Rainbow Dash. That name was known all across the nation, Equestria, as the bravest, best flying, most daring mare, the element of Loyalty, one who could never be put down by anything! They knew this because that's what she showed them, how she played herself off to be, but what she felt on the inside, was something that nopony would ever expect, because she always played a smile, a fake smile. This smile had been played so many times, that even Pinkie Pie believed that they were genuine. The pegasus thought she had everypony fooled, that she could now do what she wanted without anypony noticing. However, the one mare she didn't expect to find out about the falseness she had plastered across her face and name, was the one that saved her life, but barely, just barely.
Rainbow Dash landed on her doorstep, then walked slowly into her cloud home, closing her wings as she did so, and tossing her Wonderbolt duffel bag and jacket onto her couch,"Finally, Wonderbolt stuff is finished till spring." she said flatly, her imitation smile finally able to return to her authentic frown, and her expression from a hoax of happiness, to a blank one, with a blank mind. Following she went to her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed, for she was exhausted from the two shows she had to put on today, one being the Wonderbolt show, and the other having to act like the happy, self-confident mare she had shown everypony since she moved to Ponyville. However nowadays she was asking herself another question along with the several she'd been asking herself over the past ten years, Why'd you put yourself out there like that? You could've been like Fluttershy and stayed hidden, quiet, and unknown.
The depressed pegasus stayed in her home the rest of the day, that question echoing, piercing through her head like a bullet, while she stared at either the ceiling, her pillow, or out the window at the breathtaking, lava like sunset. One that would make a normal pony stop and watch for a while, until Celestia set the sun to rest for the night, and Luna raised the moon, to let her version of the light glisten for everypony to see until they drifted into sleep, most not waking until the morning came. Rainbow however, was not a normal pony, and she only saw that sunset as a reminder that the day was now ending, and she would struggle through another restless night of crying herself to sleep, only to not be welcomed by pleasant and peaceful dreams, but horrific nightmares of her going through excruciating pain and agony, until she found her dreams to end in the one thing this mare did call 'peaceful', death. Those nightmares of course, only came when she actually could find a moment of rest, if you could call it 'rest' anyway. Most of time however, she spent every dreadful night laying in bed or sitting in the shower, lost in thought, while crystal clear tears fell from her magenta eyes, and onto the shower floor or her crimson white sheets.
The same routine for this pegasus continued for the next week, the routine she had been repeating for ten years, maybe more, of waking up, if she'd slept at all, possibly eating, though the chance of that was slim as well, and going through whatever adventure life had planned for her, while she covered her tears and frown with a false, played smile, the same one she had finally gotten everypony to believe was real, genuine, the one she always used to show that she was 'happy'. However, one mare had seen through it, had seen that she was upset, but she didn't know what about, but she was determined to, no matter what the cost may be,
"Are you okay?", Fluttershy asked walking up to Rainbow, who was simply strolling through town, which was not like her, she flew everywhere she went, she never walked, never.
"...Huh?", Rainbow finally asked in response, having not heard her soft spoken friend from being so deeply lost in thought, she had even dropped her smile, and held a straight face, which had made it clear to other ponies other than just Fluttershy, that something had clearly gotten Rainbow Dash under the weather.
"I said, are you okay?", She repeated still in a sweet, soft voice, but concern had begun to rise in that voice, and this worried the cyan pegasus, because she didn't know how she was going to be able to convince her friend that she was okay, happy, and get her off her tail, so she could continue to keep anypony from ever finding out about the real her.
"Yep! I'm perfectly okay!" She lied, quickly painting a smile onto her face.
"Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything, and if you're upset, then I want to know so I can help you and make you happy again." Rainbow knew that Fluttershy was not going to get off her case, and she needed to make up something, something believable, to get her suspicion back to zero.
"Well......I guess I am a little upset that there isn't anymore Wonderbolt shows until spring, but hey! I get to chillax with my friends all winter, and not freeze up there in the sky! Right?" Rainbow said in the most cheerful tone she could force out of her. Though a second long spark of happiness hit her when her friend giggled,
"Right, no need to be upset about that!"
Rainbow gave another smile, actually happy that she got her friend off her trail, but the happiness didn't last long at all, she gave her goodbye to Fluttershy, and flew off, heading back to her home so she could release that day's worth of tears and pain, and hoped that she could get a good sleep that night, but she knew it was simply hopeless.
After the cyan pegasus had taken off in flight, Fluttershy began to think, Was she really okay? She didn't seem like it... I think I need to investigate more on this. I know Dashie, and this is *not** her. I need to find out why she's upset though....but how?* How, was the one question in Fluttershy's head, how was she going to get her rainbow-maned friend back to her normal self. How was she going to find out what was wrong with her, and how was she going to be able to ask,'Are you okay?' and get a real answer?
