Princess Rainbow Dash
The years passed. Cadance flourished as a princess, having found a place where she felt loved. She mastered her own magic, found a coltfriend, and became best friends with a pony super model, Fleur-Dis-Lee. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, became miserable when she was told that members of royalty could not, in fact, become Wonderbolts. She became bitter whenever she was asked by Princess Celestia to perform a Sonic Rainboom. What was the point of it all? Who was she trying to impress anymore? Ponies looked up to her for her feats, but the ponies she had wanted to notice her now noticed her for the wrong reasons.
She only felt comfortable sharing this problem with two ponies: Princess Cadance and Twilight Sparkle. Cadance had never dreamed of anything as big as joining the Wonderbolts, but she understood what Rainbow felt. "We just need to accept that this is our life now," she once said to the cyan mare.
"But why do I still feel like that there's more I can be doing? More that I'm capable of doing? That there's something more outside of Canterlot and the fancy-shmancy royal things?"
"UH DUH, we're princesses! All princesses feel like that! The only way to get rid of that feeling is with a husband! ...unless you're Celestia."
"...thanks, Candy."
Twilight, meanwhile, was more sympathetic, but not as understanding. She wasn't a princess. "Things could always be worse," she said.
"How?" Rainbow Dash demanded.
"You could be Prince Blueblood."
There was ONE good thing about being Prince Blueblood: he could spend his days lounging around and doing nothing. No one liked him, so no one asked for him to make any public appearances. Rainbow Dash and Cadance were incredibly popular and made public appearances with Celestia all the time. Rainbow Dash was required to perform a Sonic Rainboom at almost every fancy event, including the Summer Sun Celebration. "It's always nice to start off the longest day of the year with a bang," Celestia told Rainbow Dash during her first Summer Sun Celebration.
Every year, the celebration was held in a new location. During Rainbow's first year as a princess, it was held in Manehatten. The year after that was in Fillydelphia. This year it was in Ponyville, a small town where mostly Earth ponies lived. Rainbow Dash decided to fly there the day before the celebration. Before she left, she thought she'd drop by Twilight Sparkle's apartment and ask her and her pet dragon, Spike, if they would be at the celebration...but when she arrived...
"It's imperative that the princess must be told right away! She'll respond as soon as possible. In all the years she's been my mentor she's never once doubted me." The lavender Unicorn was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the cyan Alicorn hovering outside of her apartment window.
Spike belched and began reading the newest letter from the princess. Rainbow Dash always thought it was awesome that Spike could send letters through his breath and burp out notes from the princess at a moment's notice. "'You must stop reading those dusty old books! I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville. I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends!'"
Rainbow left before Twilight could have a panic attack. As she flew, she thought to herself. Why can't Cadance ever have a role in the celebration? Is it because I'm more awesome than her? Well, yeah, duh, that's obvious, but she needs to do SOMETHING aside from smile and wave from time to time...she isn't Twilight's foal sitter anymore...
Rainbow Dash was settling in for a nice nap on a cloud when Twilight and Spike arrived. "Ugh, I ate too much pie," Twilight grumbled as they walked.
"Pie? Where was the pie?! I want some pie!" Rainbow poked her head through the cloud and stared at her.
"Princess Rainbow Dash!" Twilight gasped, dropping into a bow. The cyan mare sighed.
"Don't call me that, please," she mumbled. "My name is Rainbow Dash!"
"Princess Celestia didn't tell me that you would be in Ponyville! What are you doing here...um, may I ask?"
"I'm supposed to do a Sonic Rainboom when Princess Celestia raises the sun."
"You don't sound too excited about it..."
Rainbow sighed. "I know. I have to perform a Rainboom at pretty much EVERY fancy get-together...except for the Grand Galloping Gala, Nightmare Night, Hearth's Warming Eve...what's the point of all of this if I can't be a Wonderbolt?" She sighed again. "Anyway, I figured that I would make myself useful before tomorrow and clear the weather today."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Not unless you can make me a Pegasus again. Or change the rules of the Wonderbolts." Rainbow saw that Twilight was uncomfortable, so she flew down and gave the Unicorn a gentle hug. "Twi, you're one of my ONLY friends, and I love ya. You've done a lot for me already."
"Like what?" Twilight grinned.
"Remember that one time I tricked Blueblood into going to a petting zoo?" Twilight laughed. "You totally saved my flank that day," Rainbow continued. "I owe ya one!"
"Thanks, Rainbow Dash," Twilight smiled. "I better get to my other jobs. I'll see you later!" She started to trot away.
"Wait!" Rainbow called after her. Twilight stopped and looked at her. "I kinda knew you were going to be in Ponyville today. I dropped by your home today to ask if you wanted to go to Moondancer's party, but you were having another episode."
Twilight blushed. "So...you heard what Princess Celestia said I should do..." Rainbow nodded. "Great..." Twilight sighed.
"My lips are zipped!" Rainbow Dash promised, making a zipping motion across her face.
"Do you PINKIE PROMISE?" A high-pitched voice asked. A pink pony's head popped out of a nearby flower pot. Rainbow Dash yelped, and Twilight saw this as an opportunity to get away. She and Spike were gone within moments.
"Who the buck are you?" Rainbow gasped. The pink pony grinned and hopped out of the flower pot, and Rainbow saw who it was: an Earth pony with three balloons for a cutie mark.
"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I'll be in charge of the celebrations for the Summer Sun Celebration! We're having a party at the Golden Oak Library, and it's also a surprise party for the three new arrivals! Except that you're one of the three, and I'm talking to you now, so it's not really a surprise for you, but you can come with me anyway and I'll introduce you to my other friends!" She dragged Rainbow Dash by the tail in the direction of the library.
"...I can walk, you know..."
Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle spent most of the night hiding in Twilight's room. Princess Celestia had arranged for her student to stay in the Golden Oak Library, and the living accommodations had already been taken care of. "The ponies here are CRAZY!" Twilight whined, burying her face in a pillow.
"I thought we'd never get away," Rainbow agreed. Pinkie had introduced her to pretty much everypony in Ponyville. This included Rarity, the white Unicorn with a passion for fashion, Applejack, the caterer for most of the town's events, Fluttershy, the timid Pegasus animal caretaker, Lyra, the Unicorn obsessed with humans, her roommate Bon-Bon, Colgate, the town's dentist, and Derpy, the cross-eyed delivery pony. But now it was almost time for the sun to rise. "Just a few more hours of this crud and then I can get the hay out of here," Rainbow Dash repeated to herself as she got into position for the Sonic Rainboom. The ponies were gathered at Town Hall, waiting for Princess Celestia to make her grand entrance. Fluttershy stood next to Rainbow Dash, ready to give Celestia the music her grand entrance needed. (Fluttershy had a little choir of birds...Rainbow Dash didn't know what to think about this.)
"Fillies and gentlecolts, as Mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" The silver-maned Earth pony announced as Rarity pulled open the curtains...but Princess Celestia was not standing behind them.
"She probably overdosed on cake and coffee again," Rainbow Dash muttered to herself. "Now she's having a caffeine crash on a couch somewhere...and her private physician is back at the castle..."
"I'm sure there's a more reasonable explanation than THAT!" The mayor hissed. Rainbow Dash stiffened. Buck a bag, did I just say that out loud...?
"She's GONE!" Rarity gasped. She had checked behind the curtains, but there was no sign of the princess anywhere! I hope she's having a nice nap while we panic about this... Rainbow sighed. Her thoughts were interrupted as a dark blue sparkly mist began to form where Princess Celestia should have been standing. Within moments, the mist became the mane and tail of an Alicorn mare with a coat as black as the night. She wore battle armor and faced the ponies with bitterness in her cat-like eyes.
"Why, hello, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious, sun-loving faces. Am I not royal enough for you? Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" The mare sneered. "Did no one recall the legend? Did no one see the signs?" She noticed Rainbow Dash. "Or have I already been replaced?"
"I know who you are!" Twilight Sparkle cried. "You're the Mare in the Moon! Nightmare Moon!"
"Well, well, well, somepony who remembers me...then you also know why I am here."
"You're here to..." Twilight gulped.
"Remember this day from now on, ponies, for it was your last! The night will last FOREVER!" The tall Alicorn began to cackle as all of Tartarus broke loose inside the Town Hall. Twilight Sparkle galloped away with an unconscious Spike on her back. Rainbow looked at the Alicorn. Such a drama queen... She followed Twilight back to the library.
Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were already inside the library with Twilight. Rainbow flew through an open window and tackled Twilight. "Twilight, why didn't you tell me about this?" Rainbow asked, shaking her friend by the shoulders. Twilight's head drooped in defeat.
"You know why. Princess Celestia said that this was all an old mare's tale. Now she's gone, and it's all my fault..."
"Simmer down, Sally, that's just stinkin' thinkin'," Applejack claimed in her thick country accent. Twilight calmed down slightly.
"The only objects that can stop Nightmare Moon are the Elements of Harmony...but I don't know where to find them or what they do!"
"Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide!" Pinkie Pie handed Twilight the book that she had been looking for. "It was under 'E'!" She explained in a sing-song voice. Twilight flipped through the pages of the book.
"Only five of the six Elements are known: Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery...and the book says that they should be located in Celestia's old castle in the Everfree Forest..."
"You mean one of the places I'm not supposed to go EVER because I'm a princess?" Rainbow asked.
"...I understand if you don't want to come with me, but..."
"ARE YOU KIDDING? Let's go right now!" Rainbow shouted, zooming out of the library.
The journey through the Everfree was difficult. They had faced dangerous cliffs, manticores, spooky trees, and an outrageously flamboyant sea serpent. Now Rainbow Dash was going to help them with the one thing that stood between the ponies and the abandoned castle: a broken bridge! She had flown to the other side of it to tie up the ropes that held it up when she heard a voice. "Rainbow..."
"Show yourself! I'm not scared of you!" Rainbow shouted. From the darkness, three Pegasus ponies dressed in Wonderbolt outfits with darker color schemes appeared.
"We're the Shadowbolts," one mare announced. "We're the best flying team in the Everfree...but we'll soon be the best in Equestria. We just need a captain...the best flier in Equestria...you."
"But I'm a princess," Rainbow said, pointing to her horn and fluttering her wings. "Princesses can't compete in sports teams."
"That doesn't matter if you're a Shadowbolt," the leader smirked. "We need you."
"WOOHOO!" Rainbow Dash cried, pumping her hoof in the air. She couldn't believe it! They weren't the Wonderbolts, but she'd take just about anything given her current situation...and the rules of sports teams and royalty... "I'm in! Just let me tie up this bridge real quick, and then we've got a deal!"
"No!" The mare shouted. "It's either THEM, or US!"
From the other side of the bridge, Rainbow heard Twilight call to her. "Don't listen to them, Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow Dash looked at the Shadowbolts mare. "You...thank you for the offer, I mean! But I'm gonna have to say no!" With that, she resumed securing the bridge. The other ponies rushed across it to join the princess. The Shadowbolts were long gone by then.
"...so I'm just saying, all Alicorns seem to have a special spell, but I don't know what mine is," Rainbow concluded as they entered the empty castle. Twilight began to place the orbs which contained the five known Elements in front of her.
"Well, that's because you were born a Pegasus, sugar cube," Applejack said.
"So was Princess Cadance!" Pinkie Pie reminded her. Applejack blinked.
"Who?"
"Shush! I need to concentrate..." Twilight Sparkle's head was bowed as she charged a spell for the five orbs. But then...she and the orbs vanished in a bright light!
"Where did she go?" "What's going on?" "What happened?"
"YOU KNOW, I'M GETTING REALLY SICK OF ALL THESE BRIGHT, FLASHY LIGHTS!" Rainbow Dash shouted, waving her hoof in the air. And as she spoke, yet another bright, flashy light appeared in a tower in a different part of the castle. The ponies hurried there as fast as they could...but they weren't fast enough. Rainbow Dash was disappointed because she missed most of Nightmare Moon's epic villain monologue and Twilight Sparkle's heroic actions. They also missed the part where Nightmare Moon destroyed the orbs that contained the Elements...but once the ponies arrived, Twilight Sparkle countered Nightmare Moon with a speech of her own! So awesome...
"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the Element of Honesty! Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the Element of Kindness! Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the Element of Laughter! Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the Element of Generosity!" As she spoke, the fragments of the broken orbs began to swirl around the ponies, forming necklaces with gems shaped like their cutie marks. "And Princess Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the Element of Loyalty!" The shards of the Element began to swirl around Rainbow Dash, forming a tiara almost identical to the one that she had worn at her coronation all those years ago.
"You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!" Nightmare Moon protested.
Twilight grinned as she turned to her companions. "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all...are my friends! You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth Element: the Element of...Magic!" As she spoke, a bright light ignited above her and lowered itself, manifesting itself into a crown on her head.
There was no more talk. The Elements of Harmony and their bearers joined together, and the magic from them formed an awesome rainbow which totally shattered Nightmare Moon and left her feeling weak and helpless...at least, this was Rainbow Dash's interpretation of events. The magical shock after using the Elements for the first time left the bearers scattered around the room.
"My head...also, my leg..." Rainbow groaned.
"Is everypony okay?" Applejack asked.
"Marvelous! Look at our necklaces!" Rarity gasped.
"Gee, Twilight, Ah thought you were spouting a whole lot of hooey," Applejack admitted.
"So did I!" Rainbow added.
"Me too!"
"I did as well!"
"I thought so..."
"But Ah reckon we really do represent the Elements of Harmony!" Applejack finished.
"Indeed you do," the all-too-familiar, annoyingly serene voice announced. The sun was starting to rise. It was a few hours late, but hey, they were all a little too busy defeating the villain to really care about the lack of natural light. As the sun rose, a bright light (Shocking, right? Rainbow thought) appeared in the room, along with the glorious Princess Celestia. Everypony bowed except for Rainbow Dash and Twilight. They rushed to her side and embraced her. "My most faithful student, I knew you could do it," the Alicorn said to the Unicorn.
"But you told me that it was all an old pony's tale," Twilight said.
"I told you that you needed to make FRIENDS, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and knew that you would be the one to defeat her, but you could not unless you let friendship into your heart."
"Wait, wait, why couldn't you have just told her all of this BEFORE she came to Ponyville?" Rainbow asked. "Or couldn't you have been the one to defeat her? Just another wave of the Alicorn horn and BAM, she's back to the moon for another thousand years!"
Princess Celestia ignored her. "Now if only another will accept friendship...Princess Luna!" The ponies turned to where Nightmare Moon's body had been flung. Instead of the dark, imposing mare, a blue mare, perhaps in her teen years, lay in a circle of shattered armor. She gasped at the sound of Celestia's voice. The white Alicorn stepped towards the smaller, frailer one. "It has been a thousand years since I've seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us." She knelt next to the defeated pony. "We were meant to rule together, little sister."
"SISTER?" Everypony, including Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, gasped.
"Will you accept my friendship?" Celestia asked as she stood. The blue Alicorn bowed her head before she stood and ran to the white Alicorn.
"I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!"
"And I missed you, too," Celestia said back, tears spilling from her beautiful eyes.
"There's another immortal Alicorn? WHAT ELSE DO I NOT KNOW?" Rainbow Dash shouted. She looked at Celestia. "May I ask why the Elements were in the Everfree instead of in your new castle in Canterlot? What kept you from using them yourself? And what if Twilight didn't find friendship after all? Then we'd all be bucked in the flank, wouldn't we?! Does...anypony...realize...that I'm talking...?"
"You know what this calls for? A PARTY!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
...yeah, no one knew she was talking.
Back in Ponyville, the celebrations continued as planned, only with one more Alicorn to spare. But Twilight Sparkle, despite the discoveries she had made, still seemed down. "Why so glum, my faithful student?" Princess Celestia asked. "Aren't you excited to return to your studies in Canterlot?" Do you even know Twilight Sparkle's name, or are you just gonna keep addressing her as 'my faithful student'? Rainbow wondered.
"Just after I learned about how great it is to have friends...I have to leave them," Twilight sighed. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. What do you think it was like when I became an Alicorn? But Celestia had other thoughts.
"Spike, take a note, please." She cleared her throat. "I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the Unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the Magic of Friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville." Okay, she knows her name, that's good, Rainbow acknowledged.
"It stinks that I have to go back to Canterlot after this!" Rainbow huffed, shooting Twilight a jealous glare.
"That's not exactly true," Celestia corrected. "Remember what I told you when you first became a princess: you are not tied to Canterlot." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened.
"You mean...?"
"Yes, you may stay," Celestia smiled. "Ponyville could use a royal presence...starting in two weeks!"
"TWO WEEKS?"
"Yes! Who do you think will be the ones to fill Luna in on all that she's missed while she was on the moon? You and Cadance, of course!" Celestia beamed.
Rainbow facehoofed.
As soon as Celestia was safe in her royal chambers, she collapsed on her bed and buried her face in her hooves. "I almost had a relapse..." She moaned. "That coffee crash kept me from confronting my sister...I endangered my little ponies...I'm a terrible ruler..." She reached under her pillow and began to nibble half-heartedly on her emergency cake rations. "I don't...deserve...this cake..." She moaned between bites. "I don't deserve my magnificent mane or super perfect body...I'm a horrible pony!" She reached for another slice of cake...