Chapter 11
“I won!” Rainbow Dash announced as she skid to a halt, kicking up a cloud of dust outside Fluttershy’s cottage.
“Nuts to that!” Applejack snorted as she pawed at the air in front of her, also enveloped in said cloud. “I did!”
Rainbow flapped her wings, trying to clear the dust so they could see each other properly. “Sounds to me like you’ve had one too many apples fall on your head. I beat you by a mile!”
“I was here first!” her rival maintained, waving her hat.
A familiar, hesitant voice spoke up. “Well, technically if you want to go by which pony arrived first, then I guess I won.” The two racers turned just in time to see the dust clear away, revealing an immaculate looking Twilight Sparkle.
Applejack’s jaw dropped. “How’d you do that?”
Twilight’s horn flashed in answer. “Oh, I teleported,” she said as it were the simplest thing in the world.
“From all the way back there?” Rainbow Dash tossed her head at the path behind them.
Twilight hesitated. “Yes?”
Applejack whistled. “Whoo-ey! That’s some pretty powerful magic, isn’t it?”
Twilight’s hooves scuffed the ground. “Well, Starswirl the Bearded considered it one of the higher-level spells so I guess technically…”
“Sounds impressive. Wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration for you to call yourself a pretty powerful unicorn, then.”
“Why would I exaggerate?” she asked innocently.
“No reason. Guess I’ve been hanging around with this one too much.” Applejack chuckled and gestured to Rainbow.
The pegasus in question raised her head and, deciding to take the high road, settled for sticking her tongue out at Applejack.
The cottage door opened, revealing an excited Fluttershy. “Rainbow Dash, hello! I’m so glad you came to visit again. Did you want me to show you the forest or have some more tea? I made sure to get some new brands of tea that are really … radical?” Her tone trailed off as she spotted Applejack and Twilight. Or she realized how difficult it would be to explain how one brand of tea was more ‘radical’ than another. “Hi.”
“Hey Fluttershy.” Rainbow nodded. “Not today, thanks. Got something else in mind. You remember Twilight and Applejack, right?”
“Oh yes, I know Applejack.” Fluttershy replied. “I do check-ups for Winona—um, that’s her dog—and sometimes I talk to the animals on her farm so they don’t eat too many apples.”
“Darn good job you do too.” Applejack nodded. “You’re always welcome to stop by, but I swear you like talking to them little varmints better than you like talking to ponies.” She gave Fluttershy a good-natured grin, but Fluttershy looked uncomfortable regardless.
“Oh no! I mean, well, yes I do but I also like talking to ponies. Some ponies.” Fluttershy looked Rainbow’s way. “But not just talking either! I like going for flights and things that are awesome like … like … extreme knitting?”
“Okay?” Rainbow felt lost. “That’s … cool.” Apparently she said the right thing, for Fluttershy perked up at the compliment. Rainbow nudged Twilight forward. “Go on, say hi.”
“Um, hello?” Twilight smiled nervously.
“H-hello.” Fluttershy returned. The two spent a moment waiting for the other to say something more. Rainbow Dash swore she could actually taste the awkward. She subtly poked Twilight in the side with her wing.
Leaping a little in shock, Twilight shook her head and that seemed to clear the cobwebs. “So Fluttershy, we’re here to see how the music is coming for the Summer Sun celebration? I hear you’re performing?”
Fluttershy’s shook her head quickly. “I’m not, my birds are.”
“Your ... birds?”
Rainbow was also confused. “The birds will be singing, but not you?”
“Well, I have been taking lessons,” Fluttershy answered. “It might be, uh, awesome to join a group sometime, but for now I help teach my bird choir to sing for the queen.” Her eyes seemed to light up. “Would you like to meet them?”
She seemed so excited that nopony had the heart to refuse. “Sure,” Twilight agreed amiably. Applejack and Rainbow nodded as they followed Fluttershy around to the back of her house. There they saw what could only be described as a menagerie of every type of animal imaginable. Rabbits, cats, dogs, mice, ferrets, ducks, a dozen types of birds, badgers, moles, otters and more.
“Oh, wow.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “This is really incredible!”
“Hate to have to clean up after them.” Rainbow Dash’s nugget of wisdom earned her another warning nudge from Applejack.
Fluttershy fluttered over a tree where several of the birds had gathered on the branches. “These are the birds who will sing for Queen Celestia … they’re so wonderful!”
“Cool!” Rainbow Dash flew up quickly. “Mind if we get a sneak preview?”
“O-of course.” Fluttershy struggled to keep her smile on. “Just give me a moment. I have a routine with them … but then routines are kinda ‘lame,’ right?” She looked to Rainbow. “It’s good to change things up, after all.”
“That’s the spirit!” Rainbow encouraged. “Knock us off our hooves, Fluttershy!”
With a delighted squeal, Fluttershy flew over to her birds. “Okay, let’s take it from the top!”
Rainbow, Twilight and Applejack watched as Fluttershy led a dozen different birds and somehow manage to make it sound like a harmonious whole. When she was done, all three of her visitors applauded. “Woohee, that was something else!” Applejack proclaimed. “I’d wake up to that kinda singing any day!”
“See, what’d I tell you Fluttershy?” Rainbow smiled. “Nothing to worry about!”
Twilight meanwhile regarded the whole display with awe. “You must’ve studied a lot of books to get so good with training them!”
“No, I don’t really train them. I just ask them nicely. They’re my friends.” Fluttershy rubbed her cheek against the head of a cardinal.
That made Twilight’s face fall slightly. “Oh. That’s … certainly something.”
“Why the long face?” Applejack asked.
“Our faces are always long, it’s part of pony anatomy,” Twilight stated smoothly.
“That ain’t what I meant and ya know it. C’mon now, what’s wrong?”
Twilight squirmed. “I guess I’m just finding it a little … I don’t know, disconcerting to see how many ponies have these natural talents that don’t require any studying. Like you and apples, Fluttershy and her animals, Rainbow Dash and her flying … I have to work and study and practice in order to master my talents. It makes me wonder—”
“—if there’s something wrong with you?” Applejack asked lightly. “Just ‘cause there isn’t a book about how to make birds sing or grow apples or whatever—” she gestured vaguely in the indignant Rainbow’s direction. “Doesn’t mean that we don’t practice or work hard, even if it is our natural talent.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Applejack is right. I may be able to communicate with animals but that doesn’t mean I always knew just how to take care of them or help them when they’re sick.”
“Really?” Twilight looked a bit hopeful.
“Oh yes! Even after I started talking with the animals I still needed to earn their trust. That took a lot of time, but it was all worth it.” A pair of birds landed on her shoulders and rubbed their beaks against Fluttershy’s cheeks.
Twilight couldn’t resist cooing. “Aww … how’d you figure out that you could communicate with them?”
“There’s not much to tell.” Fluttershy looked down shyly. “It was my first time on the ground and I was amazed by all the bunnies and squirrels and all the other animals.” Rainbow Dash’s wings subtly twitched, knowing what Fluttershy had chosen to omit. “But when they were startled away by this loud noise I went after them. I wanted to tell them that it was okay and it was safe and they understood!” Fluttershy let out a quiet squeal of glee.
It was impossible not to smile at her adorable enthusiasm. “That’s really amazing.” Twilight smiled and reached out to gently pat one of the birds … only to have them squawk loudly and take to the air, flapping about her head.
Twilight let out a startled shriek and ducked down, covering her head. Fluttershy leapt into action, calming the birds and getting them to return to their stand. Rainbow crouched down next to Twilight. “Hey, it’s all right. It’s all under control.”
Applejack looked over. “Maybe you should take Twilight over to the cafe and grab a bite to eat? I’ll stay here and help Fluttershy get things back on track. That sound good to you, Twi?”
Twilight nodded weakly, looking embarrassed and on-edge. “Okay,” she murmured as she climbed to her hooves, not casting a look back as she started trotting back to town. Rainbow flew alongside as she escorted her back.
When they arrived at a small outdoor cafe, they quickly ordered their food and sat down to eat. Rainbow ordered some hay fries and was eating them while Twilight sat in silence, just poking at her hayburger. “So … are you gonna study it or are you actually planning on eating that?”
Twilight sighed and slowly lifted up her burger, taking a large messy bite out of it, splattering her cheeks with ketchup. Rainbow chuckled at the sight. Twilight look confused until she felt some ketchup drip from her face. She sighed and dabbed at her face … with the burger.
With a cherubic smile, Dash swallowed her hayfry. “Sorry. You’re a real riot, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Thanks,” Twilight said archly.
Rainbow looked around, wondering why it suddenly felt colder out all of a sudden. She shook her head. “Look, if you can’t unwind a bit you’re never going to have any fun. And hanging out with you has been pretty cool.”
“It has been kind of nice,” Twilight admitted. “Until the bird attack, anyway.”
Rainbow shrugged her wings languidly. “I’ve seen worse.”
“Really?” Rainbow nodded. Twilight waited but no elaboration seemed forthcoming. “Would you care to—?”
“No.”
“Oh.” Twilight took a bite out of her daisy sandwich while Rainbow Dash mentally relived why racing through the Canterlot Gardens with Philomena had not been one of her better ideas. They ate in silence for a while before Twilight asked something else. “Are you ever going to tell anypony else here about you and Queen Celestia?”
“Hay no!” Dash said, spraying crumbs across the table. After taking a drink to wash her last bite down, she continued. “Why would I? My friends already know, and Rarity too. I’m only staying until the Summer Sun Celebration and that’s just a few more days. Who else would I tell?”
“Well, there’s Applejack and her family, Pinkie Pie…”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with such vigor that she almost passed for Derpy’s twin. “Are you kidding? The ponies in this town are—they’re just…”
“Unique?” Twilight offered.
“I was going to go with completely feather-pulling, head-splitting bonkers, but yes, ‘unique’ will also do.” Rainbow sat back in her chair with a shake of her head.
After a pause, Twilight spoke up. “I think they like you.”
Rainbow didn’t have an answer to that. “I guess,” she allowed. “They are pretty fun. But how fun do you think they’d be if they treated me like royalty? Applejack probably wouldn’t race me anymore and Pinkie’s parties would all become boring fancy tea parties and Rarity … okay she’d probably act the same. Maybe even become worse.”
Twilight took a sip of her water. “I guess I can understand that. You don’t want ponies treating you like you’re different or special?”
Rainbow Dash blew a raspberry. “Heck no, that’s not it! I am different, I am special! But it's not being Queen Celestia's student that makes me special, you know? You should get credit for the things you do, not who you know. I'm perfectly awesome in my own right, thank you very much.”
Twilight was so taken aback by her blunt declaration that she was stunned into sarcasm. “Wow. You are just so modest I can’t comprehend it.” Her voice was practically dripping with snark.
Dash smirked, glad to see another side to Twilight. “Hay, the way I see it, if you aren’t willing to sing your own praises, nopony else is going to do it for you.”
“You’re practically an opera diva in that regard,” Twilight commented lightly.
“Heh. Listen, either you speak for yourself or else somepony is going to do it for you, and that let’s them decide what gets said about you.” She nibbled on a hayfry. "In Canterlot, the high society types do this thing where they'll donate money to an opera or a museum or something so they can get some recognition for being a ‘patron of the arts.’”
She made quotations in the air with her wing tips.
“Then they’ll put on this fake modesty bit while fishing for even more recognition! Fake modesty is a mask for real arrogance."
"Maybe that's how it is for them," Twilight allowed. "But that's not how it is for everypony."
Rainbow leaned forward. "Think of it this way: let's say somepony tells Applejack her apples are the best since, you know, they are and stuff. Then she nods and goes, 'eyup, y'all got it pardner! They sure as shootin' are!' Guess what happens next?"
"Applejack tells you you got her accent wrong?"
"What? No, I—never mind, not the point!" Rainbow shook her head. "Chances are ponies are going to walk away thinking that Applejack sure is egotistical ... because she agreed with what the other pony said! How does that make sense? But if Applejack disagrees with them, tells them they're wrong or making too big a deal out of it when they both know it isn't, then that's okay?" She threw up her hooves. "Somehow ponies convinced themselves that complimenting yourself is wrong, but if you're modest you can get complimented for that instead of your actual accomplishment and somehow, that's just fine! Me? I'd rather skip all the lying and pretending and just say that I accomplished something worthwhile instead making a big deal out of how not a big deal it was.” She half-climbed out of her seat, her hooves pressed against the table as she leaned over. “So if you want to call me egotistical for being open and honest about my abilities, go right ahead! I’ll gladly take that over the alternative.”
It wasn’t until she finished that she realized Twilight had been shrinking down in her seat, as if Rainbow had actually been mad at her.
Rainbow winced. “Aw, geeze. Sorry Twilight.” She forced herself back into her own chair. “I get a bit worked up about this sort of thing sometimes … I’m not mad at you, I promise.”
“Really? You’re not just saying that?”
Rainbow held up her right hoof. “I swear. But if you want to, you can go ahead and sock me one … Go ahead.” She tilted her head to the side.
“Rainbow Dash! I would never hit anypony!”
“Go on, it’s no big deal. You know how many ponies would love the chance I’m offering you? Only, could you be sure not to get my good side?”
Twilight shook her head. “I—no! No I’m not hitting you!”
“Oh, good.” She wiped her forehead in relief. “That’s a relief. I’d hate to get on the wrong side of such a great and powerful unicorn as you.”
Twilight colored at her companion’s over the top antics. “Rainbow Dash—” she paused, then let out a giggle. “You’re being this ridiculous on purpose, aren’t you?”
“Ridiculous? Moi?” Rainbow gasped and put a hoof over her heart, fanning herself with one wing in a very Rarity-like manner. “How can you say that?! You’ve cut me to the very quick!”
Twilight laughed. “You are so strange!” Dash just winked and poured some of her hayfries onto Twilight’s plate as a peace offering. Unable to think of anything else to say Twilight couldn’t help blurting out “Which side is your good side anyway?” She almost chipped her teeth as she crammed her own hoof into her mouth, hoping Rainbow didn’t hear her.
No such luck. She laughed before taking on an exaggerated look of offense. “You mean you can’t tell?” Rainbow put a hoof against her chest as she fanned herself with her other, continuing her Rarity impression. “Why don’t you tell me which side you think is my good one?”
“You’re probably sitting on it.”
Rainbow sputtered, spilling her drink down her front. Twilight laughed at the gobstruck look on her face. “You—I—what?”
“Just the sort of eloquence I’d expect from Queen Celestia’s student,” Twilight giggled as Rainbow Dash dabbed herself dry with a napkin.
It wasn’t long before Rainbow thought of her own comeback. “So … you’ve been checking out my backside? Can’t say I blame you."
Twilight’s face went red as she frantically waved her hooves. “That isn’t … I mean—it was just a joke!”
“I think you’re protesting too much,” Dash teased. “Heh, wow this conversation took a weird turn.”
Twilight grumbled semi-audibly how Rainbow Dash took a weird turn, presumably at birth. “Y-yeah. I … I never acted like this before! I mean, Shining Armor and I tease each other sometimes but never like this! You’re crazy!”
“Hey, it’s what friends do,” Rainbow Dash reminded her, giving her a gentle shoulder punch. “And remember, being crazy gets you halfway to crazy awesome.” She smirked, then thought about it some more. “Unless you’re Pinkie Pie, where being crazy is halfway to being crazy crazy.”
“You know, back before—well before, I thought you were going to say how you hated how ponies tried to act nice to you in order to get favors with the Queen,” Twilight muttered.
Rainbow shrugged. “Well, don’t get me wrong, that does suck. You should get praise because you did something to actually earn it. If folks don’t really mean it, then it’s empty nothing and who needs that?” She made a face. “But I especially don’t like being treated like a wishing well with legs because I know Celestia. Good thing it didn’t take long for the high-brow types to figure out that they were barking up the wrong cloud when they pull that with me—by the time I’m finished they usually don’t want to have anything to do with me. And if I want to really wow anypony, I’d just show off some of my fantastic flying. They’d be eating out of my hooves in … well, you know.” Rainbow smirked, flexing her forelegs.
“So modest,” Twilight quipped.
"It isn't bragging if you can actually do it." Rainbow leaned back. “Okay, maybe I do talk about my skills a little too much...”
“A little?”
Rainbow spoke over Twilight’s incredulous objection as if she hadn’t said anything. “But if I was super-modest and stuff, the Wonderbolts would never look at me twice! Queen Celestia told me that having too much pride is a flaw, but she also said a lot of ponies forget that too much humility isn’t any less of one. You have to know what you’re capable of and be comfortable with letting other ponies know it too. Trying to downplay or deny what you can do because you don't want to sound braggy is still lying about yourself; same as if you tried to pretend you can do stuff you really can't. You gotta be who you really are, right?"
She idly picked up one of her remaining fries and twirled it about between her pinions.
"Things don't happen without effort, without trying. Sitting back and waiting for something to be dropped in your lap means you'll be waiting a long time, probably forever. Effort means putting yourself out there, be the pony struggling in the arena, you know? Not be the one passively waiting on the sidelines. If you can't put yourself out there, then what're you going to do with your life? I mean, isn't there anything you really want? What do you dream about doing?”
Twilight thought about it. “I—don’t really know. I mean, I think I’m happy with what I have: the library, my books and my studies. I don’t know what else I could really want. I still have so many exams that I don't really think about what comes after.”
“Right.” Rainbow wrinkled her muzzle. “There’s a word I’d like you to look up sometime, it’s ‘relax.’”
“That’s not a word,” Twilight fake-grumbled. “I would’ve heard of it.” The two shared a chuckle before being interrupted by the clip-clop of tiny hooves on the ground.
The two mares look up just in time to see Dinky running up to them. “Hi Rainbow Dash!” The filly waved. “Who’s your friend?”
“Dinky, this is Twilight Sparkle. Twilight, this is Dinky Doo. She’s Derpy’s daughter.”
Dinky waved. “Hello! You’re really pretty!”
“Awww, hello Dinky!” Twilight smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
“What’s up, squirt?”
“Mommy was wondering if you wanted to come over for muffins and milk.” Dinky peered up over the table. “She said Miss Applejack was there and she’s waiting for you.”
Rainbow Dash gave her a look. “Oh she is, huh? You sure she isn’t there to gobble up all the apple muffins?”
Dinky gasped. “Oh noes! We gotta stop her before she eats all the muffins!”
Rainbow mussed her mane before she got up. “Come on Twi. If you’re not gonna be a nerdy shut-in anymore, you’ve got to learn how to entertain foals. Maybe we can round up AJ’s little sister and make it a proper play date.”
Twilight bit her lip. “Um, well I don’t know, I’ve never really—” Dinky looked up at her with big pleading eyes, her lower lip jutting out in the slightest of pouts. Twilight didn’t stand a chance. “...okay.”
Rainbow grinned as the enthusiastic filly bounced around Twilight, asking her all sorts of unicornish stuff about magic. She was really starting to like Ponyville. As annoying as some of the ponies could be, at least they were genuine. Besides, who could turn down free muffins?
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You had me at "muffins".
I mean, Rainbow's not wrong. She is Celestia's student because she pulled off a Rainboom. This isn't false modesty, it's a fact.
Trixie foreshadowing
Heh, only a rare few ponies (or other beings) are immune to a Dinky pout
Got to love how Twi beat both Rainbow AND AJ by teleporting. And, yeah, can't blame Twi for being impressed with how well Fluttershy's animals did. And, yeah, Rainbow brought up a few good points during her lunchtime chat with Twilight (particularly on the "doing stuff to earn the attention" stuff and how most (not all, but most) of the nobles in Canterlot are untrustworthy at best. At the same time, Twilight made some good points about not letting stuff go to your head and not letting yourself get too cynical. And, yeah, that chapter end with Dinky was both sweet AND funny.
Anyway, needless to say, you did a great job on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places.
Really good interaction. I love how Dash is able to get Twilight out of her shell like this.
That's the thing I've never gotten from the series or fandom. Okay, so first off, a emblem is supposed to represent what a pony finds happiness and fulfillment or represents the moment they find such a thing in. Or at least thats what its supposed to mean.
But this seems to be the definition a lot of people, and ponies for that matter, take. Hell, even the show flubs this message in the AliTwi episode.
Give it time Twilight sweety
Doesn't think much of them does she?
See hon... ten seconds flat
She hides it well.
While I'm not on to subscribe taking stock in finding value solely through the eyes of others, there's not much use in a blowhard
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There was a reason I didn't like Magical Mystery Cure, and it wasn't because of Alicorn Twilight. I loved that concept (though they didn't actually capitalize on it until a season later).
But it threw my perception of cutie marks straight out the window. Sure, there was always an element of magic involved, but it seemed more like the magic of friendship - it came into being because of emotion and passion, not the other way around. You created your destiny, destiny did not railroad you into an action.
It could have actually been fixed with a simple edit (and maybe a bit more run time) if they showed time being rewritten retroactively to have them get the wrong cutie mark for doing their normal things, misinterpreting it, and following their perception of destiny instead of what they really loved. Could have even made a good lesson about external pressures and expectations.
"It ain't bragging if you can really do it"
Jerome Herman "Dizzy" Dean (Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher)
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Seriously tempted to use that line here.
I love this chapter! The banter between Rainbow and Twilight feels very natural and relaxed — despite Twilight claiming she doesn't know the meaning of the word... I realize a lot of this has been held over from the original version, but the edits really go far here in making everything that much more cohesive and professional.
This exchange is just a bit over-tagged. Sorry, I know it's a common refrain I've made, but the beats can stifle the back-and-forth between the characters. It crops up more here than it does in the later scene at the Hay Burger.
Not every line needs an action tag or a dialogue tag. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is get out of the way of your characters and let them breathe.
Also: “Yes?” Twilight answered hesitantly, afraid she did something wrong. — Others might not harp on it, but this kind of thing bugs me. The problem here is that "afraid she did something wrong" is telling, not showing. It's a common trap to fall into, just explaining what's going on in the headspace of the characters and leaving it at that — but it's a touch weak. More powerful would be to come up with a sentence or two to illustrate Twilight's apprehension through her body language in a creative new way. If the writing is vivid enough, there's no need to tell the reader what she's feeling; it should be simple enough to infer.
P.S. Teleporting to win a race. So that's how Twilight beat them both in the Running of the Leaves. Sparkle's such a cheater!
Seems about the level of maturity I would expect from Rainbow.
Fluttershy's a bit more composed here than she was in the original version, continuing a trend from previous chapters.
Hm. What's her angle, here?
Does Fluttershy feel like she's suddenly in competition with Applejack and Twilight for Rainbow's friendship, so she's attempting to highlight how awesome and extreme she can be in order to ingratiate herself to Rainbow? Apparently, she's self-conscious enough about Rainbow's opinon of her to perk up at the subsequent compliment, so maybe?
Man, Applejack's a nag! Quit poking other ponies, Applejack!
Yeah, sure seems like Fluttershy puts an abnormal amount of stock in what Rainbow Dash thinks. The impression I get of this Fluttershy is of a character that has more outward assurance than her canon counterpart in S1E1, but all that assurance is held up by Rainbow's opinion of her. Instead of having high self-esteem, Fluttershy is using Rainbow's esteem for her as a crutch, maybe?
Twilight gets assaulted by birds in any universe, I guess. At least she has an easier time of it in the remaster — no chicken coop.
This is perfect! Reminds me of that scene from... I think it was Twilight Time? Twilight just has no self-awareness about her fast food habits, and it's adorable.
Break this up:
“I know what I’m talking about with them.” Rainbow leaned forward. “They love to tear ponies down rather than do anything actually impressive themselves. When they do stuff like donate money to an opera or a museum or something it's just so they can get some recognition for being a ‘patron of the arts.’”
She made quotations in the air with her wing tips.
“Then they’ll put on this fake modesty bit while fishing for even more recognition! Ponies have convinced themselves that complimenting yourself is wrong but if you act modest you can get others to compliment you for that instead and somehow that's perfectly fine! Fake modesty is usually a mask for an even bigger ego. I'd prefer to just do it myself and skip all the lying and pretending.” She half-climbed out of her seat, her hooves pressed against the table as she leaned over. “So if you want to call me egotistical for being open and honest about my abilities, go right ahead! I’ll gladly take that over the alternative.”
Split this up too:
Rainbow spoke over Twilight’s incredulous objection as if she hadn’t said anything. “But if I was super-modest and stuff, the Wonderbolts would never look at me twice! Queen Celestia told me that having too much pride is a flaw, but she also said a lot of ponies forget that too much humility isn’t any less of one. You have to know what you’re capable of and be comfortable with letting other ponies know it too. Trying to downplay or deny what you can do because you don't want to sound braggy is still lying about yourself; no different than if you tried to pretend you can do stuff you really can't."
She idly picked up one of her remaining fries and twirled it about between her pinions.
"If you don't push for yourself, you’ll never accomplish anything. And if you want something, you have to put yourself out there, be the pony in the arena, you know? Not be the one passively waiting on the sidelines. Nopony’s going to just give you everything you want out of the blue without asking. I mean, isn't there anything you really want? What do you dream about doing?”
You're missing the end of this sentence.
I love this line! Love the flirting between Rainbow and Twilight too, but that might just be the TwiDash shipper in me.
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Thanks so much! I made a few corrections along the lines you mentioned, though with the tags--there's three characters speaking so it's a bit important to say who is saying what to avoid any confusion. I was able to get rid of one tag, but I'm not really sure how to strip it down any further than that.
Any time someone brings up magic that was considered powerful ages ago I just get flashbacks to a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode that had a demon who could not be killed by any mortal weapon...but he gained that reputation in, like, the 900s AD.
In fairness, while it doesn't involve a lot of flying Rainbow Dash certainly has to study in a more "physical" sense. I'm surprised Twilight didn't pick up on that.
HA! Looks like Twilight was constantly chasing Applejack and Rainbow Dash for the view.
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I’m going by the loose headcannon that since we don’t see your average unicorn teleporting around that it’s a bit more of a higher-tier ability.
Maybe, though we have seen Rainbow work hard at her training. Still takes effort was the point, even for the naturally gifted.
Noooo comment XD
I have to say, I really like Rainbow's characterisation here. She's definitely not modest, but she wants ponies to respect her because she's the awesome Rainbow Dash, not just PRINCESS Celestia's student