Cold Stings and Feathery Wings

Cold Stings and Feathery Wings

By: The GnPSB

Rainbow Dash was living the time of her life. Laying in Soarin's arms, she was as happy as ever. They had been dating for almost three years now, their third anniversary would be coming up in two more months, and Dash couldn't wait. Last year, Soarin took her to an island for a vacation. Of course, they could have flown there for free, but Soarin insisted they took a cruise ship. He didn't want his special little rose over exerting herself in a race that he knew she would challenge him to.

The two just relaxed together in Dash's cloud house, lost in thought. Dash couldn't really tell what Soarin was thinking, but she was starting to drift back to when they first met. Where was it? The Grand Galloping Gala! That's right, they shared a dance, and then parted ways. Rainbow Dash didn't think too much of it, celebrities like the Wonderbolts were always at major events like that. Though Dash thought it was just by chance that Soarin danced beside her, it apparently was lot more than that. Shortly after the Gala, Soarin visited Rainbow Dash frequently. God she was so stupid to not be able to tell he liked her. She would have blown it if that storm hurricane never came through. Rainbow Dash was able to gather up the weather team and stop the storm from causing too much destruction, and then the day afterwards, the entire Wonderbolts team came down to Ponyville to thank her! Apparently, the hurricane was from a failed training exercise, and Dash prevented a lot of damage by stopping that storm. When all the Wonderbolts left, Soarin stayed behind. That's when Soarin gave his personal thanks: a kiss.

Ever since then, the two really kicked it off. Of course, Soarin had Wonderbolt duties to attend to, but that didn't bother Dash that much, he always came back. Every time Rainbow Dash tried to talk to him about what he does for the Wonderbolts, he always said it was hard to explain, something about turbulence and whatnot. Dash wasn't an egghead, so she decided to just leave it be. Maybe she'd read a book on it one day. As for now, she was content to just lie her with her coltfriend.

Until eight o'clock rolled around.

"Dashie," Soarin whispered, "I gotta go."

Rainbow Dash groaned, "Do you have to?"

Soarin let out a soft chuckle, nuzzling the back of Dash's head, stuffing his face in her mane, "You know I do."

Rainbow Dash groaned again, and shifted to get up. As she did, Soarin got up behind her, saying, "I'll be back in the morning."

Dash, now walking with him towards the front door, turned her head around and said, "Yeah, I know, you always are. That doesn't mean I don't wish you could stay."

The two had reached the front door, and Soarin had that cute apologetic look on his face. The same one he had every time he left. She knew it was a fake expression, and he knew that she knew that. He just did it because he knew that she thought it looked cute. He would be back tomorrow morning, and Rainbow Dash would have his breakfast ready, just like always. She just wished he could stay at least one night. She never thought she would ever be thinking this, but: stupid Wonderbolts. Okay, okay, it wasn't the Wonderbolts's fault, Soarin just had to abide by their rules. Meaning their 8:30 curfew for all members.

Soarin walked out the door, stopped on the doormat, and turned around to give Dash a kiss goodbye, just like always. But, instead of saying goodbye and flying off, Soarin hesitated. He stood motionless for a second, as if thinking something over. Then, he looked Rainbow Dash in the eyes, a look that went straight through her pupils and down into her soul. That was look Soarin got before he did something important. He smiled brightly at his marefriend, and said five words, the first two of which Dash had heard a million times, the last three were words Rainbow Dash had never heard Soarin say. Soarin said, "Goodbye Dash, I love you."

It took all of Dash's effort to keep her wings from going ballistic, at the expense of her face turning cherry red. Dash never even thought about that. Could she ever love another pony? Apparently Soarin could, and he loved her. Dash had gotten to know Soarin very well, and she liked everything about him. The way he talked, the way he walked, the way he looked, the way he looked at her. Something about this pegasus just made Rainbow's heart beat a little faster. He was strong, he was smart, he was handsome, he was always there for her, and he was a Wonderbolt! For a split second, Dash actually thought she might be dreaming, but the last two years reminded her otherwise. If anypony deserved Rainbow Dash's love, it was the pegasus right in front of her. Dash looked back at Soarin with the same stare, and said, "I love you too."

Soarin's smile seemed to flare up even brighter at the words, and the two shared another kiss. Soarin smiled and said, "See you in the A.M.!" then turned and flew off. Dash closed the door before letting out a girlish squee. She was in love. She never thought it was possible, but she made it possible. For Soarin.

Dash slept well that night. All her memories of Soarin flooded her mind and she dreamed about all the great times they've had together. When she finally awoke, she felt fresher than ever. She took a peek at the clock and noticed it was already 9:30 A.M. Soarin should have been here by now, waking her up. Maybe he just got back late and they're holding him back for showing up past curfew. They always planned that if Soarin wasn't able to arrive for breakfast, that he should show up for lunch. So Rainbow Dash hopped in the kitchen, made a quick bowl of cereal, and got ready for the day. She threw on her saddlebags and walked out the door, headed for the town market. She was going to prepare a feast for when Soarin arrived for lunch.

The market was busy, as always. It seemed everypony had something they were doing, or somewhere they were going. Dash wandered from vendor to vendor, buying anything that looked delicious or looked like it could be made into something delicious. Rainbow Dash wasn't an amazing cook, but she knew what Soarin liked. What Soarin liked, was pie. Rainbow Dash walked up to the pie vendor, where she came every other morning to get Soarin a fresh pie. Mrs. Neighberry, the vendor owner, a pink earth mare with a dark purple mane and a cherry for a cutie mark, smiled as Dash approached. Mrs. Neighberry's dark blue eyes shone with glee at the sight of her regular customer.

"Good morning Rainbow Dash!" Mrs. Neighberry exclaimed

"Hi Mrs. Neighberry!" Dash replied, "How are you this morning?"

"Oh, same as always. The kids are having a little trouble in school, though."

"Oh, really? I have a friend who's really smart! Her name's Twilight, she's the town librarian. I'm sure she'd be glad to tutor the little ones!"

"Really? Are you sure? I wouldn't mean to impose!"

"I'll ask her about it this afternoon! I'm sure she wouldn't mind!"

"Oh, thank you Rainbow Dash! I'd help them, but I don't remember a thing about trigonometry!"

"Trigo-what-itry?"

"Exactly!"

The two laughed and Rainbow Dash asked for a apple pie, Soarin's favorite. Mrs. Neighberry pulled one out and Dash gave her two bits.

"So, how are things with the big guy?" Mrs. Neighberry asked

"Well, he still hasn't shown up yet, but I'm not worried about it. He's done it before, but he always comes back around lunch time." Dash replied

"You two still aren't married?" Mrs. Neighberry asked

"Well, no. On the upside though, last night, before he left, he told me that he loves me!"

Mrs. Neighberry let out a squeal, "Ponyville's own Rainbow Dash, falling in love with a Wonderbolt! It's like a romantic novel!"

"I think I may have found the one. He's everything I've ever wanted and more!"

"Aww. That's so sweet!" Mrs. Neighberry noted, "Okay, you run along now! Go get ready for when he comes back!"

"Okay, bye Mrs. Neighberry!" Dash said, beginning to walk away.

"Bye Rainbow Dash! See you the day after tomorrow!"

Rainbow Dash went to a few more vendors until her saddlebags were overflowing with goodies! Sweet scented aromas flowed from the openings in the bags, and made Dash's stomach rumble. She looked at the clock tower and saw it was already 10:30. So, Dash began walking home, until something grabbed her attention. Somepony was calling her name.

"Rainbow Dash!" A familiar voice called out

Rainbow Dash turned around, looking for the source of the voice.

"Rainbow Dash!" it called again.

It was coming from a nearby crowd of ponies. Rainbow Dash could see ponies in the crowd making way for the one calling her name. The one who was calling for Rainbow Dash was a gold mare with a fire-orange mane. Spitfire.

"Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire called again

"Spitfire?" Rainbow Dash muttered

Spitfire made her way out of the crowd, and approached Rainbow Dash. It was only now, that Dash realized, Spitfire had tears in her eyes. Spitfire walked up, face to face with the Rainbow maned pegasus. Spitfire simply said, "We need to talk."

Rainbow Dash led Spitfire back to her cloud home. When they arrived, Spitfire sat down in the living room on a chair by the window. Rainbow Dash went to the kitchen to unload the groceries on the counter and came back into the living room. She saw Spitfire, just sitting there, staring out the window. Her eyes were still wet with tears, and although she wasn't making a sound, they were still flowing freely. The light from the window reflected off of Spitfire's tear stained face, mildly blinding Rainbow Dash. Rainbow approached the Wonderbolt captain, and sat down on the chair on the opposite side of the window. Spitfire never moved, she just kept staring. Rainbow Dash sat there, waiting for her to say something, but the words never came. So, she decided she would have to break the silence.

"What did you need to talk about?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Spitfire let out a deep, shuddering sigh. It looked as though the pain was leaving her body with the sigh, and it required an immense amount of effort. Spitfire turned her puffy, red eyes towards Rainbow Dash, and said, "...Soarin..."

Instantly, the worst possible thoughts started running through Rainbow Dash's mind. Was Soarin okay? Did he have a crash? Was he injured? Was he dead? Oh, dear Celestia, please let him be okay. Dash loved that stallion, she would fall apart if something happened to him! "What happened?" Dash asked, "Is he hurt?"

"No," Spitfire calmly replied, "but somepony else was..."

"Quit speaking in backwards riddles! What happened? Where's Soarin?"

"Soarin's back at base...in my bed..."

"Wha-what?" Rainbow Dash starting processing this new information. Soarin, sleeping with another pony? Why would he do that? He loved Rainbow Dash! She was his special little rose! No, he wouldn't do that. Spitfire must have taken advantage of him somehow! Rainbow Dash stood up, slamming her hoof on the floor, nearly knocking the cloud out from underneath her. Spitfire looked up in surprise. Rage coursing through her veins, Dash screamed, "YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF HIM! DIDN'T YOU?"

Spitfire was taken aback by the sudden accusation. Then she too stood up and said, "NO! HE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME! HE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME AND YOU!"

Rainbow Dash was now in a state of total confusion, what does that mean?

As if to answer her question, Spitfire said, "HE'S BEEN CHEATING ON YOU! CHEATING ON YOU, AND ME!"

Rainbow Dash didn't want to believe it, but why else would Spitfire come down here, balling her eyes out? How is this possible? Soarin and Dash have been dating for years! Surely Spitfire would have heard about it! Then again, this was the first that Rainbow Dash had heard of Soarin's relationship with Spitfire. I guess there's a big difference between what earth ponies and pegasi consider 'news'.

"I've been dating him for five years! Why would he do this?" Spitfire continued, falling over on the windowsill, and crying her eyes out. She had completely broken down while Rainbow Dash was deep in thought.

"How? How could he have kept this secret?" Dash asked.

"The pegasi don't really interact with earth ponies too much, so tidbits of information from the other side of the cloud layer are hard to come by. Since you live down close to ponyville, we were virtually off of each other's radar." Spitfire answered.

"No..." Tears began to form in Rainbow Dash's eyes, "It can't be true..."

Just then, the sound of the doorbell put them both frozen in place. Dash looked at the clock:11:30. This was the time Soarin was supposed to show up in case he couldn't make it for breakfast. Which meant he was at the door right now...

Before Spitfire could act, Rainbow Dash went about the house in a blur, gathering up the belongings of the pegasus on the other side of the door. She stuffed them all in a bag as the doorbell went off a second time. In a strained voice, Rainbow Dash yelled, "I'm coming!" her voice only cracking once. Dash hauled the bag to the front door, and yanked it open.

There, stood Soarin, with a big grin on his face. He noticed Dash had tears in her eyes, and his smile quickly turned to a frown. He said, "Dashie, is something wrong?"

"That's Rainbow Dash, to you." Was all Rainbow Dash said, as she pulled the door open to reveal Spitfire in the next room.

At the sight of the Fire maned pegasus, Soarin's eyes went wide. His jaw nearly hit the floor.

Dash threw the bag in Soarin's face, barely giving him time to catch it. She simply said, "Goodbye, Soarin." Then she shut the door.

Soarin didn't even try to ring the doorbell or knock. Rainbow Dash just assumed he flew far away. Good, that's where she wanted him. Spitfire explained everything, about how Soarin would visit the Wonderbolt base at night, and come to Dash during the day. She found out when she noticed Soarin's lips tasted different. Rainbow Dash cringed at the thought of Soarin kissing Spitfire. She loved that stallion, and the mention of him doing anything else with anypony still hurt her. Spitfire investigated in Soarin's journal. She normally kept her hooves off of it, since it was locked anyway, but she busted it open with a hammer and looked inside. Soarin had recorded each day how he would go to Dash's place during the day, and Spitfire's during the night. Something about how Spitfire was a better love-maker. Again, Dash cringed at the thought. She cried that Soarin used her for so long, and how she could be so blind to it.

Spitfire had to leave shortly after, and left Rainbow Dash to wallow in self pity. Dash went around the house, collecting all of the pictures of her and Soarin, and tossed them in the incinerator. The fires inside grew brighter, and heated up the entire house. The air grew humid, and smog starting drifting off the walls, ceilings, and floors. Normally, Rainbow Dash would have instantly began tending to the decay, but she'd rather lay down in it.

Dash laid down on the floor, looking out the window that she sat next to about thirty minutes ago, crying alongside the captain of the Wonderbolts. She peeked at the clock, it was two o'clock in the afternoon. Although it was so early, Dash felt so tired. She was about to pass out, when a knock came at the door. She approached it and opened it to see Scootaloo. The small filly was finally flying, and had came to show Dash as soon as she could. Normally, Dash would have been ecstatic, but not today.

Scootaloo instantly noticed the sadness in Rainbow Dash's eyes, "What's wrong sis?" the filly asked.

Rainbow Dash had been spending a lot of time with Scootaloo as of late. Soarin took up a lot of time, or, he did, and what was left was normally given to Scoots. Rainbow Dash hadn't spoken to Twilight and Co. for almost a year now. Dash looked at the filly, and tried her best to smile, "Oh, nothing Scoots. I just...stubbed my hoof."

"Oh, I hate it when I do that! But look! I'm finally flying!" Just as she said that, Scootaloo fell to the cloud floor in the doorway.

"Oh, that's great Scoots, but...I really need to be alone right now..."Rainbow Dash said, now struggling to hold back tears. It was too much that she lost Soarin, now she wouldn't be there to celebrate with her sister.

"But...I'm finally flying! I was hoping we could fly together!" Scootaloo said.

"I'm sorry, maybe tomorrow." Dash was just about to lose it.

"Oh...okay sis...I see. I'll come by first thing in the morning then! See ya!" With that, Scootaloo flew off almost as fast as Rainbow Dash. But, Dash didn't notice, she had already shut the door when Scootaloo turned around. Dash now laid on the floor, her head propped up against the door, crying softly. She had lost her lover. Not only that, but now she had to hide it from her sister. She couldn't let Scootaloo see her like this! Things were just piling up on the sadness list, and Dash was letting them out through her eyes. At least, she hoped she was. She hoped she could just cry her sadness away.

But hope was all she could do. That, and cry.

The next morning, Dash was woken from a nightmare. One where Rainbow Dash was trapped with a rabid cockatrice, and Soarin had the key to the cell she was in. Instead of opening the cell, Soarin just left, never to return. The bird turned Dash into stone, an immensely painful experience. The creature was about to break her in half, when Dash was woken by a knock on the door. The door that her head was laying on.

Dash had fallen asleep, on the floor, laying against the door. Her head rested at an awkward angle, and her neck hurt. Her eyes were puffy from crying so much, and her stomach growled from lack of a dinner.

"Rainbow Dash? You home?" Scootaloo called from the other side of the door.

Dash didn't respond. She didn't want to let Scootaloo see her like this. If she didn't answer, maybe she'd just go away.

"Rainbow Dash?...I'm coming in!"

Was the door locked? Dash couldn't remember, but she hoped it was. She would have reached up and locked it, but the handle seemed so far away.

Scootaloo opened the door, and Dash's head fell on the cloud doorstep. With a small, "ouch," Rainbow Dash sat up, looking away from the filly.

"Sis?"

Rainbow Dash turned in place to face Scootaloo, tears streaming down her face. All she could manage to say was, "I-I-I n-need t-t-to b-be al-lone..."

Scootaloo, now surprised at the sudden change of pace, quickly said, "Sis, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Dash stubbornly replied, "I'll be fine...just go."

"No, you won't be fine. I'm staying here. That's what sisters are for."

"What can you do?"

"I...I don't know, I'll go find your friends."

"No, I don't want them to see me like this."

"Too bad, you need them. C'mon, lets get you on the couch."

Dash said, "No," but complied nonetheless. Scootaloo helped her sister up and into the living room. She laid Dash down on the couch, and brought her a glass of water and a hay sandwich. Dash didn't even look at it.

Scootaloo said, "I'm gonna find Twilight and have her cast the cloud-walking spell on everypony else. Then they'll all come up here to see you. Sound good?"

"No." Dash bluntly replied

"Don't worry, it will be." Scootaloo reassured. With that, she zoomed out the door.

Dash laid on the couch, debating whether or not to eat the sandwich. What good would it do her? Fill her up? She didn't need that. She didn't deserve that. Obviously, Soarin saw that. That's why he left. Dash was meaningless.

Useless...

Unworthy...

Un...lovable...

Twilight was the first to arrive, on account of teleporting. When Scootaloo arrived with Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy, Twlight was already making logical conclusions. She was worried about Rainbow Dash's brain or something. She was saying that this could be a scarring experience for her, and that Rainbow Dash should see a psychiatrist.

Dr. Helpinghoof, was glad to take a peek at Dash's psyche. He said that it was lucky we brought Dash there when they did. Dash was suffering from depression, a rare disorder in Equestria. There were treatment options available, but...they were very expensive. 100 bits to be exact...per bottle of pills...and a bottle lasted a week. Not only that, but the drugs were experimental, so they weren't guaranteed to work anyways.

In other words, all they could do was stick by Dash's side and hope she came out of it. Dr. Helpinghoof said that naturally letting it pass would be more effective anyways. He also said to never leave Dash alone. She needed somebody to guide her, otherwise she might go off the deep end, or be stuck with her depression forever.

When Twilight asked if there was anything else they should know, Dr. Helpinghoof had one more piece of bad news. Rainbow Dash would never be herself again. Even if she got out of her state of depression, it would affect her for the rest of her life. Plus, if she were to ever encounter another saddening situation like this, then she could fall right back into depression all over again. In other words, Rainbow Dash was scarred...for life. Who knew love could do that? How could something so beautiful be the cause of something so twisted and evil? No, Rainbow Dash reassured herself, love was beautiful, wasn't it? Soarin caused this, right? This wasn't...Dash's fault...was it?

Rainbow Dash was having the worst day of her life. Soarin had broken up with her, Scootaloo saw her cry, Dash was diagnosed with depression, and on top of it all, she just wanted to be left alone to cry. Rainbow Dash hoped if she cried enough, then the pain would escape through the tears.

However, Rainbow Dash's friends showed no signs of wanting to leave. The headed back to Dash's cloud house to talk. The group was making arrangements for Scootaloo to stay at Rainbow Dash's place, now that she could fly. Scootaloo didn't spend too much time with Dash before, so she was hoping this would be a chance for the two of them to catch up. Unfortunately, Dash only had plans to try and convince Scootaloo to leave. She wanted her sister to be around, just not like this. Dash was a wreck, and here was her little sister having to see it all. Why was she putting herself through all of this? Scootaloo didn't have to be here, Dash would be fine, she just needed to cry it out.

Bored, Rainbow Dash looked at the clock. It was going on eight o'clock. That was the time that Soarin told Dash he loved her. The lie that broke her heart. Dash made a mental note to have a moment of silence when eight rolled around. Soarin still held a special place in her heart, even through all the pain he caused her, there were many special times they had together. Now that Dash thought about it, maybe those times weren't so special? According to Spitfire, Soarin was dating the Wonderbolt captain first. Which meant Soarin was lying to Rainbow Dash through their entire relationship. None of what they did together meant anything to him. To Soarin, Rainbow Dash was worthless.

Rainbow Dash snapped back into reality, to find herself crying. Tears ran down her face, but she wasn't feeling any better. She quickly looked to see if her friends had noticed. Thank goodness, they were tied up in arrangements, so Dash had time to wipe the sadness off of her face. Twilight, noticing Rainbow's movements, turns her attention towards the cyan pegasus.

Twilight asked, "Rainbow Dash, do you have a room Scootaloo could sleep in?"

Being stubborn, Rainbow Dash said, "No, I don't."

Rarity, who had come to Dash's cloud house before (cloud-walking spell), on account of just having to make Dash a dress for her first year anniversary with Soarin, stated, "If I recall correctly, you have one down the hall, don't you?"

Twilight gave Rainbow Dash a strange look, that showed both sympathy and disappointment. Twilight had gotten really good at that. Dash remembers how Twilight always said it was a mother thing, implying Spike was her son. That made Rainbow Dash think of kids. Which made her think of the only stallion she'd ever considered having a child with. Which made her sad again, because she may never feel that way again.

At some point, Twilight had left the room. Dash, lost in thought, didn't notice until she was returning.

"There is a guest room," Twilight announced, "and whether Rainbow Dash likes it or not, Scootaloo is staying in it."

"All right!" Scootaloo jumped up and hoof-pumped in mid-air. Scootaloo flew up to Rainbow Dash, "Don't worry, sis! I'll be here for you!" Scotaloo forced Rainbow Dash into a hug. It didn't really help.

Rainbow Dash pushed Scootaloo away, and started slinking along towards her bedroom. She didn't look back, because she could feel Scootaloo's heartbroken look on the back of her head. Neither did she care, Scootaloo didn't have a good reason to be sad. Dash had a reason to be sad, so that's what she planned on doing.

Being sad...

Just today though...

And maybe tomorrow...

Possibly just this week...

Or even just this one month...

No, one year. That was it. Dash would feel better after being sad for a whole year...

Right?

So life went on.

Twilight sent letters to the Princess.

Rarity made dresses.

Fluttershy took care of her animals.

Applejack worked the apple farm.

Pinkie Pie made cupcakes at Sugar-Cube-Corner.

...and Rainbow Dash was depressed...

...so was Scootaloo...

It had been two years since Rainbow Dash had her falling out with Soarin. Rainbow Dash still wasn't over it. Not to mention, Rainbow's sadness was starting to affect Scootaloo, which wasn't helping Rainbow Dash at all. Now, not only did Rainbow Dash consider herself unlovable by any stallion, but also by her own sister. It was only a matter of time before Scootaloo lost her patience and left. The young filly Dash once knew had grown into a cranky adolescent. Scootaloo reminded Rainbow Dash of herself so much. They were both cocky, brave, loyal, and now sad could be added to the list.

Scootaloo had spent two years, two years of her youth, doing nothing but caring for her big sister. By now, Scootaloo should have had a job, and started saving up money for things like college, or a home of her own. Unfortunately, her big sister needed her, so that wasn't possible. Rainbow Dash said she would have been better by now, but the time she kept saying she needed just kept extending. Last month, Rainbow Dash was saying she would be better by the next day. Yesterday, Rainbow Dash was saying she'd feel better by next week.

Scootaloo's patience was wearing thin, and she was debating on asking one of Rainbow Dash's friends to come watch her. Just check up on her every once in awhile? Maybe they could find one of those depression treatment programs and put Rainbow Dash through that? Those were expensive, and near impossible to find. They might even be more expensive than the medication.

Rainbow Dash laid in her bed, her hair ruffled and her room a mess. Discarded trash littered the floor, stains were all over the cloud floor, and a hazy fog floated from the cloud walls and ceiling, which meant the house was coming apart. Dash kept meaning to do something about it, or teach Scootaloo how to, but just never felt like doing it. She had been in a slump for a while now. Well, two years, one week, and three days, but who's counting? Rainbow Dash wasn't, she was just keeping track in case somebody was wondering how long her heart had been split in two.

Rainbow Dash had a few bad days, but she thought she was getting better. There used to be a time when she would rationalize the situation, and try and convince herself Soarin would come back and sweep her off of her feet. Even if he tried, Rainbow Dash wouldn't let him. Rainbow Dash didn't need Soarin anymore, it was a step in the right direction, but the hole he'd left still hurt.

Scootaloo walked into the room, looked Dash straight in the eye, and prepared to speak. Rainbow Dash knew what she was going to say. She was going to say she was leaving, and she wasn't coming back. Just like Soarin did two years, one week, and three days ago. No, not again. Rainbow Dash had laid down long enough. She wasn't going to lose Scootaloo too. Before Scootaloo could speak, Rainbow Dash stopped her by lifting up her hoof. It felt as if Rainbow Dash had bags of bricks tied to her hooves, and each movement made her emotionally weaker, instead of physically.

Startled by the sudden movement, Scootaloo instantly clammed up. The last time Rainbow Dash moved that fast, was before the incident with Soarin. Was this a good sign? Maybe it was a bad one? Either way, Scootaloo was about to find out.

Rainbow Dash slowly pushed the covers off of herself, and looked up when Scootaloo gasped. Rainbow Dash wasn't sure if it was because she had been under those covers for so long, or if it was because she looked like crap. Her feathers were ruffled and strewn about under the blankets, and she was covered in sweat. Not to mention the wave of stench that burst out when the covers came up. Anyway, Dash got on her hooves, something she hadn't done for awhile, and looked Scootaloo in the eyes. All Dash said was, "Thanks sis. I love you."

Scootaloo, completely speechless, just broke into tears of joy and hugged her big sister. "Why are you thanking me?" Scootaloo asked, embracing the cyan pegasus.

"Because," Rainbow Dash replied, forming tears of happiness herself, "you've stuck with me all this time. Thanks to you, I think I'm starting to feel better."

Scootaloo backed away from the hug, giving Rainbow Dash a concerned face, "Are you sure? Feeling better today? Or by tomorrow?"

"Actually, I want to go to the store. Right now." Rainbow Dash replied.

"Today it is then!" Scootaloo re-embraced her sister, and formed fresh tears of glee.

"Uh, maybe I should shower first?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Scootaloo covered her nose, "Good idea."

So, time progressed even further. Except this time, in a more happier sense.

Rainbow Dash finally got out of her slump, allowing Scootaloo to continue her own life. Since Dash had been gone, the weather team had made some modifications to their normal routine. Rainbow Dash, who was former captain of the weather team, would have to start back at the bottom. Which meant a lower income.

At first, Scootaloo was worried this would knock Rainbow Dash back off her pedestal, and back into her slump. Luckily, Rainbow Dash showed her usual cockiness, and went straight back to proving her worth. She got the new routine down in two days, that's one fourth the time it took the team to develop it, and was back in training for the position of team captain. In no time flat, Dash was already back into the groove of things, like nothing ever happened.

Until she hit the time of day when she normally went home to see Soarin. Dash was about to go back home and just lie down, but she knew what would happen. So instead, she took it upon herself to go see her friends. She hadn't spent quality time with them since her relationship kicked off. Now, that it was...over...she could go back to seeing them regularly. Rainbow Dash couldn't recall the last time Twilight and herself had a book reading session together. Who knows what Daring Do adventures had come out since then.

So life progressed, the six friends went on about their business, laughing and sharing good times. Unfortunately, time has a way of wearing on one's physical form. The young turn old, in a manner of speaking. Rainbow Dash and her five friends soon became too old to care for themselves, and they found their mailboxes filled with letters from retirement homes each morning. Eventually, the six friends gave into the letters, and all of them arranged to go to the same retirement home.

They figured, this way, they would be able to see each other on a regular basis.

Rainbow Dash awoke in her bed. The sheets were fresh, the room smelled of lemons, and her box of pills rested by on her night-stand. It was one of those containers that had a section for each day of the week, labeled with a "M," "T," "W," "F," "St," or a, "Su." She pulled open today's tab and removed the pills from inside, downing them with the glass of water she left out overnight. Dash swung her hooves around and pulled herself out from under the covers. The one window in the room allowed light to filter in, just enough to mildly blind Rainbow Dash as she rose. The clock struck eight o'clock in the morning as Dash started stretching. Ms. Speckles was just on time, as usual.

"Good morning Ms. Dash, how are you feeling this morning?" Ms. Speckles asked, walking in the door.

Ms. Speckles was Rainbow Dash's personal nurse. Each resident of the Retirement home got a personal nurse to follow them around in case they needed help. Most weren't any help, and just proved to be annoying. Luckily, Rainbow Dash got Ms. Speckles, who was probably one of the nicer nurses. Ms. Speckles was a charcoal unicorn with a red medical cross for a cutie mark. Her golden-blonde mane ran down over her neck, her scarlet eyes reflected the light from the window, and her milk colored freckles seemed to brighten her face even more.

"Well my back hurts with the burning of a thousand suns, but other than that I'm fine." Rainbow Dash jokingly replied.

"Oh my, really? I'm sorry to hear that, is there anything I can do to to help?" Ms. Speckles replied in a fake-motherly voice.

"You could get me a dozen handsome stallions to give me a back massage. That would help." Rainbow Dash said.

The two just started laughing, Ms. Speckles had grown accustomed to Rainbow Dash's sense of humor, and had adapted to it. As a matter of fact, the only pony other than Ms. Speckles who could make Rainbow Dash laugh was Pinkie Pie. Even though the six friends were all older than dirt, Pinkie Pie still had that crazy charm of hers. It seems some ponies never lose their values, unfortunately, some ponies have bad values. Oh well, Dash wasn't gonna go thinking about the world and life and whatnot. She was always a pony that lived in the now, not the when. Perhaps that wasn't a good thing.

Ms. Speckles led Rainbow Dash down the hallway to the retirement home lounge, where she found her usual seat next to her five other friends. Even though it was against code, the nurses never hung out long in the lounge. The only problem was, that some ponies needed a nurse at all times. Rainbow Dash looked across the room at old Mr. Abernathy. The old grey earth-stallion was fast asleep in his wheelchair, his white mane draped along the back. He couldn't push his own chair, so he actually needed someone else be able to go anywhere.

Rainbow Dash liked being alone with her friends, so normally Ms. Speckles only walked Dash to the lounge. All residents had a buzzer if they needed a nurse, so that's how Dash got a hold of Ms. Speckles if she needed her. Which she normally didn't, until she needed someone to lead her to her room. As the retirement home required all residents to have a member of the staff with them at all times. Something about insurance or legal claims, who knows.

Rainbow Dash turned her attention back to her five friends, who were already talking about today's hot topic. Scootaloo. The six of them had not seen Scootaloo in a while, considering the filly had a life of her own to live. Now that they had been in the retirement home for awhile, Scootaloo would finally be joining them there, adding a seventh to the group of mares.

Nopony knew when exactly when Scootaloo would be arriving, but they all had it arranged that she come see them first. Rainbow Dash hadn't seen her little sister in years. She wondered what she looked like now, if she had changed, or maybe if she found a stallion to love. Stallions and love, a thought that hadn't occurred to Rainbow Dash since...

"Guess who's here!" Scootaloo exclaimed

"Scootaloo!" everypony replied at the same time. Everypony, except for Dash, who was lost in thought.

"Where's Apple Bloom?" Apple Jack asked

"And Sweetie?" Rarity added

"They couldn't come," Scootaloo replied, "Apple Bloom works the farm now. She's too old to buck apples, but she runs the "behind-the-scenes" work, you know, selling them and stuff. Plus, she cooks almost as good as Granny Smith used to! They need her on the farm! As for Sweetie Belle, she had a pretty successful career as a singer, so she lives up in Canterlot now."

"Oh my, Canterlot? Living the dream I suppose!" Rarity replied, with a touch of envy

"Apple Bloom? Cooking? Never thought ah'd hear those words in the same sentence without the words "is terrible at" between them!" Apple Jack replied

"Oh come now Apple Jack," Twilight snided, "your sister couldn't have been that bad at cooking!"

"Actually, there was that one time when I tried to teach her how to make cupcakes." Pinkie Pie noted, "That was less than successful!"

Everybody giggled at that. Excluding Rainbow Dash, who was now beginning to lose her mental battle.

"Wait, what about that time when Apple Jack made 'baked bads?'" Twilight jabbed

That erupted an even louder laugh from the group. Again, excluding Rainbow Dash.

"Hey, I was tired outta ma' right mind! Cut me some slack!" Apple Jack replied

"You were tired after that race with Rainbow Dash, but you still helped me take care of the animals." Fluttershy whispered

"I wasn't that tired!" Apple Jack replied, "Rainbow Dash was kinda slow!"

Everypony turned to Dash to see her reaction, only to notice she had a blank expression on her face. As if she was staring straight through the walls of the building and straight into outer space.

"Dashie?" Pinkie Pie asked

Rainbow Dash snapped back into reality, panting as if she was holding her breath for a long time. Turns out, she was.

"Are you okay Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked

"Oh...yeah, I'm fine. Oh. OH! Hey squirt! I didn't notice you got here!" Rainbow Dash got up to give her sister a hug.

Everypony had a concerned look and remained silent.

Scootaloo embraced her sister, "Yeah, I've been here for a bit. Are you feeling okay?"

Rainbow Dash looked her sister in the eyes, pulling out of the hug, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine squirt."

"Okay," Scootaloo tentatively replied, "and stop calling me squirt! I'm as old as a rock now!"

The mood instantly changed, and everyone laughed again. Rainbow Dash took her seat amongst her friends.

The conversation passed quickly and Scootaloo left to get arranged in her new room. It wasn't until it was going on lunchtime that something eventful happened. Mr. Abernathy's nurse returned to check on him. When he wouldn't wake up, she called a doctor. Turned out, Mr. Abernathy was taking a nap.

A permanent one.

That scared Rainbow Dash.

A lot.

How long would it be, before that was her?

Ms. Speckles had walked Rainbow Dash back to her room.

When she left, she turned on the fireplace. Mother of Celestia Rainbow Dash loved that. It seemed that the infernal building got colder every week. Either way, Rainbow Dash sat down on her bed, reaching to turn on the TV.

Ms. Speckles, breaking the normal routine, stopped her and said, "I have something for you."

Rainbow's ears instantly perked up, "Oh?"

"Yes," Speckles replied, "it's from your sister. She said she took it a long time ago and didn't want to throw it away in case you wanted it." Ms. Speckles reached in her saddlebag and pulled out a small book.

"What is it?" Rainbow Dash asked

"A scrapbook I believe." Ms. Speckles replied

Rainbow Dash took the scrapbook and opened it up. What she saw were pictures of Spitfire...and Soarin. Most of the pictures were just them holding hooves or something. They were kissing in a few of the pictures. One even had them wrestling on a bed, at least, Rainbow Dash hoped that was wrestling.

"Should I go?" Ms. Speckles broke the silence. Rainbow Dash didn't notice it, but she had been looking at the pictures with extreme interest for about sixty seconds. Leaving the nurse standing there awkwardly.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks Speckles."

"No problem. Good night Rainbow Dash."

"Good night."

Ms. Speckles left the room.

Never leave her alone, she needs somebody to guide her.

Dash looked back at the scrapbook. The pictures of Soarin were starting to churn up memories. No, pictures of Soarin and Spitfire. All those memories meant nothing. Those happy times, were meaningless. Just like...life.

Mr. Abernathy died and nobody even noticed. Is that how Dash was going out? No, Dash was going out with a bang. But, what did she accomplish that she could be remembered by? Rainbow Dash was just a name that was a speck on the face of Equestria. Does it even matter if she's in this world? What does she contribute?

Dash turned the page, and saw the pages were covered in stains. Tear stains. How did those get there?

"I loved him, and he just threw my love away. All of these memories are meaningless to him!"

"No, Spitfire. Try not to think like that. Crying over that scrapbook won't do you any good."

"Well, what else would I do with it?"

"Give it here, all that book is going to do is bring you pain."

"Doesn't that mean it will hurt you?"

"I can take it."

Spitfire. This was Spitfire's scrapbook of all her times with Soarin. Dash took it from her and set it down somewhere. Scootaloo must have hidden it and forgot about it. Now, she was giving it back, just in case Dash wanted it. A part of her did want it. A part of her just wanted to do what Spitfire planned on doing, crying over it. What else would you do with a scrapbook full of fake memories?

The fireplace popped, grabbing Rainbow Dash's attention.

All that book is going to do is bring you pain.

Rainbow Dash got up and walked over to the fireplace. She held the book inches from the hearth. She felt the heat emanting from the flames, as if trying to push her away. As if the fire wanted her to sit back down and do what she originally thought about doing. No, crying over a book wouldn't get Dash anywhere. If she wanted to act on her feelings, then she had to go all the way.

Dash threw the scrapbook in the fireplace, watching the pictures shrivel up. As if they were fading from existence.

Just like Dash was going to do...

Dash made her way to the roof. The wind blew through her hair, a feeling she enjoyed. Luna's moon shone down on her head, the rays of dim light setting an eerie glow about the landscape. Hills rose and fell, trees scattered about, and owls hooted in the distance. Normally Rainbow Dash loved the sight of the countryside, but tonight just felt creepy. That book brought out all of those bad thoughts. Those sad thoughts that Rainbow Dash didn't want to deal with again. So she decided she wouldn't.

She had covered everything. She left a note. She called up her insurance company. She even left the codes to her bank accounts. There was nothing missing. She would have said goodbye in person, but that meant they would have stopped her. Rainbow was confident the note's goodbye message would suffice.

In her old age, Rainbow Dash had lost the only thing that she loved more than Soarin. Flying. It was a devastating blow to her psyche. The Rainbow Dash didn't do too much flying ever since Soarin and her began to date anyways. The relationship had turned her into a house-mare. That was something she regretted. Unfortunately, it was too late to fix that mistake. Rainbow Dash should have flown more. Maybe she could have started her own flying team. Possibly even better than the Wonderbolts.

Rainbow Dash couldn't have Soarin back, so she would take back her other love. Flying.

Rainbow Dash walked towards the edge of the building, and peered over the edge. Three stories, it was a lengthy drop.

She never really did stop loving Soarin. Even though the stallion broke her heart, she still knew him so well. She loved everything about him. The way he joked, the way he talked to her, the way he talked about her. It was all good. It was too bad it was all a lie. If it wasn't Dash would have taken him back in a heartbeat. It was okay though, Dash would have her other love.

Dash would fly again, or die trying.

Dash leapt forward with all her might.

...and for a moment, she was flying.

For a moment, Dash was happy.

That's all she ever really wanted.

Dear friends and family,

If you're reading this, then that means I've left this world. Don't worry, it isn't out of spite or misery that I leave you, it is out of worry that I will do that. Painful memories have begun to resurface in my mind, and I would hate to end my life with the intention of thinking that it would somehow change those memories. I am happy with my life. I lived, I laughed, and...I loved...or at least I thought I did.

I cannot thank you all enough for the life you have given me. Especially you Scootaloo. You probably gave the most effort to making sure I was okay. I can never repay you for those years you spent by my side. Those were years of your life you will never get back, and I'm sorry for taking them from you.

I want you all to know that I love you. Thank you.

Yours truly,

the speck on the face of Equestria,

Rainbow Dash

The End