//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: Ein Sof Zealotry // by ZhaoZoharEX //------------------------------// Original Title: Pathfinders This chapter is part of the older version of "Ein Sof Zealotry" and is to be considered non-canon in lieu of the pending rewrite. This along with the rest of the old story remain for the purpose of comparison. Twilight and Canvas were sitting in a little diner in the proximity of the campus. Despite her resolve to get up early every day Twilight was anything but a morning pony and she was trying to beat this disadvantage with copious amount of coffee; counting those she drank in the castle, she was currently downing her fourth cup and didn’t plan to stop anytime soon. One advantage of her new alicorn metabolism was huge immunity towards poisoning. Canvas, however, seemed to be her exact opposite. Seeing all the bubbly energy springing from the younger mare Twilight opted to secretly order decaf for her. One Pinkie to deal with is enough, thank you very much. When Canvas sent her a letter stating she had something to show her, Twilight planned to simply show up at school sometime, dealing with the matter quickly as she didn’t have much free time at hoof. When she handled some annoying meetings with nobles that day however, she reconsidered. Her friends should receive all the attention, not just because she needed them, but because they were her friends in the first place. She was horrified by the rate at which she started acting like Celestia. Thankfully, she snapped out of it quickly enough. As a result, she invited Canvas to a small breakfast the next Saturday after which they would go to the school for whatever reason Canvas had. When her advisors caught on her plans, they tried to deter her from doing so, claiming it could be seen as favouritism by some and that a princess shouldn’t spend time with commoners in that way. As a response they received discharge notices for inappropriate opinions on ruling and Twilight started researching how to take a protege in other courses of study than magic. “It must be perfect being princess! Everypony showing you respect, deciding about laws, maids taking care of your dresses and mane… Not to mention what I heard about the castle confectioners!” In Twilight’s opinion not even Rarity was so ecstatic about Twilight’s new status. What’s more, Canvas was genuinely happy for Twilight, not for herself. That made it harder for Twilight to cool that excitement down. “Everything isn’t just fun and roses, Canvas. Too much attention can get bothersome just as easily as its lack there of and most of the laws I get to decide are silly nonsenses.” Upon seeing the downcast look Canvas was giving her, she tried to find something positive about her situation. “There are some nice ponies in the castle though and I do get to help to normal ponies at least a bit. Nothing compared to what we plan, but still. Plus, you are right about the confectioners, the sweets are exquisite. These though,” she said and took a bite of her cherry cake, “are pretty close to them.” She said the last bit loud enough for the surrounding ponies to hear and threw a smile and a wink to the mare owning the establishment. Canvas followed Twilight’s example and returned to her own assortment of sweets. After a while she looked back up at Twilight. “I would still like to be a princess. Then one day a prince would come and rescue me from a great peril and we would live happily ever after.” She sighed, a dreamy look in her eyes. Twilight couldn’t but giggle at the state her companion found herself in. “As far as I know the only prince around is Blueblood and you certainly wouldn’t want- Canvas? Is everything okay?” The younger mare suddenly paled and started to tremble, Twilight reaching her hoof across the table and grabbing one of Canvas’. That did the trick and Canvas calmed a bit, still looking to the side as to not meet Twilight’s eyes. “Yeah, I would rather jump into a gorge than marry Prince Blueblood,” she said quietly, but stopped trembling completely upon that. Twilight didn’t retract her hoof though, squeezing a little. “Did you react to his name like this?” Upon a nod, Twilight’s temper started to raise. “Did he hurt you somehow, Canvas?” Another, yet more reluctant nod. “Tell me what he did and I will see to him being banished if not more!” she said with more force than she intended, causing Canvas to start trembling again. “It… it doesn’t matter now. You can’t do anything about it anymore and it would hurt more ponies. I-I will tell you what happened, just not today, okay? Please?” Twilight could see tears and realised she was more likely than not the cause. Biting her lip, she decided to back down. “Sorry. I won’t push you to anything. Just know that you have friends and we will defend you no matter what, okay?” Earning yet another nod, this time accompanied with a small smile she pulled her hoof back. “Good. Would you like something else from here? A milkshake maybe?” Once they finished their food and drinks they started on their way to the campus, Twilight insisting on paying the bill despite Canvas’ protests. She also left a generous tip. Getting closer to their destination, Canvas noticed Twilight’s troubled expression. “What’s the matter, Twilight? I thought you liked schools?” she said with a giggle. “I do, but I don’t like places with too many ponies. They tend to… overreact to my presence as of late.” “Ahh don’t worry, ponies here are really pleasant, I am sure they won’t make too big deal of-” “Princess Sparkle!” a pony jumping up from a bench exclaimed and ran inside the building as quickly as he could. “Or maybe they will hehe.” Canvas rubbed the back of her head sheepishly at Twilight’s deadpan look upon the remark. Few seconds later a literal stampede of ponies ran towards the duo; the news was obviously spreading fast. At the head of the horde ran an elderly brown earth pony who just got out of his bed, judging by the state of his mane. “Princess Twilight Sparkle! What an honor for our school that you are visiting us! I am so sorry that we didn’t give you a proper welcome, the thing is we didn’t have a slightest clue that you were to come!” he rattled as he bowed in front of Twilight. The others around joined in, causing a cacophony in which not a single word could be understood. Twilight frowned at the spectacle, having feared just that course of events. After the noise died down a little, she gave them a sign to rise and the first speaker continued. “Of course we will have treats ready for you in a minute, just follow me into my office. Then we will give you a tour of the campus.” He started trotting back to the building, assuming Twilight would follow. She, however, didn’t. “Principal Brusher!” she called behind the retreating stallion, who stopped on the spot. She beckoned him back and in a quieter voice continued. “This isn’t an official royal visit. I’m here on invitation of my friend Acrylic Canvas. She wanted to show me her work and that has priority in my program. However, I am sure your school is in the best condition and if you so please we can turn this into an official visit later on. I definitely won’t mind a tour once my business is complete.” Hearing that, the stallion grinned widely and galloped into the building, probably to prepare everything to the best of his ability. Canvas stared at Twilight openmouthed, trying to comprehend what happened. “Wow. I thought I lost you to them for a moment. How did you manage to turn him down without hurting anypony’s feelings?” “You know such things when you are a princess,” Twilight replied with a grin. “Now then, where is that surprise you wanted to show me?” Canvas led Twilight through the campus, not bothering to describe the place as Twilight would hear the same thing in a short time. They went straight to an old warehouse almost at the end of the areal. “This was the perfect place for it. I’m lucky the principal allowed me to use it. Come in, just be careful - there is a lot of rubbish lying around.” They navigated among the old boxes and cans and soon found themselves in an open and relatively orderly space. Twilight immediately spotted number of painting tools as well as sheets of sketches, but the most important item was covered with a big sheet of white linen. “Behold, I think it is my masterpiece, although it is far from finished.” The younger mare pulled the linen down and revealed a big canvas with huge amount of strange symbols upon it. Stepping a bit back Twilight realised they were organised in a circle and an outline of a gate of sorts could be made out. The symbols were elaborated with utmost care and precision and spoke of huge talent of their creator. “When I saw your works for the first time, I thought they were great. But this? This is breathtaking! You improved so much, I can only imagine how hard you have been working,” Twilight said turning to Canvas, admiration apparent in her voice. “Just one question: what is it?” Canvas blushed at the praise addressed to her and puffed her chest out proudly. “This is a task Scintillant gave me. It’s the gate of Elysium, Twilight. Once it is done, it will allow us to go to Elysium in flesh, not just in dreams!” She rubbed her left foreleg with her right one and turned her eyes to the ground sheepishly. “I’ve been working on it during all of my spare time, but if we need to hurry it, I think I could manage with a bit less sleep too.” Twilight took a closer look at some of the symbols and the similarity to signs she saw during her visits in Elysium was suddenly clear. She stepped to Canvas with a bright grin and lightly embraced her. “You are a great artist and help, and a very selfless friend, Canvas. You are doing just fine as it is, don’t suffer on our account. I’m very glad we met at the Boulevard all the months back.” “So am I, Twilight, you can believe me that. But we should get back to the principal or he will start searching for us. They rather shouldn’t find this.” Canvas didn’t move for a few more seconds, but then flinged the sheet back over her creation and trotted to the exit, followed closely by Twilight. “Hey, you want to see how a regal princess of Equestria gifts her subjects with her grace?” Twilight called to Canvas and grinned mischievously at her. Canvas bowed in mocking reverence, holding the door open and gesturing for Twilight to pass. “After you, Your Highness!” No matter how much she tried, Lightning Dust could not concentrate on anything since Spitfire presented an offer into the Wonderbolts. Should she decline or accept? What would happen to her new friends? These questions and more plagued her as she flew to Ponyville to seek guidance from Twilight Sparkle. Surely, she would know what to do. Once she arrived however, she realized she’d made a rather egregious blunder. “Dammit, I don’t even know where she lives. I can’t ask Rainbow Dash or she would suspect something. Hell, I don’t even know where she lives.” Lightning Dust walked through the town, growing somewhat bored with the simple, quiet atmosphere as she thought Ponyville seemed more tame than when Rainbow Dash talked about it. Of course, when she got to Sugarcube Corner she realized why as there was a party being hosted inside. As much as she didn’t want to have anything to do with it right now, she was pulled in by a pink pony that seemed oddly familiar to her. Lightning tried to sneak away but kept inadvertently getting sucked back in by partygoers who didn’t know what they were doing. She finally succeeded when everypony’s attention was on the music. “Well, that happened. What was I doing again? Oh right.” After an hour of getting lost in a town that wasn’t that large to begin with, she was ready to give up and wondered if she shouldn’t just fly back to the academy. As she took to the sky however, she saw a familiar pony at the train station: A fellow pegasus with two younger unicorns. She weighed her options and decided that since the pegasus was one of her new friends, she would know where Twilight lived, and thus, flew down to talk to her. “Uh, excuse me um…” Lightning began, but realized she didn’t remember her friend’s name. “Ditzy Doo dear. And you’re Lightning Dust if memory serves.” “Yeah, that’s right. I just saw you and I figured you could help me.” Ditzy nodded and gestured to her daughters to wait for her at the ticket booth. “What do you need?” “Well, see I’m looking for Twilight Sparkle. I have a complicated problem and I need her advice.” “Oh. I’m afraid she hasn’t been here for a couple of weeks.” “Where is she then?” Lightning asked nervously. “Canterlot. She is there for her princess duties.” “Figures…” “My girls and I are going there to see the theatre play if you want to come with us. I have enough money for four tickets. That raise in salary helped us tremendously.” “No, that’s okay. I don’t really want to go to Canterlot. Besides, I couldn’t let you spend money on me.” “Okay then. As for your problem, whatever you do, keep in mind that you will live with your actions. Are you comfortable with doing something? Then do it. If you are doubting if your choice is right, refrain from it.” “I don’t know if that really helps me,” Lightning mumbled to herself. Ditzy smiled and trotted to where her daughters were, Lightning Dust sitting down for a bit, pondering. When Ditzy purchased the tickets for her family, her curious younger filly asked her mother about the stranger. “Who was that?” Ditzy nuzzled her daughter as they got on the train. “One of mommy’s good friends who will be helping her soon.” Lightning overheard this and it struck something in her heart. She realized what she wanted to do now and she wasn’t going to go back on that decision. The determined pegasus spread her wings and took flight back to the academy with a newfound confidence. “Sorry Spitfire. I appreciate the offer, but I have something more important I need to do.” Stomping on the last obstructing branch and placing it down to finish her makeshift nest, Sunset made herself comfortable, gazing into the cloudless sky. The only sounds she could hear were chirping of birds and the wind in the leaves of surrounding bushes. She hid herself well, making sure nothing could give her location away to prying eyes. Not that there were many prying eyes in Everfree, just one pair. That was enough though. If she hoped that the cold welcome she received the first night she was staying in the cabin with Trixie was simply a result of grumpiness from being woken up, she was sadly mistaken. She tried to talk to her host the first thing in the morning, but was met with hateful stare and so backed down. Later that afternoon Trixie approached her alone and explained Sunset her status. Maybe I should have opted for royal dungeon instead. They would at least treat me with some respect! I hope she will never want to tell me something complicated; just saying ‘you are alive only because Twilight forbid me to hurt you and I will make you my slave’ took her long enough. The list of chores she was given wasn’t that long, but spending her entire life as a princess’ protege or an unofficial ruler of a high school didn’t prepare her for everyday life of common ponies. In her eyes she was working to exhaustion from sunrise to sundown. In her defense, Trixie wasn’t exactly a lenient overlord, demanding perfection even in the most insignificant tasks. What does it matter if the books aren’t in the alphabetical order all the time? She has three shelves of them, how hard can it be to find a stray one? After the incident on the first evening Sunset was allowed to read in Trixie’s collection freely, but she was surprised when she found out Trixie applied the rules of Royal library when manipulating with the books. Once she found Twilight Sparkle’s ex libris, she stopped wondering though. Such pettiness was just a beginning. Whatever Sunset did was considered subpar. Be it cleaning, preparing firewood or collecting herbs, Trixie was never satisfied. The only fields in which Sunset agreed with that judgment were magic and cooking. She tried very hard to get back in form, but her spells still lacked their former luster. With the cooking she didn’t try anymore. In fact, she cooked them one dinner and they both agreed to never repeat that experience again. To escape the cabin, which Sunset dubbed ‘Wooden Tartarus’, she often ventured into the forest, much to Trixie’s chagrin. The blue unicorn explained that the forest was full of deadly dangerous beasts and so Sunset shouldn’t go alone, but Sunset was sure Trixie simply wanted to keep control over her permanently and that a possibility of meeting a bunch of bloodthirsty beasts was worth fleeing from one such beast. Thus she continued her trips and Trixie continued finding her soon whenever she left. “Sunset!” an exclamation tore through the peace of Sunset’s hideout and snapped her out of her semi-slumber. Fifteen minutes. She must have been very busy when she didn’t notice for so long. Let her shout, she can’t find me here. Another exclamation echoed through the forest, but Sunset didn’t make any move to answer. She was confident that she located a perfect spot this time and that she would remain undisturbed for a sufficient time. Then all of a sudden a droplet of water fell into her mane, soon followed by few more. One perfectly aimed on her nose made her eye shoot open and she gazed into the now changed sky. Half gray, half light blue and bloody nuisance at that. Just like her. Sunset reluctantly got up and pushed through the bushes surrounding her hideout. She’s getting too good at that spell for my tastes too. Soon after Sunset’s arrival Trixie realized that Sunset wouldn’t ever answer to her calls, so she chose to chase her out of hiding through different means and train at the same time. As the days went she grew adept in creating rainclouds out of thin air and every time she tried she would cover a bigger portion of the surrounding forest. Sunset would then return soon. The plan worked without a hitch so far. “There you are,” Trixie called the moment Sunset stepped into the clearing. “I asked you not to go into the forest like that!” “You are not my mother, so stop acting that way!” Sunset stomped to the cabin and sneaked around Trixie to get inside. “Why are you calling me again? Can’t i have a moment for myself?” “You had several years for yourself in that other world as far as I know. You can help out a bit now.” Trixie motioned to the fireplace where a kettle with soup was warming up. “Keep an eye on that while I go find something more for dinner. If Twilight doesn’t send more supplies soon, I’ll have to ask Zecora to do some shopping for us. Again.” Sunset sniffed the soup and recoiled a bit, having gained a strong aversion to wild vegetable during her stay. What disgusted her even more was the notion of sitting there, watching the water boil. “Why don’t you watch your soup yourself? I can get us food just as well.” “I don’t like looking at or smelling singed undergrowth and after what you performed last time, I don’t believe you would keep from burning your path through. Besides, you wanted some time for yourself. Enjoy.” With that Trixie left the cabin, not paying any mind to grumbling Sunset. The mare now accompanied only by a less than desirable parody of soup sighed and levitated one of the books she hadn’t read yet to her and opened it to kill some time. Occasionally she would stir the soup a little, but otherwise she did nothing to interfere with cooking. Time went by and soon she noticed she read halfway through the book and there was still no sign of Trixie returning. That’s strange. I thought she would be back in a minute. Oh well, maybe she just ran into that zebra and got caught up in chat. She continued reading, but couldn’t help but glance at the clock every few minutes. After about half an hour, she shut her book and placed it back into the library, intentionally in a wrong place. “That’s it. I’m going to find her. That haughty dunce simply can’t exist on her own. What gives her the right to scold me,” she stated for nopony in particular since there wasn’t anypony but her. She removed the kettle from the fireplace and extinguished the fire, not wishing to burn the cabin down. Once outside she realized she didn’t have a slightest clue in which direction Trixie left. A moment later she noticed a wet sensation under her hooves; the ground turned into mud by Trixie’s magical rain. “Well well, at least something good from that damn spell.” She scanned the ground and soon recognized a trail of hoofprints leading away from the cabin. “There we go.” The trail soon vanished as the rain didn’t reach too far, but Sunset could now follow a path usually tread by wildlife. If Trixie turned away, the undergrowth would be disturbed. After some time of walking, slowly losing herself in thought, she spotted such place just few feet in front of her. It didn’t match the proportions of pony body, hinting instead toward a massive and wide beast. “Should I go that path? It looks like it is fresh, the plants are still green. Oh well, if I don’t find her there, I can look further. Also, it’s much more comfortable way too.” Sunset stepped on the new path, enough space for another pony on both her sides, and trotted deeper into the forest. Unhindered by pesky plants she could move much quicker and quieter, soon catching a strange clicking noise coming from in front of her. She crouched instinctively and sneaked forward, the noise growing louder and more menacing with each step. After a while another sound accompanied the clicking, this time sounding like a sobbing. Looks like I chose the right path. Dammit! She peeked through the leaves of a bush hiding her from sight and recoiled. On a small clearing with a single tree in the centre she could clearly see a gigantic scolopendra, red and yellow stripes on its chitinous segments, brown scrawny legs sprouting from each. It was leaning against the tree, huge claws waving in the air and mandibles causing the clicking that drew Sunset near. Among the leaves of the tree Sunset could make out a blue pony holding the trunk with all her might, probably having teleported up in an attempt to escape the monster. Now I understand why she didn’t return. But what should I do? I can’t just charge at- Her pondering was cut short as the monster gathered its strength and started moving up the trunk foot by foot. Trixie noticed the development as well and shrieked out in terror, knowing well that her end was nigh. “Oh no, you don’t!” Sunset shouted as she sprinted from her hiding spot and kicked one of the back segments of the monster with all her power, jumping away as soon as she hit. The scolopendra, not expecting the pain, leaned away from the tree and turned to take a better look at the new assailant. Sunset didn’t wait for it to regain its composure, jumped over its body and kicked it from the other side. Clicking of the mandibles intensified, the monster getting agitated by the turn of events. Its antennae swayed in a hypnotizing pattern, gathering as much information from the air as only possible, before the monster lunged forward with unexpected speed, aiming to seize Sunset with its claws. Sunset however expected the move, having read enough books about various crimes of nature to never underestimate such opponents, and with a quick flash of a light she teleported to the other side of the clearing, forcing the monster to turn around once more. She kicked again, this time aiming on the knees of two of the monster’s legs and managed to smash them. The wheezing scream the scolopendra produced confirmed how badly that hit hurt, but Sunset soon regretted it as it served only to angry the monster more. Dodging and jumping around, occasionally returning the attacks with her kicks she soon started losing her energy. This is a losing battle. No way can I keep up like this for too long. Sooner or later it will strike me. At that moment the scolopendra attacked again and Sunset knew she wouldn’t dodge in time. She closed her eyes and prepared for pain, but remembering the tales of heroes of old, she decided to at least utter her last words. “Stupid arthopod, burn in Tartarus!” Her horn glowed bright teal and wheezing and screeching filled the air of the clearing. Not feeling any pain, she tentatively opened her eyes. In front of her the scolopendra was thrashing on the ground, waving its legs and claws around, its whole body ablaze. She watched in awe as the movements slowed down, chitin detaching from the flesh and legs breaking in the heat. Soon there was nothing but a smoldering and smoking corpse. Sunset took a few seconds to calm her breathing, few chuckles escaping her lips, and slowly walked to the tree. Knocking on the trunk she called up: “Hello? Anypony home?” Not getting any response, she turned around, aiming carefully and giving the tree a powerful kick, similar to the ones reserved for the scolopendra. The tree shook and Trixie lost her grip, falling down back first. Just over the ground Sunset caught her in her magic and gently set her down. “It’s over now, Trixie. You can stop shaking,” she said with a smirk on her face, but stopped that as she saw Trixie still sobbing softly. “Come now, there is no danger anymore. Crying doesn’t suit your color well.” “You saved me. Thank you,” Trixie whispered. “Yeah, I kinda did. And if you haven’t found anything to eat yet, I heard that ponies in Neighpan eat roasted crickets. So I secured us dinner as well. Beat that, Trixie!” Catching at the attempt to lighten up the situation, Trixie decided to play along and jabbed her hoof into Sunset’s chest. “You also singed the forest again. I told you how I hate that smell!” Making their way home, they chose to settle with just the soup for the dinner. Soon after, they went to bed, being quite exhausted from the events of the day. Sleep, however, wasn’t coming for Sunset again, a typical occurrence for her after stressful day. “Trixie? Would you mind if I read for a while? I can’t sleep and I was in the middle of a book when I came to look for you.” Trixie reached with her magic toward the bookshelf, pulling out the one misplaced book and levitating it to Sunset. “Yeah, I don’t mind. Have fun.” She then turned to the wall and fell asleep in less than a minute. Rainbow Dash had not been back from her leave for half an hour yet before she was called in to Spitfire’s office for an “important announcement”. She didn't get the chance to see if Lightning Dust was back as Spitfire wanted to see her immediately. As she walked down the corridor to the captain’s office, she felt like the air was unusually tense. Upon coming to the door to the office, she attempted to knock, but was stopped by a voice on the other side. “Come in.” She obeyed and opened the door to find Spitfire and Soarin’ present on the other side. “Sit down Rainbow Dash. Would you like a drink?” Soarin’ offered. “Uh, no thanks. I’m good. What’s this all about?” Spitfire’s expressionless face softened into a smile. “Rainbow Dash, I’m going to be quite frank with you, we have already went through this before with somepony else. We would like to offer you a position into the Wonderbolts.” Rainbow’s eyes widened and gained the largest expression of joy the captain had ever seen. “Me? A Wonderbolt? Really?” “Yes. You placed second in the exam and you’ve already proven many times to us you have what it takes to be a Wonderbolt,” Spitfire confirmed. “And well, you’ve set an example for many of us as well,” Soarin’ added. Rainbow was the happiest mare in the world as she was listening. This had been her life’s dream and now it was coming true. All her hard work was coming to fruition, her hopes realized, it was difficult for her to control her excitement. “OhmygoshohmygoshOHMYGOSH! This is amazing! I get to be part of the Wonderbolts!” Rainbow Dash let out a squee that made even the seasoned captain giggle in amusement. “I have to admit though, it took awhile to get this information to you. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you weren’t our first choice.” Rainbow stopped in confusion. “What?” “We had another in mind, but they decided to decline. However, they brought up some good points in recommending you.” “Oh. Okay, I’m cool with that. But if I could ask, who was your first choice?” Spitfire’s smile suddenly slid off her face and it was replaced with a forlorn expression. She hesitated before she answered her new teammate’s question. “Lightning Dust.” The tension that was present at that moment was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Rainbow Dash now shared her captain’s expression as she realized why Lightning Dust had been so quiet in the recent days before her leave. “She… passed up a position in the Wonderbolts?” “That is correct,” Spitfire responded. “But… Her family…” “I’m just as confused as you are, Rainbow Dash. I never expected her to turn such an opportunity down like that, especially considering her situation. Come to think of it though, when I gave her the offer, she was really hesitant about it.” “I see.” The room was quiet for several long seconds. It was Soarin’ who broke the awkward silence. “Uh listen, when Lightning Dust recommended you in her place, she had so many great things to say about you. The both of you are our top cadets and I believe every word of hers.” “Yeah,” Rainbow Dash responded devoid of energy. Soarin’ glanced at Spitfire with a pleading look, and Spitfire nodded slowly. “Hey, why don’t I walk with you? I can talk with you about whatever you need. Okay?” Rainbow Dash looked up into the stallion’s eyes and his face somewhat lightened her mood. “Yeah. A walk might help me clear my mind.” Soarin’ escorted Rainbow Dash out of the office. As the door closed, Spitfire grinned and shook her head. “Soarin’, you were always better with words than I.” Rainbow Dash and Soarin’ started to walk around the academy, the former deciding to take the scenic route since it was a longer path. Along the walk, Soarin’ listened as Rainbow Dash talked about what was bothering her. While he was concerned at first why Lightning would reject the offer into the Wonderbolts, he would be lying if he said the turn of events completely saddened him. Sure, he worried about Lightning Dust’s situation, but he carried an interest in the mare he was currently talking to and somewhat preferred her company. “...And I just don’t understand why she would turn down something like that. She’s a good flyer and an even better friend.” “Well, maybe she doesn’t feel like she’s ready yet. She might be wanting to improve herself more to make sure it sticks. I mean the whole reason she was disowned in the first place was because of her behavior, right?” “Sort of. It was more because of her reckless actions at the time. But she told me how much she loves her family and she misses them. And it just boggles the mind that… Well, I’ll have to talk to her about it. I want to hear it from her. And… I want to thank her for recommending me.” “Whatever her reason, she still thought of you when she did it. I think in a situation like this, a good friend can help you through your darkest times.” “Yeah, I know that feeling.” Rainbow Dash grew silent for a moment before speaking up again. “I uh, have a good friend who lives in Ponyville who really helped me out a lot. I just wish I was a better friend to her.” “Was this the same friend you talked about at the wedding reception?” “Oh that’s right, you were there. I forgot about that. But yes, I let her down that day and I’ve been trying my hardest to make it up to her. Some Element of Loyalty I am…” Soarin’ stopped and placed his hoof on her shoulder, causing Rainbow Dash to stop. “We all have low points in our lives. Lightning Dust pushed too far with that tornado, Spitfire still laments letting it get that far and she herself isn’t without her faults. Trust me, I have to work with her.” Both pegasi chuckled a bit. “Even myself. To tell you the truth, I never wanted to be a Wonderbolt in the first place.” Rainbow gained an incredulous look upon hearing this. “What?” “I’m probably not the best example for this kind of subject, but when I was younger, I had kind of an overbearing mother who expected great things from me. I love her a lot and I know she wanted the best for me, but she would often sign me up for things without my input, such as high school debate team, community service, etcetera. I wanted to be a good son and please my mother so I would go along with them. One day, she came to me and said ‘hey, why don’t you try out for the Wonderbolts? I got this enrollment form from my friend.’ I’ve gone with her on many things, but this was kind of pushing it. I said ‘mom, I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think I really want to do this,’ and she said ‘well, I already signed you up,” and I was like WHY do we even have these conversations?” Rainbow Dash chuckled more as she listened to his story. “We talked a bit more and she asked for me to try for at least one week and if I didn’t like it by the end of the first week, I could leave. So I gave it a shot.” “And?” “Well, let me put it like this: I wasn’t exactly an athletic colt in my youth. I wasn’t the lean stallion you see me now. I hated physical activity and I hated my mother for making me do it. A lot of our letters to each other consisted of arguments. I was ready to quit by the end of the week until…” Soarin’ paused and took a long drawn out breath. “Until she died in an accident.” “Oh… I’m sorry.” “It’s alright. But after she died, I felt terrible that our last conversation consisted of ‘I hate you’ and ‘old hag’ and stuff that I didn’t really mean and had no business saying. After her funeral, I made a decision to continue her Wonderbolt wish, in her honor. It was kind of tough for me but after awhile, I grew to genuinely enjoy it. Nowadays, the Wonderbolts are like family to me. Spitfire is one of my best friends now. Anyway, my point is sometimes you have to fall before you can truly rise. There are times where you need to fail in order to see your true potential. Know what I’m saying?” “Kind of, yeah. I appreciate the concern, but I think I should go talk to Lightning Dust now. I’ll see you later.” Rainbow Dash began to walk back to her room, Soarin’ standing and smiling. The cyan mare made it a few steps before her new teammate called out to her. “Wait a second Rainbow Dash.” She stopped and glanced at him, curious what made him call. Soarin’ took a second to collect his thoughts and figure out what he was going to say and how to say it. “Uh, sometime when you have some free time, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe grab some lunch or maybe dinner,” Soarin’ began with an anxious smile. “You know, just the two of us.” It took a moment to sink in what this stallion was asking, but when it did, her cheeks turned a rosy red. She talked with this stallion a few times before, at the Best Young Flyer Competition, the Grand Galloping Gala, and recently at the royal wedding’s reception, and whenever she did he would always compliment her generously. This wasn’t anything new to her as she got praise all the time; things like ‘you’re awesome’, usually from a certain orange filly she was fond of. But she’d never heard it phrased this way before. This was traveling into unfamiliar territory. And yet, it was territory she didn’t particularly mind traveling towards. “Sure, why not? B-but not tonight! I’m going to be a bit busy.” Rainbow Dash suddenly panicked and retreated in a haste. Geez, I’m acting like Fluttershy now. Still, I wouldn’t mind talking to him again. Something about him is kind of pleasant. She shook her head to clear it of these distracting thoughts. I can think about that later, first things first. As she came to her room and approached her door, she knew for a fact that Lightning Dust was in the room and she steeled herself for what she was about to ask her friend. Turning the knob and opening the door slowly, she earned a glance from her roommate. After stepping inside and closing the door behind her so they would have some privacy, Rainbow Dash finally asked her the question that had been on everypony’s mind the entire day. “Why?” Lightning Dust had apparently expected this and responded without missing a beat. "Because it is your dream." "But this was your big chance! Why are you just throwing it away?!" Rainbow Dash would’ve gone further, but she was stopped when Lightning gently raised her hoof. "Rainbow, you did much good for me and taught me some very important lessons. One of them is that there are many ways to the goal, but not all of them are right for us." What she said was simple and straightforward. The level of calmness she presented astounded even Rainbow Dash. “What about your family? Didn’t you always say you wanted a chance to see them again?” “And in time, I will. I just feel as though the timing is not optimal right now. I let you have the position not just because I knew how much it meant to you, but because I don’t feel as though I earned my place yet.” “This whole thing just feels bizarre to me. I mean, I’m not complaining. I appreciate you doing this for me, but it just feels, I dunno, incomplete somehow.” Lightning suddenly hugged Rainbow Dash, which caught her off guard. “One of these days, I hope you’ll understand. I can’t explain it right now, it’s a private matter. Just think of it as my way of saying thank you for everything. Okay?” Rainbow Dash gradually returned the hug, with a smile and a tear in her eye. “Thanks buddy.” “Now what do you say we celebrate your achievement at the officers club?” “Okay, but I’m buying the drinks!”