"C'mere you!" Twilight laughed, chasing Scootaloo through the air near the outskirts of Ponyville park. "I'm gonna get you! I'm gonna tickle you and then you're getting raspberries, you scoundrel!"
"Nooo!" Scootaloo cried dramatically, before giggling madly. She pulled a quick backflip in midair and landed on Twilight's back, eliciting a gasp from the alicorn.
"But first you gotta catch me!" Scootaloo teased, sticking a tongue out at Twilight before using her back as a springboard, jumping and flying in the opposite direction.
"Why you... That's it! Now you're getting double the raspberries!" Twilight whooped, turning around and chasing after the filly.
Meanwhile from a bench below, Rainbow Dash was watching the two most important ponies in her life with half lidded eyes and a serene expression.
Rainbow Dash, you made it. You’ve come a long way since you were that one pegasus who spent every night alone. This is… This is perfect. This is what I’ve been missing my whole life.
The sounds of high pitched squealing tore Rainbow Dash away from her thoughts, and glancing over, she saw Twilight gently holding Scootaloo to the ground and blowing raspberries on her tummy. Scootaloo was squealing loudly and fruitlessly attempting to escape.
“Now I hope you learned your lesson, fiend!” Twilight announced in a mock heroic tone.
"You'll never defeat me!" Scootaloo growled, breaking free of Twilight's light hold and fluttering over to Rainbow Dash. "Hey mom, did you see that flip? That was awesome, right?"
Rainbow smiled and raised her wing. Scootaloo eagerly tapped it with her own. "Excellent use of maneuver seventeen, squirt. Couldn't have done it better myself."
Scootaloo responded with a wide grin, before jumping off the bench and charging at Twilight, tackling the alicorn and laughing. Twilight squeaked in surprise.
Rainbow caught movement in the corner of her eyes. Three pegasi in blue and yellow uniforms were flying overhead. Rainbow watched as one broke out of the formation and started flying toward the park. Identifying that pony as her Captain, Rainbow trotted over to meet her, followed swiftly by Twilight and Scootaloo.
"Princess Twilight." Spitfire greeted, bowing in front of Twilight.
"No need for formalities." Twilight smiled. "You must be Spitfire. Rainbow's told me quite a lot about you. Like, a lot."
"Good things only I hope." Spitfire replied with a smirk.
"Let's just say... be glad I'm not the jealous type."
Spitfire chuckled and turned to Rainbow Dash. "I heard you two went official. Congratulations. But don't think the Wonderbolts are gonna treat you any different because you're messing around with a princess. Which brings me to why I'm here."
Rainbow Dash's grin grew as Spitfire established a dramatic silence.
"Fire Streak is retiring. The Wonderbolts need you, Dash. Welcome to the team."
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" Rainbow squeaked, flapping the very ends of her wings. She looked back at Scootaloo and Twilight, a giant grin on her face. Scootaloo was smiling back with a grin that threatened to bisect her head. Twilight gave her a demure smile, but it seemed kind of… sad.
Rainbow blinked hard and her grin wavered. She turned back to Spitfire, who was waiting for her reaction, an eyebrow raised and her mouth twisted into a cocky smile.
"How uh… how often would I be able to see my family here?" Rainbow asked.
Spitfire's eyebrows knit together. "Any time we're not doing training, which you know is pretty frequent, or doing a show. At worst, you may not see them for a couple months."
Rainbow's smile faded. "Months?"
"Rainbow, what are you waiting for?" Twilight hissed behind her. "You've always wanted to be a Wonderbolt."
Rainbow looked back at Twilight and Scootaloo.
Her family.
But… can I really just leave them behind? Twilight and Scoot both are still recovering… although it's true I've been vying for this forever…
"What do you say, Dash?"
Rainbow bit her lip as she looked between Twilight and Spitfire.
This has been my dream since I was a filly.
A bead of sweat ran down Rainbow's face as she looked between Twilight and Spitfire again.
I'm sure she'll understand. I have to do this.
"Well, Dash?" Spitfire asked impatiently.
"You." Rainbow choked out.
"Great! Get-"
"Thank you, really." Rainbow walked over to sit between Twilight and Scootaloo, placing a wing over both of them. "The Wonderbolts may need me, but these two need me way more right now."
Twilight's and Scootaloo's jaws dropped in stereo.
"Dashie, what are you doing?" Twilight asked, pushing Rainbow's wing off of her. "You've always wanted to join the Wonderbolts!"
Rainbow chuckled and put her wing back around Twilight, pulling her in close.
"You two are worth it."
Rainbow bit her lip and turned to Spitfire, who had thrown up her eyebrows in surprise.
"Ma'am, I'd really appreciate it if you can move me down the reserves list. I would still love to be a Wonderbolt, but I need to be there for my family right now, with all due respect."
Spitfire blinked hard.
"You sure about this, Dash? I don’t know when the next opportunity will come up."
Rainbow hesitated.
"Y-yes ma'am."
Spitfire shook her head and paused for a moment to collect her thoughts.
"That's good of you Dash. Though I'm pretty sure the team will be disappointed. For you, and considering the…" Spitfire’s gaze flicked to Twilight and Scootaloo. "Circumstances, I'll do it. See you at the all hands practice in two weeks."
"Yes ma'am!"
As Spitfire flew off, Scootaloo escaped Rainbow's winghug and whirled around to face her, her expression a mixture of confusion and sadness.
"Mom, what was that? Your dream was always to be a Wonderbolt!"
Rainbow just chuckled and slid Scootaloo over to her, pulling her into a hug.
"That's okay. I made new dreams. Better dreams. And with you two, I'm living them right now."