bittersweet

“C’mon Rainbow Dash, pick up the pace!!”

The blue pegasus pony zoomed over the ground, swerving around the trees that stood in her way. Once or twice a branch clipped off a feather or two from Rainbow Dash’s wings, but Dash just kept on flying despite the recklessness with which she flew. After swerving through the trees, she quickly shifted her weight so her hind-hooves kicked off a wall, propelling her into a cloud up in the air.

“Is that all you got Dash? Seriously? Thought ‘Equestria’s greatest young flier’ would have more skill than a little newborn filly!!”

Rainbow Dash scowled. “I’d like to see you do better, Gilda!”

Gilda the Griffon grinned wildly at the pegasus pony. “Oh Dash, you know I can do better. Check it, you and me to that cloud up there. Think you can out-fly me with that speed of yours Dash?”

Rainbow Dash grinned bitterly. “Who do you think I am, Gil? I’m Rainbow Dash! The greatest flier in all of Equestria!!”

“Oh yeah? Prove it!” Gilda quickly lifted off, leaving Rainbow Dash back in the dust.

“Hey! No fair Gilda!!” Rainbow Dash chased after her.

The two fliers sped through the sky, Gilda in the lead with Rainbow Dash trying to keep on her tail. They both hit the cloud at the same time, although Rainbow Dash had a bit of trouble braking.

“Haha! I beat you there Rainbow Dash!” Gilda boasted.

“Yeah right, anypony could see that I clearly beat you by a hair!!” Dash retorted.

“More like lost by a hair!”

“Whatever, Gil!”

The two fliers let out a short fit of laughter at their pointless quarrel. However, while Gilda’s laugh was full, Rainbow Dash’s was somewhat strained.

“But man Rainbow Dash, was I surprised when I saw you roll into town the other day!” Gilda said, slapping the pony on the back. “What made you ditch those dweebs back at Ponyville anyways?”

“Oh… you know. I guess I just felt like they were crampin’ my style, you know?” Rainbow Dash lied. “Besides, the most awesome pony in Equestria is more suited to the city life then life in a little backwater town, right?”

“Well Dash, you’re about 20 percent cooler now that you’ve ditched all those lame-o’s back in Ponyville and started hanging with me out in Fillydelphia!”

“Uh…yeah, haha.” Rainbow Dash looked sadly out in the distance, back in the direction Ponyville was in.

After Pinkie Pie’s funeral, Dash ran away from Ponyville, hoping to get away from everything that reminded her of Pinkie Pie. She just couldn’t spread her wings if every time she flew up into the air, the Cakes’ bakery entered her field of vision and brought with it those painful memories. Luckily, when Gilda visited Ponyville before she left Dash some contact information so she could reach her, so Rainbow Dash packed her belongings and hightailed it to Fillydelphia.

“So Dash, why’s your flying been so messed up lately?” Gilda asked. “It’s not like you to be so sloppy when flying. Did those dweebs keep you from practicing or something?”

Rainbow Dash put on a strained smile. “Yeah… that’s it.” Ever since she arrived in Fillydelphia, Gilda thought insulting Dash’s old friends was free game now that Dash ‘ditched’ them. Besides, it’s not like she totally ditched them anyways, she was just taking a little unannounced vacation from Ponyville to recuperate, that’s all! Sure she left without warning… and sure she didn’t tell anypony about her leaving… but it’s not like she’s planning to stay in Fillydelphia forever!

Gilda playfully smacked Rainbow Dash on the back again a couple times. “Well whatever dude! We’ll get you back on your wings in no time, just stick with me and it’ll be just like our old days back at Flight Academy in Cloudsdale!” Rainbow Dash flinched at the mention of Flight Academy. “Oh… what’s this?” Gilda said upon seeing Dash’s reaction. “Don’t tell me you’re still sore about what happened back in Flight Academy! That was years ago man, you should be over it by now!”

“W-what are you talking about, Gilda?!” Rainbow Dash hurriedly said. “Why wouldn’t I be over that lameness back in Flight Academy?”

“Sure you are, Rainbow Crash,” Gilda said sarcastically. “Look dude, I’m cool if you’re not over it, I know you have a really hard time dealing with tough things like that. I was your best friend for all those years in Flight Academy after all!”

“Uh, yeah…”

Gilda sighed. “Look bro, I can’t be seen hanging with somepony who’s all mopey-eyed and crap over stuff that’s happened years ago. So how ‘bout this?” Gilda grinned mischievously at Rainbow Dash. “Why don’t you and I go over downtown and nick some cupcakes from one of the vendors over there?”

Rainbow Dash froze at the mention of cupcakes. “U-uhh… I’m not sure I’m too cool with that…”

“C’mon Rainbow Dash, you and I used to nick things all the time back in the day!” Gilda criticized, not noticing what was actually bothering Rainbow Dash. “Don’t tell me that somepony’s lost all their backbone after living in a soft-hooved place like Ponyville for all this time! What happened to that cool Dash that was down with anything, huh?”

“I-I’m down with it!” Rainbow Dash hurriedly said. “I’m just… allergic to cupcakes. That’s all. No biggie.”

“You’re… allergic to cupcakes.”

“Yeah! I’m allergic to cupcakes, can’t stand the sight of them! You got a problem with that Gilda?!”

“Woah dude, chill.” Gilda lifted off from the cloud and spread her wings. “Well if you can’t eat cupcakes, let’s just nick some apples or something. Unless you’re gonna say that you’re allergic to apples or something like that too.” Gilda sneered.

“No way, Gil! I’m totally down with stealing apples!” Rainbow Dash lied.

“Now that’s the cool Rainbow Dash I knew! C’mon, maybe after we’re done eating I can show you some cool hangout places, you dig?”

“Sure, Gil!” Rainbow Dash lifted off and hovered next to Gilda. “Let’s go!”

“Oh, and Rainbow Dash?”

“What is it Gil?”

Gilda placed a talon on Dash’s head and ruffled up her mane. “Don’t stress so much about what happened in Flight Academy man. You ran away from it years ago, so put that behind you and get over it already! It’s not like you have to run anymore after you did that sonic rainboom of yours, after all!”

“I-I didn’t even run away from it in the first place, Gilda!” Dash shouted.

“Sure Dash, sure.” Gilda teased as she suddenly zoomed ahead of Rainbow Dash. “Just keep telling yourself that, broski!”

“Don’t call me broski!!” Dash called out angrily, boosting forward to catch up to Gilda.

No matter what anypony said about her fallout from Flight Academy, she did not run away. She was just too cool to hang at a place like Flight Academy, that’s all! Who did Gilda think she was anyways? Just because she knew Dash for many years doesn’t mean she knows everything about her! After all, she was Rainbow Dash! The greatest young flier in all of Equestria! A future member of the Wonderbolts! And somepony like her… somepony like her…

Somepony like her would never run away from a challenge, right?

--

“Ooh little Angel Bunny… won’t you come out to eat your lunch?” Fluttershy was crouched over Angel’s tiny rabbit-hole, trying to coax the bunny to come out to eat his lunch. “I got the freshest little carrot for you Angel, and if you don’t come out then it’ll go bad…” Angel groggily crept out of his home and shot a grumpy look to Fluttershy.

“Ooh, there you are Angel,” Fluttershy said, completely ignoring the look Angel shot her. “Here’s a nice yummy carrot to fill up your little bunny belly this afternoon!”

Fluttershy brought a carrot out from her saddlebags and gave it to Angel. The bunny began appraising the goods, gingerly felling the texture with his paws and giving it a cautious sniff. He then took a cautious nibble from the carrot, before throwing it down haughtily in disgust.

“Oh… no Angel, you can’t waste food like that.” Fluttershy nuzzled the carrot closer to Angel with a gentle smile on her face. “Come on, be a good little bunny and eat your lunch.”

Angel crossed his paws and stuck his nose up in the air as if to say, “You interrupted my afternoon nap for this?”

“Come on Angel… come on, little bunnies like you need to eat their food if you want to grow nice and healthy…”

“Hi Fluttershy!”

“EEP!” Fluttershy jumped in surprise, scattering the carrots and other vegetables in her bag all over the place. Angel quickly took advantage of the opportunity and grabbed as many as the vegetables as he could before hurrying back into his den. “O-oh no Angel ,you can’t take all that food, it’s for the other animals…”

Twilight Sparkle quietly stepped next too Fluttershy. “Sorry, Fluttershy, I thought it’d be good if I greeted you energetically this afternoon…”

“Oh, no Twilight, it’s not your fault.” Fluttershy mumbled, staring at her hooves. “It’s my fault for being such a scaredy-pony all the time. Don’t blame yourself. Please. Don’t.”

“If you say so Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “Say, do you think you can spare a few minutes to talk for a bit?”

“Oh, I was feeding the animals right now… but it’s okay Twilight!” Fluttershy hurriedly added, seeing the expression on Twilight’s face. “Angel took most of my food anyways, so, um, I’d have to wait for him to finish eating so, um, well… I have time.”

“That’s great Fluttershy!” Twilight Sparkle replied enthusiastically. “Not about Angel stealing your food though, that’s horrible.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay.” Fluttershy said. “Angel does this all the time, so I’m used to it, so, um, he’ll give back what he doesn’t eat, which is usually most of it, so, um… yes.”

Twilight grinned nervously. “So…”

“So…” Fluttershy hoofed shyly at the ground.

“…so…”

“…so…”

“Uh…” Twilight wasn’t exactly sure where to start. It’d be rude if she just asked Fluttershy where Rainbow Dash was right off the bat after all.

“um…”

“So Angel Bunny!” Twilight said, breaking the awkward silence. “How long have you been looking after him anyways?”

“Oh, Angel Bunny?” Fluttershy suddenly perked up after being asked about Angel. “Well, you see, I’ve been looking after Angel for the longest time, I was there when he was born and watched him grow up ever since!”

“E-ever since he was born, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked nervously. Fluttershy’s sudden bouts of enthusiasm always left anypony unsure of how to react.

“Mhmm, ever since he was born.” Fluttershy smiled, looking back on her memories. “You see, back when I was a little filly, my mommy and daddy looked after me and the rest of the animals. And cute little Angel Bunny’s parents were a pair of those animals.”

“Ah…” Twilight Sparkle smiled at the thought of little filly Fluttershy playing in a flower field with her parents and the animals. “So you’ve taken care of Angel ever since you were a filly?”

Fluttershy nodded. “My mommy and daddy let me take care of Angel Bunny and his parents, so Angel is actually the first animal I started taking care of.”

“Is that why you never use the Stare when it comes to Angel?”

Fluttershy’s happy expression faded away after hearing Twilight’s question.

“Is something wrong, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, no, not really, well… kind of.” Fluttershy timidly shuffled her hooves. “You see… I was a shy little filly, even shyer than I am now actually… and, well, um…

“Angel’s parents died.”

“Oh… I’m so sorry Fluttershy.”

“No, don’t be, it’s okay, well it’s not but, well, it was a long time ago so… yeah.” Fluttershy brushed her mane out of her eyes, revealing a distant expression. “I was broken up for a while after that; I couldn’t talk to anypony for days. My parents tried to coax me out of hiding, but… it didn’t work.”

Twilight hesitated before asking, “So… how’d you get over it?” She hoped she wasn’t prying too much into Fluttershy’s life.

“Oh… well, you see… Angel Bunny saved me.”

Upon hearing her name once again, Angel stuck his head outside of his burrow and gave Fluttershy a look before giving back most of the food he stole. The bunny gave a little ‘hmph’ noise as if to say, “It’s not like I did it for you or anything, I just wasn’t hungry is all.”

Fluttershy gave a small smile to Angel and nuzzled the small bunny. Angel gave off an annoyed look, but did nothing to stop Fluttershy’s nuzzling.

“You see, Twilight, little Angel Bunny here cheered me up by giving me a bouquet of flowers.” Fluttershy explained. “He reminded me that there were still things I needed to take care of, and I shouldn’t hide away all day. His flowers gave me the courage to face the world again, you see. Although…” Fluttershy blushed. “… I still hide away from everypony a lot.”

Twilight smiled warmly at Fluttershy’s story. “I guess you’ve dealt a lot since then huh?”

“Oh yes, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, “With all the animals I look after, I’ve learned a lot about the circle of life and how to cope. Especially after my parents departed—”

Twilight let out a small gasp of shock.

“—to Trottingham to look after the animals over there. Is something wrong Twilight?”

“Oh… no.” Twilight said sheepishly.

“Oh… well, since then I’ve looked after the animals in Ponyville myself, and had to deal with a lot of things myself, but it always hurts to lose one of my little animal friends no matter how often it happens…”

“Yeah… cope.” Twilight Sparkle gave the pegasus in front of her a hug.

“Um… Twilight?”

“Oh, um, I’m sorry!” Twilight quickly got out of the hug and hoofed at the ground, embarrassed. “Didn’t mean to…”

“No, that’s okay, it was… nice.” Fluttershy smiled.

“So…I actually came here for a reason.” Twilight Sparkle admitted, changing the subject. “I know it’s kind of rude to come over and spring a question like this on you but…”

“Oh, no, I’m sure it’ll be no trouble, really, go ahead.”

“Well… have you seen Rainbow Dash around?” Twilight asked. “Applejack’s looking for her, apparently Rainbow Dash hasn’t been performing her weather duties lately…”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash? I, um…” Fluttershy bit her lip timidly. “I… no, I haven’t seen her.”

“… you sure about that, Fluttershy?”

“Honestly, truly!” Fluttershy insisted. “Oh, um, I’m sorry Twilight, I probably disappointed you…”

“No, don’t worry about it, just thought I’d ask.” Twilight smiled warmly at the yellow pegasus pony. “I got to talk to a friend again after all. Sorry I’ve been cooped up this whole week.”

“Oh, no, don’t be, everypony copes in their own way. But they feel better eventually.” Fluttershy smiled shyly. “I hope you feel much better Twilight.”

“Oh, I do, and your story helped a lot.” Twilight Sparkle glanced at the sky. “Well, I guess I need to go head over to Sweet Apple Acres to tell Applejack I couldn’t find Rainbow Dash. And I should probably talk to Rarity a little bit later on too…”

“Oh, wait, sorry, Twilight?” Fluttershy stopped Twilight before she set off to Applejack’s farm.

“What is it Fluttershy?”

“You’ve got a little… something… on your lip… um…” Fluttershy put a hoof on Twilight’s lip and brushed something off it. “Oh, it’s a muffin crumb. Did Derpy give you one of these earlier today?”

“Derpy? Yeah, how did you know?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Oh, um, it’s just, well, Derpy gave everyone muffins the day after, um… the funeral… so, um, I guess she just gave you yours now since she never got your mailing address is all, I think.”

Well… Twilight never did turn in her residency application to Ponyville since Spike handled all her transactions…

“So… that pony kept my muffin ready until she saw me?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Um, yes, she did. Derpy’s a really nice mailpony…”

Twilight let out a warm smile. “She really is… maybe I should use the Ponyville Post Office more often, give Spike a break sometimes… oh!” Twilight quickly turned tail. “Sorry Fluttershy, look at the time, I have to head over to Applejack’s! I’ll see you later!” Twilight Sparkle galloped off into the distance.

“Twilight’s such a nice pony…” Fluttershy said to herself.

Angel pretended to gag as if to say, “You fillies and your friendship, it makes me sick.”

“Don’t worry Angel Bunny, I haven’t forgotten about you.” Fluttershy warmly nuzzled Angel Bunny.

The small rabbit let out a small ‘bleh’ sound as if to say, “Don’t think you can get all touchy-feely now that we’re alone. Honestly, geez.” But Angel still did nothing to get away.

“Oh Angel, you’re such a silly bunny… oh?” Fluttershy squinted out into the distance. She thought she could spy a purple and white pony trotting towards her…