Rainbow Dash was the coolest pony in Ponyville. There was little question that she was one of the fastest, strongest, and all-around most athletic ponies in Equestria, and she'd be a clear shoo-in for the Wonderbolts. When she wasn't doing odd jobs for the weather crews, she followed a haphazard schedule of practicing aerobatics and squeezing in power naps. There was no force in Equestria, however, that could stop the pegasus from basking in the glow of celebrity. Any time she had the attention of other ponies, Rainbow Dash was right there hamming it up. Nopony could possibly resist her natural charm.

Except, for some reason, her mouth was stuck shut, denying her the chance she so craved to toot her own horn. This is a disaster! she thought. How am I supposed to show off how awesome I am if my tongue's stuck like this-?!

As she finished her internal monologue, Rainbow Dash absently crashed headlong into a tree. She chastised herself mentally for not paying attention to where she was flying, then disentangled herself from the various leaves and branches. Alighting herself on the ground, she looked around frantically, hoping nopony had seen her gaffe.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" came a tomboyish squeal from behind her.

Rainbow Dash's ears flattened to her head and her cheeks flushed red. Not only had somepony seen her, but it was her biggest fan. The one pony she'd never want to let down. Turning around served to confirm her fears: the orange pegasus filly was staring right at her, huge grin smeared across her face. If nothing else, Rainbow Dash had to commend the kid's brushing habits. Her teeth were positively gleaming.

Rainbow Dash started doing her ritual showoff poses for Scootaloo, trying very hard to cover her swollen tongue with her hooves. She flew up a little ways and did a few barrel rolls and loop-de-loops before landing next to Scootaloo, but she couldn't stop herself from spraying spit everywhere while flying. The soaked filly gagged, then turned to the awkwardly grinning pegasus, eyebrow cocked in confusion. "Um, Rainbow Dash? What's wrong with your mouth?" She lifted her hooves and groaned as she inspected them. "Ugh, I feel like I'm covered in tree sap all over again."

Rainbow Dash smiled awkwardly at Scootaloo, though with her tongue hanging out of her mouth, it looked more like a raspberry. "Um...okay. Well, if you don't wanna hang out-"

The cyan pegasus flailed her hooves frantically, mumbling something incoherent. Scootaloo was more than a little creeped out by how Dash was acting. "A-are you okay, Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow Dash sighed in resignation. She pointed at her tongue, then shook her head vigorously and shrugged. Scootaloo furrowed her brow and started backpedaling slowly. "You're scaring me, Rainbow Dash! Why aren't you saying anything?!"

"Because her tongue's swollen her mouth shut, ya dummy!"

"Hey! Who's callin' me a dummy?!" Scootaloo shot back indignantly.

Behind Rainbow Dash, Applebloom and Twilight trotted up to the duo, followed by Applejack and Pinkie Pie. "Ah am. What're you gettin' so worked up about? She just can't talk, that's all. None o'the others can, neither!" She pointed at Twilight and the others, all of whom were visibly annoyed that the foals were doing their talking for them.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?!" Scootaloo said, glaring at Applebloom.

"Because you were supposed to be at school this mornin'. Ah told you, ya can't keep cuttin' classes and expect to get good grades!"

"Augh, first Sweetie Belle with her dictionary routine and now you with your goody-four-horseshoes fluff! I told you, school is boring."

Before Applebloom could respond, Applejack and Twilight stepped between the two, dissuading them from continuing their argument. Applebloom sighed. "Look, Ah'm sorry, Scoots. None of the mares in Ponyville can talk. We're on our way to see Zecora to see if she has any ideas."

"Hm. Well, then, count me in! You're coming too, right, Rainbow Dash?"

The pegasus flexed her muscles and flashed a cocksure grin, drooling on the ground.

"So, what should we do, Spike?" the younger marshmallow sister inquired.

Spike had managed to coax Rarity out of her bedroom, but the mare was still sniffling occasionally. Spike's presence was keeping her generally stable, but the only way they were going to get her to calm down completely is if they figured out how to cure her bizarre condition.

"Twilight already tore through some books this morning and couldn't really find any answers. I think the only one around here who knows stuff that Twilight doesn't is Zecora. Maybe we should head over to see her."

"Okay. I think we should all go, since the Everfree Forest is a little scary by yourself," Sweetie Belle said.

Spike was in no position to disagree. As happy as it made him that he could help Rarity calm down, he was beginning to regret ditching Twilight to rush over to the Carousel Boutique. Spike may have been Twilight's Number One Assistant, but without her, he felt no better than a lost little dragon. "Well, we'd better get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner this will be all over with," he said, motioning for the others to follow.

"Are you sure you're not forgetting something? Or, should I say, someone?" came an all-too-familiar voice from behind the trio.

Sweetie Belle jumped back in surprise. "D-did my juice just talk?! I swear I didn't do that on purpose!"

The two were unable to catch Rarity as she fainted into a puddle of her own drool.

Author's Note

I don't know about this chapter. What do you guys think?