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// The Sky Is Not The Limit 
// Story: Dreams Are Living Things 
// by Whirl Hoof 
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Dear Rainbow Monsoon Dash,

Your accomplishments and talents are nothing to scoff at. The winner of the Best Young Fliers competition three years in a row, performing multiple Sonic Rainbooms, and saving Equestria on many occasions.

However, despite your achievements and personal ability, we are sad to inform you of your denial of membership. This is not for a lack of effort on your part, but of unforeseen circumstances, and that you are not quite what we are looking for at the moment. We will, however, be happy to provide recommendations to any careers you may seek from this moment.

If you'd like more details and discussion on the reasons for your denial, feel free to contact us at the given number, or visit your local Wonderbolts outpost.

Lieutenant Spitfire of the 6th East

Wonderbolts 6th East Equestrian Regiment

Rejection.

There were other words for it, but none as hostile sounding. It didn't fit this letter- Spitfire was a decent enough mare to meet in person, and the writing didn't sound condescending or aggressive in the slightest.

But at the end of the day, she'd been rejected from the Wonderbolts. The team she'd strived her entire life to work for, from the moment she could shakily hover.

Gently kicking the mailbox closed, Rainbow headed back into her cloud house. Her body moved on autopilot, tossing the letter on a nearby table while she went to grab some cider. One glass wasn't enough. Three perhaps.

She sat down, and just... stared at the document. She didn't know what else she should be doing. Should she call about the rejection? She was curious about the 'unforeseen circumstances' that were apparently why she didn't get a spot.

She was fairly sure she hadn't done anything wrong. She's filled in the papers right, passed the written test with Twilight's help, run through physical exams and drills, and had been commended for her ability to work with others during team exercises and practice. So what hadn't been good enough?

And more importantly... why didn't this bother her?

Rainbow leaned back in her chair, staring at the tiled cloud. Her dream was crushed, at least for the moment. Any other pony would be freaking out. Beyond angry, crushed and depressed, bawling their eyes out, drinking their problems away.

She didn't really care enough to do... any of that. And that was the most concerning part.

Was this one of those 'coping mechanisms' Twi talked about? She cut off her emotions to deal with it better? It didn't really feel like it. Rainbow knew she wasn't the most balanced pony at the best of times, so using that to escape right now didn't feel natural.

Pushing the cider to the side, she read the letter over a few more times. She didn't really know why; it wasn't as if squinting at the words more closely would magically make an acceptance appear. She knew that.

It didn't feel real, exactly. Then again, it didn't feel real when she met Spitfire in person for the first time, or put on a training uniform for the first time. It didn't feel real to be actually doing what she'd wanted for so long.

She needed to do something. Sitting still and staring at this paper wasn't being productive. She should tell the others, and Scoots, and probably her parents- although knowing the latter, maybe visiting another country would be a good idea to avoid the fallout.

Dash grabbed the letter in her teeth, and lazily glided down from her home. She didn't have a particular target- she knew Pinkie was celebrating the Cake twins' birthday, so she was definitely at Sugarcube Corner. Maybe there?

She opted for the castle. Twi would have good advice on how to deal with this, if at all.

On the way, she spotted a familiar orange blot speeding along the streets. Scoots taking her scooter out for another round. Carefree like only a filly could be. Not worrying about what to do after losing their entire lifetime goal.

Dash waited until the filly skidded to a stop near the treehouse, then landed behind her. Scoots busied herself with carefully removing her helmet, not aware of the impending beast.

"Rawr!" Dash pounced playfully on the filly, giving her a noogie and mussing up her mane.

After the initial shock, Scootaloo giggled and tried to push the larger pegasus off. "Help! A monster pony is tryna eat me!" They rolled around for a good minute, before Dash relented and hoofbumped her little fan.

"So what are ya doing squirt? You're getting fantastic at those stunts; I saw you dodge between two ponies."

Scoots grinned, flipping over onto her belly. "Imma enter the Foal Stunts Contest. The only other pony who might beat me is Rumble with his skateboard, but I'll whip his flank with enough practice!"

The energy of kids. "I'm kinda surprised you'd want to enter. I thought you and the Crusaders were working on some zebra who wanted a cutie mark. You managing your time right?"

The filly stuck her tongue out. "I can handle it. The zebra's got the patience of a sloth anyway- I'm pretty sure he sleeps every two weeks at most. It's like he's a grandpa in a foal's body."

"It's nice to see you girls are doing what you love. I remember when you were freaking out about what your cutie marks actually meant, and thought you might have to become an improv group."

Scootaloo sputtered, buzzing her wings in mock intimidation. "Hey, that was Sweetie Belle! She was getting all these ideas from Rarity's drama books or something. I wanted us to become a stunt group, but she was shrieking about how dangerous it was."

Rainbow giggled for a good long moment, before laying back down, staring at the sky. Exactly what she'd been hoping for- not worrying about the letter. Just enjoying the life around her.

Until Scootaloo asked "Oh yeah, speaking of stunts- you got accepted by the Wonderbolts today, right?"

Dash didn't have to turn to hear the almost manic grin and vibrating in place from the filly. She sighed, trying to avoid sounding upset- which she wasn't. "I got a letter from them, yeah."

Didn't work. Turning her head, Scootaloo had calmed down a bit, with her head tilted. "Saying you were in?"

Here it was. "It uh- not exactly. Spits said no. Or the commander above her said no. Not sure. I got denied."

Scoots now wilted, tiny wings practically melting off in disappointment. "If that's a j-joke, it's not funny. There's no way you wouldn't get in- just look how awesome you are! All the cool stuff you've done!"

"I know squirt. But I don't control the Wonderbolts. I didn't get in, all there is to it."

The little filly shifted to a mix of upset and confused. "So... you really didn't get in? Why aren't you sad?"

"Honestly? I dunno. I'm pretty sure I should be, but... I'm just not," Rainbow sighed, sitting up fully. She offered the letter to the filly, who glared at it for a minute.

"So they didn't let you in because of something you didn't do? That ain't fair! You should go up to Spitfire and-"

"And do what? Scream at her? Beg her to let me in anyway? Threaten her? None of those sound like a good idea," Dash shrugged. "If I didn't get in, I didn't get in. Nothing short of Discord snapping his talons would change that."

"You could, uh... Oh, you could ask Princess Twilight about it! I'm sure if anypony could change their minds, it'd be her!"

Laughing at that idea, Rainbow said, "Twi's a freak about rules and systems. If there ain't no funny stuff going on behind the scenes, she's probably agree with Spitfire. She's my friend, but she's not reckless."

The filly couldn't help her downcast gaze. "But... you've worked so hard for it. How can they say no? You deserve it more than anypony else in Equestria!"

Another shrug. "Sometimes we don't get what we want, even if we work hard for it." Then realizing what she just said- and implied, she backed up. "Uh, don't think what I know you're thinking. You'll fly soon, I'm sure. You're already really good at hovering."

"So... what will you do?"

An unanswerable question. Dash returned her gaze to the sky, empty and free and meaningless in itself. What would she do? She didn't have any plans as a backup, no contingencies, no other ideas. Everything she'd put effort towards had been washed away; she had no purpose now. Was she destined to remain a weather captain? It wasn't a bad job, and she was still a hero of the world, but were her ambitions pointless?

Then a thought. It should've jumped at her earlier in her own house, but the Crusaders brought a particular brain spark to the forefront.

"Scoots, you help creatures with their dreams, right? Not just ponies and cutie marks, but what they want to do with their life? You've told me plenty of stories with you and the girls."

The filly's glistening eyes shot back up. "Yeah. A lotta creatures have trouble figuring out what they wanna do. But I don't know how much help we'll be for you."

Dash couldn't help a small smile, a tiny spot of hope. "I have an idea in mind, actually. Just came up with it, but the Crusaders kinda inspired it." She stood up fully, stretching her wings and flicking the dirt off from the tussle earlier. "Hey, can you hover for me?"

"Uh, sure." The filly took what Dash had been teaching her, calmly buzzing her wings in as much rhythm as she could manage. She lasted almost six minutes, a massive improvement since they'd begun training. The filly should be well on her way to real flight, even if her wings remained underdeveloped.

"D'you think I've done a good job helping you, Scoots? With flying, I mean?"

The filly managed a little grin between her panting. "Y-yeah, I've gotten way better since we started. If you didn't show up, I dunno if I could've ever been able to hover, let alone fly right." Then a sparkle in her eyes. "Wait, y-"

"Yeah. I think... maybe I'll try what you Crusaders are doing, but for pegasi. I'm sure you aren't the only kid having trouble, and there's no official flight school in Ponyville yet."

"That sounds awesome! I bet you'd help so many ponies with-", but Scootaloo stopped. "What if you're denied again? What if you're not allowed to open a school for some reason?"

Rainbow couldn't help shrugging again. "I didn't train for the Wonderbolts thinking I'd be rejected. And it's not like it was completely pointless- I am the fastest pegasus in Equestria after all."

Scootaloo's manner completely shifted; now she was practically bouncing in place. "Ooh, we can help each other! You can open the school and we'll tell each other tips and meet ponies and-"

Shaking her head from the filly's silliness, Rainbow couldn't help her own internal excitement. Opening a flight school- assuming Twilight and the Board of Whatever allowed it, which she was sure they would. It wasn't being a Wonderbolt, but... what if some of the kids she taught grew up to be Wonderbolts? It'd be basically the same thing, right?

She didn't have to keep it to just ponies, either- surely gryphons, hippogriffs, changelings- they'd all probably have some struggling flyers too. It'd help relations among species and all that stuff.

She looked at the sky again, before following Scoots (practically being dragged along) into the treehouse with the other Crusaders.

The sky. Free, empty, with no restrictions or limits. Sounded familiar, in a way.