//------------------------------//
// Precious Wings 
// Story: Eljunbyro 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

	"For real?  You never saw a single one before me?"

Pilate and Bellesmith both shook their heads.  "Mmmm-mmmm..."

"But, like, you heard of them before, right?"

"Only in legend," Pilate said.  "It's just like we knew that alicorns existed."

"And evidently they still do," Belle added.

"True."  The zebra nodded as they gradually trotted into an open clearing in the bushes.  "But just as with alicorns, pegasi have not been witnessed in Ledomare for several ages."

"I wonder why that is?"  Rainbow Dash remarked, shrugging as she hovered along.  "And, y'know, this goes for most of the lands I've visited since I set out from Equestria."

"Uh huh..."

"It's like nopony's ever seen or heard of a winged pony before.  I mean... heh..."  Rainbow Dash smirked.  "I don't mind the attention and dropping a few jaws here or there..."

"A few...?"  Belle remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, a lot of jaws!"

"Heeheehee..."

"But I also kind of always wanted to wow ponies by... y'know... by being me.  There's more to me than just being a pegasus."

"You're just a really fast, colorful pegasus."  Belle flippantly uttered.

Pilate leaned in.  "I'll have to believe you on the 'colorful' part."

"Oh hush."

"Pegasi have always kept to themselves, I guess," Rainbow Dash said with a shrug.  "I just kind of thought we would have branched out in the world more."

"Right..."

"Most of our major cities are built to be moved around via the winds.  So, I'd think that there'd be a major cloud community of pegasi hanging out somewhere in the world, shooting the breeze, keeping it real..."

"You mean like the lost city of Stratopolis?"

"Stratopolis is a myth," Rainbow Dash droned.

"Maybe there's something about pegasi in general," Bellesmith said.  "Something that makes them rare... hard to find..."

"Or—heck—maybe when I reach the end of the world, I'll see a whole bunch of them all gathered together, running a super cool empire that runs on radicalness and awesome!"

"Or maybe they're just endangered," Pilate mused.

"Pilate!"

"What?  I'm just being realistic!"

"Hey, I'm cool with that too."  Rainbow Dash shrugged and smiled.  "I don't mind being one of a kind, so long as ponies admire me for more than my wings."

"The way you speak, you make it sound like you want to make a huge impression on the world, Rainbow," Belle said, amusedly.

"Hey! Some things can't be helped."  Rainbow Dash rubbed her blue tummy.  "Lunch, on the other hoof, is another story."

"I'm inclined to agree," Belle said.  She paused in her tracks and gestured towards the sunlit space between thick clusters of trees.  "This seems like a nice place for a rest before we approach nightfall."

"We only have so many loaves of bread left, beloved," Pilate said in a neutral tone.  "Wouldn't it be best if we conserved a bit?"

"I think I've got the right solution!"  Rainbow Dash grinned, hovering low beside her friends.  "I saw some fruit trees about twenty minutes back."

"Fruit?"

"At least I think I did."  Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin, then brightened.  "Tell you what, I'll speed on over there and come back lickety-split!  Should be nice to bite into something sweet for once after all that stale bread."

"Hey, it's the stale bread you had us steal, remember!"

"Right!  And I'm gonna make it up to ya!  Just sit down, have a breather, and I'll be back before you can quote the Ledomaritan Pledge of Allegiance or whatcrap."

"But... uhm... we don't have a Pledge of—"

"Just sit your stupid flanks down!  Goddess!"  Rainbow Dash blurred away.

"Careful!"  Belle shouted after her as she and Pilate squatted in the warming sunlight.  "Don't fly too high!  Keep using the foliage as cover!"

"I'll look both ways before crossing the forest too!  Yeesh!"  And Rainbow Dash was gone in a flurry of chuckles.

"You know..."  Pilate began—

"Yes, yes..."  Belle sighed.  "So help me if I worry about her all the time."

"I think it's charming," Pilate said.  "But I doubt she would."

"Perhaps it's karma, Pilate."

"In what way?"

"Rainbow's done nothing but worry about us for so long."  Belle smiled as she brushed an errant leaf or two out of the zebra's mane.  "Don't you think it's about time she let it rest?"