Rainbow Dash sighed in deep relief as she trotted happily back through the familiar streets of her beautiful home town, enjoying the warm crisp air of the last days of summer before fall rolled in.
That long trip with the Wonderbolt's had taken a great chunk out of her, and while being a part of the renowned and exalted flight team she had idolized fervently since her childhood, she was glad for it all to be over at long last so as to catch some rest with the five friends who had brought her to where she was now.
She might have been a famous star, but she still had them to thank for helping her realize her true potential. Especially Fluttershy, who despite their differences had really pulled through for her when it mattered and had come out of her shell countess times just to show her confidence in Dash.
Not to mention the countless times that the group disregarded her sage advice including herself, much to Dash's own chagrin and guilt.
Occasionally Dash wondered if Fluttershy would ever be properly accepted by other ponies. It was true that her filly-hood friend had gained a lot of reputation and self confidence ever since joining up with the other members of their group of friends, but sometimes she still seemed awfully troubled and soft on the inside still. Not helping matters was how now that Dash spent less and less time around Fluttershy with Wonderbolt duties getting in the way, it seemed that Fluttershy was once again becoming a scapegoat for abusive ponies looking to go out of their way for the sake of being a jerk to anyone they could. Anyone that is, who sadly couldn't find the guts to stand up for themselves the way Dash could.
Fluttershy had made great steps, Dash had to admit that. But it was times like these when Dash worried that when she had left Fluttesrhy to the care of the other ponies, that they were never able to understand her on the deep level that Dash did.
Fluttershy had known Dash far longer than she had known princess Twilight and the others. And there was not one pony who Fluttershy felt more comfortable around.
"I hope Flutters hasn't missed me too badly. I really hope she's still alright" thought Dash worriedly as she made it to the castle princess Twilight now owned as an Alicorn, and where Dash and her other closest friends were always welcome.
Still panting slightly from her long trip back, she walked up to the large door and knocked.
It wasn't long before the door was eagerly thrown open to reveal none other than the purple mare, who Celestia kept as a personal student and recently made another princess, much to the delight of her friends.
"Oh good, you're here." she eagerly said upon seeing the blue Pegasus "Please come in Rainbow Dash. We've got a special surprise for you."
"A surprise?" asked Rainbow Dash eagerly, and yet somewhat worriedly. Had she really been gone this long to justify a big celebration. "What kind of surprise?"
"The pony who planned the surprise for you told me to keep it a secret and for you to go and find out for yourself." was the reply. "She says you'll find it in a back room waiting for you."
Rainbow Dash nodded slowly, still trying to comprehend why this return to the old castle and meeting place she had always been welcome to, had warranted so great a celebration. Sure she knew she meant a lot to her friends, but even so this was a bit sudden and unexpected.
And why Twilight had not yet put a name on the planner of the surprise, was another curiosity. There were only four other ponies who could have organized this surprise, and this out of nowhere"Surprise" seemed out of left field for even Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie Pie was the most devoted party thrower at least in Ponyville, as well as the element of joy and laughter whose entire life was dedicated to making others smile and laugh with a well planned celebration but Rainbow Dash really had only been gone for 2 weeks. Her friends all knew where she would be going to, and none of them seemed that upset to see her go, so why did any pony see a need to welcome her back so fiercely.
Rainbow didn't have the answer and it was clear Twilight didn't either.
Clearly Twilight did not plan this event and if she knew who did, was not at all eager to reveal the identity of the planner to Dash.
"Are you sure you don't know who planned this surprise Twilight?" asked Dash, still puzzled. "I'm pretty sure Pinkie Pie would have at least told you if she was going to throw a party for me when I got back."
Twilight thought for a moment before replying, clearly taking time and care to choose her words. "It might be better if you find out for yourself who threw the surprise. They told me not to reveal their name to you."
Dash shook her head, still trying to figure out what this all meant. From those few words alone, she could deduce that it wasn't any of her five immediate close friends who seemed eager to surprise and welcome her, since Twilight would surely have no problem revealing their identity to Dash if it really was one of them.
That was of course unless Fluttershy, who by now probably badly missed Dash (poor girl) was so joyful to see her back that she had consulted Pinkie Pie on the best way to make Dash feel welcome again and Pinkie Pie had given the shy and timid yellow mare some pointers.
This was the only way any of this could make sense, since only Fluttershy would be shy and reclusive enough to want to keep a party she had thrown a secret, probably out of fear that Dash might not appreciate her efforts.
Dash vowed to herself that she would find Fluttesrhy later to comfort her and applaud her efforts, however the surprise turned out.
"Where is the surprise then?" asked Dash after some thought. She was determined to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible so she could go and take some time with her friends who had probably gone out for the day.
"It's upstairs, through the left corridor and on the third door to the right." explained Twilight, pointing the the staircase that led to the upper floors of the gigantic castle. "Why don't you go and check it out while I go back to the library. I have a lot of books today that still need sorting, but come back and find me again if you need anything." And Twilight slowly turned and left.
Now by herself once again, Dash wearily climbed the steps to the next floor ,giving her weary wings a rest after so much flying had exhausted them out. Everything seemed eerily quiet as Dash followed Twilight's directions to the door in question.
"I wonder what all this could be?" the blue coated mare wondered as she cautiously opened the door and stepped inside.
The room was a homely bedroom, a well made bed in one corner and a intricately crafted wardrobe in another.
A pile of presents adorned the east wall by a window, and a gigantic piece of paper had been stuck onto the back wall.
"Welcome home, partner. Hope you like the presents." had been neatly written onto the paper in blue paint.
A gigantic Rainbow had also been drawn atop the writing, emphasizing that Rainbow Dash and no other pony was the one coming home.
Rainbow Dash stood fixated by all of this adulation, until she spotted a large blue envelope on the nondescript bed.
She slowly walked over to the bed, keeping a close eye out for any movement. She was certain that whoever planned this celebration was still hiding nearby.
The envelope which had been stacked against a large pillow to make it all the more noticeable to the eye was soon shredded open. A neatly folded letter was soon discovered inside.
"Dear Dash." it read. "Congratulations on finally passing Spitfire and becoming a Wonderbolt. I knew you could do it from the moment I first saw you in action, soaring at top speed the way you did. I was sure you wouldn't let me down and even though I never got to see you as much as I would have liked, I'm sure you passed many complicated tests to get to where you are now. Your friend Fluttershy even told me that you did something we all thought was nothing more than an old mare's tale. The sonic Rainboom. She told me you managed to pull it off successfully twice. Once when you were a filly, and then once again when you went to the best young flyer's competition. You wowed the Wonderbolt's with your spectacular performance Fluttershy said, and put those nasty bullies back in their rightful place. Good on you partner.
I'm sorry I was never there to celebrate those things with you, and even more sorry for what I did to end our once great friendship together. Please enjoy the little party I threw for you with some help from your friend. She really knows how to make a pony feel special and she even showed me a few of her tricks."
It was signed "An old friend.".
"Clearly this is some hardcore fan of the heroic thing I've done" sighed Dash happily, taking a while to bask in the compliments she had just read about herself, still wondering why Twilight had let them use this room though.
But who cared when there were all these wonderful presents to get through first. That pile really was simply exciting to even look at, Dash thought as she rushed to the stack of boxes and unwrapped a small box on top of a pile of bigger ones first.
"Rainbow Dash is cool." Read the label on top of the box, which opened to reveal a small stack of Daring Do books. Three daring do books, which Dash had not even heard about, and which each looked far more shiny than any novel from the series before.
"Well this pony really knows me, huh" thought Dash, as she made a mental note to catch up on the three books she had been missing out on for who knew how long.
She unraveled another larger box, which was labelled "Rainbow Dash is epic." This one contained a box of chocolates, each one sprinkled with just the right amount of icing.
Not Dash's favorite kind of sweet, but still a good effort.
"In Rainbow Dash I trust." said the next present, this one containing a large box of cuddly plushies. Expensive and incredibly soft ones that was, which Rainbow Dash secretly struggled to sleep without, much to her own embarrassment.
The biggest box came next, this was stating "Rainbow Dash I love." had a purple robe. Simply touching the well made cotton, made Rainbow Dash feel sleepy. Much better than the old one which was getting tighter and tighter by now for some reason.
There was just one more present now. Quite small and placed in a well obscured corner where it would not easily be seen.
"So far whoever this pony is, they really know how to welcome a awesome hero like me." thought Dash, not caring anymore why Twilight had let a stranger into the castle anymore. "We'd probably be good friends if we met. Especially after they've gotten me all this stuff."
Rainbow ignored the ornately iced cake on a table which was sprinkled with the words "Rainbow Dash rules." and the delicious looking bottle of apple cider by its side. The very cider Dash would go to the furthest corner of the earth to find in case all of Applejack's apple trees burned down one day. She was much more interested in finding out what the last present had to offer.
"Prepare to be surprised like never before." it read, much to Dash's confusion and the present inside the box turned out to be much smaller than the box itself.
A tiny music box, colorful but otherwise very plain.
"That's odd." she said out loud. "If this pony knows the other things I like, then they should also know I hate quiet, gentle music like music boxes."
But curiosity had seized hold of the Wonderbolt pony, and she found herself unable to resist as she very reluctantly gave the box a wind.
Who knew, maybe it wouldn't turn out to be some silly lullaby but would actually be a good song that she could happily dance to. This pony did seem to know Dash very well after all.
The angelic sound of the beloved song Dash had loved since the day she heard it in a concert her parents had forced her to go to against her will, came from the box at exactly the right tone and volume.
The song Dash would have given all she was worth just to have the chance of hearing it one more time. The tune she had searched for endlessly since that day which she thought would be just another boring symphony being played by a sub par band with no sense in taste, which had instead played a sound of heaven which inspired her to feel empowered in a way she never had before. She looked all over cloudsdale for any pony who just happened to know where she could hear it once more, but no pony could give her any help.
But here it was again. The toreador march. The tune Dash always played in her mind, when she felt sad or scared to bring her back to her usual bubbly self once more.
It played, only sounding better and better with each time it played again.
The only thing that prevented Dash from truly being completely blissful in that one moment, was the wardrobe door slowly creaking open.
It slowly crept open and a very faint light slowly emanated from within the darkness, revealing only two eyes and a creepy grin which seemed to observe Dash's every movement.
And gradually as Dash slowly managed to turn to face the wardrobe which by now was wide open, she could not help but freeze as an unexplained fear gripped hold of her very soul and the music box which slowly began to unwound, began to stop playing the beautiful song.
Leaving the room completely silent as Dash almost bit out her tongue watching the two eyes and mouth, praying silently to Celestia that whatver happened next would not cause her to regret her trust in the kind stranger who seemed so nice at first, even if they had never actually met.
Dash might as well have been praying to a stone statue outside Celestia's palace, for all the good that did.