One Simple Question

by wonderkid125

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Drama, Original Character, Rainbow Dash, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life
Length: 5664

It's usually the simplest questions that provoke the most thought. Rainbow Dash is about to learn this fact as she sits down and talks with an old enemy.

*Warning, contains heavy spoilers for my previous story Angel of Justice. If you are currently reading it, or plan to read it in the future, please do not read this story until you are finished. If you proceed, you might not understand much of what is going on*

It's usually the simplest questions that provoke the most thought, and as Rainbow Dash is about to find out, the simplest actions might provoke the most interesting questions. After learning that an enemy from her recent past wants to talk to her, she is going to find out that there is a lot that she still doesn't understand about how people act.

Published 2016-08-06 17:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-08-06 17:30:01 UTC

One Simple Question

Another day began in the peaceful land of Equestria. As the sun just started poking its head over the horizon, the earliest risers were already starting to move around the bustling streets of the various towns and cities dotted across the luscious countryside.

While the ponies of Equestria were basking in the fledgling glow of the morning sun, they had one person to thank for the brilliant orb of light that was such a vital part of their lives. Princess Celestia got up early each morning to meet up with her sister so they could let the moon sink beneath the horizon, taking the night with it and ushering in the day.

As the two alicorns stood on a balcony of their shared castle in Canterlot, they finished setting the sun and the moon in their respective trajectories and let their horns dim once more. With a passing moment of rest, the sisters smiled at each other as another day started in their cherished kingdom.

“Well done, Luna,” Celestia said as the blue alicorn started walking away.

Luna paused and turned her head to face her sibling, smiling coyly at the sudden compliment. Rising and setting the moon was a cursory task with how many times she had done it, but it was nice to get some appreciation for it.

“You’re the one who should be getting the praise, Sister. You did such a wonderful job of taking care of my moon while I was… away,” Luna said, some passing hesitance creeping into her voice as she mentioned her own banishment. It felt odd for her to bring it up so casually now that she was home again.

“You always did handle the moon better than me,” Celestia said with a warm expression, which her sister reciprocated.

With their task done, Luna yawned and allowed her head to droop. Normally, she could stay up all day and night if the need arose, but things had been fairly standard as of late, and she had adopted a more lazy sleep schedule.

“Ugh… I still have to file the reports that Glimmer Shine and Tom sent in earlier. I hate doing paperwork… especially when I’m so tired,” Luna sighed and slowly shook her head.

“They finished their missions already? I thought that both of their assignments would take at least a few days to complete,” Celestia lifted her brows in amazement. The latest assignments handed off to the human and the team of monster hunters were no simple tasks if she recalled correctly.

“Well, you know them. They’ve settled in with handling their missions a lot faster than I would have anticipated,” Luna smirked before her expression wilted.

Celestia smiled as she watched her sister struggling to stay awake. “Why don’t you head to bed, Sister? I can handle filing those reports,” She suggested. The blue alicorn seemed surprised by her sister’s sudden generous offer, but she was equally accepting of it.

“Really? Are you sure?” Luna asked in an unimposing manner, to which her sister nodded. “Thank you, Tia… I shall have to make this up to you,” She said, walking away with a bit of warmth behind her drowsy exterior.

Celestia lingered for a moment after her sister left. She stood on the balcony and looked down into the colorful city below, wondering what everypony walking by was doing. As she turned to leave herself, she noticed a guard walking in through the doorway.

The white stallion was one of the regulars around the castle, and he had a piece of paper in his mouth. It was commonplace for daily affairs and messages to be relayed to the princess by a guard, but this guard seemed to have a troubled expression on his face. His manner wasn’t urgent, but whatever he had to tell the white alicorn was obviously bothersome.

“Princess, I have a request for your presence from a prisoner down at Canterlot Penitentiary.” The guard explained in a stoic, if not hesitant, tone of voice.

“A request from a prisoner? What did they want?” Celestia knitted her brows together, a mixture of confusion and curiosity welling up inside her.

“They didn’t specify… they wanted to make a request to you personally,” The guard replied while glancing down at the piece of paper.

Celestia sighed, “You know that I don’t usually listen to requests out of the blue from prisoners.” She said dismissively, expecting the stallion to walk away and have someone else attend to the request. The guard not only remained, but he put the piece of paper down on the floor and scooted it towards her.

“Princess… with all due respect, I really think you will want to take a look at this,” The guard said. He had a telling look to his eyes that suggested he knew something she didn’t, and whatever it was must have been important.

Celestia looked down to the paper and lit her horn to lift it up. As she read over it, nothing out of the ordinary caught her eye. It was a formal report detailing a lot of lengthy wording about the prisoner’s request, which was impressive considering the prisoner hadn’t actually requested anything other than her audience. Just before discarding the paper as another pointless venture, she read over a name that made her pause. After reading the name a few times and looking up to the guard, she immediately knew why he was so insistent on her opinion.

“Raincloud…” Celestia muttered as she looked down in thought. That wasn’t a name she figured she would hear about outside of her own memories in a long time. After the fall of Raven Feather and the defeat of her followers, Raincloud was incarcerated under maximum security for her crimes.

“She was rather insistent on giving her request to you and you alone,” The guard said.

Celestia paused for a moment to think about what to do. While it was true that Raincloud had been a dangerous threat to Equestria, she was also instrumental in the final defeat of Grimwood and the entity that had possessed him. Finally, the alicorn lowered the piece of paper and adopted a more calm expression.

“Have an escort prepared at once. I think I should go see this old acquaintance in person after all,” She turned back to the stallion with a resolute look in her eyes.

“Right away, Princess,” The guard replied with a nod before walking away.

Once the stallion was gone, Celestia turned back to view the city of Canterlot beneath her. She glanced in the general direction of the penitentiary on the edge of the city, a myriad of thoughts swimming through her mind.

It only took the better part of fifteen minutes for the princess and her escort of two guards to walk through town. They wasted no time in entering the prison and doing all of the necessary security checks to make their way inside.

While most would think of a prison as a noisy and terrible place to be, with yelling inmates and dingy conditions, they would be wrong in regards to Canterlot Penitentiary. Most criminals produced by Equestria and incarcerated weren’t very violent, with a few exceptions of course. Instead, most were serving time for petty theft or other minor crimes. Still, the many guards and security measures were there to ensure the inmates kept in line, even though they weren’t stress tested that often.

Celestia and her two escorts walked into a room with a security door. Inside there were a few seats to accommodate visitors, but the main feature of the room was a large window set into the left wall. The window gave a view into another area where a gray table and a single set of chairs sat on opposite ends. Sitting in the chair farthest from the viewing window was a pegasus mare with white hair and a pale bluish-gray fur coat. The alicorn immediately recognized the mare to be Raincloud.

Raincloud had a black and white striped prison uniform on, complete with a white patch on her back that held her identification. She was chained to the table by her hind leg with a small shackle, and she had a small metallic collar on her neck with strange symbols etched into it.

“Raincloud…” Celestia muttered as she drew closer to the window. The gray mare and the guard at the back of the room she was in didn’t pay any attention to the newly arrived alicorn, most likely due to the one-way glass that the window was made out of.

“Are you ready to speak with her, Princess?” One of the guards asked while walking over to the window beside the alicorn. Celestia looked down to see a small panel with an intercom and a button built into the wall underneath the window. Offering a silent nod in response, Celestia looked to the gray mare with a stoic expression as the guard pushed the button and a soft click sounded out.

“Prisoner number three-five-seven, the princess is here to see you,” The guard spoke into the intercom, causing a small echo as his voice carried into the other room. The gray mare and the guard inside of the room looked up as the group made their presence known.

“You know, I have a name,” Raincloud said in a mildly annoyed tone. Even though her voice was slightly distorted from the intercom, simply hearing the gray mare made Celestia’s mind flood with memories.

“Tell me what you want, Raincloud,” Celestia said sternly as she reached up and pressed the button on the intercom.

The gray pegasus in the room shifted in her seat and slumped forward, resting her front legs on the table. “What? No flowers or postcard? I thought you would miss me at least a little bit, Celestia,” Raincloud said with a wry smirk while staring ahead at the glass. Although she couldn’t see the alicorn, she could feel her annoyance from where she was sitting.

“Tell me what you want, or you’ll be lucky if a postcard is all the contact with me you have,” Celestia said with an icy leer.

Raincloud leaned back and chuckled briefly. The shackle around her leg jingled as she tried to reposition. She turned to face the guard in her room with a smart-alecky look on her face. Although the white stallion tried to avoid paying attention to her, she looked at him as though they were about to have a lengthy conversation.

“Man, I feel bad for you guys if this is your boss,” Raincloud said in a hushed tone, though she made sure to make it just loud enough to carry through the intercom.

Celestia huffed in annoyance. If the gray mare thought she could ask her to come see her in person for some unknown request, only to act childish and snarky when she got there, then she had another thing coming.

“Goodbye, Raincloud,” Celestia said into the intercom before turning to her escorts with a frustrated expression. “Come on, we’re leaving,” She added as she started to walk away. The two guards moved to follow her, not even offering a glance behind them at the gray mare in the other room. Before she could reach the door, however, the alicorn was interrupted by the pegasus speaking up.

“I want to see Rainbow Dash,” Raincloud said in a serious tone.

The sudden statement made Celestia pause mid-stride. The alicorn turned and looked into the other room, only to find the gray mare sitting at attention, staring back in her general direction. With curiosity and confusion fueling her, she rushed back over to the window and pressed the button on the intercom.

“What did you just say?” Celestia asked, unable to hide the bewilderment in her voice.

The pegasus smirked briefly as she succeeded in holding the alicorn’s attention. She then shifted back to the serious expression she had before as she leaned forward. “I said I want to see Rainbow Dash… I want to talk to her,” Raincloud repeated earnestly.

Celestia stepped back slightly and stared at the pegasus with a stunned expression. She wondered if she misheard her the first time, or if she was outright imagining things, but one look at the surprise on all of the guards’ faces told her that she heard the gray mare perfectly.

“Why do you want to talk to Rainbow Dash?” Celestia asked, tilting her head curiously.

“That’s for me and her to discuss,” Raincloud replied flatly.

Celestia paused for a moment and looked down in thought before looking back up. The pegasus didn’t seem to have a threatening air about her, so she most likely didn’t want anything bad for Rainbow Dash. Still, the thought of letting the gray mare interact with one of the people she was trying to kill just last month was troubling to the alicorn.

“And why exactly do you think that I will let you anywhere near Rainbow Dash or any of the others after everything you did?” Celestia asked sternly.

Raincloud shifted her expression to a slight leer. She got up from her seat and stepped onto all fours, causing the guard behind her to inch forward. The gray mare walked around the table a short ways before the shackle on her leg restricted her movement and cemented her in place. Despite her lack of movement, she stared ahead with steely resolve.

“I’m going to be in here for the rest of my life… do you think you could humor me this once, considering that you might not have beaten Shade without my help?” Raincloud asked.

Celestia fell silent as she pondered the gray mare’s words. Raincloud had delighted in the suffering of others and helped Raven Feather in her plans to wreak havoc on Equestria, but she had also assisted the group with defeating Shade and restoring peace to the land. But was her sudden and abrupt act of valor enough to warrant a favor this big?

“I’ll see what I can do,” Celestia said in a softer tone before stepping away from the intercom. Raincloud smirked as the group on the other side of the glass walked out of the room. Although she would be going back to her cell, she at least had something to look forward to.

-A few hours later-

Rainbow Dash paused hesitantly as she looked at the door that would lead her into the room where one of her past enemies was sitting. Ever since the princess showed up at her door and told her that she had been requested to meet with the gray mare, a hollow knot had cemented itself in her stomach that lasted from the carriage ride to Canterlot all the way to where she was standing now.

“Rainbow Dash… are you sure you want to do this?”

The cyan mare heard the sound of Celestia’s voice from beside her. She looked over to see the alicorn offering her a concerned expression. “I wouldn’t say what I’m feeling right now could be described as being sure…” Rainbow replied with a nervous titter. She suddenly felt the princess putting a reassuring hoof on her shoulder.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. You aren’t obligated to see her in any way,” Celestia assured.

“No… I’m going in there. I’m curious to hear what she has to say. I mean, why did she pick me out of everypony she could have asked for?” Rainbow Dash gave a puzzled shake of her head.

“I don’t know why she wants to see you either,” Celestia said before shifting to a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll be perfectly safe in there. I’ll be watching you the whole time, and you can leave at any time you want.”

Rainbow Dash sighed and took in a deep breath before turning to the door with a resolute expression.

“Alright… I’m ready,” She said with a hesitant nod.

Nodding in return, Celestia opened the door to the holding room and followed the pegasus inside. Almost immediately, Rainbow Dash glued her eyes to the one-way window and looked inside the other room to see the gray mare sitting at a table. She was immediately hit with many negative memories of her time fighting the hooded ponies, even without the gray pegasus present. Despite her brief experiences with her, seeing Raincloud only made Rainbow Dash frown.

Spotting a door to the side of the window, Rainbow walked towards it. She paused at the door and looked back to see the white alicorn behind her. Celestia stood in front of the window and offered the pegasus a comforting nod to indicate that she would be right there when she got back.

Finally, Rainbow Dash exhaled and turned back to the door. Sucking up any apprehension she felt, she grabbed the handle and pulled it open before stepping inside.

As the door shut behind her with an audible click, Rainbow realized that she was finally in the room. Taking a brief look around yielded nothing but gray walls and floors. The dull looking space only further served to instill a thick feeling of dread inside of her.

The most interesting looking thing, and the source of the most color in the room aside from the ponies themselves, was the window set into the wall, although calling it a window wasn’t very accurate from this side. What was a viewing window on the outside was now merely a mirror, offering a reflection of the room and adding to the feeling that this area was cut off from the outside world.

Panning her head back to the side, Rainbow Dash unexpectedly locked eyes with the gray pegasus as her gaze was drawn to the center of the room. Raincloud was sitting at her table, looking directly at the cyan mare curiously.

Feeling a little twinge of fear inside of her from past experiences with the pegasus, Rainbow Dash looked up to see the guard leaning against the wall behind her. The white stallion was mostly staring ahead and paying little attention to the other ponies in the room, but he briefly turned to look at the cyan mare and flashed a comforting smile that told that he would be ready and willing to protect her from the gray pony should the need arise.

“So… how’ve you been?” Raincloud spoke up in an attempt at breaking the silence in the room. The jingling coming from her leg drew Rainbow Dash’s attention to the shackle linking her to the table. Figuring that she was at least relatively safe, the cyan mare eased up a little and turned her attention to the curiosity of why she was here.

Ignoring the gray mare’s question, Rainbow silently walked over to the chair across from her. She sat down and kept herself in a distant lean to keep herself from being too close to Raincloud. Trying to find something else to talk about, she looked to the collar around the pegasus’ neck.

“What’s that collar for?” Rainbow Dash asked, though she already had a vague idea of what its purpose was.

“It’s to keep me from using Shadow Magic,” Raincloud replied as she gave the collar an uncomfortable tug. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Oh, things have been great since you and your friends haven’t been around summoning monsters and wreaking havoc,” Rainbow Dash’s eyes narrowed into a judgmental stare. The smirk vanished from Raincloud’s face as she saw the cyan mare’s expression practically screaming about how little she wanted to chat.

“Fair enough… I don’t know why I was expecting anything else,” Raincloud said in an indifferent tone. “I guess I should be thankful that you aren’t telling me what you and your friends have been up to.” Her eyes rolled.

“You almost killed me and my friends on multiple occasions… So no, I don’t think small talk would be a good idea,” Rainbow Dash folded her forelegs.

“Almost? I came a bit closer than almost. Hay, Twilight Sparkle would have been dead if I moved a little quicker,” Raincloud said in a more casual manner than her audience would have liked.

“Remind me again why I’m here? I didn’t come all the way to Canterlot to waste time hating every word that comes out of your mouth. I have enough pent-up aggression towards you already, so you don’t need to add to the stock,” Rainbow Dash slumped back against her chair in a huff. She had half a mind to just get up and walk away, but her curiosity was still outweighing her desire to leave and return home so she could forget that today ever happened.

Raincloud looked down uncomfortably as the topic of why the cyan mare was here was brought up. She almost appeared to be embarrassed about speaking up, which was a surprising sight for Rainbow Dash and the alicorn watching through the window. Finally, the gray pegasus looked up with a more serious expression.

“Why did you save me?” Raincloud asked in a sincere tone.

“What?” Rainbow Dash inched forward and tilted her head. The sudden question caught her off guard, and although she had a rough idea about what she was referring to, she still didn’t entirely know what the pegasus was asking.

“Back when we were fighting Raven Feather and the others while they were under Shade’s control… Shadow Mist was about to kill me, and you saved me,” Raincloud explained, her eyes showing the barest hint of guarded curiosity. “I expected Celestia and her lapdogs to at least try to save me… to save face, most likely. But you risked your life and the whole of Equestria to come save me… why did you do it?” She intently observed the cyan mare for any changes in expression.

Rainbow Dash thought back to the event in question with a stunned expression on her face. At the time, she was safely behind a magical barrier with her friends when the gray mare was defeated by her former colleague, Shadow Mist. Although she felt that her reason for rescuing the pegasus was obvious, Rainbow couldn’t imagine why Raincloud was questioning her actions.

“You waited one month, and asked the princess herself to get me in front of you, just so you could ask why I saved you?” Rainbow Dash shook her head in disbelief. Hearing nothing but impatient silence and seeing an expectant expression on Raincloud’s face, she realized that she was being serious.

“Well? Are you going to answer me or not?” Raincloud shifted in place restlessly and gestured with her hooves.

“I can’t believe this… Do you really not know? I just saved you because you needed help,” Rainbow Dash answered plainly.

An agitated growl simmered in Raincloud’s throat. “You were supposed to stay safe with the other elements of harmony! You could have died and screwed things up for all of us by pulling that stunt! You’re telling me you did it… because you cared enough for me to rescue me?” She squinted, her head bobbing as if she didn’t even want to put the energy into shaking it for such a ridiculous notion.

“Is it really that hard for you to imagine that ponies can treat each other with kindness and respect without expecting anything in return?” Rainbow Dash lifted her brows. The sincere confusion in Raincloud’s voice and expression almost made the cyan mare feel bad for her.

“Nopony does something like that without a reason… not some fuzzy friendship malarky,” Raincloud said in a low tone, eyes narrowed at the shocked look the cyan mare was giving her.

“Yeah, well that ‘fuzzy friendship malarky’ saved your life. Your shadow magic didn’t do you much good after you got decked,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Screw you. I don’t need you or your friends thinking you’re better than me, because you’re not,” Raincloud said with an icy glare before scrunching up her face in disgust. “Friends don’t make you better… If anything, they’re just a waste of time,” She added with an agitated snort. Her response and genuine distaste for friendship was surprising and disconcerting to the cyan mare.

“Oh my gosh… do you seriously not have any friends?” Rainbow Dash asked in a stunned, almost concerned tone. She had heard Raincloud talking about having no friends before, but she thought she was lying or exaggerating.

The gray pegasus leaned back and folded her forelegs before looking away briefly. When she looked back, she had a hint of sadness mixed into her constant glare. “My brother is dead… Raven Feather is dead… and everyone I associated with for the past several years is either dead, in jail, or hiding with their tails tucked between their legs. So, no… I don’t have any friends.”

Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment as she was reminded that every person in the gray mare’s social circles was gone. It must have been horrible for her. Even though she didn’t like the wonders of friendship, or positive relationships in general, it was still a lonely place she was in.

“What about before? Did you have friends before you met Raven Feather?” Rainbow Dash asked while shaking off the hesitant feeling she had. She half expected the gray mare to admit that she was a sociopath even as a child, and judging from the expression she was getting from the pegasus, she might not have been far off.

“I met Raven Feather in my early teens, and before that, everypony I knew other than Dust Kicker was an asshole… my parents included,” Raincloud explained, her face wrinkling angrily as she thought back to her past.

“Yeesh… What happened to you? I mean, I know schoolyard bullies can be really bad at times, and some parents aren’t the best at parenting… but everypony you knew?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“You know what happened to me… I only ever had one true friend in my entire life, and he’s the one who made my life turn upside-down, ironically,” Raincloud said, a frown crossing her features as she looked to the floor beside her, almost expecting to see something that wasn't there.

“Oh… your shadow,” Rainbow Dash said as she caught on to what the gray mare was talking about. She still couldn’t get the jagged smile, glowing eyes, and wicked laughter of Raincloud’s pet shadow out of her head.

“I found out about him when I was just a filly. He never showed up like he did when you guys saw him… Raven Feather showed me how to use him like that. It started out as things happening around me… house keys going missing, drinks getting switched for something else, tacks showing up on chairs. After a while, ponies who teased me or laughed at me would trip or have something pinch them when they walked through my shadow. Before long, everyone at school gave me the nickname that would stick with me for the better part of my childhood... the girl with the bad-luck shadow,” Raincloud air quoted with her hooves before deflating back against her chair.

Rainbow Dash was surprised to see the gray mare frowning and looking down sadly. After hearing about such a horrible experience, she figured that the pegasus would be glad that all of that was over, but somehow she seemed gloomy and downcast.

“You know… even though he caused me so much pain, I still miss him,” Raincloud admitted softly, still not making eye contact with her fellow pegasus. “When I was little, I would talk to him and tell him about all of my secrets… He could only talk to me in my head, but I still told my parents and Dust about him like he was a real person,” She gave a hollow chuckle.

“Miss him? He isn’t there anymore?” Rainbow Dash asked in a confused tone. Even if the collar around her neck could suppress her shadow, it should have still been with her.

“He never came back after Shade blasted the hay out of him. I think it actually destroyed him,” Raincloud said. She wiped her eyes on a foreleg and returned a guarded scowl to her face to hide her sadness before turning back to the cyan mare.

“I’m sorry… I had no idea your life was so rough,” Rainbow Dash frowned. Much to her surprise, she heard the gray mare audibly revolt at her show of empathy.

“Don’t say you’re sorry for me. Your sympathy won’t make anything better,” Raincloud stated.

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed as she internalized a sigh. “Right… sorry. I forgot who I was talking to for a minute there.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Raincloud asked with a slight glare.

“What do you mean ‘what’s that supposed to mean?’ Are you kidding me?!” Rainbow Dash shot up from her seat. “Your childhood was really messed up, and you have every right to be vulnerable or sad or depressed even. But you’re not! You’re… you’re just a jerk who expects the world to be just as cold and miserable as you! You can’t even wrap your head around me saving your life for Celestia’s sake!” She fumed, eliciting a stunned silence to fall over the gray mare.

After taking a moment to calm down, Rainbow breathed in and out before sitting again. Raincloud was still staring at her with her mouth agape in shock, and Celestia most likely was too behind the reflective window. Even the guard at the back of the room was putting his full attention on her.

“You wanted to know why I saved you, and I’ve told you. I don’t care if you don’t understand it… I don’t care if you don’t want to accept it, but that’s how it is. I believe that ponies are good-natured, and they deserve the same care and respect that you should receive from them. If you want people to treat you better, then maybe you should try being nice to them for once in your life,” Rainbow Dash said. She leaned back and stared through the gray mare, her eyes resolute.

Raincloud didn’t reply for a moment. She shifted her eyes back and forth in thought before they finally softened and her ears drooped. “I… I’m not sure if I can.” She admitted.

Surprised at the genuine look of uncertainty on the pegasus’ face, Rainbow’s mouth inched into a frown briefly before she gave the matter some thought. “Stop thinking that ponies will automatically hate you… although, to be fair you are kind of an infamous criminal now,” She chuckled nervously. “Here, why don’t you practice on me? Say something nice to me.”

“Oh, come on…” Raincloud muttered in annoyance, her forelegs folding as she looked away.

“Hey, you’re the one who can’t form friendships on your own. Do you want my help or not? Because I can easily just get up and walk through that door,” Rainbow Dash said in a serious manner. The gray mare looked back at her, only to receive a raised eyebrow and a sincere expression.

“Grrr…” Raincloud growled under her breath before realizing that she was actually struggling to find something organically nice to say. She looked like a cold sweat was starting to form. “Uh… umm… I like your hair?” She half-cringed half-smiled.

Rainbow Dash looked back at the gray mare with an expression as still as stone. The two ponies stared at each other while trying to remain serious. Suddenly, the corners of their mouths started twitching as they held back a giggle. As they noticed each other trying to refrain from breaking, they both burst out into laughter at the same time.

“Pfft-hahah!” Rainbow Dash and Raincloud both leaned back in their chairs, snorting and holding their sides as they shared a hearty laugh. As they recomposed themselves and recovered, they looked at each other for a brief moment before realizing what just happened.

While Rainbow Dash looked surprised at the gray mare’s cheerful outburst, Raincloud shifted her eyes to the floor, her expression wrinkling uncomfortably. She seemed to be heavily embarrassed and disgusted by letting her guard down like that, and now she was trying her best to avoid contact with the cyan mare. Still, Rainbow saw that her laughter and smile were genuine, if only for a brief moment.

A few moments passed by with nothing being said. As time went on, the pair quickly realized that they didn’t have much else to say to each other. Deciding that it was time for her to leave, Rainbow Dash got up from her chair and stepped around the table.

“I think I should get going now,” Rainbow said. Surprisingly enough, she was a little hesitant to leave. Even though she was still at odds with the gray pegasus, she felt a slight twinge of understanding as she looked at her.

“Right… I wouldn’t want to interrupt your busy schedule,” Raincloud nodded while returning a stoic expression to her face.

Rainbow Dash walked to the door and paused for a moment before opening it. She turned and looked at the gray mare one last time before closing the door and walking away. Now Raincloud was left with nothing but her thoughts and the guard behind her as company.

“Looks like you made a new friend,” The guard smirked as he noted the slight smile on the gray mare’s face.

Raincloud immediately scowled out of instinct while turning to face the stallion. “Shut it,” She gave an agitated glare before folding her forelegs and grumbling to herself.

Still, as she turned to look back at the door, she found her expression lightening up a little as she briefly entertained the thought of seeing the cyan mare again. She quickly shook these thoughts from her mind and returned her usual expression of pensive annoyance to her face while leaning back against her chair and waiting for the guard to take her back to her cell.