructed Spike to let Princess Celestia know that they were on their way. He agreed, immediately retrieving quill and paper. Once outside, Twilight could see the greenish smoke leave one of the windows, heading directly towards the castle.
No words were spoken between the ponies during the trip from the library to the station. Even boarding the train, silence. Rainbow Dash sat next to the window, with Twilight by her side on the aisle seat. The train lurched forward, and not wanting to sit in the awkward silence any longer, Twilight took a gamble in trying to get her friend to open back up.
"So," she began with light and careful words, "why do our wings flare up like that?"
"What...?" Dash raised an eyebrow in question. "You want me to tell you why our wings do that? I figured you would have read a book about it."
"Actually, I don't have any books on flying. Those kind of books are almost exclusive to pegasus libraries. So, I figured if I'm going to learn how to fly, or sleep well for that matter, I may as well learn from the best flyer in Equestria!"
A small smile emerged on Rainbow's face.
"Thanks. My dad told me that our wings do that to protect us, like a defense, in case we have to leave in a hurry."
"But they do it when you're happy, too."
"There's been several times when I've just been so happy, I wanted to fly. Like when I won the Best Young Flyers competition, or met Soarin' at the Grand Galloping Gala."
"Makes sense." Seeing that her mood has improved, Twilight tapped a hoof on her chin, trying to come up with another conversation piece. Then it came to her, a simple yet powerful question. "So, will you teach me?"
"Teach you?"
"Yeah, you know, to fly!"
"I dunno. I've been trying to teach Scootaloo to fly better, but that hasn't been going well. I guess I could see if I still have some books from when my parents tried to teach me. They're probably buried in some closet in my house..." Rainbow's voice trailed off.
Twilight felt guilty, watching as her friend's ears, mouth, and wings drooped down yet again. If she had been half a second faster, or slower, Dash wouldn't have had to push her out of the way of the falling boulder, and get her being broken.
"When we get back," she encouraged Rainbow Dash, "I can teleport you up there."
Her words had the intended effect. Rainbow's ears returned to their original positions, her wings perked back up, and she couldn't help but reveal a small smile. Twilight abruptly started laughing uncontrollably.
"What!?" Rainbow's eyebrows furled, her wings were slowly becoming erect.
"It's... hee he he... nothing..."
"Oh, it's something."
"It's just... the thought of you having books in your house. And you gave me trouble about being an egghead."
Rainbow thought about it for a second, then joined in with laughter of her own, once again able to relax a little bit. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But all I read is Daring Do, not that nerdy science stuff."
The large doors to the castle throne room were opened with ease by the guards stationed outside them, allowing Twilight and Rainbow Dash to enter in, unimpeded.
"Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia softly spoke. She was sitting upon her gilded throne, flanked by royal guards, shifting through letters and reports. "Or should I say, Princess Twilight Sparkle." She giggled to herself, failing to hide it behind her hoof.
Twilight bowed her head, trying to hide her blushing as the two ponies approached Princess Celestia.
"And hello, Rainbow Dash," Princess Celestia went onto greet the cyan pony. "How is your wing feeling?"
"Sore, but better," Dash replied truthfully, her gaze drifted towards the white bandages before returning to the princess.
"That's good to hear."
"Princess Celestia," Twilight looked at her teacher with a tilted head. "Might I ask why you summoned us here?"
"You may. Twilight, I am having a fair hosted in Ponyville—"
"Really?" Twilight started to smile, and her wings perked up. But being the thinker she was, she quickly wondered why the fair was being hosted in Ponyville. "Any particular reason...?"
"—to celebrate your becoming a Princess, my faithful student."
"Gah! But we already had my coronation ceremony!"
"Yes, I know, but that was almost exclusive to those already in Canterlot, and was a sudden event. Now, it's time to tell all of Equestria, and neighboring countries. Preparations begin tonight, and the fair will begin Friday."
"Oh..."
"Um, Princess?" Rainbow Dash interrupted as politely as she could. "Why did you request me to be here, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Ah, Rainbow Dash, I have a special assignment for you."
Dash gulped, and lowered her head slightly. "A... assignment...?"
"I'm going to have a special group of ponies be among the many performers at the fair, a special group that you are very familiar with."
"Who?" Rainbow should have figured it out halfway through the princess' sentence.
Princess Celestia nodded, indicating towards the throne room doors. Rainbow Dash turned to watch as the double doors slowly opened. In trotted a very light blue stallion, about the same age as Rainbow, probably a year or two older, with a dark blue mane. The colt was also wearing a navy blue suit. On the flanks of his suit was his cutie mark: a gold lightning bolt flanked by two wings, one on each side. Rainbow knew who he was immediately. Her one good wing reached for the skies, and her broken wing nearly ripped the bandages apart.
"The Wonderbolts." Princess Celestia told her with a smile. "I asked them if they could perform, and they agreed. Your assignment is to help Soarin with the proper preparations."
The smile on Rainbow Dash's face grew bigger and bigger as Soarin approached. She started mumbling to herself, "Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!" Twilight covered her eyes with a hoof.
"Hi, uh... Rainbow... Flash... is it...?" Soarin looked askance of her, trying to reach into the depths of his memory for the answer.
Rainbow's wings and ears went limp. Her smile slowly faded. She was right... Twilight thought to herself. Your wings DO betray your emotions. As much as you want to hide them, you can't...
"It's Rainbow Dash... actually..." she solemnly replied to him. Soarin' seemed oblivious as to what had just occurred. Rainbow idolized him, had wanted to fly with him and the Wonderbolts for years, saved his pie at the Gala, spoke to him at Princess Cadence's wedding, and even saved his life once! And he couldn't even remember her name.
"So you're the pony who is going to help me, huh?" he asked Rainbow.
"Uh, yeah, I guess." She replied, scratching the back of her head with a hoof. At first, this had seemed like her best chance to get in close with the flying team, but now she wasn't sure of much.
"Twilight," Princess Celestia called for her student, "I understand that you are probably uncomfortable with all of this, and becoming a Princess. I want you to understand that this is also meant to help you, to let you experience what it's like the be a Princess."
"I understand," Twilight told her, "but you are right, I'm not comfortable with this at all! I don't know how to be a princess, rule over ponies, or anything like that. I have trouble dealing with my friends' problems, let alone everypony in Equestria!"
Princess Celestia laughed to herself. "You won't be listening to the problems of everypony in Equestria. I am still here, you know." Twilight smiled, realizing that she was just nervous, that nothing bad actually would come of this. "You'll just be my... my..." Princess Celestia thought to herself. "Assistant. Unless of course I decide to make Ponyville and the surrounding area its own kingdom... Then you would be the ruler of that, and listen to the problems of all of those ponies. He he he."
"Ha ha ha... yeah... let's not..."
"I would never do that to those ponies." Princess Celestia's new joke made her laugh again. "Now, you three best be off; there's work to be done."
The three ponies bowed in respect, and headed back towards the train station. Not much was said between them until they left the castle. Rainbow was trotting along next to Twilight, trying to ignore the fact that Soarin was hovering next to her, keeping pace. She passed the the time by watching the clouds over the city in vain. The weather here was similar to what was supposed to be over Ponyville now. Dash wondered how Derpy was doing holding up the skies.
"What happened to your wing, Rainbow Flash?" Soarin asked, bringing her out of her day dreams. Obviously somepony didn't know how to tell what effects their words had on other ponies.
Rainbow lowered her head slightly, trying not to show how much that hurt. "Dash," she corrected, "it's Rainbow Dash. And I broke it when a boulder fell on it."
"Ouch. Sorry to hear that."
"It was my fault," Twilight explained to Soarin. Not wanting to hear this story again and remember how she screwed up, how she abandoned her friends, Rainbow Dash kept her ears down, trying to block out as much as she could.
About five, long, minutes later, the trio arrived at the train station. Twilight was just finishing up recapping last night's events to Soarin, who was intently listening. Rainbow stood on the platform, rapidly tapping her front hoof, displaying her lack of patience. This train can not get here fast enough... Rainbow thought to herself. I wish they wouldn't mention this anymore. And I can't believe he got my name wrong, twice! Now I'm going to be stuck with him for the next week, and I can't even fly with him! Ugh, if we can get through this without talking to each other, that'd be great.
"Wow!" Soarin exclaimed. "You really did that, Rainbow Dash?"
Oh, hay...
"Hm? Yeah." Rainbow replied, not caring much and trying to show it. Finally the colorful train arrived. Rainbow sprinted inside, leaving behind a vibrant contrail. Almost home... almost...