The Value of a Smile

by DragonShadow

Rating: teen
Tags: Rainbow Dash, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad
Length: 6143

A terrible accident grounds Rainbow Dash, perhaps for the rest of her life.

When Rainbow Dash's wings are burnt to the core by dragon fire, she discovers she may never fly again, and may just lose her friends if she can't learn to cope...

Published 2012-06-14 13:34:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-06-14 13:34:02 UTC

Value of a Smile

The Value of a Smile

“No Pinkie Pie! Get away from me!” Rainbow Dash opened her sky blue wings and shook herself furiously, brushing her pink friend off of her to the ground for what seemed like the umpteenth time. “I’ve told you, ponies do NOT ride other ponies like that! It’s indecent!” Rainbow Dash could feel her face burning in a bright blush.

Pinkie Pie whimpered and put her chin on the ground between her forehooves, staring up at her with glittering wet eyes. “But why noooooot? I’ve always wanted to fly! I thought we were great friends!”

“Of course we are, but… ponies just don’t…” Rainbow Dash trailed off with an even deeper blush. “Look how do you not know this already!?”

“Know what!?” Pinkie Pie demanded.

“Rrgh…” Rainbow Dash grumbled and turned away from her friends, trying to search for an answer but really not wanting to come up with one.

It was a nice, bright day in Ponyville. The kind of day Rainbow Dash usually loved to spend frolicking among the clouds, training her mind and body for the day she would be accepted into the ranks of the illustrious Wonderbolts. Instead here she was, cornered in the small restaurant she’d stopped in for lunch with a rather embarrassing request from one of her best friends. She could practically feel some of the other ponies snickering in their direction as they passed on their daily chores. Not that she cared what anyone else thought of her, but this particular request just rubbed her the wrong way somehow.

It was a stroke of luck that Rainbow Dash noticed one of their other good friends passing the restaurant with a piece of hay sticking out of her mouth, which was being slowly sucked into the pursed lips. “Hey Applejack!”

“Heya Rainbow Dash.” Applejack sauntered up to them with a calm smile, speaking around the hay. “What can ah do fer ya?”

“Explain to Pinkie Pie why fillies don’t ride each other!” Rainbow Dash demanded.

Applejack sputtered in surprise for a few moments before speaking. “Um… ah ain’t touchin’ that one, good luck.” Applejack turned to trot away from them quickly.

“Hey! Get back here you coward!” Rainbow Dash shook one hoof at her retreating form. Her blush returned in force when she felt Pinkie Pie trying to clamber onto her back from behind. Rainbow Dash’s wings stroked the air mightily, sending her flying over the small white fence around the restaurant, as well as sending Pinkie Pie tumbling to her back on the ground. “Stop that! Urgh! I know, Twilight would be able to explain this to you!”

“Good, because I am so confused right now!” Pinkie Pie sat up and rubbed her head with one forehoof.

“Yeah, I know.” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help a slight smirk as she landed in front of her friend. “Come on, we’re WALKING to Twilight’s place.” Rainbow Dash turned to trot towards Twilight Sparkle’s library near the edge of town, with Pinkie Pie trotting in place beside her. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help glancing in her direction every few seconds to make sure she didn’t try to mount her again. The very thought of it made her blush even deeper than before.

Before her head could catch fire from the heat of her blush, Rainbow Dash hurried up to Twilight Sparkle’s library and knocked loudly with one hoof. “Twilight! We need your brainy advice!”

The door opened after a few moments to reveal their purple unicorn friend, Twilight Sparkle, peering out at them with a humorous smirk. “As opposed to my stupid advice?”

“Well your track record isn’t exactly perfect.” Rainbow smirked back. “But anyway, will you please tell Pinkie Pie why fillies don’t ride each other?”

“What!?” Twilight’s stunned gaze turned on Pinkie Pie, who grinned and waved back, oblivious to any discomfort. “You um…” Twilight trailed off, then raised one leg in victory. “Books! I have books for this! Come on in… just try to be quiet, Spike’s been feeling a little under the weather lately.” Twilight Sparkle kicked the door the rest of the way open with a soft nudge and turned to walk into the living room, which was surrounded entirely by bookshelves packed to the brim with books.

“That is a lot of books Twilight.” Pinkie Pie confirmed with a nod.

“The um… M’s are at the top.” Twilight said with a blush.

“I’ll take a look at what you’ve got.” Rainbow opened her wings and hovered easily into the air, approaching the top shelves with a hoof on her chin. It turned out the M section was actually pretty large, with a wide variety of topic covered by a lot of very thick books. How could someone possibly be interested in reading this much stuff? It boggled the mind.

“Oh hey Spike!” Rainbow Dash heard Pinkie Pie speak from the ground below, but didn’t bother to turn. She was too embarrassed to look at her friend until they had all this sorted out. “I’m sorry if we woke you up.”

“It’s okay…” Spike grumbled back in a sickly voice. “What’s going on…?”

“We’re just looking for some books, nothing to worry about. You should really go back to bed, you need plenty of rest.” Twilight Sparkle explained firmly.

“I just wanted to see… nngh…” Spike’s voice trailed off for a moment, following by a sound somewhere between a sneeze and an explosion.

“Rainbow! Look-“ Twilight didn’t even have time to finish her yell before something swept across Rainbow Dash, a magical emerald colored flame that engulfed her in a flash.

The searing pain was so intense it felt like the world stopped for several heartbeats, vanishing into a white haze in her vision. From the faint distance she could hear something crack as though breaking apart, followed immediately by the voices of her friends in a frightened panic. They sounded like they were right next to her, yelling from a distance. It was the strangest thing.

Her eyes only jerked open, as if her mind was being jolted back into the real world by the feeling of ice-cold water splashing across her body. “Gah! Nnngh!” Rainbow jolted in surprise, but collapsed to her back again when the searing pain came once again. She blinked her eyes as the world began to solidify slowly, to see her purple unicorn friend peering down at her in worry. “Twiii…?” Rainbow Dash tried to speak, but though her mind was clearing, it felt like her tongue wouldn’t cooperate, and her breath came in shuddering gasps.

“H-hey, it’s okay, Pinkie Pie went to get help.” Twilight assured her in a soft, soothing tone. “Don’t try to move, just stay still.”

“Twilight what…?” Rainbow Dash could feel the panic rising in her throat. Something was wrong, she could feel it. She glanced to one side, seeing the remains of a wooden coffee table scattered across the room from under her body. Lying splayed out beside her was a blackened and tattered thing that looked like a piece of twisted burnt tree bark. She didn’t have time to tell what it was before the fog descended over her eyes again.
____________________________________________

She felt numb. Like she was in a state of shock, barely able to absorb what had happened. Ponies kept moving in and out of her field of vision, flashes of purple, yellow, red, and at one point a pink form hovered in her sight for several minutes before being dragged off with enthusiastic yells of protest. She only barely took note of the fact that she was being moved to what seemed to be the Ponyville medical clinic, eventually coming to rest in one of the beds that lined the walls.

“Dashy, please… just say something to us…” One surprisingly soft squeak finally cracked through the haze that had settled over her, drawing Rainbow back into the world of the living. She felt so stiff it was hard to move, but she didn’t need to to see Pinkie Pie hovering over her, their faces mere inches apart as the pink pony stared with wide, wet eyes. She looked like she’d been crying for some time… which Rainbow Dash had never seen her do before since they’d met.

“Mmngh…” Rainbow Dash grunted. “Fine, if you’ll just gimme some room to breathe…”

Pinkie’s eyes widened even further with a deep gasp before she pushed away from Rainbow Dash, whirling to look away from her. “She’s awake! Rainbow Dash is awake!” She was back in a flash, leaning up on the bed with her hoofs hitting the mattress beside her.

Rainbow could hear shouts of excitement and relief from the rest of the ponies who sauntered up, all of the friends she’d counted among her best. Rarity with a bright, elegant smile. Applejack with her honest enthusiasm. Fluttershy with her more subdued, but deeply sincere smile. Twilight Sparkle with her pleased smile. Then of course was Pinkie Pie, whose broad, toothy grin was once again only inches from Rainbow Dash’s face.

“Alright, alright, geeze. Glad to see you too.” With a grunt Rainbow Dash lifted one foreleg to swat Pinkie Pie aside, pushing her to her hooves on the ground again. “All of you… you sure got here in a hurry.”

“A hurry?” Rarity asked. “You’ve been asleep since we got here five hours ago. We were afraid you might never…” She trailed off and glanced at Fluttershy, who looked like she was on the verge of freaking out. “You know…”

“Five hours?” Rainbow blinked in surprise. “From a little burn?”

“And crash…” Twilight Sparkle corrected her. “You nosedived into my table… but thankfully Pinkie Pie ran to get help.”

“Darn right she did.” Applejack agreed. “Ran like the wind, nearly took out my whole cart ‘a apples.”

“Sorry! But she needed help! And nothing’s more important than a friend in need! Nothing!” Pinkie Pie insisted vehemently.

“I don’t think anyone will argue with you there, Pinkie Pie.” Twilight assured her with a smile. The other four ponies all nodded with bright, encouraging smiles as Twilight turned to face Rainbow again. “The doctor said you should stay here until at least tomorrow and rest up, you took a pretty big blow to the head. Combined with the wings-” Twilight seemed to pause suddenly, as if too terrified to continue. The other ponies all muttered and looked away, anywhere but at her.

“My wings?” Rainbow blinked and kicked at the blanket covering her body, kicking it down far enough to see a dense layer of bandages wrapped around her stomach, pinning her wings so tightly against her sides she couldn’t even see them. “What happened to my wings? Is something wrong with them?”

“Well Spike’s fireball…” Twilight Sparkle trailed off nervously, her eyes flitting between the floor and the other gathered ponies. “It sort of… hit them.”

“Hit them!?” Rainbow Dash started furiously clawing at the bandages with her forehooves. “Get these stupid bandages off! Hey!” She yelped in protect when Twilight Sparkle and Applejack grabbed her forehooves on each side, pinning them against the bed. “Let go of me! I wanna see what happened!”

“Ya don’t wanna do that sugarcube, trust me on this one.” Applejack told her in a concerned, but forceful tone.

“What happened to them? Just tell me.” Rainbow pleaded.

“They got hurt, Rainbow, that’s all you really need to know.” Twilight gulped. “It’s going to be a while before you can fly again.”

“B-but I will fly again, right?” Rainbow Dash’s voice shivered in fear as she finally began to relax a little, allowing her two friends to release her forelegs.

“I don’t know… that’s something you’ll have to discuss with the doctor.” Twilight told her with a soft smile.

“And the Doctor says probably.” An aging male pony entered the small medical center. He was a large, scruffy looking creature with white fur specked by spots of gray and silver, and a mane of glittering gold, also laced with silver framed a face topped by the stubby horn of a typical Equestrian unicorn. A long white coat that hung over his body to the floor concealed the cutie mark of a red cross that lay against his flank.

“Probably? What does THAT mean!?” Rainbow’s voice cracked nervously.

The doctor approached the bed with a disarming smile as the ladies scooted respectfully out of the way. “It means your injuries could go either way. Dragon burns aren’t like normal fire, they burn deeper than skin… spots with burns sometimes never regrow hair, fur…” He trailed off.

“Or… feathers…?”

“Or feathers.” The doctor nodded, though his warm, comforting smile remained intact. “There’s a chance even if some feathers grow back, they might not come in thick enough for your unique brand of flying.”

“O-oh…” Rainbow Dash could barely think, but the sight of her friends gathered around sure did help.

“But, I’d try not to worry about that. A smiling face is a face that’s healing better.” The doctor assured her. “For now, I’d like you to stay here until tomorrow morning so we can make sure your head is okay, you can go home in the morning.”

“O-okay… thanks Doc, I’ll stick around…” Rainbow looked down at the blankets beneath her legs.

The doctor exchanged a few words with one of the other girls, but Rainbow wasn’t paying attention anymore. One by one the ponies moved up beside the bed, said a few soft words, then turned to leave her alone. She only barely heard well-wishes or words of sympathy from each. She was too busy running through her mind the idea of living the rest of her life without wings. The very thought made her want to scream, cry, and faint all at once.

It wasn’t until she saw a pink hoof press lightly against her stomach that she looked up from the bed to see Pinkie Pie giving her a wide smile that had lost none of its shine since the last time Rainbow Dash had seen her. That same smile she wore every time they saw each other throughout the day and every time they parted ways after a get-together. For a moment Rainbow Dash thought Pinkie was enjoying seeing her in such distress, but no, she reminded herself. She was just being Pinkie Pie.

“Don’t worry Dashy, it doesn’t matter what happens to your wings. You’re still one of our bestest best friends in Equestria, or the whole world!” She leaned across the bed to nuzzle against Rainbow’s cheek. “Get some sleep and be happier in the morning! I like it when you’re happy! Goodnight!” Pinkie pushed herself back, landing on her hooves with a click-clack and turning to trot out of the clinic into what was now the chill evening air.

With a shivering sigh, Rainbow Dash reached down to pull her blankets back up around her chest. She tried to roll onto her side like usual, but winced when her weight came down on her wing joint, so instead she remained on her back staring at the ceiling. It was hours before at last, in the total darkness of midnight, she drifted into a restless sleep.

______________________________________

Usually a good night’s sleep lifted whatever gloom descended the previous day, but this day Rainbow Dash didn’t feel lifted at all. It felt like the bandages wrapped around her body were holding her down, which they kind of were. She emerged from the clinic on foot, remaining on foot as Twilight Sparkle trotted up the center of town to meet her with a kind smile.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Twilight asked in a concerned tone.

“My head’s feeling better, but my wings ache.” Rainbow replied honestly. “Doctor said it’s a good sign though… be worse if they were numb.”

“I’m glad to hear you’re on the road to recovery.” Twilight smiled. “Well hey, someone wanted to talk to you.” Twilight looked at her bare back, then turned her head to look beside her. “Come out here.” She tried to turn the other way, but her other flank was bare too. “Stop that!” Her horn glowed with soft light, and the small purple form of her baby dragon assistant floated out from behind her, landing on his feet in front of Rainbow Dash. “Spike wanted to say something to you.”

“Um… geeze, I’m really sorry Rainbow Dash.” Spike ran one claw over the ground in front of him with a pathetic sniffle. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, honest.”

Rainbow Dash responded with a careless shrug and a reassuring smile. “Hey, freak accidents happen, right? I don’t blame you for it.”

“I still feel terrible, if there’s anything I can do-“ Spike insisted.

“I said don’t worry about it, right now I just want to kick back for a while, doctor’s orders anyway.” Rainbow gave her two friends a smile and turned to head towards the edge of town, where her home was currently drifting.

Twilight Sparkle caught up with her again moments later with the baby dragon riding on her back. “Really, if there’s anything either of us can do-“

“I’ll be fine Twilight, sheesh.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with far more confidence than she was feeling. “It’s just a temporary setback, I’ll lay down for a while, relax, and in a few weeks I’ll be as good as new. Just spend a little more time at… home…” Rainbow slowly came to a stop, standing on the grass and staring up at her cloud home drifting through the sky far overhead. She blinked, then sighed and lowered her head toward the grass. “Or… I can hang out in town. That’s cool too.”

“Sorry Rainbow…” Twilight cleared her throat nervously. “If it helps, you can stay with me until you feel better.”

“What? I couldn’t do that.” Rainbow complained.

“Yes you can, I insist.” Twilight grinned and nuzzled at her neck. “It’ll be like a really long sleepover, it’ll be fun!”

“Well I guess I can’t really say no.” Rainbow glared up at her cloud-home, then turned back to Twilight. “Sure, why not?”

“Great!” Twilight smiled. “Come on, we can get you settled in!” She turned to trot back toward her library home on the edge of Ponyville while Rainbow followed more slowly. Spike looked nervous perched on her back, but didn’t chime in anymore. Rainbow knew it was an accident, but she couldn’t help being a little glad he’d stopped speaking.

Twilight pushed the door open with her cheek and made her way inside, speaking in a firm, orderly manner. “I have a guest bed in the closet I can pull out. The bedroom’s a little small for two beds, but it’s not like I use the space for anything else.” She made her way up the stairs to the bedroom loft, where her horn dragged the closet open and a bed floated across the room to land on the floor in front of the one that was still in position as usual. “This is yours, as long as you need it.”

“Gee, thanks Twilight. I appreciate it.” Rainbow approached the bed and pushed down on it with one hoof. It felt almost as hard and springy as the one in the clinic. “Earth Ponies really sleep on these? It’s kinda tough and lumpy.”

“It’s no cloud I guess.” Twilight replied with a wry smirk. “But you get used to it.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean it like that-“ Rainbow blushed.

“I know, you’re just a little cranky. Anypony would be.” Twilight waved one hoof dismissively. “Don’t worry about it, come on. It’ll be great. We can go get lunch, check up on our friends, hit Sugarcube Corner and come back tonight for a nice, restful sleep. It’ll be a day for gal-pals.”

“That actually sounds kinda good.” Rainbow replied without a smile.

“Then come on!” Twilight turned back toward the entrance. “To the rest of our day!”

The rest of their day was spent goofing off in Ponyville, chatting about stuff that didn’t really matter or interest Rainbow Dash very much. It was difficult to concentrate on anything, even when Twilight offered to buy her lunch for her she could only work up a nod and a smile. Her friend seemed a bit put off by this, but her demeanor lightened when Fluttershy met them just as they were leaving Sugarcube Corner.

“Hey Fluttershy!” Twilight grinned at Rainbow. “See? Fluttershy came to see us!”

“Oh yes, I wanted to give you something to make you feel better.” Fluttershy flashed her kind, graceful smile and reached back, plucking a small basket from between her wings and setting it on the ground between them. It was full of berries in a rainbow of various colors. “They’re special berries Zakura told me about to help wounded animals heal better… I don’t usually give them to ponies, but maybe they’ll help you.”

“Awww, that’s so sweet Fluttershy.” Twilight looked back at Rainbow. “Isn’t it Rainbow Dash?”

“Yeah… thanks a lot.” Rainbow forced a smile, but couldn’t make herself say much else. The moment seemed to drag on uncomfortably long before she finally approached the basket. “Well, we have plans, so…”

“Oh, of course. Don’t let me keep you. Feel better.” Fluttershy nuzzled her briefly before turning to walk back in the direction of her cottage.

“Um… come on, maybe we should take this back to the house.” Rainbow dipped her head down to slip the bucket handle around her neck, turning to head back with it dangling like a necklace.

“Yeah…” Twilight followed somewhat reluctantly.

On their way back they passed by Rarity’s shop, which Rainbow barely glanced at. Something seemed to be on Twilight’s mind, but she was refusing to say it. So their silent trek through Ponyville continued in the soft orange light of dusk until they approached Twilight’s library home, where Applejack seemed to have taken a post right outside the door. She too had a basket sitting beside her with big, bright red apples piled high over the brim.

“Heya Rainbow Dash.” Applejack smiled and stood up from the wall as they approached. “Ah’ve just been waitin’ ta give ya a get better gift. From the whole Apple clan.”

“Oh wow, that’s so generous of you Applejack.” Twilight Sparkle turned to give her rainbow-maned friend a grin. “Isn’t that something special Rainbow?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Rainbow Dash replied coolly, approaching to take the basket in her mouth and head into the library without a thought. She heard Twilight and Applejack mutter to one-another outside for a moment before Twilight followed her in, her horn glowing with a soft light to close the door behind her. Rainbow set the two baskets in the corner of the room to stretch out, glad to be rid of the extra weight. “Whew, those things are kinda heavy.”

“Yeah…” Twilight trailed off.

“Something wrong Twilight?” Rainbow turned to her friend with a curious look.

For a moment Twilight had a troubled expression on her face, but it turned to one of kindness so fast Rainbow thought she must be mistaken. “Of course not. Nothing that time won’t fix, at any rate. Come on, you do look tired. You need your rest if you’re going to fully recover.” Twilight walked past her toward the loft bedroom, and Rainbow could only agree. She’d felt drained and empty all day, perhaps another night of rest would set her right again.

____________________________________________________

Sadly, no. Days wore on and Rainbow continued to feel like she was in a shallow haze, tethered to the ground by the bandages wrapped around her midsection. After a week she was starting to feel like she was forgetting what it felt like to touch the sky. Even seeing Fluttershy hover near the ground was enough to make her heart sink again until she just had to leave the area.

Every gust of wind through her mane, every short sprint across the ground, just made her ache inside. She wasn’t born to be an Earth Pony, she was born to fly, and they still couldn’t tell if her feathers would ever grow back. With each passing day, each passing hour she felt more and more like her dreams were over. There was no way she could ever join the Wonderbolts without working wings, what could she possibly be without them?

What was left for her to become?

This was the question that began to roll around and around her head as she walked through her days. For a while Twilight spent every waking moment with her, and they would tour Ponyville day after day, greeting all of their friends. Applejack would invite them in for some sort of apple-based pastry, Rarity had made her several new clothing accessories she would probably never wear, and Pinkie Pie would give her a cheerful smile and a nuzzle. Rainbow knew somewhere deep down that they were all trying to support her, but she felt disconnected from them. From everything.

Each day however, it seemed like the others became more and more absent. Even Twilight Sparkle began excusing herself to do other things, leaving Rainbow Dash to spend the day exploring the town, again and again. Rarity’s business picked up and Fluttershy spent more and more time tending to her animal friends. Even Pinkie Pie seemed to be in a dizzy uproar about something she was busy doing. Rainbow wasn’t sure what, but even she too started to drift away.

Then one morning three weeks after the accident Rainbow Dash awakened to find Twilight Sparkle nowhere in sight. She emerged slowly from the library, but none of her friends were around. She had gone to bed early the previous night, and from the position of the sun, hadn’t awakened until past noon. Her head felt groggy, but at this point that wasn’t really anything unusual.

She moseyed her way down the streets of Ponyville. The other ponies cast her the briefest of smiles as she passed, and one or two said hi, but not a single one stopped to talk to her. It could easily have been her tired head playing tricks on her, but she swore several ponies crossed the street or ducked into buildings at the sight of her approach. She just shook her head and kept walking, suddenly remembering that she didn’t have a destination. Was she just looking for Twilight? She sure had been a comfort these last three weeks. As much of a comfort as anything, really.

Rainbow jumped in surprise at the sound of tires skidding across the dirt street, kicking up a cloud of dust onto her legs as a young purple-maned Pegasus skidded to a stop beside her.

Scootaloo’s helmet dropped onto the handlebars of her scooter as the tiny crusader jumped to the ground in front of Rainbow Dash with a broad grin on her face. “Hey Rainbow Dash! It’s been so long since I caught up with you! Where’ve you been hiding!?”

“I’ve been around, hanging out with Twilight mostly.” Rainbow replied without a return smile. “Speaking of, you haven’t seen her, have you?”

“What? Of course! They’re at Fluttershy’s birthday party at her cottage right now.” Scootaloo replied with a quizzical expression on her face. “I was just on my way there… wasn’t that where you were going?”

Rainbow Dash stared down at her in stunned, confused silence for a few moments before turning to walk past her, heading in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage. The small filly bounded to keep up with her, her tiny wings fluttering with each step to keep pace with Rainbow’s quick stride. “I don’t get it, I thought you were like one of Fluttershy’s BFF’s. Why aren’t you-“

“I don’t KNOW!” Rainbow snapped sharply without thinking. Scootaloo’s eyes went wide and she jerked back on her hind legs, taking a few steps away from the larger pony. Rainbow just glared down at her, her blank mind uncomprehending, or simply uncaring. Either way she just turned to continue her march toward Fluttershy’s cottage in silence, leaving her admirer standing in the middle of Ponyville alone.

Fluttershy’s cottage was decorated in a manner only Pinkie Pie could have put together. Streamers and balloons turned the modest if lovely cottage into a place right at home in a travelling circus. All of Fluttershy’s wild creature friends jumping and bopping to the pounding music emanating from inside only aided in the circus impression. It was a fun atmosphere Rainbow Dash would have been right at home in.

Then why wasn’t she invited to this party?

Her mind buzzing with thoughts of nothing Rainbow Dash marched up to the front door and lifted up on her hind legs, slamming both forehooves into the wood far harder than she’d intended. It flew inside and smacked into the inner wall with a bang as Rainbow marched in, seeing her friends all gathered in the center of the room in party hats and joyous smiles. Their smiles faded immediately when they saw her, all except for Pinkie Pie’s.

“Oh yay! You made it Dashy!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed with a delighted grin. “I was so sad when Twilight said you couldn’t make it!”

“I bet.” Rainbow narrowed her eyes at Twilight, who gulped and cast a furtive glance around the room, at the other ponies, anywhere but at Rainbow. “What’s the deal Twilight? Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“Now now, don’t ya go puttin’ all the blame on her.” Applejack stepped between them. “It was a decision we all made.”

“What!?” Rainbow’s eyes widened at that and swept around the room. Everyone avoided her gaze except for Pinkie Pie, who just looked confused. “Why would you do that to me!?”

“We didn’t mean no harm by it.” Applejack approached slowly. “Ya’ve just been so… so…”

“So what!?”

“Negative.” Rarity moved up beside Applejack. “You’ve been quite negative, and we didn’t want you to… I mean… it’s Fluttershy’s birthday and all… a time for celebration!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie blew on a noisemaker to drive the point home, then gasped with the others as Rainbow’s hoof slammed into Rarity’s cheek, sending her stumbling back.

“Hey!” Applejack stepped up, shoving Rainbow back with her large, muscular chest. “Ah know yer our friend and yer upset, and that’s th’ only reason ah ain’t hittin’ back! Jus’ don’t try it again!”

“Friends!? You totally ditched me! Left me behind like some… some…” Rainbow could feel tears stinging her eyes for the first time she could remember. Without another word she whirled to charge out of the cabin, charging across the grass away from the cottage as fast as her legs could take her. She heard no shouts from behind, nopony trying to catch up with her or stop her. They didn’t even care, she realized. They were just relieved she was leaving.

Blinded by her own tears, Rainbow’s right foreleg slammed into her left, sending her skidding across the grass painfully. She didn’t bother getting up, she just wanted to lie there. What did she have to get up for at this point? Her wings were a loss, her friends hated being around her. That was really everything she even had to live for.

“What difference would it make… if I just…” Rainbow croaked out around her sobs. “So freaking pathetic…”

“You’re not pathetic Dashy. You’re just sad.” Pinkie’s light tone responded from behind her. Rainbow didn’t turn, she didn’t have the energy to move. She heard the hoofsteps march up beside her, where they stopped and Pinkie lowered herself to her stomach, craning her neck down to get a look at Rainbow’s face.

Rainbow blushed and turned her head away from her with a sniffle. “Go away! I know none of you give a crap about me anymore…”

“That’s not true!” Pinkie gasped. “I’d never feel that way!”

“You all started getting busier and busier this last week, and now nopony told me about this party!” Rainbow whirled on Pinkie angrily, her head knocking her to her side so she could stand over her. Her tears were so thick Pinkie looked like a pink blob on the grass, but she paid that no mind. “Of course you’re all sick and tired of me! Who’d want to be friends with a Pegasus who… who’s not a Pegasus anymore…”

“Dashy… I wasn’t avoiding you… I was busy planning Fluttershy’s party. Do you know how long it takes to blow up one hundred and thirty seven balloons? I was sooo lightheaded, I mean that part was kind of fun, but BOY were there so MANY balloons and-“ Pinkie trailed off for several moments, the silence weighing heavily. Rainbow couldn’t see what Pinkie was doing until she felt a pair of legs close around her neck, pulling her into a soft hug.

“Pinkie, what are you…?” Rainbow muttered in surprise, but didn’t stop her friend from pulling her down against her in a tight hug, lying with her on the grass. The feel of Pinkie’s soft warm body beneath hers made Rainbow blush, but she didn’t pull away. “Pinkie Pie…”

“I’m sorry Dashy… the party is no excuse… I forgot to keep giving you your hugs.” Pinkie spoke into her ear. “Here’s a superduper hug to make up for it… so please don’t be so sad, okay?”

Rainbow was stunned into silence, unable to speak… so instead she wrapped her own legs around Pinkie’s torso and buried her face against her neck as the sobs began to wrack her body. She felt like such a horrible wreck of a pony. It was so disgusting and humiliating, but Pinkie didn’t laugh, or make fun of her. There was no ridicule in her voice or harshness in her touch. She just held Rainbow in the biggest hug she’d ever received in her life.

While she didn’t normally like hugs in general… this was the best hug ever.

______________________________________________

Dear Princess Celestia

The small Ponyville clinic was barely big enough for all seven ponies, but there was no way they wouldn’t be there for this, the day the bandages would come off and all of Rainbow’s fears would be put to rest… or vindicated. No matter how this day turned out, however, Rainbow Dash took some comfort in seeing her friends all gathered around. Especially Pinkie Pie’s perpetually comforting, and neverending, smile.

I’ve learned that being friends is a lot harder than I initially believed…. Even the best of friends can want to pull away sometimes.

The pair of small scissors slid up Rainbow’s side slowly, opening and closing, slicing carefully through the thick dirty bandages that had been suffocating her for weeks. Rainbow closed her eyes as the scissors did their work, levitated up her body by the doctor’s magic. At last she felt the pressure around her middle give way and she forced her eyes open as she unfurled her wings.

I’m ashamed to say we never realized that when our friends are smiling is when we want to be with them… but when they simply can’t smile is when they need us the most.

Beautiful blue feathered wings caught the morning light from the window. They looked just as thick as ever, casting shadows across her friends, who grinned and gave exclamations of appreciation at the display. Rainbow turned back towards her friends, a bit stunned at first before a grin broke out across her lips. Without warning she charged forward and ducked down, sliding underneath Pinkie Pie to hoist her up onto her back.

“Rainbow!” Twilight exclaimed with a deep blush, but Pinkie Pie only squealed with delight and turned herself to face forward, wrapping her forelegs around Rainbow’s neck. No sooner had she settled into place than Rainbow Dash charged out the front door and leapt into the air. Her wings caught the morning breeze, instantly lifting her into the sky along with her passenger. The others ran out to look, but they were barely more than specks against the sky by the time they emerged.

It’s so hard to keep their friendship alive when they’re so negative, but in the end, when all is said and done, and the sadness has passed… there is no greater reward than seeing your friend smile again.

Rainbow grinned and glanced up above her head to see Pinkie’s forelegs now spread wide against the sky, reaching up to touch the clouds as they passed. Far below the others watched, blushing, but unable to make themselves complain about the untoward display. They could barely be seen in the air anyway… anything that happened up there was between Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, the two closest ponies Twilight Sparkle had ever known.

Incidentally, I think I need to investigate whether the best of friends can perhaps, under special circumstances… become more?

Your faithful student: Twilight Sparkle