Dawn had come on the farm, pouring rays of light in the kitchen just like the mare poured cereals into her bowl, the whole box then yawned and added milk pretty much everywhere. She blinked, looked at her mess and shrugged.

A ball of thunder roared near the door and Twilight hopped with her black torn suit, the back of her bandage flying wild from her hurry.

"Applejack, by all means!"

Applejack looked at her cereals, at her friend then gloomily asked: "Heya, want cereals?"

"By all means yes!" Twilight exclaimed, approached and sat before the bowl the farm mare had pushed for her. She plunged head first, munched noisily then glanced at her tired friend.

"Actually," she swallowed, "I came to apologize. I feel horrible for all you will endure."

"Oh chucks, it's... will?" But the earth mare brushed that nuance away with a wave of her straw like mane. "It's nothing, Twilight. I feel bad too, giving ya up to that time cop and all... Friends?"

"Friends!" The young unicorn went to hug the brave mare, and they held for a few seconds of quietness.

Then they released and Applejack noticed the table being cleaned from the milk as a plate floated with two oranges being sliced, the pieces offered before her by the studious mare who smiled, looking sorry.

"Oh eh!" The honest mare felt the need to talk of anything else. "Did ya know Rainbow Dash was readying for a competition? I mean..." she chuckled at the thought, "of course ya know, but your ya from now is probably the last unaware!"

Twilight giggled, pawing in embarrassment, then suddenly became somber. "We... should better not talk about it."

"What?" Applejack felt she was about to say something she would regret. "Why?" She regretted it immediately.

"No, really." The young student pleaded. "I... you don't want to hear it."

The more her friend refused, the more Applejack felt the urge to learn. "Does something horrible happen?" And seeing the unicorn nod, she wavered, ready to bite her hat out of anxiety. "Please Twilight, ya must tell me!"

"Rainbow Dash, she..." Twilight's voice was weak. "She will perform a Sonic Rainboom, right in front of the crowd." And with a sad, sad tone: "The crowd will love her, the Wonderbolts will recruit her, and then the princess..." She shut her eyes, spilled it: "The princess will help her train... help her train her Sonic Rainboom... as her personal student..."

She broke into tears, leaving the brave earth pony shattered. She didn't know how to react, she didn't know what to think! Reaching for her friend she offered a hoof of comfort.

"But rainbows won't be enough," The student went on before the hoof could touch her, "Rainbow Dash will have to try northern lights next. Then she will get addicted to constellations, until she will want to break the speed of light itself. And she will fail. Badly. And learn from it. She will become an hermit giving lessons on top of her mountain, and the Dash philosophy, or Dash Club, will become a cult dedicated to physical training. Ponies will thrive for adrenaline, savage games will take place, forcing Celestia to ban sport for the next thousand years." She bluntly stated.

"Darn." Applejack backed a bit. "Isn't banning sport a tiny bit extreme?"

Twilight gasped: "How dare you question the princess?"

"Well, I'm just saying..."

"She did what she had to do!" The young student stomped. "She is a great leader, you are just too blinded by your indulging in illegal adrenaline filled activities to see it!"

And she pouted, hooves crossed on the table before realizing where and most importantly when she was. "Sorry" she muttered, all embarrassed, which made her brave friend smile.

"Anyway" Twilight Sparkle instantly rejoiced "I already fixed that."

"What? When?" Applejack said, taken aback.

"Oh that was easy! By making you have a sleepless night, then, by making sure you would prepare cereals but! Eat orange instead, this! Is what happens!" She proudly triumphed. "You will be hungry before noon, forcing you to go to Sugarcube Corner and Rainbow Dash will meet you on the way. You will eat together and when she will return to her training, she will feel lonely."

And she squealed as the farm mare still tried to parse the very first bit where she had been manipulated.

"She will ask Fluttershy to cheer for her but it will be too weak, making her doubt so we'll want to go support her, but you need wings for that so Twilight – that's me – will give a pair to Rarity! That way she will steal the show from Dash then get close to the sun and lose them, and she will fall and Rainbow Dash will have to dive to save her. That way! Her Sonic Rainboom will happen close to the ground, way too far from the princess and the crowd for them to fully witness it."

Mouth agape, her hoof lifted somewhere between disbelief and denial, Applejack stammered.

"Of course," The student was still going, eyes rolling one hidden by the eye patch, "she will never be a Wonderbolts and Twilight Sparkle will stay the only very own student Celestia will ever have, but that doesn't really concern me. After all, I'm just from next Tuesday."

Then she so joyfully grinned to her stunned friend, excused herself, said "bye" and in a flash of light she was gone.