Twilight's Equestria - The After Years

by BPM

Chapter 3

Rainbow Dash stretched her wings. She loved to fly right when the moon rose – the slightly chilly winds and the slight humidity made her wings feel good. It was also a good time to leave the family behind for a little while, and fly around freely. She had so little time these days…

Rainbow jumped off, enjoying the freefall before spreading her wings and catching the wind. After gliding for a few minutes, she gradually sped up, starting her lap of Cloudsdale. As she flew, she remembered the first time that she participated in the Single’s Equestrian games. She took home the gold that year, and every year after that, but that first gold was so special. It was that first medal that she strained herself to that extreme – her days with her friends of endless practice brought warm memories to her heart.

“Rainb--- Da--!” a voice trailed behind her, muffled by the sound of the speeding winds.

“Rainbow Dash!” a young filly was trying desperately to keep up with her. Rainbow slowed down, allowing the child to approach.

“Gale Winds, aren’t you supposed to be with the Whirlwinds? Your team has a meet next week; you should be practicing!” Rainbow Dash was the pioneer of the Equestrian Junior Division, single handedly creating the branch from the larger Games, so that young fillies could participate in the spirit of competition.

“But Rainbow, I want to fly with you! With the Wonderbolts!”

“Gale, I quit the Wonderbolts a long time ago.”

“You’re still their best flier! I’m sure that if you asked they’d let you back in!”

“That’s nice of you to say, but the Wonderbolts… well, let’s just say we have a difference of opinion. But enough of that! Tell me what you’re doing out here!” Rainbow flew around her and picked her up in the air.

“Hey! That’s not fair, Rainbow!” Gale twisted and struggled to no avail. Her wings were still too small.

“Gale, what’s the real reason you’re out here?” Rainbow asked quite seriously.

Gale pouted. “Well, I don’t want Scootaloo to be our coach! She didn’t even know how to fly until she got her cutie mark!”

“Gale, Scootaloo is a great flier – she’s even a wonderbolt.” Rainbow set her down on a nearby cloud, and proceeded to sit down with her, admiring the large full moon.

“But you’re sooo much better!” Gale lifted off again, flitting back and forth.

“I’m not as young as I once was. I doubt I could even do a Rainboom anymore. Besides, I gave up that life when I stopped being a wonderbolt. I don’t coach or fly competitively anymore.”

“Mmmmrgr! That’s not acceptable!”

“Oh Gale, what am I to do with you…”

“Just come to practice tomorrow! Promise!”

“Gale, if I go to your practice tomorrow, will you stop following me every night?”

Gale giggled. “It’s a promise!” Gale’s insistence over the past week had finally paid off. She got the legendary Rainbow Dash to come to her meet practice!

“Go on now, go home. I’ll be a little while longer.” Rainbow Dash smiled as she lifted off from the cloud, and proceeded to speed around Cloudsdale throughout the rest of the evening.
---

“ I don’t know what you’re talking about, Fluttershy. I’ve been here this whole time, you know that.” Discord was brazenly living in a pocket dimension inside one of Fluttershy’s extra rooms.

“Oh, I know, but still… I have to ask.” Fluttershy responded carefully. Discord, even reformed, is a dangerous entity.

“If what you’re saying is true, then Celestia should know more about it than I do. Besides, I’m far too busy to play with you ponies anymore.” Discord gestured slightly towards his room.

“You never did tell me what it was you were doing in there – “Fluttershy began.

“I am almost offended that you would think to blame me for something Celestia is responsible for, Fluttershy.”

“What do you mean Celestia’s responsible?!”

“Well, I do have to be getting back to my project. Toodles~” With that, Discord slammed the door to his room, leaving Fluttershy incredulous as to what had transpired.
---

“Pinkamena Dianne Pie?” A guard knocked tentatively on the door to the Cake’s shop.

No answer.

“Pinkie?” The guard rephrased his call.

A soft rumble came from the other side of the door.

“Is she home?”

“I don’t know, do you want to check inside?”

“No way, I went into that funhouse last Hearth’s Warming. It took me weeks to get the silly string out of my mane.”

“Will one of you just check inside?” Storm Falcon said, exasperated.

A second rumble came from the door. This time, it was louder. One of the guards approached the door, and turned the knob.

He was met with a large reptile twice the size of any pony he had ever seen, and it gave a fearsome roar knocking over both stallions and flipping the chariot.

“Now Gummy, calm down!” A shrill voice came from the other side of the reptile. “Just because you grew some teeth doesn’t mean you can eat ponies.”

“Sweet Celestia, what are you feeding him?” Storm Falcon cried over the turned chariot.

“Oh, nothing too major; forty cupcakes, thirty pastries, and a small grain silo.” Pinkie giggled, “It does get expensive, though. Are you here to help feed him?”

“No, we-“

“Oh! You must be here for the party I’ve been planning for Gummy! That’s weird, I haven’t sent out the invites yet.”

“No, that’s not it, we-“

“Does Canterlot need some catering?” Pinkie gasped. “Is there a party at Canterlot? Why wasn’t I invited? I wanted to plan it…”

“Pinkie! This isn’t about anything like that!” Storm Falcon finally shouted.

“Oh, well why didn’t you just say so?” Pinkie said, perched on Gummy’s head.

“Princess Celestia requests that you come to Canterlot immediately – Princess Twilight’s disappeared.”

“Ooo, is she doing a magic trick? There’s a really good pony for that. Trixie has performed for my parties before, and I really like her shows!”

Storm Falcon groaned. “Just come with us, we’ll explain everything on the way.”
---
“Oh heya Rainbow, what’re you doin’ in these parts?”
“Do I need a reason to visit an old friend?”
Applejack smiled. Ever since Granny Smith passed away, Rainbow has been here now and again to check up on Applejack and the farm. With just Big Mac and Applejack managing the farm now that Applebloom has moved away, it’s been tough on the Apple Family.
“Well come in, we’ll catch up.” Said Applejack with a heavy grunt, throwing the plow harness off. “I’m ahead for this season, anyway.”
The two walked towards the barn enjoying each other’s company, talking about where they’ve been, what they’ve done, and who they’ve seen in the last few weeks.
“How are things coming along this season?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Pretty good. The harvest is great this year- we’ll be in surplus.”
“And the cider?”
“There’s plenty of cider.”
“You always run out.”
“We do.”
“….”
Applejack chuckled. “Don’t worry Dash, we’ll save a barrel for you just like we do every year.”
“Thanks. I look forward to it every year, and with the amount of contestants this year for the junior games, I think I’ll need a lot to take the load off.”
“Well if you want, we have some cider stock from last year that we saved.”
“Really? That’d be awesome!” Rainbow said, elated at the idea.
“Applejack?” a voice in the distance called.
“Hey Rainbow, did you just hear…?”
“Rainbow Dash is there with her too, that makes things easier.” Another voice came from the distance.
The guards quickly caught up to the pair.
“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna request your immediate presence at Canterlot castle. Something has happened to Twilight. We’ll explain the details on the way. For now, please get on the chariot.”

Comments

[criketsnipa]

I will read the next chapter the second it comes out. I need to know