Feathers

This would have been one of the greatest days of my life. Rainbow Dash was flying in her own stunt show, and I had a backstage pass. The sky was a little clouded but at the moment, nopony was thinking much about that. Turns out we should have been.
It was time for the grand finale. A Sonic Rainboom, of course. It was Dash's best move. The sky was even cloudier, and the clouds were getting dark, but Dash wouldn't let them cancel the show at her greatest moment. She flew higher and faster, faster and higher, and then she was full speed, above the clouds where nopony could see her. Then, as she rocketed down, the clouds decided that this would be her last Rainboom. Lightning bolts struck her, and she plummeted.

She hit the ground hard. The cheering crowd silenced. After she didn't get up for a full minute, some ponies came to check on her. They thought it was just a crash. She would walk away with a few broken bones, be in the hospital for a few weeks, then be back to her old self. That was what they hoped.
That was what I hoped.

Dash's funeral was a few days later. It was the worst day of my life. Afterwards, an old guy came over to me. He invited me to the weather factory in Cloudsdale to say my last goodbyes to Rainbow Dash. At the time, I had no idea what that meant. I soon found out.