Dash's Dilemma

Dash's Dilemma

Rainbow Dash woke up, sweating, panting, eyes wide open and pupils reduced to miniscule dots. She patted various parts of her body to ensure she was intact, then breathed a sigh of relief before falling back onto her bed. Moments of her dream - roars loud enough to shake the earth below her, screams of terror and loud crashes - reverberated through her mind as she attempted to fall asleep once again. A hoof shot up to her forehead as she groaned, unable to shake the visions out of her mind.

She turned to her side and looked out of her window, a small hole in the wall of her cloud-house. She could see a few of the stars in the night sky, even past all of the dark clouds pouring water onto the ground below. A distant flash of lightning and the accompanying thunder a few moments later brought back images from the dream she had woken from just seconds earlier.

Deciding she'd had enough, she opened her bedside table and placed two gray pills onto the back of her tongue. She reached for the ever-present glass resting on the top of the table and poured water down her throat, forcing the pills down with it. Her head plopped back down onto her pillow, her frown easing up as she drifted into a dreamless slumber.

Rainbow Dash knocked on the door of Ponyville's library, eager to get her day started. She heard a muffled thud and some grumbling before the door in front of her opened, a small, purple dragon rubbing his head and saying something about turnips. Rainbow peeked over the dragon's shoulder, looking for the librarian within.

"Hey Spike, whatcha up to?" she asked, not actually caring about whatever it was he was doing with turnips.

"Oh, you know," Spike said as he waved a claw around nonchalantly, before replacing it onto his forehead. "Just reorganizing the books."

Rainbow nodded and looked back into the library. "So Spike, is Twilight in?"

The dragon looked down at the ground and frowned for a split second, before looking back up with his usual, neutral expression. He didn't say anything, simply nodding and stepping aside to let the pegasus in. It was normal for Spike to act that way: those who came to the library were either there for books, or for Twilight. Any time they talked to him was just for common courtesy, not actual conversation. At least, that's the only reason Rainbow could come up with.

The pegasus looked around in the main room for a second before spotting the resident librarian, half-hidden by a pile of books. The unicorn set down a particularly large book before turning to her visitor. Upon noticing it was Rainbow Dash, she ran into another room before returning just a few seconds later, saddle bags on her back.

"Ready to go, Twilight?" Rainbow asked, excited about the day ahead of her.

"Um, yeah, lemme just..." Twilight ran into her kitchen and hastily prepared two daffodil sandwiches, holding one in her mouth and levitating one over to Rainbow. "Ver, leff go."

Rainbow grabbed the sandwich and took a large bite, realising she hadn't eaten before flying down to collect Twilight. She looked up and noticed the sun hanging high in the sky above her. Huh, she thought, maybe I should take one pill next time...

Spike watched the two mares walk into the distance from a window on the ground floor. He shook his head, sighed, and hopped away from the glass, dutifully returning to his chores.

"But really, a yay-you're-better-now-so-now-we-can-party party? That name on its own would make Pinkie Pie proud."

Rainbow Dash smiled smugly and puffed out her chest at Twilight's praise. "Yeah, it is a pretty Pinkie-ish name, isn't it?"

Twilight held a hoof to her mouth and giggled, watching the rows of apple trees on the sides of the dirt path to Sweet Apple Acres. "You know..."

Rainbow looked over at Twilight and raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe after the party, you and I could..." her voice trailed off and she bumped her flank against Rainbow's. Rainbow blinked a few times, expecting Twilight to finish her sentence. It really wasn't like her to just stop talking all of a sudden like that.

"We could..." Rainbow flicked her hoof at Twilight, encouraging her to finish so she could finally figure out what she had in store for her after the party.

The unicorn just facehoofed, uttering a "nevermind" and wondering when they would finally arrive at their destination.

As if the world had heard her thoughts and sped up time to end the awkwardness that hung over the two, she found herself looking straight at the Apple family's house, just under a hundred yards away. Twilight idly began to wonder how she'd gotten so close to the house without noticing it.

It didn't take long to finally reach the door, and Rainbow Dash lifted her hoof and pounded on it, shaking off a little bit of dust in the process.

Apple Bloom opened the door for them a few seconds later, wearing some kind of bright red unitard. Knowing that asking about it would just result in a whole lot of other questions and a headache, Rainbow decided to act as if she hadn't even noticed it.

"Are ya here for the party?" the foal asked, looking back at a table covered in all sorts of apple-based treats.

Rainbow and Twilight simply nodded and walked in. Twilight went over and stuffed her bags full of food, not using her magic on account of a bet the two had made: she couldn't use magic for anything other than experiments, and Rainbow couldn't practice and stunt flying. First one to cave has to be the other's personal maid for an entire month.

Of course, being the other's maid wasn't that big a deal; she helped Twilight clean and reorganise the library a whole lot already, and Twilight cleaned up Rainbow's cloud house on a weekly basis. It was more of a humiliation factor that got the two going: both knew that if they lost, they would be forced to wear a maid outfit everywhere they went, and neither of them would be caught dead looking like that. Granted, both of them lost the bet just about every day, but they were at least trying.

Twilight's idle thoughts and revelation about the bet ended as she noticed her bags were stuffed full of treats, and she looked back at her companion. Rainbow, meanwhile, just noticed a particularly delicious-looking half of a pie resting on a table near the wall.

"Hey Apple Bloom, can me and Twi have some of that pie?" Hehe, that rhymes.

Apple Bloom looked at the pie, then at Rainbow, and then at the pie again. She thought for a moment and looked back at Rainbow. "Well, alright, but only one slice. The rest is for... uh..." she tapped a hoof against her chin, gazing up at the ceiling as if divining some unremarkable excuse from the wood above her. "... mah cutie mark?" Apple Bloom smiled as genuinely as she could, but with her being the Element of Honesty's sister, failed miserably.

Rainbow gave the obviously fake excuse little thought and, deciding a rebuttal would only send the little foal into defensive denial, took a slice, thanking her before heading back to Ponyville. She offered Twilight a bite, who refused, saying something along the lines of 'that sandwich was just so filling, mmmmmm!' that Rainbow tuned out, focusing her attention onto the tantalizing slice once again.

Applejack was walking along the dirt path back to her house, ready to drop off her apples and take a much-needed lunch break. She spotted Rainbow Dash walking towards her, the former's saddlebags full with what she assumed were her contributions to Pinkie's party.

"Hey there, Rainbow," she greeted her friend, who stopped talking to look at Applejack, not having noticed her before. "Howdy, Twilight."

"Hey Applejack!" the pegasus said.

"Ah see ya got all the food with ya?" It wasn't really a question so much as a statement, but Applejack was never one hundred percent sure about most things involving Rainbow.

"Yup! We were just heading off to Rarity's for the decorations."

"Y-Yeah, and, ugh..." Twilight was shaking on her hooves, breathing heavier than normal. "These are kinda heavy..."

Rainbow and Twilight were too busy trading bags to notice the frown on Applejack's face. But just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, replaced with her semi-smile she always wore after working hard.

"Anyways, Ah gotta get back ta the farm. See ya later, Rainbow."

The two mares headed off to Ponyville once again, not hearing Applejack's mumbling as they started up a new conversation.

"Rarity? You in there?" Rainbow called, having knocked on the boutique's door twice already.

"Oh? Is that you, Rainbow?" a voice asked from within. "Come in! The door's unlocked!"

Rarity was hunched over a large sheet of purple fabric, placing templates all across its surface to be cut out later. The whole place was a mess: gems were scattered on a nearby table, scissors and measuring tapes and other tools were thrown all across the floor, and materials were piled in heaps all around the room. Dash quickly recognised Rarity's typical 'organised mess' she had whenever there was a big order to be filled or she had no ideas for any dresses.

"So yeah, me and Twilight are here to pick up the decorations." Rainbow scanned the room as she talked, looking for streamers and balloons. She also noticed Rarity scowl for a moment before relaxing it into her usual concentrated frown. Ugh, she STILL doesn't like us being together? It's been what, six months already? How can she still be so... bleh about it?

"You do have them, right?"

"Yes, of course!" Rarity got up from her workplace and led Rainbow into another room, which, unlike the other, was completely clean and organised.

Well, except for the stack of furniture that supported a foal, reaching for a bright blue fabric on one of the higher shelves. The leaning tower of furniture collapsed and, thankfully, didn't knock down anything, save the foal standing on top of the once-mighty stack. She got up and brushed herself off, noticing her sister and guest.

She cleaned up the furniture as best she could and walked over. She glanced at Rainbow and looked to her sister, who blinked twice, and then turned back to Rainbow.

"Um, hey Rainbow!"

And with that, she was off.

"What was all that about?" Rainbow asked, filling up her bags with balloons and streamers and confetti and other typical party decorations.

Rarity just waved a hoof around, sauntering back into her work room. "Oh, don't worry about her. She's just being... herself."

When Rainbow finished stuffing her bags, she headed back into the other room and found Rarity trying to fix a pair of broken scissors. Twilight was waiting next to the doorway, and opened it once the pegasus was close enough.

"I'm tellin' you, Twi. She gave me this... look when she saw us together," Rainbow complained, making a face for emphasis.

"Oh, come on, Rainbow. She was probably just stressing out over her work again. You know how she gets sometimes."

"Well, yeah, but still. Applejack and Fluttershy do it sometimes, too!"

"Oh, they do?" Twilight was interested now. She cocked her head to one side and raise an eyebrow, leaning in slightly to make sure she wouldn't miss anything.

"Yeah! One time, Fluttershy almost shot up into the air when she saw us! Sure, she was kinda half-asleep, but still! Usually she just, I dunno..." Rainbow trailed off, losing her train of thought momentarily.  "Anyways, I mean... We've been together for a while now, how are they not used to it?"

"Well, Rainbow... Applejack was raised believing a mare and a stallion was the only natural way to go for her entire life, so of course it would take her longer to get used to the idea of two mares being together."

"But-" Rainbow was trying to convince Twilight that their friends didn't like their relationship, not get lectured on why they shouldn't like it.

"And as for Fluttershy, she's just too..." she waved a hoof around, thinking of a good word to use. "...Fluttershy to be used to two of her friends in a relationship. Just give them some time, they'll come around."

Rainbow sighed. She knew what Twilight said made sense, but still. It shouldn't take six months to get used to it. Especially since they all supported Lyra and Bon-Bon in their first month together. "Yeah... I guess..."

It was then that Rainbow noticed how many passerby were giving them funny looks or trying to avoid looking at them altogether. Rainbow wasn't mad at them, just confused. Lots of the ponies that were gawking at them hung out with Lyra and Bon-Bon, and some of them were fillyfoolers themselves! Did being an Element of Harmony change that or something? That seemed to be the only logical explanation.

The two mares arrived at Sugarcube Corner, which was empty save for Mrs. Cake at the counter and a stallion leaving with a bag of goodies in his mouth.

"Hey, Mrs. Cake. I got everything!" Rainbow asked, noticing the emptiness of the shop. The lack of Pinkie Pie's free samples on the streets really brought down the shop's business.

"Oh, yes, dearie. Let me just close up so you can get everything ready." And with that, Mrs. Cake headed outside and hung up the closed sign on the door. She poked her head in and nodded to Rainbow before leaving once again, shutting the door behind her as she headed off to wherever with her husband.

Rainbow and Twilight spilled the contents of their bags onto the floor and started setting everything up.

It was pitch black in Sugarcube Corner, and the only sound to be heard was the faint ticking of a clock hung high up on the wall. The mares inside had gotten news that Pinkie was released just two minutes ago, and had waited patiently for the guest of honour to arrive.

Tick.

An orange earth pony shuffled a little bit, trying to scoot away from the prissy white unicorn next to her.

Tick.

The 'prissy' white unicorn twitched her tail; it had almost been dipped into the punch bowl, and punch was something she did not want anywhere near it.

Tick.

A blue pegasus was starting to get impatient, only to be relaxed by the purple unicorn at her side. The latter was annoyed by the incessant noise-making clock, and glared at where she thought it was in the darkness.

Tick.

A yellow pegasus was getting frightened, alone in the dark. At least, as alone as one could be when ten feet away from a friend. Still, she was the only one with nopony directly next to her, and she was starting to get nervous.

Tick.

A pink earth pony poked the yellow pegasus, asking why it was so dark. The yellow pegasus let out a loud "Eep!" and jumped away, crashing into the orange earth pony. The earth pony was caught off-guard and backed up, only to bump into the white unicorn, causing her to tail to dip into the punch.

Tick.

Noticing her tail was wet, the unicorn shot forward in an attempt to avoid the defiling liquid, only to land face-first on the lightswitch.

The lights shot on, and the ponies present each lifted a hoof to cover their eyes. After a few seconds, they all looked at what all the commotion was about. There was Rarity, a bit of punch dripping from the tip of her tail, and Applejack, trying not to laugh at Rarity for getting so surprised. Fluttershy turned from Pinkie Pie to look at what she'd caused, and quickly pulled her mane over her face to hide. Pinkie was busy eating a muffin, wondering why her friends were looking at her so funny.

"What," was all Pinkie said, as if it were a magic word for them all to stop acting so weird. Of course, it didn't work. In fact, it had done the opposite of its intended effect, as her friends rushed forward and trapped her in the middle of a group hug.

Fluttershy was crying onto her shoulder, breathing out half-words in between sobs. Pinkie didn't know why Fluttershy was crying, but pat her on the head a few times and went back to eating her muffin. Her friends knew not to question how she'd gotten in or how she'd managed to sneak over to Fluttershy without being heard, and so they all went straight from sappy hugging to partying in a matter of seconds.

Rainbow pulled Twilight aside, leaning in close to discuss something with her. "Hey, Twilight. You see Applejack and Pinkie over there?"

Twilight looked over to the ponies in question. They were sitting near the staircase, Pinkie leaning in close, talking about something. "Yeah? What about 'em?"

"Well, what do you think they're talking about?"

"I don't know, why?"

"Look at them, they look like they're whispering about something. What if they're talking about us?"

"Oh, quit being so paranoid. I bet they're exchanging baking secrets or something."

"Hmmm..." Rainbow's eyes narrowed. She never tried reading lips, so she squinted to see if she could. She couldn't. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Twilight trotted over to where Rarity and Fluttershy were, talking about some girly nonsense, probably. Rainbow went over to the punch table, but glanced at the two gossiping earth ponies by the stairs. Pinkie's mane deflated just the slightest amount as Rainbow watched them talk. Now she was more curious than ever. If something could affect Pinkie's mane like that, it was something she wanted to know about.

It was dark out; Pinkie's yay-you're-better-now-so-now-we-can-party party went on longer than they had initially planned. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were heading up the stairs in the library, careful not to wake the sleeping baby dragon. The two hopped in bed and cuddled close together, savoring the other's presence.

Rainbow nibbled Twilight's ear and whispered, "I love you."

"Heehee," Twilight giggled. She turned to face Rainbow and gave her a light peck on the cheek. "Love you, too."

The two stayed like that for a while, staring into each other's eyes, until Twilight yawned and turned around, tired after a day of work and partying. Rainbow pulled her close, rested her head on Twilight's neck, and the two drifted off into deep, peaceful sleep.

Spike lay wide awake in his small bed, staring at the ground next to him. He shut his eyes and felt a single tear slide down his face and fall onto the small purple blanket covering him. He watched as the tear spread out a ways, leaving a small, damp circle where it had landed. The dragon closed his eyes again succumbing to the exhaustion that welcomed him each and every night.

Huh, Rainbow thought as she looked up at Sugarcube Corner. They shouldn't be closed today... She peeked in through the kitchen window and saw that it was empty. Weird... Deciding not to question why the Corner was closed, Rainbow turned and started to head over to Applejack's apple stand for some food. She stopped as she passed the front door, however. Hmm, could've sworn I heard something... Rainbow let her curiosity get the better of her and pressed her ear against the door.

"... it just ain't right," a familiar accented voice said.

"I know, darling, but just imagine how she would react! Fluttershy made it halfway to Hoofington before Celestia caught up to her. Rainbow could very well fly off and disappear before we could even send either of the princesses a letter!" another equally familiar voice replied. Rainbow knew those voices: Applejack and Rarity.

"Ah know that, but Ah can't stand lyin' ta-"

"HIYA DASHIE!"

The door supporting Dash's weight opened suddenly and Rainbow came crashing down. When she gathered herself, she noticed Pinkie Pie's face covering her entire field of vision.

"What're you doing outside Sugarcube Corner? I mean, if you needed something to eat, you coulda just gone inside, you know where my cupcake stash is! Or maybe you forgot? Oh, I could show you again, that'll be fun! Oh, oh, maybe I can give you your own personal little stash somewhere or something! Well anyways, what're you waiting for! Come on, let's go!"

Rainbow barely had time to comprehend what Pinkie said before she was thrown a box of cupcakes. Rainbow looked at them, then at Pinkie, and at the cupcakes again. She shrugged and opened up the box, before remembering what she'd just heard.

Rainbow found the two almost immediately. Applejack and Rarity were looking at Rainbow with nervous grins plastered on their faces.

"Oh, uh, hey Rainbow. What brings you he-"

"Don't 'hey Rainbow' me, Applejack. Why can't you two just accept that me and Twilight are together? You're fine with Lyra and Bon-Bon, and you're fine with Derpy and Carrot Top, so what's wrong with me and Twilight? HUH?"

Applejack and Rarity exchanged nervous glances. The former swalled the lump in her throat before stepping forward and speaking. "Listen, Rainbow, Ah-"

"NO!" Rainbow yelled, flying out the open door towards Twilight's library.

"Yeah! She was all 'Oh, hurr durr, two mares together ain't right, hurr durr.' And Rarity was like, 'Oh yeah! Fluttershy tried to fly to Hoofington when she found out! If Rainbow flew off, we'd need to get Celestia to smack some sense into her! That oughta teach her a lesson about fillyfooling!''

"Really?"

"Yeah! and then Applejack was all, 'Hey, listen Rainbow.' Why should I listen to her? Right?"

"Hmm..." Twilight was looking at the ground, brows furrowed, rubbing her chin in though.

"Right?"

Twilight looked back up at the pegasus. "Yes, you're right. In fact, we should go talk to them."

"Umm, I dunno..."

"Well, they aren't going to accept us on their own, so we'll have to convince them to!"

"Yeah, I guess..." Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck and looked down. She really didn't want to talk to those two after what happened earlier. She glanced back up and spied the steely look of determination stuck on Twilight's face, and decided that any attempt at an argument would be a complete and utter failure. "But what if they don't?"

"They will."

"Ugh, Twilight, can you unlock this door for me?" Rainbow gestured towards Fluttershy's door. She'd decided to head over to Fluttershy's first and put off the inevitable awkwardness with Rarity and Applejack for later.

"Twilight?"

Twilight raised a hoof and pointed towards a tree. Rainbow raised a hoof over her eyes and squinted, seeing a yellow blob next to it.

The two nodded and headed off to it, the crouching yellow pegasus becoming more clear as they got closer. They stood just a few feet away from Fluttershy, and it seemed as though she hadn't noticed them yet. She was still crouching, eyes focused, watching something.

"Umm, hey, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy responded by squealing and hiding on the other side of the tree. She poked her head out after a second and recognized Rainbow Dash. Stepping out from her hiding place, she hid half of her face with her mane and looked up at the other pegasus.

"H-Hey, Rainbow Dash. What are you doing here?"

"Fluttershy, are you okay with me being a fillyfooler?"

Fluttershy's cheeks turned bright pink and she hid more of her face behind her mane. "Oh, um, y-yeah, I am..."

"Then why'd you fly out to Hoofington when you found out? HUH?!?" Rainbow was stepping closer and closer to Fluttershy, who, in turn, was backing up towards the tree.

"Um, that wasn't- I mean- I- I-" Fluttershy was backed up against the tree now, eyes glimmering slightly.

"WELL?"

"It wasn't tha-"

Rainbow pushed herself towards Fluttershy, and the two were now inches away from each other. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT-"

"Rainbow!" Twilight yelled, squeezing herself between the two. That was the breaking point for Fluttershy and she started to cry into her mane, curling up into a ball at the base of the tree. Twilight looked down at the whimpering mare sympathetically. "I'm really sorry for Rainbow's beha-"

She didn't get a chance to finish, for Fluttershy got up and sprinted back into her house, slamming the door shut behind her. Twilight glared at Rainbow, who shrunk back a little and let out a nervous laugh.

"Heh, guess I overdid it there..." Rainbow looked over at the cottage. "Guess I should go and apologize, huh?"

"No."

Rainbow turned back to Twilight, the confusion in her face practically voicing, "What?"

"If you go over right now, Fluttershy will just get worse. Give her a little time to calm down, then go and apologize."

Rainbow thought about that for a second. She was pretty sure she could get Fluttershy to accept her apology, but then Twilight would just get mad at her for not following her advice. She sighed and agreed to wait a while, and headed off to Ponyville.

"Well howdy there, Rainbow. What can Ah get'cha?"

"Don't 'well howd-'"

"Rainbow," Twilight stopped her incoming verbal assault before it could happen. It was a good move on her part, and Rainbow backed down. Applejack, however, seemed to get just a tad more nervous after Twilight's intervention.

"Oh, right. Sorry. So... Applejack." Rainbow Dash waited for Applejack to respond.

"...Yeah?" The orange mare eyed Dash suspiciously, knowing something was on the pegasus's mind.

"Whatcha got against fillyfoolers, huh?"

Applejack stepped back and looked at Rainbow Dash as if her head fell off and started crawling around. "Uh, nothin'. Ah ain't got nothin' against-"

"Then why'd you tell Rarity that bein' a fillyfooler 'just ain't right?'"

Once again, Applejack stepped back. Less out of surprise this time, but more out of confusion. "Huh?"

Rainbow Dash took a few steps towards the earth pony. "I heard you tell Rarity being a fillyfooler's wrong over at Sugarcube Corner!" Applejack stepped back again, tilting her head to one side. "You know what I'm talking about! Don't try and act dumb!"

Applejack realised just what she was talking about. She looked down and sighed, kicking a loose rock with her hoof. "Oh, that."

No response came from the irritated accuser. She thought the pegasus would laugh in victory or force an explanation out of her, considering how worked up she'd been getting.

"Listen, Rainbow, Ah can explain." Applejack looked back up to where Rainbow had been just moments before, but all she saw was an evanescent rainbow streak headed off into the sky. She sighed again, shaking her head as she returned to her stall.

"Rainbow?" the lavender mare called out, searching the streets of Ponyville for her friend. She spotted the pegasus brooding in the middle of the street, kicking a rock around with her hoof. "Rainbow!"

The cyan pegasus looked to where she heard her name being called, and perked up a bit upon seeing Twilight run over to her.

"Rainbow, what's wrong?" Twilight's voice was full of concern, her eyes seeming to pierce through Rainbow's own, searching for whatever was on her mind.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?!? WHAT'S WRONG?!?" Rainbow was shoving her face into Twilight's, angrily poking her chest with a forehoof. "MAYBE, I just made Fluttershy - FLUTTERSHY, for Pete's sake - CRY and lock herself in her house. MAYBE, Applejack STILL hasn't accepted us being fillyfoolers, and MAYB-"

Twilight cut her off with a hoof to the mouth. "Come on, Rainbow... Fluttershy'll forgive you after a while, you just need to give her some time..."

"Oh, yeah, like THAT-"

"And as for Applejack, you know how stubborn she is. If she can't accept it, maybe you shouldn't bring up that topic around her."

"But-"

"And what does it matter what she thinks about us? We're all still friends, aren't we?"

"I don-"

"And if you hate her for just being stubborn, then maybe you're just as bad as she is."

"But- I-" Rainbow knew Twilight was right. Twilight was always right. About everything. "Yeah, you're right..."

Twilight let out a brief "hmph" of victory, smiling and leading Rainbow off into another street. "Now come on, let's go ask Rarity."

The inside of Carousel Boutique was pretty terrifying. First, the mess from just the day before had gotten worse, if that was even possible. Second, Pinkie Pie was standing completely still, in a half-finished dress with pins sticking out of it at odd angles. Rarity had these wide-open bloodshot eyes that seemed to see everything at once, something that happened when she was filling herself with caffeine to make up for a lack of sleep. And to top it all off, Sweetie Belle was sitting on a table, trying to get a cutie mark that somehow involved sticking needles into the tip of her hoof where it wouldn't hurt or bleed or leave a mark. And failing miserably at it.

Rarity was staring straight at the blue pegasus, Pinkie Pie was trying her best to not turn and look at what was happening, and Sweetie Belle seemed to not have even heard the question.

"Why yes, of course!" Rarity exclaimed, after a moment to collect her thoughts. "As some ponies say, love is blind. It doesn't matter whether or not a mare loves a colt or another mare, or if a colt loves a mare or another co-"

"Oh, yeah? Then why do you make a FACE every time you see me and Twilight together, HUH?!?"

That got their attention. Pinkie was sitting on part of the half-dress, Sweetie stopped trying to get her minor-cuts-fixer cutie mark and looked at the two, and Rarity stood still, staring at Rainbow with her mouth wide open.

"I-I don- I mea- I-" Rarity wasn't sure if she should tell the truth or lie or sort of tell the truth without really telling the truth or change the subject or what.

"You don't what, HUH? You don't like fillyfoo-"

"Rainbow!"

"What do you want, Twilight?" Rainbow turned and directed her anger to the unicorn.

"Come outside, we need to talk." Twilight wasn't particularly please with Rainbow's third outbreak, and her patience was running out.

"NO! You're fine with her lying straight to my face?!? Whose side are you on?!?" Rainbow had enough. She spread her wings out and flew straight out the door, only to get trapped in Twilight's magic. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't get herself free.

"I'm sorry about that, girls. If you'll excuse us..." Twilight backed out through the doorway, smiling awkwardly as she did. Once outside, she closed the door gently and released her friend.

Rainbow and Twilight argued for what seemed like hours. First, it was about how Rarity was being a complete jerk, then it went back to Applejack being an even bigger jerk. That moved on to how Twilight seemed to be on their side and not Dashs's and it was totally not cool considering they were together and all... Which led into a guilt trip about Fluttershy, only to end up on their bet and how Dash was frustrated from not flying anywhere.

Twilight reasoned that if she wanted to fly, she could've just called of the bet. To Dash, calling off a bet was even worse than losing one, and she'd never want anypony knowing she chickened out just because she wanted to fly a little. Twilight decided that was a stupid reason and nopony knew about the bet besides the two of them. Dash was caught off guard and laughed at herself for being so stupid, but when Twilight laughed along, she brought up how she was still mad at her for not backing her up.

Twilight countered with another attempted guilt trip, only for it to backfire when Dash brought up how Fluttershy cried after Twilight stepped in, not before. That led back to Applejack and Rarity, and Rainbow started pushing up against Twilight more and more. When Rainbow noticed tears start to well up in the other's eyes, she calmed down and pulled her into a hug, apologizing and promising she'd make up with her other friends. Twilight nodded, commenting how their arguments were more random than Pinkie Pie's conversations with Gummy.

Six minutes after Rainbow and Twilight backed out for their 'talk', the two re-entered Carousel Boutique, to be greeted by the same three ponies staring at them with varying levels of confusion and shock.

"So, umm..." Rainbow's head was almost touching the floor as she spoke. "Sorry for interrupting your dressmaking..."

Twilight poked Rainbow's side. "And?"

"And... sorry for yelling at you and stuff." Rainbow tilted her head up to see if her friends would accept her absolutely amazing apology. She was greeted by a confused Rarity, a shocked Pinkie Pie, and an incredulous Sweetie Belle, all seeming to stare right through her very soul.

Rainbow sighed and sat on the ground, head hung low once more. "I knew they wouldn't accept it..." she mumbled before getting back up and turning around.

Twilight took the time to help Rainbow back up before turning to her friends. "Sorry again, you three. Rainbow's... Rainbow's been having a rough day." Twilight turned and headed out with Rainbow Dash into the streets of Ponyville. She held the door open long enough for Rainbow to exit, and closed the door gently to not further disturb the three inside the boutique.

Rarity watched as the cyan pegasus in front of her stood back up and turned to leave. Rainbow Dash paused, and turned back to face the white unicorn.

"Sorry again, you three. Rainbow's... Rainbow's been having a rough day," she said, turning back around and heading out to the streets of Ponyville. She held the door open a few seconds before gently closing it, a light click heard once the door was properly shut.

The boutique was quiet for a few minutes, none of the three ponies knowing what to do. Rarity turned back to her friend and sister to see how they were. Pinkie's mane was halfway between poofy and deflated, her eyes brimming with tears waiting to fall. Sweetie Belle jumped off her table, looked back at the pink pony and her sister, and ran upstairs before collapsing onto her bed in a fit of dry tears.

Far from the events at the boutique, an orange earth pony laid down a bouquet of daffodils and daisies onto a small mound of earth in Ponyville's cemetery. She held back a tear as she gazed up to the headstone at the edge of the mound.

"Don't you worry none, Twilight," the earth pony said, more to reassure herself than anything. "Rainbow'll come around eventually."