Dashing Your Friends Away

Dashing Your Friends Away

I didn't want this. I didn't ask for this. I didn’t do anything to deserve this. So why am I the one being punished?

Rainbow Dash’s eyes drooped down to the colourful dress strapped onto her and let out an unimpressed groan. It just wasn’t her style; no rainbows, no aerodynamically-tuned piece, nothing that tells someone ‘Rainbow Dash’. She’d have left hours ago, but a promise was a promise, and the element of loyalty doesn't just leave when her friends need her.

Ugh, what’s with my wing? Maybe if I... *urgh* loosen... *mmph*... I’ll just ask Rarity to get this puffball off me later.

Glancing at the huge, ornate staircase, Rainbow caught a sight of a dainty white hoof. Rarity at last!

“Oh darling, you’re still there? Thanks for waiting so patiently, my room is such a ghastly mess that I couldn’t find the thread I wanted! I checked in the attic to make sure I didn’t misplace it, and sure enough, voila! A nice, new roll was there, just waiting for me! And what’s more, is...” Rarity rambled on.

Blah, blah, blah. Does she ever shut up? Get on with it already!

“...Rainbow? Rainbow? Hello?” Rarity questioned.

“Y…yeah, sure! It’s great!” Rainbow replied.

Rainbow’s eyes wandered to the back of the room, thinking about the awkward situation she was in. Did she answer correctly?

“Splendid! So which dress do you want to try on next?” Rarity asked happily.

Buck.

“Ah, yes... well, I didn’t really mean it when I said that...” Rainbow began.

Rarity’s eyes narrowed, clearly unimpressed.

“You aren’t planning on leaving, are you?” Rarity interjected.

“Wh... what? Leave? No, no, no, it’s just that Pinkie needed some... streamers! For the party!” Rainbow lied. “You understand, right?”

“You know, you did say that you’d help me by putting on all of these lovely dresses... but I suppose I can’t stop you.” Rarity said, sighing deeply. “It’ll be difficult for me to find someone else, since it’s just the 6 of us around here, but I understand Pinkie would need your help more than I do.”

Oh no. She’s playing the pity card. I have to act fast.

“I promise I’ll come back later. And I mean it.” Rainbow assured her. “Could you get this dress off of me before I go? I can barely move in it let alone fly, and my hooves won’t *urgh* reach back far enough to untie these strings, see?”

Rarity nodded and in a flash, she was rummaging through her drawers for something. With a look of satisfaction, a light blue glow was shimmering on her horn and a drawer full of dress scissors.

“So why is this dress so tight on me, Rarity? Can’t it be any looser?” Rainbow asked.

“The dress is for fillies, but no one else is here other than us 6! I really needed to get this fitted because a *gasp* royal princess’ daughter needs it in just one week! I asked you because you’re a pegasus, so the wing section can be modeled too. Unfortunately, since it’s designed for fillies, it is as loose as it can go. Sorry darling!” Rarity explained.

“Why not ask Fluttershy then?” Rainbow inquired.

Rarity's eyes rolled at the question.

“Fluttershy is nowhere to be found. She is probably off hiding in some corner somewhere. It’ll be off in a jiffy though, no need to worry! Just hold still...” Rarity replied.

After several minutes of snipping and grunts of dissatisfaction, Rarity sighed and sat down in defeat.

"You'll have to get someone stronger to do it, darling. The strings were too thick for my magic. Maybe Applejack is available, but you'd better hurry or Pinkie will wonder where you've been." Rarity explained.

Rainbow's eyes narrowed, just as unimpressed as Rarity was.

What?! The string had to be under a centimetre thick! And those professional scissors couldn't put a dent in it? Rainbow thought. Ah, I can't question her. She knows I lied.

With a subtle yet assertive stride, Rainbow left Rarity's house without a word. She would deal with her at the party, but for now, she had a puffball to cut loose.

Just as Rainbow's hoof touched the stone path outside Rarity's home, a snapping noise startled her back.

"Hello?" Rainbow called. A ruffling noise and a mysterious shadow shifted next to a tree in the distance. "Who's there? I could really use your help right now, this nightmare is crazy tight!"

Just as quickly as the shadow had appeared, it gasped in shock and bolted into the forest, without word or notion of Rainbow's existence.

Weird. Maybe someone else decided to stay here instead of celebrating in Fillydelphia.

Passing a few more glances into the forest, Rainbow dismissed the figure as her mind playing tricks on her. After being stuck with Rarity, anyone can go crazy and hallucinate.

Rainbow began the arduous journey to Sweet Apple Acres, forgetting about the curious happening. She had much more to think about every step she took, hating the dress on her more and more every second.

As Applejack's house on Sweet Apple Acres drew close, a sliver of red began to seep through the dress on her wingspan.

“Holy jumpin’ apple tarts! That is one tight dress! Don’t just stand there, let me get it off of you!” A familiar voice told her.

Sure enough, it was Applejack, who saw the blood on the dress through her window, and was bolting to Rainbow, who was eager to get the straight jacket off.

“Thanks... *urgh* Applejack, this dress was killing me!” Rainbow replied.

“By the looks of it, it might jus’ kill you eventually. Just tryin’ to keep my friends alive!” Applejack joked.

Rainbow chuckled a little, tightening in pain as the dress restricted her ribcage more and more after every chuckle.

“I might as well have been dead. How would I be able to live if I couldn’t fly? It’d really suck if I had to be stuck on the ground all the time!” Rainbow said.

Applejack's eyes caught Rainbow's in a deathly stare.

"Right. It must be impossible to live life without wings. Imagine how much worse Equestria would be without them." Applejack scowled.

What? What is she talking about?

Despite her clear annoyance, Applejack's hooves were already untying the dress with ease.

"Now wait just a minute, didn't you say Rarity couldn't get these strings cut?" Applejack questioned. Her attitude seemed to have drifted from her irritated self. "That queen of fru fru made this dress, so she must be able to deal with these strings no problem with her hooves, let alone with scissors."

Well, that proves it. She knows I lied. But now that she let me suffer through this, we're even.

Rainbow flexed her whole body and flew around a little after the prison of a dress was off of her, before she fell down, gripping her wing. It oozed a small amount of shiny red liquid as Applejack rushed over.

“Seriously, jus’ because the dress is off doesn’t mean yer wing magically heals. Here, let me bandage it up.” Applejack insisted.

Trotting over to the first aid kit, Applejack bent over and caught the kit in her mouth. Looking inside, you could find everything a pony would need for help. Rainbow bandages, magic gauze, even a piece of candy, probably to cheer you up after getting injured.

Applejack hurried over to a bleeding Rainbow Dash, complaining about her inability to fly. Every wrap around the wing made Rainbow wince, as it was hurting enough with the bleeding.

Looks like flying will be put on hold for awhile. Wait a minute, I was dissing on ponies that couldn't fly, wasn't I? Crap, now she thinks I'm insensitive. I can't have two ponies hate me today, but what can I possibly do to make it up to her Rainbow thought.

“There, good as new... sorta. Say, Rainbow, I could use a hand cleaning out my barn, and since I just helped you an' all, would you mind stacking the hay inside? It shouldn't be a problem, even without the use of your wings to pick them up." Applejack asked.

Rainbow cringed at the last sentence. Applejack must feel resentful, and the stern tone of her voice made that evident enough. But cleaning her barn could be her ticket to make it better!

Rainbow had told Rarity that she’d be going to see Pinkie Pie to help with the party, but she wouldn’t know if she didn’t show up. Besides, she felt it was necessary to help her out after she had helped her free herself of that dress.

“I’ll go return this to Rarity if you can get this barn done in the meantime. Mighty thanks for th' help, Rainbow!” Applejack finished, dress in hand.

Applejack's voice hinted at a friendlier demeanour, putting a sense of good feeling on Rainbow as Applejack trotted away.

At least one of my friends won't hate me by the end of the day. Rainbow thought.

Stepping into the barn, Rainbow's grin twisted into a state of disbelief. Barn doors as far as the eye can see - okay, not really that far, but they were a good distance away. The hay was scattered everywhere, completely disorganized. Rainbow's complaints were heard on deaf ears, but she felt it was necessary after seeing this disaster.

Rainbow sighed and slipped on the pitchfork attachment nearby, clipping in the grooves to the wooden handle. It was a little large and awkward, but it'd do for now.

It wasn't easy to start with. She hadn't ever done this before, and sticking a few spikes into little threads on the ground was difficult given her size and strength. Despite the hard labour, she kept trudging on, determined to make her friend happy.

After a few hours of hoof-blistering work, Rainbow took a step back and admired the work she had done so far. The task seemed so much more manageable with the amount of hay left.

All that sweating doesn't smell bad… it smells like success!  Rainbow thought proudly.

Out of the corner of Rainbow's eye, one of the neatly arranged stacks of hat tumbled over deliberately.

"Hey! Who goes there? I don't take kindly to ponies ruining hard work!" Rainbow yelled.

Another hay stack was knocked over, this time behind her.

"Seriously! Whatever you are doing here, please show yourself! I worked really hard on these!"

At those words, a dark red colt stepped aside from another of the hay stacks, which he was probably pretty close to knocking over. His eyes had the same glint as the shadow had back at Rarity's house. With a little more observation, she noticed that he was the same height as she was, and had wings. The look in his eye was rock solid, his stance completely rigid. This colt meant business.

Big Macintosh? Nah, he's an earth pony, and this guy is a pegasus.

"Hello, Rainbow Dash. You might have seen me following you down the path, and I assure you, it was for good reason. I wasn't sure if you were busy or not, and I wanted -" The mysterious pony started.

"Oh no, you aren't going to ask me anything until you explain to me why you knocked over those stacks of hay!" Rainbow demanded.

“Please, Rainbow. Let me say a few things first and I’ll answer your questions later.” The colt said.

Rainbow thought about that for a second, but then dismissed the notion as his idea of taking control.

“You’re not really in any position to be making suggestions.” Rainbow reminded him, putting her hoof down assertively.“Just answer the question!"

The mysterious colt managed a chuckle despite his serious demeanour.

“Alright, I suppose there’s no convincing you otherwise. My name is Dawson H. Arib, and I merely knocked down your hay stacks to get your attention. I will clean them up later, given you accept my invitation.” Dawson said calmly.

“Invitation? What invitation?" Rainbow interjected.

"If you actually let me finish, I'll explain." Dawson continued. "I am having a party tonight at Sugarcube Corner-"

"Me and my friends are having a party tonight at Sugarcube Corner! How can you be there at the same time?" Rainbow interrupted.

Dawson's calm demeanour snapped for a second at the sudden interruption.

"Honestly, the nerve- I mean, yes. But I will be upstairs, doing my own thing, and I'd love if you could at least visit." Dawson said, clearly irritated.

Rainbow thought about this for a bit. All she had to do was visit this "Dawson" for a little bit, and he wouldn't ruin any more hay stacks. She could just as easily kick him out, but he could just as easily ruin the rest of the stacks on his way.

"Fine. I'll go if you clean up the stacks you messed up." Rainbow gritted through her teeth

Dawson nodded his head in agreement and fixed up the piles of hay, arranged to Rainbow's liking. He turned his hoof and began to leave, resuming his serious attitude.

"Hey, wait a second!" Rainbow called out.

Dawson stopped, ears focused on Rainbow.

"Why is it that everypony else is in big cities like Fillydelphia celebrating the defeat of Queen Chrysalis  while you 'do your own thing'? What could drive you to stay here rather than celebrate with the other ponies?" Rainbow questioned.

"I am here for the same reasons you are. See you tonight, Rainbow Dash." Dawson finished.

Rainbow's mind flooded with questions, and she bolted to the barn door, looking to see where he went. To her surprise, Dawson wasn't anywhere, as if he vanished out of thin air.

He's a pegasus, so he must've flown out. Rainbow thought. But how have I not heard of him if he's that fast?

The next few hours consisted of more hay than Rainbow had ever seen in her life, let alone at one time. The shade of yellow would be in her eyes forever, but it was worth it.

She took a step back, dismantling the attachment from her hoof and admired her handiwork. It was something else to see such a noticeable difference from the state it was at before.

As if on cue, Applejack arrived with a worried look on her face. At the sight of the barn, however, she lit up like a lightbulb.

"Wow, thanks again fer yer help, Rainbow!" Applejack commended Rainbow. “You sure did a great job!”

“It was no sweat.” Rainbow said, as puddles of sweat ran down her back.

“Right... anyway, I was downtown and I noticed a pony was really upset at you.” Applejack mentioned.

Damn. She must be referring to Rarity.

"What's the problem?" Rainbow asked nervously.

"Well... th’ pony is Rarity, and she was coming to check up on you and Pinkie, what with setting up the party an’ all. When she saw you weren’t there, she told me that you were just ‘making excuses to leave’. Now, I ain’t one to get involved, but I’d go and apologize as soon as possible if I were you." Applejack advised.

How am I going to face Rarity now that I know for sure she knows...

"I'm guessing you know a little about what's going on, so do you have any ideas on how I should make it up to her?" Rainbow asked.

Applejack thought for a second and shook her head.

"Nah, I can't help you there. This is yer own problem, you need to fix this yerself." Applejack responded. “Come on, let’s head down to the party, it’s starting soon.

Rainbow felt the fear of facing Rarity course through her hooves, shuddering and wobbling the entire way there.

Rainbow’s mantra the duration of the trip consisted of I flat out lied to her face, some loyal pony I am..., making her feel worse and worse about being the element of loyalty.

As soon as Sugarcube Corner was in sight, Pinkie Pie was in their face, blocking all sights but herself. Pinkie’s eyes were completely focused on Rainbow, seemingly taking no notion of Applejack’s existence.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Rainbow! Thanks so much for coming! I thought that you wouldn't come since you got in a fight with Rarity or something, and I was afraid the party would be incomplete, and I had made cake for you, and you have no idea what-" Pinkie rambled on.

Well, at least someone has no reason to hate me today.

"Pinkie, it's fine! I came, no need to make a big deal about it." Rainbow interrupted. "Where's Rarity? I need to talk to her."

"She's somewhere inside, but the party has just started! Come and have fun with your best friends!" Pinkie said cheerily. "…Um…we are best friends, right?"

"Of course Pinkie! Why wouldn't we be?" Rainbow responded, a little taken aback at the sudden question. Applejack shot a confused look at Rainbow, clearly confused at how to approach this.

"I don't seem to be too involved in this little gathering, so... I think I'll head inside and chat with Fluttershy or Twilight." Applejack said with a big, fake grin on her face.

Rainbow shot Applejack an accusing look, who was oblivious to the stare, focusing on getting out of the situation.

Dammit, she left me on my own.

Pinkie appeared to take no notice of Applejack's departure, but kept her attention to Rainbow.

"Well… do you like being around me? I know I can be annoying at times, but I just love to be around you… and the rest of my friends!" Pinkie added quickly. Her tone was lower and quieter, unnerving Rainbow with the sudden change from happiness.

"Of course I like being around you! All of you guys are a lot of fun to hang out with, and I wouldn't celebrate this occasion with any other set of ponies!" Rainbow replied, still a little baffled by Pinkie's change of tone.

This isn’t like Pinkie. Is she hiding something?

Pinkie lowered her head and ears, frowning for the first time in Rainbow’s recent memory. She had to cock her head forward to hear the whispering Pinkie had gotten down to.

"Oh, okay." Pinkie said, a little defeated.

Now I made yet another pony upset. How am I going to fix this one when I don’t even know what I did?

“Pinkie, I can tell something’s wrong. What’s the matter?” Rainbow said assuringly. “You can tell me anything.”

As if those words were ‘happy birthday’, Pinkie’s face lit up and she resumed her natural happiness, albeit with a hint of disappointment.

“What are you talking about, you silly pony? I’m hosting a party, I would never be upset at a party!” Pinkie said, sounding bubblier and bubblier by the second.

Rainbow neglected to tell her about being upset at the after party for Gummy. That would just make thing worse. Rainbow thought.

"Sorry to cut this short, Pinkie, but I really need to apologize to Rarity, so I should go and look for her inside." Rainbow told Pinkie. "See you later!"

As she trotted inside the bakery, she swore she heard a small "That's what you always say…" sound come from Pinkie's mouth, but it couldn't have been her. The voice was far too sad for Pinkie, even when she was upset before!

Rainbow darted her head around the party to try and catch a glimpse of Rarity's white coat, but could not catch horn nor hoof of her. Just as she was about to give up, Twilight came over and put her hoof around Rainbow.

"This is a pretty cool party, just the 5 of us." Twilight reminded Rainbow. "You should try and enjoy yourself. You can apologize to Rarity once you get the opportunity."

Rainbow stepped back at ‘5 of us’.

“What?! Rarity’s not even here? Why didn’t you tell me she wasn’t here!” Rainbow accused. “Now she could be anywhere...”

Twilight put her hoof on her head, as though it would help her concentrate on remembering something.

"Well… no, I saw her at the party earlier, she just left the main room. Maybe she's still here somewhere, you just have to look harder!" Twilight encouraged Rainbow.

Rainbow nodded her head and trotted upstairs to check.

Wait a minute… Dawson said he'd be up here! I should keep an eye out for him, he seems to nice and too mysterious to be up to any good. Rainbow thought. I'll check through this door…

As Rainbow opened the ornate door to her left, she saw Rarity in the corner, crying next to the dress she had modeled on Rainbow.

Uh oh. I've got to leave before she-

"Oh, what are you doing?" Rarity turned around and looked behind Rainbow. No yelling, no more crying, just questioning behind her.

Curious, Rainbow checked behind her. A dark red, feathery wing flapped into her face, accompanied by an amused grin clamping down on a silver knife.

Sure enough, it was the mysterious colt, Dawson. Rarity merely stared at him, dumbstruck as though he was casting a spell on her, paralyzing her in place. Preparing prey for the kill.

Preparing to kill prey… what am I standing around for?! I have to stop him!

Rainbow leaped at Dawson, tackling him easily and tossing the knife away with the element of surprise. Dawson clearly had not expected resistance. As Rainbow was pinning her hooves down at Dawson, Rarity merely stared at Dawson as though he was a puzzle that needed to be solved.

Celestia, how can she be so ignorant? I am saving her life and she looks confused!

Dawson took advantage of Rainbow's distraction and shoved her off of his body, leaping dexterously to the knife and clamping it in his teeth once more.

"NO!" Rainbow cried out.

*Whump* Rainbow’s hooves lay on the ground, having missed their mark. Dawson had reacted quite quickly this time, and he was whispering something in Rarity’s ear while Rainbow struggled to get up.

In the blink of an eye, Rarity showed a pang of sadness in her eyes, as though she was upset with whatever truth Dawson whispered to her. Her blank stare was soon replaced by the dilation of her pupils and the thud she made as her head hit the ground.

Rainbow watched in disbelief as Rarity tried to speak, but thick red liquid seeped through her mouth instead. Every attempt at a sound irritated her now open throat, sliced by the now bloody knife resting on the ground.

Rainbow couldn’t grasp what had happened in the last 2 seconds, hooves numb from hitting the ground. Despite this, she soared up and bolted to Dawson, malicious thoughts soaring through her mind.

“Silly filly.” Dawson called out as he jumped out of the window, not bothering to use his wings. Rainbow had missed her mark again.

It was over 10 metres away from the ground, so Rainbow assumed Dawson would’ve crashed and would be too injured to fly or walk. Instead, she tended to Rarity to try and analyze the problem.

A large cut was slashed into her jugular, causing a fatal injury and her loss of speech. Her air supply was almost completely blocked off, and there was nothing Rainbow could do.

"No... This can't be..." Rainbow stuttered, then froze into place. Signs of shock coursed through her veins, stopping any motor functions.

After a moment of disbelief, the reality of the situation hit Rainbow.

I have to try something. Anything...

Rainbow dashed to the first aid kit in the room, wasting no time dumping the contents onto the floor and grabbing everything she thought could help.

“gack...urk!” Rarity called out, beckoning for Rainbow to come over.

Tears of sadness flew down both ponies’ eyes, inflicting sadness in Rainbow’s eyes and showing acceptance and forgiving in Rarity’s.

No... she forgives me... but I still feel so terrible...

Rarity’s eyelids drooped farther and farther down, confirming her fatal injury. By the time they closed halfway, she was covered in everything Rainbow could throw at her. None of it could fix the physical condition of Rarity or the mental state of Rainbow, not even the candy.

Rainbow was about to call for help when she noticed the obscene noises stopped coming from Rarity's mouth. She had finished with another accepting smile for Rainbow, attempting closure before her untimely end.

The element of generousity infused in Rarity flickered out.

"No… I didn't even get to say goodbye... What does this mean for me...” Rainbow cried, eyes closed. It wasn't for several minutes that the feeling of vengeance for her fallen friend kicked in.

In a flash, Rainbow’s eyes flew open with a determined gaze, putting a new mission, a new drive in her mind. Wiping away a tear, she stood up, 5 words stamped in her mind forever.

“Oh Celestia... I WILL KILL YOU, DAWSON!”

END OF CHAPTER ONE