Alicorn

by Aldea Donder

08. Quality Time

ALICORN
by Aldea Donder

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is property of Hasbro, Inc.
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CHAPTER EIGHT
Quality Time

Originally Published 9/27/2015

High in her tower, surrounded by loneliness, Twilight Sparkle stood at the window and peered woefully out. She watched the golden chariot take off from the garden, wending its way into the afternoon sky.

“Lights,” she mumbled as she drew shut the curtains, and the shadows leapt forth to stake their claim. Silently, she made her way over to the bed and flopped down.

She felt tired. Stretched thin, like a worn-out rag. Her head was full of cotton, and her spine ached from too many hours in the Canterlot Archives, sitting in those hard, wooden chairs.

A part of her wondered, whimsically, if her back pain might presage a pair of wings.

She shook off the thought.

The events of the last few days infested her mind’s eye. From crashing through the wall and interrupting Celestia’s secret meeting, to hearing her headmaster expostulate on her “proper place” in the world—it all played out in her brain like a massive train wreck. And yesterday’s incident with Rainbow Dash and the can was like an exclamation point at the end of the sentence, just to top off how pathetic she was.

Twilight nested her head in her hooves and sighed. What had seemed, at the time, to be a perfectly-sensible, empirically-sound plan to gauge the limits of Rainbow’s new alicorn abilities now seemed wrongheaded, even cruel. She’d earned no scolding for it from Princess Celestia, but she knew in her heart this sort of pettiness was—or at the very least, ought to be—beneath her.

She was a pony of logic, not emotion. Logic! In the great Venn diagram of life, logic inhabited one circle, and emotion another, and never did the two come nigh! What would Professor Whitehoof say if he knew she were crossing her circles like this? What would Princess Celestia say?

As she pondered what a charlatan she was, Twilight’s eyes wandered to the empty sleeping basket tucked away in the corner. She wrapped her hooves around a pillow and sighed.

What she wouldn’t give to have Spike here with her right now. She had never been without him for this long before, and she wondered, somberly, if she should send for him. She missed him so much. She missed Ponyville so much. She missed home.

And… And her brother…

Twilight buried her head in the pillow. She knew, from experience and way too many friendship reports, that this was pointless. That it wouldn’t help to sulk.

But that wasn’t about to stop her.

---

For Rainbow Dash, there was no such thing as ‘too close.’ The concept didn’t even exist in her world. That carefree attitude had been the bedrock for her personality—had given her the in-your-face temperament she was so known for, and chipped away at her respect for personal boundaries to the point where she was wont to fly right up and kick a dragon in the nose. And right now, it was the reason she was hanging halfway out the window, bursting with energy as she screamed her head off—

“SOARIN! OH MY GOSH, SOARIN!”

Her arms waved frantically as the cobalt-maned stallion did his flyby, zooming past the crowd so fast, their lips blew back in his slipstream. He did a half loop up and rolled off the top in a perfect Immelmann, blasting back the other way again with two wingponies on his left and another two on his right.

At the stadium’s apex, the five of them stunned with another daredevil display. They spread out in a circle, evenly-spaced, and then in unison they converged toward the center, slicing past each other at breakneck speeds, missing by inches. Then they fanned out again, and they all doubled back in five perfectly-synchronized, split-second turns, so quick and acute they made Rainbow’s jaw drop. Once more, they buzzed one another, and not a single hair was put out of place on any one of their heads as they whipped on by.

They did this again, and again, and again, never once colliding, and by the time they were done, five contrails had painted a perfect five-pointed star across the sky. Then Soarin shot up from below and threaded through the center, and the whole pentagram flared and blew up in a tremendous, technicolor KA-BOOM!

The awe-inspiring beauty of the starburst reflected in Rainbow’s eyes as she leaned forward… forward… a little too far forward. Dazzled beyond awareness, she started to tip out the window—

—and a gold-slippered hoof came down lightly on her tail to keep her from falling out.

That got her attention. She snapped back to reality at the unwelcome touch, her face flashing with annoyance as she wheeled on Celestia. “Hey, lady! Hooves off!”

Celestia didn’t need to be told twice. She yanked back her foreleg in an instant. “Sorry,” she said, and Rainbow made a face before turning back to the action.

Strike the previous notion. Apparently, there was such a thing as ‘too close’ in Rainbow’s book—at least when it came to Celestia.

But the faux-pas fled quickly from memory, and soon enough, she was engrossed back in the airshow, leaning halfway out the window again. She tracked the Wonderbolts with wide, astonished eyes as they whizzed and soared past the screaming crowd.

Celestia watched as well. Though just as often, her attention would slip from the performance to the gleeful filly in the box with her.

“Look! Look!” Rainbow shouted.

The crowd whooped and hollered when a yellow mare with a wildfire mane came out the tunnel ’neath the stands and jetted around the stadium, slapping the hooves on the spectators in the lower rows. Her flight goggles shined like sapphires as she veered straight up, her airspeed bleeding to zero, stalling out at a five hundred foot height. At her apogee, she executed one—two—three—four—five rolls, each one of them dropping Rainbow’s jaw a little closer to the floor, before flipping around and catching the wind again in a daredevil swoop.

“A PERFECT HAMMERHEAD!” Rainbow screamed.

Weeks of stress and sadness, of hurt and betrayal, of heart-wrenching dreams and the catastrophe of having her identity swept out from under her, of pushy servants and pushier guards, the events of Manehattan, and conversations between friends better forgotten than remembered—all of it burned away in the firestorm of adrenaline that blew through her now, boiling in her veins while she sprung with excitement. At least for now, in this moment, Rainbow Dash’s joy was all-encompassing.

Celestia could only smile.

---

“That was AMAZING!”

The rooftops and pinnacles of Lower Canterlot drifted by below them as they flew, side-by-side: Celestia, standing tall in the golden chariot, and Rainbow, soaring through the air beside it. The enormous grin on her face did nothing to weigh her down.

“That thing they did where Spitfire went into freefall and then they all flew in from outta nowhere and buffeted her back up with the air coming off their wingtips?—WOW! And when Fast Clip and High Winds did those twin vertical ups and weaved them into a double helix all the way around the outside of the stadium?—OH MY GOSH! And the way they didn’t break formation the whole time Fleetfoot was doing her Leaping Lightning Loop?—SO COOL!”

Rainbow busted out a corkscrew, punching the air in excitement.

Then, with a breezy sigh, she flipped onto her back, her wings fanning the air beneath her and keeping easy pace with the chariot. A blissful smile lifted her features as she tucked her forehooves behind her head and gazed dreamily skyward.

“Someday, that’s gonna be me out there.”

No sooner had those words flown from Rainbow’s mouth than a bleak expression lodged on Celestia’s face.

“Your life’s aspiration was to become a Wonderbolt?”

“Heck, yeah!” Rainbow said, flipping over right-side-up again. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted since I was a filly!”

She didn’t notice the past tense. Nor the unhappy shadow that rolled over the Princess, nor the creeping disquiet that overcame her.

It was gone in an instant. Celestia shook her head and pushed aside her apprehensions. Matters such as these were made for another day. No need to dwell on such things now.

Rainbow continued, “Those moves, though—that timing! I don’t even know which way’s up anymore after watching that! I mean, seriously, did you see Fire Streak’s Blazing Blue Adieu?”

“It was quite grand,” Celestia agreed with a nod. “Though I must admit, I have a soft spot for their Icaranian Sun Salutation. The way they catch the light on each chandelle turn always leaves me breathless.”

Rainbow gave a moment’s pause. Then…

“Wait a minute.” She darted out front of the chariot and looked Celestia straight in the eye. “You know about the Wonderbolts?”

Celestia showed a look of puzzlement. “Know about them? They report to me, Rainbow Dash.”

“Yeah, but… like… their moves, their tricks—their flight patterns, and stuff. You, uh… You know about all of that?”

Celestia smirked. “Well, I’ve only been a patron of the Wonderbolts for the last seven hundred years.”

Somehow, this bit of information completely stumped Rainbow.

She knew it shouldn’t have. If there was one thing she could safely take away from all her interactions with Celestia, it was that there was always more to her than met the eye. But this well and truly baffled her.

“You aren’t wrong, though,” Celestia went on. “Fire Streak gave a stellar performance today. I can’t remember the last time I saw such artistry with a thunderhead. The blue electricity leaping off his feathers, the wing-over-wing box canyon turns, the aileron rolls…”

“An aileron’s not exactly a difficult maneuver, y’know.” Rainbow found her voice and shrewdly decided to gauge Celestia’s savvy.

“It isn’t, but it’s certainly impressive to see so many of them strung so quickly together. How many was it? Twenty, I believe?”

“Twenty,” Rainbow affirmed, still with suspicion in her voice. In all the years since she’d departed Cloudsdale, she’d never met anypony else who shared her enthusiasm for the Wonderbolts. Fluttershy pretended, Pinkie Pie went along for the ride, and Applejack scuffed her hooves and looked to the topsoil. This was something new.

“It was a gratifying display, in any case,” Celestia said with a soft smile. “And I’m sure the inverted windshear loop must have intrigued you, even if the ailerons didn’t. Fieselfeather himself would have been swept away by that little maneuver.”

“You know about Fieselfeather?” Rainbow asked, her mouth agape.

Celestia’s smile lengthened a hair. “What do you say we stop and have something to eat for dinner?” she suggested, skillfully switching subjects. “I know a decent restaurant not too far from here, with a private balcony we can enjoy.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever, I could eat,” Rainbow muttered. Then, returning to the important topic at hoof: “You know about Fieselfeather?”

The chariot—and the sounds of their conversation—carried on across the afternoon sky.

---

“Rapid Road?! Rapid Road?!”

“What’s the matter?” Celestia said, a smirk on her face as she slid into a chair at the small, polished table. She levitated the napkin roll and deftly plucked out the knife and fork. “Rapid Road’s got talent to spare. He isn’t as good as Steel Ace, I’ll admit, but he still has plenty of great seasons left in him.”

Rainbow’s head shook with disgust as she flopped into the seat across from her. “You gotta be kidding! Steel Ace is an awesome quarterback with the heart of a champion and the drive to make himself the best he can be, every day. Rapid Road is a stat-padding loser!”

“Rapid Road has had two significant shoulder injuries in the last three years,” Celestia pointed out. “He also has two more seasons under his belt than Steel Ace does.”

“Exactly! He’s all washed up! He needs to retire! Just look how bad the yardage on his throw is these days—”

“Laser rocket arm to bottle rocket arm,” Celestia declared.

Rainbow scoffed. “Did you see him last season? The guy throws like a wet noodle anymore! And that’s putting aside the fact that he can’t read a defense to save his life!”

The conversation paused when a waiter arrived at their table a second later. He greeted them respectfully, handed them their menus, and jotted down their choice of drinks. Before he left, he dipped into an exaggerated bow, his forelock scraping the floorboards as he acknowledged them both by name: “As you wish, Princess Celestia, Princess Aurora.” And with that, he cantered off.

Rainbow made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. Her hooves folded across her chest as she slipped low in her chair. “Yech. How do you get used to that?”

“It gets easier after a thousand years.”

“Yeah. I get that. But seriously, how do you get used to it?”

Celestia’s grin thinned to a wry smile. She looked away soberly, losing her gaze in the chattering throng of ponies who were busy scarfing down meals at other tables.

“It wasn’t easy,” she admitted. “It took ages for me to learn to ignore it. Luna still isn’t comfortable with it, as you might have noticed—though, to be fair, she has a thousand years less practice than I do.”

“Hmph.”

Rainbow snatched up her menu and flipped straight to the entrées.

“Beats me how you managed to tune it out,” she said. “After a thousand years of that, I think I’d probably snap.”

“I thought the same, when the crown first passed to me.”

Celestia reached out absently and placed her hoof upon her own folded menu, pulling it across the tabletop until it sat in front of her, although she didn’t make any attempt to read it.

A minute went by before she spoke again.

“I was about the same age as you are, you know.”

Rainbow’s eyes rose from the house special.

“No kidding?”

“Actually, I was a full year younger than you. Sixteen. A peculiar age to become a princess, no question—to say nothing of having the fate of three tribes on your shoulders.”

“Huh.”

Rainbow glanced back down again, distracted by all the tasty pictures. The carrot dogs looked so delicious. But the club sandwich had her mouth watering too…

“Luna was even younger. She was fourteen.”

The menu slapped against the table.

“No way! Luna’s only two years younger than you?”

Celestia cocked her head. “Well, technically, she’s a thousand and two years younger than me now.”

“Okay, okay, look,” Rainbow said, jabbing a hoof in the air. “See, that’s the thing. It doesn’t seem weird to you because you’re so freaking old. Uh… No offense.”

“None taken.”

“Point is, these days, you’ve got a thousand years of achievements to look back on. You’re, like, the strongest spellcaster ever—there’s gotta be a gazillion pictures of you in the history books, wearing super-cool armor and leading armies and stuff—you came this close to beating me in a race that one time—”

Celestia lifted an eyebrow.

“—so it doesn’t seem weird to you anymore when everypony and their mother bows down to you, because you’ve done stuff. In your case, ponies actually have a reason to bow. But Luna and I haven’t done stuff, which is what makes it suck.”

The waiter reappeared from the rear of the restaurant, squeezing past the other patrons as he made his way back over with a pair of drinks on a levitating tray. Rainbow watched him out of the corner of her eye as she brazenly polished a hoof against her chest.

“Don’t get me wrong. I am the awesomest pony in Equestria—”

“Of course,” Celestia agreed.

“—But it still doesn’t feel right, you know? I’m not a Wonderbolt yet. I haven’t made my mark on the world. I’ve got nothing to take pride in that could ever justify them tripping over themselves the way they do, and it’s super awkward. Luna probably feels the same way. You know what, buck it, I just want a daisyburger and hayfries,” she said, tossing her menu onto the table just as soon as the waiter trotted up.

“Make that two,” Celestia amended.

The waiter bowed again. “Very good, Your Majesty,” he replied, and he set down their drinks and whisked away their menus before hurrying back to the kitchen.

“I think you’re wrong,” Celestia said.

Rainbow’s brow furrowed as she fiddled with the paper on the end of her straw. “Yeah?”

“I’m sure you’re correct about yourself and Luna, but I don’t think you have me pegged quite right. It isn’t that their praise meshes with my own accomplishments, or that I’ve come to embrace it. I think it’s just that I’ve put up with it for so long, I’ve learned to ignore it.”

“So why not tell ’em to put a cork in it? Knock it off with all the bowing, the ‘Your Majesty’ this and ‘Your Highness’ that…”

“It will probably sound strange to you, but the honest answer is that I couldn’t. Not in the early days, anyway—it was critical then, with the peace so newly-established and the kingdom dangling by a thread, for Luna and I to be what they expected us to be. The people needed to know we were above them, watching over them, protecting them… and that the sun and moon would continue to rise and set. We were the glue that held Equestria together. If we were anything less, then the nobility would’ve tasted blood and circled like sharks, the tribes would have splintered, and the country might have descended into civil war.”

Rainbow’s hooves pawed uselessly at the straw one more time before she got mad and gave up. With a scowl, she stuck the plastic tube between her lips and blew, and the paper jettisoned off the other end and launched across the restaurant. “Sounds dumb.”

“It is dumb,” Celestia agreed. “That’s the thing about being an alicorn. You aren’t just a pony anymore. You’re a symbol to other ponies.”

Rainbow frowned. “A symbol?”

“A symbol of the realm, and of harmony. Of the peace that’s blessed us for so many centuries, and the safeness that enfolds us. It’s a lot to live up to, and it demands a lot of sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice. Psh.”

The straw plunked into Rainbow’s fizzy brown cola, and she brought the drink to her chest as she sipped from it.

A solemn look passed over Celestia’s face.

“But I’m sure you know what I mean. You, of all ponies—you’re just as acquainted with it as I am. You knew the weight of expectation before you were even out of elementary school.”

Suddenly, Rainbow stopped slurping her soda.

Her wings tensed, and her body went deathly still.

“The enormous expectations other ponies place upon you… The awful pressure of trying to live up to them…” Celestia shook her head sadly. “We shouldn’t let those expectations control us, but we do. You didn’t tell them to ‘put a cork in it.’ The truth is, you couldn’t have, no more than I could. Instead, you went out there and faced them every day, trying to replicate your feat. Expectation is not so easily dismissed.”

She looked down at the table.

“I’m sorry you had to experience it at such a young age. No foal should have to sacrifice as much as you did.”

“Yeah?” Rainbow snapped, hot anger rising in her voice. “Well, I don’t remember you being there to make it any easier.”

Celestia took the lash without flinching.

Thankfully, the waiter arrived a moment later with lunch in tow, and a longsuffering Rainbow Dash felt her anger ebb when at last, after so many weeks, a juicy daisyburger was set in front of her, with a heaping helping of hayfries on the side. It looked and smelled so freaking good, she couldn’t help but salivate.

Then the stupid waiter had to spoil her good mood by bowing to them both again before departing.

“I still bucking hate that,” she grumbled to Celestia.

“Comes with being a princess.”

“Quick service, though.”

“Comes with being a princess.”

Rainbow snorted.

“So, that’s it, then?” she probed. Her eyes raised as she reached for the salt shaker. “You just put up with the special treatment for so long, you… What? Grew numb to it?”

“I grew numb to a lot of things.”

The monarch adjusted her plate in front of her, speared some fries on the end of her fork, and munched on them, silently.

Rainbow shrugged. “Whatever. Still doesn’t change the fact that you’ve been around a thousand freaking years, and you’ve been and done pretty much everything in that time.”

“That isn’t true,” Celestia said. “I haven’t been everything.”

The table talk lulled. Rainbow’s concentration was elsewhere, already half-sunk into that delicious-looking patty—she had the bun peeled back, and she was currently decorating it with lettuce, red onions, tomato slices, and all the other little flourishes the cooks like to pile on the side. Her face was a picture of delight.

Meanwhile, Celestia’s gaze turned outward to the restaurant. As she continued to pick at her plate, her pensive eyes swept across a booth across the way, and the lone filly seated there.

She was young. Perhaps twenty-five years old or so. And dining alone, by the looks of it. She had a pair of shopping bags sitting at her side where the husband should’ve been, and another pair of bags under her eyes to go with them, and worry lines that would’ve looked at home on a mare twice her age, and a smile worn thin by stress. But she had a baby with her, there in a carriage by the tableside. And every part of her lit up with joy as she leaned over it.

She hid her face behind her hooves, only to pop out a moment later—peek-a-boo! Inside the stroller, a tiny pegasus foal giggled and swatted up at her, and then the mother hid her face again—

Celestia felt a pang in her heart at the sight of them. Distractedly, she helped herself to some more hayfries.

“Rainbow Dash, have… have you ever done anything you regret?” she wondered out loud.

“Nope,” came Rainbow’s immediate reply.

Celestia was caught off-guard. She glanced back. “Never?”

The younger alicorn grabbed the ketchup off the table and yanked off the cap. “Nuh-uh. Not my style,” she replied, tipping it over her wonderful, precious, long-awaited burger.

“Never once, in your whole life?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it? Regretting stuff is dumb.”

She shook the container, but despite her efforts, the ketchup wouldn’t come out. Rainbow frowned and slapped the bottom of the bottle with her hoof to convince it.

Celestia’s lips pressed together in thought. “Dumb how?”

“It’s dumb because it’s stupid and useless,” Rainbow said. She gave the bottle another thwack. “What good’s it do? The way I see it, way too many ponies get caught up in regretting stuff all their lives. It’s like mud in your feathers—all it does is slow you down, and you never get anywhere. Nah, that’s not for me. My way’s forward.”

She thwacked the bottle again.

Celestia gave her an appraising look. “You know, I’ll bet nopony’s ever said this to you before, but you might just be one of the wisest ponies I’ve ever met.”

Rainbow’s eyes slid upward to meet Celestia’s.

“Uh… Thanks, I guess?”

She regarded the Princess for a brief moment. Then it occurred to her that the stupid ketchup still hadn’t come out, and she scowled down at the bottle as she slapped her hoof against it over and over, again and again in rapid succession.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

Stupid condiment.

“Seriously, though. Regret is super-dumb,” she said. “And I can’t think of a single thing I’ve ever regretted in my whole li—”

One thwack too many was all it took, and all the ketchup came gushing out of the bottle at once. It sopped all over the plate and buried Rainbow’s daisyburger beneath a mountain of red.

Celestia stifled a laugh behind her hoof.

The shock on Rainbow’s face turned to horror and dismay, and then to the most grievous kind of loss. The sight of her poor, lost lunch reflected in her misting eyes.

“I regret the consequences of my actions,” she sniffled.

Celestia only chuckled and pushed her own pristine, untouched burger across the table.

“S-Seriously? I can have it?” Rainbow asked, glancing up at her.

“Seriously,” Celestia said. “Go ahead. I’m not very hungry anyway.”

Rainbow stared down at the unblemished plate. The delicious-looking daisyburger stared back at her, ripe for the taking.

Her favorite food. So long anticipated. So frequently denied.

Tentatively, uncertainly, she picked it up.

She took a bite out of it.

And her face was bliss.

---

On their way back to the castle, Celestia insisted they make a pit stop. The golden chariot veered down, the drivers’ hooves clapping loud against the stones on the high, flat-topped roof of one of the outlying guard towers. Rainbow tucked back her wings and landed beside it. She wondered what the reason for the detour was.

She didn’t have to wonder long. Celestia stepped down regally from the carriage and strode to the building’s edge. She looked west, out across the valley, and she raised her horn to the evening sky.

Nigh-imperceptibly at first, then with speed gradually-gaining, the sun began to set, arcing lower and lower across the heavens as Celestia guided it unto its nightly rest. She looked more angel than goddess throughout—and Rainbow’s jaw dipped just to behold her, a shimmering halo wrapped ’round the pearl-white of her body, casting her in partial silhouette. As she worked her art across the shining yonder, she seemed, in that moment, to be a magnet for all the light and goodness in the world.

Minutes passed, and the onset of twilight swept away the amber glow of dusk. The last glimpse of day disappeared beyond the farthest vantage, sinking below the hills and out of sight.

As the night enfolded them, Celestia finally lowered her eyes from the canvas, turned, and started back toward the chariot.

“Good to go.”

“Okay. That was…”

Rainbow paused to come up with a good adjective. She went with the best one she knew.

“…Awesome. That was totally awesome.”

A small smile graced Celestia’s face. “Most ponies tend to be enchanted by it the first time they see it. Twilight certainly was—it was what inspired her passion for magic when she was but a young filly. I’m honored to know it impressed you.”

“How do you do it?” Rainbow had to ask. “I mean, it’s the freaking sun. Isn’t it, like… heavy, or something?”

“It weighs eight hundred septillion tons,” the Princess rattled off easily. As if it were common knowledge.

“…That’s a really big number, right?”

Celestia chuckled. “It is, indeed, a very big number. But my bond with the sun runs ancient and deep, and it answers me like an old friend. Such is the nature of the gift my sister and I were given—that which empowers us also allows us to commune with our spheres better than anyone else in the world. It’s our talent, our purpose for being. It’s the thing that makes us special.”

“Huh.”

Rainbow took a moment to think on that.

“So you and Luna are, like… the only ponies in Equestria who can raise and lower the sun and moon?”

Celestia paused to consider the question.

“Twilight could do it,” she said. “It wouldn’t be easy for her at first, and she would have to work hard to hone her skills at it. But with diligence, in time, she could do it. I’m confident of that. Her ambition, her intellect, her innate ability, her cutie mark, her Element... every part of her is aligned to the task. And I’m sure there are others, too.”

Celestia’s slippers clicked as she strode up onto the metal coach again. And Rainbow, for once in her life, decided to eschew flying as she hopped up alongside her.

“What others?” she asked.

The chariot began to roll forward, the wind catching in her mane and tossing it playfully.

“Others who have it in themselves to succeed,” Celestia explained. “If there’s one thing I know for sure in my heart, it’s that everypony is capable of amazing things. Everyone has excellence inside of them, just waiting to be unlocked.”

Rainbow pondered the events of recent days. The constant reminders of her own inadequacy at anything resembling levitation, and the several dozen apples she’d exploded. “Even me?” she wondered.

“Especially you. You have so many outstanding features to your credit. Your confidence, your spirit, your loyalty…”

“You left off coolness, awesomeness, and radicalness.”

“Those too,” Celestia said. “And now, you have a horn. And Rainbow, I don’t know if you even realize… I don’t know if it’s occurred to you…”

She struggled to voice her thoughts.

“Magic is our world’s greatest gift, and everything we’ve built up these past thousand years, we owe to it. Magic is what’s allowed us to tame the land, to grow the crops we depend on to feed our kin… Magic is what’s let us control the weather, to bring forth the wind and storm. Without magic, we wouldn’t be united as a people. We would still be scattered, living in an age of darkness and hunted to the ends of the earth.

“Magic is the light that’s lit the world. And a horn, Rainbow—a horn is the gateway to that light in its purest form. It’s such a special, special thing. It’s the ability to change the world. To work miracles.”

Celestia’s ancient eyes lifted again to the deep, black sky as Rainbow stood quietly beside her.

“Therefore, be at peace with yourself, and with every part of yourself. Never make the mistake of doubting what you’re capable of. And always, always love yourself for who and what you are. Your horn is a part of you, no less so than your wings and your hooves. And whether or not it’s clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

“Treasure it,” she said, gazing out into the night as Luna’s half-lit moon shined down on them. “Strive to be happy.”

---

“So…”

“So.”

Rainbow and Celestia traded looks on the fluffy front step of the cloud house. A dozen yards away and well out of earshot, the drivers stood with their backs turned, just as Celestia had bade them do.

Even so, the awkwardness was thick enough to cut with a knife.

“Well, uh… Thanks again for the tickets,” Rainbow said.

Celestia’s face was inscrutable as she nodded. “Thank you for inviting me. That wasn’t something you had to do.”

“Yeah, well… None of my other friends are Wonderbolts fans, so…”

There was an uncomfortable pause. Rainbow shifted her weight from hoof to hoof, looking at the ground. At the sky. At the moths flitting a circle around her porch light.

“It was fun,” the monarch said, at length.

“It… actually didn’t completely suck,” Rainbow admitted. She rubbed the back of her neck.

Another anxious pause.

“I’ll be taking up long-term residence in the castle again,” Celestia said. “I think I mentioned it before—”

“You did.”

“—but just to remind. You know where my office is. You’ve been there before. If you ever… If you ever feel like…”

The sentence hung. Rainbow understood it, just the same.

“Yeah, well… It’s getting pretty late. Almost time for my nightly siesta. Gotta be up early to get a jump on… stuff. So, uh… Peace.”

She thought she saw something sad pass across Celestia’s face. But the goddess gathered herself together and said in an even tone, “Of course. I’ll leave you then. Goodnight.”

Half a minute later, the strangeness of the day was officially over. The door closed, the deadbolt clicked, and Rainbow was back her in her home, surrounded by familiar things and unfamiliar thoughts.

The shadows of the night stretched long across the floor, but a streak of moonlight came aslant through the window and shined on the frame of the picture near the entrance. Rainbow glanced at it.

And the elderly pegasus couple in the photograph smiled back at her.

The same as they always did.

She stared at them for a long moment. Then she sighed a troubled sigh. And she went to bed.

---

Princess Celestia lay on her side near the dying hearth. The lights were low, and orange fingers of firelight raked across the pale of her hooves as her chest rose and fell.

The window was open a crack, and through it drifted the sound of the wind’s wavering breath, a flurry of gusts diminishing to a murmur, softly whispering, before rising and blowing strong again. Each time the zephyr swelled toward a new crescendo, it caught in the boughs of the old oak tree outside, filling the room with the melancholy rustling of its leaves and the creak of its branches.

Minutes went by, and Celestia lay there, quietly breathing.

Then, at length, the door inched open, throwing a long sliver of hallway light across the dim confines. A purple head poked in.

“Princess?”

“Mmm…?”

Celestia barely stirred. Her tail flicked, and so did her ears, but otherwise, she was dead to the world.

Twilight stole into the room, shutting the door noiselessly behind her. She bit her lip as she took stock of things.

She wasn’t surprised to see the Princess relaxed in front of the fire. It was a favorite spot of hers. A toasty-warm bastion of solitude and solace, especially on cold winter nights, when the chill nipped in through the gaps in the window panes. And it wasn’t any less comfortable on warm summer evenings, like this one. It was always peaceful and quiet, and the fire gave off the perfect ambiance for reading a good book.

Although, she didn’t recognize the little book with the sky-blue cover lying open on the floor in front of the Princess… And by the look of it, the Princess was already halfway to dreamland…

“I’m sorry, are you sleeping?” Twilight asked. “I can come back another time if you are.”

“No… i’s fine… ’m awake…” Celestia said.

She didn’t sound awake. Her voice was distant and faint, as if she were speaking from far away, through a haze. And she scarcely moved a muscle when she talked.

But then she spoke again, though no less drowsily:

“Wha’s wrong…?”

“I—I just—”

Twilight stopped herself. Her throat felt tight. Constricted. Like it was too small for the words that were trying to squeeze out of it.

She couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. Why had she come here again? Having Princess Celestia’s high esteem and regard meant everything in the world to her, and here she was, prancing up to her mentor’s office to belt out these… foalish insecurities.

Why had she thought to bare her soul to the one pony she didn’t want to think less of her? It didn’t make any sense. And yet, seeing the Princess like this pulled at memories lodged deep, deep in her heart. She swallowed hard, and she heard herself sniffle.

“Is it okay if… if I lie down next to you for a while?” Twilight asked, her voice trembling. “The way I used to, when I was little?”

It sounded sad and pathetic, even to her ears.

Nevertheless, it brought a smile to Celestia’s face. A warm, wonderful smile, like the kind that lifts you up when you’re given an unexpected gift. Something you’ve yearned for that you thought was out of reach.

She opened a wing, though her eyes remained closed. “That would be nice…” she murmured.

Twilight lay down on the floor, and the white wing folded around her, drawing her close, bringing warmth to her body and soul. And for a while, she just sat there quietly, resting against the alicorn’s chest, taking in the sound of her heartbeat, listening to her breathe. The tension eased out of her. Her face relaxed into a look of contentment and hope.

“I’ll always be important to you from now on, right, Princess?”

The words hung in the air.

Celestia gave no reaction at first, and Twilight worried she might have drifted off to sleep. But then, a few seconds later, in a gesture that was both strange and reassuring, she felt the white wing rub her back, drawing her closer still against her oldest friend and teacher. Her head cradled in the crook of the alicorn’s neck. She felt the hug, the nuzzle on her tear-stroked cheek, soothing her fears with unspoken promises of love.

And then, a second later, the reply, spoken from someplace far-away:

“Of course you will, my Aurora…”

A dagger stuck in Twilight’s heart.

She didn’t know how to react. For the longest time, she just lay there, uncomprehendingly. Until Celestia’s breathing grew long and shallow, and she knew for a certainty the Princess really had nodded off.

The sting of it all was too much to bear.

Twilight buried her head between her hooves. In a few minutes time, she joined her mentor in slumber.

---

Time went on, as it often does.

Days passed, and May gave way to June. The Summer Sun Celebration loomed large, with the twenty-first of the month circled in red on the royal calendar and preparations already underway by a considerable portion of the castle staff. If organizing festivities for the sun-raising ceremony didn’t consume enough of the servants’ time, then arrangements for the evening ball more than made up for it.

It was all background noise to Rainbow Dash. Life, for her, settled back into a strange semblance of normality.

Having her cloud house back helped a lot. She didn’t waste any time in moving back to the old digs—day one, she’d already re-packed, relocated, and re-unpacked her worldly belongings into good ole’ Casa Cumulus, and both she and Tank were happier for it. To hay with stuffy Canterlot Castle and its stuffy attendants! As far as she was concerned, the next pegasus to grow a horn and get outed as an illegitimate daughter of royalty was more than welcome to that hellhole.

So she lived in her own house, and she cooked her own food, and she let her own dishes pile up in her own sink, and she went to sleep each night in her own cozy bed, curled up amidst the clouds with a smile on her face and Tank in her arms. And come the dawn, it was the light from her own window that woke her up—even if there was a parapet on the other side of it.

But she was still bored.

So freaking bored.

She still had flying practice to keep her busy. She was practicing more than ever these days, actually. Mostly because practicing was pretty much the only thing there was to do.

For hours and hours each day, she laid claim to the sky above the East Garden, swerving and swooping and landing and looping and honing her routines until they were so sharp, they flashed. She took satisfaction in the knowledge that she was improving, but it was just such a… well… a lonely affair. Sometimes, the Caretaker would sit on the ground and critique her as she flew—

“Trim the wings, lass! Ye look like fat bagpipe floatin’ ’round up there!”

“What the hay do you know? I’ve never even seen you fly!”

But for the most part, she was on her own.

She missed her job. She missed being a weatherpony. Sure, it sucked a lot of the time, especially around the seasonal changes, but at least it gave her something to do. No amount of garden work could ever fill that gaping hole in her life.

But more than anything else, she missed Ponyville, and she missed her friends. Teaching Fluttershy how to cheer, playing pranks with Pinkie Pie, going mano-a-mano with Applejack… even Rarity woulda been a sight for sore eyes.

Time went on for Celestia, too.

It took a while, but ever so slowly, the stress of the last several months began to melt off the overwrought princess. All the suspense and anxiety, all the coiled-up dread—the combined wages of too many trips abroad to the Griffin Empire, scouting out the Ascendancy’s extraterritorial bases of operation, and too many trips to too many hospitals in the bleak aftermath of Manehattan, paying honor to her wounded guards and subjects—all of it began to slough off her now that Luna was leading the investigation. She almost felt her normal self again.

But then there was Rainbow Dash.

From time to time, as she sat in her office, busying herself with stacks of mindless paperwork, she would glance up from her desk and catch sight of the athletic filly slaloming through the battlements or corkscrewing up and down the towers. Always, a knife of guilt would slip between her ribs. Her jaw would tense, and she would force herself to look back down again, sinking her eyes into the ink strokes.

Celestia knew her place, and her place was here. Here, to make herself available in the event Rainbow Dash should decide to come to her. But not to initiate, and never to push.

Soon enough, Rainbow did come. She showed up at Celestia’s door one day not too long after the Wonderbolts show, leaning against the wall and trying to be all cool. It almost made Celestia laugh at how adorable she was, but there was a troubled look about her, and the Princess thought it wise to put on a more poised air.

“Good morning, Rainbow Dash. Is there something I can do for you?”

“Uh… Well, yeah. Sort of, I guess.”

Rainbow scraped the floor with her hoof. A grimace rumpled her face.

“There’s, um… something I kind of need to talk to you about.”

Celestia nodded, strictly business. “What is it?”

“It’s… It’s Rarity,” Rainbow said—and Celestia pretended not to notice the way her feathers ruffled at the drop of the name—“Y’know, her sister was hurt the other day in Manehattan, and… and, uh… Well, she’d just feel safer if you sent some extra guards to watch over her and her family, that’s all. She… wanted me to ask.”

Celestia’s eyes flickered up and down, scrutinizing the pursed-lipped filly in front of her.

“I see.”

There was more to this story, that much was obvious. How to convince Rainbow to open up to her, though? The gears spun in Celestia’s head for a long moment before she settled on a tack:

“I hope you know, you can come to me about anything. If something is wrong, if anything’s the matter, I—”

“Nothing’s wrong!” Rainbow visibly bristled. “Everything’s peachy, all right? I’m just trying to do a friend a favor.”

Celestia’s stare lingered for a few brief seconds before she broke away. Never to push, she repeated her oath. It wasn’t her place to pry where she wasn’t invited, and all things considered, it was better to provide the help that was asked for than the help unwanted.

“Mmm. Well, it’s the noblest of requests—we all of us want to protect the ones we love. In the aftermath of everything that’s happened and the Ascendancy’s dark designs, it’s only natural for a pony in her place to seek safety and security for her family.”

“Uh-huh,” Rainbow said, nodding with understanding. “Yeah, so like I was saying before—”

“It’s also completely unnecessary.”

“—Huh?”

Celestia had been occupied scratching her signature into some legislative documents when Rainbow came in, and now she pushed these to the side, devoting her full attention to the perplexed cyan filly. “Rarity has had a covert contingent of protectors assigned to guard her and her loved ones in Ponyville since the day Generosity chose her to be its avatar—the same as all the rest of the Element Bearers.”

Rainbow stopped and blinked. “Wait, what?”

“Bodyguards, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia explained, pressing her hooves together atop her desk. “You and your friends have all had bodyguards to watch over you this past year, ever since you banded together to vanquish Nightmare Moon.”

“Who?” Rainbow demanded. Her wings snapped irritably at her sides. “I never saw any bucking bodyguards.”

“If you knew precisely who they were, then they wouldn’t be covert,” Celestia said with a playful smirk. “It was Princess Luna who came up with the idea, actually. A visible troop of guards, we feared, would be disruptive to life at a boutique, on an apple farm, in the weather patrol—but a small team of well-placed agents might be able to keep vigil and provide security without intruding overmuch. Don’t fret. Rarity, her family, and the rest of your friends have the best protection there is to be had in Equestria, short of taking up residence here in the castle. I’ll write to her at once and make this known to her—though of course, she and her relatives are more than welcome to stay here anytime they wish, should it help quell the anxiety in their hearts.”

Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, I guess that makes se…”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Wait a sec. You had a secret agent on weather assigned to watch over me for the last year?!”

Celestia tapped her chin innocently. “Hmm. Did I say that? I’m not sure I can say, really. I don’t quite remember.”

“Who is it?!” Rainbow took to the air, wings ablur and feathers flashing. “I’ll bet it’s Stormwalker, isn’t it?! I KNEW it was too good to be true when Cloudsdale conveniently found somepony to fill that opening last summer! No, wait—It’s Flitter! That two-timing Flitter—I always felt like there was something funny about her—”

Celestia just smiled and returned to her paperwork.

“It better not be Thunderlane! If my bodyguard is putting in that many sick days, he’s BENCHED!”

Talking got easier the more they did it. Barriers came down and walls fell away, and slowly, something began to build between them.

In truth, neither one of them knew what it was. It sure as heck wasn’t tenderness, warmth, or affection, because no way was Rainbow ever going to open herself up to that kind of mush—especially not to the pony who’d thrown her out like garbage before she could even crawl. But whatever it was, it was something.

And for Celestia, that was enough.

Rainbow returned the following afternoon seeking more help with her magic. It seemed Twilight had given a lecture on mana pathways, and the whole subject had gone over her head. Nothing made any sense to her, and she seemed pretty discouraged.

As concepts went, it was a rudimentary one, but understandably hard to grasp for a novice who’d been disconnected from the arcane all her life. Thankfully, Celestia had no trouble explaining it in a way that made sense to her, and Rainbow left feeling buoyant, happy, and full of confidence. The next day, she was back again

Before long, these impromptu lessons burgeoned into a regular affair, and Celestia found she could look forward to spending as much as an hour or more with Rainbow each day, usually under the pretense of giving her magic lessons—though magic lessons could just as easily turn into chatter about the Wonderbolts or spirited hoofball debates.

“Are you being serious right now? Come on, just admit it. Admit you’re not being serious.”

“I’m being serious.”

“Give me a break! Jackpot Thunder can throw a fifty yard bomb on his knees! You really wouldn’t pick him for the draft?”

“Hrm. Maybe if it were the seventh round, and nopony else had chosen him yet—”

“GYAH!”

As for Twilight, she got on as best she could. And in time, things began to get back to normal for her as well.

As normal as normal could be, being away from Ponyville.

In a sense, she shouldn’t have felt out of place being back in Canterlot. She’d been born here, she’d grown up here, she’d gone to school here. The castle was practically a second home to her, and her first home was a scant one-quarter turn around the mountain, barely a mile away. But Ponyville had been her home for the past year, and her heart longed for the familiar knots and hollows of Golden Oaks, with Spike busying himself restocking the shelves and all of her friends close at hoof.

She had Princess Celestia here, of course. Almost every day, the two of them would share polite company—usually at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, when they crossed paths in the royal dining room. Twilight always looked forward to these cherished interactions, and she had it in good confidence that her teacher did as well.

But something always felt off about them. Something wasn’t right.

They talked at length about this or that: arrangements for the Summer Sun Celebration, a new citywide ordinance requiring mandatory pruning for dragonsneeze trees, some tactless petitioners Celestia had received at court the other day, a spell Twilight had recently invented for scraping the black stuff off burnt toast. And it was all very mild-mannered, very cordial, very friendly.

It was the words that weren’t said between them that made her come away from each conversation feeling glum.

The fault was hers, Twilight knew. The Princess was just as warm and welcoming as ever, and their relationship marked by just as much mutual respect as it always had been. To tell the truth, she didn’t even know what it was she wanted to hear from Celestia. A heartfelt word? A reassurance? It all seemed so foalish, so very much beneath her, and Twilight was sure she wouldn’t have dared broach the subject even if she had known exactly what to say.

But as she watched Rainbow Dash grow closer to Celestia, day by day, she couldn’t help feeling forlorn. Like a boat untethered and set adrift, left to watch the shore from afar.

It wasn’t rational, she knew. Nothing about the way she felt made any sense. But it was the way she felt.

And too often, her treasured time with the Princess would turn to talk of Rainbow Dash—

“…and so the morphic matrix of the spell rewrites the metaphasic field of the toast. It convinces the toast that it’s actually bread, and bread knows intuitively it’s not supposed to be charred, so there’s a transitory response that causes the char to fall right off!”

“That’s wonderful, Twilight!” Celestia said. And there was a light in her eyes that showed that she meant it.

Twilight beamed. “Thank you, Princess.”

“Have you thought about submitting this breakthrough to the Journal of Culinary Conjuration? I know it’s been a while since you last published, but there’s an audience out there with an appetite for this sort of thing—pun not intended. If you’re open to it, I’d be happy to help write the cover letter for the manuscript.”

Twilight clapped her hooves together. “That’s a great idea! I’ll get on it straight away! I can probably have a rough draft on your desk by tonight—that isn’t too soon, is it? Oh, I’m so excited! With your assistance, I’m sure I won’t have any trouble in the peer review process!”

“Gourmands across Equestria will look back and remember this day,” Celestia said with a wink and a smile. Then, carving herself another slice of cloud cake, she segued, “Speaking of morphic matrices, how is Rainbow Dash coming along in her studies? Has she been able to grasp the fundamental concepts yet?”

Twilight’s excitement dissipated. Her eyes lowered to the floor. “Uh… No. Not exactly.”

A sickening discomfort sunk in the pit of her gut. Her failure at getting Rainbow Dash to learn anything substantive about magic was exactly that: her failure. Being pressed on it by Princess Celestia wasn’t something she relished or looked forward to.

“Hmm,” Celestia said. Her eyebrows curled in a frown. “Well, we might have to switch things up. Did you know she’s been coming to me for extra help on top of her lessons with you?”

“Oh… No, I didn’t know that,” Twilight said. An icepick of dread lodged in her stomach at the news. Rainbow shouldn’t have to bother Celestia for assistance! How did that reflect on her, the teacher, when her only student needed remedial training?!

She needed to redouble her efforts. She needed to crack the whip. She needed to—

“How about this? I’ll take over teaching her the basics and ensure she has a strong foundation. During your sessions with her, I’d like you to focus on applied spellcraft—specifically, protective magic. I’d like her to have a good repertoire of abilities to turn to should an emergency situation ever require her to defend herself.”

“Is… there anything particular you had in mind?”

Celestia tapped her chin. “Teleportation is still much too advanced for her, and likewise with a lot of other spells. Begin with something simpler, like a rudimentary magical barrier. From there, you can move on to shield charms and simple healing spells. Being able to mend an open wound can mean the difference between life and death.”

The alicorn looked at her meaningfully.

“This is a very important task. Be honest with me. Are you comfortable doing it, Twilight?”

“Of course, Princess,” Twilight answered.

What kind of student would she have been if she’d said no?

And so, Twilight’s lessons with Rainbow Dash continued along a path slightly altered. Whereas before they would’ve spent hours knocking their heads together on the most basic of concepts, now they had an even higher bar to meet. They met each day in the library and tried to muddle through it as best they could.

It didn’t go quite as badly as either one of them expected. Which wasn’t to say it went well—it was still Rainbow Dash’s thick skull she was trying to drill knowledge into, after all—but Twilight had to admit, she did seem to be trying. Trying and mostly failing, but still trying.

By all measures, progress was ridiculously slow. Every time Rainbow managed to achieve the faintest glimmer of a magic field around her, she lost her concentration and dropped it a second later. This went on for days and days, and after a while, Twilight was on the edge of her seat, impatient for a breakthrough. But no matter how many times she demoed the spell, it never seemed to do any good.

“Yeah, I know you can cast the stupid barrier. You don’t need to show me again,” Rainbow grumbled, folding her hooves and glaring at the pink hemisphere that sprung up around Twilight.

“Look at the way the magic warps the space around my body,” Twilight said helpfully. “See how it bends and curls along the contours of the field my horn’s projecting? That’s what you need to aim for.”

Rainbow groaned. “Magic is sooooo dumb.”

“Magic is not dumb. Magic is what brings order to our universe. Magic is what takes us from confusion to understanding in a way that’s precise, predictive, and reliable.”

“It’s duuuuumb!” Rainbow declared, and she banged her head against the open books on the table.

Twilight bit her tongue. It was irritating, to say the least, having to put up with these childish antics. And it always seemed to come to this. Every day, after they’d been at it for an hour or two, Rainbow would hit her limit and just… shut down.

It took her a while to come to terms with this. The unicorn was nothing if not a scholar, well-accustomed to burning the midnight oil on this spell or that one, working well into the night for hours on end. It was different for Rainbow. She didn’t handle failure well—not in general, and especially not failures of an ‘egghead’ nature. Failing was the same thing as losing to her, and Rainbow Dash hated losing. It made her angry. It made her sullen and withdrawn.

Twilight swallowed a sigh. If only her brother were around to lend his expertise. Shining Armor’s mastery of barrier magic was legend, not only in the ranks of the Guard, but in the Academy to boot. If anypony could get through to Rainbow Dash, it would be him.

But Shining Armor wasn’t here. Shining was—was—

Twilight clamped down on her musings. That avenue of thought didn’t go anyplace useful.

“Let’s… call it a day,” she suggested with some reluctance. “We’ll come back to this again tomorrow.”

It was a bitter pill, having to continually postpone these sessions when she knew Rainbow needed to learn this, particularly in light of the fact that her own reputation with Princess Celestia was riding on it. She grimaced and shook her head. If she didn’t have it from Professor Whitehoof himself, she would never have imagined Rainbow Dash to have any hidden magical talent locked away inside her—but she supposed the bill for repairs to the castle dining room spoke for itself.

So Twilight went about trying to teach Rainbow as best she knew how, with measured, incremental success. And things were okay between them. She kept it logical and professional, no more emotions, no more ‘bean can’ incidents. Granted, she still had terrifying premonitions of Rainbow Dash using her magic to inadvertently summon some kind of grotesque eldritch monstrosity, but as long as she tried not to think about it much, she found she could soldier through the lessons just fine. Even if the answer to “Did you do the reading?” was a perennial “No.”

One sunny morning, Twilight startled awake from a dream.

It was a terrible dream. A nightmare, actually. The latest in a string of nightmares that had plagued her since the day Sage’s letter summoned her to Canterlot.

These nocturnal terrors were so frequent anymore, and the imagery in them so persistent, she had begun to wonder whether they were weighing on her sanity. Always, it was the throne room of the old castle, and the dais, and the Elements of Harmony failing around her, and a silverglinting edge amidst a cavernous darkness and a pool of red. And always, she woke up clutching her sheets, roused in a panic by the sight of that horrible, slitted purple eye.

But the morning light shone in through the curtains, as it so often did, filling her bedroom with brightness and cheer. And she heard the chirping of songbirds over her own labored breathing, and smelled the richness of coffee wafting on the air, and soon enough, her dread slithered away back inside of her. She dragged herself out of bed, showered and dried herself, and descended from her tower for breakfast.

She froze at the dining room door.

Sitting at the table, hunched over a bowl of cornflakes, was none other than Princess Luna.

The alicorn’s starry mane was tangled and mussed, and Twilight’s jaw dropped when she took a long, unprincesslike slurp of milk off the end of her spoon. She looked like she’d just gotten up—or just gotten in. One or the other.

Luna’s weary eyes raised along with her next spoonful of cereal. If she was surprised to see Twilight gawking at her from the door, she certainly didn’t show it.

“Morning,” she said.

“Good morning,” Twilight replied. She racked her brain for the proper protocols before falling into a belated bow.

Luna quickly waved her off.

“No need,” the goddess said, concisely. She tilted her head toward the chair on her right. Twilight hesitated only briefly before sitting down next to her.

A servant hobbled out from the kitchen to ask what she wanted to eat, and she politely requested some scrambled eggs and coffee. He bent at the knees before scurrying off. Meanwhile, Luna finally reached the bottom of her bowl. She tipped it back and gulped down the milk, and Twilight found herself staring again.

“Something wrong?” Luna wondered.

“…Mustache,” was all Twilight could manage to say.

“Huh?”

“Mustache.” She raised a hoof to point at her muzzle. “Mustache. Milk mustache. All over you.”

“Oh!”

Comprehension dawned over Luna’s face. It didn’t do anything for the stain on her upper lip, but it did bring her a smile and a chuckle.

“How’s it look on me?” she asked impishly.

Twilight could only goggle at her. A few moments later, she rattled off one of her usual clinical assessments.

“It looks… cold. And… milky.”

Luna wiped herself off with a napkin. Twilight yawned.

“Trouble sleeping?” Luna asked.

The grandfather clock ticked away a few seconds.

“You could say that,” Twilight said, finally.

“Bad dreams?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah. Uh… Do you ever get them?”

Luna paused to consider the question. “Sometimes, I have dreams of a peculiar alternate reality where I’m really loud and I speak frequently in the third person. But other than that, no.”

Eventually, they broke the ice and got to talking. The conversation naturally turned to recent events and the Ascendancy of the Night. Luna was surprisingly forthcoming about the investigation, although disappointingly, she didn’t have a lot to tell. All of the perpetrators in custody were uncooperative. There was no imminent threat of another attack—at least, not as far as she knew.

When Twilight mentioned how her brother was among the wounded, Luna was quick to commiserate.

“It’s terrible,” she said, shaking her head sadly. “Too many good ponies have been made to suffer because of that group’s behavior. It’s disgraceful that anypony still practices such hatred this day in age.”

“Thanks for your understanding,” Twilight replied. “Princess Celestia said the same.”

Here, Luna looked at Twilight strangely. “Has my sister spoken to you at all about the Ascendancy’s fascinations since she came back last week?” she asked.

“No, she hasn’t.” Twilight frowned. “Why?”

Luna put on a feeble smile. “Oh. No reason,” she said.

And then she swiftly changed the subject.

It struck an odd chord with Twilight, but she didn’t pay it much mind. Soon enough, they drifted on to other topics, and they enjoyed themselves talking about more pleasant things.

Then the clock chimed the three-quarter hour, and they both realized they had someplace else they needed to be.

“It was good seeing you again,” Twilight bade a polite farewell. “I hope you’ll consider staying in Canterlot for a days. I know it means so much to Princess Celestia to have you here.”

Luna gave a cordial nod as she stood up. “It’ll be a few days before I’m due back in Manehattan. We should all have dinner together—you, me, my sister, and Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight faltered at the suggestion, but Luna was off on her way before she had a chance to notice, bidding adieu and gliding out in the direction of Celestia’s office, a pair of night guards at her side. Twilight stared after her, then down at the empty bowl of cereal she’d left behind.

She really was still an enigma in so many ways.

Twilight drained the last of her coffee, then pried herself up out of her chair and started for the library. It was going on ten, and she still had the next week’s magic lessons to plan out. With any luck, she could make some headway before Rainbow Dash showed up for another disappointing day of barrier attempts.

And time went on…

---

Late one day, as the afternoon grew old and the sun waned in the sky, the beaked-and-winged denizens of the castle aviary found an audience in Rainbow Dash and Princess Celestia.

There wasn’t any race to be had between them tonight. No adrenaline-pumping pursuit through the towers, no mach cone catchup, no wheezing proclamations of victory. Only a stroll through the sunlit garden, just the two of them. Celestia’s hooves treaded lightly across the hard-packed path while Rainbow buzzed above, jabbering:

“…I still wanna know the RPM’s on that thing. It musta been over two hundred—I shoulda asked the guy working the levers while I had a chance. It was super-fast, though, like some kind of twisted-evil carnival ride from Tartarus. I think they painted the spiral on it just to hypnotize ponies into losing their lunch.”

“I don’t believe that’s how hypnosis works,” Celestia said.

Rainbow threw her hooves in the air. “Green and purple! I mean, come on! Vomit was clearly the objective! It worked, too—you shoulda seen the bathroom after everypony was done—”

“Oh, that’s quite all right. You don’t need to describe it.”

“I tell ya, There was this one pink pegasus with a sunflower for a cutie mark, and oh my gosh, you never saw anypony handle spin-out worse than her. Her initial time off the stopwatch wasn’t even that bad, but the whole time everypony else was taking their turn, she kept running to the porta-potties again and again—”

“Did she run in a straight line, at least?”

“Heck, no! I think she was still seeing double on the obstacle course a whole day later!”

Celestia chuckled. “Well, that is the Wonderbolts way, after all. It’s not all that surprising, to tell the truth. They only take the best of the best, and they have certain precautions to ensure the ponies they draft measure up to the challenge.”

“Heh. Yeah. Quell the storm, ride the thunder, right?” Rainbow said.

Celestia nodded. “That’s the motto.”

A warm breeze whistled through the boughs as they drew to a halt in front of a grand old tree, with lush, summer-green limbs stretched far out over the path. They both turned their attention to a nest of twigs built upon a low branch. Rainbow frowned to see it empty.

“Where’s Philomena?” she wondered.

Celestia raised her brow. “Someplace else, it seems.”

Sucking in her lips, the radiant white alicorn cast her gaze out upon the water, lapping so tranquilly against the shore.

“I’d like to talk about something different, if you don’t mind.”

“Yeah?” Rainbow tossed her a look. “What?”

The day was fine, the weather perfect, and the sun shone bright in the rose-colored sky, its vermillion rays skipping off the surface of the lake like rubies. But in the pit of her stomach, Celestia was a gathering sea of clouds, gray and unsure and heavy with foreboding at the delicate matter she was about to raise.

Apprehension burrowed into her mind and stilled her, for a moment, as Rainbow looked on questioningly. She wished she didn’t have to broach this subject. The banter was so quick, and the mood was so light, and the two of them were talking and getting along so much better than she could ever have hoped, it was easy to overlook the trauma and turmoil that had brought them together; the emotional wounds, only just begun to heal; the explosive mixture of anger, hurt, and resentment that still lay underneath the surface, waiting for something to set it off. Rainbow Dash had a mellow and laid-back way about her, in general—but one wrong word, one wrong move, and she could turn on you like a viper.

That was Celestia’s experience, at least, borne out over the past many days spent interacting with the irascible filly. Of course, the Princess was shrewd enough to realize she was probably the only recipient of this type of ire; that Rainbow still had plenty of reasons to be angry at her. And that was enough to convince Celestia to walk on eggshells around her, for the most part.

But she had to dispense with that now. The solstice was coming up on them fast, the opportunity quickly approaching. If they wanted to seize it, they needed to act soon.

Celestia spoke cautiously around the subject: “It’s been over a month since you grew into your horn. I haven’t put too much on you in that time, have I?”

It was probably a mistake. Definitely a mistake, if Rainbow’s ears were any indication—they splayed back against her head almost instantly. The girl had developed a nose for doubletalk.

“What’s this about?” Rainbow asked, looking at her suspiciously.

“I need to ask something of you now. Rainbow—”

She paused here, all her qualms and misgivings seeming to creep into her expression. But she continued, nevertheless:

“Three weeks from now, the Summer Sun Celebration will be held here in Canterlot on the palace grounds. The who’s who of Equestria will be in attendance—distinguished statesponies of Parliament, honored nobles of the High Court, and representatives of the press.”

“And…?” Rainbow demanded. Her voice was sharp. She could already sense where this was going.

“And I’d like to make the most of the occasion,” Celestia said, her wings held rigidly at her sides. “The Summer Sun Celebration will go on as usual, with all the customary ceremonies, celebrations, and banquets… and one more thing. Your formal presentation to Equestrian society.”

“You wanna stick me in a fancy dress, put a crown on my head, and trot me out for everypony to stare at,” Rainbow said flatly.

Celestia shook her head. “No crowns. Something tells me you wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing one, and this isn’t a coronation, anyway. Though technically, by all laws and edicts, a coronation would only be symbolic, in your case. You’re already a princess by birth.”

Rainbow scowled.

“Not interested.”

“Neither am I,” Celestia said quickly. “But this isn’t something we have a lot of choice in. Presenting you to the public is something we have to get around to doing sooner rather than later.”

“So crowns are optional, but making me prance in front of your ‘who’s who’ friends is mandatory,” Rainbow surmised. Her voice was as bitter as bitter can be.

“I wouldn’t ask this of you if I didn’t think it were in your best interests. And I promise you, they aren’t any great friends of mine.”

“I don’t care who they are, the answer’s still—”

“They’re the movers and the shakers of Equestrian society; the elite of the elite. And although ordinarily, I wouldn’t wring my hooves pandering to them or seeking their high opinion, in this case, I believe it’s the wisest course. Perception means the world to these ponies. If we take advantage of this opportunity to have you put in a good appearance with them, it will make life easier later on.”

“The answer’s still no,” Rainbow said. Her nose wrinkled with distaste. “Where’s the ‘we’ come into it, anyway? Sounds like I’m the one you want to go through with this.”

Celestia steeled her resolve. “I understand this is something you aren’t looking forward to, but—”

“There’s nothing to look forward to, because I’m not gonna do it.”

“—but there are certain expectations you have to meet. This isn’t going to go away, Rainbow. You’re an alicorn, and—”

“I never asked to be one!” Rainbow fired back, eyes blazing. “And why’s it anypony’s business who or what I am?! Why do I gotta parade myself in front of anypony?!”

A frantic Tweet! Tweet! Tweet! came down from the nest, and they both looked up. Rainbow sprang into action, the frown on her face softening as she perched on the bough and found a single phoenix hatchling with tears running down its orange face.

“Hey there, little guy. Where’s your mom?” she asked, tickling it under its beak with the tip of her wing.

The baby phoenix just looked up at her with sad, yellow eyes.

“Probably off foraging for food,” Celestia brushed off the question. “It’s just one night. If you would just—”

“No, it’s not just one night. It’s ‘my formal presentation to Equestrian society.’” Still up in the branches of the tree, Rainbow sneered and looked away. “As far as I’m concerned, Equestria society can go buck itself, ’cause that’s not who I am.”

“It’s not that much to ask,” Celestia said, exasperation creeping in.

Rainbow’s face submerged again in a tide of anger. “It’s more than you woulda asked for two weeks ago! What happened to all that crap about my freedom, my choice? And now you’re putting me up to this?”

“I’m not putting you up to anything!”

“Sure looks that way from where I’m sitting!”

“You’re sitting in a tree, Rainbow,” Celestia noted, with just the faintest hint of cynicism. “And won’t you please come down from there? Philomena will be back shortly, I‘m sure, and it would be far easier for us to have this discussion face-to-face.”

“Fat chance of that. There’s nothing to discuss.”

The monarch’s lips pressed together in a thin, white slash. If it had been anypony else, she would have run out her patience ages ago. But of course, this was Rainbow Dash she was talking to. And dealing with Rainbow Dash required uncommon levels of delicacy.

But her gaze was adamant and unwavering, just the same. “You aren’t clear-sighted on this. You need to understand—”

“No, YOU need to understand,” Rainbow cut her off. “If I do this—if I go to their prissy parties and play their stupid games—I’ll never be anything to any of them.”

“Rainbow Dash—”

“I won’t be an athlete, I won’t be a future Wonderbolt… I won’t be me.” The third pronouncement was stressed—something essential, something meaningful, carried on those four little words. “I’ll just be Princess Bucking Aurora to them—”

Tweet! Tweet! Tweet! went the baby phoenix again, and Rainbow Dash glanced down at it sympathetically. She reached out tenderly to pet its soft, downy head. The fledgling almost seemed to lean into the contact, rubbing desperately against her hoof.

“Where the buck is Philomena?” she wondered again. “Shouldn’t she be here for this little guy?”

“Enough with the bird! Philomena will return shortly, I’m sure. Please, won’t you just come down from there? There are more important matters to talk about right now.”

Rainbow didn’t come down.

Celestia gave her a long, hard look. And for several seconds, the two of them just glared back and forth in stony silence, until finally, the Princess sighed and relented:

“You might not care for it, and I might not either, but here’s the reality of things. You’re an alicorn in a kingdom that venerates alicorns. Where the senseless and the sensible alike will revere you one minute, then turn and whisper about you superstitiously behind your back the next. And for the rest of your life, you’ll have to deal with it—have to deal with the rumors, and the speculation, and the presumptions, and Rainbow—you need to get out in front of it! Don’t let them define you. Seize this opportunity and use it to define yourself first!”

It all seemed very reasonable and clear-cut in Celestia’s head, but the words just seemed to roll off of Rainbow Dash. “I don’t give a BUCK about ANY of that,” she spat.

“The press gives a buck,” Celestia said sternly. “For a thousand years, I was the only alicorn left in the world, and the burden fell on my shoulders alone. Then the Elements of Harmony gave me back my sister, and the day Luna was restored, she was thrust into the spotlight.”

Serenity melted away as her face twisted into a mask of anger. “Do you remember the headlines? The way the tabloids bellowed on and on and on for months, spewing suspicion and paranoia? I have a habit of reading the newspaper every day, and there weren’t a lot of days when I didn’t come away in a white rage of anger.”

Her lip curled in disgust.

“Even now, they speculate about her. All because of Nightmare Moon, and the positive first impression she didn’t make.”

She looked up at Rainbow Dash, hoping to have gotten through to her.

But the cyan filly’s face was still fierce.

“What does ANY OF THAT have to do with me?”

“It’s your turn now—that’s the point,” Celestia said hotly. “Perhaps, if you’d kept a low profile, we could have contained the news to Ponyville—could have kept a lid on it a while longer—but two weeks ago, you caused multiple sonic rainbooms in the sky above Canterlot and led the guards on a widely-reported chase through the city—”

“Maybe if I’d been allowed to FLY, I wouldn’t have—”

“I’M NOT BLAMING YOU.”

Her voice rang loud, her visage cracked, and annoyance shone through on her face, clear and bright—at the same time, the fledgling phoenix gave another TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! from its nest, and Rainbow gathered it protectively in her arms.

“Are you purposefully misreading me?” Celestia demanded, glaring up at her. “Are you doing everything in your power to view this as an attempt to provoke? Because that’s not my intent.”

“I don’t give a BUCK about your intent, and I don’t give a BUCK about anything else you’ve got to say. I’M NOT GOING TO DO IT. I’m not going to dress up like a pretty little princess, go out there in front of everypony, and pretend to be something I’m not!”

“Think back to the Gala. Have I ever been keen on doing the same? No, I don’t go gleefully into such affairs, nor do I occasion to put myself through misery because I enjoy it—but I do it because it’s wise, because it’s necessary, and because it’s expected of me.”

“GOOD FOR YOU!” Rainbow’s voice was all but dripping with sarcasm. “How ’bout you go out there and take one for both of us, then? Have fun at your fancy shindig and LEAVE ME OUT OF IT!”

“You still don’t get it.”

The Princess’s tone was measured, but noticeably restrained, and her vexation was on full display as she shut her eyes and pressed a white hoof to her brow.

Rainbow folded her arms. “There’s NOTHING to get.”

“This is something you will have to deal with. Whether you deal with it weeks or months from now, alone or by my side, eventually, it will confront you. It will! There isn’t any getting around it. Unless you plan to remain in seclusion for the rest of your life—which you won’t—you’re going to have to face the public.

“Do it now!” Celestia peered back up. The look in her bright, pink eyes was imploring. “Don’t let it ambush you. Do it now! Head it off! Get out in front of it!”

“The only one who needs to ‘get out’ is you,” Rainbow muttered.

Celestia’s patience snapped like a rope. “Why are you acting this way?!” she seethed, her agitation blistering. “Don’t you see? Now is the BEST time to do this. Ponies are curious right now—they’re crowing for a chance to meet you—”

“Then let ’em CROW!”

“That’s not how it WORKS! If you don’t meet them halfway, if you don’t give them what they expect of you, they’ll make up the story and run with it, and who knows what the press will send to print!”

“Whatever they print, at least I won’t be living a bucking LIE!”

“No, you’ll be living THEIR lies! I don’t want what happened to Luna to happen to you! Is that so hard to understand?”

“Is it so hard to understand that I’M NOT GOING TO DO IT?”

A profound sort of quiet had fallen over the aviary. The chorus of birds and insects had ceased chirping, and even the wind and the lapping of the waves had gone to silence. There was nothing to be heard now, except for the clash of their voices, shouting back and forth—and the baby phoenix kept right on screaming all the while, TWEET! TWEET! TWEET!

“Listen to me, Rainbow! The press—the press is vicious,” Celestia said. “I’ve done what I can to shelter you from it so far, but I can only stave it off for so long before—”

“You SHELTERED ME?” Rainbow gaped at her.

TWEET! TWEET! TWEET!

Celestia hesitated, caught off-guard. “I—”

“At what point in my life did you EVER shelter me?”

TWEET! TWEET! TWEET!

They were glaring down at her, both of them—Rainbow Dash and the bird, both glaring down at her with so much hate and anger. But even so, she had to hold firm. “I’ve tried to—”

“I’m pretty sure SHELTERING ME is the OPPOSITE of everything you EVER did.”

The blow struck home.

Celestia tried not to show any reaction. But she felt the fight drain out of her, just the same. Felt the plugs fall out of the familiar old holes in her heart, and the sick feeling as they started to bleed anew.

“I… hoped we were past that,” she said.

“No, we’re NOT past that. We’ll NEVER be past that, because it’ll NEVER stop being true.”

TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! TWEET!

“Why? Why won’t you just agree?” Celestia pleaded.

She was well and truly disarmed at this point, but she had to keep trying, for Rainbow’s sake. She was simply headstrong, she just hadn’t come around to seeing the logic in it yet, she didn’t understand—

“It’s only one night! It’s not that much to ask.” If only she could find the right words, she could make her see reason—if only she kept at it for just a little while longer… if only… if only…

“Please, why won’t you just consider—”

“BECAUSE I’M NOT YOUR BUCKING DAUGHTER!”

TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! TWEET! TWEET!

Rainbow rose up like a hulking beast, full of rage and pain and sorrow, and she bored into Celestia with so much fire, Celestia could barely stand to meet her gaze.

Then she turned away, and she lowered the screeching baby phoenix gently down into the nest. And when she turned back a second later, all of the fire was gone, and there were hot tears rolling down her face. Pain and sorrow had won out.

“And that’s ALL I’LL BE—that’s all I’ll EVER be—to ANY OF THEM.” Her voice cracked. “That’s ALL I’VE BEEN to ANYPONY since I got this stupid—bucking—thing—”

She tried to keep from losing it, but the pain tore apart her armor, and the tears squeezed out between the lids of her tight-closed eyes. “Just your stupid daughter, even though I’m not… I’m not… I’m not—!”

Celestia saw her wings fire into action a moment too late.

“Wait!” she cried, reaching out in vain.

But there was no stopping Rainbow Dash once she was in motion. She bolted like lightning, off and away in a meteoric burst of speed. Celestia’s hoof stayed suspended in midair as she watched the familiar contrail blaze across the darkening sky.

She stayed that way for some time. Standing there in stunned silence, nursing her newly-inflicted wounds and wondering how everything could have gone so wrong.

A short while later, Philomena returned at last with a big, juicy worm clutched in her beak. She swooped into the nest and dangled it down, and the baby phoenix that Rainbow had tended in her hooves not two minutes before craned its neck to receive it. Its cries were all gone, like they’d never even happened. And as it gobbled up its dinner, Philomena puffed out her feathers and gathered the hatchling under her wing, blanketing it against the encroaching cold of night.

Celestia watched it unfold through far-off eyes. Her chest constricted with heartache.

Comments

[Aldea Donder]

Sorry, this one took a bit longer than expected. I blame various outside events and computer-related buggery. And the fact that Dark Souls was way freaking harder than I expected.

Various edits to Chapter Seven. Notably, the final scene between Rainbow and Celestia had been “toned down” from what it was. I moderated Rainbow’s attitude a tad to bring it more in line with this chapter, as well as the overall narrative.

Chapter Nine will be hopefully a bit lighter in tone. Not to give too much away, but my working title is The Pranking of Princess Luna.

Peace!

[Brony Soprano]

Seems like heartaches all around, for Twilight, Rainbow, and Celestia.

Celestia, did you really think you could be "past that? in such a short time? Really?

[Treeconator11]

Reading this fic is so absolutely painful, yet so rewarding at the same time. Rainbow, Celestia, and Twilight are all trying so hard, but they just can't work it out, and go two steps back for every one step forward. You just wanna hug all these poor little broken ponies and tell them it'll be okay

[Exelion]

That foreword chapter is allowed?

[T-Dash]

Really good fic you got going on here. You can really feel for Rainbow, Twilight and Celestia and the heartache this is causing them. Until next time.

[Metroid Prime]

Well..... Shat.

[Charlemane]

I had forgotten how much I love this fic. Great work.

[Trinary]

Yay update! As cruel as it may be to say, I'm am SO relieved that Rainbow put her hoof down, both with the party and Celestia. If she backpeddles and agrees to go, I'll be pretty disappointed. She's already agreed to leave Ponyville for, what was it originally supposed to be--a month or so? And it keeps piling on. If it it were me I'd be taking my cloud house back to Ponyville and leaving it there.

[Bast]

When Luna was having breafest, all i could think of is this picture xD http://mageneko.deviantart.com/art/We-re-Only-On-the-Fifteenth-Cup-540538250 . Amazing chapter and very emotional, i felt really bad for twilight though ;~;

[RealityCheck]

That scene with Twilight and Celestia. Wham, right in the feels.

Half the grief they're all suffering is because nobody will spit it out. Twilight hasn't figured out how Dash learns in this continuity. And her own grief makes her blind to it. And her own growing alienation from Celestia is like a spoke in the wheels--- she's harder on Dash, which makes Dash harder on Celestia, which makes Celestia more anxious and unsure about everything, which makes her relationship with Twilight more distracted... Three gears meshing perfectly-- locking one another into immobility.

They need a fourth wheel. A C-c-c-combo breaker, a go-between to break the lock and get things moving again.

I nominate Pinkie Pie. Because who else could break the gridlock between three princesses (Twilight ain't yet, but come on) but the Court Jester?

[NyOs29]

6468282
Let's review the facts: Celestia gave birth to Rainbow Dash but gave her up because she didn't want her nobles to squawk bloody murder about it simply because she was a pegasus. Six years later Celestia takes in another filly, Twilight Sparkle, who she treats and shelters as if she was her own daughter simply because she's a unicorn.

And while Twilight grew up in a sheltered world surrounded with the best-that-money-can-buy, Rainbow Dash was forced to deal with the harsh reality of the real world on her own especially after the couple she called her parents passed away. Then she gets a horn and now no pony sees her as Rainbow Dash but as Celestia's daughter and successor (even those who've known her the longest) and all of them (even Celestia) desire to place her on a pedestal that she didn't want so that they can display her and ultimately leave her to fend for herself admist a pack of greedy, self-center ponies who want to do nothing more than to turn her into another puppet for them to use to their advantage.

This is what I meant by an earlier comment in the story: not every royal born wants to be a ruler because of all the garbage that comes with it. And no one has the right to force them to be one especially when they're unwilling to follow rules or traditions that they find either mentally, emotionally, or even physically restrictive or force them to be people they're not, like Rainbow Dash.

As for the press you'd think Celestia would've remembered that the ponies that she is trying to kiss up to now were the same type of ponies who spread lies about Luna that caused Luna to be shunned by her own subjects and eventually become Nightmare Moon in the first place a thousand years prior.

[Andy Soshal]

6079862

In layman's terms: the author isn't as good at writing this story as he originally thought possible and at this point is just rolling with it.

In layman's terms: I am a douche who knows how to write this story better than the author, and I will not trust her to deliver a well-written story, even though what we have so far is just that.

[Sevenspur]

Is there ever going to come a point where somepony tells RD to shut up and get over it? Celly's clearly got her best interests at heart, and yet again, she gets no credit. Sigh...

[Anquietas]

It seems Celestia is particularly dense here, Rainbow doesn't want to be known as Celestia's daughter and Celestia can't seem to grasp that that is what she is pushing on Rainbow with the party. Rainbow really does have good reason to not want to go and Celestia really needs to figure this out before she drives Rainbow to follow Luna's hoof prints. Heck Celestia is, unintentionally, trying to push Rainbow into almost the same situation as Luna was in only swapping sister with daughter.

[Sevenspur]

6468866

She's not being dense, she's being pragmatic and realistic. Celly is completely right during this scene, as she's usually been throughout this fic. It's unrealistic for Dash not to be formally introduced ever. And the longer she puts it off the worse it will get. Not doing it will just feed into rumors and speculation that will hurt Dash even more in the long run.

Celestia's being tottally clear headed here. She wants to help Dash through this now so she won't have to deal with a way worse situation down the road. And she wants them to do it together so Dash won't have to feel alone. TBH I don't know why I'm the only one who ever defends Celly in these comments, Celestia seems pretty level headed to me but everyone always seems to take Dash's side in these arguments.

[Zobeid]

6468899

Actually, that's just the opposite of what I was thinking as I read it. Celestia is being completely sincere here, expressing her hard-won experience from the last thousand years of ruling over Equestria. She knows exactly what she's talking about, and she's. . . wrong. Because Rainbow Dash isn't her and isn't going to be ruling over anything anytime soon (if ever). Celestia sits at the pinnacle of a social structure that Rainbow Dash has little understanding of, or care for, or patience with.

What's the worst that happens if RD doesn't go along with this high-society stuff? Rumors, scandal and disrepute! Disaster, from Celestia's viewpoint. Rainbow Dash might not even notice -- or if she did, would brush it aside as unimportant.

As Celestia points out, they live in a society that venerates alicorns. Maybe they won't anymore, after Rainbow Dash (not to mention Luna) have been around for a while. And maybe that would be healthy.

[SlayGuy295]

What happened at the end? I don't understand!!

[amber93]

Before I read this, I would like to say when I saw the new chapter I honestly gasped. Then when I saw it was 14,000+ words, I walked away from my phone for a good hour because I truly couldn't handle all the feels bouncing around in me. If this were a physical book, its spine would be creased and its pages a little weary from constant, gentle handling; like the rest of my beloved books.

[fireflutterpony]

Twilight's gonna make such an AWESOME host for the Nightmare. BRB, getting popcorn.

[Beanzoboy]

6468866
6469339 You guys don't know much about the press, do you? The press doesn't care whether something is true or not as long as it SELLS.

The worst that could happen? Maybe the press wonders why Rainbow never appeared in public? Is Rainbow ashamed of Celestia, or, even worse and more damning for everyone, is Celestia ashamed of Rainbow Dash? Is Rainbow Dash somehow an accidental daughter? Was she the product of a night of bad judgement and alcohol? Not only can they destroy Rainbow's reputation through their callous, thoughtless, and insatiable need to sell articles at any cost, but they can destroy Celestia's reputation as well. Do you know what happens when a people are no longer trusting in their leader? I'll give you a hint: it happens in real life and is usually followed by civil wars, terrorist uprisings, and turmoil and death rampant.

Oh, wait, we ALREADY have terrorism in the fic? Obviously we need more ponies to distrust Celestia, because that will solve all problems.

The bad press could easily lead to any of this, but it sure as hell could be much, much worse. Why do you think the first thing tyrant governments do is control the press?

6468899 6468769 Of the three of you guys, you were the only one that made any sense at all. I'm pretty sure the other two weren't really thinking about what could go wrong, they were just thinking about how much they personally dislike Celestia and blaming her for everything. I am actually shocked, because yours is the first comment I'm replying to that I actually agree with and MAKES SENSE that has a lot more down votes than up votes. Again, that's probably because other people aren't thinking with their brain. Can't fix stupid, I suppose.

[Fourpony]

especially not to the pony who’d thrown her out like garbage before she could even crawl.

Good, I like this. Rainbow being able loyalty would see being passed off as a real low blow. Celestia is her biological mother, not her mother.

These nocturnal terrors were so frequent anymore, and the imagery in them so persistent

Don't think this word needs to be there.

Sometimes, I have dreams of a peculiar alternate reality where I’m really loud and I speak frequently in the third person. But other than that, no.

Getting around canon.

Celestia watched it unfold through far-off eyes. Her chest constricted with heartache.

I like the heartache and I also like Rainbow's stance on that she is not a princess, she doesn't below in high society, and she want to continue being herself. Nice little jab with Philomena actually being a mother to contrast Celestia's past abandonment. She doesn't seem to understand that Rainbow sees her being given up for adoption as a betrayal in a way. Celestia chose her current life and her image over Rainbow.

The staff continually calling her Aurora doesn't help either.

[BoloneyBrony]

6469481 Hey while your up could you grab me some Milk Duds?

[EverfreeSparkle]

You know, just imagine a Rainbow Dash with Jessie's speech patern from Breaking Bad. Freaking hilarious.

[NyOs29]

6469721
It's also the downside of freedom of the press, as no one in charge can control what is being printed so you've got a press that is willing to do anything and everything to get noticed and people/ponies seem to react better to negative news than positive news because they want to make someone else look inferior so thaf they can feel superior. And Celestia has already made it painfully clear she cares more about the personal views of the poltical snakes than Aurora; why else would she give her up? Aurora was born a pegasus, the noblity squwak, say mean spiteful things behind her back, spred gossip of every lie they can make up. Even Aurora's "friends" are more concern about public image than their friend's health and sanity.

And in the other way Aurora aka RD feels like she's being forced into a gilded cage that everypony expects her to go into and once she's inside she can never escape from it and RD has made it very clear that she's doing everything in her power to fight back against a world of people who expect her to fit a mold that they had concieved in their head.

[Jirodyne]

6469339 What you say is true. The others saying otherwise? Sorry, but you are all wrong. In this situation, Celestia is in the wrong. Because what could the press, the nobles, or anyone else do? The ponies don't know anything about Rainbow, and yet are already smashing their faces into the floor and worshiping the very ground she walks on. What the FUCK is the press going to do to change their minds? IRL, the Press is a bad thing. But in a magical land, where an immortal goddess of absolute power has sat on the throne for over 1000 years? The Press has no effect.

Because it doesn't matter if they downright hated Luna and feared her as Nightmare Moon, they would still obey her commands, as she is the ruler by LAW, and has done NOTHING to change that. And it's the same with Rainbow, She's an Element of Harmony, her Element is LOYALTY and that is fact that everyone saw after NMM and Discord's defeat. Would she REALLY try to hurt the nation She is Loyal to, with Fate/Destiny itself choosing her as the Nation's protector?

Seriously, I want you guys to think very very hard on it. With how we see Equestria works, NOT how OUR world works. WHAT possible scenario could possibly happen that would mean total destruction of Rainbow life forever, even 100 years later when all the ponies alive now are dead and gone, if she didn't do what Celestia wanted. What possible outcomes are there that are THAT bad?

[Beanzoboy]

6470590 Celestia gave up her daughter because she wanted Rainbow to have a better life than she could have ever had as Aurora, not from lack of love. Rainbow developed into her own pony, became an amazing flyer, worked hard her whole life to make it into the Wonderbolts, and was making something of herself as an Element of Harmony as well.

Imagine if she had grown up as Aurora, with the press watching her every move and waiting for her to slip up, and the inability to do things by herself because of the dangers of political enemies. There's a terrorist organization in the fic. Do you even think for one second they would hesitate to fillynap a young Aurora and use her to get to Celestia? Celestia is many centuries old. Think about how many enemies she's made in that time. I doubt any of them would hesitate to use Aurora to gain access to Celestia. Yeah, that's a MUCH better way to raise a child.

No, giving up Rainbow so she could live a normal, happy life was possibly the hardest thing Celestia's ever done, but probably also the most loving. If she hadn't grown her horn, she would have lived her life normally, grown up to possibly be a Wonderbolt, and only at that time would the press start hounding her. She'd be useless to terrorists, because she wouldn't have had a known link to Celestia, and therefor would be much more protected.

The reason Celestia had to interfere with Rainbow's happy life at all is because the horn would make it plain to see for everypony that she is Celestia's biological daughter. No matter what Rainbow tries to do, she cannot escape that fact anymore, and this complaining and refusing isn't going to help her in any way. She's still an Alicorn, and that makes her a target by the press, politics, and terrorists alike whether or not Celestia or Rainbow want her to be. This is something neither of them can control, but Celestia is trying to vastly ease the transition to Rainbow's now-inevitable fate. Rainbow's doing nothing but making it harder for herself and everypony else in the long run, and quite possibly putting herself at GREATER risk.

[Sevenspur]

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You're ALL wrong.

First off, I don't know where you're getting this "Celly gave RD away because she was afraid of what the nobles and the press would say!!" idea ..... that's not been touched on at all. If it's part of the equation, then the author hasn't mentioned it or foreshadowed it.

Also, "Celly gave RD away as an act of love!" is total bullshit. Celly isn't some altruistic Dumbledore leaving the baby on Privet Drive to keep it safe, she didn't do what she did to keep Dash safe from terrorists or give her a better childhood or w/e. If she had she would've come out and said it in Ch1. And TBH it sounds like Dash's childhood was pretty shitty overall with her parents dying, the whole sonic rainboom clusterfuck, and her dropping out of school.

No, Ch1 says EVERYTHING about Celly's motivations. Celestia gave RD away BECAUSE OF LUNA. The memory of her own sister was still really really painful for her, and she didn't want to open herself up to love again and in so doing make herself vulnerable ....... in addition she blamed herself for what happened to Luna, she told herself for a thousand years that if she'd only been a better role model for her sister, then her sister wouldn't have fallen. She repeated this idea so much that she was terrified she'd be an awful, corrupting parent to RD ... and so she gave her up.

THOSE are the reasons we've got to go on, the reasons Ch1 gives us. And the author herself pretty much said the exact same thing in comments.

6010879

And I’ll let this slip now. There’s a third reason, too. A very simple reason I haven’t touched on yet, which will come clear in chapter eight. It’s nothing overcomplicated. It’s not wrapped up in plot. But it has everything to do with Celestia’s history of loss. If you’re clever, you might just be able to guess it.

It didn't come clear in chapter eight, so I can only guess it's been kicked down the road to a later chappter... but it doesn't sound like it has anything to do with the press or with loving RD, like you guys are speculating, if it really has to do with Celly's "history of lost."

[Pause]

6471185

"third reason" implies there is also a first and second reason as well.

[Sevenspur]

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Also we've seen no indication the nobles are doing shit to "smash their faces itno the ground" over RD. Tristar is a member of the nobility and he treats her like shit, obviously. Guy has ZERO respect for her. And IIRC there's a whole convo between RD and the caretaker in Ch5 I think?? where he talks about the High Court.

“The High Court isn’t the most accepting lot. They’re a loud-mouthed bunch of blaggards, and they place a lot of weight on things like pedigree and purity of birth, which you have naught of. I gander your prominence seems very much like an intrusion to them. Then there’s the social order to think of… For a millennium, Princess Celestia has been the fulcrum on which they teeter and totter—and then to have you show up! I’ll betcha five bits they’re all scared out of the gourd you’ll disrupt the status quo, and suddenly Celestia won’t be granting them favors anymore.”

“Good! If they’re anything like Tristar, she oughta just fire them all!”

The Caretaker smiled. “Aye, well, that might be wee bit hard. They’re a tad entrenched in way of things anymore, and they wield a lot of power and money. The Princess would have less of a rabble on her hooves if she sacked the all of Parliament.”

Fic makes it pretty clear that Celly's NOT the only dominant political influence in Canterlot. Yes, the nobility MATTERS.... and because of this I STILL say Celly is completely right in the latest scene, she has RD's best interests at heart, and yes, meeting the nobility halfway would be a very, very good idea !!

[Zobeid]

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Errr.... Why was I included in your list of people who are "wrong" about why Celestia gave RD away? Because I don't recall ever posting any opinion about that subject.

[Sevenspur]

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Sorry guess I misquoted

[ssokolow]

Here, Luna looked at Twilight strangely. “Has my sister spoken to you at all about the Ascendancy’s fascinations since she came back last week?” she asked.

“No, she hasn’t.” Twilight frowned. “Why?”

Yep. Sounds like Twilight's jealousy is going to wind up producing Nightmare Twilight, isn't it?

I'm not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, it makes the subplot with the fanatics less of a fifth wheel but, on the other hand, the mixture of person vs. person (Rainbow-Celestia), person vs. self (Rainbow, Celestia), and person vs. society (Rainbow) that swirls around Rainbow's ascension and reveal as Celestia's daughter not only doesn't need a villain, it feels most natural when doesn't really fit with having a villain.

Twilight's jealously can help to flesh it out further, but it should be an add-on to the inter- and intra-personal conflict, not some add-on villain which implicitly trivializes personal struggle by its supposed need to be there.

(It reminds me of the Nostalgia Critic's comment on villains in Titanic movies. "I don't even get it. Why do these Titanic movies need a bad guy? Isn't the iceberg sort of the designated villain?". In this case, it'd be "isn't Rainbow's transformation the designated villain in concert with societal expectations? That is, after all, what's driving Rainbow to fight Celestia's total destruction of her life and identity while Celestia fights to prevent Rainbow from totally destroying what of her life and identity can be salvaged and Twilight reacts poorly to an unconscious belief that she's being abandoned by her second mother figure in favour of a new sibling who is inferior in every way except blood ties.)

[Vva70]

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I agree that with regards to the chapter eight conflict, Celestia is motivated by a desire to advance what she sees as Rainbow Dash's best interests. I agree that her perception of Rainbow Dash's best interests is logical, forward-thinking, and based on actual past precedent. I agree that Celestia's motives are pure and that her plan of action makes perfect sense.

But with all of that said, that makes Rainbow Dash's refusal to follow Celestia's plan, at worst, unwise and counseled against. It's also possible that Rainbow Dash's refusal is not unwise at all, but merely reflective of different priorities than those upon which Celestia focuses.

[CommandoDude]

RD is not a pony who grasps complex concepts easily. Celestia was never going to be able to convince her, she fell prey to the myth of communication (that she could avoid a conflict just by trying to communicate better). To RD, going to the event is her conforming to a perception of her she hates, and feels unconnected to - she sees that identity as a lie and does everything she can to distance herself from it. To RD, ideas like "public face" are alien to her, you are who you are - since Celestia goes to all these 'princessy' things wearing 'princessy' stuff doing boring 'princessy' things, that must be who she is, in RD's mind.

But the public doesn't see things like that, and when RD refuses to play nice, they'll make up a far, FAR worse reality and assign it to RD. Her refusal to reconcile her identities as Rainbow Dash the pony and Princess Aurora the persona, means that she will be totally unable to control how ponies view her. She wants to be defined by who she is, not who she thinks people want to see her as; ironically this means people will see her as even LESS of the pony Rainbow Dash, and more as Princess Aurora - except nobody (including RD) knows who the hell Princess Aurora is, so they'll just make some shit up based on her bad publicity.

Basically, RD is going to get a crash course in Public Relations 101. Celestia wanted to avoid that, but RD is the kind of pony who's too forthcoming to really "get" what Celestia was talking about. So basically what RD is REALLY saying is "I don't want you controlling my life, just leave me alone" while Celestia is saying "You're about to have your life ruined in public, please let me help you." They are on totally different wavelengths, both are really at fault but RD moreso.

As a Communications Major, their interaction here is really fascinating.

[Rainbow87dash]

6468103 No need to apologise you beautiful, beautiful person!

Your updates are well worth the waits!

[NyOs29]

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It may also be due to how RD grew up. Imagine if your caretakers died when you were at say 16 and you spent your late teen/early adult years forging your own image and self-identity and then out of the blue something happens, a woman suddenly appears in your life and claims that you are her own daughter and then spirits you away to a world that is the complete opposite of what you've had to go through and suffered and then she expects you to immediately adjust to her world.

And then to make things worst she then attempts to force you into fitting a one-size-only mold that does nothing but strips you of the self-identity that took you years of tears, sweat, and blood to create. That's why RD got angry at Celestia because she felt like Celestia was taking that away from her and as a woman once said a person can't ultimately hide who they truly are no matter what method they use.

[NyOs29]

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And one of those reasons was the nobility. As a pegasus filly they would see Aurora as useless to any of their plots for more influence and wealth and would no doubt degrade her with all sorts of hurtful lies and gossip as she grew up.

And as for Twilight, why is she trying so hard not to tell others as to what she's feeling. I mean she wouldn't even tell Luna what was really upsetting her.

[Nevarius]

I really can't wait to see the next chapter!

[Jirodyne]

6471237 This works against CELESTIA, and maybe even LUNA, since they are RULING the nation. But Rainbow is ruling, at least not for a long long time, if ever.

But again, I hate when people bring that kinda thing up in Equestria because it would NOT work. Celestia... I am not sure you guys ever heard this before.. But... you know... An IMMORTAL GODDESS THAT MOVES THE SUN AND MOON!!!

Discord Challanged her rule because he doesn't care, and the Changelings were just out for food and could mind control Celestia and Luna into raising and lowering the sun and moon.... But other than those two, who else has EVER stepped up to even challenge them, ever? Not Sombra, they went to him and invaded his country to fight him. Tirek would have absorbed their magic and talents, but Twilight did it first and defeated him seconds later when he did get that power.

So how. HOW are they going to rule Equestria when they kick Celestia off the throne and she says 'fuck this' and goes into hiding, never raising or lowering the moon, keeping them locked at either Eternal Day or Eternal Night. Remember this is what happened with Luna when she got Jealous, what happens when both of them are angry and with the Element of Loyalty on their side, who is going to stop them?

The Nobles might have a slight bit of Wealth and Power, but what IS stopping the Princesses from taking that Wealth and Power away, and giving it all to someone better... Like say... The Elements of Harmony, who were chosen by the Fates themselves to protect Equestria and help it?

Plus, you never gave an actual scenario like I asked. You just pointed to something in the Fic, but not an actual Event where the Nobles could do something to really harm Rainbow because she didn't pop up to them and kissed their asses the first chance she could.

Come on, really. show me some examples. Because if you can NOT, then it PROVES I am right. Because you can not think of even 1 realistic setting where I am WRONG.

[Sevenspur]

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The Nobles might have a slight bit of Wealth and Power, but what IS stopping the Princesses from taking that Wealth and Power away, and giving it all to someone better

The law..........? I think still exists, right?

TBH I'm not even sure what your point is. When did the nobles trying to kick Celestia off the throne become a thing? Bro, I'm pretty sure there's no chance of insurrection in this story. No one's looking to overthrow the royal pony sisters except the Ascendancy. That hasn't been foreshadowed and I'm not really sure how you got that idea in your head.

The danger to Rainbow Dash isn't from any HARD POWER the nobility can bring against the throne, but the SOFT POWER they wield... The danger is to Dash's reputation, and her happiness, and her future. Celly's trying to convince RD not to make an enemy of the nobility and the press in this chapter because it's a smart idea SOCIALLY and POLITICALLY. She doesn't want the Bluebloods and Tristars and Lord Brilliants of the world to drag her daughter's name through the mud, which could have serious repercussions for RD's mental health later on. She's trying to convince RD to befriend the nobility now because she doesn't want THIS to happen to her:

MANEHATTAN SMOLDERS
AS EQUESTRIA LOOKS INWARD FOR ANSWERS

...Further controversy has stemmed from the suspects’ affiliation with the Ascendency of the Night, a fanatical underground order apparently devoted to the overthrow of Princess Celestia and the elevation of Nightmare Moon to the throne. Princess Luna hasn’t been seen in public since before the attack and was unavailable for comment, but Palace spokesponies loudly dismissed popular theories of her involvement.

She's seen how the press has slandered Luna all because she didn't make a good first impression, and she wants to avoid the same mistakes with Rainbow Dash..... ok?

[Sevenspur]

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In the comment I linked before the author literally said keeping RD away from the nobility wasn't one of Celly's reasons for giving her up. If that was the only concern, Celestia would've had a private castle built somewhere where she could raise her daughter in secret before she would ever do something as drastic as giving her away...... Celly's reasons for giving Dash up were entirely self-motivated and grew out of her trauma over Luna, it had nothing to do with Dash's welfare. Hence why she was caught so flat footed in Ch1 when Dash threw her taking in Twilight back in her face.

Also Twilight won't tell anyone what's upsetting her because she's a painfully introverted idiot who doesn't want anybody to think less of her for being petty and immature... which she is.

[NyOs29]

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And I agree with you on that and even if RD did go the SSC ball and gave a positive first impression it wouldn't stop either the nobility or the press from saying negative things about her one of which would most likely be about who her deceased biological sire was and other such garbage. On top of that RD would only be seen in their eyes as Celestia's shadow and not a mare, or princess, in her own right.

It's like when people questioned Obama's US citizenship solely because his father was from Kenya. Even when Obama produced his genuine birth certificate that proved without a doubt that he was a native born US citizen (as he was born in Hawaii) many people still didn't believe him. And you'd be surprised at just how many people are willing to listen and absorb the words of an all-round mean-spirited person like Rush Limbaugh who can find nothing but fault in any one but themselves just a person's name alone would be all the amino they'd need to publically degrade them.

And if Celestia gave up RD just to protect her from Nightmare Moon's wrath why didn't Celestia tell RD immediately after Nightmare Moon was destroyed instead of waiting for RD's horn to emerge?

[Jirodyne]

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She's seen how the press has slandered Luna all because she didn't make a good first impression, and she wants to avoid the same mistakes with Rainbow Dash..... ok?

Now that is a very different situation. Luna was Nightmare Moon. She was going to wipe all life off the planet. She WAS a very real threat a villian. That wasn't a rumor, that is FACT. And now, there is a group of pony terrorists that are attacking and murdering innocents on a large scale, in the name of Nightmare Moon. And Luna hasn't come out and explained they are not following her, but her evil side, and won't listen to her.

That is VERY different than Rainbow's Situation! If Celestia was yelling at Luna about this, then yes Celestia would be right. But she is talking to Rainbow!

But again, look at the Article. This has been going on, for as far as we know, since Luna came back. This group has killed many innocents beforehand, it's just now they had a source/lead and followed it. This was a very real threat before the story started. And there were probably hundreds of Articles like this every single day...

.... And what has happened?

.... Well? can you guess?

NOTHING!!!

Nothing has happened, nothing has changed. The Nobles act the same around Luna, Luna is still there, still in power, and ponies still listen to her commands. And her situation is WORSE than anything that could ever happen to Rainbow, unless Rainbow went all nightmare and started murdering innocents just for the hell of it.

So again... WHAT will the nobles do about it if she just decides not to introduce herself first?

[Sevenspur]

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What happened is that Luna's been suffering mental anguish over her public perception ever since she was freed. This is clear throughout the fic especially when she's holding court in Ch3 and when she's with Celly in Manehattan in Ch6 ... The nobles clearly don't act the same around Luna, fic hasn't shown a **lot** of their interactions but from the scene with Luna and L. Brilliant it's clear at least L. Brilliant don't respect her and actually think the worst of her, and it hurts her emotionally. Again it's not about uprising, it's RD being able to define herself in public before the media or their puppetmasters get aorund to defining RD for her in a way that isn't so good.

Also the Ascendancy hasn't murdered anypony, literally no one has died.

[Thunder--Clash]

I can't wait for the next chapter. To bad it will most likely take 2 or so months for you to create it, right? You got an amazing talent in creating this story, not once did I grow bored of it, but it kept pushing me on to read more.
Keep up with that talent of yours

My rating will be 10 out of 10

[Vva70]

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And you'd be surprised at just how many people are willing to listen and absorb the words of an all-round mean-spirited person like Rush Limbaugh who can find nothing but fault in any one but themselves just a person's name alone would be all the amino they'd need to publically degrade them.

Setting aside any political issues, I'd just like to point out that you've provided us with a case study of your very point. You see, either you are wildly exaggerating a negative statement about about a person, or you have never actually taken the time to listen to Limbaugh in his actual context. Either way, you are engaging in the very behavior on which your point rests. So, props for giving us such a meta-example.

[NyOs29]

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The reason I only said that was because there are people who will always discriminate others even before the discriminated can walk through the door. A person can wear clean pressed attire, but on makeup, perfume, or cologne, their hair either up in a sophisticate hairstyle or a conservative hair cut, have a nice smile on their face and speak and act nicely towards others (a good first impression) and yet despite having never met them (or vice versa) there's something about this new comer, this stranger, that just strikes a nerve in them and that just being in the same room as them is considered the highest of insult to them.

As for politics and Rush Limbaugh, One: I can't get the radio station he's on where I'm currently living. Two: he started preaching a great deal of extreme rightist fanaticism long before I was born, and three: since when has he ever said anything nice about this country's minority? As in actually nice, not insultive or mockingly nice.

[Vva70]

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Believe me, I understand your point as regards the story. I even have considerable agreement with it. But I think you miss my point.

Your initial statement was, and I quote, "And you'd be surprised at just how many people are willing to listen and absorb the words of an all-round mean-spirited person like Rush Limbaugh who can find nothing but fault in any one but themselves." Do I really need to start posting Youtube links to disprove that? Do you really think that Limbaugh has never found any good in anyone but himself? Do you really think he's never said anything good about, say, fellow conservative Republicans? Perhaps Scott Walker? Newt Gingrich? What about Ronald Reagan? Surely you'd believe that Limbaugh has had good things to say about the Gipper?

I realize that in this latest post you've tried to move the goalposts by asking specifically "since when has he ever said anything nice about this country's minority?" First of all, your initial claim did not in any way hinge upon minority status. So I shouldn't even have to address this for my initial point to stand. Second, you really think Limbaugh has never said anything nice about people who are in racial minorities? Really? What about Ben Carson? Clarence Thomas? What about his own call screener who is black?

I'm not suggesting for you to agree with or even respect Limbaugh's political positions. But surely you can see where your own claim towards him, whether made in ignorance, hyperbole, or both, is the very type of claim that you describe in reference to the story.

[NachoTheBrony]

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TBH I don't know why I'm the only one who ever defends Celly in these comments, Celestia seems pretty level headed to me but everyone always seems to take Dash's side in these arguments.

I believe that's precisely the problem. Luna put it very well on the previous chapter: Rainbow Dash owes absolutely no love, tolerance or respect to Celestia, being the fact that Celestia really had some lousy excuses for abandoning her as a baby. Most people who give up babies do so either for being too poor or too young. The only common alternative is to not have cared for the baby in the first place (rape babies being a prime example of this). Celestia's reason: she didn't want to raise a hornless baby. She may have explained it in far more words, but it boils down to racism. Celestia might be a fount of knowledge in political matters, but her track record either as a sister or as a mother is dreadful. Far better mothers than her get their children removed by Child Services.

Furthermore, consider Rainbow's point of view:
1) Both the show and the fandom portray Rainbow as a paragon of Loyalty. Celestia is, on the other hand, a poster of betrayal from Rainbow's point of view: while Celestia presumes that she always had her best intentions at heart, that didn't stop Celestia from first giving her up as a baby, then losing track of Rainbow as she grew up (and had to fend for herself), and finally only acknowledging her once Rainbow had Ascended.
2) Rainbow is first and foremost action-oriented. To her, words and intentions are only as good as the actions happening behind them. Rainbow is currently giving a chance to Celestia, but the fact remains that Celestia's negligence could currently have Rainbow in a gang, a brothel or a shallow grave.
3) No thanks to Celestia not preventing Rainbow from dropping out from secondary school, Rainbow could be politely described as a street-made professional. Her scholastic experience was far from the best, so she's hardly going to enjoy being put through the driest lectures ever, then being made to feel like an idiot by an overachieving teacher that has zero empathy for her. Furthermore, it all entails a subject that she doesn't really give a damn about.
4) Rainbow was convinced to come to the palace under the pretence of getting to know her biological mother. Instead of that, she was shoved into a gilded cage, surrounded by people that look down on her wishes and on her class (for she sees herself as a plebeian), and couldn't even see her mother at all. It's quite sad that her only friend and confidante is a cranky gardener, especially after the fact that she is growing quite distant from Twilight.

[wlam]

“Sometimes, I have dreams of a peculiar alternate reality where I’m really loud and I speak frequently in the third person. But other than that, no.”

Smartass.