Rainbow Dash goes to The Averages Tower

by Khampostel

Act I

The elevator slowly ascended to the first floor. Although it would have been easier for Dash to open a window and fly out of the building, such behavior would have been rude and inappropriate given the place she was in. Manehattan was a city of ponies with its own rules and etiquettes of behavior. In the past, Dash hadn't cared about respecting those rules, but now she was a respectable adult mare, a member of the Wonderbolts, and a close friend of the current ruling princess. The latter was something to be very mindful of, as in a city like Manehattan, which thrived on rumors and scandals, her misbehavior could well tarnish not only her own image but also that of her friends.

Dash didn't want to take those risks, although a part of her really wished to leave immediately. She chose to stay and follow the routine. Besides, there was something else weighing on her...

Until that moment, she had remained calm and relaxed. But once the elevator doors closed and it started to descend, so did her confidence.

"What should I do now?" she exclaimed anxiously. "Think, Dash, think!"

But nothing came to her mind. Only distressing memories...

Several months ago, Dash had visited the main DN building (shared headquarters with White Horse Publishing), to pitch the idea of a book based on her journey around the world. This was a project she had kept secret from all her acquaintances, including her best friends. She had taken so many precautions not to be discovered that even when she showed up at the publishing offices, she did so in a ridiculous disguise of an elderly, wealthy, eccentric pony, who was a relative of hers.

After being recognized and struggling with the security guards, she negotiated with the sales manager of the publishing house, eventually reaching an agreement to publish her book "Rainbow Dash: Unstoppable Around the World," a book aimed at spreading friendship and personal empowerment that a pony could achieve if they dared to explore beyond the known limits of Equestria.

Of course, this was the justification Dash offered to the publishing house and repeated to herself to avoid admitting that the entire story of the book focused solely on her and her incredible adventures.

However, the real reasons for embarking on this task, so contrary to her personality, were partly different.

Almost three years ago, she and her friends had committed to do a special activity for the newly crowned Princess Twilight at the "Festival of the Two Sisters." This holiday was important for all ponies and represented an excellent opportunity to spend time together away from the tasks and responsibilities of their daily lives.

The special activity consisted of randomly selecting one of them. The chosen pony would have the responsibility to prepare a gift or lead some festivity on that same day, directed, of course, at Twilight as the main focus.

Until that date, two of them had already fulfilled that promise with honors.

In the first year, Rarity had organized a banquet in record time with the most important intellectuals from all of Equestria. That dinner featured the admirable participation of Starswirl the Bearded and Stygian. Dash suspected that her pink friend had something to do with how she had gathered them in such a short time.

The following year, Applejack surprised everyone by holding an impromptu outdoor concert in the main garden of Canterlot Castle. Hearing Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight sing together was an experience that no pony present at the celebration would forget.

Luck had it that Rarity and Applejack's turns had passed, and Dash could only thank her own good fortune for not having been chosen. It's not that she didn't want to organize the event for her friend, but she couldn't think of anything cool, and all she could do was try to hide her panic in the middle of the draw. Time passed, and the bar set by her pony friends only got higher.

With all this in mind, and setting aside the jealousy that was starting to creep in, Dash came up with a brilliant idea one day: she had had an incredible adventure traveling around the world, and Twilight loved books and stories. If she combined both ideas, she would achieve the success she was looking for: to publish an unpublished book of her journey in lavish detail and make a special copy for her princess friend on the "Festival of the Two Sisters" day.

Excited by her own ingenuity, and without thinking too much, she proceeded to pour all her travel experiences into manuscripts. She wasn't a writer, but she figured that narrating her own experiences wouldn't be difficult. And although she was disappointed that it took her months of work, once her task was finished, she personally sent them to the White Horse publishing house to be turned into a book.

What followed was a string of misfortunes that would haunt her to the present day.

The initial manuscripts she sent were rejected due to their poor writing. The advisor in charge of supervising her work never showed up for "personal" reasons, according to J.J. Jelly. The White Horse publishing house had all their best editors working on the new Daring Do book, which was set to premiere in the same week that Dash was supposed to publish hers. Finally, the first chapter that had taken her so much effort to redo was rejected again, leading her to today's appointment.

The elevator continued to descend slowly, and Dash no longer had the energy to carry on with that project. She didn't have a story to share; everything she had done seemed like a waste of time, and she was also running out of time.

"No, Dash! There's still time. You just need another editor who can fix this... or come up with something even cooler for Twilight. But what?" Dash, dejected, muttered as she sat down and looked at the closed elevator doors. The answer definitely wouldn't come from there.

"I know someone who can help you," replied a voice behind her.

Dash immediately turned around, surprised. Next to a stack of boxes she had ignored when entering the elevator stood a mare. She had short, tousled mane of a bright chestnut color. She wore a neatly pressed black jumpsuit that hugged her body perfectly, revealing a slender figure. However, the most striking thing about her wasn't her perfect figure, but the delicate features of her face. Dash couldn't be sure, but she seemed to be wearing no makeup or accessories. It was probably her natural beauty that made her stand out, especially her scarlet eyes.

"Who are you?" exclaimed Dash, puzzled. She couldn't understand how she hadn't sensed that pony before. Dash had been somewhat disconnected until shortly before, but not enough to let her guard down.

Then Dash realized the obvious. "Wait a moment. You heard everything I said!"

"Don't worry, I didn't hear anything, but I think you're a pony interested in the publishing market. Maybe this will interest you..." said the striking mare softly as she magically levitated a red card with white stripes towards Dash's hooves.

Dash curiously observed the colorful card marked with a large letter 'A'.

The mare approached her and whispered in her ear, "True winners aren't afraid to take uncharted paths, right?" Those words, from her own book, puzzled Dash. She was about to respond, but at that precise moment, the elevator doors opened. The mysterious mare quickly exited just as a tumultuous group of office ponies flooded in.

Pushing through the ponies, Dash stepped out of the elevator and quickly began to search for the mysterious mare. But she only found the large crowd of ponies entering and exiting the grand lobby of the DN tower.

Dash scratched her head. "What was that?" She again checked the card she had received. Then she noticed an important detail. The mysterious mare had given it to her with magic! But she wasn't a unicorn but an earth pony.

Furrowing her brow even more, Dash scanned her surroundings again. Her instincts told her she was being watched. Uncomfortable with that feeling, she flew out of the building. Her strong wings easily propelled her high into the sky in a matter of seconds; she stopped and began to contemplate the immensity of the city.

"Averages Tower, right? Alright! I'll be there." Accepting the challenge, Dash dove down towards the metropolis.