Twilight rolled her eyes as she watched Rainbow's overwhelming enthusiasm for her event in the upcoming Equestria Games...or at least, for the qualifying round to compete in the event. She was in the Flight Relay, alongside Fluttershy and a stallion by the name of Bulk Biceps. Twilight had attempted to join the team to show off how good she'd gotten at flying...but had been informed that alicorns were forbidden from competing in the Equestria games ever since the 'Canter OP Plz Nerf' regulation was passed that forbade Celestia from competing in the games for Canterlot. She'd also tried getting Clank as part of the team - the little guy could fly surprisingly well - but the regulations cracked down hard on 'magic or machine assisted performance', and apparently a purely machine lifeform (or magical one, as Zoni were classified) counted as being 'machine assisted'. This, unfortunately, was a double strike against Nefarious, to the point he refused to even watch the Equestria Games for being 'speciest against robotic life forms, and a squishy affront to the purity of competition'. As such, she didn't even have him along to debate the finer points of regulations in the games...or to sneak off with for a quick snog or shag if she got especially bored.
Thankfully, she had found a few ways to keep herself somewhat entertained. First, she caught Applejack creating exceptionally high fiber, solid treats for snacks during workouts and racing. Twilight was able to point out that while that made for excellent treats to give a lot of energy for hours of heavy labor, it would only weigh a stomach down for fast flight. As a result, Applejack had reworked the recipe to be lower in fiber and higher in sugar. Pinkie approved quite strongly.
Next was when she saw Rarity's speculated designs for the team's 'flight suits'. That had been...a conversation.
Twilight stared at the rather poofy design of the flight suits, looking more like dresses than flight suits. "Well...they're..." she began, not wanting to hurt her friend's feelings.
"Go on, Twilight," Rarity encouraged. "I want your honest opinion."
"...how honest?" Twilight asked carefully.
"Applejack honest," Rarity assured her.
"Alright," Twilight allowed. "Can I have some of whatever you were smoking when you came up with these? Alcohol just isn't doing it for Celestia anymore, and me getting drunk - should I ever need to take my mind off things - would be just plain dangerous." She tapped her chin. "In point of fact, pretty sure it's illegal in three galaxies for me to be served anything with an alcohol content above 2%..."
Rarity looked like she'd just been asked to walk through mud. "Don't you think you're being a tad...harsh?" Rarity asked, her voice sounding somewhat offended.
"Well, looking at these as outfits before flight suits, what's with those color choices?" Twilight demanded.
"They're the Ponyville colors," Rarity pointed out defensively. "There's only so much that can be done with them."
"...fair enough," Twilight allowed. "But they're still grossly inefficient. How are they supposed to fly in those? Those hanging drapes would drag on the air like crazy and slow them to a crawl!"
Rarity frowned at the designs. "I...guess I lost sight of that as designing carried me away," she murmured thoughtfully. "So...how do I fix this?"
"Start with making them flight suits," Twilight instructed firmly. "And keep in mind the goal is maximizing the wearer's ability to cut through the air. I actually have a few materials from off world you might want to try..."
As Twilight wandered Rainbow Falls instead of her memories, she found Rainbow sitting beside the pools under the falls, staring at her reflection and looking conflicted. "What's bothering you, Rainbow?" she asked curiously.
"It's...hard to explain," Rainbow began.
Sighing, Twilight settled to the grass to listen.
"It's...when Soarin' got injured, Spitfire asked me to fly with her! With the Wonderbolts, for Cloudsdale!" Rainbow explained excitedly. "Flying with the Wonderbolts...it's like a dream come true!"
"Then you should go for it," Twilight concluded simply.
"But what about all the work Fluttershy, Bulk Biceps, Applejack, and Rarity have put into this?" Rainbow countered. "If I don't fly for Ponyville, it'll all go to waste!"
"Then you should fly for Ponyville," Twilight responded bluntly.
"But I might never get a chance like this again!" Rainbow wailed. "Flying in the Games...with the Wonderbolts!"
"Then you should fly with them," Twilight offered, seemingly reversing her former position.
"But I can't just turn my back on my friends!" Rainbow declared angrily.
"Then you should fly with them-"
"Stop that!" Rainbow snapped out. "I'm in a crisis here and asking you for advice!"
"Oh, you want advice," Twilight responded as though only just getting it. "Why didn't you say so?" She smirked impishly as Rainbow facehooved and muttered imprecations under her breath. "In that case, I don't think I'm the one you should be asking."
"Who should I ask then?" Rainbow demanded worriedly.
Seizing hold of Rainbow with her magic, Twilight turned her to face the lake's surface and her own reflection. "Her," Twilight explained bluntly. "Whatever decision you make, your friends will know you made the best decision for yourself and support you completely. We wouldn't be good friends if we didn't. The only one who's going to judge you for the decision you make today is her." She pointed firmly at the reflection. "So my advice to you is to sit here and look her right in the eye...and find the decision you can tell her you're going to make without breaking that locked gaze. Because the day you can't meet her gaze..." She stood up, shaking her head. "When you've betrayed the Mare in the Glass, you're nothing."
"...but this is water," Rainbow pointed out logically.
Twilight slammed her hoof against her face. "And I'm washing my hooves of this," she grumbled. "I trust you'll figure it out. Do make the decision soon." Turning, she headed off to find something to take the edge off.
Rainbow stared at her reflection for a time, thinking on those words. Finally, as her eyes flashed with a rainbow light, she nodded firmly to herself, stood up, and took to the air.
Rainbow landed right in front of Spitfire in the Wonderbolts prep area. "Captain Spitfire...can I talk to you privately?"
Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "Sure thing, Dash," she responded readily, guiding Rainbow into her tent. "What did you need?"
Rainbow took a deep breath, then let it out. "Thanks for the invitation to fly with you in the Games...but I can't accept."
Spitfire's eyebrow once more ascended her forehead. "Care to explain why?"
"Because I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror if I did," Rainbow responded. "The big reason I was having a hard time deciding at first was because I felt guilty letting my friends down to pursue my dream...but then I thought about why I even had this opportunity in the first place. You made the offer to me because Soarin' got injured. You...tossed him aside to get me." She was somewhat gratified to see Spitfire glance away at that. "That's...that's not how I want my dreams. So I'm going to fly for Ponyville." With that, she turned to leave.
"Thanks."
Rainbow paused, turning in surprise. "Come again?"
"Thanks for refusing, and telling me why," Spitfire elaborated, leaning back in her chair with a smile. "Listen Dash...being a Wonderbolt isn't all glory and fun. We aren't just stunt fliers, whatever recent events and the attitudes of some of our members might say. First and foremost, we serve Equestria...and sometimes that means doing things you don't like." She turned away. "I have my orders, Dash. The Wonderbolts are the best of the best in the air...and we're under orders to prove it in the games. I was ordered to recruit anyone who could outfly a member of my team for the Games, with promises of fast-tracking them into the Wonderbolts as incentive. And you could outfly just about anyone on the team in a straight up race...though your turning could use some work." She smirked at the jibe.
"Hey!" Rainbow complained angrily.
"I hated ordering Soarin' to take his time recovering after he was injured," Spitfire continued, "but orders are orders. Which is why I'm glad you refused." She smiled softly. "I'm glad you chose to fly the Games with your friends...because it means I get to fly the Games with my friends, my team." Reaching into a satchel, she pulled out a gold Wonderbolts pin on a rainbow colored ribbon. "That's not something I'm going to forget," she stated as she placed the pin in Rainbow's hoof, neither noticing the rainbow sheen that passed over the metal. "Looking forward to beating the pants off you in the Games!"
Rainbow smirked back challengingly. "We'll see who beats who," she shot back, turning to get back to her friends...her team.