Epilogue
Silence, save for the steady thumping of her own heart and the slow breaths passing through her muzzle. Rainbow Dash held tight to her artificial eternity. Every feather on her wings seemed to twitch in anticipation, her ears flicking around and searching for the sounds she refused to hear.
She opened her eyes.
“Welcome, mares and gentlecolts!” Came the all-too familiar booming voice of an announcer. “To the Cloudsdale Cloudesium. We’ve got a great show lined up for you tonight-”
Rainbow pushed his voice to the back of her mind, giving herself a quick once-over to ensure her skin-tight suit was sitting properly. Happy with what she found, the rubber strap of her goggles snapped as she donned them on her forehead and stood. Marching out of the locker room, she nodded to the rest of her team.
“Dash,” Soarin’ greeted, idly stretching his wings. “You good to go?”
Spitfire scoffed, eyes forward. “She had better be.”
“I keep telling you to relax, Spitz,” Rainbow said with a chuckle, rolling her neck and hearing a few quiet pops.
“And I keep telling you I can’t afford to relax when you’re under my command. I let my guard down for a second and you’ll do something stupid.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Maybe, but the crowd usually seems to like my stunts.”
“We’re on in 10,” Fleetfoot muttered, breaking off the conversation and bringing them all forward into formation.
“I thank you all for your patience,” the announcer cried. “Now, just one last thing before we begin; we have a very special guest in the crowd today!”
Rainbow couldn’t help the smile that slipped across her muzzle, and she wiggled her eyebrows when Spitfire gave her a curious look.
“Sitting in the royal box we are joined by Princess Twilight Sparkle herself in a surprise appearance!” Came the announcement, only making Rainbow’s grin grow wider.
Spitfire groaned. “Did you know about this, Dash?”
The rainbow maned mare shrugged innocently. “She never said anything to me,” she said in a sickly-sweet voice. “I can’t help it if she likes to come watch me fly.”
“I swear I think I liked it better when you were single. Performing for royalty puts a lot of extra pressure on us,” Spitfire grumbled lowly as their goggles were flicked into place in practiced unison.
“Aw c’mon, Spitz; it’s just Twilight. Relax.” Rainbow chuckled when she didn’t get a response.
“And now, without further adieu, The Wonderbolts!”
In one synchronized movement they jumped into the air, flying out beneath the door before it was even half open. Rainbow's heart thundered in her ears in time with the beating of her wings as she moved fluidly through the sky with practiced ease.
While one eye remained on her teammates, the other wandered the stands. It wasn’t hard to spot a mare with a unicorn horn among the crowds, especially when she was in the box reserved especially for royalty. However, as ostentatious as the seats themselves were, the alicorn inhabiting them was anything but; Twilight had forgone the regalia usually associated with public appearances. Not even her tiara sat upon her head.
It just made Rainbow’s heart thump a little harder. Twilight wasn’t there as a Princess of Equestria. She was there as a simple spectator, to show her support for somepony important to her.
Rainbow cut through the air near flawlessly, always keeping one eye on the lavender alicorn. She watched Twilight’s reactions to her various stunts throughout the show, and could practically hear her cheering above the rest of the crowd. It all just made Rainbow fly that much better, try that much harder, knowing who was in the stands.
Twilight Sparkle. Princess of Friendship. Element of magic.
Her marefriend.
The thought made her positively giddy. It wasn’t all that long ago that Twilight being in the stands had totally thrown her off her game. But now? Now it was different. Now it didn’t quite feel right if Twilight wasn’t there.
After all, this was what she’d wanted. What she’d always wanted, and this time, it really had been mutual.