Don't say goodbye.by RubycastChaptersWhy?Don't let goParty of the pine-heads.Why?There were very few times that Rainbow Dash cried: The first time was when her wing was trapped under a bolder. She felt hopeless. She felt there was no hope of escaping, and had given up for once in her life, but then she was saved by a turtle. That turtle had been in a race and was behind the others. It was the only one who helped Dash. Of course no pony knew this. She had said she chosen the turtle because it finished the race with her, unlike the other animals. She named the turtle Tank. She had name it that, so he would be hard to destroy, and powerful. Of course Tank hadn’t be able to learn any fight moves--despite Dash’s intense training--and hid in his shell when a fight came along. At first Dash was upset with this, but as time went she got used to it. She had accepted it. She had even accepted everything Tank. Well almost everything: the only thing she didn’t accept was his death. She had been practicing a new trick called the Rainbow Loop. She would fly at her highest speed then do five loops. No Pegasi had been able to do five. Three was their highest, but Dash was used to doing the impossible. She had done her fourth loop when she noticed some young ponies crowded around something. She thought nothing of it, but when she rose higher in the sky, ready to do her fifth loop, she saw a glimpse of what looked like a broken turtle shell. It took her less than a minute to realize that the turtle shell looked exactly like Tank’s. She gasped and ended her trick early. She dived toward the three ponies. She felt the sharp warm wind hit her ears, but for once she didn’t care. She didn’t care about the pounding of her heart. She didn’t care about her speed, which broke her own record. All she cared about was Tank. She stopped behind a brown earth pony. “What’s going on!” She screamed. The three ponies jumped and turned to look at her. Instead of moving to the side, they crowded together and hid their mistake. They said nothing as sweat trailed down their face. Normally Dash would have laughed at their faces, but she had only one thing on her mind: Tank. “Move.” She said darkly. Her purple eyes were narrowed. The ponies did not move an inch, but instead they moved closer together. There was no space between them for Dash to look at their hidden mistake. She growled and moved closer to them. She got in the face of a blue unicorn. He gulped as her eyes burned into his. She did not blink. “Move!” She screamed. The unicorn shook as he moved to the side. The others followed his lead. She looked down and gasped. Her eyes widen and her heart dropped at the sight of what was her beloved turtle. There laid Tank with his eyes closed. His green shell with yellow spots was broken in half. It was a clean cut. There was blood around his body. Dash fell on her flank as she looked at the horrible sight before her. Dash shook her head then jumped up. She whipped around to the three ponies. “Which one?” She asked in a low voice. They knew what she meant, and wasted no time pointing to the unicorn. He glared at his two friends, but it didn’t last long as Dash got in his face. His glare changed into widen eyes. “What did you do?” Dash asked. “Um, um,” he stuttered. “Answer!” She stomped her blue hoof down on the ground. He jumped. “I was practicing a-a new spell, and it got out of hand!” He spat the truth out as if it was water. “What kind of spell? What kind of spell that split Tank’s shell in half!” “A-a thunderbolt?” That was enough for Dash. Something in her mind snapped and caused her to see red. Her body felt lifeless as she jumped on the unicorn to the ground. He screamed, but it was muffed in Dash’s ears. She heard nothing as she struck him across the face, but one wasn’t enough. She struck him again and again. It was never enough. It was never enough to get her anger out. It was never enough to teach the unicorn a lesson. And, it was never enough to avenge Tank’s death. She was unsure of what happened next, but when she came too, she was held back by some pony and the unicorn gasped for air. He looked at Dash in horror as he placed his hoof on his neck. It didn’t take her long to realize that she had strangled him. She watched as the unicorn ran off with his friends. “No!” She screamed. She tried to chase after them, but some pony held her back. She whipped her head around and saw it was her long-time friend Fluttershy. She growled. “Let me go!” She demanded. “No.” Fluttershy said calmly. Dash wanted to scream at her for her ignorance. She wanted to believe that Fluttershy was against her, and was on the unicorn’s side, but she couldn’t. She knew it was wrong. Maybe it was the calming aura that surrounded Fluttershy, or maybe it was the stress that had happened in just a few minutes, but something had caused Dash’s eyes to water. Her body shook as the tears fell down her cheeks. She wanted to muffle the cries, but she couldn’t. She wanted Tank to hear her cries. She wanted him to know that she loved him. Fluttershy ran her hoof through Dash’s rainbow mane. “I know.” She said. Dash closed her eyes and buried her face in her friend’s chest. She wrapped her hoofs around her friend and held on tightly. They stayed like that until Celestia lowered the sun and Luna raised the moon. Next day The sky was filled with grey clouds that threaten to pour on the earth ponies at anytime. The Pegasi wanted to clear the clouds, but Dash refused them to. She wanted the sky to match her mood. At first the Pegasi had argued with her about how there was no need for the rain just yet, but once they saw Dash's mood, they gave in. Normally Dash would show no emotion expect happiness or pride in herself, but today she couldn’t. How could she? Today she buried not only her pet, but her best friend. Through thick and thin they had been together. They had been together through the tough times, the fun times, and the sad times, but this time, Dash would have to fight the sad time alone. Her friends and her went to the area where Dash was rescued by the turtle. The place where they had bonded. Her friends did not question why she picked this place. They knew there was a reason that only her and Tank would know. Applejack dug a small grave about five feet deep. Fluttershy placed flowers around the hole to brighten up the grave. “He should have a nice home.” She said. Dash would have smiled at that, but her heart hurt too much. Instead she looked down at the small caste that Twilight had made. It was big enough to fit Tank and his broken shell. Inside laid Tank dressed in a black tux. The tux was, of course, Rarity’s idea. “If the other turtles saw him naked in his new life, then he would be made of. Now he’ll be stylish!” She had said. Dash shook her head. ‘Leave it to Rarity to dress up a dead turtle.’ She thought. She looked at the dark sky. Was there a special place for turtles? Dash didn’t know, but she hoped so. She hoped there was with awesome stuff for the turtles’ to play. She hoped there was an exercise place for Tank to work out. She hoped it was like the one she had made. Hers’ was built in the backyard of Fluttershy’s home. It had a track for Tank to increase his speed, even though Twilight constantly reminded Dash that it was impossible for a turtle to go any faster than it’s normal speed. There was also obstacles like jumping through hoops, or climbing up a seesaw. She wanted to put in a rock climbing active, but she didn’t after she learned that Tank would be unable to climb it. Not to mention it would cost her two years of her salary to buy and place it in Fluttershy’s backyard. And that gave Fluttershy less area to adopt more animals. “Work your heart out, Tank.” She said to the sky. She hoped her words would grow wings and take flight to Tank’s ear. Her friends smiled sadly at her, but said nothing until she looked at them. “Shall we say something?” Twilight said. She hoped that action would help Dash with her goodbye. All of them looked at Dash to see if she wanted to go first, but the blue Pegasus shook her head. She wasn’t ready. Fluttershy stepped forward. “I-I’ll go first.” She said to clear the tension. She stepped in front of the caste. She took a deep breath. “Tank, I’ve known you since you were a baby turtle. I watched you grow up into a well-mannered adult. I-I tried my best to make you happy, but you never looked truly happy until Dash claimed you as her pet.” She smiled at the shocked Pegasus. “That’s right. The moment he saw you, he wanted to be your pet. That’s why I entered him in the race.” She nuzzled her head against her friend’s cheek then moved back to the others. Dash bit her lip and looked down at the caste. ‘I’m glad you were happy with me.’ Applejack stepped up next. She took off her hat before she spoke. “I’ll never forget the time Winona and you teamed up and stole two apples from me. I know you thought I didn’t notice, but I did. I mean sugar cube, you were easy to see.” She chuckled slightly then hugged Dash. She went back to the others. Over the time the others stepped up with their own stories. The last one was Pinkie Pie. Unlike her normal bouncy skip, she walked with a slump. And unlike her normal bouncy pink hair, it was straight. Dash knew that that meant she was depressed. Pinkie was never good with death. It was almost like she didn’t believe in it, but when something died, the reality hit her hard. She didn’t walk up to the caste, like the others. Instead she stood out from the others and looked at the sky. “What can I say? Tank was a great animal, and a great friend. He. . .” She shook her head and went back to the others. Dash took in a deep breath as her turn came. What could she say? How could she express her happy memories of Tank, when in her mind all she saw was those ponies that took Tank’s life. Her gritted her teeth at the memory of that blue unicorn. If he hadn’t been stupid. If he had watched. If he had- She was brought out of her thoughts by someone wrapping their hoof around her. She looked up and saw it was Apple Jack. She smiled kindly at her. “Don’t worry Sugar Cube. We know how you felt.” She smiled for a moment, but it faded when she remembered they had to bury the caste. She sighed and looked at Twilight. “Can you? I-” Twilight raised her hoof to silence her. “Of course. I understand.” She pointed her horn at the caste. She closed her eyes and used a spell to raise the caste and lower it into the hole. She looked at the other girls. “Now, each take some dirt and throw it into the hole. That way we can feel like we’re letting Tank know we love him, and we’re sending him to a better place.” Every girl nodded expect for Dash. How could she do that when she wasn’t ready for Tank to leave? Sure she wanted Tank to know she loved him, but could she send him far away from her? And if she couldn’t, why could the others? She watched as each pony took a hoof full of dirt, then threw it on top of the caste. With each throw of dirt they said their farewells and moved on. ‘How could they move on so quickly? He had just died yesterday!’ She thought. She took a step back. ‘I-I don’t understand.’ Each pony looked at Dash. “Dash, are you ready to say goodbye?” Twilight asked. ‘How can I? He was my best friend!’ She wanted to say, but she kept it in her head. Instead she shook her head and spread out her wings. She jumped up and took flight into the grey sky. Higher and higher she went from the ground. From the grave. She only heard the pounding of her heart, and the rush of the wind in her ears, but for once she didn't care. She just wanted to get away from there. She wanted to get away from the memory of Tank’s death. She felt raindrops hit her nose, but she didn’t care. For once rain wouldn’t stop her. If her wings got wet and slowed her down, so what? She wanted to go home and rest. She wiped away the rain that fell from her eyes. Author's Note The first character was uploaded to http://ponyfictionarchive.net on December 14, 2012, but was written a year before that. I only changed a few sentences, fixed some mistakes, today. The second chapter---which I'll add later--was uploaded April 7th 2013. And in case you get confused, yes it really is raining. Don't let goThe sun had risen from its sleep and shined its light to awake life on Earth, though it would only reach a few places until it rose higher. The animals first rose from their slumber and begun their work. The ponies, on the other hoof, stayed in their beds since their work wouldn’t start until hours later. The only ponies up at this time would be Princess Celestia and farmers, but among them, unknown to them, was Rainbow Dash. She awoke to the sound of birds chipping, which awoke the common sense in her brain. ‘Huh? Birds?’ She thought. ‘How did they get up this high? My cloud castle is too high for birds.’ It was a law of nature that birds couldn’t travel the same height as Pegasi, their energy and wings gave out under the skies pressure. Rainbow Dash remembered that law when she built her cloud castle. She didn’t want to be awoken from an awesome dream because of stupid birds. She slowly opened her eyes to the world and sat up. She expected to feel her soft bed underneath her, but instead felt something cold and rough. She looked down and saw she was on grass. “Grass?” She said out loud. “Why am I on grass?” She looked around and saw the trees that surrounded her. She knew she was in a forest, but she wasn’t sure which forest. There were a few forests in Ponyville, but they weren’t very large except the Everfree Forest, but she knew she wasn’t in there. The Everfree Forest had no sunshine inside of it, which gave it a night time feel. There were also no animals in it--well normal animals anyway. ‘I’m probably in another town.’ She thought to herself. ‘But why?’ She crossed her hooves and thought back to yesterday’s event. Instantly her mind was filled memories of Tank’s death, her attack on a unicorn, the funeral, and her flying through the rain. She remembered how dark the clouds had gotten, which made it hard to see, but the rain almost made it impossible. She remembered the cold rain poured on her body and wings. At that moment she had remembered her old flight couch as he had warned her younger self, along with the others, never to fly in the rain. She then remembered how it grew harder to fly and how she got closer to the ground each second. She remembered that she had tried to pull herself up, but it was useless when her back hoof hit the top of the tree and sent her diving toward the ground. She remembered hitting her head, then that was it. She looked up from her spot and noticed a tree behind her. A few of the large leaves were scattered around it. She touched the top of her head, only to jerk it back at the pain. “Looks like I have a sore.” She shrugged. “I’ve done worse.” She stood up and spread her wings. “Time to go home.” She felt the cool wind behind her wings as it tried to raise them up. As if they begged her to take off and bathe herself in the warmth of the summer sun. She grinned and narrowed her eyes. “Ready?” She asked herself. She bent her knees. “Set?” She lowered her head. She waited a moment before she yelled the final word to the world. “Go!” Without a second to waste she took off into the skies. The summer winds pushed her to soar high enough to go through three clouds. She felt the rays of the sun hit her body and felt warmth spread across her. She knew the rays made her rainbow mane and tail glow brighter than on her regular days. That moment was what every Pegasi dreamed of. That moment that cleared a ponies’ mind of all troubles and made them grin without knowing it. That moment which gave birth to happiness. Expect Rainbow Dash felt none of those things. To her it was nothing compared to yesterday. Her mind forced her to witness the events of the past. She wanted to shake them away, but she wanted to relive in the memories more. She wanted to feel the rage, the sadness, just so Tank’s death wouldn’t go unnoticed. She was the only one who cared. She blinked away tears as she flew at great speeds toward Ponyville to go home, but she didn’t realize that Ponyville was twenty miles away. She arrived at noon in Ponyville. She slowed her pace to a normal speed when her wings cramped. She flew lazily over the ponies, though some didn’t notice her, or knew the fact that she had disappeared yesterday. The first one to notice was, of course, Pinkie Pie. The pink mare gasped and hopped after her Pegasi friend. “Rainbow Dash!” She called. “Welcome back!” She looked down to see the pink mare. She smiled and landed in front of Pinkie. Pinkie’s smile reach both of her ears, and her eyes were large with a twinkle in both eyes. Dash’s smile only grew a few inches and her eyes were dull. “What’s up?” She asked. Pinkie pie’s ears went flat against her head. Her smile turned into a frown and her large eyes filled with large tears, though none of them spilled. “Where did you go? Did you get lost? Were you mad at us?” Dash wanted to shake her head no and tell her that it was alright, but it would be a lie. They said their goodbyes too fast and got over it. Even Pinkie returned to her normal life like nothing had happened. It was sick. It was disgusting. She glared at Pinkie, but the moment she saw her friend ready to cry, she felt her anger disappear. How could she stay mad at the pink mare who lived everyday with a smile? She let out a sigh before she went over to Pinkie and wrapped her hoof around her neck. “Nah. I can’t stay mad at my best friends.” Instantly Pinkie’s face lit up like Christmas lights. She giggled and wrapped her hoofs around Dash’s neck and squeezed. “I’m so glad!” She cheered. “Twilight said you might be, but I knew you weren’t! Friendship is fore-” “Pinkie.” Choked Dash. “You’re choking me.” Her face turned a bright red from the lack of air. Pinkie giggled and released her hold. “Oops! Sorry.” She gasped. “Dashie! We should have a welcome back party! There will be cake, games, punch, and friends!” She giggled. “We’ll invite the whole town!” “Uh, Pinkie, I’m tired. I need my afternoon nap.” Dash said to stop her friend’s rambling, or so she had hoped. “Then we’ll have it tonight at the Ponyville center! It’ll be great! We’ll have streamers, balloons, and stars! Not fake stars, but real stars! Oh, oh! And we can invite Princess Luna and it’ll be like Nightmare Night again, expect it's is a long time away. But it would be great to get some candy!” She gasped. “Candy! We’ll need lots of cakes and candy! I should start working- Oh! My party cannon-” Dash backed away slowly as Pinkie continued to talk to herself. Without the pink mare noticing she spread her wings and took off toward her cloud castle. She flew across the town as she headed for her home. She couldn’t wait to feel the softness of clouds on her wings. She couldn’t wait to hear the silence of peace. She smiled when she saw the castle in her view. She increased her speed just a bit so she could reach her home before anypony bothered her- “Rainbow Dash!” She halted in flight and looked toward the ground. The pony who stared back at her was Twilight. She smiled once she knew she had Rainbow‘s attention. “Rainbow Dash!” She called again. “Come down here!” Dash sighed and rolled her eyes. “What now?” She muttered. She flew toward the ground and landed in front of the unicorn. She felt her insides twist in knots once they made eye contact. She took a step back to clear the knots, but they stayed. “Where did you go, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked. “We were all worried about you. I was about to gather everypony to go look for you.” Rainbow’s ears twitched at each word Twilight spoke. She had talked to the unicorn before with no problem, but at that moment her voice changed from pleasant to grating. It made Rainbow’s body itch with the need to fly away. “That’s great Twilight. Well, bye!” She spread her wings. “Wait! Where did you-” Before Twilight could say anything more, Dash had flown into the air and flew at top speed. She didn’t look back as she soared over the buildings. She flapped her wings harder than she had before. She had to get home. She had to. She didn’t stop until she felt her hooves land on a cloud. She sighed in relief as she looked up at the castle she had worked hard to make. Many were surprised that she was able to make such a thing that stayed the same all year--they thought something, like a accidental kick, would make it crumble--but Dash had extra layers of clouds to support it. She needed an awesome house for an awesome pony like her. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she was until her legs were unable to move another inch, which made her collapse on her “lawn.” Her wings fell limp beside her and wouldn’t lift. Her eyes begun to shut as she laid there. Even though Dash’s body laid there, unmoving, and basked in the sun, her mind twisted and turned in the darkness until it created many scenes from her memory and forced her to relive them. Each about Tank, from the moment she met him to his death. She relived each moment in her mind and felt the same emotions she had those days. Party of the pine-heads.Author's Note Hasn't been edited yet. Party of the pine-heads. When Dash awoke she expected a bright world full of sunshine and ponies walking up and down the streets, chatting away as they did their tasks, or maybe one of her friends yelling at her to awake, but instead she awoke to a dark world. With sleep still in her eyes she looked up at the sky and saw twinkling stars looking back at her. She looked down at the town and saw all the shops were closed for the day. She scratched her head. ‘How long did I sleep?’ She thought before the town clock chimed. She looked towards it and saw that it was eight o clock. ‘Eight hours? Heh. That’s my longest nap yet.’ She got up and bent down to stretch, popping all the bones in her back. She let out a sigh of relief. ‘It was totally worth it.’ Before she could enjoy another moment of peace, her mind fully awoke and showered her with not only raw emotions, but also images from her dream. She sighed with a heavy heart before looking up at the sky. ‘Not even in my dreams can you leave.’ She flopped down on her back and stared up at the stars. “Dashy!” Dash jumped high into the air. She turned around, and stared down at the pink pony who was smiling like they hadn’t seen each other in years. Dash groaned. “I can’t believe I let Pinkie scare me.” She muttered to herself before flying down in front of her friend. “Hey, Pinks. What’s up?” Pinkie blinked a few times before she gasped. “Is this a game?! Ohohohoh! I wanna play!” “Uh, actually Pinkie I meant-” “Your house, the sky, the stars, that bird. Hey, why is that bird flying at night anyway? Don’t they normally fly during the day? Oh! What if it’s lost, or confused because of the party lights?” She gasped loudly. “Maybe it thinks it’s daytime, so it’s flying around looking for its friends, but it won’t be able to find them because they’re all sleeping, then-” “Pinkie!” “Yes?” “I meant what did you want.” “I’m here to bring you to your party, duh!” “Party?” “Yeah! Your ‘Welcome-Back-To-Ponyville-Dashy!’ party! I told you about it earlier, remember?” ‘Oh yeah.’ Dash thought as she remembered her friend’s long rambling earlier that day. She couldn’t remember everything, but what she did remember was it was held in Ponyville center and the whole town would be there. There was also something about Princess Luna eating all the candy at Nightmare Night, but she had no idea what that had to do with the party. “Come on Dashy,” Pinkie said breaking her from her thoughts. “we’re wasting time talking, when we could be shaking our booties!” Dash smirked. “Then let’s get going!” She took flight to the party before Pinkie could even blink, but the pink mare easily caught up. Ponyville center was where town hall was located. When there wasn’t an event going on, the farmers’ brought their own carts to sell their goods to the residents. Sometimes ponies just stood around and chatted with one another. There was hardly a time when something wasn’t going on, and this was no exception. There were purple-colored lights twisted around the light poles that were turned on once night came, but this time they were kept off so they didn’t overpower the colored lights. There was a long table off to the side, so the dancing ponies couldn’t bump into it and knock anything off or cause accidents. Next to the town hall was Vinyl Scratch--or better known as DJ Pon3 to her fans--DJing one of her songs while ponies danced or stood, bobbing their heads to her music. Dash quickly scanned the area once they arrived. She saw her adopted sister Scootaloo dancing in the center of everything with her two Cutie Mark Crusader friends. Dash had to admit that the little pegasus couldn’t sing to save her life, but she did have awesome moves; on and off the dance floor. Perhaps she could get a cutie mark in dancing. Dash made a mental note to bring that up at a later date with her. She saw Cheerilee and Big Mac standing on the cobblestone bridge--which was decorated with colorful streamers hanging on the side--talking and drinking punch. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she didn’t need to, to realize they were talking about something that only required Big Mac to respond with a “Eeyup” or a “Nnope.” Her eyes travelled to the large snack table. Varies cakes and sweets were crowded on the table, along with bottles of hot sauces and the large punch bowel with paper cups beside them. Beside the table stood a large chocolate fountain for dipping food. She knew by the end of the party Derpy Hooves would have her face in it, drinking all of the chocolate, even with Mr and Mrs Cake standing behind the table. Dash’s eyes stopped their wandering when she spotted Fluttershy standing beside the punch bowl. She was about to fly over and talk to her childhood friend--maybe convince her to dance with everypony else--when she saw who the yellow pegasus was talking to; Rarity. The sight of the unicorn made her scowl. She quickly tore her gaze away and focused her attention back to the dance floor. She couldn’t find the CMC, but she did find her country friend Applejack stomping her left and right hoof, bobbing her head up and down, smiling as if she was the greatest dancer in Equestria, instead of looking like an armature. Dash always loved to tease the mare about her dancing before showing off her own moves, creating a dance competition between the two athletics until either Pinkie dragged them to another activity, or they gave up to eat food or do something else. She nudged her way through the crowd until she was in front of her earth pony friend. She didn’t seem to notice Dash as she continued to dance. The pegasus opened her mouth to speak, but her words died when she caught sight of a horn moving in her peripheral vision. She turned her head and saw Twilight dancing near Applejack. Her eyes were closed, her tongue was out, and waved her fore hooves up and down. It was the same dance she had done at her birthday party in Canterlot. Being near her made the knots from before return, expect they felt bigger, tighter this time. ‘Why do I keep feeling this way?’ She asked herself. She suddenly lunged forward, almost falling into Applejack, but quickly put her left fore hoof out to balance herself. She turned her head to glare at the pony behind her. It was a blue unicorn with a white mane. “Sorry.” He said, but he didn’t sound sincere. No. He sounded sarcastic to her. Were all unicorns jerks? Everywhere she looked there were unicorns: On the dance floor, at the snack table, in a group talking to each other. Even the DJ was a unicorn! She never noticed how many pine-heads there were in Ponyville. She could feel herself scowling as the heat of rage filled her chest like running water. It continued to grow and spread through her body, and she had no intention of turning it off. The heat uncurled the knot in her stomach and replaced it with fire. She took short fast breaths as her teeth grounded together. Everything before her turned a dark shade of red. “..bow? Rainbow?” A voice said from behind her, but she couldn’t hear them. All she heard was the pounding of her heart. She felt something touch her shoulder. She quickly spun around and punched whatever it was. “Aaahhh!” It screamed, causing everypony to look. Everypony gasped and froze, mouths hanging open and eyes wide as they could be. She began to huff as some of her rage cooled down, but not completely. The pounding in her ears slowly faded until the only thing she could hear was the rustle of the wind as it passed. Slowly the red from her vision faded and bloomed into different colors. Only then did she notice the fear and confusion in Twilight’s eyes, tears falling from them at a rapid speed. She was holding her right cheek with her hoof. Her body was shaking as she stood on three hooves, but Dash knew she was shaking out of fear. She felt a stinging in her hoof and looked down at it. Against her bright blue fur was blood, but it wasn’t from her. She had no cuts on her hoof. She slowly looked up at Twilight and noticed the edge of a cut peeking out from behind her hoof. Her eyes widen as she pieced together what had happened: She had struck Twilight. She had hit one of her best friends, and it felt... Amazing.
Why?There were very few times that Rainbow Dash cried: The first time was when her wing was trapped under a bolder. She felt hopeless. She felt there was no hope of escaping, and had given up for once in her life, but then she was saved by a turtle. That turtle had been in a race and was behind the others. It was the only one who helped Dash. Of course no pony knew this. She had said she chosen the turtle because it finished the race with her, unlike the other animals. She named the turtle Tank. She had name it that, so he would be hard to destroy, and powerful. Of course Tank hadn’t be able to learn any fight moves--despite Dash’s intense training--and hid in his shell when a fight came along. At first Dash was upset with this, but as time went she got used to it. She had accepted it. She had even accepted everything Tank. Well almost everything: the only thing she didn’t accept was his death. She had been practicing a new trick called the Rainbow Loop. She would fly at her highest speed then do five loops. No Pegasi had been able to do five. Three was their highest, but Dash was used to doing the impossible. She had done her fourth loop when she noticed some young ponies crowded around something. She thought nothing of it, but when she rose higher in the sky, ready to do her fifth loop, she saw a glimpse of what looked like a broken turtle shell. It took her less than a minute to realize that the turtle shell looked exactly like Tank’s. She gasped and ended her trick early. She dived toward the three ponies. She felt the sharp warm wind hit her ears, but for once she didn’t care. She didn’t care about the pounding of her heart. She didn’t care about her speed, which broke her own record. All she cared about was Tank. She stopped behind a brown earth pony. “What’s going on!” She screamed. The three ponies jumped and turned to look at her. Instead of moving to the side, they crowded together and hid their mistake. They said nothing as sweat trailed down their face. Normally Dash would have laughed at their faces, but she had only one thing on her mind: Tank. “Move.” She said darkly. Her purple eyes were narrowed. The ponies did not move an inch, but instead they moved closer together. There was no space between them for Dash to look at their hidden mistake. She growled and moved closer to them. She got in the face of a blue unicorn. He gulped as her eyes burned into his. She did not blink. “Move!” She screamed. The unicorn shook as he moved to the side. The others followed his lead. She looked down and gasped. Her eyes widen and her heart dropped at the sight of what was her beloved turtle. There laid Tank with his eyes closed. His green shell with yellow spots was broken in half. It was a clean cut. There was blood around his body. Dash fell on her flank as she looked at the horrible sight before her. Dash shook her head then jumped up. She whipped around to the three ponies. “Which one?” She asked in a low voice. They knew what she meant, and wasted no time pointing to the unicorn. He glared at his two friends, but it didn’t last long as Dash got in his face. His glare changed into widen eyes. “What did you do?” Dash asked. “Um, um,” he stuttered. “Answer!” She stomped her blue hoof down on the ground. He jumped. “I was practicing a-a new spell, and it got out of hand!” He spat the truth out as if it was water. “What kind of spell? What kind of spell that split Tank’s shell in half!” “A-a thunderbolt?” That was enough for Dash. Something in her mind snapped and caused her to see red. Her body felt lifeless as she jumped on the unicorn to the ground. He screamed, but it was muffed in Dash’s ears. She heard nothing as she struck him across the face, but one wasn’t enough. She struck him again and again. It was never enough. It was never enough to get her anger out. It was never enough to teach the unicorn a lesson. And, it was never enough to avenge Tank’s death. She was unsure of what happened next, but when she came too, she was held back by some pony and the unicorn gasped for air. He looked at Dash in horror as he placed his hoof on his neck. It didn’t take her long to realize that she had strangled him. She watched as the unicorn ran off with his friends. “No!” She screamed. She tried to chase after them, but some pony held her back. She whipped her head around and saw it was her long-time friend Fluttershy. She growled. “Let me go!” She demanded. “No.” Fluttershy said calmly. Dash wanted to scream at her for her ignorance. She wanted to believe that Fluttershy was against her, and was on the unicorn’s side, but she couldn’t. She knew it was wrong. Maybe it was the calming aura that surrounded Fluttershy, or maybe it was the stress that had happened in just a few minutes, but something had caused Dash’s eyes to water. Her body shook as the tears fell down her cheeks. She wanted to muffle the cries, but she couldn’t. She wanted Tank to hear her cries. She wanted him to know that she loved him. Fluttershy ran her hoof through Dash’s rainbow mane. “I know.” She said. Dash closed her eyes and buried her face in her friend’s chest. She wrapped her hoofs around her friend and held on tightly. They stayed like that until Celestia lowered the sun and Luna raised the moon. Next day The sky was filled with grey clouds that threaten to pour on the earth ponies at anytime. The Pegasi wanted to clear the clouds, but Dash refused them to. She wanted the sky to match her mood. At first the Pegasi had argued with her about how there was no need for the rain just yet, but once they saw Dash's mood, they gave in. Normally Dash would show no emotion expect happiness or pride in herself, but today she couldn’t. How could she? Today she buried not only her pet, but her best friend. Through thick and thin they had been together. They had been together through the tough times, the fun times, and the sad times, but this time, Dash would have to fight the sad time alone. Her friends and her went to the area where Dash was rescued by the turtle. The place where they had bonded. Her friends did not question why she picked this place. They knew there was a reason that only her and Tank would know. Applejack dug a small grave about five feet deep. Fluttershy placed flowers around the hole to brighten up the grave. “He should have a nice home.” She said. Dash would have smiled at that, but her heart hurt too much. Instead she looked down at the small caste that Twilight had made. It was big enough to fit Tank and his broken shell. Inside laid Tank dressed in a black tux. The tux was, of course, Rarity’s idea. “If the other turtles saw him naked in his new life, then he would be made of. Now he’ll be stylish!” She had said. Dash shook her head. ‘Leave it to Rarity to dress up a dead turtle.’ She thought. She looked at the dark sky. Was there a special place for turtles? Dash didn’t know, but she hoped so. She hoped there was with awesome stuff for the turtles’ to play. She hoped there was an exercise place for Tank to work out. She hoped it was like the one she had made. Hers’ was built in the backyard of Fluttershy’s home. It had a track for Tank to increase his speed, even though Twilight constantly reminded Dash that it was impossible for a turtle to go any faster than it’s normal speed. There was also obstacles like jumping through hoops, or climbing up a seesaw. She wanted to put in a rock climbing active, but she didn’t after she learned that Tank would be unable to climb it. Not to mention it would cost her two years of her salary to buy and place it in Fluttershy’s backyard. And that gave Fluttershy less area to adopt more animals. “Work your heart out, Tank.” She said to the sky. She hoped her words would grow wings and take flight to Tank’s ear. Her friends smiled sadly at her, but said nothing until she looked at them. “Shall we say something?” Twilight said. She hoped that action would help Dash with her goodbye. All of them looked at Dash to see if she wanted to go first, but the blue Pegasus shook her head. She wasn’t ready. Fluttershy stepped forward. “I-I’ll go first.” She said to clear the tension. She stepped in front of the caste. She took a deep breath. “Tank, I’ve known you since you were a baby turtle. I watched you grow up into a well-mannered adult. I-I tried my best to make you happy, but you never looked truly happy until Dash claimed you as her pet.” She smiled at the shocked Pegasus. “That’s right. The moment he saw you, he wanted to be your pet. That’s why I entered him in the race.” She nuzzled her head against her friend’s cheek then moved back to the others. Dash bit her lip and looked down at the caste. ‘I’m glad you were happy with me.’ Applejack stepped up next. She took off her hat before she spoke. “I’ll never forget the time Winona and you teamed up and stole two apples from me. I know you thought I didn’t notice, but I did. I mean sugar cube, you were easy to see.” She chuckled slightly then hugged Dash. She went back to the others. Over the time the others stepped up with their own stories. The last one was Pinkie Pie. Unlike her normal bouncy skip, she walked with a slump. And unlike her normal bouncy pink hair, it was straight. Dash knew that that meant she was depressed. Pinkie was never good with death. It was almost like she didn’t believe in it, but when something died, the reality hit her hard. She didn’t walk up to the caste, like the others. Instead she stood out from the others and looked at the sky. “What can I say? Tank was a great animal, and a great friend. He. . .” She shook her head and went back to the others. Dash took in a deep breath as her turn came. What could she say? How could she express her happy memories of Tank, when in her mind all she saw was those ponies that took Tank’s life. Her gritted her teeth at the memory of that blue unicorn. If he hadn’t been stupid. If he had watched. If he had- She was brought out of her thoughts by someone wrapping their hoof around her. She looked up and saw it was Apple Jack. She smiled kindly at her. “Don’t worry Sugar Cube. We know how you felt.” She smiled for a moment, but it faded when she remembered they had to bury the caste. She sighed and looked at Twilight. “Can you? I-” Twilight raised her hoof to silence her. “Of course. I understand.” She pointed her horn at the caste. She closed her eyes and used a spell to raise the caste and lower it into the hole. She looked at the other girls. “Now, each take some dirt and throw it into the hole. That way we can feel like we’re letting Tank know we love him, and we’re sending him to a better place.” Every girl nodded expect for Dash. How could she do that when she wasn’t ready for Tank to leave? Sure she wanted Tank to know she loved him, but could she send him far away from her? And if she couldn’t, why could the others? She watched as each pony took a hoof full of dirt, then threw it on top of the caste. With each throw of dirt they said their farewells and moved on. ‘How could they move on so quickly? He had just died yesterday!’ She thought. She took a step back. ‘I-I don’t understand.’ Each pony looked at Dash. “Dash, are you ready to say goodbye?” Twilight asked. ‘How can I? He was my best friend!’ She wanted to say, but she kept it in her head. Instead she shook her head and spread out her wings. She jumped up and took flight into the grey sky. Higher and higher she went from the ground. From the grave. She only heard the pounding of her heart, and the rush of the wind in her ears, but for once she didn't care. She just wanted to get away from there. She wanted to get away from the memory of Tank’s death. She felt raindrops hit her nose, but she didn’t care. For once rain wouldn’t stop her. If her wings got wet and slowed her down, so what? She wanted to go home and rest. She wiped away the rain that fell from her eyes. Author's Note The first character was uploaded to http://ponyfictionarchive.net on December 14, 2012, but was written a year before that. I only changed a few sentences, fixed some mistakes, today. The second chapter---which I'll add later--was uploaded April 7th 2013. And in case you get confused, yes it really is raining.
Don't let goThe sun had risen from its sleep and shined its light to awake life on Earth, though it would only reach a few places until it rose higher. The animals first rose from their slumber and begun their work. The ponies, on the other hoof, stayed in their beds since their work wouldn’t start until hours later. The only ponies up at this time would be Princess Celestia and farmers, but among them, unknown to them, was Rainbow Dash. She awoke to the sound of birds chipping, which awoke the common sense in her brain. ‘Huh? Birds?’ She thought. ‘How did they get up this high? My cloud castle is too high for birds.’ It was a law of nature that birds couldn’t travel the same height as Pegasi, their energy and wings gave out under the skies pressure. Rainbow Dash remembered that law when she built her cloud castle. She didn’t want to be awoken from an awesome dream because of stupid birds. She slowly opened her eyes to the world and sat up. She expected to feel her soft bed underneath her, but instead felt something cold and rough. She looked down and saw she was on grass. “Grass?” She said out loud. “Why am I on grass?” She looked around and saw the trees that surrounded her. She knew she was in a forest, but she wasn’t sure which forest. There were a few forests in Ponyville, but they weren’t very large except the Everfree Forest, but she knew she wasn’t in there. The Everfree Forest had no sunshine inside of it, which gave it a night time feel. There were also no animals in it--well normal animals anyway. ‘I’m probably in another town.’ She thought to herself. ‘But why?’ She crossed her hooves and thought back to yesterday’s event. Instantly her mind was filled memories of Tank’s death, her attack on a unicorn, the funeral, and her flying through the rain. She remembered how dark the clouds had gotten, which made it hard to see, but the rain almost made it impossible. She remembered the cold rain poured on her body and wings. At that moment she had remembered her old flight couch as he had warned her younger self, along with the others, never to fly in the rain. She then remembered how it grew harder to fly and how she got closer to the ground each second. She remembered that she had tried to pull herself up, but it was useless when her back hoof hit the top of the tree and sent her diving toward the ground. She remembered hitting her head, then that was it. She looked up from her spot and noticed a tree behind her. A few of the large leaves were scattered around it. She touched the top of her head, only to jerk it back at the pain. “Looks like I have a sore.” She shrugged. “I’ve done worse.” She stood up and spread her wings. “Time to go home.” She felt the cool wind behind her wings as it tried to raise them up. As if they begged her to take off and bathe herself in the warmth of the summer sun. She grinned and narrowed her eyes. “Ready?” She asked herself. She bent her knees. “Set?” She lowered her head. She waited a moment before she yelled the final word to the world. “Go!” Without a second to waste she took off into the skies. The summer winds pushed her to soar high enough to go through three clouds. She felt the rays of the sun hit her body and felt warmth spread across her. She knew the rays made her rainbow mane and tail glow brighter than on her regular days. That moment was what every Pegasi dreamed of. That moment that cleared a ponies’ mind of all troubles and made them grin without knowing it. That moment which gave birth to happiness. Expect Rainbow Dash felt none of those things. To her it was nothing compared to yesterday. Her mind forced her to witness the events of the past. She wanted to shake them away, but she wanted to relive in the memories more. She wanted to feel the rage, the sadness, just so Tank’s death wouldn’t go unnoticed. She was the only one who cared. She blinked away tears as she flew at great speeds toward Ponyville to go home, but she didn’t realize that Ponyville was twenty miles away. She arrived at noon in Ponyville. She slowed her pace to a normal speed when her wings cramped. She flew lazily over the ponies, though some didn’t notice her, or knew the fact that she had disappeared yesterday. The first one to notice was, of course, Pinkie Pie. The pink mare gasped and hopped after her Pegasi friend. “Rainbow Dash!” She called. “Welcome back!” She looked down to see the pink mare. She smiled and landed in front of Pinkie. Pinkie’s smile reach both of her ears, and her eyes were large with a twinkle in both eyes. Dash’s smile only grew a few inches and her eyes were dull. “What’s up?” She asked. Pinkie pie’s ears went flat against her head. Her smile turned into a frown and her large eyes filled with large tears, though none of them spilled. “Where did you go? Did you get lost? Were you mad at us?” Dash wanted to shake her head no and tell her that it was alright, but it would be a lie. They said their goodbyes too fast and got over it. Even Pinkie returned to her normal life like nothing had happened. It was sick. It was disgusting. She glared at Pinkie, but the moment she saw her friend ready to cry, she felt her anger disappear. How could she stay mad at the pink mare who lived everyday with a smile? She let out a sigh before she went over to Pinkie and wrapped her hoof around her neck. “Nah. I can’t stay mad at my best friends.” Instantly Pinkie’s face lit up like Christmas lights. She giggled and wrapped her hoofs around Dash’s neck and squeezed. “I’m so glad!” She cheered. “Twilight said you might be, but I knew you weren’t! Friendship is fore-” “Pinkie.” Choked Dash. “You’re choking me.” Her face turned a bright red from the lack of air. Pinkie giggled and released her hold. “Oops! Sorry.” She gasped. “Dashie! We should have a welcome back party! There will be cake, games, punch, and friends!” She giggled. “We’ll invite the whole town!” “Uh, Pinkie, I’m tired. I need my afternoon nap.” Dash said to stop her friend’s rambling, or so she had hoped. “Then we’ll have it tonight at the Ponyville center! It’ll be great! We’ll have streamers, balloons, and stars! Not fake stars, but real stars! Oh, oh! And we can invite Princess Luna and it’ll be like Nightmare Night again, expect it's is a long time away. But it would be great to get some candy!” She gasped. “Candy! We’ll need lots of cakes and candy! I should start working- Oh! My party cannon-” Dash backed away slowly as Pinkie continued to talk to herself. Without the pink mare noticing she spread her wings and took off toward her cloud castle. She flew across the town as she headed for her home. She couldn’t wait to feel the softness of clouds on her wings. She couldn’t wait to hear the silence of peace. She smiled when she saw the castle in her view. She increased her speed just a bit so she could reach her home before anypony bothered her- “Rainbow Dash!” She halted in flight and looked toward the ground. The pony who stared back at her was Twilight. She smiled once she knew she had Rainbow‘s attention. “Rainbow Dash!” She called again. “Come down here!” Dash sighed and rolled her eyes. “What now?” She muttered. She flew toward the ground and landed in front of the unicorn. She felt her insides twist in knots once they made eye contact. She took a step back to clear the knots, but they stayed. “Where did you go, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked. “We were all worried about you. I was about to gather everypony to go look for you.” Rainbow’s ears twitched at each word Twilight spoke. She had talked to the unicorn before with no problem, but at that moment her voice changed from pleasant to grating. It made Rainbow’s body itch with the need to fly away. “That’s great Twilight. Well, bye!” She spread her wings. “Wait! Where did you-” Before Twilight could say anything more, Dash had flown into the air and flew at top speed. She didn’t look back as she soared over the buildings. She flapped her wings harder than she had before. She had to get home. She had to. She didn’t stop until she felt her hooves land on a cloud. She sighed in relief as she looked up at the castle she had worked hard to make. Many were surprised that she was able to make such a thing that stayed the same all year--they thought something, like a accidental kick, would make it crumble--but Dash had extra layers of clouds to support it. She needed an awesome house for an awesome pony like her. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she was until her legs were unable to move another inch, which made her collapse on her “lawn.” Her wings fell limp beside her and wouldn’t lift. Her eyes begun to shut as she laid there. Even though Dash’s body laid there, unmoving, and basked in the sun, her mind twisted and turned in the darkness until it created many scenes from her memory and forced her to relive them. Each about Tank, from the moment she met him to his death. She relived each moment in her mind and felt the same emotions she had those days.
Party of the pine-heads.Author's Note Hasn't been edited yet. Party of the pine-heads. When Dash awoke she expected a bright world full of sunshine and ponies walking up and down the streets, chatting away as they did their tasks, or maybe one of her friends yelling at her to awake, but instead she awoke to a dark world. With sleep still in her eyes she looked up at the sky and saw twinkling stars looking back at her. She looked down at the town and saw all the shops were closed for the day. She scratched her head. ‘How long did I sleep?’ She thought before the town clock chimed. She looked towards it and saw that it was eight o clock. ‘Eight hours? Heh. That’s my longest nap yet.’ She got up and bent down to stretch, popping all the bones in her back. She let out a sigh of relief. ‘It was totally worth it.’ Before she could enjoy another moment of peace, her mind fully awoke and showered her with not only raw emotions, but also images from her dream. She sighed with a heavy heart before looking up at the sky. ‘Not even in my dreams can you leave.’ She flopped down on her back and stared up at the stars. “Dashy!” Dash jumped high into the air. She turned around, and stared down at the pink pony who was smiling like they hadn’t seen each other in years. Dash groaned. “I can’t believe I let Pinkie scare me.” She muttered to herself before flying down in front of her friend. “Hey, Pinks. What’s up?” Pinkie blinked a few times before she gasped. “Is this a game?! Ohohohoh! I wanna play!” “Uh, actually Pinkie I meant-” “Your house, the sky, the stars, that bird. Hey, why is that bird flying at night anyway? Don’t they normally fly during the day? Oh! What if it’s lost, or confused because of the party lights?” She gasped loudly. “Maybe it thinks it’s daytime, so it’s flying around looking for its friends, but it won’t be able to find them because they’re all sleeping, then-” “Pinkie!” “Yes?” “I meant what did you want.” “I’m here to bring you to your party, duh!” “Party?” “Yeah! Your ‘Welcome-Back-To-Ponyville-Dashy!’ party! I told you about it earlier, remember?” ‘Oh yeah.’ Dash thought as she remembered her friend’s long rambling earlier that day. She couldn’t remember everything, but what she did remember was it was held in Ponyville center and the whole town would be there. There was also something about Princess Luna eating all the candy at Nightmare Night, but she had no idea what that had to do with the party. “Come on Dashy,” Pinkie said breaking her from her thoughts. “we’re wasting time talking, when we could be shaking our booties!” Dash smirked. “Then let’s get going!” She took flight to the party before Pinkie could even blink, but the pink mare easily caught up. Ponyville center was where town hall was located. When there wasn’t an event going on, the farmers’ brought their own carts to sell their goods to the residents. Sometimes ponies just stood around and chatted with one another. There was hardly a time when something wasn’t going on, and this was no exception. There were purple-colored lights twisted around the light poles that were turned on once night came, but this time they were kept off so they didn’t overpower the colored lights. There was a long table off to the side, so the dancing ponies couldn’t bump into it and knock anything off or cause accidents. Next to the town hall was Vinyl Scratch--or better known as DJ Pon3 to her fans--DJing one of her songs while ponies danced or stood, bobbing their heads to her music. Dash quickly scanned the area once they arrived. She saw her adopted sister Scootaloo dancing in the center of everything with her two Cutie Mark Crusader friends. Dash had to admit that the little pegasus couldn’t sing to save her life, but she did have awesome moves; on and off the dance floor. Perhaps she could get a cutie mark in dancing. Dash made a mental note to bring that up at a later date with her. She saw Cheerilee and Big Mac standing on the cobblestone bridge--which was decorated with colorful streamers hanging on the side--talking and drinking punch. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she didn’t need to, to realize they were talking about something that only required Big Mac to respond with a “Eeyup” or a “Nnope.” Her eyes travelled to the large snack table. Varies cakes and sweets were crowded on the table, along with bottles of hot sauces and the large punch bowel with paper cups beside them. Beside the table stood a large chocolate fountain for dipping food. She knew by the end of the party Derpy Hooves would have her face in it, drinking all of the chocolate, even with Mr and Mrs Cake standing behind the table. Dash’s eyes stopped their wandering when she spotted Fluttershy standing beside the punch bowl. She was about to fly over and talk to her childhood friend--maybe convince her to dance with everypony else--when she saw who the yellow pegasus was talking to; Rarity. The sight of the unicorn made her scowl. She quickly tore her gaze away and focused her attention back to the dance floor. She couldn’t find the CMC, but she did find her country friend Applejack stomping her left and right hoof, bobbing her head up and down, smiling as if she was the greatest dancer in Equestria, instead of looking like an armature. Dash always loved to tease the mare about her dancing before showing off her own moves, creating a dance competition between the two athletics until either Pinkie dragged them to another activity, or they gave up to eat food or do something else. She nudged her way through the crowd until she was in front of her earth pony friend. She didn’t seem to notice Dash as she continued to dance. The pegasus opened her mouth to speak, but her words died when she caught sight of a horn moving in her peripheral vision. She turned her head and saw Twilight dancing near Applejack. Her eyes were closed, her tongue was out, and waved her fore hooves up and down. It was the same dance she had done at her birthday party in Canterlot. Being near her made the knots from before return, expect they felt bigger, tighter this time. ‘Why do I keep feeling this way?’ She asked herself. She suddenly lunged forward, almost falling into Applejack, but quickly put her left fore hoof out to balance herself. She turned her head to glare at the pony behind her. It was a blue unicorn with a white mane. “Sorry.” He said, but he didn’t sound sincere. No. He sounded sarcastic to her. Were all unicorns jerks? Everywhere she looked there were unicorns: On the dance floor, at the snack table, in a group talking to each other. Even the DJ was a unicorn! She never noticed how many pine-heads there were in Ponyville. She could feel herself scowling as the heat of rage filled her chest like running water. It continued to grow and spread through her body, and she had no intention of turning it off. The heat uncurled the knot in her stomach and replaced it with fire. She took short fast breaths as her teeth grounded together. Everything before her turned a dark shade of red. “..bow? Rainbow?” A voice said from behind her, but she couldn’t hear them. All she heard was the pounding of her heart. She felt something touch her shoulder. She quickly spun around and punched whatever it was. “Aaahhh!” It screamed, causing everypony to look. Everypony gasped and froze, mouths hanging open and eyes wide as they could be. She began to huff as some of her rage cooled down, but not completely. The pounding in her ears slowly faded until the only thing she could hear was the rustle of the wind as it passed. Slowly the red from her vision faded and bloomed into different colors. Only then did she notice the fear and confusion in Twilight’s eyes, tears falling from them at a rapid speed. She was holding her right cheek with her hoof. Her body was shaking as she stood on three hooves, but Dash knew she was shaking out of fear. She felt a stinging in her hoof and looked down at it. Against her bright blue fur was blood, but it wasn’t from her. She had no cuts on her hoof. She slowly looked up at Twilight and noticed the edge of a cut peeking out from behind her hoof. Her eyes widen as she pieced together what had happened: She had struck Twilight. She had hit one of her best friends, and it felt... Amazing.
