I will post a collection of scenes deleted from the main Winds of Change story line. Most of these scenes fit with the tone of the chapter, but either provided too much information, or dragged the chapter on too long.

Expect them to be worded oddly, unedited, and just a little off in general.

Chapter 10 - Trail Blazer Las Pegasus Warning

“Excuse me.”

Twilight turned her head back to the voice and found the former Minister of Development standing awkwardly behind them. “Trail Blazer! What a surprise to see you. What are you doing here?”

“Well, since I’m going to be staying here in Appleloosa permanently I thought I should go back to Canterlot and collect my effects. But, did I hear you mention Las Pegasus?”

Twilight furrowed her brow as she gently eased herself from the grasp of her friends. “Yes? Dashie and I are going on a trip to Las Pegasus to find Pinkie Pie and Rarity.”

“If I might be so bold, have you two ever been to Las Pegasus?”

“No. Is there something wrong?”

“Well, not exactly. Las Pegasus isn’t like other Equestrian cities, it was developed first, so it’s taken on a life of its own. Just be careful.”

Twilight looked over to Rainbow quizzically, “I see. Do you have anything specific in mind? I can’t imagine you stop many random ponies on the street to warn them about Las Pegasus. Especially, considering how large the city is. It must see tons of traffic.”

“Ahem, yes, you’re right about that one. I’m just a little concerned because of your run-in with Silverhoof. Try to avoid the shadier parts of the city.”

“Trail Blazer.” Twilight narrowed her eyes and took a step toward the aged unicorn. “That’s not all is it? Princess Celestia already warned me about the shadier side of the city.”

“Just don’t expect the ponies there to behave like the ones in Appleloosa. The city is as unforgiving as it is cruel. It barely feels like a city of Equestria at all anymore.”

Chapter 11 - Alternative Highwind Introduction

“Yes, Madame Pinkie’s show will be starting in about—” The receptionist was cut off.

“Will you two hurry it up! I’ve had a long day and you two have been standing at the desk for the past five minutes staring at the damn bands. Put them on and get out of the way!” Angry and frustrated voices joined in agreement.

Startled by the voices of discontent, Twilight grabbed the hoofbands with her magic and darted away from the front desk—stammering out an apology at the same time. She looked around for Rainbow and discovered the pegasus had not joined her. Instead, Rainbow was face-to-face with a rough-looking stallion, wings flared, eyes blazing, ready to fight.

“What’s your problem? Can’t a couple ponies ask a few questions around here?!” Rainbow shouted at the stallion.

“It’s not my fault your friend is stupid!” He shouted back.

“Shut up! Twi is smarter than you’ll ever be!”

“Ha! She seems pretty stupid to me. Asking a bunch of inane questions about one of the most popular places in the city.”

“You take that back right now! Or, we’ll take this outside and I’ll make you take it back.” Rainbow spat out—venom laced her every word.

Twilight paled at the irate faces of the ponies around Rainbow. She rushed over to Rainbow and nudged the pegasus firmly in the side. “Rainbow, please, it’s not a big deal. Let’s go find Pinkie.”

“Not until this guy apologizes to you first! He called you stupid!” Rainbow’s wings quivered in their upright position.

“Apologize?” The stallion butted Rainbow back and snorted. “You’ll be lucky if I just leave you a bruised heap in the gutter. Las Pegasus doesn’t need stupid ponies, or useless ponies who defend stupid ponies.”

“Don’t you dare call Rainbow useless!” Twilight shouted back. She lowered her stance and tipped her horn at the stallion. “Now, if you don’t want to be on the receiving end of a particularly nasty bolt of concentrated energy, I suggest you just drop it now.”

“Now you’re threatening me? Look around you. This is Las Pegasus, my buddies and I will break you before you even finish your little spell.” The stallion gestured back to the group of ponies behind them. “Now I’m warning you, get outta here before I—ow!”

The stallion rubbed the back of his head and spun around on his hooves. “Damn it Highwind! What the hell?”

The graying pegasus delivered another sharp smack across the back of the stallion’s head. “Tempest, I keep telling you, bullying mares is no way to impress them. Maybe if you paid a little more attention to their faces instead their flanks you would’ve realized you’re challenging Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.” He glanced around at the blank faces and rolled his eyes. “Have you guys ever taken down a God of Chaos? No? Didn’t think so.”

“S...shut up, Highwind. Common boys, let’s go see the show and leave the old one to his stories.” Tempest directed one last hate-filled look toward Twilight before trotting off with his companions.

Twilight watched them go before approaching the old pegasus which had interceded on their behalf. “Thank you. Mr. Highwind, was it?”

“That’s right missy. Scootaloo’s always tellin’ me stories about how you guys saved the world. I didn’t expect to actually bump into you two in Las Pegasus.” Highwind nodded to Rainbow. “Hey, I’m sure you could have taken them, but I think Scootaloo would rather see you without you being all roughed up.”

Feigning indifference at the vote of confidence, Rainbow’s wings folded to her sides. She took a step forward and narrowed her eyes at the mysterious pegasus. “How do you know about us and Scootaloo? Are you a spy?”

Highwind chuckled and shrugged. “Unfortunately, no, this is purely a lucky coincidence. You happen to be at the most popular destination in town right before the main event of the night. If you’re willing to stick around for a bit, Scootaloo will be here shortly. I was just here for a quick relaxation session, but given the recent events, I think I’ll have to postpone it. I’m out of time.”

He turned and headed back outside. “Come along then. I don’t want Scootaloo getting curious and wandering in here. It’s no place for nice mares.”

Twilight exchanged a glance with Rainbow. The meaning was understood even if they shared no words. She nodded in agreement with Rainbow and followed Highwind out of P-Three. Her horn at the ready for any sign of danger.

Chapter 4 - Sudden Military Intervention

The night-shift engineer of the Equestrian South line reclined lazily in his seat as he watched the barely discernable scenery pass by outside. He sighed and glanced at the steam gauge for probably the hundredth time that night, he was so bored.

A solitary incoming train light appeared over the horizon.

Disbelieving his eyes, he rubbed them and looked again. The light loomed closer, except now they were accompanied by a pair of flashing red lights. He swallowed dryly as he counted the flashes. The timing of the flashes was unmistakable.

An armored military train was incoming on the adjacent track.

Unable to tear his vision from the rapidly approaching lights, he groped to his right for the brake mechanism. He found the rubberized grip of the lever and yanked down on it hard. The train shuddered as the mechanical switches fell into place locking the wheels of the engine. This triggered the halt signal to all the cars following the engine which resulted in a symphony of screeching wheels.

Rainbow Dash tumbled out of the sleeper-seat onto the floor. What the buck?

Chapter 9 - Luna’s Impatience

“Sister! Why do you delay? It’s been weeks since Rainbow Dash’s return to Ponyville.” Luna stamped her hoof down upon the lush carpeted floor of Celestia’s study. “If you suspect something, tell me and I’ll arrest the offending parties immediately!”

Celestia smiled and patted a cushion next to herself with a forehoof. “Luna, please let me explain.”

Luna harrumphed. “No! I’ve asked you repeatedly but each time your explanations do little to ease my heart. How can you idly sit by and wait?”

The Sun Princess glanced over to the framed picture of six ponies. “Because I trust my all my ponies.”

The younger sister sighed and walked over onto the cushion and settled down. “Tia, you can be so unreasonable sometimes. If you trust all of them, how can you be suspicious? And what about the ones that lose their way?”

Celestia pursed her lips and looked away. “I suspect you already know the answer, Luna.”

“I...” Luna stuttered and hoofed nervously at the tassels at the corner of her cushion. “I didn’t know it was for them. When I saw the tears.” Luna reached out with her hoof and gently touched it to the forehoof of her sister. “Tia, why do you hide your tears in your dreams?”

Celestia gazed into the distance. “But, we are not infallible.”

Luna glowered and her hooves trembled. “If this is an attempt to berate me to end this conversation, then, this conversation is over.”

The Sun Princess jerked to attention. “No. Luna. I’m sorry. I did not mean it that way.” Her eyes softened as she beheld her sister. “Luna, I cannot cry for any pony in Equestria without risking favoritism. But Luna, you are the only exception.”

“Sister...” Luna looked up at Celestia, her sister’s eyes gentle and somber. “You hide your tears so well.”

“I must.” Celestia smiled passively. “Please be patient Luna. I promise we will take action soon.”

Chapter 9 - A Loving Confession

Rainbow hovered a few feet off the ground with her forehooves wrapped tightly around Twilight’s own. She leaned down and nuzzled the unicorn’s cheek as she gently lowered the unicorn to the grassy plain below.

Wordlessly, Twilight reluctantly released her hold on Rainbow and dropped down onto all four hooves. Keeping her eyes locked on the pegasus, she immediately rushed forward as Rainbow landed and nuzzled against her neck. “Dashie... Thanks for coming after me. My magic...” She trailed off and bit her lip. The gravity of the recent events sinking into her mind.

She sighed as a pair of wings extended and wrapped around her body. The pinion feathers tickled at her cutie mark which encouraged her closer to the owner of the wings. The intimate proximity and warmth soothed her mind against waylaying fears. Only then did she realize how short her breaths were.

Sensing her discomfort, Rainbow trailed her lips along Twilight’s cheek and ended it with a light kiss. “Twi? Are you still with me?”

Twilight blinked as her eyes regained focus. “Yes. I just need a moment to get my head straight.” She looked around and then back to Rainbow. “Where are we?”

“About fifty miles north of the crash site. I wanted to set us down sooner but you were holding on so tight I flew us a little further.”

“Oh.” Twilight traced her vision over Rainbow’s face noticing the patch of dried blood above the right eye. “I’m so sorry.”

Rainbow glanced upward as if noticing the injury for the first time. “It’s nothing Twi. Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t even hurt.”

“But...”

“Twi. Listen to me.” Rainbow paused and brushed a few wayward strands of hair from Twilight’s face. “I know something sappy here would be perfect. But...” She blushed and looked up--unable to meet Twilight’s intense gaze. “Let’s just say getting hurt was the last thing on my mind at the time.” She pulled the unicorn in close and squeezed hard. “Okay?”

Twilight flushed with warmth and buried her face into Dash’s mane.

“I don’t like uncertainty.” She wrapped her forehooves around Rainbow and squeezed firmly in return. “I love you Rainbow Dash. I never stopped loving you.”

Rainbow coughed and sputtered. “Damn it Twi...” She rubbed her eyes with a hoof.

Twilight was waiting. Twilight was always waiting.

“I love you too Twi.” Dash whispered out, her voice trembled with a long-forgotten surge of emotion.

“Thank you,” came the muffled tearful reply.

Twilight composed herself and wiped her eyes. “

“What’s there to be worried about?” Rainbow adjusted her flight path toward the gleaming white spires of Canterlot shone in the distance.

“Well, just about everything. What if the Princess doesn’t understand?” Twilight’s hooves squeezed down around Rainbow’s neck nervously. “Or worse, she understands and doesn’t care? She could banish us for opposing her!” Her voice trembled as she thought of something even worse. “She could separate us. With a flick of her horn--”

“Woah, Twi, calm down.” Rainbow slowed her pace. Canterlot could wait a few more minutes. “Listen. This is the Princess we’re talking about. She’s always been wise and understanding.” She reached up and ruffled Twilight’s mane supportively. “We never got a response from her, so it’s possible she doesn’t even know. Just do what you do best. I’m sure it will work out.”

“But what if it doesn’t?” Twilight bit her lip.

“Well.” Rainbow smirked. “I’ve always wanted to race a Princess. Just to be fair, I’ll carry you along.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I totally am. But, I don’t think I’ll get the chance to today. You got this Twilight. See? The Princess even sent a squad of Royal Guard to meet us.” Rainbow casually swung a hoof over to a group of six golden-clad pegasus flying toward them.

Twilight’s hooves sunk painfully into Rainbow’s shoulders as she pushed herself upward to get a better view. “What? Where!” She internally winced at the level of shakiness of her voice.

Chapter 14 - Danger on the Horizon

Wings spread wide, Scootaloo closed her eyes and leaned on the wooden steering wheel in front of her. She had guided their airship, Breezy, to the far southern side of Las Pegasus. Aside from the occasional cloud their airspace was unobscured. She relaxed as the wind rustled through her feathers and washed over her body. In that moment, she wasn’t just a pilot of an airship, she was flying. She flapped her wings against the current and felt the air push back. It was wonderful.

Well, almost wonderful. An abrupt snore from behind brought her back to reality. A quick glance toward the rear of the ship revealed the source of the disturbance: Rainbow was napping. Every few seconds, Rainbow would snore and shift her wings. One of Rainbow’s forehooves stretched out just far enough to rest against Twilight’s flank. Twilight didn’t seem to mind and continued to take readings with her numerous instrument before jotting them down. Instead, Twilight’s tail was draped partially over Rainbow’s forehoof in some sort of indirect hug.

Scootaloo couldn’t help agreeing with Rainbow, the pegasus had the right idea. They were several hours into the aerial survey and a general sense of weariness taunted her every second. She was so bored. Twilight could enjoy long periods of time in absolute silence, but Scootaloo couldn’t stand it much longer. She leaned over the backrest of her chair, keeping a steady hoof on the steering wheel, and shattered the silence, “Hey Twilight.”

Twilight looked up from her notes and smiled at Scootaloo, “Yes, Scootaloo?”

“Do you want to talk? As much as I like piloting airships, I’m bored to death right now.”

“Oh! Of course, Scootaloo. Sorry, I don’t really lend myself to conversation when I work. Too many years toiling alone, I guess?”

“It’s okay Twilight. I didn’t say anything earlier because I didn’t want to disturb your work. And... I was pretty hooked on feeling the way the airship responded to my touch.”

Twilight’s ears perked up in surprise. “You can feel the airship through the steering wheel?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that. The steering wheel provides resistance when I want to direct the airship. But, I can feel the airship in my wings. Call it piloting instinct. It’s the way the magic interacts with the engine.”

“Magic?” Twilight hummed to herself and glanced back toward the rear of the airship where the singular engine was located. “I thought I felt something, but it was really faint. I didn’t know there was magic built into this craft.”

“It’s not exactly an expected feature of airships. It’s typically restricted to the fastest or most luxurious ones in the sky.”

“What makes this one special then?”

“Mr. Highwind built it with a unicorn a long time ago. I’m not sure how many years ago, probably before I came to Las Pegasus. That’s all I know.”

“Oh.” Twilight’s ears flopped downward and she stared at the thin stream of white smoke trailing behind the airship. “Do you think Highwind would be willing to tell me?”

Scootaloo’s features hardened and she shook her head. “I don’t think so. I asked Mr. Highwind once, but he wouldn’t say. He just got really quiet and made me clean all tools in the Aerodome. That question definitely wasn’t worth three hours of scrubbing oil. Why do you ask?”

“Well...” Twilight began slowly and glanced down at Rainbow with a smile. “I’m not sure if Apple Bloom explained in the letter, but I managed to encourage some magic into a pair of wing attachments for Dashie.”

“Oh! The MMWs she mentioned in the letter!”

“Yep, I was just curious if this ship has the same properties. The effects associated present don’t make any sense. A bunch of the spells seem to be for sensing collisions with the craft, which seems like something you’d want to avoid all together as a pilot.”

Scootaloo laughed and shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea to be honest. I just fly based on what feels right and the ship seems to know that.”

The conversation gave way to an awkward silence, punctuated only by Rainbow’s erratic snores. Twilight fidgeted with her instruments and started jotting down notes again.

Given the natural lull in conversation, Scootaloo returned her focus to the wheel and casually adjusted their heading back north to the original takeoff location.

She squinted at the distance once, twice. A sandstorm? The blue horizon she expected to see was gone. In its stead, a mass of brown sand seemed to rise up from the ground. “Twilight! Pack your instruments up. There’s a storm coming.”

“What?”

Scootaloo said nothing and swung the wheel hard toward left. The craft jerked abruptly before shifting into it’s new position.

Twilight yelped and quickly shoved her instruments and notebook into her saddlebag. She shook Rainbow with her forehooves to wake the sleeping pegasus. “Dashie! Wake up, there’s a storm coming.”

Rainbow raised her head groggily and smiled up at Twilight. “Oh... hey Twi. I had the most wonderful dream. You were there and I was—”

“Dashie! I’m sure it was wonderful, but this looks really serious!” Twilight pointed her hoof toward the massive dust storm closing in.