Twin trails of storm clouds streaked across Ponyville's afternoon sky as two pegasi in blue and yellow uniforms flew over. One of the two mares sported a fiery mane while the other's mane was completely devoid of color. They were headed straight for Sweet Apple Acres.
"Fleetfoot, are you sure we shouldn't just go talk to the Princess first?" the first mare shouted over the sound of rushing air.
"Um, uh… Yeah, Captain! I-I mean I met one of the Apples before! He's—I mean—they're great!" Fleetfoot stumbled as she gave Spitfire a squeeworthy smile.
Spitfire rolled her eyes before veering down towards the orchard. An orange mare bucking a tree caught her eye and she led Fleetfoot down to her. The duo stirred up a cloud of dirt as they heavily landed in front of Applejack.
The blonde pony coughed as she swiped at the oppressive dust with her hat. Once the dirt settled enough for her make out the uninvited guests, her mood soured. "What in the hay do you want?" she spat as she put her hat back on.
Spitfire cast an accusatory glance at a sheepish Fleetfoot before turning back to Applejack. "We came to pay Rainbow Dash a visit, but the hospital said that she was discharged already. They said you were there, so we came to ask you if you knew where she was."
"Y'all got some nerve!" Applejack snapped as she poked Spitfire in the chest. "Haven't y'all done enough to Dash already!?"
"Excuse me?" Spitfire struggled to keep her cool as she swatted Applejack's hoof away.
"Y'all're the reason Rainbow Dash lost her wing!" the farm pony accused as she glared at Spitfire. "She got hurt in that competition of yers just 'cause she was tryin' so danged hard to impress y'all. She always dreamed of being one of y'all, but you were too blind to recognize that she was better than any of you!" By the time Applejack finished her terse rant, Spitfire and Fleetfoot both looked quite abashed. "Get off'a my farm," she ordered as she turned back to the tree she was apple bucking.
"Fine, we'll go," Spitfire allowed in as even a voice she could muster. "But first I need to ask you where—"
"I said get!" Applejack raged as she bucked the tree hard enough to crush the bark, leaving two hoofprints in the trunk.
Spitfire and Fleetfoot recoiled a bit from Applejack's impressive feat of strength. Although reluctantly, Spitfire spread her wings and took off as Fleetfoot followed suit.
"Yeah, the Apples are great," Spitfire spitefully accused Fleetfoot as she led the silver-maned pony away from the scary earth pony and towards the town's library.
"I don't see how his sister could be so…mean," Fleetfoot muttered.
After a trip to the vacant library, the two Wonderbolts were forced to resort to asking the ponies on the streets. Thankfully, it didn't take too long before a wall-eyed mare told them where to find Fluttershy's cottage. A short trip later and the costumed duo found the rustic cottage. Quite bizarrely, there seemed to be quite the ruckus coming from within. Spitfire didn't waste any time wondering about it as she rapped on the door with a hoof.
After a few seconds a yellow mare opened the door just a crack and peeked out. "Oh, um… Can I help you?"
"We were told we might be able to find Rainbow Dash here," Spitfire told the buttery mare.
"Y-yes," Fluttershy affirmed. "Rainbow Dash is here."
"Can we talk to her?" the white-maned Wonderbolt asked.
"In private," Spitfire added.
Fluttershy nodded as she ducked back into her cottage. A few seconds later Fluttershy reopened the door as she wheeled a reluctant Rainbow Dash out. The wheelchair-bound mare was more than a little ashamed to be in front of her heroes while she was in such a sorry state, especially considering she couldn't fly.
"C-Captain Spitifire, Fleetfoot," Rainbow Dash sputtered as Fluttershy retreated back into the cottage.
"I have to say: I'm impressed you got out of the hospital so quickly," Spitfire praised in an attempt to break the ice. When Rainbow didn't respond right away, she pointed a hoof. "Why don't we go somewhere a little more private?"
Rainbow nodded and Fleetfoot rolled her to a nearby tree that Spitfire guided them to. Sitting down, Spitfire sighed. "We're starting our training next week at the Cloudsdale Cloudiseum. Since we were nearby I thought I'd pay you a visit to see how…how you were doing. I was pretty surprised when your doctor told me you'd been discharged."
"I um…" Fleetfoot stammered as she walked around in front of Rainbow Dash. "Spitfire let me come along because…well, I wanted a chance to apologize to you face-to-face. I-I should have been faster. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to catch you in time. If only I was just a little faster…"
Spitfire silenced Fleetfoot by putting a hoof on her silver-maned pegasus's shoulder. Giving her a stern look, Spitfire nodded to Fleetfoot. Once Fleetfoot was calmed down, she hung her head. "I'm so sorry Rainbow Dash."
"No, I'm sure you tried your best," Rainbow absolved Fleetfoot. "Besides, it was my fault anyway."
Fleetfoot and Spitfire looked at each other before turning their eyes back to Rainbow Dash. "What do you mean by that?" Spitfire inquired.
"Well, I mean…I fell, right?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I, uh, I can't remember anything that happened that day."
Spitfire sighed angrily as she facehooved. "I can't believe they didn't tell you," she grumbled.
Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide. "What do you mean?"
"You didn't just fall," Spitfire informed Dash as she looked away. Celestia, she really didn't want to have to be the pony to tell Rainbow Dash what happened to her. That doctor of hers was going to get one hay of an earful after this. "Do you know where this came from?" she asked as she pointed to the stitches on the side of Dash's head.
"It's from the fall, right?"
Spitfire shook her head. "You got that before you fell. It's what caused you to fall in the first place," she spoke with a bit of ire. "Somepony used the cover of the storm clouds to kick you hard enough to knock you out of the sky."
Rainbow Dash's mouth fell agape at the news. "Wh-wh-what?" she managed to choke out in disbelief.
"It wasn't your fault at all, Rainbow Dash," Fleetfoot assured. "I deserve some blame, but not you."
"Neither of you are to blame! It was all Lightning Dust's fault!" Spitfire snapped, letting her anger get the better of her. She breathed a few heavy breaths as she took in the shocked expressions of Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash. Well, hay, she mentally kicked herself for her lack of tact in breaking the news to Dash. "Yeah," she sighed. "Lightning Dust kicked you in order to win the competition. She's the one to blame for your wing."
Rainbow reached towards her lost wing, though her cast still prevented her hoof from reaching the stub itself. She was finding it a little hard to breathe as reality set in. Her emotions fought for dominance. On the one hoof, she was relief that she wasn't responsible for her own suffering removed her guilt, but she also felt a deep resentment the likes of which she had never before experienced. The last time she saw Lightning Dust—that she could remember—was when she nearly caused her friends to fall to their doom. Now...now she was the one made to fall to her doom. Sure, she survived the fall, but it came at the cost of her wing.
"Wh-why?" Dash whispered as she teared up and her hoof slipped off her cast.
"Why did she do it? To win the competition," Spitfire stated. "That's not to say she didn't regret it. She claims that she was sure somepony would catch you and, well, part of the reason we're here is that she wanted me to apologize to you in her stead."
"H-how can she do that!?" Dash shouted as her anger won out. "Doesn't she care about anypony else!?"
"Apparently not," Spitfire icily replied as she reached behind her wing before pulling out a couple of cards in her teeth. "The other reason we came out was to give you your prize," she explained as she set the passes in Rainbow's lap. "Lightning Dust was disqualified, that makes you the official winner of the competition." Rainbow just stared at the passes in her lap for several seconds before Spitfire spoke up again. "I know…it doesn't amount to anything considering what happened to you and all, but they are rightfully yours. If it's any consolation, you were a great flier. One of the best."
Rainbow Dash's anger melted away at Spitfire's praise. For years she had dreamed of Spitfire saying words very similar to those. Only with "are" in place of "were." The one little semantic change turned this situation from a dream come true into a living nightmare. The words pierced what was left of her hope and pride. She had what it took to be a Wonderbolt, but now she could never be one. Even Twilight said that her spell probably wasn't going to be able to let her fly like she could before.
As her anger and sorrow overflowed, Dash tried in vain to get her wheelchair to move only to discover that with only one foreleg she was stuck. "I-I-I just…I wanna go back inside! I wanna be alone!" she asserted as her voice cracked. More than anything she didn't want her heroes to see her crying, but she was unable to hold back anymore as the tears started to spill over.
"Take-take her back to the cottage!" Spitfire insisted as she turned away from Rainbow Dash. As Fleetfoot carted Dash away, Spitfire slammed one of her front hooves into the nearby tree with a frustrated grunt. A startled squirrel scurried out of the tree and towards the cottage drawing Spitfire's attention to Fleetfoot as she rolled Dash back inside.
I'm so awful at this kind of thing, she kicked herself as she flopped down onto her rear. She had set out to try and cheer Dash up, but had succeeded in doing the exact opposite. It wasn't just that she felt bad for the pegasus, either. Had Rainbow Dash learned some teamwork and humility she could have been a spectacular Wonderbolt. It really was a horrible loss, and not just for Rainbow Dash.
The sound of wings beating air drew Spitfire's attention as Fleetfoot landed next to her. "Well, that was…uh…" the white-maned pegasus trailed off.
"Awful."
"Yeah, awful," Fleetfoot agreed the instant Spitfire admitted her fault.
"I think we've caused enough trouble for one day," Spitfire rose with a sigh as she spread her wings. "Let's get to Cloudsdale."
Back in Fluttershy's cottage the festivities had come to an abrupt end. Twilight, Pinkie, Spike, and Rarity sat in relative silence after Fluttershy carted Rainbow Dash to another room. The prismatic pony was more upset than any of them could remember, save Twilight who saw her the day she awoke after losing her wing.
"My goodness, that was…dramatic," Rarity finally spoke as she removed her party hat.
"What in Equestria could the Wonderbolts have told Rainbow Dash to make her so upset?" Twilight wondered aloud.
"Does this mean the party's over?" Pinkie asked as she sent a pleading look over to the rest.
"I guess so," Twilight replied as she, too, removed her cone-shaped hat.
Poor Pinkie Pie removed her hat as she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "But-but Dashie was just starting to cheer up! She ate cake and punch! We were playing a bunch of great games! She was smiling and Dashie even laughed! She was the front of the conga line!"
"It's not like she could've been anywhere else in the conga line," Spike pointed out the obvious while completely missing the point of Pinkie's rant.
"Rainbow Dash really did seem to be in much better spirits until those Wonderbolts showed up," Rarity agreed with Pinkie.
Twilight nodded. "I concur, but…after that—whatever that was—I think Rainbow Dash might want to be alone for a while.
A pink mane poked into the room reluctantly followed by a timid face. "Um, I'm sorry everypony, but I-I don't think Rainbow Dash wants to party anymore."
"What happened?" Rarity asked as the group urged the yellow mare into the room.
"Oh, um…she really didn't say," Fluttershy mumbled. "But she did want to talk to you, Rarity."
Rarity looked around to the other ponies in the room before pressing a hoof to her chest. "Me?"
Fluttershy nodded.
"Not you or Twilight?"
Fluttershy shook her head.
Rarity drew a deep breath to psyche herself up before trotting towards the other room. "I'll do whatever I can to make her feel better!"
Her confidence quickly faded as she stepped into the kitchen and found Rainbow Dash sitting there with her head hung low. When Dash didn't acknowledge her presence, she cleared her throat, "Rainbow Dash, um…Fluttershy said that you wanted to talk to me?"
When Rainbow lifted her head, Rarity clearly saw the matted fur on her cheeks and the red, bleariness of her eyes. "H-hey, Rarity," Dash spoke in a weak voice that clearly struggled to remain even. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Why of course, darling," the elegant unicorn eagerly volunteered. "Whatever you need, Rarity can deliver!"
"Your little sister is really close to Scootaloo, right?" the cyan pegasus asked rhetorically as she held something out in her hoof. "Can you make sure Scootaloo gets these?"
Rarity used her aura to take the passes from Dash's hoof. "Consider it done," she assured as she took a moment to examine them. Before she could even begin to read them, an errant thought distracted her, eliciting a gasp. "Oh my goodness!"
Rainbow gave Rarity a quizzical look. "You're…excited about them?" she asked, her confusion eclipsing her more negative emotions for just a moment.
"Oh, these things? No. I have no idea what these are," Rarity dismissed as she motioned to the tickets. "I just remembered that I had promised to watch Sweetie Belle and her friends tonight. I got so caught up in you getting out of the hospital and the party—it just completely slipped my mind!" Rarity turned to leave, but stopped herself. "Silly me…was there anything you needed, darling?" she asked over her shoulder.
"No," Dash flatly replied. "Just…give them to Scootaloo."
As Rarity trotted back through, the awaiting group inundated her with questions. Since they all asked at once, it was impossible to make out a single word through the cacophony. "Easy girls!" she silenced them as she held up a hoof. "All she did was ask me to give these to Scootaloo," the purple-maned pony explained as she held up the tickets in front of her. "Some kind of passes of some sort."
"Couldsdale?" Twilight questioned as she studied the passes. "Did the Wonderbolts invite her to a show?"
"I don't know," Rarity admitted as she headed for the door. "As much as I would love to stay and chat, I absolutely have to go. I forgot that I was supposed to have Sweetie Belle and her friends tonight for a sleepover. If I don't get back to boutique before they do, I might not have a boutique to go back to!"
"Aww, don't say that!" Pinkie insisted. "I take care of the twins all the time and they might be a hassle, but it's not like they've ever destroyed anything like a bunch of stage props, a hardware store, Fluttershy's table, fancy gold fabric stuff, a gazebo, a designer sweater, a couple of floats, an entire town's reputation, a crafts tent at the fair, the art of cooking…"
"Um…Pinkie Pie?" Spike irately interrupted as he pointed at the wide-open door. "Rarity ran off in a panic around 'gazebo.'"
"I said: 'it's not like!'" Pinkie uselessly shouted out the door after Rarity.
Twilight just rolled her eyes at Pinkie's antics. At least the party pony was taking the ruination of Dash's party better than expected. "Do you have any idea what those tickets were?" Twilight asked as she nudged Fluttershy.
"They…looked like the prizes for winning the competition," Fluttershy replied. "I, um…I don't actually know who won, but I thought it was going to be somepony else."
Twilight touched a hoof to chin as she contemplated the situation. "If Rainbow Dash won, then why would she give her prize away like that? Do you think it's because of whatever the Wonderbolts said?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't know."
The purple pony sighed as she resigned. "Okay, just let us know if Rainbow Dash tells you anything," Twilight requested as she turned towards the door. "Come on, Spike. We should try to get some work done on those spells."
"I'll be back tomorrow to cheer Dashie up some more!" Pinkie announced as she followed Twilight.
"Take care," Fluttershy demurely called after her friends.