Even after the Summer Sun Celebration, and the return and defeat of Tirek, Twilight would go to have flying lessons with Rainbow Dash. She enjoyed flying, and there was always more for her to learn.
"Okay," Rainbow Dash strutted in front of Twilight, where she sat on a cloud one day during a lesson. "Pop quiz. What's the first rule of good flying?"
"Making sure your wings are well stretched." Twilight answered, demonstrating.
"And what's the second rule?" She turned to her student.
"Take wind into account." Twilight didn't miss a beat.
"The third, and most important rule?"
"Notice everything."
"Great! Now let's see you put those rules into action." Rainbow hopped up and spread her wings, taking off, and Twilight quickly followed suit. They soared over Ponyville. At their great height, the ponies below them, hooves waving, resembled ants as the pair glided by. Passing Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie, with her impeccable timing, called out, "Heads up," flinging two cupcakes into the air. They swooped down to catch them in their mouths.
"Mmm," Twilight smiled as she munched on hers. "Vanilla - strawberry marble cake, my favorite!"
"THANKS, PINKIE!" Rainbow and Twilight yelled down. Pinkie smiled and saluted in reply.
Twilight sighed in delight. "This is a perfect day for flying, "
"You said it, " Rainbow dash agreed. "The sky is blue, there isn't a single cloud for miles - thanks to yours truly - and we have an amazing breeze at our backs."
"This is just so great!" Twilight did a little spin. "I can see why you love flying so much. In fact, I can see all of Ponyville from up here. It's amazing!"
Rainbow chuckled. "Glad you're enjoying yourself, but, maybe it's time for a break."
Teacher and pupil landed on a cloud. "That was great practice run, Twilight!" Rainbow complimented. "You're getting really good on those wings."
"Thanks," Twilight replied. "It does help that I have the best flyer in all of Ponyville as my instructor." She smiled at her friend.
"Well, yeah. But that said, you still have raw ability of your own." She playfully shoved her friend in the shoulder. "It's natural, just because you have wings. I'm just being like Celestia was when you were starting to study magic: just tapping and helping along that ability."
"Huh. Never thought of it that way." Twilight looked off into the distance reflectively
"Hey, I bet you might even be good enough to beat me in a race, or at least have a fair shot." The blue mare stood. "Last one to Sweet Apple Acres buys cider?"
"You're on!" The young princess got up, and crouched to prepare for a running start.
"Bring it, Princess! On your mark, get set, go!" Both took off flying. Rainbow had an early lead, but as the race went on, Twilight began to gain on her. Once she had passed Dash, Twilight looked back to tease her friend a little bit, and saw- too late- the look of fear on Rainbow's face.
"Twilight, look out for that-" Twilight flew head-on into a tree on the outskirts of the Acres that she hadn't seen, and slumped onto the ground. "Tree." Rainbow landed next to Twilight to look her over. She was unconscious. "Twilight?" Rainbow nudged her. "Twilight, wake up!" No response. "HELP! SOMEPONY, ANYPONY, HELP!"
When nopony came, Rainbow Dash began dancing on her hooves. She didn't want to leave her friend like that, but she needed to get help! Luckily,Big Macintosh, who had been in the fields and heard Rainbow Dash, ran over.
"Thank goodness." Rainbow Dash let out a deep breath. "Can you help me take Twilight to the hospital? "
"Ee- yup. " The red stallion replied, gently setting Twilight on his back. He began a quick but steady gallop, Rainbow Dash flying beside him.
"Be careful not to drop her." Rainbow cautioned.
"Ee- yup. " Big Mac grunted, not missing a step.
"I mean, you aren't just hauling apples here. Stay steady."
"Ee- YUP. " Big Mac grunted.
"Whoa nelly!" A voice said. Rainbow turned to see that Applejack had noticed them and was running to catch up. "What happened? What's wrong with Twilight?!"
"Flying accident, " Rainbow answered, looking at her unconscious friend with a worried frown. "She hit her head and is out cold."
"How the hay did that happen? "Applejack only then saw how bad Twilight looked.
"It was stupid," Rainbow replied. "I was stupid. I challenged her to a race, and let her win. She got cocky, and stopped looking where she was going. By the time I warned her about the tree, it was too late. "
"You go on to the hospital, " Applejack began to turn. "I'll tell everypony else and we'll meet y'all there. "
"Sounds good. "
True to her word, Applejack soon arrived at the hospital with Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy. They met up with Rainbow Dash and talked to her, which was difficult, considering she was pacing, sweat streaming down her head, a frown on her face.
"How is she?" Rarity asked with a concerned frown.
"Nopony knows," Rainbow Dash answered, not looking up from the ground. "Or, somepony knows, and they aren't telling me. I hate hospitals, especially when they leave you hanging like that!"
"Do you think it's serious?" Fluttershy whimpered.
"It's hard to tell at this point," Rainbow turned yet again as she approached the end of the hall. "She was still out when I last saw her. From how she looked, it could very well be pretty bad."
"Oh, goodness…" Fluttershy's ears drooped a bit.
"Does her family know yet?" Applejack asked, trying to catch up with Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah, I had Spike write everyone as soon as Twilight was admitted," She explained. "Princess Cadence and Shining Armor couldn't come –too busy in the Crystal Empire, I guess- but her parents should come soon."
"Good. Now, why don't you give your hooves a rest? You've nearly put a rut in the floor." She pointed below them. Seeing the result of her pacing, Rainbow sheepishly grinned and stopped in her tracks. "Look, sugarcube, we know you're worried about Twilight. We all are. But pacing and dwelling on things won't help any." Rainbow Dash nodded, not looking up at her friend. At that moment, the doctor came out of Twilight's room. Rainbow dashed over to him.
"So," She begged. "What's the word? How is she?"
"Well," The doctor replied with as straight a face as he could muster. "She's still under, but she's stable. We won't be able to fully assess her condition until she wakes up. Even though we don't know for certain yet, we should anticipate-" The doctor was cut off by a loud ripple of voices. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Twilight's parents came in the front door, followed by most of Ponyville, having heard that their resident princess had been injured.
"Your Highnesses!" The doctor exclaimed. "This is a surprise."
"We came as soon as my sister received Spike's letter," Luna explained as she and the others approached.
"How is she?" Celestia and Twilight Velvet asked in unison.
"She's stable, and will awake at any moment," The doctor explained, looking past the princesses to the crowd. "Is there any way we can keep this crowd to a minimum? The last thing Her Highness needs right now is the excitement of her whole town waiting to see her."
"Oh," Celestia turned to her sister. "Luna, would you get a few of our guards to handle crowd control?"
"Of course," The younger alicorn walked off.
"May we go in and see Twilight now?" Crescent Sparkle asked.
"Yes," The doctor stepped away from the door. "But only immediate family for now, please. We may be able to let others in once she has woken up and we have had the chance to examine her thoroughly." So Twilight's parents walked into their daughter's room.
They gently closed the door and went to Twilight's side. Twilight Velvet gently stroked her daughter's mane, just like she would when she was a filly and needed comforting.
"That's quite a bump." Crescent commented.
"It's understandable, from what we've heard about the accident." His wife agreed, not looking up. "I can't imagine why Twilight was so careless, though."
"I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation. Right now, what's important to me is that she's alright." He looked helplessly at his unconscious daughter.
"Of course." At that moment, Twilight Sparkle began to stir. "She's coming around."
"How are you feeling, Twily?" Crescent asked, stepping closer.
"My head hurts pretty bad, but other than that, I guess I'm ok." Twilight Sparkle started to sit up a bit and rub her head.
"Do you remember what happened?" Twilight Velvet asked.
"Not really," Her daughter replied.
"That's understandable. You probably just pushed it back in your mind," The elder Twilight soothed, and continued stroking her daughter's mane. "Do you need anything? A glass of water? Something to eat?"
"No," Twilight Sparkle replied. "I'm fine. Thank you, though."
"I'll go tell the doctor that you're up." Her father said, walking out the door. Not soon after, he returned with the doctor, who requested to be left alone with Twilight so he could examine her further. The couple was met with many concerned eyes as they came out.
"Well?" All seven of the other ponies asked in stereo, leaning in to hear.
"She seemed quite banged up," Crescent explained. "But she's up, and talking, and is acting pretty normal. I bet she'll be fine." The others gave out sighs of relief, the hardest from Rainbow Dash.
"So, what now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We'll have to wait for the doctor's final diagnosis," Twilight Crescent replied. "It might take a while. I wouldn't be surprised if they kept her here at least for the night."
"More waiting?" Rainbow moaned. "Another reason I hate hospitals."
"You know what might help pass the time?" Applejack asked.
"What?" She turned towards AJ.
"You could look for a book for Twilight to read while she's on bed rest. I bet she'd love that!"
"You're right!" Rainbow Dash perked up. "And I think I know just the book. Be right back." She dashed off to catch up with the pony with the book cart. It took a while, but she finally found her. "Hi! Do you have a copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone?" She asked.
"'Fraid not. Another pony borrowed that one not too long ago," The nurse replied. "But I do have some of the others in the series, if you're interested."
"Great!" Rainbow looked through the selection. She finally picked Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet, which was her personal favorite. She thanked the nurse, and began to return to her friends.