Fluttershy couldn't let the animals see her like this, so she galloped toward Rarity's house. The rain pulled her hair down over her face, but she didn't stop to fix it. Then it hit her. Rarity's door.
The door opened to reveal a mouthful of fabric. "Fluttershy, what a lovely surprise! Do come out of that dreadful rain and we'll dry you off." Rarity drew Shy's hair up in a towel, "So what brings you--" Rarity gasped. "Did... Did she hit you?"
"U-uuumm..." Fluttershy looked away.
"Did she. Hit you."
"Um," Fluttershy squeaked.
"Oh for Luna's sake, she did! You can bet she'll get a piece of my mind tomorrow, nobody treats my Fluttershy that way."
Fluttershy had buried her face in her hooves
"Come here, sweetie, we'll fix you right up. Just let it all out." Rarity lifted her onto a lounge chair and pulled some concealer and Vicodin from a cabinet.
"I'm just," Fluttershy sniffed, "so sorry that I made her so mad!"
"It's not your fault, dear! Don't ever think that! Rainbow Dash has had to face a lot of stress, but she has no right to take it out on you. You can stay with me for as long as you need to."
"O-oh, thank you Rarity, but I don't want to be a burden..."
"Don't you dare go out in that weather all by yourself, young mare! You will sleep in my bed tonight. I don't think Sweetie Belle is too old to share with her big sister. And don't you worry about Rainbow Dash. We'll sort her out."
"Okay," Fluttershy whispered, "Good night, Rarity."
Rainbow Dash slumped under her wings as she flew toward Twilight Sparkle's tree. Egghead though she was, Twilight was the only pony that Dash trusted to understand. She took a deep breath and knocked.
"Hey Rainbow Dash! What's... wrong?"
Rainbow muttered, "I hit her."
Twilight leaned closer, "Hmmwhat was that?"
"I... I hit Fluttershy. I gave her a black eye."
"You what?!" Twilight hissed, "Hang on."
"Uh, Spike?" she called, "I need you to find me all the books with, um, more than two mentions of... Moon Frost! From the veeeery back part of the library!"
"Aw, again?" Spike moaned.
"And don't come back until you find all of them!" Twilight pulled Dash inside by the ear. "What's the matter with you? I know you've been taking your brother's death really hard, but how could you let yourself do that? Especially to Fluttershy. That poor thing, she must be in pieces right now! What do you have to say for yourself?"
Dash sank to the floor. Her voice creaked, "I don't know what came over me. We were in an argument and--" Twilight's eyes narrowed. "Okay, I pushed an argument on her. I was so irritated and just hated on everything she said and belittled her for every little thing, and then," her pitch went up, " and then she brought up the sonic rainboom--"
"But wait, I thought you b--"
"I haven't been able to pull one off in months. And when she brought it up, I just... lost control." Dash was shaking. "Just please don't tell Pinkie Pie. You know how she gets."
"Oh, I won't tell Pinkie Pie, but you'll have to tell her eventually. That's not something you can keep from her forever. But right now I'm more worried about Futtershy. You will make it up to her. And then you're going to figure out how to face your own emotions instead of shoving them onto others."
"But how am I supposed to make it up to her?"
"Well, I do remember reading about a spell that lets one pony absorb the injury of another, but that's the least you can do. You need to do something that lasts, something that will ensure that she's safe around you."
"M-maybe you can make that spell last forever?" Rainbow Dash's voice wavered with uncertainty, but she had to right what she did to her love.
Twilight pondered for a moment, then remembered, "It is technically possible, but we're already in blood magic territory. I was just going to have you cut yourself, but for a permanent effect you'll need to sacrifice a body part."
Rainbow Dash turned pale.
Twilight chuckled, "Don't worry, not a wing. They're mostly dead, anyway. A hoof should do the trick, though. Oh, and I'll need you to fly back to your place to find a follicle of Fluttershy's hair."
"On it." Rainbow Dash sprinted out the door.
Hopefully this bond will help her learn to be more sensitive to other ponies, as well, Twilight thought.
Rainbow Dash flew with more focus than she had in ages to her house and back. When she returned, Twilight was holding a curved, gem-stuffed knife in her mouth and flipping through a gnarled tome. "Oh, good," she said through her teeth, "I've jusht finished preparing the arcane shircle! And don't worry about thish thing, it'll only hurt fer a few minutesh."
Twilight directed a shuddering Rainbow Dash to stand at the rune-covered circle's center and hold out her right hoof. She chanted, "Glüj f'lyep morr, gantshum nass draiyk!"
The room grew dim. Tendrils black as void crept up from the marks on the floor and pulled Dash's limbs taut. A toroidal mist bound her mouth, and another covered her eyes. Up rose a pedestal of red stone, upon which Twilight lay the dagger and hair.
Twilight continued, "From one to another, another to one, let the pain of both, fall to her alone!"
The pedestal engulfed both objects, and glowed pink, then blue. The dagger emerged from Rainbow Dash's stomach, leaving no scar. Another tendril twirled around the handle, and cut through her extended hoof as if through water. There was a faint scream as the hoof fell and melted into the ground. The tendrils lowered Rainbow Dash and receded back into the runes. Light returned to the room.
"Aaaaaaaaaah, hh, aaaaaah-ah-ah," Dash expelled between short breaths.
"Okay, hard part's over," said Twilight as she bandaged Dash's front leg, "That was brave of you to do for Fluttershy. I'm really proud of you. Now c'mon, let's go see if Rarity has any oxy left."
Rainbow Dash slammed the door behind her, stumbled across the floor, and fell into her couch.
"Oh, I'm glad to see you home so soon, Dashie," Fluttershy said, walking from the kitchen, "but, w-weren't you supposed to take care of those rain clouds today?"
"I don't feel like it—hrgh—today," Rainbow muttered, "I'll do it later."
"Um, ha-- have you been drinking again?"
"None of your business."
"Oh, sorry." Fluttershy . "It's just... Are you feeling okay?"
"What do you think?" Dash raised her voice. "I lost another race to stupid Bluebell. I don't know how it happened! My wings just felt like lead out there."
"We'll, it's just one race. You--"
"Just one race?" Dash exclaimed, "I'm supposed to be the fastest Pegasus in Ponyville!"
"Um..."
"Um! Um! Um! Is that all you have to say?! That is so you." Rainbow Dash jumped into the air.
Fluttershy looked down at her hooves. "But I--"
"You what!" Dash stamped her hooves right in front of Fluttershy's. "You finally have something helpful to say? You never even show any effort when you cheer for me!"
"Well," Fluttershy's voice grew faster, sharper, "maybe it would be easier to cheer if you could do even one sonic—"
"You bitch!" Before Rainbow Dash knew it, her hoof was in the air, and in an instant it met something solid.
Fluttershy was whimpering, nursing a bruised left eye. Dash froze. Everything disappeared around her and all she could see through billows of tears was that quivering blue hoof. With a blot of red.
Her voice cracked, "I... I-I'm..." It was too late. Fluttershy was gone.
