Principal Celestia sighed dejectedly, her spirit obviously crumbling. "...and next up, we have Rainbow Dash. Congratulations..." Vice-Principal Luna walked up behind her sister and patted her back, trying to comfort her.
The rainbow-haired graduate sauntered onto the stage with a cocky grin, took the certificate, then walked up to the microphone. "I would like to thank myself for being awesome and Sunset for being a bitch. To those who want to hang out with me after school, too bad. I'm too awesome."
Celestia's shoulders sagged even further as she watched Rainbow run off stage and exit the theater, throwing up the middle finger before she closed the door. "What happened, Sister?"
"I do not know."
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Seven colorful women sat in a cafe, each wearing weary expressions. Six of which have no idea why they are feeling such things. Nobody knew this then, but this will be the last time the seven of them will be together. The tense silence was broken by the waitress bringing their order.
"Alright, I'm just going to say it. Ever since graduation, this, us, has been strained." Rainbow exclaimed, standing up to make her announcement seem more important.
"Quite right, darling."
"Agreed."
"Yepperinee!"
"Umm...I guess."
"I don't see anything wrong?"
"Uhh..."
"So I propose, every woman for themselves. We can keep in contact and all, but it's time to pursue our dreams! Speaking of which, I need some money to get into this school." Rainbow smiled sheepishly, but still had that defiant look in her eyes. Sunset cocked her head, wondering how this'd play out.
"What kind of school?" Twilight leaned forward, suddenly interested in the conversation.
"Uhh, an astronaut school. It's been my dream for a while, all I need is money." Rainbow struck a pose. "And there's no need to worry about me getting in, I'm too awesome to be denied!"
"I'll give you some money. But this is only for educational purposes! Nothing else!" Twilight stared at the cyan woman, trying to make her point across.
"I have spare money too...if you want it, that is." Fluttershy muttered, much to Rainbow's glee.
"Y'all ain't takin' my money, need it for the farm and all."
"Same goes with me, darling. My money goes to Sweetie Belle and my dresses."
"Parties are expensive, ya know?"
"Sunset?" Rainbow looked at the only one who hadn't spoken. An unspoken plea in her eyes.
"I'll think on it."
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All the girls attended Rainbow Dash's leaving party, courtesy of Pinkie. Despite how awkward it was, everybody still had fun. Once the festivities were over, they all watched as their loyal friend took off in a taxi to who knows where. She decided to tell nobody where this astronaut school was, driving Twilight up the wall.
Sunset watched the girls watch the taxi. She didn't see a hint of regret or sadness in any of their eyes, including Fluttershy's. Once Pinkie decided that the party was over, everybody packed up and left in record time. Sunset also decided to take her leave and waved goodbye to the humming pink woman cleaning up. When Sunset rounded the corner, she bumped into another person.
This was no ordinary person; his skin glowed red and he had an impressive white mohawk and beard. His bulk was visible through his black skin-tight clothing, but the most unnatural thing about him was his eyes. Evil yellow pinpricks while the rest were pure black. Sunset couldn't make out any other features as he brushed past her.
Sunset shook her head, convincing herself that whatever evil thing she saw was not true. Her mind quickly focused on other things, once she had gotten farther away from her friends. Reaching into her pockets, wanting to buy snacks from the market, she instead found a card. Like those ones companies use to advertise. Sunset pulled it out of her pocket and looked at what it said; Meet me at Rolled Tavern. Midnight, tonight.
Sunset mulled it over, fidgeting with the card, wondering if she trusted it. What annoyed her the most, though, was that her money was gone. Flinging the business card into a trash can, the orange woman trudged back with a heavy scowl, scaring away others.
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An easy mission, he said. Easy as pie, he said. Sunset growled, ready to punch that mysterious man. In the end, she went to the tavern and found it was an Ogre and Oubliettes center. In the far back, there sat the giant man. After a short talk, Sunset found herself outside an academy. Her mission was to infiltrate the premise and change some papers around. The orange woman had no idea what was inside the folder, and if she opened it, it would make the fleet captain nervous.
Numbers were counted underneath Sunset's breath. When one was spoken, she rushed out and did a quick roll so she could make it to cover fairly quickly. Security guards and cameras roamed the airfield, as is protocol. Sunset sighed once again before taking off, dodging and weaving between cover and shadows. Once she made it to the wall she was aiming for, she looked up.
Three floors up, lay a window. A window that Sunset needed to sneak into. Using some of her skills from Camp Everfree, she climbed upwards, using pipes and ledges. It took many minutes and some bruises on Sunset's arms and legs, but she made it to the window. A quick jimmy and the window opened. The trespasser smiled and snuck stealthily to the fleet-captain's desk. It took some rummaging, but Sunset managed to find the envelope and switched it with hers. Her job was now complete and now it was time to leave.
The next day, Captain Spitfire opened the seal envelope and looked at the accepted cadets. One of which was Rainbow Dash.
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Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash sat on the cold floor, with nothing between the metal and space suit. Sunset glared at her opponent, then looked at her cards. She had a seven of hearts, an ace of spades, an ace of diamonds, a king of diamonds, and a three of clubs. The odds weren't looking good in her favor.
"All in!" Sunset decided to bluff, her cocky grin masking her doubts.
Rainbow smirked back, "I call! Time to see who wins!"
Sunset groaned as she flipped her cards, revealing nothing of interest. Rainbow grinned even wider when she showed off her royal flush. The astronaut chuckled as she reaped her rewards, grabbing the rations that were placed in the pot.
"How are you so good at this!?" Sunset cried, looking mournfully at her rations.
"Because I'm awesome." Rainbow started sorting through her prizes, putting them in piles of good and not good. "Hey Sunset, I've been thinking."
"Shoot, it's not like we've got anything better to do."
"Well, I've been wondering how you got here, snuck onto the ship I mean." The rainbow-haired woman heaved herself up and took a seat. The bacon-haired woman followed her example.
"Well I think that's pretty simple. I own this company."
"I...I'm sorry...what!?" Rainbow spluttered, almost falling out of her chair.
"Yep, I bought Brillar Space Tech a while ago. Pinkie thought it was a good way for me to get to you, and she was right." Sunset murmured. "Though I didn't expect to find myself in space."
"Wha...Pinkie...space...WAIT!" Rainbow perked up, as if she had come up with a brilliant idea. "You're in space right now, do you feel ay side effects? You haven't take the year long course, prepare your body! Do you know what you have to do when we land..." she faltered once she saw Sunset's expression. "What else have you been doing!? How does Pinkie know about this? Who else have you been talking to? Is Fluttershy okay? Twilight?"
Sunset held up a hand, stopping Rainbow. "Rainbow Dash. Everything is alright, everybody is doing alright. As for Pinkie knowing, that was me. I've been trying to get the gang back together. Visiting one by one, making them see reason. Once you're done with this mission, the girls and I would love to see you in Prance."
"Prance? That fancy place with wine and cheese and the Hoofel Tower? Why would I ever want to go there?"
"It's where Pinkie Pie has her bakery. She's quite proud of the place. You should see the lines on the weekends! It stretches for miles, it annoys the other shops to no end." Sunset chuckled.
"Well, then of course I'll come! I'm not leaving my friends hanging again!" Rainbow declared, then the cockpit fell silent.
"Wanna play again?"
"Sure."
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Over the next few years, Rainbow Dash visited the girls and they did the same. While the months breezed past, everybody had stable jobs and their lives were ultimately happier than they ever were. During that time, Sunset and Pinkie tried to come up with a way to visit Rarity and try to find out where she was located. For some reason, nobody could find any dirt on her, including Dirty Secret.
Sunset was hanging out with Twilight, working on a science experiment when she got the news. The Zephyr 13 rocket ship's oxygen tank blew, killing three of its crew members. Rainbow Dash, Everwhite, and Rich Coffee all perished, and Brillar Space Tech will be holding a funeral service in two days.
The girls were crushed, and Sunset went overtime, trying to locate Rarity. But when the day for the funeral came upon them, she had to give up her search.
"We are gathered her in honor of three of our astronauts who bravely went into space knowing the risks." Captain Spitfire of the legendary space team; Wonderbolts, stood at the podium. Other astronauts, the surviving members of the Zephyr 13 and those who knew the three, stood in crisp salutes.
"Rainbow Dash was known for her eagerness to explore and her loyalty to her colleagues. Her rainbow hair was a staple in the hallways after a couple of years of working here. I was her friend and will miss her dearly." Behind Spitfire a picture of Rainbow Dash in her uniform was projected. In the crowd that came to pay homage, Sunset saw Windy Whistle and Bow Hothoof holding each other, crying softly. Nearby, Scootaloo was bawling while her aunts, Holiday and Lofty, held her. The girls, minus Rarity, were quietly shaking and hugging each other. Pinkie's hair lost its poofiness. Fluttershy looked like she hadn't slept in days. Applejack was holding her stetson over her chest and her head was lowered, and Twilight just stared in silence. Sunset, herself, was shaking her head, tears rolling down her cheeks.
The funeral service continued, Spitfire paying her respects to Everwhite who was a veteran spacefarer, and Rich Coffee, who was a rookie. Family and friends of the two all showed their grief in many ways, bawling or crying softly. There were many hugs and handshakes, even between strangers, because in this moment, they were all the same. People who lost someone important to them and needed comfort.
The funeral service ended with three mini-rockets, each with something that belonged to the astronaut they represent, and shot it into space. The people below watched as the three specks of light grew ever dimmer.