Recent circumstances have given Twilight the opportunity to live a dream she once thought would be impossible.
Rainbow Dash thought it was an odd request when Twilight had asked for hints and guidance in stunt flying. Persuaded by tickets to the year's most popular Wonderbolts event, however, gave Rainbow all the motivation she needed to help. While practicing, Twilight's odd and secretive behavior piqued Rainbow's curiosity and required further investigation. What she finds out does not make the rainbow maned pegasus happy. Not one bit.
Twilight Sparkle's eyes scanned the page of the book floating in front of her. Left to right, she took in every single word, even going as far to reread several paragraphs. She had no room for error. As she mumbled to herself, a knock at her door grabbed her attention. For a split second, a look of confusion rested on her face, until she remembered the whole reason for reading this particular book in the first place. With a soft smile, she stood up and stretched out a few muscles. The sound of her joints popping nearly drowned out the door's knock. Her relief was short lived, however, as the knocks coming from the door continued, getting louder and more frequent as the visitor was getting impatient. Twilight trotted across the room and magically opened the door as she approached it. She was met with a cyan hoof just a few inches from her nose.
“How's it going Twilight?” Twilight's expected visitor, Rainbow Dash said as she moved her hoof away from Twilight's shocked face. She chuckled to herself nervously, taking the extra precaution of taking a step back after she noticed Twilight's unamused gaze. Twilight closed her eyes, placing a hoof on her chest and with a long, drawn out sigh, extended her foreleg. Once she felt her nerves were calmed enough, she returned a genuine smile to Rainbow.
“Hello Rainbow. I guess you are here for my flight practice.” said Twilight. That statement alone had, for Rainbow's good fortune, removed any desire Twilight had of lecturing her on impatient knocking. Rainbow Dash took a step forward, realizing her friend had no intention of lecturing her and puffed out her chest.
“Of course I am!” Rainbow jumped toward her friend and wrapped her left foreleg around Twilight's neck. “I don't know what has you so interested in stunt flying, but it's the least I can do for a good friend. The kind of good friend who gets their friends tickets to the biggest Wonderbolts event of the year.” Rainbow began to stare off into space, imagining how awesome the event will certainly be. Twilight rolled her eyes and let Rainbow have her moment. As expected, a few seconds later, Rainbow's daydream ended and she looked back to Twilight.
“Princesses first.” Rainbow sarcastically bowed to Twilight as the alicorn took a step outside of her library. Twilight hid a small frown from Rainbow Dash while she was bowing and Twilight flapped her wings a few times. A quick hop into the air found Twilight slowly ascending into the clear Ponyville sky. It didn't take long for Rainbow to catch up to Twilight and nudge her with a hoof. “Perfect weather. Just for you.” Rainbow smiled to Twilight. Twilight returned the smile, though if she were honest with herself, she wasn't excited at the idea of having the weather schedule being altered for her sake.
The short flight brought Twilight and Rainbow to a large field, just outside of Ponyville. Although Twilight had gotten much better at flying over the last few months, she was still breathing heavily. The clear sky allowing the sun to beat down directly on Twilight did little to help the problem. She made an unsteady landing onto the grass as Rainbow remained in the air a few inches above Twilight. Rainbow looked down to Twilight and noticed her labored breathing over such a short flight.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this. Stunts are way more tiring than normal flying.” Rainbow looked down to Twilight with a bit of worry in her eyes. Twilight took in a few deep breaths, trying to regain as much energy as possible. She could already feel the sticky feeling of sweat getting caught in her coat.
“I'll be fine. If anything, from what I've read, it's important to get get as much blood flow and built up lung capacity as possible before strenuous exercise.. Though the sun doesn't really help.” Twilight finished with a mumble. She was just able to catch a glimpse of an eye roll from Rainbow, who remained in the air.
“Books. Now who's going to be more useful: A stupid, old book, or me, who can give you awesome tips on the spot.” Rainbow's smug grin told Twilight the exact answer Rainbow was looking for. As much as Rainbow had a point, Twilight looked at her with a hint of uncertainty.
“I know that practice is important, though when learning to fly, my books...”
“Exactly! Now, let's get started Princess Egghead.” Rainbow's enthusiasm was contagious. Twilight nodded, her previous sense of doubt instantly turning to complete confidence in Rainbow's ability to guide her. She once again joined Rainbow in the air, giving Rainbow a reassuring smile that she was ready to begin. The two of them flew higher and higher in the air. Twilight listened closely as Rainbow instructed her on the basics of stunt flying and how it was different from standard flight.
Within an hour, Twilight was panting heavily as she lay in the shade of the lone tree in the field. Her coat was matted down with sweat and her lungs were on fire. She tried to carefully close her wings to her sides, but the cramps were too much and she was forced to lay her wings out. Twilight's thoughts began to wander when a sudden splash of water hit her face. The unexpected splash forced her into a sputtering heap with water dripping from her mane.
“I told you it was tough.” Rainbow dropped the bucket, that was once filled with water, beside Twilight. Rainbow couldn't help but chuckle at Twilight's expense as she coughed up the remaining water. Although Twilight felt another strong desire to lecture Rainbow, she did have to admit that a splash of water was exactly what she needed. She just wished she would have had some warning.
“Thanks.” Twilight said out of breath, though her sarcasm was still quite obvious.
“It worked, didn't it?” Rainbow winked. Twilight's look remained unamused until her attention was caught by a streak of orange in the distance. Twilight nearly missed it in the rays of the setting sun, but her eyes widened at the realization of what she had seen. Rainbow noticed Twilight's stare and rotated herself in order to scan the sky. The glare from the sun made it difficult for Rainbow to see anything. She squinted her eyes, though it didn't improve her sight and she saw nothing of any importance.
“What's going...”
“Got to go Rainbow. Thanks for the lessons. Bye.” Twilight said quickly and disturbing Rainbow with a sudden pop. Rainbow turned back to where Twilight once was and saw a few remnants of purple magic flutter to the ground. Rainbow furrowed her brow at Twilight's strange behavior though decided to shrug it off. She flew over to the tree Twilight was resting under and lounged on top of a branch. A quick evening nap couldn't hurt.
The calm state of the library was interrupted with a pop, signifying Twilight's successful teleportation. As she oriented herself to her new location, she heard a knock at the door. She breathed a sigh of relief to the fact that she had made it back to the library on time. Twilight trotted over to the door and caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror along the way. To her horror, her mane was an utter mess and her coat was not much better. Hair was sticking out in every direction with several obvious knots. She quickly ran her hoof through her mane and coat, hoping to make it presentable for her visitor. A few strands of hair were still out of place, but given the circumstances, she decided that she was presentable enough. Her hooves clacked against the wood floor of the lobby as she reached the door.
Twilight opened the door and expectantly, found Spitfire standing in her Wonderbolts captain's uniform with a package on her back. “Good evening, Princess Twilight.” She bowed to Twilight to Twilight's own uneasiness. Twilight waited a few seconds for Spitfire to rise, but she was adamant to show respect for the princess. Twilight's eyes darted left and right as she felt the familiar sense of uneasiness of an awkward situation wash over her. With Spitfire distracted, Twilight took the opportunity to quickly straighten out a few last strands of her mane before addressing the Wonderbolt.
“Uhh...thank you Captain Spitfire. At ease?” Twilight said with a hint of uncertainty at how to proceed. Spitfire did as she was instructed and returned to a full standing position. Spitfire used her wings to grab the package that was on her back and held it a few inches in front of Twilight. Twilight's magic began to glow as the box was levitated toward her. Twilight gave the box a few glances to make sure it was in pristine condition. Satisfied with its condition, she returned her attention to Spitfire.
“That is your uniform for Friday's performance.” Spitfire explained to Twilight as she pointed at the box. The grin on her face grew by the second. “It's an honor to have a princess make a guest appearance at our show. Thank you for accepting our offer.” Twilight mirrored Spitfire's smile.
“It's my pleasure. I just hope you don't expect me to do anything too crazy.” Twilight chuckled, hoping to clear the increasingly awkward mood. Twilight once again inspected herself, still feeling the sweat from the day's flying soak into her coat. “It may come as a shock, but stunt flying isn't something I've practiced. Rainbow Dash has been very helpful though.” Twilight looked over Spitfire's shoulder, half expecting to see Rainbow Dash come crashing into her library.
“No need to worry. It won't be anything too extreme.” Spitfire turned around as she prepared to take off. “You're more than welcome to join us at the Cloudeseum for tomorrow's practice if you want to get a feel for the routine.” Twilight nodded at Spitfire in understanding. “And remember to keep this a secret. This will be the first ever Wonderbolts event to feature a princess of Equestria.” Twilight smiled and used her hoof to “zip” her lips sealed. Spitfire took off with a trail of smoke behind her. Twilight looked down toward her box and closed the door.
She magically carried it over to an available table and used her magic to remove the tape, making sure to throw it away. She opened the flaps of the box and found a well folded Wonderbolts uniform. An official Wonderbolts uniform. Twilight couldn't help but squeal in delight. Her magic aura glowed around the uniform as she carefully lifted it out of its box. Upon unfolding it, Twilight noticed a number of minor alterations to the uniform compared to the standard uniform for pegasi. The most prominent being on the head of the uniform. She noticed a small hole, obviously to accommodate for her horn, as well as a small mounted clip, which Twilight assumed was to hold her crown. Twilight was more than thankful for the addition, remembering back to the most recent Summer Sun Celebration. Her stunt had nearly lost her the crown that she had just been given. Placing the uniform back in its box, Twilight picked up both with her magic as she walked upstairs toward her living space.
Spitfire was flying back to Cloudsdale, excited to see how Friday's event would turn out. It was sure to be a success and would have the Wonderbolts in the news for weeks. As she reached the outskirts of Ponyville, she turned around at the sound of air quickly approaching her. She couldn't help but slightly roll her eyes as a rainbow trail quickly caught up with her. Rainbow Dash soon appeared with a grin on her face, flying next to her captain.
“How's it going Spitfire? Uhh. Ma'am.” Rainbow saluted Spitfire. Spitfire gave Rainbow a quick glance of astonishment at Rainbow's use of formalities. Rainbow's introduction was startling enough to give Spitfire a few seconds of pause before responding.
“At ease Rainbow Dash.” She responded with a sense of authority, to play along with Rainbow Dash. Spitfire slowed down her pace in order to talk. The two of them flew for several minutes, in complete silence. Spitfire grew more impatient with each passing second. “Was there anything you wanted to talk about?” Spitfire said with a harsher tone than she had wanted to use. She smiled, though, as it was enough to knock Rainbow out of her daze.
“Oh. Right. I was just wondering why you were in Ponyville. You didn't need me, did you? I'm sorry I wasn't home, I was really busy today.” Rainbow looked hopeful that she was, in fact, needed by Spitfire. Spitfire responded with a shake of her head.
“No. I was just in town for some business. No need to worry.” Spitfire answered as vaguely as possible while still telling the truth. She noticed Rainbow take a few glances before Rainbow got slightly closer to her. She continued to look around in the distance.
“It's not about Bulk Biceps is it? Between you and me, something seems fishy with him?” Rainbow whispered to Spitfire with a suspicious tone. Spitfire shook her head, using every ounce of will power to avoid connecting her hoof with her face. She was about to respond to Rainbow, but Rainbow had decided to move onto another topic of conversation.
“By the way, I'll be at the show on Friday! Twilight was cool enough to give me a ticket.” At the mention of Twilight, Spitfire's ears perked up a bit. She turned her attention to Rainbow to see if she had noticed anything, but relaxed when Rainbow continued to talk about how excited she was. Spitfire looked from Rainbow to Cloudsdale, which was quickly approaching. In order to get rid of Rainbow Dash sooner, Spitfire increased her pace. She was not interested in being the one to reveal Twilight's guest appearance, to one of Twilight's own friends, no less.
“Oh. Would you look at that?” Spitfire said as she continued her flight toward the cloud city at an ever increasing speed. “We're just about at Cloudsdale. I'll see you at the Wonderbolts Reserve training tomorrow.” Spitfire saluted to Rainbow as she went full speed, leaving Rainbow Dash in a cloud of smoke. Rainbow Dash coughed up a bit of smoke, using her hoof to swat the last remnants of smoke out of her vicinity. Rainbow sat there with a slight look of confusion, contemplating whether to catch up with Spitfire. Although she desperately wanted to, Rainbow had decided the best course of action was to just wait until tomorrow.
Rainbow turned around and began the relatively short flight back to Ponyville. With no one to talk to, she began to think back on everything she had done for the day. An uneventful morning, filled with clearing the Ponyville sky for Twilight's flight practice came across her mind. As she got closer to Ponyville and with Twilight's practice in mind, Rainbow decided she would pay her friend a visit to make sure everything was alright. Rainbow Dash understood more than anypony what stunt flying does to someone. She made a straight shot toward the library, increasing her speed in order to speak with Twilight before it got too dark.
Rainbow's patience was once again being tested as she stood at the door for several minutes, knocking the entire time. Rainbow, for a brief moment, had a smirk on her face, ready to begin a constant barrage of knocks, only to decide against it as she thought back to the lecture that she dodged earlier in the day. “No need to push your luck, Rainbow.” She muttered to herself.
Deciding that Twilight nor Spike was home, she turned around to take off, putting off speaking with Twilight until the next day. Rainbow couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Twilight teleporting home and instantly falling asleep in the middle of the lobby. Just as she took flight, she heard a distinct thud come from the library. Hovering up to the balcony of the library as quietly as her wings would allow, Rainbow took a peek through the window. Being able to hear a thud as loud as she did through the thick walls of the tree caused her enough alarm and she wanted to make sure Twilight was okay.
Rainbow looked back and forth through the balcony window, though the darkness and reflection of the rising moon was making it difficult to see. Squinting her eyes and pressing her face right up to the glass to get a better look helped, if only slightly. Again she scanned the room that was on the other side of the window and was able to see the silhouette of an alicorn moving around and appeared to be unharmed. Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief that Twilight was okay.
Twilight's horn lit up, giving a soft purple glow to the room until she was able to light a candle. She magically placed the candle on the table that was to the left of the mirror that she was standing in front of. After struggling for several minutes of putting on the full-body Wonderbolts uniform and falling down a few times, Twilight was now able to properly evaluate the uniform. She stared at herself in the mirror with a blank look, just taking in the sight.
Twilight, as much as she tried to keep a straight face, couldn't help but grin the widest smile she possibly could. She did a few slow turns, making sure the uniform fit and was worn correctly at every possible angle. The more she thought of the upcoming Friday, the more excited she got. Her excitement grew until she couldn't help but squeal in delight, doing a few hops while she was at it. Getting through the sudden burst of excitement, she took a few deep breaths to slow her breathing down and took one last look at herself in the mirror. She smirked at herself as she took flight and went slowly around the room in a circle.
“Fillies and gentlecolts! Put your hooves together as we introduce Twilight Sparkle to the Wonderbolts family!” Twilight said enthusiastically in the best announcer voice she could produce. As she continued her flight she gave a quiet shout to simulate the cheering she would expect in a full stadium. A few seconds of simulated cheering was enough for Twilight as she landed on her bed giving a contented sigh. She yawned as the excitement wore off and the physical activity she went through today caught up with her. The comfort of her bed was too much to overcome and she quickly drifted off to sleep, still donning her Wonderbolts uniform.
The candle Twilight had placed next to the mirror provided Rainbow Dash with enough light to see what was going on through the window. She squinted to see Twilight posing in front of her mirror wearing a Wonderbolts uniform. Rainbow's initial reaction was to gasp, though, she quickly stuffed a hoof into her mouth so Twilight wouldn't hear her. Given a few seconds to make sense of what she had just seen forced Rainbow to do a soft facehoof. She shook her head and with a grin on her face, she took off toward her cloud home for the night.
The relatively long flight to her home gave Rainbow plenty of time to talk to herself. “No wonder Twilight was in such a hurry. Who wouldn't be in a hurry to get their Wonderbolts uniform?” Rainbow smiled as her thoughts drifted back to her days as a filly. She had saved up every bit she earned over the previous year to place an order for an official Wonderbolts Team Shop uniform. She could distinctly remember sitting at the post of her mailbox, several days in a row, as she waited for the mailpony to make his daily deliveries. The thought of wearing a uniform of the up and coming Wonderbolt, Spitfire, was enough to motivate Rainbow to sit still at the mailbox for several hours every day.
Rainbow's memories were interrupted as her home was in her field of view. Rainbow's smile continued at the thought of Twilight becoming a fan of the Wonderbolts to the point of wanting to order a uniform. “Well, when you have someone like me in the Wonderbolts Reserve, how can you not become a huge fan?” Rainbow rhetorically asked herself. She heard the small poof of her landing on the front balcony of her home. Satisfied with how her day had turned out, Rainbow Dash went through her nightly routine thinking about how awesome it was now that one of her friends would be able to talk about the Wonderbolts as much as she would like.
When it came to waking up in the morning, Twilight was generally punctual and out of her bed within minutes, excited to start her day. This morning, however, Twilight has been lying down for 15 minutes, wide awake, though unable to move. Her wings were fully stretched out as she stared up at the wooden ceiling of her home. Any attempt to move, even the slightest, forced Twilight into agonizing pain. The Wonderbolts uniform that Twilight had accidentally fallen asleep in, did not help the situation.
“Okay Twilight. You can do this. Just get out of bed and you can start loosening up.” Twilight offered the short motivational speech to herself. Taking in a few deep breaths through gritted teeth she slowly moved herself into a sitting position. “Ouchie, ouchie, ouchie,” was all she could say as she climbed down from the bed, one limb at a time. Once she was on her hooves, she took one more deep breath. She slowly began to work her legs, loosening the cramps and muscles that went through intense training, by Twilight's standards, the previous day. Once her legs were capable of walking, she turned her head around to inspect her wings that were still stretched out themselves. Tenderly, she tried to close them to the side of her body, but they refused to budge.
Grumbling to herself, Twilight walked across the room, further loosening her legs, though her wings remained stubborn. She had decided that a very warm shower was just what she needed to ease the aches in her wings. Taking extra care to avoid hitting her wings on any of the door frames, Twilight ventured to the shower, excited to begin her day and visit the Cloudeseum. It would be the first time since she had become a princess that she would visit the cloud city. The thought of the visit, without the need for a cloud walking spell, was enough to take Twilight's mind off the soreness for a split second.
The overly sore alicorn walked out of the bathroom, steam pouring out as it now had a place to escape and gave a contented sigh. While still sore from the previous day's flying, her wings were tucked in to her sides and were no longer a hazard of knocking anything over. Twilight carried out the uniform she was supposed to wear at the upcoming Wonderbolts event and placed it on an open table. Looking at it reminded Twilight of how difficult it had been to put it on. She was not used to wearing one-piece uniforms. Thankfully, especially so today, she was able to teleport herself out of the uniform before showering away her cramps. She didn't think it would be possible to take the uniform off regularly.
For the first time since she woke up, Twilight was able to take a glance at the time and was fortunate to see she had plenty of time until the practice she was going to attend. She smiled as she grabbed a glass of water, thankful that falling asleep early, along with the work she put in with Rainbow Dash had given her a refreshing night's sleep. She took a seat on one of the library's reading cushions with her glass of water slowly levitating toward the ground. With the water safely on the ground, Twilight once again grabbed her book on stunt flying to read through it once again. She was determined to memorize every trick and suggestion in that book before Friday.
After reading through another three pages, Twilight's attention was drawn to the knocking on the front door. Twilight stood, feeling the joints in her legs pop was relaxing after the pain she felt earlier. She was greeted with the largest, toothy grin she has ever seen when she opened the door. The mare behind the smile, trotted inside the lobby, nearly pushing Twilight aside.
“What's going on Twilight? Just wanted to see how you were doing.” Twilight gave Rainbow a quizzical look, confused by both the smile and her enthusiasm. Twilight carefully unfolded her left wing and placed it in front of her, allowing her to massage it with a hoof.
“A little sore, but otherwise, I'm doing great.” Twilight followed Rainbow further into the library. Rainbow gave several looks around the library, taking a look at some of the shelves, faking her interest in the books that sat on them. Slowly walking up to Rainbow, Twilight stood behind her for a few seconds, taking a glance at the books she was looking at.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” Rainbow hid her smirk before running her hoof across various book spines.
“Nope. Just looking for an awesome book to read.” Twilight walked up next to Rainbow and gave her an odd look.
“You do know this is the history section, right?”
“Pffft. I know that. I have to brush up on my Wonderbolts history. We have Reserves training in a bit. Can't be too prepared.” Twilight skeptically looked at the shelves as her horn lit up. A book at the top shelf levitated toward Rainbow as she sat down. She grabbed the book in her hooves, giving it a quick glance and placed it on the ground. The toothy grin returned as well as Twilight's uneasiness.
“Excited for Friday night?” Rainbow asked as she skimmed the book sitting in front of her. Twilight shook her head after realizing she was staring a Rainbow a bit. She was confused over Rainbow's sudden interest in reading history books, especially after she had so much difficulty sitting down and reading when preparing for her Wonderbolts Reserve exam. Deciding that Rainbow's odd behavior was simply because she was excited to get to training, Twilight took a seat next to her friend.
“Most definitely. I haven't been to a Wonderbolts event in years.” Rainbow perked up and gave her full attention to Twilight, completely neglecting the book.
“Sweet. When was last time you went?” Twilight thought for a few seconds, humming to herself hoping to access the memory quicker.
“I don't remember the date exactly, but it was Spitfire's first performance I believe.” Twilight tapped a hoof to her lower lip. “Yes. It was definitely that performance.” Twilight looked up to see Rainbow's jaw dropped. Waving a hoof to get her attention didn't appear to work, though before Twilight resorted to more drastic measures, Rainbow broke out of her trance.
“That was my first Wonderbolts event too!” Rainbow was beaming as she rocketed up toward the ceiling, narrowly avoiding a disastrous collision. Twilight followed her friend's trajectory as Rainbow crash landed. With a wince, Twilight quickly trotted over to the mess of pegasus, table splinters and fabric.
“Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?!” Rainbow groaned as she picked herself up. She took a few seconds to let her blurry vision focus on Twilight, who was waving a hoof in front of her. Placing a hoof on her head to ease the throbbing, she noticed various splinters fly around as Twilight tried to clean up the mess. “Hello? Rainbow?” Twilight continued her interrogation. Before Rainbow could answer she noticed a shimmer of light blue float toward Twilight and placed on her back. Rainbow's eyes shot open and she just as quickly filled Twilight's vision
“What's that?” Rainbow pointed a hoof at the pile of blue and yellow sitting on Twilight's back. Twilight quickly turned around and before Rainbow could continue asking, the fabric was thrown off behind some chairs. The pegasus' eyes followed it through the air and she shot off to catch it. Before getting more than a few inches, she felt a strong pull on her tail, that she had become accustomed to. Twilight's horn was lit up and Rainbow knew better than to fight it as she allowed her alicorn friend to place her back on the ground.
“Oh. It was nothing. Just something I need to clean up while Spike is away.” Twilight gave a nervous chuckle. She glanced toward the clock to check the time.
“Well, you know, I got time, maybe I could help you out.” Rainbow took a few slow steps in the direction of Twilight's uniform.
“Are you sure you have time? Don't you have Wonderbolts Reserve training soon?” Twilight pointed to the clock hastily. Rainbow turned around to check the clock herself. Her eyes shot open noticing the time.
“It's that time already?! Thanks Twi, but I got to go. See ya.” Before Twilight could respond her front door slammed causing her to lower her ears. The only casualty of the door's slam was one book making a sudden thud on the ground. Twilight rubbed her ears a bit to get the hearing back into them before she trotted over to inspect her uniform.
She looked through the light purple glow of her magic surrounding the uniform checking every last inch of it. With her hoof, she rubbed off a few scuffs of dirt until she was satisfied with her work. She folded it carefully and placed it in a more hidden location than out in the middle of the room.
“If I'm going to keep this a secret, then I'm going to have to be more careful.” Twilight mumbled to herself. She glanced at her clock once again and felt her stomach drop when she noticed the time herself. Her eyes shrank as she continued to look at the clock. She turned around and took several large steps toward the door before her memory caught up with her and she slid to a stop. The purple alicorn chuckled to herself as she lit her horn and readjusted her clock back 30 minutes. With an extra half an hour to work with, Twilight walked to her kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Twilight approached the Cloudeseum, thankful that she had managed to get away with flying through Cloudsdale with only a few pegasi giving her a wave. She landed with the soft, recognizable thud of landing on a cloud. Taking a few seconds to gain her balance allowed her enough time to gawk at the size of the structure in front of her. Despite previous trips to Cloudsdale, she couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer size of the Cloudeseum. Twilight took a few unsteady steps toward the door, nearly falling over several times. She glared at down at the clouds near her hooves while magically opening the door in front of her.
As Twilight crossed the threshold of the door she noticed a light purple pegasus sitting at the front desk. She held her head in her hoof, her dark gray mane covering up most of her face, as she rolled a quill back and forth on the desk, clearly bored of how her day had been going. She gave a quiet sigh that was just barely heard by Twilight. The princess walked up to the desk and waited for a few seconds with an awkward grin. Receiving no response, she quietly coughed hoping to get the mare’s attention.
“How can I help you today?” She replied in monotone, still concentrated on her quill. Even Twilight was hypnotized by the quill’s periodic rolling for a few seconds. She gathered her thoughts and looked toward the pegasus sitting at the desk. Twilight noticed a Wonderbolts pin adorned on her necklace, similar to the one she had seen Spitfire give to Rainbow.
“Uh, yes. I’m here for the Wonderbolts practice. I believe Spitfire is waiting for me.” By time Twilight had explained her presence, the secretary had managed to quickly place her quill in line with a stack of papers to her left, realign the stack of papers themselves and sat there with a nervous smile. She quickly got out of her seat and walked around her desk, which allowed her enough room to bow to Twilight. A few sheets of parchment had fallen to the ground from the wind generated from the secretary’s swift movement. Twilight caught them in her magic and placed them back on the table.
“Yes, I’ll call Captain Spitfire right away, Your Highness.” The secretary said. Twilight kept a smile on her face despite the desire to grumble to herself. After rising, the pegasus returned to her desk and pulled out a small roll of parchment, which was quickly written on with a short message. Twilight stretched her neck hoping to get a glimpse of what was being written, but all she could see was the header which read ‘urgent’ in bold, capital letters. The secretary carried the message over to a small tube which sucked up the parchment from her hoof and sent it on its journey. Twilight looked at the contraption, one she was unfamiliar with.
“We should receive a response in just a bit. Oh, I’m Storm Slinger, by the way.” The secretary said, retaining her nervous tone in her speech. Twilight seemed to pay no attention as she walked up to the tube.
“What is this? I’m not familiar with it.” She got closer to inspect it, feeling a slight suction coming from the opening that Storm Slinger had sent the parchment through. Twilight heard the pegasus clear her throat as she walked next to Twilight.
“Oh, that’s just a new transport system we had installed the other day. I don’t remember what it’s called, but Pegasi are able to harness wind and run them through these pipes, which allows us to send notes to anywhere in the stadium.” Twilight continued her inspection, amazed that such a simple system allowed for much more efficient exchange of information. She looked back to the secretary.
“It must have been quite expensive to get the entire stadium filled with these. Not to mention the cost of the wind.” She again got close to the tube when an odd sound resonated from the input. She hummed to herself as her curiosity for the source of the sound rose. Her answer was found by way of a pop from the machine and a small bump against her muzzle. She noticed a piece of parchment rolling on the floor. It was rolled up with an orange tie with the Wonderbolts emblem stamped to it.
“Oh! Are you okay Princess Twilight?!” The pegasus frantically asked. She had reached over to grab a tissue, only to be stopped by Twilight pointing a hoof to her, signifying that she was fine. Twilight rubbed her muzzle to clear the slight discomfort.
“I’m fine. What does the note say?” Twilight, nasally, asked Storm. The secretary picked up the parchment and gave it a quick scan. She looked up to Twilight with a smile that she had been accustomed to seeing with other secretaries.
“Spitfire is busy at the moment with Reserves Training, but they’ve sent an assistant to direct you, Princess.” Satisfied with the response Twilight thanked the secretary for the help and took a seat at one of the available seats in the lobby. She looked around at the many pictures of famous Wonderbolts events hanging around the room. She began to feel a small sense of pride at the absence of Princess Celestia in any of the pictures. Or Princess Luna in any of the more recent photos. It was a great honor to be the first Equestrian princess to be involved in a Wonderbolts and Twilight was beginning to feel a little anxious. Before long, she heard hoofsteps enter the room. She looked toward the doorway in the back of the room as a stallion entered.
“Good morning, Princess. I’m…”
“Solar Blaze, Spitfire’s agent. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Twilight interrupted him as she rose from her seat and walked up to the confused stallion. He was slightly jarred at the idea of the princess knowing who he was, but clearing his throat gave him time to reorganize his thoughts.
“Yes. Now, if you’ll follow me, I’ll lead you to the practice field.” He turned around and began to walk with Twilight in tow. The two walked around the stadium, which the size made for quite a long journey.
“I must say, it’s quite an honor to meet you Princess Twilight.” Solar trying his best to strike up a conversation. He looked behind him to make sure Twilight was, in fact, still following him. “I could say the same for you. It still amazes me that you were able to make Spitfire the highest paid Wonderbolt in history, in only her second year no less.” Solar couldn’t help but blush a little at the compliment.
“It’s all part of the job. Spitfire did all the work. She definitely deserved it.”
“I’ll say. The way she went on that 4 derby win streak was incredible. I’d never seen anything like that!”
“Certainly quite a feat.” Solar responded, more than happy to speak about his client. The conversation was stopped as the two arrived at a long hallway, filled with two rows of cloud statues. Twilight had a huge grin on her face as she quickly went to each and every statue, ignoring Solar’s growing impatience. He took a glance at his watch as he noticed Twilight staring up at the single, giant statue at the end of the hallway.
“I’m sorry to interrupt Princess Twilight, but if we want to make it on time, then we need to get going.” Twilight turned around and gave a sheepish smile.
“Sorry. I was just fascinated by all these statues. I’m a huge fan of Wonderbolts history.” He chuckled a bit, agreeing as he went to the right of the statue and opened a door for Twilight, which she happily trotted through.
“You know, my friend Rainbow Dash looks…”
Rainbow Dash opened up the door leading from the Reserves’ locker room and was followed by a teammate, Fly By.
“Practice sure was tough today, but it will all be worth it.” Rainbow said longingly as her teammate agreed. The two of them walked past the giant statue of General Firefly which Rainbow took notice of. “You know, ponies always told me I look just like General Firefly.” She boastfully announced while pointing to the statue.
“Hmm...I don’t see it.” Fly By responded, taking glances between Rainbow and the statue. The rainbow maned pegasus stood there shocked. Her jaw nearly dropped. It seemed like such an obvious connection. She flapped her wings and took to the air to allow for a better view.
“How about now?” The shake from her teammates head gave her a look of disappointment. “Uhh...what about the mane? Totally the same mane, right?.” When her teammate still wasn’t convinced she flew back down.
“Sorry Rainbow Dash, I just don’t see it. Maybe a little like Daring Do, but definitely not General Firefly.”
“Pffft. You’re just crazy.” Rainbow playfully punched her teammate. “Anyway, I got to get going. I have to go tell a friend she needs to see a clock smith. See ya in a few days.” The two waved to each other and left the stadium.
Twilight stood at the edge of the cloud field in the center of the stadium watching as Spitfire, Soarin and Fleetfoot flew overhead in a synchronized flight pattern. She had to brace herself from the gust of wind that threatened to knock her over. She regained her balance just in time to see the three Wonderbolts perform a flip, followed by a finishing stunt to land in front of Twilight. The purple spectator gave an enthusiastic cheer and clapped her hooves at what she had just seen.
“Thanks. But just wait until Friday.” Spitfire gave the princess a wink.
“That was fantastic! I can’t wait to see the whole performance come together.” Twilight said ecstatically. Twilight noticed a slight blush from Soarin and Fleetfoot for the approval of a princess.
“Now, there’s also the matter of what you’ll be doing.” Spitfire pointed at Twilight. “You’re confident with your flying, correct?” Twilight nodded in response.
“Yes I am Spitfire. Like I said yesterday, I’ve done some training with Rainbow Dash. I’ve learned to do a few flips and even a corkscrew. Though, that one could use a bit of practice.” Twilight swore she could still feel leaves and twigs stuck in her mane after an unfortunate encounter with a tree the previous day.
“Oh. No need to worry about anything too extreme. Once you’re announced, we only want you to fly around the stadium a few times, maybe do a flip or two before landing. Make sure to give a nice smile and wave too.” Twilight’s face fell a bit, though she still held a small smile. She looked around the giant stadium she was standing the middle of.
“Are you sure? I could learn some other tricks by Friday.” She said with an obvious hint of disappointment. The act of holding her smile was becoming much more difficult for the princess.
“I’m sure. We don’t need anything too crazy. I like your enthusiasm though, that will do wonders for the crowd on Friday.” Spitfire turned around and noticed her teammates had already taken off. “We’re excited to have you involved Princess. We’ll see you in Canterlot on Friday. 5:30.” Spitfire herself took off toward the locker room after Twilight gave a nod of understanding. When the field was clear Twilight disappointingly looked toward the ground and kicked a few clouds around with her hoof.
“Woo…” Twilight gave an unenthusiastic simulation of a stadium full of ponies cheering before taking off toward the locker room herself.
