Violet Dreams gasped. “Captain Rainbow Dash?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said, unable to stop a grin from climbing up her cheeks. “Former Captain. That’s me.”

Violet dropped the shampoo bottle she was holding, then scrambled to pick it up and blushed. “Sorry, I just…” She stuffed it back in her locker, taking in a breath. “Gosh, it’s you. Wow.” She laughed, sitting down on the locker room bench. “What, uh, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, you know. Just looking around for the nostalgia and stuff,” Rainbow said, glancing down the hallway. “Had to make sure my medals were still out there in front of the Captain’s office.”

“Oh, right,” Violet said, snickering. “Yeah, they sure are. I walk past them every day.”

Rainbow walked into the dark locker room, inspecting the posters on the wall. “So whatcha thinking about?”

Violet blinked. “Huh?”

“Well, I mean, your head was down, you know,” Rainbow said, turning from the posters to Violet.

Violet bit her lip and looked down. “Yeah, I mean, I guess I didn’t have the best day out there training today. I’m not the worst flyer, but I’m also not the best.” She raised her head, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face. “But, I’ll keep trying! Dedication is the key, right?”

“Right, dedication.” Rainbow Dash smiled. “Yeah. Never give up. All that stuff.”

Violet twiddled her hooves, looking past Rainbow at the darkening sky outside. “I don’t mean to overstep my bounds or anything, but is something wrong, Captain Dash?”

“Just Rainbow, please. And no, nothing’s wrong,” Rainbow said, sitting down on the bench next to Violet with a flat sigh. “I’m just tired, I guess.”

Violet scooted closer to Rainbow and smirked. “As the fastest pony in the world, probably feels good to slow down and rest, huh?”

Rainbow Dash stared at the floor. A door clicked shut out in the hallway, the noise echoing into the locker room. “Yeah,” Rainbow said, as if surprised to see Violet sitting next to her. “I guess so.”

Violet stared at her locker, at the small signed photograph of Rainbow Dash taped to the inside of the door. She reached forward and pushed the door inward, hiding the photo. Violet stared forward. “Don’t you like being famous?” Violet said, brushing her mane back behind her ear.

“Yeah, no, it’s great,” Rainbow Dash said, shrugging. “While it lasts. But the thing is, you get everything you ever dreamed of, and it’s like, what’s next?” She turned her hooves over and looked at them. “That part of my life is over now, and I’ve still got many years left. What do I do now? Write a book? That’s for eggheads.”

Rainbow chuckled and nudged Violet in the shoulder, but Violet’s chuckle was more nervous and softer than hers. “Yeah, eggheads.”

Rainbow nodded, looking forward at the wall of lockers. “Well, ponies move on, right? There are always new, up-and-coming young flyers that ponies get excited about. And that’s fine, that’s great that new ponies get the chance to be the best flyers. But it’s just, for those of us who’ve been there, it’s…” Rainbow covered her face with a hoof. “Good grief, I’m so selfish. I should be happy now that I have everything I ever wanted, but I’m not.

“It’s just that you don’t stop wanting, you know? And the better you get at flying, the more you want, and even when you’re the best in the world, the wanting doesn’t go away, you know? So, like, I’m not gonna tell you to stop wanting, ‘cause you won’t, but…” Rainbow sighed, swinging forward on the bench to stand on her hooves. “I dunno. I’m not sure why I said all this. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, or, you know.”

Violet shrugged and looked at her knees.

Rainbow wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Gosh, I’ve said too much. Look, kid, um, all that matters is your passion, you know? You just have to keep trying, again and again. You just gotta wake up tomorrow morning, and, you know.” Rainbow patted Violet on the back. “Keep trying, okay?”

Violet looked up at Rainbow Dash. She pressed her lips together and nodded. “Okay.”

Rainbow frowned. “I’m sorry, kid.” With quiet hesitation, she swept Violet’s hair behind her ear and smiled, but Violet’s forced smile didn’t change. Rainbow pulled her hoof back. “Gotta go. Bye.”

Rainbow trotted briskly out of the locker room and into the empty hallway.