All over Ponyville, Rainbow saw more and more posters. They were brightly-lit, with illustrations of ponies in mid-gallop. From such a great height, Rainbow Dash had to squint, but she was certain she could make out the words: "Equestria Marathon."
The mare's eyes narrowed. She pursed her lips in thought while her mind ran circles in an attempt to recall the last time she had heard of such a thing.
Soon enough, she was distracted. At the sound of laughter, Rainbow Dash looked to her right.
She was passing Sugarcube Corner. Sitting on the fringes were Sharp Quill, Blossomforth... and Stu Leaves.
Rainbow slowed slightly in her glide. She fixated her gaze on the trio of familiar pegasi.
Sharp Quill and Blossomforth were saying something to one another. At one point, Sharp Quill waggled his eyebrows and nudged Stu in the side. While Blossomforth giggled, Rainbow saw Stu Leaves exhale... then bear a warm smile. He said something to his friends, and all three laughed merrily. Stu's wings even outstretched—fluttering at one point.
Rainbow Dash sighed. She wasn't sure why, but seeing Stu smile brought a certain... peace inside of her. If nothing else, it dissolved the lump that had been threatening to rematerialize in the back of her throat.
Looking forward, the mare flapped her wings with greater resolve. She saw the verdant green canopy of Everfree Forest in the distance. However—much closer—her eyes settled on another green sight: Golden Oaks Library.
The burst of energy from having seen the pegasi in happy conversation hadn't faded. Rainbow clenched her jaws. With sudden resolve, she angled her wings... and glided towards the front doorstep of the central Ponyville treehouse.
She landed soon on the dewy grass... or so her eyes had to tell her. There was next to no feeling in her fetlocks. The mare shook off the sensation—or lack thereof—and proceeded to lift her numb hoof towards the door.
But just as she was about to knock...
...the door opened and a fuschia mare stepped out. Her eyes widened as she flinched. "Oh! Dearie me!"
Rainbow flinched as well. "Uhhh... Miss Cheerilee!" She cleared her throat, drawing her hoof back. "My bad. I didn't mean to startle you."
"That's... quite alright, Miss Dash!" Cheerilee smiled crookedly. "Ahem..." She stepped out backwards, closing the door behind her. "Nice seeing you this bright and early!"
"No school today?"
"It's a Saturday, Miss Dash."
"... ... ...it is?"
Cheerilee finished locking the front door. She turned around with a smile. "You... uhhh... here on an errand for Miss Sparkle?"
"Errand?" Rainbow blinked. "Actually, I was curious if she was... y'know... at home." She craned her neck. "Why are you locking the place up?"
"Don't you know?" Cheerilee squinted. "Twilight is making a two week long visit to Canterlot."
Rainbow's eyes twitched. "Oh." She nodded. "Right." She nodded again. "She's totally doing that."
"Her and Spike and... erm... the talented Miss Lulamoon are performing a research project with Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia." Cheerilee giggled, blushing slightly. "Oh... I envy them sometimes. Well... Spike and Twilight, I mean. I'm not so certain about Miss Lulamoon. At least, not yet."
"I don't blame you," Rainbow droned. "So... what does the egghead have you doing here?"
"Huh?" Cheerilee took a second and a half to get that. "Oh! Heheh... uhhhh... well, while Twilight is away, she needs somepony to look after her owl."
"Her owl?"
"You know... her avian research assistant?"
"Oh yeah..." Rainbow nodded. "Pets. My friends have those."
"It's not all that hard work. Plus... heehee..." Cheerilee's dimples glistened. "I get free access to a bounty of Equestrian literature! I've already prepared a most exciting research project for the schoolfoals once Monday rolls around"!
"Wow..." Rainbow smiled thinly. "Won't they be jazzed."
"Is everything okay with you, Miss Dash?"
Rainbow's smile faded. "Huh?"
"Oh! I... d-didn't mean to pry..." Cheerilee smiled nervously, fiddling with the blades of grass below them. "I just... well... I'm super glad to be doing this favor for Princess Celestia's prized pupil, but... Twilight mentioned that she had originally planned to ask you to look after her pet owl while she was gone. But... apparently you were... unavailable at the time."
Rainbow's jaws clenched.
"N-not that anything's wrong with that!" Cheerilee blurted. "Busy ponies are busy ponies, and all. But... from the way Twilight made it sound, she appeared... a teensy bit concerned. I... uh..." She smiled sheepishly. "I don't suppose there's a message you wanna give Twilight for when she gets back? I... I'm sure she would understand."
"Oh... heh... yeah... uhm..." Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck. "Don't fret or nothing. If there's anything that Twilight needs to know..." She gazed dead ahead. "...I'll be the one to tell her."
Silence.
Eventually, Cheerilee nodded. "Well, alright!" Another nervous smile. "Uhm... best of luck in all of your endeavors, Miss Dash?"
"Hey. Back at ya." Rainbow took off, gliding towards the Everfree Forest once again with her saddlebag in tow. "Try not to suplex the kids too hard into the time-out corner."
It took ten seconds for Cheerilee to register the joke, and another five for her laughter to catch up with Rainbow's speeding figure.