Shut Up

by UnlicensedBrony

Rating: everyone
Tags: Pinkie Pie, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash
Length: 9511

Rainbow Dash loses her temper and yells at Pinkie Pie, driving the talkative party pony to make a drastic promise. Now, it falls to Rainbow Dash to fix the mess she's made, lest Pinkie lose a vital part of herself forever...

Rainbow Dash loses her temper and yells at Pinkie Pie, driving the talkative party pony to make a drastic promise. Now, it falls to Rainbow Dash to fix the mess she's made, lest Pinkie lose a vital part of herself forever...

A Pinkie x Dash friendshipping fic, playing at the style of an episode from the show.

Published 2013-05-23 16:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-23 16:00:01 UTC

Story

The door to Fluttershy's cottage opened, and in she walked, letting out a content sigh as she crossed the threshold. Outside, the sky was darkening, but the clock on the far wall told her that there was still time left before bed.

“Thank you ever so much for your help, everypony,” she said, glancing back over her shoulder. “Without all of you, why, I might've been up all night trying to fix that roof!”

“Don't sweat it, sugarcube,” said Applejack, heading straight for the rug beside the unlit fireplace. “Although that cup o' tea you mentioned would be mighty welcome right about now.”

“Yup-a-roony!” Pinkie Pie declared, as she trotted inside as well. “No sugar in mine, please—I'll just take the bowl.” With that, she set off to bouncing around the room, 'exploring' every nook and cranny in search of whatever it was Pinkie Pies searched for.

“Yes, quite,” Rarity chimed in. “A cup of tea sounds just the thing to relax my aching muscles.”

“Ya mean the ones ya sat on while ya watched us do all the hard work?” Applejack said with a quirked brow.

Rarity scoffed. “Ugh! I cannot believe you would say that after I practically just worked my tail off—”

“She's joking, Rarity,” said Twilight Sparkle, as she, too, crossed the threshold. She shot Applejack a look, at which the farmpony rolled her eyes and gave a little chuckle.

“Oh,” said Rarity. “Well, very funny...”

“Um, I'll go put some tea on then,” Fluttershy offered, turning for the kitchen.

Twilight shook her head and stretched a hoof out to stop her. “That's alright, I'll do it.”

“Oh, b-but, I really think I should do it. It is my treat, after all—”

“Fluttershy, I insist,” said Twilight decidedly. “You worked harder than anypony today. Please, take a seat and put your hooves up. Milk and two sugars, right?”

Fluttershy stammered hopelessly for a moment, before giving in with a huff. “Yes, please.”

Twilight disappeared into the kitchen, Rarity drew up to the mirror on the wall and started poking at her mane, Applejack closed her eyes in her spot by the hearth and Pinkie Pie continued to bounce around excitedly. Fluttershy curled her lip and turned towards the door as she heard a groan.

Rainbow Dash was leant against the wall just past the threshold with her head held low, looking a little poorly.

“Oh, goodness. Are you alright, Rainbow?”

Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. “Yeah, I'm fine—” She rubbed her forehead. “—My head's just been killing me all day.”

Fluttershy frowned in concern. “Do you want to go see a doctor? I-I'll come with you, if you want.”

“Nah, it's cool, 'Shy. I just need a little peace and quiet.”

“I hear that,” Applejack agreed from across the room.

With a little reluctance, Fluttershy nodded and stepped aside, letting Rainbow make her steady way towards the yellow couch in the middle of the room.

“Peace and quiet's no fun!” said Pinkie Pie sagely, as she rifled through a bookshelf. “Oh, by the way, your house is really cool, Fluttershy! It's all open and pretty and smells like flowers!”

“Darling, you say that as if you've never been here before,” said Rarity quizzically.

Pinkie shrugged with a lot more energy than necessary. “Well, I practically haven't!”

“But... you visit me here all the time,” said Fluttershy.

“Yeah, but not nearly as much as I visit Dashie!”

“Pinkie Pie, waking me up at five AM every morning, just so you can raid my place for sweets, doesn't count as visiting,” said Rainbow tiredly. She flapped her wings and glided over to alight upon the couch, where she subsequently flopped.

“But I was helping!” said Pinkie defensively. “You needed to get up early today!”

“Yeah, but not yesterday,” Rainbow countered. “Or the day before that, or the week before that...”

“That does sound a little extreme, darling,” said Rarity, throwing Pinkie an arch smile.

“Aw, fine,” huffed Pinkie, deflating for all of two seconds before she was rifling through her bookshelf again.

Rainbow let out a sigh as she shuffled into the couch pillows and closed her eyes. Fluttershy couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight.

“Hey, what's this?” said Pinkie, so sharply that it made both pegasi cringe.

“Please tell me it's a pair of earplugs...” groaned Rainbow, covering her head with a hoof.

Pinkie Pie pulled a thick book down from the shelf and fell back on her haunches, blowing dust from the cover as she did. “Let's see... It says 'Rainbow Dash—The Early Years'.”

Rainbow's eyes flew wide open, and she was up and leaning over the back of the couch in an instant. As her eyes locked onto the book in question, she gawped.

“What?! Fluttershy, you promised you were gonna hide that away after you stopped me from burning it!”

“I-I did!” said Fluttershy, as she, too, stared at the book in horror. “I-I only got it out last night to look at it for a bit. I must've... forgotten to... put it away...” She trailed off into quiet mutters and hung her head in the face of Rainbow's scolding glare.

“What's this, now?” said Applejack, lifting her head to look over. “Why were ya gonna burn a book?”

Suddenly, Pinkie gasped. “Ohmygosh! It's a photo album!” she screeched. “With foal pictures of Dashie!”

Rarity and Applejack were there in an instant, watching over her shoulder with hungry looks on their faces.

“Hey!” yelled Rainbow, slamming a hoof down on the couch to little effect. “Pinkie, gimme that, it's mine!”

Pinkie made a pouty face. “Aw, c'mon, Dashie,” she pleaded.

“No,” said Rainbow firmly.

“Please?” Pinkie pressed.

“No!”

“Pleee—ase?”

“Pinkie Pie, seriously—”

“Pleee—ase, please, please, please, please-please-pleasepleasepleasepleasep—”

“Argh!” Rainbow screamed, ramming her head into the couch and using her hooves to shut out the noise. “Okay, okay, fine! Whatever! Read it! Just skip the first few pages and... keep it down... please.”

“Yay, thanks, Dashie!” chirped Pinkie, turning to the book and flipping the page.

Fluttershy frowned as she looked from the obviously-pained Rainbow to her friends, but she didn't say anything.

“Ooo—'Rainbow's first day of school'! Look at her little saddlebags!” said Pinkie excitedly.

“Aw,” said Applejack with a teasing smirk. “Well, weren't ya just the cutest little filly, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow twitched, but didn't reply.

“My, my, my... Rainbow, I cannot believe that your mane was always so scruffy—” Rarity paused as she flicked the page, then let out a little, surprised snort of laughter. “—Oh, I tell a lie. Just look at those curls!”

Applejack snickered. “Looks like her mom wanted her prettied up for her first day, huh? Hey, Twilight, come look at this!”

Twilight, having just entered the room with a tray of cups, saucers and a pot of tea, cast them a look. “Hmm? What is it?”

“Pictures of little Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie declared brightly.

Twilight rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile. “Thanks, but I think I'll pass. Come on, girls, tea's ready.”

Applejack and Rarity smiled at one another, before trotting over to the table upon which Twilight set down the tea. Fluttershy joined them, but Pinkie Pie remained where she was, with her eyes glued to the book.

“Ah! Is that flight camp?” she squealed, leaning in for a better look. “...It is! And there's Rainbow Dash at the gate! She looks kinda nervous... I didn't know you got nervous, Dashie!”

Rainbow grumbled something under her breath, but it was muffled by the couch.

Pinkie flipped the page, and promptly started giggling. “Oh wow! Look at all those crasherific photos! You sure were clumsy... no wonder they called you Rainbow Crash!”

Rainbow gritted her teeth and her body tightened noticeably.

“Oh dear,” said Fluttershy, biting her lip. “Um, Pinkie Pie, I-I think you should probably stop now—”

“And this must be, like, a prom?” said Pinkie, having just flicked another few pages onwards. “You sure had good taste in pink dressies, Dashie!”

Rainbow gave another muffled growl. “Be quiet...”

“Uh, sugarcube?” said Applejack, glancing from Rainbow to Pinkie. “Maybe ya oughta take it down a few notches—”

Pinkie paid her no mind as she flicked to the next page. “Ohmygosh, you're in here too, Fluttershy. Did you two go together? Oh, oh, guys, look at this one! Look, look! They are so dancing—”

“Argh! Shut up!” Rainbow exploded, launching herself up into the air and throwing out her wings. She fixed Pinkie with a furious scowl.

Pinkie looked up at her with wide eyes. “...P-pardon?” she said, voice quivering.

“I said shut up!” Rainbow reaffirmed, clearly blinded by the pain in her head. “For once in your life, Pinkie Pie, just stop talking!”

A deathly silence fell over the room as Rainbow hung there, glaring down at the awed party pony. Twilight dropped her teacup. Rarity and Applejack stared, dumbstruck. Fluttershy bit her lip and shivered...

Pinkie Pie's mouth hung open, and her eyes began to glisten with tears as she gazed up at the scary-looking Rainbow. She worked her mouth, as if trying to form words, but she quickly raised a pink hoof to stop herself.

She dropped the book, jumped to her hooves and dashed across the room with her eyes scrunched up tight. The door yielded to her, and within seconds she was gone, leaving only five friends and a terrible foreboding inside Fluttershy's cottage...

* * *

“Rainbow Dash, what in Equestria has gotten into you?” said Twilight, throwing her a scolding look. “There was no call for that!”

“Indeed there wasn't!” said Rarity furiously. “How could you be so cold? You know Pinkie Pie can't help herself!”

“I know, I know!” groaned Rainbow, alighting on the couch again and covering her face with her hooves. She growled. “Argh, it's this stupid headache! I didn't mean to flip out like that.”

“That's no excuse!” said Twilight. “Now you go and apologise to her, right now!”

“Don't you think I want to?” Rainbow snapped, snarling at Twilight.

The unicorn recoiled a little, as if frightened that she was going to be shouted at, too.

Seeing the look on her face, Rainbow forced herself to soften her expression and close her eyes. “I'm... sorry, Twi'. I'm not thinking straight.”

“Obviously,” said Applejack daringly.

Rainbow shook her head and gave Twilight a pleading look. “I'll apologise to her first thing tomorrow, I swear. But right now, I need to cool off, or I'll probably just make things worse...”

“But—” Twilight worked her mouth silently for a bit. But ultimately, she gave up, letting out a huff. “I suppose that's best...”

“Y'all had better make it a darn good apology then,” Applejack warned, still glaring at her. “I ain't never seen Pinkie Pie upset like that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Rainbow quietly, hanging her head. “Look, it's getting dark out and I need some ice, so I'm gonna get out of here before I say something else stupid—” She hopped down from the couch and plodded across the room, towards the door. “—See ya later, guys.”

With that, she unfurled her wings and took off into the evening sky. In her wake, her friends exchanged concerned and sympathetic looks.

* * *

Inside the loft apartment of Sugarcube Corner, a certain pink pony sat in front of her vanity desk, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair had deflated into smooth, un-Pinkie-like locks, and her face was set in an unhappy frown.

“Dashie shouted at me, Gummy,” she muttered sadly, addressing the pet alligator who sat on the desk before her. “Dashie never shouts at me—not like that—” She screwed up her eyes and a teardrop tumbled down onto the floor. “—I must've really hurt her feelings...”

Gummy bit down sympathetically on the strands of Pinkie's mane within his reach. The dejected party pony shook her head and looked at her reflection again.

“She said 'for once in your life',” Pinkie mused aloud. “I don't really talk that much, do I? I mean, I love talking—it's my thing—but it's not like I do it all the time...”

She thought for a moment, then promptly hung her head. “Oh, who am I kidding? I'm a loud, talky, chatty-pants, aren't I, Gummy?”

He blinked twice, by way of solemn agreement.

Pinkie let out a sigh.

There was a long silence, before she shook her head defiantly. “I could stop if I wanted to,” she told her grumpy-looking reflection. “Especially knowing that it makes Dashie mad... I mean, just because I love talking doesn't mean I can't not do it...”

She paused.

Gummy raised an eyebrow as Pinkie suddenly drew herself up, leaving him dangling from the end of her mane in midair.

“You know what? That's just what I'm gonna not do!” she declared. “Pinkie Pie doesn't need her voice to be Pinkie Pie, and I'm gonna prove it! Starting as soon as I finish this sentence, I'm not gonna say a single word ever again!”

The dramatic vow was met by a profound silence from Gummy, as Pinkie mimed crossing her heart, hoping to fly, and sticking a cupcake in her eye. “Pinkie. Promise!”

* * *

The following morning...

A bell tinkled overhead as the door to the bakery of Sugarcube Corner opened, and Rainbow Dash glided inside. The place was deserted, except for Mrs Cake, who stood behind the counter, looking up from her paperwork.

“Ah, good morning, dearie! Looking for Pinkie Pie, are you?”

Rainbow pursed her lips and nodded. “Uh, yeah. I-is she upstairs?”

“She sure is,” Mrs Cake confirmed. “I thought it was a bit strange—she's usually out and about at this time in the morning. But I stopped trying to make sense of her a long time ago. Come on, I'll show you up.”

Rainbow nodded gratefully as Mrs Cake trotted out from behind the counter and led her up the stairs.

“So, uh, has Pinkie done anything else weird this morning?” Rainbow asked. “Like, has she said anything to you about... me?”

“No, dearie, nothing at all,” said Mrs Cake. “In fact, we haven't heard a peep from her all morning. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you though.”

“Yeah...” muttered Rainbow. Part of her very much doubted that.

They reached the door to Pinkie's room, emblazoned by a bright pink heart, and Rainbow bade a quick “Thank you” as Mrs Cake headed back down the stairs.

She ran a hoof through her mane and rolled her neck. “Okay, Dash, be cool,” she told herself. “You've been here before, and you'll be here again. It's Pinkie Pie, she'll understand, just like always...”

Gulping down her reservations, she stepped up to the door, raised a hoof, and knocked three times.

She was met with silence.

“Pinkie, it's me,” she called out. “Mind letting me in? It's kinda important.”

Another long pause...

Growing impatient, she made to push the door, only to stop when it began to inch open of its own accord. A pair of light blue eyes looked out at her through the gap.

The two ponies stared at one another for a long moment, before Pinkie opened the door the rest of the way. Her face was strangely inexpressive, and her mane was smooth and flat, contrary to its usual poofiness. It was a pretty unnerving sight... Rainbow had the sneaking suspicion that she'd really messed up this time.

“...Hey,” Rainbow greeted hesitantly.

Pinkie looked her up and down, then blinked, but said nothing. Rainbow shifted uncomfortably.

“Uh, look, about last night,” said Rainbow, scratching at the back of her neck. “I was way out of line—I shouldn't have shouted, and I swear I didn't mean what I said. It's just that my head—Well, you know...”

Pinkie frowned down at her hooves.

“Seriously, I'm really sorry,” Rainbow pressed. “You were just being you, and I didn't think before I flipped out. You've gotta forgive me, please.”

If Rainbow had to guess, she'd say that this was easily the longest silence she'd ever experienced with Pinkie Pie around—including the time when her tongue had been swollen by the Poison Joke plants.

After what felt like forever, Pinkie finally looked up to meet Rainbow's pleading eyes. There was another long pause, before the party pony managed a smile. She still didn't say anything, but she stepped forwards and put a hoof around Rainbow's back, pulling her into a hug.

Rainbow let out a huge sigh of relief and hugged her back, thanking her lucky stars that it'd been that easy. She wasn't sure what she'd have done if Pinkie had stayed mad at her.

“Thanks, Pinks,” she said, talking to the pink mane which had reinflated a little of its own accord. “Don't tell anypony, but you're way cooler than I am, you know that?”

Pinkie's body shook as if she was laughing, though she didn't make any sound. When she pulled back, she had one of her usual, ear-splitting smiles on her face.

Rainbow smiled back at her, and they just stood like that for a while. All was awesome once again between the two friends. Why, then, did something feel weird? Rainbow couldn't place it, but something was decidedly off.

“...Uh, so,” said Rainbow cautiously. “We're good, right? Still bestest pony friends forever and all that?”

Pinkie nodded emphatically.

Rainbow blinked. Then she cracked a toothy smirk. “Alright. Cool. I guess I'll catch you later then?”

Pinkie nodded again.

“Awesome,” said Rainbow, spinning around in place. “Take it easy, Pinkie Pie!”

With that, she started forwards and made her steady way down the stairs, casting a glance back over her shoulder as she left. Pinkie offered a quick wave before backing away over the threshold and closing her door.

“Huh,” grunted Rainbow. “...That went well.”

* * *

Later that morning, Pinkie Pie bounced through the streets of Ponyville—mane fully re-inflated and with a much more appropriate smile on her face. She hadn't said a word all morning, and yet the Sun was still shining, she and Rainbow Dash had made up, and she was feeling just as bouncerific as ever!

“Morning, Pinkie!” bade Roseluck, from over by her stall.

Pinkie beamed and offered her a wave.

“Hiya, Pinkie Pie!” Lyra and Bon Bon greeted in passing.

Pinkie flashed them an extra large toothy grin, fit for two.

So excited was she to be out and about again after so many hours, she didn't even notice the purple unicorn coming in the opposite direction.

She bumped into Twilight and fell to her haunches with a mute “Oof!”

Twilight magically lifted the open book off of her face and shook her head to clear it. When she saw that it was Pinkie Pie who she'd bumped into, she gasped and lifted her back onto her hooves with magic.

“Pinkie! Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you alright?”

Pinkie gratefully bobbed her head in confirmation, and patted Twilight on the nose for good measure.

After blinking away the surprise, Twilight offered a lop-sided smile. “O-kay, then... I'll take that as a yes.”

Pinkie nodded again.

“...So,” said Twilight brightly. “Is everything alright with you?”

Pinkie nodded.

“...Got anything planned for this morning?”

Pinkie shook her head brightly.

Twilight creased her brow and gave the party pony a funny look. “Um, are you sure you're alright? You seem a little quiet—Wait... have you seen Rainbow Dash since last night?”

Pinkie tilted her head to the side, then nodded.

“Have you spoken to her?” Twilight pressed.

Pinkie made to nod again, but caught herself part-way. She looked up at the sky in thought for a moment, before her lips fell downwards to give her a serious look. She shook her head, wanting to make it clear that she absolutely had not broken her promise and spoken to Rainbow Dash.

“Ah, I knew it!” said Twilight darkly. “Oh, I can't believe her! She said she was going to come and apologise first thing this morning!”

Pinkie smiled questioningly as Twilight stomped past, in the vague direction of Rainbow Dash's house.

“That pegasus is going to get a piece of my mind...”

Pinkie raised a brow at her friend's strange behaviour. Then she shrugged it off as Twilight being Twilight, and went back to her merry bouncing.

* * *

Rainbow Dash had her nose buried in her napping cloud, floating blissfully along above Ponyville.

“Mmm, apologies are hard work,” she mumbled. “I totally deserve this...”

And that she did—as far as she was concerned, at least. There was some work or other to be done, probably bringing in some rainclouds for the evening. But it could wait—nap time came first.

Just as she adopted a serene smile and began to drift off to sleep, a flash of purple lit up her eyelids. Next thing she knew, the cloud beneath her exploded into thin air, and she had to flap her wings desperately to keep herself aloft.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled up at her.

The pegasus shook her head and looked at her friend as if she'd gone crazy. “Hey! What gives?!”

Twilight's glare darkened, and she thrust an accusing hoof towards Rainbow. “You said you were going to apologise to Pinkie this morning!”

“Uh, yeah,” said Rainbow, furrowing her brow and shrugging. “I already did that, like, an hour ago.”

“Rainbow, I've just talked to Pinkie and she says she hasn't spoken to you this morning!”

“What?” breathed Rainbow, leaning back in surprise. “Well... she's lying! I went there as soon as I got up—we hugged and everything! I don't know why she—”

Rainbow broke off as a thought crossed her mind. “—Wait a sec... what exactly did Pinkie say to you?”

“She... Well, she didn't 'say' anything,” said Twilight, her glare softening in favour of a more thoughtful expression. “Nothing at all, in fact. I thought it was odd, that's why I asked whether she'd spoken to you, and she shook her head. Why? What's going on?”

Rainbow frowned and looked out over the town. “I don't know. It's probably nothing, but...”

Twilight cocked her head. “But what?”

Rainbow curled her lip. “Wait here,” she said. “I'm gonna go find out.”

With that, she twisted her body and dashed off across the rooftops, leaving Twilight to call after her in vain.

* * *

Pinkie Pie bent down to sniff the multi-hued flowers on the side of the path through the park. Pretty? Check! Sweet-smelling? Check! Unguarded? Triple-check!

Satisfied, she proceeded to take a generous bite from half a dozen of the red and blue ones, smiling with joy as she chewed on the delicious treats. Not quite as delicious as chocolate cake, but it was good to get some variety in the diet.

Still savouring the taste, she trotted happily along down the trail through the park, waving and smiling at those she passed, and generally making the most of the sunny day. It wasn't until she heard a curious sound on the wind that she slowed down and perked up an ear, to get a better listen.

“Pinkie Pie!” came a faraway voice.

Hearing her name, she smiled over her shoulder at whoever might be greeting her so excitedly. Her smile widened even more as she saw Rainbow Dash flying over from the direction of Ponyville proper.

Pinkie opened her mouth to call back, but managed to catch herself just in time. Her smile wavered for a split second, before she settled for an emphatic wave instead. That was a close one...

Rainbow came to a steady hover and touched down right next to her. “Hey, Pinkie,” she greeted casually. “What's up?”

Pinkie gave her a quizzical smile, thinking that a silly question. She demonstrated looking up at the sky and pointing a hoof towards it.

Rainbow followed her eyes, then adopted a deadpan expression—the kind ponies always got when they realised that they'd said something ridiculous to Pinkie. “Oh yeah,” she muttered. “The sky. Right...”

At her friend's silliness, Pinkie gave a muffled giggle-snort.

“So, uh, you been up to much?” said Rainbow, starting down the path through the park and gesturing for Pinkie to join her, which she did.

In answer to the question, Pinkie shook her head casually.

Rainbow grunted. “Yeah, me neither... Hey, did you talk to Twilight this morning?”

Pinkie shook her head again. She hardly even had to think about it that time. She was getting good at this!

Rainbow didn't seem so impressed, which made sense, Pinkie supposed. The pretty pegasus pursed her lips and furrowed her brow in thought. “...Did she talk to you?”

Pinkie nodded, glad that Rainbow had caught on. She was cleverer than ponies gave her credit for, just like Pinkie herself.

“Great!” said Rainbow excitedly. “What did she say?”

Pinkie shrugged.

“Argh...” Rainbow's hoof met her face. “C'mon, Dash, think...” She cast her eyes about the park, as if she'd lost something. A moment later, she said “Aha!” and pointed at a signpost up ahead. “Hey, Pinkie, d'you mind reading that sign for me? I, uh, left my reading glasses at home.”

They stopped as they reached the sign, and Pinkie threw Rainbow a searching look. For her part, the pegasus continued to smile expectantly.

After a moment, Pinkie grunted and turned to the sign, which read 'Please don't eat the grass'. She blinked at it, then turned side-on to Rainbow so that she could explain.

She mimed bending down to take a bite of the grass, stopped short, then shook her head. She then moved over to the other side of the trail, bent down and took an actual bite, nodding merrily to herself as she chewed.

Rainbow watched her with an emotionless expression. “...Yeah, okay, this isn't working,” she said, drawing up alongside Pinkie again. “Pinkie, say something, will ya?”

Pinkie swallowed her mouthful of grass and smiled questioningly at Rainbow.

“Just say anything,” Rainbow pressed. “Tell me I'm awesome. I need to hear you say that I'm awesome.”

At that, Pinkie's bemused smile morphed into a sympathetic one. Poor Rainbow Dash, she was obviously feeling a little sensitive today. Happy to help, Pinkie leant forwards and pulled her friend into a hug.

“No!” growled Rainbow, jumping back and hovering above the ground. “I need you to say it, Pinkie Pie! Talk to me!”

A frown made its swift way onto Pinkie's face as she realised what Rainbow was getting at. She felt a little bad for being so slow on the uptake, but there was really nothing she could do about it.

The party pony shook her head solemnly as she mimed zipping up her mouth, locking it and then sitting down on the key.

There was a short pause as Rainbow worked it over in her head, before her legs finally drooped and she let out a sigh. “Yeah, okay, I guess I knew that already...”

She alighted in front of Pinkie and gave her an apologetic frown. “Look, what I said yesterday was really dumb and I really didn't mean it. Nopony who knows you would ever want you to stop talking—it's, like, one of your most favouritest things, right?”

Pinkie pursed her lips and nodded sadly.

“Right. And you know I'd never take away one of your favouritest things, right?”

Pinkie frowned to one side, then nodded again.

“Exactly!” said Rainbow triumphantly. “So how do you think I feel, that you're not talking because of something I said?”

Pinkie could only frown at her. So, Pinkie not talking made Rainbow Dash sad too. Apparently, she couldn't do anything right...

Rainbow offered a hoof and an inviting smile, obviously trying to cheer her up. “C'mon. Tell me how lame I sound right now.”

Pinkie let out another muffled giggle, but it was short-lived. She stared at the proffered hoof, then at Rainbow, then at the hoof again. She opened her mouth.

Rainbow's smile widened in anticipation.

Pinkie's lip quivered. She was on the verge of a sentence...

Then she closed her eyes and mouth both, nudged Rainbow's hoof aside with her nose and walked past, dejected.

The dumbstruck pegasus in her wake had to take a moment to blink the surprise from her mind before turning to watch the fluffy tail bob lazily from side to side as Pinkie ambled back towards Ponyville.

“...Pinkie Pie?”

* * *

“...and then she just pushes my hoof aside and walks off!” Rainbow emoted, glancing around the library at her four friends. “I mean, can you believe that? It's like she's not even Pinkie Pie anymore.”

“Oh my goodness, maybe she's a changeling,” Fluttershy offered, shivering slightly as she tried to hide behind her teacup.

Rainbow shot her a look, as did the three others.

Fluttershy's cheeks reddened as she lowered her muzzle in embarrassment. “Just a thought...” she muttered.

“It's clear that she's still upset about your outburst,” said Rarity, pacing across the room with her nose held high. “You're sure that she accepted your apology this morning?”

“Completely sure!” Rainbow huffed. “She smiled, we hugged... it was like any other time we had a falling out.”

“And yet, now she refuses to speak,” said Rarity accusingly.

Rainbow hung her head. “Yeah...”

“Hmph,” Rarity grunted and came to a stop. “Perhaps I should go and talk to her. This may simply require a lady's touch.”

Rainbow scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Don't bother. Twilight already tried.”

Rarity shot a doubtful look over at the lavender unicorn. “Yes, well...”

Twilight glared at her over the rim of her textbook.

“Well, I don't get what y'all expect us to do if not talk to her,” said Applejack, leaning against a bookshelf. “You think there's some other way to get her to come around?”

“There's gotta be!” said Rainbow. “Look, I thought, with everyone here, we'd be able to come up with something. Like, a way to trick her into talking again so we can figure out what's wrong.”

“I don't think tricking her is the right way to go about it,” said Twilight thoughtfully.

Rainbow huffed. “Then what is the right way?”

“Keep talking to her. This is Pinkie Pie we're talking about—she can't deny who she is forever,” said Twilight.

“But that could take forever!” Rainbow groaned.

Twilight raised a brow at her.

“Okay, 'slightly less than forever',” Rainbow amended. “But that's still too long! I want my Pinkie back now!”

“We all do, Dash,” said Applejack tiredly. “But—”

“Wait!” Rainbow's wings flared and she drew herself up, startling the others. “I've got it. I've got it! Aw, Rainbow Dash, you are a genius!”

“What?” said Applejack, now on alert.

“I have the perfect plan to trick her into talking again—”

Twilight sighed.

“—but I'm gonna need everypony's help,” Rainbow continued, ignoring her. “You all game?”

“What kinda question is that?” asked Applejack.

Rainbow's smile faltered, and she waved a hoof by way of emoting. “Well, this is my fault in the first place. It's my problem, not yours.”

“Darling, you really are the worst,” said Rarity, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, Pinkie Pie not talkin'? Sounds like all of Equestria's problem to me,” said Applejack.

“So... you're in?” said Rainbow, brightening up.

“Yup!”

“Of course!”

“Mhm.”

“...”

There was a pause, during which all eyes turned expectantly to Twilight. The purple unicorn met each of them in turn. Then she rolled her eyes.

“Fine. But I still think—”

“Alright!” Rainbow cheered, flying over to the table in the centre of the room. “Everypony come here. And somepony throw me one of those quills. Oh man, this is so foolproof...”

Twilight let out another heavy sigh.

* * *

Pinkie Pie plodded along through Ponyville once more, trying to keep her chin up. She managed a small smile at least, as she passed and waved to her many friends, but no more than that. Realising that her promise not to talk had maybe been not such a great idea after all had left her feeling a little bit downy-dumps.

Her ears perked up again as a particular sound drifted past her ears—a song. She spun hurriedly around to face the quartet of singers—three mares and a stallion—trotting merrily along the path with wide grins on their faces as they sung. A Hearth's Warming Carol... in the middle of Spring. They were getting some funny looks from other ponies, but most of them were smiles, eyes rolls or gently shaken heads that said 'Oh, how refreshingly haphazard...', which was basically the same as 'Oh, Pinkie Pie...'

Pinkie's own smile immediately widened to a grin, and her hooves began to tremble as she watched. It was so perfectly random. So perfectly bright and bubbly and upbeat. So perfectly Pinkie Pie! She lifted a hoof to dash right over and join in on the chorus—

And then she stopped herself, remembering her Pinkie Promise...

She could only watch as the quartet skipped past, singing joyfully, whilst her smile melted away into a frown. Before long, they vanished around a corner, and Pinkie was left behind. She let out a sad sigh through her nose.

“Oh my, Snowdrop,” came Applejack's exaggeratedly loud voice from nearby. “It certainly is gettin' cold out. Do ya reckon we should be headin' home soon?”

Pinkie quirked a brow and turned her eyes upwards. As she'd thought, the Sun was still high up there in the cloudless sky, and it wasn't cold in the slightest.

Curiosity perked, she hurried to the end of the street and took the corner leading into the town square. Sure enough, it was there that she found Applejack, along with Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash, all holding pieces of paper and standing in a big circle around a frosted cake on a wooden podium.

Beside them, Twilight Sparkle was perched on a director's chair, and she, too, was hovering a piece of parchment up to her nose, looking slightly bored.

“I said, do ya reckon we should be headin' home soon?” Applejack repeated, nodding unsubtly in Rarity's direction.

“Ah!” said Rarity, shaking herself as if she'd been lost in thought. She looked down at her piece of paper and cleared her throat. “But, Charity, darling, we cannot leave yet! Daring flies into battle tomorrow, this will be the last time we see her for months!”

“It's cool, you guys,” said Rainbow Dash, waving a hoof. “I need to rest up anyway. Thanks for the party, guys, it was great to see you all one last time before I leave.”

The group fell into silence. Everypony glanced at Fluttershy expectantly. The demure pegasus, who had been staring at her paper the whole time, looked up in the face of the sudden quiet. When she saw them all looking, she squeaked and hastily ran her eyes over her paper again.

“U-um, oh, th-that's... I-I mean, w-we haven't even... cut the cake yet,” she said. “Y-you know it's bad luck to leave a party without eating the whole cake, um, d-don't you?”

Twilight put a hoof to her face. “Cut, cut!”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash each let out a practised groan.

“I-I'm sorry,” Fluttershy mumbled, retreating behind her mane.

“Don't worry yourself 'bout it, sugarcube,” sighed Applejack. Her voice still had a funny sort of exaggeration to it, as if she was still reading from her script. “'tain't your fault, you just ain't suited to playin' Lucky. Y'all should just go back to bein' Snowdrop.”

“Oh, yes please,” said Fluttershy. “I mean, if that's okay with Rarity. I, um, I like Snowdrop a lot better...”

“No way, that's no good!” Rainbow Dash piped up. “We already tried Rarity as Lucky and she's too drama queenish.”

Rarity harrumphed. “Well, excuse me for being overqualified.”

“What we need,” said Rainbow Dash. “Is somepony laid back, with a loud voice and—Hey, Pinkie!”

She seemed to have just caught sight of Pinkie Pie, and promptly offered a wide grin whilst waving her over. The others turned to her as well, before exchanging unsubtle glances with one another, as if they were all in on something shifty and suspicious.

For her part, Pinkie brightened at being invited over, and she was quick to trot the distance between them and join her friends.

“Awesome timing, Pinkie Pie!” said Rainbow, with a toothy smirk. “How do you feel about stage plays?”

Pinkie beamed at her and bounced in place.

“Oh, yes,” said Applejack loudly. “We are rehearsin' a scene from the play that Rainbow Dash wrote... in which she's the hero, o' course,” she added in an undertone.

Rainbow flicked her mane and grunted. “Well, I wanted to give it some sense of realism,” she said coolly.

“But we seem to have hit something of a snag,” said Rarity. “None of us seem quite suited to play the role of Lucky.”

“She's a carefree, fun-loving earth pony—best friend to Daring Dash,” Rainbow Dash explained. “And we need somepony with a loud, clear voice to play the role. What d'you say, Pinkie? You feel like helping us out?”

Pinkie was practically quivering with excitement now. A play written by Rainbow Dash couldn't not be cool, and this 'Lucky' character sounded like tonnes of fun. It was an offer than she couldn't refuse!

...Except, she had to.

Reminded of her silly Pinkie Promise for the umpteenth time that day, the party pony stopped mid-bounce and her smile faded as she drifted steadily down to the ground. Her eyes fell to her hooves, and she shook her head apologetically.

“Really?” said Rainbow Dash. “Oh, well, are you sure? 'cause at the end of this scene, Lucky gets to down that entire cake by herself.” She pointed towards the podium in the centre of their circle.

Pinkie followed the gesture up to the cake, which the sunlight seemed to light up a brilliant pink and white. Double-layered, with swirly frosting around the edges and in the middle, finished with a literal—and unusually large—cherry on top. Pinkie's mouth watered just looking at it.

But, alas, it was not to be.

She raised a hoof towards the cake, blocking it from her sight, and turned her eyes away. She gave Rainbow Dash one last look before turning her gaze to the ground and shaking her head again.

She wanted to say something, to apologise for not being able to help, but she couldn't do that either. For once in her life, Pinkie felt completely, utterly unable to express herself. In light of that, she managed a deep frown, which she hoped would at least convey how blue she felt as she plodded away from her friends.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped as she watched the party pony walk away from the promise of a perfectly-delicious cake.

Applejack strode up beside her and followed her gaze to Pinkie's sad, bobbing tail. “I think,” she said slowly, “that your perfect plan just went up in smoke.”

* * *

Rainbow Dash groaned and fell to her haunches. “Well, that was a bust,” she grumbled.

“Sure was,” Applejack agreed 'helpfully'.

“I can't believe it didn't work,” said Dash. “When has Pinkie Pie ever said 'no' to cake?”

“Hmm. Technically, she still hasn't,” said Rarity thoughtfully.

Dash shot the fashionista a look, receiving only a sheepish grin in return.

“I told you this wouldn't work,” Twilight said matter-of-factly.

Dash opened her mouth to throw a snark comment back at the smartflank unicorn, but held her tongue. Hurting somepony else's feelings really wasn't going to help anything.

“And after all the effort I put into bakin' that cake,” said Applejack. “What're we supposed to do with it now?”

The end of her sentence was met with a deathly silence, heralding the calm before the storm. All of three seconds passed before a swarm of ponies appeared from seemingly nowhere and scrambled to get at the abandoned dessert.

The ensuing chaos kicked up a cloud of dust, and by the time it had settled, the swarm had dispersed, leaving only a single slice of cake atop the podium.

“...Well,” said Applejack emotionlessly. “That solves that problem.”

Dash let out a sigh. “If only it were that easy to solve our Pinkie problem... Now I have to come up with another stupid plan.”

She felt a gentle hoof touch her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Twilight standing over her, offering a lop-sided smile.

“Silly tricks aren't the answer,” said the sagely unicorn. “She's your friend, Rainbow Dash. If you just talk to her, you'll get through. I know you know that.”

Dash frowned in thought. She'd tried talking, she'd tried being straight with Pinkie, and it hadn't worked. She wasn't sure how she could say it any differently than she already had. But even so, the sincere look on Twilight's face made her consider it.

“Ugh, I—” Dash rolled her neck and tried to break eye contact, but found that she couldn't. After a long moment, she finally sighed and gave in. “Okay, you're right. I guess I'll go and talk to her again.”

Twilight nodded approvingly as Dash got up and unfurled her wings. The awesomely considerate pegasus floated over to the podium and picked up the last piece of cake before flying after Pinkie, reasoning that a peace offering might help some—even if she doubted it.

* * *

Pinkie Pie traipsed down the trail towards... wherever. She really didn't know, and she didn't much care either.

Of all the Pinkie Promises she'd ever made, this was, by far, the silliest. But it was made now, there was nothing she could do about that. She was doomed to never speak again, and she would have to learn to live with that.

Maybe she could train to be a mime—they could talk without words. Sort of...

Or she could take up writing. Though that would kind of defeat the object, and besides, it wasn't the same...

“Pinkie Pie, hold up!”

Her frown deepened as she heard Rainbow Dash calling her name again. It just reminded her, once again, of how she would never be able to call out in greeting to her friends...

“Hey!”

Rainbow flew up beside her and hovered along, looking back at Pinkie. “I guess you didn't hear me, huh?”

Pinkie said nothing.

“Yeah...” said Rainbow, scratching her neck awkwardly. “Uh, look, the play was a bust anyway, so here—” She stretched out her hooves, offering a slice of the delicious-looking cake from before.

Pinkie stopped in her tracks, eyeing the proffered dessert. Her mane re-inflated a little as she licked her lips.

“Go on, it's yours,” Rainbow pressed.

Pinkie didn't need telling thrice. She leant forwards and scoffed the whole thing into her mouth in one big bite, grinning madly as she chewed.

Rainbow Dash wiped her hooves on her coat with a look of discomfort on her face, but she found a smile again as she watched Pinkie eat.

When Pinkie had swallowed and the cake was gone, she promptly gave Rainbow's tummy an affectionate nuzzle, at which the cute and awesome pegasus thrashed in surprise.

“H-hey, that tickles!” she squealed, flapping her wings to carry her out of Pinkie's reach.

The temporarily cheered-up party pony smiled sweetly as she trotted onwards, now with something more of a bounce in her step. Once Rainbow had shaken off her cute little blush, she followed.

“So, um, Twilight says the best way to talk you out of this is to actually... talk to you,” said Rainbow awkwardly. “Which, I guess, makes sense... But you know me, I'm really bad with words.”

Pinkie curled her lip, wanting to disagree, but also kind of wanting to hear what she had to say.

“But you're not,” Rainbow continued. “You've always been good with words. I mean, like, crazily good. Even if you sound kinda random or get out of hoof sometimes, you always, like, get your point across, y'know?”

Now Pinkie bit her lip. It was a nice compliment, and it was true, she supposed. Pinkie never had trouble saying what was on her mind, like other ponies sometimes did. But then again, that had gotten her into trouble and hurt Rainbow's feelings just yesterday. It wasn't always a good thing.

Rainbow Dash sighed and flew a little bit ahead. “It's weird, seeing you all quiet. And it's all my stupid fault.”

Pinkie shook her head and made to object. It wasn't Rainbow's fault, it was her own fault for making the Pinkie Promise on a whim. But she couldn't fathom how to explain that whilst Rainbow's back was turned. She stomped her hooves in frustration and picked up the pace.

A few moments passed in silence before Rainbow flipped over to face Pinkie, now hovering backwards down the trail. “C'mon,” she said. “There's gotta be something I can do to get you to talk. What if I... promised to never complain again when you wake me up at crazy times?”

Pinkie shook her head and took a breath, only to let it out in a huff.

“Okay... how about I let you teach me to bake, like you're always begging me to?”

Pinkie stomped her hooves, getting more frustrated by the second. She tried desperately to think of a way to explain.

Suddenly, her eyes went wide as she caught sight of something past Rainbow Dash. Up ahead, the trail turned at an abrupt angle, and there was a nasty-looking rocky cliff-face straight onwards, which Rainbow was going to fly straight into.

“Well, what then?” said Rainbow, throwing out her hooves and only speeding up as Pinkie struggled to point out the imminent danger. “C'mon, gimme a hint! I'll figure it out, I promise. You just need to help me out!”

Bouncing up and down and waving her hooves eagerly towards the upcoming cliff wall did absolutely nothing to alert Rainbow Dash, it only brought a confused look to the pegasus' face.

“What, you want me to dance?” Rainbow guessed thickly. “...Wait, d'you mean that Spring Festival Dance that's coming up? You want me to dance with you there?”

Pinkie shook her head at her impossibly dense friend and thrust her hooves more violently towards the cliff face that was seconds away.

“What, Pinkie?!” said Rainbow loudly, flapping her wings to carry herself higher up into the air. “Just tell me what to do and I'll—Gah!”

Crash.

Pinkie cringed as Rainbow Dash flew, back-first, into the rocky cliff with a sickening smack. Her wings locked up, her teeth gritted, and she lay flat against the wall like a pony pancake.

A few seconds later, gravity peeled her off and she tumbled down the cliffside to land on an outcropping ledge half-way up, to a gasp from Pinkie.

The party pony hurried forwards and tried to get a look up at her friend, to see if she was alright, but there was no way she could see from this angle.

Trying to clamber up the cliffside proved pointless—it was nigh vertical, and she couldn't get any decent hoofing. She didn't give up easily though—she tried and tried again, each time sliding down and landing on her haunches, until finally she realised that there was just no way.

She cast her eyes about for help, but the trail was on the outskirts of Ponyville—ponies hardly ever came out here. They were all alone.

Pinkie bit her lip as she scrambled back from the cliffside and stared up towards the ledge. She still couldn't see Rainbow, nor hear her. She had to be alright though. Rainbow Dash had been through crashes much worse than that. But then... they were pretty close to the Everfree right now... stranger things had happened in and around that forest...

Panic taking hold, Pinkie ran around in a circle, hoping that it would improve her ability to think of something. It didn't seem to help. She trotted in place, a worried frown quivering on her lips, and gazed up hopefully.

“...D-Dashie?” she called out. “Dashie! You're okay, right?”

No reply.

Pinkie ran up to the side of the cliff and put her hooves upon it, drawing herself up as high as she could. “Dashie! I-I'm talking now! You can stop fooling around! I broke the Pinkie Promise!” She cringed at the implications of the words, but that was the least of her worries right now. “Dashie!”

After a long, dreadful few seconds, there came a groan from up on the ledge. A cyan hoof rolled out over the edge. “Ow...”

Pinkie gasped. “Dashie! You're okay!”

“Ugh,” came Rainbow Dash's slurred voice. She grunted, then yelped. “Argh! Ah, that's a negative... I landed on my wing... think it's broken.”

“O-okay!” said Pinkie hurriedly. “Just... stay there! Don't move, I'll go get help!”

Without waiting for a reply, Pinkie spun in place and darted off towards Ponyville, hooves carrying her as fast as they were able...

* * *

Pinkie dashed into town, breath coming fast, more from panic than exhaustion. She cast her eyes left to right and back again, meaning to grab the first pony she laid eyes on. The only problem was that the street was completely deserted.

“Where is everypony?!”

She tried to stop panicking long enough to think where ponies would be at this time of day. It was early afternoon, and it was a Sunday, so...

“The market!” she cried, heading off in that direction as quickly as she could.

She was barely half-way towards Market Street by the time she caught sight of somepony—a purple unicorn with a pair of saddlebags slung across her back, no doubt heading for the market herself.

“Twilight!” Pinkie called out, hurrying towards her.

Twilight turned to look over her shoulder, smiling wide when she saw who it was. “Pinkie Pie! You're talking again! I knew that you two would work things out—”

“No time!” said Pinkie, as she drew up beside Twilight. “Rainbow Dash is in trouble! She's trapped and she hurt her wing! You have to come and save her with your magic!”

“What?!” Immediately, Twilight's demeanour shifted to one of utmost seriousness. “Where is she, Pinkie?”

“The trail on the outskirts of town. That way!” she explained, pointing in the direction from which she'd come. “The one by the Everfree forest, along the bottom of the cliffs—”

“I know it,” said Twilight with an urgent nod. She shrugged off her saddlebags and put a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. “Hold on...”

Both ponies closed their eyes as Twilight's horn lit up a bright magenta, bathing them in a blinding light. Pinkie felt the ground shift beneath her hooves and wobbled a little, barely managing to keep her balance as she touched down against the ground again without ever being aware of leaving it in the first place.

The flash of light faded, and she opened her eyes to find herself in view of the ledge upon which Rainbow was trapped. Twilight stood beside Pinkie, shaking her head and blinking rapidly.

“Up there!” said Pinkie, thrusting a hoof towards the ledge.

When Twilight had managed to clear her head, she followed Pinkie's gaze and nodded. Another flash of light, and she disappeared from Pinkie's side, promptly followed by a similar flash of light atop the ledge.

Pinkie couldn't see what was going on up there, but she heard Twilight muttering something. There was an ominous pause, before Rainbow grumbled something back at her. Twilight let out an audible sigh of relief.

* * *

Rainbow Dash leant back against the pillows of her hospital bed, sighing again at the four, boring walls that surrounded her. She gave her good wing a flap, before giving the cast-bound one a wistful look. “Here we are again, guys,” she muttered. “Maybe they should start calling this the 'Rainbow Crash' ward... Could do with a new colour scheme, while they're at it.”

“Or you could try watching where you're going, in future,” said Nurse Redheart idly, flicking through notes and x-ray scans on her clipboard.

“Or that,” Dash granted. “So, how long am I in for this time, doc?”

“A few days, maybe a week,” said the nurse.

Dash groaned and let her head roll backwards.

“You should be grateful. It would've been more if Twilight hadn't gotten you here as quickly as she did.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Dash. “I'll send her some flowers or something. Hey, has she dropped by yet?”

“Not since she brought you in,” said the nurse, starting towards the door. “But there's another young filly waiting outside for you. You can come in now, dear!”

Dash craned her neck to see around Redheart as the door steadily opened inwards. A certain pink party pony crossed the threshold and flashed the nurse a surprisingly subdued smile as they passed one another. Redheart left and closed the door behind her, leaving Pinkie to saunter up to the hoof of Dash's bed.

“Hi, Dashie,” she bade quietly.

“Hey, Pinks,” Dash greeted with a smile. “It's good to hear your voice.”

Pinkie's own smile widened at that. “Thanks. You too. It's good for me to hear your voice, I mean. It's only been almost six hours and I was already starting to get kinda withdrawaly.”

Dash chuckled. “Rainbow Dash withdrawal? Yeah, I hear that a lot. It's one of the downsides of me being so awesome.”

“Mhm,” Pinkie grunted with a nod. There was a peculiar pause, during which they stared at one another, before Pinkie's smile wobbled a little. “...You're not mad at me, are you?”

“Why should I be?” said Dash.

“It was kinda my fault that you crashed into that cliff,” said Pinkie guiltily.

Dash scoffed lightly. “Hey, tell that to the nurse—she says it's my fault for flying backwards so fast.”

Pinkie frowned, at which Dash rolled her eyes.

“No, Pinkie Pie, I'm not mad at you,” she clarified. “If anything, you should be mad at me, for shouting at you last night.”

“But you only shouted because I was talking so much that it gave you a really ouchy headache,” said Pinkie. “You were right to tell me to... shut up.” She cringed at the last two words, as if they were terrible swears. As far as Dash was concerned, she was absolutely right to do so.

“No, I wasn't,” said Dash firmly. “It's never 'right' to flip out at a friend like that. I should've just taken a deep breath and told you straight that you were giving me a headache. I just... I didn't think.”

There was a short, contemplative pause, before Pinkie gave a slow nod and smiled faintly. “I didn't think either. Everypony else noticed that you were hurting, everypony except me. I wasn't even paying attention...”

Dash grunted and glanced down at her cast. “Well, I guess we were both kind of dumb then, huh?” she said, managing a smile of her own.

Pinkie gave a quiet giggle and smiled back.

They stared at one another again, though this time the silence was more companionable than anything. They both understood where they were coming from, and that each of them had been as silly as the other was a source of reassurance, rather than mopiness.

Finally, Dash grunted to break the silence. “So, what, you just gonna stand there?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “Or are you gonna get over here before the nurse comes back?”

Pinkie brightened into a wide grin. Apparently, she didn't need telling twice...

She jumped up into the air over Dash's bed, and the normally brazen flier braced herself for the cannonball, only for Pinkie to land softly with her fetlocks on either side of Dash's own. Pinkie smiled her goofy smile for a second longer, before leaning forward to pull Dash into a hug, careful to mind her broken wing.

* * *

Dear Princess Celestia,

You ever hear that old saying that goes something like 'Words can never hurt me?' Well, today I learned that that saying's a load of, er... garbage. The truth is, words really can hurt you, and those around you, if you don't think before you say them...

Dash passed the quill over to Pinkie, who sat beside her on the hospital bed.

...You might not realise it at the time, since you're too busy having fun or being angry, but something that seems like a smart thing to say might actually be really, really silly—silly enough to hurt somepony's feelings even. Especially when you're feeling extra excited or mad, it's hard to tell when that might happen, but a good friend will always make the extra effort to stop and think...

Smiling beside herself, she added a little flourish to her words as she finished.

...So, while it's important to speak your mind when you're with your friends, always make sure to be considerate of those ponies around you when you do...

Pinkie passed the quill back to Dash.

...And, if you ever feel like shouting, just take a deep breath and think, before you go and say something stupid.

The pair exchanged a proud smile and a quick chuckle...

Your faithful subjects, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.