"And so you see, we had to do this. Not just for Rainbow Dash, but for everyone in Ponyville. It was only a matter of time before somepony got hurt due to Rainbow's negligence."
As Twilight cheerfully explained to the citizens of Ponyville about Mare-Do-Well and their reasons behind it, she and the others on stage failed to notice Rainbow Dash at the far right, who, despite smiling herself, was looking significantly uncomfortable.
For a moment, the crowd was silent. Then, one mare raised her hoof. "So... you all did this just to get your friend to tone down her bragging?"
"Exactly."
The mare's face twisted into confused disbelief. "Um...that's....that's kinda overkill, doncha think?"
Several ponies in the crowd nodded in agreement.
Twilight smiled faded slightly. "I admit...it was a bit unorthodox, but-"
"Ha! 'Unorthodox.' That's one way of putting it." Bon Bon muttered, though everypony could hear her.
"Oh come on, Bon." Lyra spoke up. "It's not like anypony died. And we all know how stubborn Dash can be. If she didn't listen to them the first time, it's highly unlikely that talking to her again would work."
At this Twilight began to look very uncomfortable. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie shared nervous glances. Rainbow Dash just stared at the ground.
Lyra furrowed her brows. "Wait...you guys did try to talk to her first, right?"
They didn't answer. They didn't have to.
Lyra threw up her hooves in exasperation. "Seriously?! You didn't even try? You just immediately jumped to, 'let's put on a costume and pretend to be superhero'?! What sane pony does that?!"
The crowd grumbled in agreement.
Applejack marched up to the podium and said, "Look, what does it even matter? The point is, it worked."
"Umm.....no it didn't." said a stallion in the back. "In fact you kinda made things worse."
"That's preposterous!" Rarity said pompously. "How on Earth did we make things worse?"
"Where have you been?" Roseluck shouted angrily. "Ever since Mare-Do-Well showed up, Rainbow Dash's behavior became more and more erratic! She went from bragging to full on crazy! She became absolutely desperate for attention!"
"Oh come on, now." Applejack said. "Ah'm pretty sure y'all are exaggeratin' just a bit."
"Darlin', she picked me up an' flew me across th' street, without even askin' if Ah needed help." Granny Smith deadpanned.
"She mowed my lawn without even asking permission first." One stallion grumbled. "And she did a crummy job, too."
"She tried to get praise for opening a jar." One unicorn mare stated, glaring at the five ponies near the podium. "If that's not desperate, I don't know what is."
The five mares on stage just stood there, stunned. This was not what they were expecting at all.
"You know, earlier today I saw Rainbow Dash sitting on a cloud." Scootaloo said, pulling off her Mare-Do-Well hat. "She looked...sad. And the cloud was gray...and stormy." Scootaloo's frowned deepened. "I....think you guys hurt her feelings."
The five ponies reeled back as if struck, then turned to look at their friend. Rainbow Dash was sitting on her hind corners, hunched down and facing away from the audience. Her tail was wrapped around her body and her wings were pressed tightly against her sides.
The girls' hearts broke at the sight. They had never seen their friend look so dejected.
"So just to recap," Bon Bon spoke up. "Instead of talking to your friend, you went behind her back and plotted to humiliate her to get her to stop bragging. And instead, it made her crazy jealous and act even worse. And only after you revealed yourselves and told her why you did this did she get the message."
"I...We-"
"Which means if you had talked to her from the very beginning, this whole thing could have been avoided." Lyra added.
"We just-"
"So basically, your whole plan was one giant waste of time, and you put your friend through the wringer for nothing!" Bon Bon concluded angrily.
"We only wanted to-"
"And not only that, but you guys dragged her out here, to your party, and made her sit there while you pretty much just tell us what a bad pony she is." yelled a mare from the crowd, pointing her hoof at Dash. "Sweet Celestia! With friends like you, who need enemies?"
Twilight covered her mouth with her hoof, feeling absolutely sick.
"Come on, let's get out of here." A stallion said, his voice thick with disgust. "I don't know about you, but I've had enough Mare-Do-Well to last a lifetime."
One by one the ponies removed their Mare Do Well paraphernalia, and the crowd parted.
Mayor Mare, who had been silent the whole time Twilight had been speaking, slowly shook her head at the group in disappointment, and she too walked away.
Only the six friends remained. Twilight slowly approached Rainbow Dash, who had not moved the entire time.
"Dash....I....we didn't mean to....we only wanted to.......Dash?"
"..........you laughed at me."
Twilight was shocked, not just a Rainbow speaking for the first time since they came onstage, but how.....broken her voice sounded.
"That day....at Sugarcube corner.....I went to you for support....and you all laughed at me."
Rainbow turned her head, and Twilight struggled not to flinch at the sorrow that radiated from them. She also noticed that Rainbow's eyes were slightly red, and her cheeks.........she had been crying this whole time.
All five ponies' ears flattened. This was not what they had wanted.
Without another word, Rainbow spread her wings and flew up. Up, up....until she could no longer be seen.
Twilight's hind legs gave out as everything began t sink in.
"Guys?" Pinkie Pie spoke, after a long moment of silence. "I think we done goofed."
Author's Note
Yeah, I know. I should finish one fic before I start another.
But this had been swirling around in my head for a long time and I got tired of obsessing about it.
I promise I will update "Canterlot Friendship" as soon as possible.
"Dash? Dash, please let us in."
It had been an entire week since the day of the Mare-Do-Well celebration, and Rainbow Dash had refused to set foot outside her cloud house. Her friends had been willing to give her time to calm down before trying to talk to her, but when they realized that she had even stopped showing up for work, they decided to intervene.
"Go away." came Rainbow's dejected voice from inside.
"Dash, everypony is worried about you." Twilight called. "They haven't seen you in a week. And the clouds are starting to build up. The other weather ponies can't keep up. I understand that you're mad at us." Twilight's voice broke slightly. "But please.....don't let other ponies suffer because of it."
There was a pause, and then a deep sigh, and the door opened.
The girls visibly flinched at Rainbow's appearance. She obviously had not been sleeping well.
"I'm not mad." Rainbow said wearily. "I just....I don't understand." She raised her head to look them in the eye. "Why didn't you just talk to me? Did you really think I wouldn't listen?"
The girls averted their eyes. They couldn't answer.
Rainbow smiled bitterly. "Wow. My own friends don't trust me to listen to them. I really am a jerk."
"Rainbow, no!" Fluttershy cried, horrified. "We don't think you're a jerk! We just...wanted you to look at the bigger picture."
"We just wanted you to remember what was important." Applejack added. "Savin' ponies. What ya set out ta do in the first place."
"You obviously didn't think I was doing a good job." Rainbow said sadly. "You said so yourself, 'A hero doesn't brag.'"
Applejack winced, her ears flattening against her head. "Maybe I shoulda phrased that better. It's okay ta be proud a' what ya do, sugarcube, so long as it don't go ta yer head."
Rainbow bit her lip, contemplating what to say next, then said, "The thing is....I didn't know what you were trying to say. I just thought Mare-Do-Well was trying to stand me up. And that day at Sugarcube Corner...." She lowered her eyes. "It felt as though you were choosing Mare-Do-Well over me."
Rainbow wiped her eyes. "That's what really hurt. Losing my popularity was one thing. But losing my friends, too?"
"You didn't lose us, darling." Rarity interjected. "And we're so sorry. We never intended to hurt you."
"That was the last thing we wanted." Twilight added, and the others nodded in agreement.
There was silence for a moment, and then Rainbow sighed. "You guys really hurt me."
Twilight nodded sadly. "We know."
Another long pause. Then Dash continued. "I really wanted to be mad at you. But...then I kept thinking about everything. I mean really thinking." She ran a hoof through her messy mane. "That day...when I was signing autographs....that pony could've gotten hurt, or worse, because I was so distracted.
"And then when I was in the river...you pulled that branch so I could pull myself up. And you never really tried to stop me from saving ponies. You just...showed up, saved the day, and then left.
"And even when I was chasing you....you purposefully lead me to alley, didn't you? You wanted to lead me away from the crowd, so I wouldn't be humiliated.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is....you guys messed up, but...I messed up, too."
Twilight took a timid step forward. "So.....bygones?" She raised a hopeful hoof.
Rainbow sighed, then gave a weary smile. "Yeah....bygones." She touched a hoof to Twilight's.
"YAAAAAAAAY!!!!" Pinkie Pie leapt forward and squeezed Rainbow's neck, hard. "We're friends again!"
Rainbow's face turned red. "Pinkie....can't.....breathe......"
Dear Princess Celestia,
We all learned two lessons today.
The first, is that it's okay to be proud of your accomplishments. It's even okay to brag about it once in a while. But you shouldn't let your pride get in the way of what's important.
The second, is that even if you have good intentions, it doesn't mean your actions are the right ones to take. Sometimes those actions can make things worse, and you can up hurting the people you care about.
Nonetheless, if your friendship is strong, you can overcome any obstacle.
Yours faithfully and loyally,
Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash
Author's Note
Yeah, that's all I'm gonna do.
And YES, I am VERY AWARE of "28 Pranks Later" being a rehash of "Mysterious Mare-Do-Well"
And guess what, IT STILL SUCKS!!!! (Morally at least. The visuals and the zombie apocalypse concept were awesome.)
Let the hate come forward.
