The Vacation Journal of a Rainbow Pegasus

by boardgamebrony

Rating: everyone
Tags: Comedy, Derpy Hooves, Sad, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5509

The mane six vacation on an island, while R.D. runs into unexpected (and perhaps unwanted) company.

After being embarrassed during a failed race held by the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash and her friends go on vacation to the resort island of Clamhoof Cove. But instead of relaxing, Dash is forced to confront what happened during the race and must decide how to deal with the pony who caused the failure.

--You might like this story if you also like:--
Derpy being goshdarn adorable
The movie "What About Bob?" but always wondered "What if we made this "What About Derpy?""
Rainbow Dash and Derpy Learning to be Friends
A story written like an episode of MLP:FiM
All of the mane six having their time to shine
Feeling Feels

Published 2012-03-06 18:23:25 UTC
Last updated 2012-02-20 21:00:57 UTC

Chapter 1

First off, I want to make this clear: I would’ve won that race if Derpy, those ducks, the anvil and the five hundred pounds of flour hadn’t all been in the same place at the same time. Everyone saw what happened, but regardless, the judges still said it was fair and Spitfire won. And now the Wonderbolts think I’m some kind of joke! Me! Rainbow Dash! They called me a flour girl!

Rainbow Dash is NOT a flour girl!

I don’t think that emotion translated well on the page. But it was Twilight who suggested I try writing out my feelings rather than punch the remaining flour bags into powder. Mr. and Mrs. Cake sure appreciate this form of expression more. I would’ve told Twilight that writing was such an egghead idea, but before I could say anything, she brought up the time I read Daring Do at the hospital and said journaling was the “next logical step.” Twilight, why do you make my life so hard? I told her if she wasn’t careful, she’d turn me into a nerd and then I’d have my own assistant just like Spike. After that, Scootaloo kept telling me she would accept the position.

Anyways, Rarity brought a surprise for all of us after the competition. She said she’d won tickets to an exclusive resort island called Clamhoof Cove after one of her dresses was chosen as the grand prize winner in the Finnish Fashion Finale. I’m not even sure what that is, but I know it makes me feel even worse that one of my friends won their own contest when I didn’t. We should all be celebrating together! DERPY! WHY?

(Unintelligible scribbles of anger)

If anyone tries to read this later and can’t make out some parts, just chalk it up to “Rainbow Rage.”

The first time I saw Clamhoof Cove, my mouth actually dropped. I just stood there on the deck of the Harmony, right next to Rarity who was eager to introduce the place, all the while wearing a red glittery dress which reminded me of a movie I saw in Manehatten once. The one with the giant pony. What was it called? Klydesdale Kong?

“Everypony, I present to you the finest resort island in all of Equestria! Isn’t it gorgeous? Just look at all the darling huts located along the shoreline. It’s like a cast-away fantasy come true!” She smiled as she stared out into the bay.

Twilight placed her hooves on the rail and glanced eagerly at the shoreline. “I read in a book that the native pony tribes believe Clamhoof Cove actually rests on the back of a giant clam!”

I jumped in. “Actually, I think you’re talking about Daring Do and the Clam Catacombs. That sounds like the plot from that story. I don’t think this place has tribes.” Wow. I actually remembered that.

“That book was inspired by this island, so we’re both right,” Twilight said.

“Uh…could we p-p-please go back inside the cabin?” Fluttershy said. Her hooves were spread wide as she tried to keep her balance despite the rough movement of the boat through the choppy waves. “It’s too hard to stand out here.”

Applejack trotted with effortless skill across the deck, even with the swaying of the boat. I gotta admit: it really impressed me to see how confident she was no matter the weather. “Oh, don’t worry, sugar cube. It’s just like a swimming pool, only bigger.”

The boat hit a rough patch and dipped suddenly. A wall of water splashed down onto the deck, soaking A.J. as Fluttershy managed to jump back just in time. Applejack’s hat slid around the ground as I picked it up and wore it with barely a glance. “I’ve never seen that happen in a swimming pool,” I said, holding the hat above my head.

She snorted water out of her nose as she smiled. “Funny, Rainbow. Now gimme back muh hat.”

“You can have it back if you can take it from me.” I knew it’d get to her. Applejack is as competitive as I am and she is fun when she’s itchin’ for a challenge.

“Still wanting to prove yourself after that race?” she asked.

“Hah! I don’t have to prove anything!” I thought now would be a good time to go aerial and shot upwards a dozen feet above the boat. “But just so I can keep myself in shape for my adoring fans, I’m gonna use this trip to train on the island. And when I’m done…AHHHH! PELICAN!”

I’m not going to describe how a random pelican tried to eat my face.

“Dash!” Twilight yelled. “There’s a fish stuck in the brim of the hat! Drop it!”

Sure enough, after Applejack was hit by the wave, a small fish was now sticking to the hat by its mouth. I tossed it to the deck and the fish fell off, flopped towards Fluttershy and landed at her hooves as the pelican swooped down to snatch it. Fluttershy grasped the fish in her mouth and took off back to the cabin as the bird flew away, unsatisfied. She walked back a moment later with the fish inside a water-filled plastic bag hanging underneath her saddle pack. And now Fluttershy had her 438th pet. We later learned his name was Mr. Wiggles.

Twilight jumped in giddy anticipation. It looked a lot like the time she learned her favorite author was signing books at Canterlot library. “I can’t wait to see what kind of exciting things are waiting for us on that island!” She looked around. “Hey, where’s Pinkie…?”

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOO!” A pink jetski shot by. It was ridden by a pink pony wearing pink goggles with darker pink hair. In other words, it was Pinkie Pie. “I found the jetski in storage! It’s AMAZING!”

How does she do that?

All right, I admit it: I could’ve waited. I could’ve stayed on the boat and sat still while the guide led my friends and the others guests onto the shore and into one of the quiet village huts. It would’ve made things easy and probably saved a lot of heartache in the end.

But I’m a pegasus! I don’t need a boat! I only took the ride because I wanted to spend time with my friends. But there’s nothing wrong with a little scouting trip, right?

While still ten minutes out from the shore, I took off on my own. Applejack kept yelling for me to come back, but I was too fast for the rest of her shouting to catch up.

As I landed at the edge of the forest, I could see it all play out in my head like some awesome adventure. And yeah, I started dorking out when I began to narrate aloud.

“As Daring Do trekked through the forbidden jungle, she came across not one, but TWO panther warriors! Garbed in the armor of their secret society, they lunged at the pegasus! BAM! SNAP! Daring Do jumped back as the two warriors fell into her pitfall trap, hidden beneath a patch of leaves on the ground of the rainforest. The lackeys of the Thunder Snake were no match for the wit and awesomeness that was the greatest adventurer of all time! The League of Exceptional Equestrians was sure to see Daring Do’s skill now that she proved herself…” As the words left my mouth, I knew the thought was going to hit me like a hurricane. “They…would never turn her away.” I stopped moving, stared at my hooves and tried to think of something, anything, that would keep my mind off the failure which had happened only last week. Maybe if I kept moving, the thoughts would go away.

As I walked along the path and let my wings rest, I caught the scene again in my mind. But it wasn’t two panther warriors anymore. Spitfire and Soarin replaced them in my mind. Laughing. Like they did at the race when I fell. Or did they? Did I imagine it? Of course I did! They aren’t like that! They’re part of the Wonderbolts! They would never treat me in such a mean way. In fact, I don’t remember seeing anyone with all the flour in my eyes. It had to have been my imagination!

Ha, so that was it! I was getting worked up over nothing. The biggest threat I had at the moment was fear. And pelicans apparently.

Enough sadness! Can’t fly when I’m carrying the weight of my past on my shoulders (oh my gosh, that sounded so nerdy). Just gotta keep walking…

And that’s when it hit me. Right in the face. Why does everything have to go for my FACE?

The speeding form shot through the air, knocked me down and held me to the ground. A few seconds later, after my brain stopped shaking, I realized whatever hit me happened to be sitting on my chest. I looked into one eye staring down at me and the other perpetually looking at something incredibly interesting up above.

“DERPY!” (ARGHHHHH!)

“Sorry, Rainbow Dash,” the bane of my existence said as she stood up and looked left and right at the same time.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. I think my eye twitched.

“I’m delivering the mail!” She said and stuffed an envelope into a coconut tree. I was about to mention the odd move when a monkey climbed down the branch, grabbed the envelope, read the name and handed a banana to the gray pegasus.“Thanks!” Derpy said to the primate as it trailed up the tree and disappeared.

I honestly didn’t know what to say. I’d seen chocolate rain fall from the sky, witne ss Pinkie Pie defy physics and who knows what other laws of reality, narrowly escaped starvation under a rock slide when my pet tortoise Tank saved me, but never, NEVER have I seen such…such…

Forget it. I’ll just ask. “How…?”

“Muffins.”

I stared. “What?” I asked.

“Do you have any?” Derpy continued. Her face was very serious.

I could’ve said:

“I don’t have any muffins because I would have had muffins if you hadn’t destroyed all the flour, dropped an anvil on me, interrupted my race, embarrassed me in front of half of Equestria, and nearly drove me to fly into the sun where at least I would find some peace and quiet FOR THE SPLIT SECOND BEFORE MY MANE BURST INTO FLAME!”

Or I could’ve said:

“ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

But instead I said:

“No.”

“All right then! See ya later, Rainbow Dash!” My brain-pain said as she trotted off into the tropical forest of Clamhoof Cove.

I sat still for about a minute. Then, like a raging river shattering a dam, I finally broke.

I’ve often heard my friends give my moves very creative names. So when my scream reached the atmosphere (which I know it did), I’d like to think my friends would’ve called it a Stratospheric Rainboom. As the scream pierced the sky, I imagined what it would’ve been like had Luna still been stuck in the moon. She would’ve looked down at the ripple of fury tearing through the skies of Equestria and thought “The Royal Canterlot Voice has NOTHING on that cloud-annihilating, pegasus-induced rage which has torn the planet in two. We think we shall stay here, on the moon, for one thousand more years until whatever caused that monstrous bellow finally calms down.” And she would have been right to do so.

Thirty seconds later, my friends came tearing through the brush. “Dash! Are you all right?” Twilight said as she ran through first. Rarity and Applejack hugged me close as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy looked on, examining the clearing.

“What is she yelling at?” Fluttershy said, looking around as she shivered.

“I don’t see anything,” Pinkie Pie said as she scratched her head in confusion.

“She’s here,” I muttered.

“Who?” Rarity asked.

“Derpy. Hooves.”

Everyone went silent for a moment.

Applejack broke the silence. “Okay, so…what does that have to do with all the yellin’?”

“I saw her!” I said, trying very hard not to explode.

Rarity shook her head. “Really, Dash. What difference does it make if she’s here? You’re obsessed with a pony that stopped you from achieving glory.”

“NO I’M NOT!” I yelled. “I just saw her delivering mail to monkeys!”

Everypony stared. Pinkie Pie spoke. “Seems legit!”

When you fly, it’s hard to find a dream that’ll top it. I used to forget my dreams all the time since I was so eager to wake up and take to the air. But ever since I started reading, my nights became filled with all sorts of adventures. Not all of them were connected to Daring Do, but since I’ve read every book in the series more than once, it was natural that the words find themselves in my head (gosh, does Twilight think in these flowery terms?).

And all at once, there it was. I was Daring Do, running through the Clam Catacombs, searching for the treasure of Big Filly Bay. The rush of the adventure was amazing and when the catacombs opened into vast caverns, I took to flight. My wings carried me high and above the jagged edges of the carved rock formations as I moved closer to the glittering diamond at the top of the cave. It beckoned to me with its perfect surface as I flew only feet away…

“Don’t worry! I’ve got it!” The voice cut through me and I turned, stopping my movement in mid-flight. There beside me was a gray pegasus with adventuring clothes and a safari hat, eyes turned this way and that. She smiled and said “Dashing Derp will help you get there! We’re in this together!”

And I fell. And awoke.

You know that feeling you have when you’re falling in a dream and you suddenly hit the ground? Kinda like rolling off the bed? Imagine that in reverse when you’re falling up and you’ll get the feeling of what pegasi go through whenever they have a nightmare.

There were five other beds in the room, each with their own deluxe bed spreads, pillows and complimentary plush toy. Each one of my friends sprawled out differently on their beds, with some of the toys in their arms and others on the ground. I looked at mine and gasped. I dropped it when I realized the eyes had been pulled in opposite directions during the night.

I looked outside and wondered: where could Derpy possibly sleep?

“WakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupWAKEUP!” Pinkie Pie’s face greeted me in the morning.

“Pinkie, quiet down!” Twilight Sparkle said as she moved across the room. “I only need to talk to Rainbow Dash. Let the others sleep for a bit.”

Pinkie Pie made a zipper motion with her hoof and sat down. I could’ve sworn she somehow sealed her mouth, but I’m sure my sleepy eyes weren’t registering the view properly. Twilight pulled a chair next to my bed and sat.

“Dash, what’s wrong? Please tell me.” Twilight’s eyes had that way of pleading with a pony without even trying.

“I told you already, Twilight,” I said.

“Why the focus on Derpy? Okay, you say she’s here. But then so what? Why should you have to worry about anything she does on this island?” Twilight asked.

“She humiliated me in front of the Wonderbolts and most of Canterlot and Ponyville! She does this all the time! She’s like a magnet for bad luck!”

“Dash, that’s unfair,” Twilight said.

“It’s true! I distinctly remember how badly you were injured when she dropped several heavy objects on you while you were investigating Pinkie Pie’s ‘Pinkie Sense.’”

“I did sense that,” Pinkie said.

“But even so,” Twilight started, “she’s still a resident of Ponyville and a very caring pony. She helped you oversee the rebuilding of town hall half a year ago.”

“Yeah, after she almost wrecked it,” I said.

“Dash, I know you. This isn’t really about Derpy. It’s about your desire to win. You’re the most competitive pony I know and if it’s not a challenge, then you’re not interested.” Hah. I’m not always like that. “This resort has lots of opportunities for games and many of the other guests have friendly matches over at the clubhouse located down the road. Come on and give it a shot. We’ve got a day’s worth of activities ahead!” In her hooves was a long scroll stretching all the way down to the floor, across the room and onto Twilight’s bed. “I’ve got it all organized. You can thank me later,” she said and smiled.

I sighed. “Fine. Wake up the others.”

“Yay!” Pinkie Pie said as she jumped onto the top bunk where Applejack was sleeping. As she impacted, the bed collapsed onto the bunk below. Right on top of Rarity.

Gotta be honest: I saw that coming.

It was quiet for a moment as Pinkie, A.J. and a suddenly-awake Fluttershy all turned to stare at the unmoving bed trapped below Applejack’s. Due to the lack of screams from underneath, I assumed that Rarity was in complete shock.

It took a while for the slightly traumatized unicorn to get her stuff together for the day. I’ve never seen her make that face before. And though no one said who did it, she seemed to know it was Pinkie.

“Pinkie.”

“Yes, Rarity?”

“If anypony’s bed collapses on me again…”

“…we’ll have a bed fort! Oh, oh, oh and we can have bed wars!” Pinkie said.

Rarity simply stared.

At the clubhouse, there were a few dozen guests already enjoying games like volleyball and water polo. A fifty-foot waterfall cascaded down into a pool where several ponies played at the far end. The pool met a rock dam before flowing out to sea. Rarity had hyped up the place, but it wasn’t until now that I saw how amazingly awesome Clamhoof Cove was.

Twilight walked over to the edge of the pool and turned to me. “Let’s get a net set up so we can play our own game.” She looked behind me as I heard Fluttershy speak.

“Oh, the name of my pet is Mr. Wiggles. He was saved from a vicious sea bird.”

“Yay!” a familiar voice said, causing me to twitch. “I have a pet duck named Muffin! But he’s at home right now.” I turned very, very slowly.

There, standing without a care in the world stood my source of anguish, smiling at me with impunity. “Hiya Dash!” Derpy said. I must’ve stood still for a while without saying anything because Pinkie Pie moved in front of me and started to stare. Her eyes did not blink. Neither did mine.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?” I asked.

“Winning,” she said. “No one can ace the stare-off game like me!”

Fluttershy flew over to Twilight and Applejack to help them with the volleyball net. I angled my gaze around Pinkie and over at the gray pegasus. She smiled and closed her eyes as if she were thinking about something amazing. I narrowed my brow because I was thinking of the race. Pinkie tilted her head to match my own. “I can make funny faces too! For extra points.”

“Can I play with you guys?” Derpy asked. My heart kicked me in the chest and I promise, if Twilight says yes…

“Of course you can play!” Twilight said. And if Derpy is forced to be on my team…

Rarity spoke up. “You can play with Dash and Fluttershy. I’m going to sit this one out and enjoy the game from poolside.”

Several ponies walked up to Rarity and gasped. Two mares approached her with bright smiles. “You’re Rarity! You’re the one who was chosen as the winner of the Finnish Fashion Finale!”

“Yes, it was all rather hard work, but worth it in the end.” Rarity flipped her hair back and smiled. She turned to her friends. “I’ll play the next game. Right now, I absolutely must speak with my adoring fans.”

“Come on, Dash,” Derpy said and suddenly my eye started to twitch again. “We’re gonna win!”

I don’t remember getting in the water. I don’t remember the game starting, but I remember staring at that gray pegasus the whole time. She just kept smiling and waving.

“Serve!” Pinkie Pie said as she launched the ball over the net. I spiked it high and back over as I saw Fluttershy looking around in the water for something. The ball came back and landed right next to me when I wasn’t watching. “Point!” Pinkie said.

“Hah, I was distracted. That was a freebie!”

“Where’s Mr. Wiggles?” Fluttershy asked. I picked up the ball and saw the small fish stuck to it by its mouth. “Oh, there you are!” she said.

I sighed. “Fluttershy, would you please remove your pet from the water…AHHHH! PELICAN!”

It took about a minute to remove the bird from my face and I tell you, it was going for me! It’s always the face. The fish wasn’t anywhere near my face! But Fluttershy had no problem getting a waiter to put it in a fish bowl at Rarity’s table.

“That remora really seems to like you, Dash,” Twilight said. “They sometimes latch on to sharks.”

Sharks…yeah, thanks Twilight. That makes me feel better.

We played a few more points before the ball finally came back to my team.

“Can I spike? Can I?” Derpy asked. I sighed.

“Here,” I held out the ball. Guess it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t at least give her a chance.

“FORE!” Derpy shouted as she drew back to hit the ball.

“Derpy, that’s not what you say in volleyball…” I started to say. And then she nailed the ball so hard it shot out like a missile straight into the air. It ricocheted off a tree and came right back down towards us. Right to my face.

I woke up hours later. Fluttershy was resting at my side with Mr. Wiggles swimming in the fish bowl on the nightstand. “Poor Dash! The ball hit you so hard it busted! Are you all right?”

“I’m having trouble seeing.”

“I’m sure it’ll clear up. It’s most likely not a concussion,” Fluttershy said. “We had a doctor look you over, and he said you should be fine, but you’ll have a big bruise on your noggin.”

“My mouth is dry. What does that mean?”

“You were drooling a lot,” Fluttershy said.

“And why are all the plush toys on my bed?”

“So you could snuggle them while you sleep.” Fluttershy smiled. “Most of them are covered in drool, though.”

“Where is she?” I said. Fluttershy knew who I was talking about. The yellow pegasus was quiet for a moment.

“I’ll go get her,” Fluttershy said. “And then I’ll go tell the others you’re awake. They went to get some food so they could bring you back something when you woke up. But we’ll probably be stuck inside most of the day. The weather report said a storm is coming and that we should all stay out of the rain.” She stepped outside the hut. Seconds later, that gray pegasus who shall not be named stepped in.

“Dash, are you okay?” she said.

I tried so very hard to keep my voice calm. “Why do you hate me?”

She looked around. “Um…are you asking me?”

“Every time you show up, something bad happens!” I said. “But it always happens to me. I can only assume that deep down, you must have a to-do list somewhere which says ‘Wake up. Pester Rainbow Dash. Eat a muffin. Hit Rainbow Dash in the face with a volleyball and knock her unconscious most of the day.’”

The gray pegasus looked away. “I don’t put muffins on my to-do lists.”

“You always do this! Do you want to ruin my day? I mean, this is almost as bad as what you did during the Wonderbolt tryouts! No, you know what? Nothing is as bad as that! I still dream about them laughing at me.”

She kept her eyes away from mine. “They weren’t laughing at you.”

“Yes they were! And it’s all because of you, Derpy!” I sat and crossed my arms. I was so furious I had no idea what to say and I could only hope she somehow understood. Derpy said nothing, turned around and walked outside with her head held down. She left the hut as Fluttershy and the rest of my friends walked in.

Twilight was the first to speak. “Dash, I just saw Derpy leave. I think she was crying. What happened?”

“I told her she was ruining my life, because it’s true!”

Applejack walked up next to my bed with a bag of food in her mouth. She placed it on the ground. “That wasn’t right, Rainbow. She’s your friend and you should treat her better than that.” I didn’t say anything and reached for the bag. Applejack snatched it off the ground and backed off. She tucked it into her saddlepack. “No. You want it? Go apologize to Derpy and then you can have it.”

“Give me that bag!”

“No.”

I was up and out of the bed before I even knew what happened. Before I reached A.J., she stood upright and looked me straight in the eye. “Dash, you’re going to lose.”

I stopped right in front of Applejack. “Oh, now you’re taunting me?”

“I’m not talking about this bag. I’m talking about Derpy.” I stood and listened. “You hate losing. I know. I remember when you and I stood hoof-to-hoof at the Running-of-the-Leaves competition. You did everything you could to win. But when it comes to friendships, you should try just as hard, if not harder, to make sure your friends know you care. Derpy is your friend. But right now she’s probably crying in her room.”

“She doesn’t have a room! She was delivering mail. To monkeys, I might add.”

“Yeah, that was when you first saw her. But after you were hurt in today’s game, she used every bit of money she had to stay here at the resort so she could make sure you were okay. I don’t know why she didn’t just stay with us. I guess she really wanted to pay for her own room so there wouldn’t be any issues with the resort staff. And I can respect that honesty.” I didn’t know what to say. “If you hate losing a race, that’s one thing. But you should worry more about losing a friend.”

The words hit hard. I looked around at my friends, who all stared and waited for my response. I thought about Derpy and how she must be feeling. “I’ll talk to her. Where is she?”

“Don’t worry,” Twilight said. “We’ll show you.”

Derpy’s hut was the smallest I’d seen on the island. On the outside, it looked like the most simple of the bunch. Nothing at all like the one my friends and I were staying at. I knocked on the door and it creaked open. “Why would she leave it unlocked?” I asked and stepped inside.

The gray pegasus was nowhere to be found, but there were dozens of papers scattered all around a table in the corner. The bedroom was barely big enough for the bed and table. I looked at the writings.

“What are they?” Twilight asked, walking up next to me.

I felt my heart sink. “They’re…apology letters. To me.” There was rumbling outside.

“It’s starting to rain,” Pinkie said as she looked outside.

“I have to find her,” I said. “I have to make this right. But where is she?”

We all searched the room, looking for any clue, but it turned up nothing. The rain was pouring now.

“She could be out there all alone!” Fluttershy said.

“I’ll find her,” I said and moved to the door.

“Don’t you want us to come with you?” Twilight asked.

“I…need to talk to her alone. But you guys should stay here in case she comes back. I don’t want another friend of mine hurt because of me.”

“Well, we’re still going,” Applejack said.

“And you can’t stop us!” Rarity said. “Just…let me get my raincoat.”

The rain was washing down hard as the sun started to descend in the sky. We left the hut and took off in one direction as Fluttershy and I scanned the skies for any sign of Derpy. I yelled down to the others. “We need to find her before it gets dark or she may be stuck out here all night!”

Twilight saw an empty gazebo and stood under the awning as we all moved in out of the rain. She said “Okay, gang. We need to split up and search as much ground as possible. If we don’t find her, come back to this spot in an hour and we’ll think of something else.”

“Got it!” I said and took off.

Lightning began to flash in the distance and a thought occurred to me: Derpy might not be anywhere on the island. But she might be above it.

I soared above the cloud cover and saw a patch of rainclouds in a neat little circle. The shape had the mark of a pegasus, so I zoomed in for a closer look. I saw Derpy sitting on the cloud. Her head was down and her eyes were closed.

“Derpy, I’m so glad I found you!” I said and landed right next to her.

“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash,” she said and opened her eyes.

“No, I’m sorry. I should’ve never said those mean things to you, but…you made me so mad!”

“I know. I ran away because I didn’t want you to be mad at me.” Her eyes were watering. “I don’t want you to stop being my friend.”

Of all the things to watch, her eyes were the hardest. I’d broken her and I was supposed to be her friend.

I finally tried to speak. “You…you are my friend. But I’m upset because what you did at the race bothered me! And to say that is an understatement! I couldn’t stand it when the crowd starting laughing at me after what you pulled.”

“They weren’t laughing at you,” Derpy started and I immediately knew how the line was going to end. “They were laughing at me.” I couldn’t say anything. “You had flour in your eyes, so you couldn’t see, but I was the one everypony was laughing at. They laughed at me because I messed up. Because I always mess up.” I stayed silent and let her finish. “I was there because I wanted to try out for the Wonderbolts too. But I couldn’t make it and got in your way. I’m sorry Rainbow Dash. You should’ve won.”

I rested on the cloud next to Derpy as thunder echoed around us. I couldn’t let the moment end like this. Derpy was my friend, even if she messed up. But…I was so angry, I hadn’t even considered what she was going through. I couldn’t believe how I’d been acting.

“I’m sorry, Derpy.” I waited. “I…I didn’t know.” I thought long and hard, trying to find out what to do next. “I’m sorry…and I’m going to make it up to you starting right now.”

Her eyes lit up a little. “You don’t have to…”

“No, I need to! I shouldn’t have said those things to you. But you’re my friend and no one laughs at my friend Derpy!” I said. Her smile grew wider. “In fact, you know what? We’re gonna train together! We’ll show them! We’ll BOTH get into the Wonderbolts!”

Derpy moved out from under the table. “REALLY?”

“Yeah!” I said. “We’ll start when we get back from this vacation.”

“Oh, I’m not on vacation.”

“You’re not?”

“Nope. I’m delivering mail to monkeys.”

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I found out it’s more important to realize that others around you may be going through worse situations than you. I strengthened one of my friendships because I finally allowed myself to forgive someone who was only trying to reach their dreams. So they made a mistake. It happens. But the important thing is that I give them a chance to be my friend so maybe, just maybe, we can reach those dreams together.

Your royal subject,

Rainbow Dash

“And that was Daring Do and the Mighty Muffin!” I said and closed the binder.

“Awesome!” Derpy said. She rested in her bed with the covers pulled up to her chin. “But didn’t we read all the stories already?”

“No, I wrote this one so I could read it to you after our flight practice,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m getting pretty good at writing ever since Twilight told me to keep a journal.”

“So what’s this story called, then, if it’s not one of the original books?”

“Well, it’s fiction made by a fan, so I guess…fan fiction.”

“Let’s read some more fan fiction!”

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