Friendship Was Magic

   The distance from Ponyville to Canterlot was pretty darn far for even a speedy one like Rainbow Dash to cover. Impatient and anxious, the gas bubble overflowed the bottle and the blue mare finally thought of using the Sonic Rainboom. She started out passing through puffy cotton clouds, twirling around them, and finally the last phase, the Rainboom itself. Rainbow dashed through watery sky, and soon a giant burst of multiple colors began to please those who saw Rainbow Dash performing the famous stunt. FLASH! Goes the rainbow. BOOM! Goes the sonic. The diameter of the colorful circle expanded rapidly, the bright excitement lightened up those who were in despair and darkness, even those who knew Rainbow Dash believed that the blue Pegasus was finally back to shape and hyped up again. However this brilliant performance forcefully stole more than three quarters of Rainbow Dash's energy... And life... Not only that, it reminded her of Fluttershy when she supported her all the way when  Rainbow Dash wasn't confident to perform the Sonic Rainboom.

   Exhausted, deeply saddened and bleeding again, she zoomed to Canterlot, crashing through trees, sliding on the unfriendly ground, and finally into the castle where the two sisters live in... Fainted and but not to the brink of death this time, Rainbow Dash's Rainboom created a gush of large smoke, filling in the atmosphere, this quick tactic helped Rainbow Dash not being seen as an intruder (well she is). She struggled but still got back to her hooves, and quickly sprinted to a corner in the castle right before some guards can take a glance on her.

   Rainbow Dash's agility plus speed was quite the accurate shot, for she managed to get around the castle in no problem at all... Until she now remembers that she now shares a castle as well... Just empty without another kind soul when she needs it... Rainbow Dash grew angry again and let out an irritated neigh.

   "That's enough Rainbow Dash!" The demanding tone caught the blue Pegasus by her senses backwards. After that great ball of pure white light, Rainbow Dash was never seen by the guards again...

   Rainbow Dash woke up to her senses, she observed this grand room, filled with glass paintings of art depicting the major characters in Equestrian history. What even fumed her was the red, the one and only red carpet placed perfectly in the middle of the room...

   "Princess Celestia! I will fire at you all the questions I feel like against you!" Rainbow Dash spat, her hateful demon coming back once more...

   And not far was a glowing ball of light, the brightness was so warm that the heat was free to access all objects and living things. POOF! Was the Princess of the Sun, standing tall and supreme. Slowly, she opened her eyes and turned her head towards the redheaded Pegasus,

   "What brings you here, my dear friend? After creating havoc to my home, causing disruption in the ponies, and speaking to me with quite an unusual tone..."

   Rainbow Dash flew right into Celestia's face surprisingly, and pressured her, "Why couldn't my friends remember Fluttershy anymore?! Did you use your petty horn and make them forget who it was?!" Even with all the disrespect from an arrogant pony, the Princess simply took a deep breath, ignoring Rainbow's anger, and began to decipher her anxiety,

   "Rainbow Dash, would Fluttershy really want you all to suffer to remember her sacrifice? Kindness isn't an element to underestimate, the concept is like Rarity, they both think for others deeply."

   "But doesn't mean we have to ignore her from now on! She must've proved herself to us..."

   "Now now, my young mare. How many times has Fluttershy threw away her own time to save yours?" Rainbow Dash dropped her opened wings, they were boneless and mushed.

    "I, I—"

    "Forget not, your own element is loyalty; would you go against it by betraying Fluttershy's kind offer? How many times has she been hurt alone while you guys all have your eyes turned backwards? Answer me, my dear Rainbow?"

   The logic carried out by the wise millennium alicorn penetrated Rainbow's speechless mind, and her eyes turned into light, while all of her mane changed into a violet splash of evil, her skin grew red with tattoos of those banished cutie marks that resembled disharmony and chaos.

   The blue Pegasus can only roar and scream, the tension has finally elevated to the highest point.

   No.

   This is not how Rainbow Dash should look, Celestia measured carefully, aware that the young mare is struggling between the tug of loyalty. Whether she should think for Fluttershy by forgetting her and everyone will remain safe and happy, or she will continue to remember her friend and bear the fatal wound.

   "Argh! Stoooop!"Rainbow ordered her demon,

   Celestia was aware of the Loyalty strain within Rainbow's body, but the sole microscopic detail she gazed off of, was bounded to be a fatal mistake.

   "We have met again, Princess." The demon surprisingly spoke for the first time,

   The alicorn still recognized this voice, she hadn't heard it like the Liberty Bell in Fillydelphia.

   "In centuries, why are you still here Stargazing Dusk?!" The Princess demanded to know all. As Stargazing Dusk appeared out of Rainbow Dash's body with a portal.

   "S...Stargazing... D... Dusk?" Rainbow Dash followed, "You know the Princess?"

   Smirking, the dark purple striped unicorn instead of answering both of them, toyed with the beaten Pegasus,

   "What would you choose Rainbow Dash? Fight or flight?"

   The memories of Fluttershy swarmed in once again, Rainbow can see all the times when she cried alone, feeling depressed and stressful. Nevertheless, she still tried to help her friends at the worst state possible, but nopony... Not even Princess Twilight Sparkle herself had the slightest worry of the poor Pegasus's condition... Rainbow Dash is sucked into darkness once more: She now does not know whether her fillyhood friend wanted her and her friends to forget her, or that she needs help from them, because she never got much even after death.

   "Fluttershy... I..." The blue mare paused, only to let her tears gush out.

   "I didn't know what happened to you, but that was my fault, I should've tagged with you more often..."

   She paused cold, and her tears glittered, what was there more to say. She took the blame all for herself, as if that nightmare she had back with Glowing Leaf was true. No matter where her soul flew to, she could not avert the darkness that holds the truth: She was not loyal. She was never there for her kind friend, yet it was opposite of vice versa.

   "RRGH!" The rainbow maned Pegasus roared, tore apart by the anger and the depression, burst out all stripes of colors, every and each color is clear and solid, it was bright.

   Just too bright.

   The Pegasus however, did not seem to handle her powers well, as her lights spread in all directions, not mattering whoever it was or what it was, the light just wasn't the type of light that ponies feel in their daily routines.

   "That is?!" Celestia was quite shocked, as if she encountered this in her life ruling Equestria.

   "Ha ha ha! Celestia!" Stargazing Dusk laughed in triumph, "It indeed is the False Light, I may not had a better name than it, but this spell is the perfect medicine for the perfect pony! Now she will never become what was the Rainbow you have seen!"

   The white alicorn turned her eyes back on Rainbow Dash. There was a scale, and one side was Rainbow Dash's cutie mark, representing her principles and her identity, while the other one was her element, representing her faith in friendship. Both are valuable, as one can't exist without the other.

   "But if one outweighs the other, then it..." Celestia could not finish her speech, the truth was too grim to be even mentioned.

   "Then there would be no order in the character, all of her will be in disharmony. Come on Princess! This is the Element Scale we're talking about here! You should know better as a teacher and the ruler of Equestria!" The mare mocked, confident that she already has her millionth victim under control.

   "Furthermore," She continued, "see that swirl right below each of the two scales. If the either subject touches it..." Stargazing gazed at the chaotic Pegasus, Rainbow Dash was now restricted from free flying like she always loved to do. Wickedly, Stargazing continued,

   "Then this poor Rainbow will lose her colors one by one..."

   Ignoring her figurative language, Princess Celestia continued to analyze the situation.

   "No! She will never come back to her original state! If only the Elements of Harmony are..."

  "HA!" The unicorn interrupted, "You think I don't know anything just because I'm from the past?! Don't worry, I learned this rare and banned spell from one of the Star Swirl's secret document on sealing those petty elements!"

   Celestia's eyes opened wide, she could not speak once again, "... Yo... You..."

   "I was always prepared for your tests and tasks, Princess! Tell me when was there a time when I failed you?..."

   "You already failed me, for five hundred years." Celestia simply answered, angrily glaring at her former student.

   Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash has the stain. A stain that will never come off, or that it will, but not completely demolished. All she can think of is her lost friend who saved her from the fire.

   By exchanging her own.

   "Fluttershy... You were always so kind, and nice to everypony... There would never be somepony who has a heart like yours... Who would forget you like that?" She then stopped, as she realized that she was in a blank world, filled with nothingness.

   "Am, am I d-dead?" The cyan Pegasus asked herself, she tried flying to all directions, but it was proved to be effectively useless, wherever she moved to, she gained no gold. Rainbow Dash finally gave up, and fell back down.

   However, the answer to her question became a hoof closer when a familiar looking figure walked in, it shocked Rainbow, for she cried so hard that she did not mind how everyone will judge her, and rushed to hug her pink haired friend, but instead of actually interacting with it, she went through Fluttershy. Again angry and confused, but her Pegasus friend held out her left front hoof, and began,

   "Now now Rainbow Dash, lets not all get so mad at one another and calm down... We may have had those moments of tough tugs when our friends argue, but as a friend you should always know what's best for them."

   Her gentle voice did descend Rainbow's anger, but she still worried what should she do now, and so she asked,

   "Fluttershy, I... Don't know whether should I forget all about you, and don't have to let you see us in grief... Or should I continue to remember you as one of our best friends. So that you can feel safe and happy even when you're a lifeless picture?"

   "Oh Rainbow!" She giggled, for her giggles were charming as ever, her smiles often always makes Rainbow Dash's body feel relaxed.

   "You don't need to stress yourself over this. Again, do what is best for you! And stick to that way, forever, because that would be the right choice for the rest of our friends."

   "Fluttershy, I..." Rainbow broke, for another burst of light blinded her for a few seconds. Once recovered, she could not believe her eyes... That she was in the finest paradise of Cloudsdale, and on the green, fresh and grassy ground, there were animals everywhere. Happily playing around and sharing food with one another.

   "Bu... But something isn't right." Rainbow Dash flew down on the ground to check, "Something is definitely missing here..."

   Soon, she discovered some of the little critters were quite upset with a skirmish. Then a huge gray bear walked up, and hugged them altogether in a great... Family...

   Rainbow was shocked again, as the critters got along just like that... "How's that even possible?" was the question flowing into her eyes and brain. When her friends and Rainbow Dash get into a skirmish similar to this, it took them quite awhile for them all to make up, but this? She pondered.

   "Oh Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy noticed her surprised face with mouth opened. "Don't be misguided and feel insecure because the animal friends' reunion from an argument are faster than you can clear clouds, just look at how eventually everyone gets along like that. Same can go with you and our friends, nothing will break our bond. Not even when the Elements are gone."

   "The Elements... Bond... I..." She paused, after everything she has said to her friends, the way she acted, it was impossible to take it back, but she can only hope that they will forgive her. She searched for the relief, and it was there waiting for her the whole time, how did she not figure this out?

   "Thank you so much, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash hugged her, and this time it was real, she felt it, it was squishy and soft. Very comfortable like Fluttershy always is. The pink haired mare did the same back, and rubbed herself on Rainbow's cheek... It will be the last time that she is doing this...

   "Flutter-Fluttershy?" Rainbow voiced out, for her friend began emitting small, turquoise, glowing orbs that seem to resemble somepony else, but Rainbow did not care about that right now, she wanted to take Fluttershy back.

   "Be brave Rainbow..." She whispered out, like always, she was shy. But this time it was strong and clear.

   "Know your speciality... Know your dreams... Know your compassion... Know yourself... I will miss you Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy finished her last word that contained the Rainbow colored mare's name, she closed her eyes, a teardrop flew out, and touched Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy fluttered up into the bright clouds, and faded on within the limitless skies.

   "No... No! Stop! Don't leave me! Fluttershy! FLUTTERSHY!!!" Rainbow yelled out desperately, reaching her hoof out to touch Fluttershy, for the last time, gambling against all odds despite she expected what will happen. The touch was so close that it almost felt real.

Almost

" Just almost... Freakin' almost..." Rainbow Dash's mind painfully cried out. In the end, that tiny gap was large enough to decay the cyan mare's soul. She put her hoof back down, hung her head low, and stared at the grassy ground. She does not know what to do anymore even after being told what to do, her heart was iced cold, like a sting whenever a pony touches it. However, the grass was shimmering and shining, the color of the grass began to brighten up, the whole world became white, just like Rainbow earlier when she reunited with Fluttershy.

  Soon, everything around her came back to normal, fortunate yet unfortunate for the loyal mare...

  While Rainbow Dash was in trance, Celestia and Stargazing Dusk battled out each other in a deadly duel of magic. Despite the princess's almighty power, her shots do not seem to impress her former student at all,

   "Is that all you got, teacher?!" She laughed out loud, and created sky blue electric sparks that shocked and stunned Celestia's nerves, pinning her in place. Now seeking for the chance, charged up a purple beam,

   "That, I still remember." Celestia used her rest energy to do nothing but speak out her memory, "Your first magic spell... A spell... That can fatally hurt others. I took you under my wing because I wanted you to find harmony. Not this."

   "Just because I'm under your wing Celestia, does not mean I am influenced by it!" Finally, Stargazing Dusk fired the wide and charged beam towards the alicorn. All at last seemed to be over, until the princess lowered her horn to absorb it. Stargazing Dusk could not see her due to the large area that her beam had covered, feeling triumphant, she began to show signs of victory...

   SNAP!

   To her horror, Celestia teleported into her face and stomped her hooves onto it, suffocating her as she was attacked by Celestia's rapid Solar magic. Burning in pain and heating to die, Stargazing screamed and yelled, struggling with all her strength, and managed to time it right and cast a shield that bounced her away from the angry ruler.

   She huffed, "You are still worthy to be a teacher, Princess. After years studying with you and learning from you, there are just eternal lessons to be learned from your immortality, eh?" The unicorn said, expecting an obvious and pointless response.

   "Don't you ever call me your teacher or Princess again! You have no right to live any longer with your disharmonious ambitions!" Celestia fired back, her hoof constantly rubbing against the ground, creating gushes of burning smoke.

   Not intimidated by this, Stargazing was about to fire another spell, and the Princess is ready to retaliate...

   "NOT SO FAST! STARGAZING DUSK!"

   The belligerents turned around to notice a yellow mixed with blue portal open up, and out stepped the Pegasus with her mane back in shape, and a wide, confident smile on her face.

   "Stargazing Dusk." Rainbow began, as the purple unicorn began shaking and trembling from her return, nopony ever has successfully balanced the Element scale for five centuries. "Thanks to you I have finally realized what I should be searching for."

   Confounded by her words, the traitorous unicorn smirked and kept her cool, then asked back, "Oh? Tell me more."

   Rainbow Dash now twisted her smile upside down, and began trotting heavily, closer and closer to the villain. Her eyes were a flare of red and teeth showed like a hungry predator. She opened her mouth and began out,

   "The element is always inside me... No, even if it wasn't, I'm still me, and that loyalty will bear as my curse forever, a battle scar received ever since I was a filly..."

   "And how will that decide your fate? How will you march on? How does that direct to me in any sort?" Stargazing gritted her teeth, hoping that her questions were rhetorical enough to back the enraged pegasus down, now that Rainbow Dash is up into her face, pressing onto her nose. Nevertheless, Stargazing asked these questions, to gamble her opponent and make her confuse and trip over.

   Instead of answering, however, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and tilted her head up, she flowed into the air, her mane began flowing as if a force is acting like the wind. Her mane soon whipped all colors; whether the good, bad, or the ugly. They swirled around all over the place dancing and blending in with one another. Soon, they combined and formed a huge, colorful orb that nopony witnessed to be more happy and beautiful.

   "RGH! WHAT'S THIS?!" Stargazing hissed, for she gets frustrated when she has no clue of what is going on that is out of her knowledge.

   "I have now chosen, both of you..." Rainbow turned her head towards Princess Celestia while addressing both her and Stargazing Dusk, "I will remember my friend Fluttershy, forgetting her will not only cause the rest of us grief, but Fluttershy will be lonely again. By recognizing her, however, It only makes her and us satisfied, and bonded... Forever and always..." She now turned her head back onto the trembling unicorn.

   "BE GONE! YOU INCOMPETENT FOOL!" Stargazing Dusk let out a beam, but simply repelled by the rainbow orb.

   "Wha... How's that possible—" Stargazing began to question Rainbow's strange aura. Unfortunately for her, it's already too late, the orb flashed a burst of streaming rays of again: All colors, no matter good or bad. Into the ambitious unicorn, sending Stargazing Dusk away and faded.

   Rainbow Dash fell back down. Tired, beat, exhausted, and still depressed about what happened not awhile ago. Rainbow wished that this never would've happened, all the trouble she caused for her dear friend, and what how she acted towards her other friends. She covered herself with her hooves to hide her tears from the one and only other pony: Princess Celestia, as she walked towards her, and smiled.

   "Congratulations Rainbow Dash, you have passed my test."

   Rainbow got up, she did not expect to hear any of this sort of words written across the white alicorn's face. Slowly, she got her head out, and shockingly staring at her.

   "T... Test...?" She asked, her sweat rolled down her body, for she was not prepared for anything that actually mattered to her, especially a test. She believed that was a job for eggheads like Twilight.

   "Mmm-hmm, you now are at another step closer to the understanding of your element and the character of your friends. You would never betray them, would you?"

   "B-but, what about how they forgot about who Fluttershy was?

   "Who said we forgot about her? You seriously stepped your hoof too far this time, Rainbow Dash." Said a familiar voice.

   Turning around to her left, Rainbow Dash saw a purple horn, with wings, then followed by an orange with a cowgirl hat, then a pink haired shaking hoof, finally a purple haired white body being hit by an open door. She yelled out in pain.

   "G-Guys...?" Rainbow could not move, she never knew why all this happened, it was truly crazy and quick.

   "You came for me?"

   Already, Twilight teleported her friends and herself into Rainbow's face, making her fall onto the ground, hugging and nudging her all over her face. Rainbow could not help but smile and laugh with her very best friends. Then again, there was one scent that was missing throughout the interaction.

   "How can we forget our very beloved Fluttershy? You are just so stupid sometimes." Twilight commented, but Rainbow did not feel offended at all, for she did realize her wrongs. Her ambition was let out, and it did give her a punishment enough to almost take her own life away. She simply nodded her head, and replied,

   "I'm sorry everypony," She wanted to cry again, it really was a bothersome thing to do, despite doing so so many times before. "I didn't mean to let this happen, I just wanted to protect her, and since I was the one... Who dragged her into this... It was my responsibility to keep everything under control..."

   "Snap out of it sugarcube!" Applejack put her hoof on Rainbow's nose, "It ain't your fault, it was nopony's fault..." She stopped again, and remembered something,

   "But that Star-whoever-it-was pony."

   "Stargazing Dusk..." Rainbow was about to begin, but interrupted by the Princess,

   "She is still alive and well out there, you girls got to be careful."

   "SHE STILL IS?!" Rainbow Dash flew up, her fury erupted another burst of rainbow, but thanks to Celestia's magic, she was calmed down.

   "Rainbow Dash, your new ability was very effective, but keep in mind that Stargazing is a cunning and rather clever student of mine five hundred years ago, I can still sense her presence out there somewhere. That was simply a clone she made with her magic."

   "Wha... What?!" Rainbow opened her mouth, but Twilight broke her off, changing the topic.

   "Princess Celestia, as a Princess myself, I know this is a very serious and important topic, but right now we lost somepony very special and important to us, and..." She wept a tear, and quickly swiped it away, trying to hold more from coming.

   "... We want to remember her as our one and only Fluttershy..."

   "N-no... Fluttershy..." Pinkie already could not hold it, she let her tears sprinkle out, flooding the area around her. Her three balloons flashed and shined greatly. Balloons eventually came out, inside shows all of her memories with Fluttershy: the tea parties, their parties, Grand Galloping Gala, so many overwhelming good times that is regretful to be lost.

   Rarity took out some handkerchiefs, already wetting them all, same goes for her three gems, memories floated out, Rainbow Dash smiled when she saw Fluttershy's smile once more, no matter how many times her smile is there, it's impossible for her and the rest to ignore and abandon it.

   Applejack took off her hat, and pressed it firmly on her chest, specifically where her heart located at, furthermore, instead of closing her mouth whenever she is sad, this time she gritted out her teeth of anger and frustration from crying. Applejack was a strong mare, both physically and emotionally. She can hold her feelings to herself, and nopony has to worry about what she is hiding because they all know that she is honest and truthful, therefore whenever they know or expect how she should feel, it was always correct. Same goes for her too, swarms of memories flew out of her three apples like Parasprites.

   Twilight cried silently, but her cries were just as meaningful as her friend's actions; for she was a straightforward mare, somepony who does whatever the book instructs her to do, if this is something that should be sad, then she should cry. Her tears created a great orb, combining all of the other's memories together, and the orb rushed away, all the way to the new castle that Twilight now resides in.

   Rainbow Dash became puzzled by the effects of her friends' sorrow, what does all this mean? The memories flowing out of her friends' cutie marks, then suddenly jointing together in Twilight's magic?  Why does it happen? How did it happen? Rainbow shook her head repetitively, there was no time for any of those now, because in front of her there is something that she could not bear it herself to see how much pain her friends were in. She finally gave up, and followed her friends' influence.

   Princess Celestia was sorry about this loss too, but she did not show it as much as the rest by shutting her eyes, because she experienced far more lives taken and swallowed whole herself than any of the ponies crying near her right now. So much pain, that she became used to it, not in a way of not caring, but enough to make her endure what exactly is going on. She reopened her eyes and suggested,

   "Twilight, your new castle and the Horseshoe Memorial are the perfect spots to bury and mourn those who are gone forever, but the choice is up to you, for it can create "side effects"."

   "What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked, in a way having actually treated her former teacher as an equal, but without realizing.

   "You'll have to see for yourself..."

   And her horn glowed, sending a bubble to surround Twilight and her friends, teleporting them all away. Finally retrieving her privacy, she didn't need to hesitate, but weep in such an honorable way that a Princess like her always should.

   In front of Twilight's castle, five figures spawned within a blink of the eye: there stood, five miserable ponies, grieving for their dead friend. They knew that they had been doing this quite awhile, and it's useless to keep sobbing, but it could not be helped.

   Applejack grunted in pain.

   Rarity wept and wept in vain.

   Pinkie Pie cried out loud stained.

   Twilight sobbed and pulled her mane.

   And lastly Rainbow Dash, like she was bringing a storm cloud, ready to rain.

   But all this has to stop right now, they can't waste any more precious and valuable time, they had more lives to protect and save. Realizing first as always, Twilight gathered the remaining of the Six back together,

   "Listen, enough is enough. We have to accept the fact that a friend cannot be brought back, no matter what magic or spell there is, not even the divine rulers of Equestria. We must act quick, before that Stargazing Dusk can take more friends of ours away."

   "Bu-but what about Fluttershy?" Pinkie protested.

   "I believe we have already buried her." Twilight did not want to say her name anymore. "Those memories from out cutie marks joined together and was moved to this castle. She may not be here physically anymore, but she is still there with us. We can feel it no matter where or when..." The alicorn paused, and turned her head back to see her new home, the beautiful color and material made out of is not an excuse to distract her thoughts, she turned back around to see her friends still in deep blues. Twilight sighed and continued,

   "Stargazing Dusk will be worthy of a challenge to overcome, we must stop her at all costs, but first, we must locate her whereabouts."

To be continued.