Hot Chocolateby Kommunist KenseiChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1Sunlight streamed in through the large arched window, falling in a graceful beam onto a sleeping, sky blue pegasus. Yawning loudly, Rainbow Dash stretched her legs out under her warm blanket of cloud and blinked drowsily around her sunlit room. Shelves affixed to fluffy walls contained miscellaneous objects and fond memories: A jar of rainbow from her first day working as a weather pony, her first moulted feather, a tome on advanced aerial maneuvers, one of the few books in her house, gifted to her by Twilight Sparkle. Posters adorned other sections of wall, mostly of her idols, the Wonderbolts. Suddenly wide awake, she shot up, the blanket poofing back into the cloud that formed her bed. Rainbow Dash darted out of her room, and down the large spiral staircase, pausing only briefly in her kitchen to grab a banana. She leaped out of her front door and into the vast blue expanse of the sky, front-flipping gracefully as she arced towards the ground. Snapping her wings close to her body, Dash hastily ripped the banana out of it's skin and shoved the fruit into her mouth. She fell faster, the wind making her coat ripple like a storm tossed sea. Her jaw working furiously, the cyan pegasus barely savored the energy rich breakfast. She fell even faster, her mane almost vertical behind her head due to the rapid fall. She finished the banana and threw the skin away, the waste quickly flying upwards as she continued to plummet. Finally, right before hitting the ground, Rainbow Dash opened her powerful wings and pulled out into a smooth curve, softly landing on the grass, which was usually accompanied by a small filly's applause. Except today there was silence. No orange filly waited expectantly beneath her cloud house. Puzzled, Rainbow scratched her head. “Squirt's normally waiting here for me to wake up. We always train together on a Saturday,” she mused. But Scootaloo was nowhere in sight. Rainbow shrugged and began the short flight towards Ponyville, her house being slightly outside of the large village. “I guess I really was late,” she muttered as she saw the sun hanging at the top of it's ponderous arc across the sky. “Scoot must be having lunch!” The wind whipped across her rainbow coloured mane as she gleefully cheered. Flying was her favorite thing to do. Ever. As she cleared the small hill that divided her house from Ponyville, she was greeted with the usual... silence? Now this was weird. Ponyville was usually teeming on the weekends, families taking advantage of their days off to spend time with their children and to browse the busy market place. Now, however, it was barren. Streets lay empty. Shops stood closed and lifeless. Even the market square where Applejack sold her delicious farm products was devoid of ponies. Stalls stood abandoned yet pristine, fresh produce neatly displayed under vibrant overhangs. All thoughts of finding Scootaloo quickly vanished as Rainbow struggled to suppress a small twinge in the center of her chest. It was a feeling she did not like one bit. She carried on flying over the empty town, occasionally swooping low and peering into windows in the vain hope of seeing somepony. Anypony. The twinge in her chest was now a cold hand clutching at her heart. She burst into buildings, the doors all unlocked. Yet the houses, while undamaged, were empty. The twinge in her chest was now undeniably the feeling Rainbow Dash, bravest and toughest pony in all of Equestria (in her opinion anyway), hated above all else. Fear. She tried the apple family barn, Twilight's tree house, Rarity's boutique and Fluttershy's cottage. All were empty. Finally, panting from exhaustion and fear, she burst into sugarcube corner. There, at last, was another pony. Pinkie Pie slowly turned around, her eyes filled with hatred as she glared at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus took a nervous step backwards. This wasn't like Pinkie at all. She was usually the most friendly pony anypony could ever hope to meet, an active volcano of friendship and laughter. Now that volcano was inexplicably frozen over. “P-Pinkie pie? Where is everypony?” she asked nervously. “Why should you care?” Pinkie coldly responded. “Its not like they need you anymore.” Her words pierced Dash's heart like an icy blade, leaving Rainbow unable to do anything but gape at her. What in the hay was going on? “Please, Pinkie, I don't understand!” the confused pegasus finally struggled to say. “Well isn't that a surprise,” Pinkie drawled sarcastically. “I'd love to stay and chat, but I have friends who need me. Goodbye, foreeeeeeeever...” The pink pony slowly faded away, turning transparent before dash's eyes. “NO! Please don’t go. Please don’t leave me -,” Dash begged, as pinkie faded into thin air. “ - alone...” Rainbow dash screamed, jerking rapidly awake. She bolted upright and glanced around at her room, not sunlit but instead draped in a blanket of soft moonlight. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she recalled her nightmare. For that was what it had been. She hoped. Flying down the stairs and out the door, the cool night air that greeted her quickly made her sweat soaked body shiver; and she made a beeline for Ponyville. Clearing the small hill, she was greeted once again by silence. Then again, it was midnight, she reminded herself. Without hesitation, she flew over row upon row of thatched roofs before reaching one that seemed to be made of gingerbread; Sugarcube Corner. Flying up to the upper window, Rainbow Dash looked into the dark room... and sighed in relief at the sight of the small pink blob that slowly rose and fell on the bed. “See, she would never abandon you!” Rainbow berated herself, “You stupid, stupid pony...” She turned and flew away, the moonlight glinting off of tears that were falling thick and fast from a sobbing, sky blue pegasus. Meanwhile, a bright pink earth pony woke with a start. “Ooh, my pinkie sense is tingling!” she cried. “Ear flop, Knee twitch, Eye flutter,” she intoned, her ears flopping, knee twitching and eyes fluttering on her bed. “A rainbow? But its the middle of the night.” Her face screwed up in thought. “This must be a weird dream: my pinkie sense never lies. This is almost as weird as that one dream when I ate a huuuuuge cookie that was made of apples because a walrus needed to find ...” she happily rambled on to a sleeping baby alligator. * * * When morning finally came to Ponyville, it was to find a tired and disheveled looking Rainbow Dash that woke from a restless sleep. She ate lethargically before leaping expertly out of her house and gliding towards the ground. Her heart wasn't in her flying today. The nightmare kept replaying over and over in her head. Yet despite the average performance, the orange filly waiting on the grass below still cheered and clapped as Rainbow descended from her house in the clouds. Scootaloo stopped clapping though when she caught sight of Dash's face. Her mane, though usually slightly unkempt, was a total mess, sticking out at odd angles like a multicoloured thorn bush. Dash's usually bright eyes were now red and slightly swollen, framed by dark rings. “Uum, Dash, have you been... crying?” Scootaloo asked. “What? No, of course not,” Dash replied nervously, mentally kicking herself for not checking her appearance. “I Just, um, was flying through some storm-clouds without my goggles on a, erm, special delivery mission. Yeah! I was on a special delivery mission for princess Celestia! Come on, crying? Who do you think I am, Fluttershy? I'm the bravest, toughest pony in Equestria!” “Wow! So cool!” Scootaloo gasped. “Sorry about that.” “That's fine,” Her idol replied with a tired grin, “Lets get this show on the road! Right, now I think you've been making good progress, and you almost flew last time! So today we'll focus on the take off and, with any luck, the landing.” Rainbow Dash watched with pride as Scootaloo, following her instructions to a tee, tried again and again to take off. At first, she just fell over, her wings flapping furiously as she flipped over onto the grass. Gradually though, she retained control and as Celestia's sun slowly reached the peak of its path across the sky, Scootaloo finally did it. Admittedly, it was only really hovering slightly off the ground. And it only lasted for about 2 seconds before the filly face-planted into the dirt. But from the look on her mud covered face anyone would think she had just out-flown the Wonderbolts. “D-did you see that?” the filly stammered excitedly, “I flew! I really did it!” Dash beamed at her ecstatic pupil. “You did really well kid,” Dash chuckled as she ruffled Scootaloo's mane. “Maybe when I’m captain of the wonderbolts I can find a place for you on the team.” “Thank you so much for this! Just wait until I show Applebloom and Sweetie Belle!” the filly said, turning towards Ponyville and beginning to gallop back. “Same time next Saturday?” “You know it!” Dash called the to the shrinking orange pegasus, giggling as Scootaloo tried to fly as she ran, resulting in several crashes into bushes and trees. When Scootaloo was out of sight, Dash was still in an exceptionally good mood. Scootaloo reminded her of herself when she was just a little filly back in - As quickly as they had gone, the memories of her nightmare came flooding back like the bursting of a dam. “Pull yourself together Dash!” she told herself angrily, “Stop worrying about a silly little nightmare. You know it would never happen!” At this, she cheered up slightly, but the little grain of doubt in her mind refused to leave. “Well... those rainclouds aren't gonna drive themselves off!” And with that, Rainbow Dash flew off towards an incoming patch of bad weather. * * * Twilight Sparkle trotted contentedly through Ponyville, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her deep purple mane. She looked up and down the busy high street, before turning her head slightly. “What's next on the list Spike?” she asked her assistant riding on her back. The baby dragon reached into one of Twilight's saddle bags and checked a large scroll, neatly organized and meticulously triple checked earlier in the morning. “We need to get some more ink,” he noted, “And get some winter coats from... Rarity...” His eyes glazed over and his voice seemed to come from a great distance as he pronounced the seamstress' name. Twilight giggled, and waved her hoof in front of Spike's face. “Equestria to Spike, come in Spike,” she chuckled. Her assistant snapped out of his trance, shaking his head and muttering under his breath, all the while blushing a delightful shade of scarlet. Twilight carried on walking down the street, occasionally greeting a friend or a shopkeeper, when she spied Applejack at her stall. Deciding she had enough time to fit in a conversation with her schedule, she trotted over to the orange pony. “Hey there Applejack!” she called. Applejack turned round and beamed at the pair. “Well if it isn't Twilight and spike. What can ah do you for?” she asked. Hearing a low rumbling sound from her back, Twilight fished out some bits from her saddle bag and passed them over to her friend. “We'll have two apple turnovers please!” she replied. “I think a certain dragon and I are in need of some lunch.” As she and Spike munched on the pastry treats Applejack handed over, the orange earth pony leaned over her stall and motioned for Twilight to come closer. “You, er, notice anything strange about Rainbow today?” she whispered. “No, why?” “Look over there,” Applejack said, pointing with a hoof towards the sky. Even from a long distance, Twilight had no trouble identifying the rainbow coloured mane of a pegasus battling against some rainclouds. “She's just doing her job, Applejack. Whats strange about that?” Twilight asked. “Sugarcube, this is Rainbow Dash we're talkin' about here. She's normally goofin' off up some tree 'bout this time of day. She keeps the sky nice and clear, don't get me wrong, but she usually leaves it till the last second, know what ah mean?” At these words, Twilight stopped and thought. Applejack was right; Rainbow Dash always kept the sky clear, but she left it as late as she could most of the time. Something was definitely wrong. “I see what you mean,” Twilight conceded, “But its probably nothing to worry about. Knowing Dash she's taken some kind of bet from the weather team.” “Yeah,” Applejack sighed, “maybe you're right. Anyway, you enjoy your food now y'hear?” “We will, thanks!” Twilight replied, waving as she trotted away from her friend, Spike being too hungry to care about anything except the mangled remains of the apple turnover in his now sticky claws. Applejack had a point, something was definitely up. She made a mental note to speak to Rainbow Dash the next day and get to the bottom of it. But for now, she had a shopping list, an apple turnover and a love obsessed dragon on her hooves. It was going to be a long day. * * * Rainbow Dash flew down from the reddening sky as evening spread its warming hue across the land. She had hoped work would take her mind off of her... minor fright (The Dash was never scared), and it did. To some extent. Her muscles seemed to glow from physical exertion, and the endorphins her body released from it left her in a state of calm happiness. For now, her thoughts were focused on two things: a nice, relaxing bath and her welcoming cloud bed. She enjoyed the cooling wind on her sweat matted mane. It was a nice evening. Dash entered her now orangey house and trotted wearily up to the bathroom. Rarity had given her some bubble bath from the spa for her last birthday, and although she didn't really care much for all this herbal mumbo-jumbo, it was definitely relaxing. Twenty minutes later, Rainbow Dash exited the gurgling mountain of pink bubbles that used to be a bath, scrubbing herself roughly with a towel and yawning loudly. As the last of the bubbles drained away, she was already snuggling up under her wonderfully soft cloud blanket. In a few seconds, she was asleep. * * * The sun shone down on a sky blue pegasus as she weaved through the air over Ponyville. The birds were singing, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the residents of Ponyville were leaving forever... Wait. Dash halted in mid air and stared down below. In the town square, everypony had gathered with all of their possessions and had began a march down the main road out of the village. “Where's everypony going?” She wondered aloud. “They can't leave without me.” She flew down toward the crowd of slow moving ponies. But when she got down there, they were gone. Baffled, she looked further down the road and there they were, plodding along at a snails pace. So how did she miss them? Rainbow galloped down the road, but as fast as she went the ponies just seemed to get further and further away. Panting, a familiar feeling beginning in her chest, Dash ran as hard as she could. Yet the crowd of agonizingly slow ponies was still miles ahead. She took off and flew, faster than she had ever flown before. The trees and hills beside the road became blurs as she sliced through the air. But try as she might, she couldn't catch up. Finally, exhausted, she fell to the ground in a heap. “Wait!” she cried hoarsely. “WAIT! YOU FORGOT ABOUT ME!” The crowd of happy, laughing ponies carried on, oblivious to the pegasus' cries. “Please,” Dash weakly called, tears forming in her eyes, “please wait...” Suddenly, like mana from heaven, she heard hooves from behind her. Turning hurriedly around, she saw Pinkie Pie hopping happily up the road, her saddlebags full of streamers and balloons. “Pinkie!” Dash croaked. Her friend hopped up to Rainbow Dash and looked down at the exhausted pegasus. “Well, if it isn’t the pony without any friends,” she laughed. A cold, harsh laugh that sent shivers down Dash's spine and drove a familiar icicle into her heart. “Hey there, aloney-pony!” “W-What?” was all she could stammer back. Pinkie Pie glared down at Dash with barely concealed anger. “You disgust me.” She coldly replied, before hopping on towards the crowd of ponies. “Wait for me!” she cried, causing the crowd to slow down and wait for her, many waving at the pink party pony, or else chuckling at her ridiculous luggage. But no one paid any heed to the poor blue pegasus, sobbing in the road. For the second time, Rainbow Dash awoke screaming, sitting up so quickly her cloud blanket evaporated from the force. She curled up into a ball in the centre of the bed, her shivering occasionally broken by racking sobs that shook her from head to tail. This wasn't supposed to happen. She was The Dash. She was fearless, brave, strong. Right now she felt terrified, weak and worst of all, alone. Sniffing loudly, she flew downstairs and out of her house, into the velvety night. It didn't take long for her to reach sugarcube corner. She felt foolish, but she had to check that her nightmare was just that. She had to check that Pinkie was still there. The occasional light from a window in the town told her that at least Ponyville hadn't up and left without explanation. She hovered outside her friends room and peered inside cautiously. The bed was empty. Dash stared at it in total disbelief. She began to break out in a nervous sweat. That hand was back in her chest, and she found it hard to breathe. She darted around the window, peering in at every angle she could, trying in vain to catch a glimpse of pink. She had just about given up, when she heard something from behind her. “What are we looking at?” a voice asked. Rainbow squealed and span around, pressing her body up against the window in alarm as she tried to get away from her assailant. Then she saw who it was. Pinkie Pie revolved slowly in the air, dangling from several bright party balloons tied to her waist. She smiled and cocked her head at Dash as she awaited a reply. Dash just didn't know what to do. Her emotions were having a battle – actually, scratch that - her emotions were having a full scale nuclear war in her head, her thoughts a turbulent sea of supersonic warheads primed to explode at any moment. She just gaped at the floating party pony, speech having completely eluded her. Pinkie's grin faded when she took a closer look at her friends condition. Rainbow Dash's sweat soaked body was trembling like a leaf in a hurricane. Her eyes had lost their usual brightness, instead having receded into tiny pinpricks, while her mane was so haphazard it would cause Rarity to have a fit. Yet even the limp, messy fringe couldn't hide her friend's tear stained cheeks. “Maybe you'd better come inside,” Pinkie gently told her friend. Chapter 2Somehow, Pinkie Pie managed to extricate the petrified Rainbow Dash from her window and soon the pegasus was comfortably wrapped up in a snug pink blanket, lying down on the rug in Pinkie's room. The pink pony trotted over to the door. “I'm just going to get us something to drink!” she told her friend while exiting into the hallway. “Stay right there; I'll be back in a jiffy!” Dash sighed and nodded resignedly. She had, by now, gotten over her fear, and was beginning to feel worry creeping into her mind. Lying to Scootaloo was one thing. Lying to Pinkie Pie? Dash gulped. This was not going to be easy. A short while later Pinkie bounced back into the room, a large tray in her mouth. Dash considered it a miracle, as the pink pony set the tray down in front of her, that none of the two large mug's contents had spilled. “Here we go!” Pinkie grinned, “My extra special hot chocolate!” The blue pegasus stared at the steaming beverage before her. A mountain of whipped cream with marshmallow skiers floated on a warm, frothy chocolate sea. It looked... incredible. “Thanks Pinks,” Dash replied before taking a sip. To say it was delicious would be an understatement. The room was silent for a while, as both ponies enjoyed their drinks. “Right then Dashie,” Pinkie suddenly said, her newly acquired whipped cream mustache twitching as she spoke. “Why did I find you all shivery and scared outside my window so early in the morning? You almost woke up Gummy!” She waved her hoof towards a basket where a small green lump snored quietly. Suddenly snapped back into reality, Dash nervously glanced up at her friend before staring into her mug. “Me? Scared?” Dash chuckled nervously, “heh, you must have imagined it.” Her eyes darted around the room, never settling on one spot for more than a few seconds. “I... just came to visit!” she explained, forcing herself to lock gazes with Pinkie and hoping against hope that her poker face would hold. The pink party pony stared back with a deep, penetrating stare. The blue pegasus felt her already tenuous grin beginning to falter under her mustachioed friend's soul searching eyes. “So, why did you decide to visit this early?” Pinkie slowly asked. “Um... I just wanted to.” “Okey dokey lokey,” The pink pony responded in the same slow, doubtful tone, “well, why were you crying?” Dash felt beads of perspiration forming on her forehead. Pinkie was hard to lie to. “I was, um, happy!” Pinkie continued her unrelenting stare. “Okey dokey lokey,” she replied, “Then why did you squeal?” “I - wait, what?” Dash broke off mid sentence. Pinkie giggled, her serious expression a thing of the past. “You don’t remember? You went like this,” She said, miming how her friend had squealed and whipped around in fright. The pegasus felt her face grow hot. “I can't do it,” she sighed, finally giving in to the earth pony's unwavering stare. “I was scared, alright? Just... please don’t tell anypony about this.” “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Pinkie replied solemnly, “Now what was it that scared you Dashie? Its better to let it out than keep it all bottled up inside!” “Well,” the pegasus began, feeling a small thrill at her nickname, “I was scared because... I... I had a nightmare, ok?” Dash said in a rush. She ruffled her wings and looked away from her friend. “This is so stupid,” she mumbled quietly. Pinkie looked confusedly at the pegasus. “What's stupid Dashie?” she asked. “What's stupid?” Dash chuckled sadly. “Me! I'm stupid. The self proclaimed bravest, toughest pony in Equestria is reduced to... this, over a stupid nightmare...” “Don't be a silly filly!” Pinkie interjected, “Everyone gets frightened by nightmares!” “Yeah, but I've done tonnes of scarier stuff,” Rainbow replied, “I went into a Diamond Dog lair, I kicked a dragon in the face, I -” “Yes, but they're different!” Pinkie interrupted. “They might be scary, but were they your fears?” Dash stopped and thought. “Well, no. I mean, I never had a fear of dragons or of going underground.” “Exactly!” the pink pony exclaimed. “Nightmares are scary because they're what you're truly afraid of!” Rainbow thought carefully for a moment before nodding slowly; Pinkie was right. “Now then,” Pinkie Pie said, “Tell me what happened.” Slowly, Dash recounted the experiences of the previous nights. She told of how Ponyville was empty, of how all her friends were gone. How she frantically searched through every building for some sign of life. Then she went on to tell of the next night's terrors, of how she was ignored by everyone, how they abandoned her to lie in the dirt, of how they were unreachable. Yet for some reason the cyan pegasus refrained from mentioning her encounters with Pinkie. Maybe it was because she didn't want to hurt the pink mare's feelings, maybe it was because it seemed oddly personal, but Dash made it seem as though Pinkie had never been a prominent figure in her nightmares. Either way, she didn't feel in the right frame of mind to question her emotions. Once the final word of her tale left her tongue, a great weight seemed to lift from Dash's shoulders. For a while, Pinkie simply sat there. And then, suddenly, she leapt forward and held the pegasus close in a rib shattering hug. “Oh, you poor, poor filly,” she said softly, “That sounds horrible.” Rainbow Dash just sighed. She felt shattered, and the candyfloss scented fur her face was buried in was as inviting as any cloud bed. “Pinkie,” Dash said, her voice muffled by the party pony's shoulder, “Can you... can you promise me one thing?” “Sure, Dashie, what is it?” “Promise me that you'll never leave me alone.” “I promise, Dashie,” Pinkie whispered. Dash smiled and fell limp, her body finally succumbing to it's fatigue. Pinkie Pie giggled softly to herself and with surprising strength carried the snoring pegasus over to her bed. She yawned loudly; Helping friends was tiring work. Pinkie climbed into the other side of her bed and was soon fast asleep. * * * Dash awoke to the sound of birds twittering in the early morning air, and snuggled further into the comfy bed she found herself in. She knew she'd have to get up soon, but for now the cyan pegasus just enjoyed the relaxing haze of being half awake. It was then that she noticed something warm and fluffy curled up near her back. Dash rolled over lazily and hugged the cozy, comfortable object, causing it to grunt quietly before resuming it's steady rise and fall. I wonder what this thing is? the pegasus pondered sluggishly. Maybe it's Pinkie Pie... Smiling slightly at the idea, she leant over and nuzzled the neck of the strange creature. A soft, buoyant mane tickled her face and filled her nostrils with the scent of something sugary and strangely familiar. Dash stroked the soft, snug fur beneath her hooves. With a small twitch, a murmur escaped the mystery pony. “...I'm not food gummy...” Dreaming about gummy? Now this sounds almost exactly like Pinkie. But what would she be doing in my house? Suddenly, and with an uncomfortable lurch, Dash's mind was forced awake as memories of the night before cascaded into her mind's eye. This was Pinkie's house. Her eyes snapped open to see a bright pink mane. That warm object had been Pinkie Pie. With her famous speed, the pegasus jerked her hooves back and tumbled hurriedly out of the bed, landing in a sprawled heap on the floor. Her mind rapidly kick started out of it's previous stupor. “Oh sweet Celestia,” she mumbled. “I really hope Pinkie's still asleep.” Her ears pricked up as she listened intently for a few moments. A great sigh of relief escaped her as she heard the gentle snoring of her friend. Relief, however, was quickly overridden by another emotion. Dash felt her face begin to burn, and was sure she was blushing enough to illuminate half of Canterlot, her wings outstretched to their fullest extent. “Horseapples!” she grunted angrily, “snap out of it Dash!” A mumble escaped the pink pony before her. Hurriedly, the pegasus did an awkward dive out of the mercifully open window and into the crisp morning sky. * * * Later, as she battled the remnants of a particularly nasty storm front, Rainbow's mind drifted back to Pinkie Pie. For as long as she could remember, she'd had feelings for the pink party pony. Maybe it was her bubbly personality, her ingenious pranks, the way her hair smelled of candy floss - No! Dash shook her head in frustration to clear her thoughts. She'd learned the hard way that... no good could come of trying to date another filly. She tore through the last storm cloud, causing the ponderous weather pattern to explode in a vibrant shower of mist. The pegasus smiled as the droplets of water created rainbows that warped and swirled around her. She had to admit, the weather could be quite beautiful. Almost as beautiful as Pinkie - Dash stopped in mid air and rapped her hoof against her head. “For peat’s sake! Stop. Thinking. About. That. Mare!” she grunted to herself, each pause accompanied by a tap to the head. “Why cant I get rid of thoughts like I can get rid of clouds?!” she moaned, “wait - maybe Twilight can help! She probably has a spell somewhere in that library of hers that can get rid of... this.” So thinking, Dash snapped out her wings and glided slowly towards ponyville. * * * Twilight Sparkle carefully levitated the feather duster towards the upper shelves of the library's many bookcases. Every morning she made sure to dust the vast collection of tomes, and today was no exception. She meticulously dusted the spines of books she had read at least 17 times. Just as she reached 'Infamous Flight Accidents: A History', a tremendous crash shook through the library. She whipped around to see a rainbow blur shooting in through her window and bouncing furiously around the room, and watched in dismay as several of her perfectly arranged rows of books flew off their shelves like rectangular projectiles of knowledge. Finally, the blur skidded across the floor to rest at the hooves of Twilight. Rainbow Dash looked up sheepishly. “Um, yeah,” she began, just starting to notice the destruction she'd caused, “I wondered if you could help me.” A nearby stack of books on Twilight's desk chose this moment to grandly cascade onto the rug. The purple unicorn surveyed the wasteland left behind after the cyan pegasus' one pony library apocalypse. Trying to ignore the tic in her left eye, she grinned dangerously at Dash. “Heh-heh...” the pegasus chuckled nervously, slowly getting to her feet. “Perhaps I’d better help you clean up first.” “That,” Twilight said, “is a very wise decision.” As the pegasus carried the books in haphazard stacks to the bookshelves, Twilight returned to her dusting, all the while humming a merry tune. Dash placed her stack of books in alphabetical order, before flying down to collect more. However, she now had to re-arrange the existing books to make them all alphabetically correct, but there wasn't enough room on that shelf so some had to come down a row but then that meant - “Agh, This is so frustrating!” she groaned, “How do you do this all the time?!” Princess Celestia's student giggled and moved to help. “How about you dust the books, then I’ll organize them. Deal?” she asked. “Deal!” Dash replied, picking up the large feather duster and beginning to bludgeon the nearest thesaurus. “Now then,” Twilight said, returning the thoroughly cleaned book to its rightful place. “You said you needed help with something?” “Well, you see... I think I have a crush on somepony -” She was quickly interrupted by the purple unicorn, who gasped excitedly and levitated a large book towards herself. “I've read all about crushes!” She giggled happily, clapping her hooves together and scouring through the book. “Do you have actual butterflies in your stomach, or is it a metaphor? How much would you say your heart rate increases by in the presence of the colt? Thirteen percent? Forty?” she asked, rattling off the questions like a machine gun. Dash began to regret asking Twilight for help. “Uhm, it's not really like that at all,” she told her friend, finally getting a word in edgeways. “Books cant really describe it.” The purple unicorn looked crestfallen for a moment or two, but perked up immediately. “So,” she asked excitedly, “who is is he?” “It's a fil – erm, actually I'd rather not say,” Dash said, blushing slightly. Twilight gave a hastily muffled giggle at her friends shyness, causing the pegasus to blush even more. “Sorry!” the unicorn apologized, “I shouldn't laugh. Have you... how do you say it... asked them out?” “Well, about that,” Dash mumbled awkwardly, “It - well, it's a long story, but it wouldn't work out. So... I was wondering if you maybe, um, knew a spell to get rid of love?” Twilight shook her head slowly. “I'm sorry Dash, truly I am,” she replied sadly, “but love is an unbelievably strong force. Many scholars tried in the past to affect love with magic, but it was like trying to stop a waterfall using a colander.” The pegasus groaned and tossed the duster aside in frustration. “So I’m going to be stuck like this?” she asked angrily, “loving somepony I can never admit my feelings to?” “Stop listening to your brain; listen to your heart!” Twilight replied. “Deep down, what do you want to do?” “I want to hold them close, I want to take them on dates, I want to make them happy,” Dash blurted out. Twilight stamped her hoof. “Then do it.” she told her friend firmly. “You're always loyal to us. Now be loyal to yourself.” “It's not that easy!” Dash said exasperatedly. As if on cue, a large stack of parchment was suddenly thrown into the air by a gust of wind from the open window. “Nothing ever is,” the unicorn sighed. For a long time, the two stood silently. “Well... better get this bombsite cleared up...” Dash said lightheartedly, her words hollow and reserved. Slowly, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle returned to their arduous task. I hope Dash's alright, Twilight thought to herself. The only time I’ve seen her this nervous about something was when she performed in Cloudsdale, and then she had her friends to rely on. But this time... The unicorn shook her head slightly. I'm sorry, Dash. This is a battle you'll have to fight on your own. * * * Rainbow Dash groaned and rolled over for what seemed like the hundredth time. It wasn't that her cloud bed was uncomfortable. Far from it. And the cleaning she had done with Twilight had left her weary. How could anypony have so many books? Once again, Dash rolled over onto her left side and tried to force her mind to shut down. Twilight's words buzzed around inside of her skull, while half formed imaginings flitted in and out of her vision. In some of them, she confessed her feelings to Pinkie and the two quickly fell into a loving embrace, or went on a walk in the park, or just went for a pizza. Some of the things they did made her blush slightly, and caused her wings to tingle slightly under her fluffy blanket. Yet in others, Pinkie rejected her, crushing her self esteem like an autumn leaf and harshly pointing out the pegasus' flaws. Annoyingly, those occurred far more often than the good outcomes. Dash was just about to turn over once again when she finally fell into a deep sleep. * * * The pegasus trotted nervously past the happily mumbling ponies at the party, their monotonous tones occasionally broken by a loud guffaw or the tinkling of glasses. The ornate chandeliers that hung from the gilded ceiling bathed the room in a warm glow that put Dash in mind of firesides after a freezing winter day. As far as she could tell, the room went on forever in all directions. She hadn't even noticed when or where she had entered. Wherever she walked the crowds of ponies mysteriously opened up and left her in a small clearing amongst them. Seeing nothing else to do, Dash walked over to a nearby table laden with punch, food and snacks. “Hey, move your flank!” she grunted at a green pegasus stood in front of the punch. He sidestepped casually out of Dash's path. As she reached for a cup, she noticed something strange. All the ponies in the room had their backs to her. Puzzled, she walked round to the front of the pegasus that had obstructed her path. Yet, without moving a muscle, he always faced away from her. She ran round and round, trying to outpace his bizarre turning, bet to no avail. Finally, slightly tired and not so slightly frustrated, she poked him with her hoof. “Are you shy or something?” she asked, “or are you just ignoring me?” In an instant, all talk in the room stopped. “You want to see my face?” he whispered sadly, “sure thing, friend...” The green pegasus turned around slowly to lock eyes with Rainbow Dash. She hastily muffled a scream with her hoof, and took an involuntary step backwards. The pegasus' face was blank. The features were exactly the same. He still had a snout, ears, a mane. But where he should have had eyes or a mouth... there was nothing. Dash took a few more nervous steps backwards now, when she heard a rustling from behind. Spinning around, she caught sight of other ponies turning their heads to scrutinize her. “What's the matter?” the faceless pony asked in the same quiet, silky, melancholy voice. Dash ignored him, trying not to panic, or think about how he spoke without a mouth, or think about how she was going to escape a room she couldn't see the end of. She galloped through the nearest ponies, the faceless beings silently moving out of her way in the nick of time. She needed a familiar face somewhere in the nightmarish party. And wherever there's a party, Dash thought, there has to be - “Pinkie!” Dash called out to the ball of pure energy in pony form. Pinkie Pie turned from where she was dancing upon a table and tackled the sky blue pegasus. “Dashie!” she squealed, “I’m so glad you could come!” Dash wriggled out from under her friend and gave her a curious look. “Come to what?” “Duh,” Pinkie replied, rolling her eyes. “Your super special extra fantastic tremendously terrific party!” Dash looked around Pinkie's shoulder at the ring crowds of faceless, staring ponies and shivered slightly. “What kind of a party is this?” she asked, trying to keep her rising fear out of her voice. “What are – who are they?” Her voice trailed off as she pointed a hoof at the silent 'party guests'. “Those?” The pink pony giggled. “They're your friends, silly!” Pinkie got up off of Dash and helped the pegasus up. “Why don’t I recognize any of them then? Why are their faces... blank?” Dash asked. “Don't you see?” Pinkie asked, chuckling slightly. She bounced round and round the pegasus with her usual excitement. “It's because... you never had any friends in the first place!” At this she collapsed on the floor mid bounce in fits of laughter, tears of mirth forming in her eyes. Dash began to tremble. She shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “No, that's not true. I have Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack,” she listed, gaining confidence with each name, “and you!” Pinkie laughed even harder, pounding her hooves on the wood paneled floor. Finally, the laughs subsided and she stood up shakily, still chuckling occasionally. “Sure, they may claim to be your friends,” Pinkie said softly, “but remember your 'friends' in flight school?” “Sh – Shut up!” Dash replied angrily, caught off guard. “And as for me?” the pink pony continued, “I wouldn't want to be friends with a fillyfooler like you if you were the last pony in Equestria.” She glared at the pegasus, her exuberance now a distant memory. Pinkie spat on the floor in front of Dash before turning around and trotting away. Silently, as if on command, the party guests followed suit. Rainbow Dash didn't even try to catch up to them. She had curled into a ball, tail and wings wrapped tightly around her body as though trying to fend off invisible blows. “Fillyfooler!” Pinkie's voice rang out, though from her head or the room Dash couldn't tell. “Shut up!” Dash sniffed. “Just - go away... please...” But the pegasus' pleas fell on deaf ears. Again and again, like the tolling of a bell, the voice sang it's hurtful phrase, reverberating louder and louder in Rainbow Dash's ears. “Fillyfooler... fillyfooler... fillyfooler...” “I am not - ” * * * “ - A fillyfooler!” Dash yelled, waking up with a start. She glared around her moonlit bedroom as if daring her dresser or her posters to contradict her, her chest rising and falling heavily. She hadn't been called a fillyfooler for such a long time. She had hoped she would never be called it again. Gradually, the glare broke down with the pegasus as tears began to trickle down her cyan fur. “I'm – not – a – fillyfooler” she sobbed, pounding her pillow with her hooves. Burying her face in the fluffy cloud, Twilight's words echoed in her ears. “Listen to your heart...” Chapter 3Rainbow Dash lay on her bed, her face buried in the cotton candy textured cloud pillow. The dam that had held in her tears was finally running dry. She coughed croakily, her throat parched, and a solitary droplet ran down her cyan fur. Slowly, reluctantly, Dash lifted her unusually weary limbs and began to pace her room. Part of her wanted to visit Pinkie again. That part of her wanted to be comforted, to be held close by a beautiful pink mare and told that everything was fine. Part of her wanted to fly down, confess her feelings and be done with it. Yet another part of her said both of those ideas were utterly ridiculous. After all, Pinkie Pie would no doubt be asleep. And best party host or no, nopony would appreciate being woken up at two in the morning twice in a row. And as for confessing her feelings? Dash considered poking a manticore with a stick a preferable method of suicide. Reaching the opposite wall once again, the pegasus turned and trotted back towards her bed. With a loud sigh, she sat down on the foot of her bed and placed her head in her hooves. She needed to think. Like a suffocating shroud, silence descended once again. Thunk. Dash shook herself and looked around the dimly lit bedroom. Thunk. There it was again. Thunk. The pegasus got up and trotted out of her room. Thunk. The sound echoed slightly louder as she went cautiously downstairs. Thunk. It was coming from... the door? Thunk. Slowly, Dash opened the large wooden door and poked out her head. With a loud smack, a small rock hit the pegasus on the snout. “Augh!” she cried out, rubbing the bruised area angrily, “What the hay was that?” “Sorry Dashie!” a voice called up. “P-Pinkie?” Dash shouted, anger rapidly being replaced by surprise. Even in the moonlight, there was no mistaking that pink face beaming at her. “Come on down, I have something for you!” Pinkie replied happily. Shaking her head in disbelief, the pegasus glided down to where a pink pony had entrenched herself near a small mountain of pebbles. “What are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash asked. Pinkie giggled and removed a pair of saddlebags she was wearing. “Well, whenever I get nightmares they usually stay around for awhile,” she explained, rummaging through the bags, “so I thought you might have had another one!” The pony finally found what she was looking for as she removed a lamp. Placing it down beside her, she gave a small salute. “Then the Pinkie Pie light artillery division set up fort and waited for you to wake up!” With the flick of a switch, the two ponies became suffused in a soft yellow glow. Nodding in satisfaction, Pinkie returned to her saddlebags. “How... how long have you been waiting here for?” Dash asked, lying down on the soft grass. Her mood was lifting with every second she spent in the presence of the party pony. “Well,” Pinkie began, her voice muffled by the fabric, “I'd say about... three hours! Eventually I heard you shouting something to do with a 'zilly hoover', and then I gave the order to open fire!” The pegasus' jaw dropped. “You – you really shouldn't have done this for me Pinks,” Dash mumbled, slightly embarrassed. “Don't be a silly filly!” The pink pony replied, withdrawing her head from the bag. She sat down opposite the pegasus. “Thirsty?” Pinkie asked, motioning to the flask she'd taken from the bag. “Yeah, thanks,” Dash replied. Silence fell as her friend poured hot chocolate into two camping mugs. Steam billowed into the chill air, swirling and dancing as it meandered towards the sky. Screwing the cap back on the flask, Pinkie handed a steaming mug to her friend. “So Dash, what happened?” The cyan pony remained silent for a long time, staring into her beverage. “...Dashie?” Pinkie repeated, lowering her head to make eye contact. “Look, Pinks,” Dash said carefully, “I... had a nightmare that brought up some... bad memories.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “This – this isn't going to be easy for me, ok?” “I understand Dash,” the pink pony replied. “If you don’t want to say anything that's fine.” Dash exhaled slowly. “No, I have to get this off my chest.” She took a sip from her mug before beginning.“I was born and raised in Cloudsdale. We had a little house on Altocumulus Drive. My dad was a weather pony, and my mum worked part time at the stadium. We used to spend loads of weekends at the park where my dad taught me how to fly, or occasionally we went to see the Wonderbolts perform. A perk of my mum's job.” She smiled slightly at the memory. “I didn't have any brothers or sisters, but I had a gang of friends I hung out with from primary school. We called ourselves the Marvelbolts! I know it sounds kinda... lame, but back then we thought it was the coolest gang ever. We'd practice tricks and formation flying and stuff. Mostly though we just wound up crashing. Anyway, when I turned thirteen I had to go to high-school. My parents didn't have a ton of money, but they wanted me to have the best education I could. I don't know how they did it, but they managed to get me a place at the Institute for Gifted Fliers. I don't even need to tell you how excited I was: the Wonderbolts all graduated from there! It was a boarding school, so my parents flew with me to the institute and then said goodbye. I'd only see them occasionally until I graduated.” Rainbow Dash paused before continuing. “The first day went fairly well...” * * * The filly walked nervously up the steps outside the grand building. She felt slightly reassured by the other seemingly lost ponies surrounding her, but feelings of excitement, nervousness and confusion bubbled inside her like a volcano. Many of the young fillies and colts here were already clustered in small groups, friends from primary school. Rainbow Dash felt a twinge of loneliness. All of her friends had gone to the local comprehensive, the 'griffon academy'. She recognized a few faces, but by sight only. Some ponies were laughing, some were quietly crying. Dash even saw a yellow pegasus curled up in a ball, shivering as though the end of the world was upon them. Suddenly, the huge front entrance swung open making barely a sound. At once, everypony was silent. The headmaster was a large brown pegasus with an impeccable walrus moustache that curled grandly at the tips, not a hair out of place. His brown mane too was immaculately parted as though by a ruler. A pair of silver rimmed spectacles perched on his muzzle, glimmering slighlty in the late afternoon sun. Every inch of the stallion seemed to exude an aura of authority, discipline and respect. Yet the smile he bore as he gazed round at the assembled students seemed as friendly as if they had known each other for years. “Welcome!” he boomed heartily. “It is always with grrreat prrride that I welcome my newest students to the Acadamy for Gifted Fliers!” Dash glanced to her left and stifled a snigger. The yellow pegasus she saw earlier looked more like a gifted faller. With her wings seemingly being used as feathery shields, she bore a striking resemblance to a small feathery stone. “You shall now be shown to your lodgings by our senior students.” He waved a hoof at several pegasi standing behind him. “Tomorrow, at prrrecisely eight of the clock, you shall be rrrequired to partake in the entrance test! This will determine your classes for the rrrest of the academic year. I need not inform you that this is a very important exam and should be treated as such.” He paused a bit before continuing, fixing all of the fillies and colts simultaneously with a serious frown. In an instant however he returned to his cheerful disposition. “Until then, please enjoy what remains of your first day here at your leisure!” With that, the pegasi trotted out from behind him and began organising the new arrivals. * * * After a hasty organisation, the cyan pegasus soon found herself trotting along behind a senior pegasus and two pegasi her age. The senior, who had introduced herself as Nimbus Blitz was about four years older than Dash, with short cut blue mane and a light pink coat. Despite herself, Dash couldn't help but gaze open mouthed at the academy. The main building was arranged like a vast 'H', with the space between the sides housing two enormous flight stadiums. It was these stadiums that immediately caught her eye. Huge striped rings, tubes and pillars stretched into the sky at different intervals across the soft ground. Row upon row of seats surrounded the central stadium, presumably for spectators or teachers. Even as the cyan pegasus stared at the marvelous obstacle course, several students were practicing in it, looping in and out of the various obstacles or simply performing acrobatic feats. “This stadium is largely for agility,” Nimbus explained. She gestured a hoof towards the window. “Students are free to come and train here for their flight exams or to relax. Take it from me – It's amazing fun!” “Um, Nimbus,” a pudgy colt asked, “will we have our exam there tomorrow?” “You'll do some of it there,” she replied, “and some of it in the speed stadium.” She pointed to the wall opposite the window. “Is it difficult?” asked a filly to the right of Dash. The older pegasus giggled slightly. “Don't sweat it! It's just a basic test of your flight abilities. You'll have to go through some obstacles, do a time trial around the track and maybe perform some tricks. Trust me though, it's really not that hard. Just enjoy yourselves for today!” The group began trotting down the corridor once again, their hooves clacking on the marble tiles. As it was lunch, very few students were wandering the corridors, so it came as a surprise to the four, as they neared a T junction, to see a colt come sprinting towards them, soaked from forelock to tail and slipping occasionally in his haste. “Nimbus!” he panted, skidding about a meter before coming to a halt before them. “It's Harley. He's gone too far this time!” Nimbus groaned and put her face in her hoof. “Sweet Celestia, what's he done this time Bolt?” “The third floor toilets!” Bolt replied, “He blew four of them up! Don't ask me how. Long story short, five rooms are flooded.” The pink pegasus swore quietly before turning to her three followers. “Stay here, ok? This shouldn't take long.” Receiving nods from the trio, she turned and half sprinted, half flew in the direction the colt had come from, he himself galloping not far behind. * * * Pinkie suddenly burst out laughing, almost pounding the dirt with her hooves. “Ex-exploding toilets?” she managed. “Yeah,” Dash replied, slightly jarred by the sudden outburst. The other pony's laughter only seemed to increase at this, until Dash wondered whether she could still breathe. Eventually, laughter turned to giggles, giggles turned to snorts, and snorts subsided into occasional hiccups. The pegasus couldn't help but smile. Pinkie Pie wasn't the element of laughter for nothing. “Sorry Dashie,” the pony in question mumbled sheepishly, “I didn't mean to interrupt your story. It's just... exploding toilets.” A chuckle escaped her mouth, causing her to rapidly clamp down on it with her hooves. “Its fine!” Dash assured her. In fact, it was more than fine. She could already feel herself cheering up, a warmth spreading through her previously chill form. She took a long drink from her mug. It was a nice night. “So did you make any friends? It must've been horrible being on your own.” “Yeah, I did,” Dash grinned, before resuming her tale once more. * * * Silence once again fell on the three young pegasi. Dash glanced around the small crossroads they found themselves at. Finding nothing of interest to look at, she turned to the other two. “Hi,” she began awkwardly, “I'm Rainbow Dash.” “Hasty Feathers,” the filly said, “pleasure to meet you!” “I'm Cirrus” said the portly colt. The awkward mood that had hung around for some time finally lifted, and the pegasi soon struck up a lively conversation. “So we found a huge piece of cardboard and went sliding down the hill outside capital park,” Hasty told the other two sometime later. “We all ended up crashing into the skateboarders, and we had to hoof it before they caught us.” All three erupted into laughter once again. It had been fifteen minutes, and there was still no sign of Nimbus. Despite this, Dash couldn't be happier. She'd found two friends when she thought she'd be alone, she was in an awesome school and exploding toilets seemed to be a regular occurrence. It was then that they heard the sound of hooves coming down the hallway to their left. Three colts trotted past Dash, Cirrus and Hasty. The first was a deep brown with a flowing grey mane. The second was a lighter brown, bordering on orange. His chestnut mane was much longer, falling in front of his eyes. The final one was bulkier than the others and deep blue in colour. He too had a mane that fell over his eyes, but black instead of brown. From what Dash could tell, the deep brown pony was leading the group. Suddenly, the leading pony stopped, causing the other two to almost bump into him. “Hey, lard-wings.” He said, turning to look at Cirrus. “Mind moving? You're blocking off the corridor.” His two cronies chuckled nastily. “B-but i'm nowhere near you,” Cirrus replied, hurt evident in his voice. Without warning, the brown colt barged into him, sending him sprawling to the ground. “Hey, looks like he bounced when he hit the flo - ” the colt began, when he was interrupted. Interrupted by a cyan blur smashing into his stomach. With a grunt he too fell gasping to the floor. His companions took a step backwards. Rainbow Dash stood over him, her eyes cold. “What the hay do you think you're doing?” she whispered dangerously. “No!” Cirrus moaned, “Leave it Dash!” The furious pegasus ignored him. “Mind explaining why you hit my friend here?” she asked slowly. The colt got up shakily, staring Dash down. “You kidding me,” he spat, “did you seriously just hit me?” Dash cocked her head in mock questioning. “What does it look like genius?” The colt trotted slowly back to his companions, glaring at the cyan filly all the while. “I'll deal with you later,” he hissed. With that, the three walked off down the hallway to the right. * * * “That big... meanie!” Pinkie interrupted angrily. Once again, Dash used the interruption as a chance to take a drink. “Ooh, if I got my hooves on him, I'd... Um...” She rubbed her head thoughtfully with a front hoof. “I'd not let him buy any of my cakes ever again!” The pegasus eyed her friend. Pinkie's face held a look of solemnity, as though what she had suggested was the cruelest thing anypony could suffer. Judging by her delicious wares, Dash was inclined to agree. “Yeah, they were kinda horrible,” she agreed. “But you're bound to meet somepony like that some time in your life.” “ So did he 'deal with you later'?” The other pony asked. Dash glanced down at her drink. “Well... I'll get to that.” she replied. Her voice was calm, but Pinkie could see her friend was troubled. “Okie – Dokie,” she said cheerfully. “So what happened next?” Grateful for the change of topic, the pegasus cleared her throat and carried on. * * * A hushed silence had once again fallen on the three young ponies, but not from social awkwardness. Both Cirrus and Hasty looked at Dash with a mixture of awe, respect, and in Cirrus' case, worry. “Dash... thank you,” Cirrus murmured. “No-one's ever stood up for me like that, ever.” “Aw, it was nothing,” the cyan filly replied with a trace of pride. “I've seen off worse guys than that back in my old school.” Cirrus gulped before continuing. “Still... you shouldn't have done that.” He glanced hurriedly down the way the three colts had gone as if worried they might hear him. “They're from the same school as me. Their word was law, and anyone who stood up to them... well, lets just say some of them got a transfer afterwards. The worst part is they got away with it. Sure, they were caught now and again, but mostly they managed to steer clear of the teacher's attention.” Dash laughed. “Don't worry, I’ll be fine,” she replied lightheartedly. Upon seeing her confident grin, Cirrus relaxed noticeably and conversation resumed once again. Yet he continuously glanced apprehensively towards the cyan filly. A short while later, Nimbus trotted into view. Her mane was drenched and plastered to her frame, stray droplets of water running down her electric blue locks. Every feather on her wings seemed to be waterlogged, ruffled or limp. To top it all off, a roll of toilet paper had latched on to her back leg and was bouncing along happily behind her. When she came to a halt in front of the three ponies, the trio were trying very unsuccessfully not to laugh. Nimbus stamped the ground with her hoof and glared furiously at them. “What do you think you're laughing at?” she asked. Cirrus, Dash and Hasty took an involuntary step backwards. The laughter stopped instantly. Nimbus allowed her veiled threat to hang heavily in the air, before a wide grin broke out on her soaked face. “I can't believe you fell for that!” she managed to get out before giggling hysterically. It wasn't long before the others joined in. * * * Dash chomped energetically on her hay fries. Evening had long since begun bathing Equestria in it's fiery glow, bringing the young pegasus' first day to an end. It went well, Dash thought to herself. For one thing, she'd made friends. A lot of them. In addition to Hasty and Cirrus who sat either side of her at the large table, five other young ponies were eating there too. Their table was one of about fifty, arranged in orderly rows in the cafeteria. The tiled floor was largely spotless, and the low hum of hundreds of chatting ponies filled the air. One of the walls of the cafeteria was made up of large windows, with doors leading to an outside seating area. Still visible even beyond the ponies eating in the open air was a beautiful view of the earth below, lit by the sun burning red like the interior of a blacksmith's forge. She sighed to herself, earning a giggle from Hasty. “Dash,” she said, waving a hoof before her friends face, “you still with us?” The cyan pegasus snapped quickly back to the present and grinned sheepishly. “Sorry about that,” she said, aware that she'd missed most of the conversation occurring at the table. The other occupants chuckled before talk once more resumed of flying. All eight of them were soon regaling each other with tales of spectacular dives, of aerial maneuvers that defied physics, of speeds that broke the sound barrier. Dash was almost sad as they all finished their meals and trotted towards their respective dormitories. The corridors were now largely darkened, classroom windows shuttered and lights turned low. Eventually, the colts and the fillies split up. The friendly conversation that had encompassed everyone like a warm glow slowly faded away with the departing ponies. The two fillies encountered less and less ponies as they made their way towards the outer reaches of the school, and soon Dash and Hasty walked alone down the darkened hallway. The other pegasus soon broke the silence. “Dash... are you worried about the test tomorrow?” Hasty asked. “Well, maybe a teeny bit,” the filly admitted, “but I’m sure it'll be fine. Anyway, you're the one who pulled off a dive from one hundred meters!” Dash playfully bumped into her friend's side, earning a small giggle. “Yeah, I guess you're right, although that one was more luck than skill.” “Whatever,” Dash grinned, rolling her eyes. Finally, they too had to split up, and after wishing each other good night the two went their separate ways. It didn't take long for Dash to find her room, a small plaque bearing her name affixed to the door. She went inside. The room was small, but pleasantly so. The walls were light pink, and the floor was a soft beige carpet. One window was present on the opposite wall. The room being on the second floor, she had a decent view over the edge of the cloud the academy was constructed on. In one corner was a single bed. A chest of drawers stood sentinel to the right of the door, while a plump cushion was situated near the window. Lastly, several tiny, almost empty bookshelves were attached to the wall above her bed. Dash certainly didn't plan on filling those anytime soon. Somepony had brought up her bag, filled with what little she decided to take with her, and lit the candles adorning the walls. She yawned. The day had taken a lot out of her; Unpacking could wait until tomorrow. For now she had a full stomach, a warm bed and the gentle fuzz of tiredness. She curled up in bed and fell rapidly asleep. * * * “That doesn't sound too bad at all Dashie!” Pinkie said as Rainbow Dash took a pause in her story. Dash smiled sadly. “No, it wasn't,” she agreed. “I used to look back on that first day almost jealously.” She sipped some of the drink she held in her hooves. “Well. Things started going pear shaped after the exam...”
Chapter 1Sunlight streamed in through the large arched window, falling in a graceful beam onto a sleeping, sky blue pegasus. Yawning loudly, Rainbow Dash stretched her legs out under her warm blanket of cloud and blinked drowsily around her sunlit room. Shelves affixed to fluffy walls contained miscellaneous objects and fond memories: A jar of rainbow from her first day working as a weather pony, her first moulted feather, a tome on advanced aerial maneuvers, one of the few books in her house, gifted to her by Twilight Sparkle. Posters adorned other sections of wall, mostly of her idols, the Wonderbolts. Suddenly wide awake, she shot up, the blanket poofing back into the cloud that formed her bed. Rainbow Dash darted out of her room, and down the large spiral staircase, pausing only briefly in her kitchen to grab a banana. She leaped out of her front door and into the vast blue expanse of the sky, front-flipping gracefully as she arced towards the ground. Snapping her wings close to her body, Dash hastily ripped the banana out of it's skin and shoved the fruit into her mouth. She fell faster, the wind making her coat ripple like a storm tossed sea. Her jaw working furiously, the cyan pegasus barely savored the energy rich breakfast. She fell even faster, her mane almost vertical behind her head due to the rapid fall. She finished the banana and threw the skin away, the waste quickly flying upwards as she continued to plummet. Finally, right before hitting the ground, Rainbow Dash opened her powerful wings and pulled out into a smooth curve, softly landing on the grass, which was usually accompanied by a small filly's applause. Except today there was silence. No orange filly waited expectantly beneath her cloud house. Puzzled, Rainbow scratched her head. “Squirt's normally waiting here for me to wake up. We always train together on a Saturday,” she mused. But Scootaloo was nowhere in sight. Rainbow shrugged and began the short flight towards Ponyville, her house being slightly outside of the large village. “I guess I really was late,” she muttered as she saw the sun hanging at the top of it's ponderous arc across the sky. “Scoot must be having lunch!” The wind whipped across her rainbow coloured mane as she gleefully cheered. Flying was her favorite thing to do. Ever. As she cleared the small hill that divided her house from Ponyville, she was greeted with the usual... silence? Now this was weird. Ponyville was usually teeming on the weekends, families taking advantage of their days off to spend time with their children and to browse the busy market place. Now, however, it was barren. Streets lay empty. Shops stood closed and lifeless. Even the market square where Applejack sold her delicious farm products was devoid of ponies. Stalls stood abandoned yet pristine, fresh produce neatly displayed under vibrant overhangs. All thoughts of finding Scootaloo quickly vanished as Rainbow struggled to suppress a small twinge in the center of her chest. It was a feeling she did not like one bit. She carried on flying over the empty town, occasionally swooping low and peering into windows in the vain hope of seeing somepony. Anypony. The twinge in her chest was now a cold hand clutching at her heart. She burst into buildings, the doors all unlocked. Yet the houses, while undamaged, were empty. The twinge in her chest was now undeniably the feeling Rainbow Dash, bravest and toughest pony in all of Equestria (in her opinion anyway), hated above all else. Fear. She tried the apple family barn, Twilight's tree house, Rarity's boutique and Fluttershy's cottage. All were empty. Finally, panting from exhaustion and fear, she burst into sugarcube corner. There, at last, was another pony. Pinkie Pie slowly turned around, her eyes filled with hatred as she glared at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus took a nervous step backwards. This wasn't like Pinkie at all. She was usually the most friendly pony anypony could ever hope to meet, an active volcano of friendship and laughter. Now that volcano was inexplicably frozen over. “P-Pinkie pie? Where is everypony?” she asked nervously. “Why should you care?” Pinkie coldly responded. “Its not like they need you anymore.” Her words pierced Dash's heart like an icy blade, leaving Rainbow unable to do anything but gape at her. What in the hay was going on? “Please, Pinkie, I don't understand!” the confused pegasus finally struggled to say. “Well isn't that a surprise,” Pinkie drawled sarcastically. “I'd love to stay and chat, but I have friends who need me. Goodbye, foreeeeeeeever...” The pink pony slowly faded away, turning transparent before dash's eyes. “NO! Please don’t go. Please don’t leave me -,” Dash begged, as pinkie faded into thin air. “ - alone...” Rainbow dash screamed, jerking rapidly awake. She bolted upright and glanced around at her room, not sunlit but instead draped in a blanket of soft moonlight. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she recalled her nightmare. For that was what it had been. She hoped. Flying down the stairs and out the door, the cool night air that greeted her quickly made her sweat soaked body shiver; and she made a beeline for Ponyville. Clearing the small hill, she was greeted once again by silence. Then again, it was midnight, she reminded herself. Without hesitation, she flew over row upon row of thatched roofs before reaching one that seemed to be made of gingerbread; Sugarcube Corner. Flying up to the upper window, Rainbow Dash looked into the dark room... and sighed in relief at the sight of the small pink blob that slowly rose and fell on the bed. “See, she would never abandon you!” Rainbow berated herself, “You stupid, stupid pony...” She turned and flew away, the moonlight glinting off of tears that were falling thick and fast from a sobbing, sky blue pegasus. Meanwhile, a bright pink earth pony woke with a start. “Ooh, my pinkie sense is tingling!” she cried. “Ear flop, Knee twitch, Eye flutter,” she intoned, her ears flopping, knee twitching and eyes fluttering on her bed. “A rainbow? But its the middle of the night.” Her face screwed up in thought. “This must be a weird dream: my pinkie sense never lies. This is almost as weird as that one dream when I ate a huuuuuge cookie that was made of apples because a walrus needed to find ...” she happily rambled on to a sleeping baby alligator. * * * When morning finally came to Ponyville, it was to find a tired and disheveled looking Rainbow Dash that woke from a restless sleep. She ate lethargically before leaping expertly out of her house and gliding towards the ground. Her heart wasn't in her flying today. The nightmare kept replaying over and over in her head. Yet despite the average performance, the orange filly waiting on the grass below still cheered and clapped as Rainbow descended from her house in the clouds. Scootaloo stopped clapping though when she caught sight of Dash's face. Her mane, though usually slightly unkempt, was a total mess, sticking out at odd angles like a multicoloured thorn bush. Dash's usually bright eyes were now red and slightly swollen, framed by dark rings. “Uum, Dash, have you been... crying?” Scootaloo asked. “What? No, of course not,” Dash replied nervously, mentally kicking herself for not checking her appearance. “I Just, um, was flying through some storm-clouds without my goggles on a, erm, special delivery mission. Yeah! I was on a special delivery mission for princess Celestia! Come on, crying? Who do you think I am, Fluttershy? I'm the bravest, toughest pony in Equestria!” “Wow! So cool!” Scootaloo gasped. “Sorry about that.” “That's fine,” Her idol replied with a tired grin, “Lets get this show on the road! Right, now I think you've been making good progress, and you almost flew last time! So today we'll focus on the take off and, with any luck, the landing.” Rainbow Dash watched with pride as Scootaloo, following her instructions to a tee, tried again and again to take off. At first, she just fell over, her wings flapping furiously as she flipped over onto the grass. Gradually though, she retained control and as Celestia's sun slowly reached the peak of its path across the sky, Scootaloo finally did it. Admittedly, it was only really hovering slightly off the ground. And it only lasted for about 2 seconds before the filly face-planted into the dirt. But from the look on her mud covered face anyone would think she had just out-flown the Wonderbolts. “D-did you see that?” the filly stammered excitedly, “I flew! I really did it!” Dash beamed at her ecstatic pupil. “You did really well kid,” Dash chuckled as she ruffled Scootaloo's mane. “Maybe when I’m captain of the wonderbolts I can find a place for you on the team.” “Thank you so much for this! Just wait until I show Applebloom and Sweetie Belle!” the filly said, turning towards Ponyville and beginning to gallop back. “Same time next Saturday?” “You know it!” Dash called the to the shrinking orange pegasus, giggling as Scootaloo tried to fly as she ran, resulting in several crashes into bushes and trees. When Scootaloo was out of sight, Dash was still in an exceptionally good mood. Scootaloo reminded her of herself when she was just a little filly back in - As quickly as they had gone, the memories of her nightmare came flooding back like the bursting of a dam. “Pull yourself together Dash!” she told herself angrily, “Stop worrying about a silly little nightmare. You know it would never happen!” At this, she cheered up slightly, but the little grain of doubt in her mind refused to leave. “Well... those rainclouds aren't gonna drive themselves off!” And with that, Rainbow Dash flew off towards an incoming patch of bad weather. * * * Twilight Sparkle trotted contentedly through Ponyville, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her deep purple mane. She looked up and down the busy high street, before turning her head slightly. “What's next on the list Spike?” she asked her assistant riding on her back. The baby dragon reached into one of Twilight's saddle bags and checked a large scroll, neatly organized and meticulously triple checked earlier in the morning. “We need to get some more ink,” he noted, “And get some winter coats from... Rarity...” His eyes glazed over and his voice seemed to come from a great distance as he pronounced the seamstress' name. Twilight giggled, and waved her hoof in front of Spike's face. “Equestria to Spike, come in Spike,” she chuckled. Her assistant snapped out of his trance, shaking his head and muttering under his breath, all the while blushing a delightful shade of scarlet. Twilight carried on walking down the street, occasionally greeting a friend or a shopkeeper, when she spied Applejack at her stall. Deciding she had enough time to fit in a conversation with her schedule, she trotted over to the orange pony. “Hey there Applejack!” she called. Applejack turned round and beamed at the pair. “Well if it isn't Twilight and spike. What can ah do you for?” she asked. Hearing a low rumbling sound from her back, Twilight fished out some bits from her saddle bag and passed them over to her friend. “We'll have two apple turnovers please!” she replied. “I think a certain dragon and I are in need of some lunch.” As she and Spike munched on the pastry treats Applejack handed over, the orange earth pony leaned over her stall and motioned for Twilight to come closer. “You, er, notice anything strange about Rainbow today?” she whispered. “No, why?” “Look over there,” Applejack said, pointing with a hoof towards the sky. Even from a long distance, Twilight had no trouble identifying the rainbow coloured mane of a pegasus battling against some rainclouds. “She's just doing her job, Applejack. Whats strange about that?” Twilight asked. “Sugarcube, this is Rainbow Dash we're talkin' about here. She's normally goofin' off up some tree 'bout this time of day. She keeps the sky nice and clear, don't get me wrong, but she usually leaves it till the last second, know what ah mean?” At these words, Twilight stopped and thought. Applejack was right; Rainbow Dash always kept the sky clear, but she left it as late as she could most of the time. Something was definitely wrong. “I see what you mean,” Twilight conceded, “But its probably nothing to worry about. Knowing Dash she's taken some kind of bet from the weather team.” “Yeah,” Applejack sighed, “maybe you're right. Anyway, you enjoy your food now y'hear?” “We will, thanks!” Twilight replied, waving as she trotted away from her friend, Spike being too hungry to care about anything except the mangled remains of the apple turnover in his now sticky claws. Applejack had a point, something was definitely up. She made a mental note to speak to Rainbow Dash the next day and get to the bottom of it. But for now, she had a shopping list, an apple turnover and a love obsessed dragon on her hooves. It was going to be a long day. * * * Rainbow Dash flew down from the reddening sky as evening spread its warming hue across the land. She had hoped work would take her mind off of her... minor fright (The Dash was never scared), and it did. To some extent. Her muscles seemed to glow from physical exertion, and the endorphins her body released from it left her in a state of calm happiness. For now, her thoughts were focused on two things: a nice, relaxing bath and her welcoming cloud bed. She enjoyed the cooling wind on her sweat matted mane. It was a nice evening. Dash entered her now orangey house and trotted wearily up to the bathroom. Rarity had given her some bubble bath from the spa for her last birthday, and although she didn't really care much for all this herbal mumbo-jumbo, it was definitely relaxing. Twenty minutes later, Rainbow Dash exited the gurgling mountain of pink bubbles that used to be a bath, scrubbing herself roughly with a towel and yawning loudly. As the last of the bubbles drained away, she was already snuggling up under her wonderfully soft cloud blanket. In a few seconds, she was asleep. * * * The sun shone down on a sky blue pegasus as she weaved through the air over Ponyville. The birds were singing, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the residents of Ponyville were leaving forever... Wait. Dash halted in mid air and stared down below. In the town square, everypony had gathered with all of their possessions and had began a march down the main road out of the village. “Where's everypony going?” She wondered aloud. “They can't leave without me.” She flew down toward the crowd of slow moving ponies. But when she got down there, they were gone. Baffled, she looked further down the road and there they were, plodding along at a snails pace. So how did she miss them? Rainbow galloped down the road, but as fast as she went the ponies just seemed to get further and further away. Panting, a familiar feeling beginning in her chest, Dash ran as hard as she could. Yet the crowd of agonizingly slow ponies was still miles ahead. She took off and flew, faster than she had ever flown before. The trees and hills beside the road became blurs as she sliced through the air. But try as she might, she couldn't catch up. Finally, exhausted, she fell to the ground in a heap. “Wait!” she cried hoarsely. “WAIT! YOU FORGOT ABOUT ME!” The crowd of happy, laughing ponies carried on, oblivious to the pegasus' cries. “Please,” Dash weakly called, tears forming in her eyes, “please wait...” Suddenly, like mana from heaven, she heard hooves from behind her. Turning hurriedly around, she saw Pinkie Pie hopping happily up the road, her saddlebags full of streamers and balloons. “Pinkie!” Dash croaked. Her friend hopped up to Rainbow Dash and looked down at the exhausted pegasus. “Well, if it isn’t the pony without any friends,” she laughed. A cold, harsh laugh that sent shivers down Dash's spine and drove a familiar icicle into her heart. “Hey there, aloney-pony!” “W-What?” was all she could stammer back. Pinkie Pie glared down at Dash with barely concealed anger. “You disgust me.” She coldly replied, before hopping on towards the crowd of ponies. “Wait for me!” she cried, causing the crowd to slow down and wait for her, many waving at the pink party pony, or else chuckling at her ridiculous luggage. But no one paid any heed to the poor blue pegasus, sobbing in the road. For the second time, Rainbow Dash awoke screaming, sitting up so quickly her cloud blanket evaporated from the force. She curled up into a ball in the centre of the bed, her shivering occasionally broken by racking sobs that shook her from head to tail. This wasn't supposed to happen. She was The Dash. She was fearless, brave, strong. Right now she felt terrified, weak and worst of all, alone. Sniffing loudly, she flew downstairs and out of her house, into the velvety night. It didn't take long for her to reach sugarcube corner. She felt foolish, but she had to check that her nightmare was just that. She had to check that Pinkie was still there. The occasional light from a window in the town told her that at least Ponyville hadn't up and left without explanation. She hovered outside her friends room and peered inside cautiously. The bed was empty. Dash stared at it in total disbelief. She began to break out in a nervous sweat. That hand was back in her chest, and she found it hard to breathe. She darted around the window, peering in at every angle she could, trying in vain to catch a glimpse of pink. She had just about given up, when she heard something from behind her. “What are we looking at?” a voice asked. Rainbow squealed and span around, pressing her body up against the window in alarm as she tried to get away from her assailant. Then she saw who it was. Pinkie Pie revolved slowly in the air, dangling from several bright party balloons tied to her waist. She smiled and cocked her head at Dash as she awaited a reply. Dash just didn't know what to do. Her emotions were having a battle – actually, scratch that - her emotions were having a full scale nuclear war in her head, her thoughts a turbulent sea of supersonic warheads primed to explode at any moment. She just gaped at the floating party pony, speech having completely eluded her. Pinkie's grin faded when she took a closer look at her friends condition. Rainbow Dash's sweat soaked body was trembling like a leaf in a hurricane. Her eyes had lost their usual brightness, instead having receded into tiny pinpricks, while her mane was so haphazard it would cause Rarity to have a fit. Yet even the limp, messy fringe couldn't hide her friend's tear stained cheeks. “Maybe you'd better come inside,” Pinkie gently told her friend.
Chapter 2Somehow, Pinkie Pie managed to extricate the petrified Rainbow Dash from her window and soon the pegasus was comfortably wrapped up in a snug pink blanket, lying down on the rug in Pinkie's room. The pink pony trotted over to the door. “I'm just going to get us something to drink!” she told her friend while exiting into the hallway. “Stay right there; I'll be back in a jiffy!” Dash sighed and nodded resignedly. She had, by now, gotten over her fear, and was beginning to feel worry creeping into her mind. Lying to Scootaloo was one thing. Lying to Pinkie Pie? Dash gulped. This was not going to be easy. A short while later Pinkie bounced back into the room, a large tray in her mouth. Dash considered it a miracle, as the pink pony set the tray down in front of her, that none of the two large mug's contents had spilled. “Here we go!” Pinkie grinned, “My extra special hot chocolate!” The blue pegasus stared at the steaming beverage before her. A mountain of whipped cream with marshmallow skiers floated on a warm, frothy chocolate sea. It looked... incredible. “Thanks Pinks,” Dash replied before taking a sip. To say it was delicious would be an understatement. The room was silent for a while, as both ponies enjoyed their drinks. “Right then Dashie,” Pinkie suddenly said, her newly acquired whipped cream mustache twitching as she spoke. “Why did I find you all shivery and scared outside my window so early in the morning? You almost woke up Gummy!” She waved her hoof towards a basket where a small green lump snored quietly. Suddenly snapped back into reality, Dash nervously glanced up at her friend before staring into her mug. “Me? Scared?” Dash chuckled nervously, “heh, you must have imagined it.” Her eyes darted around the room, never settling on one spot for more than a few seconds. “I... just came to visit!” she explained, forcing herself to lock gazes with Pinkie and hoping against hope that her poker face would hold. The pink party pony stared back with a deep, penetrating stare. The blue pegasus felt her already tenuous grin beginning to falter under her mustachioed friend's soul searching eyes. “So, why did you decide to visit this early?” Pinkie slowly asked. “Um... I just wanted to.” “Okey dokey lokey,” The pink pony responded in the same slow, doubtful tone, “well, why were you crying?” Dash felt beads of perspiration forming on her forehead. Pinkie was hard to lie to. “I was, um, happy!” Pinkie continued her unrelenting stare. “Okey dokey lokey,” she replied, “Then why did you squeal?” “I - wait, what?” Dash broke off mid sentence. Pinkie giggled, her serious expression a thing of the past. “You don’t remember? You went like this,” She said, miming how her friend had squealed and whipped around in fright. The pegasus felt her face grow hot. “I can't do it,” she sighed, finally giving in to the earth pony's unwavering stare. “I was scared, alright? Just... please don’t tell anypony about this.” “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Pinkie replied solemnly, “Now what was it that scared you Dashie? Its better to let it out than keep it all bottled up inside!” “Well,” the pegasus began, feeling a small thrill at her nickname, “I was scared because... I... I had a nightmare, ok?” Dash said in a rush. She ruffled her wings and looked away from her friend. “This is so stupid,” she mumbled quietly. Pinkie looked confusedly at the pegasus. “What's stupid Dashie?” she asked. “What's stupid?” Dash chuckled sadly. “Me! I'm stupid. The self proclaimed bravest, toughest pony in Equestria is reduced to... this, over a stupid nightmare...” “Don't be a silly filly!” Pinkie interjected, “Everyone gets frightened by nightmares!” “Yeah, but I've done tonnes of scarier stuff,” Rainbow replied, “I went into a Diamond Dog lair, I kicked a dragon in the face, I -” “Yes, but they're different!” Pinkie interrupted. “They might be scary, but were they your fears?” Dash stopped and thought. “Well, no. I mean, I never had a fear of dragons or of going underground.” “Exactly!” the pink pony exclaimed. “Nightmares are scary because they're what you're truly afraid of!” Rainbow thought carefully for a moment before nodding slowly; Pinkie was right. “Now then,” Pinkie Pie said, “Tell me what happened.” Slowly, Dash recounted the experiences of the previous nights. She told of how Ponyville was empty, of how all her friends were gone. How she frantically searched through every building for some sign of life. Then she went on to tell of the next night's terrors, of how she was ignored by everyone, how they abandoned her to lie in the dirt, of how they were unreachable. Yet for some reason the cyan pegasus refrained from mentioning her encounters with Pinkie. Maybe it was because she didn't want to hurt the pink mare's feelings, maybe it was because it seemed oddly personal, but Dash made it seem as though Pinkie had never been a prominent figure in her nightmares. Either way, she didn't feel in the right frame of mind to question her emotions. Once the final word of her tale left her tongue, a great weight seemed to lift from Dash's shoulders. For a while, Pinkie simply sat there. And then, suddenly, she leapt forward and held the pegasus close in a rib shattering hug. “Oh, you poor, poor filly,” she said softly, “That sounds horrible.” Rainbow Dash just sighed. She felt shattered, and the candyfloss scented fur her face was buried in was as inviting as any cloud bed. “Pinkie,” Dash said, her voice muffled by the party pony's shoulder, “Can you... can you promise me one thing?” “Sure, Dashie, what is it?” “Promise me that you'll never leave me alone.” “I promise, Dashie,” Pinkie whispered. Dash smiled and fell limp, her body finally succumbing to it's fatigue. Pinkie Pie giggled softly to herself and with surprising strength carried the snoring pegasus over to her bed. She yawned loudly; Helping friends was tiring work. Pinkie climbed into the other side of her bed and was soon fast asleep. * * * Dash awoke to the sound of birds twittering in the early morning air, and snuggled further into the comfy bed she found herself in. She knew she'd have to get up soon, but for now the cyan pegasus just enjoyed the relaxing haze of being half awake. It was then that she noticed something warm and fluffy curled up near her back. Dash rolled over lazily and hugged the cozy, comfortable object, causing it to grunt quietly before resuming it's steady rise and fall. I wonder what this thing is? the pegasus pondered sluggishly. Maybe it's Pinkie Pie... Smiling slightly at the idea, she leant over and nuzzled the neck of the strange creature. A soft, buoyant mane tickled her face and filled her nostrils with the scent of something sugary and strangely familiar. Dash stroked the soft, snug fur beneath her hooves. With a small twitch, a murmur escaped the mystery pony. “...I'm not food gummy...” Dreaming about gummy? Now this sounds almost exactly like Pinkie. But what would she be doing in my house? Suddenly, and with an uncomfortable lurch, Dash's mind was forced awake as memories of the night before cascaded into her mind's eye. This was Pinkie's house. Her eyes snapped open to see a bright pink mane. That warm object had been Pinkie Pie. With her famous speed, the pegasus jerked her hooves back and tumbled hurriedly out of the bed, landing in a sprawled heap on the floor. Her mind rapidly kick started out of it's previous stupor. “Oh sweet Celestia,” she mumbled. “I really hope Pinkie's still asleep.” Her ears pricked up as she listened intently for a few moments. A great sigh of relief escaped her as she heard the gentle snoring of her friend. Relief, however, was quickly overridden by another emotion. Dash felt her face begin to burn, and was sure she was blushing enough to illuminate half of Canterlot, her wings outstretched to their fullest extent. “Horseapples!” she grunted angrily, “snap out of it Dash!” A mumble escaped the pink pony before her. Hurriedly, the pegasus did an awkward dive out of the mercifully open window and into the crisp morning sky. * * * Later, as she battled the remnants of a particularly nasty storm front, Rainbow's mind drifted back to Pinkie Pie. For as long as she could remember, she'd had feelings for the pink party pony. Maybe it was her bubbly personality, her ingenious pranks, the way her hair smelled of candy floss - No! Dash shook her head in frustration to clear her thoughts. She'd learned the hard way that... no good could come of trying to date another filly. She tore through the last storm cloud, causing the ponderous weather pattern to explode in a vibrant shower of mist. The pegasus smiled as the droplets of water created rainbows that warped and swirled around her. She had to admit, the weather could be quite beautiful. Almost as beautiful as Pinkie - Dash stopped in mid air and rapped her hoof against her head. “For peat’s sake! Stop. Thinking. About. That. Mare!” she grunted to herself, each pause accompanied by a tap to the head. “Why cant I get rid of thoughts like I can get rid of clouds?!” she moaned, “wait - maybe Twilight can help! She probably has a spell somewhere in that library of hers that can get rid of... this.” So thinking, Dash snapped out her wings and glided slowly towards ponyville. * * * Twilight Sparkle carefully levitated the feather duster towards the upper shelves of the library's many bookcases. Every morning she made sure to dust the vast collection of tomes, and today was no exception. She meticulously dusted the spines of books she had read at least 17 times. Just as she reached 'Infamous Flight Accidents: A History', a tremendous crash shook through the library. She whipped around to see a rainbow blur shooting in through her window and bouncing furiously around the room, and watched in dismay as several of her perfectly arranged rows of books flew off their shelves like rectangular projectiles of knowledge. Finally, the blur skidded across the floor to rest at the hooves of Twilight. Rainbow Dash looked up sheepishly. “Um, yeah,” she began, just starting to notice the destruction she'd caused, “I wondered if you could help me.” A nearby stack of books on Twilight's desk chose this moment to grandly cascade onto the rug. The purple unicorn surveyed the wasteland left behind after the cyan pegasus' one pony library apocalypse. Trying to ignore the tic in her left eye, she grinned dangerously at Dash. “Heh-heh...” the pegasus chuckled nervously, slowly getting to her feet. “Perhaps I’d better help you clean up first.” “That,” Twilight said, “is a very wise decision.” As the pegasus carried the books in haphazard stacks to the bookshelves, Twilight returned to her dusting, all the while humming a merry tune. Dash placed her stack of books in alphabetical order, before flying down to collect more. However, she now had to re-arrange the existing books to make them all alphabetically correct, but there wasn't enough room on that shelf so some had to come down a row but then that meant - “Agh, This is so frustrating!” she groaned, “How do you do this all the time?!” Princess Celestia's student giggled and moved to help. “How about you dust the books, then I’ll organize them. Deal?” she asked. “Deal!” Dash replied, picking up the large feather duster and beginning to bludgeon the nearest thesaurus. “Now then,” Twilight said, returning the thoroughly cleaned book to its rightful place. “You said you needed help with something?” “Well, you see... I think I have a crush on somepony -” She was quickly interrupted by the purple unicorn, who gasped excitedly and levitated a large book towards herself. “I've read all about crushes!” She giggled happily, clapping her hooves together and scouring through the book. “Do you have actual butterflies in your stomach, or is it a metaphor? How much would you say your heart rate increases by in the presence of the colt? Thirteen percent? Forty?” she asked, rattling off the questions like a machine gun. Dash began to regret asking Twilight for help. “Uhm, it's not really like that at all,” she told her friend, finally getting a word in edgeways. “Books cant really describe it.” The purple unicorn looked crestfallen for a moment or two, but perked up immediately. “So,” she asked excitedly, “who is is he?” “It's a fil – erm, actually I'd rather not say,” Dash said, blushing slightly. Twilight gave a hastily muffled giggle at her friends shyness, causing the pegasus to blush even more. “Sorry!” the unicorn apologized, “I shouldn't laugh. Have you... how do you say it... asked them out?” “Well, about that,” Dash mumbled awkwardly, “It - well, it's a long story, but it wouldn't work out. So... I was wondering if you maybe, um, knew a spell to get rid of love?” Twilight shook her head slowly. “I'm sorry Dash, truly I am,” she replied sadly, “but love is an unbelievably strong force. Many scholars tried in the past to affect love with magic, but it was like trying to stop a waterfall using a colander.” The pegasus groaned and tossed the duster aside in frustration. “So I’m going to be stuck like this?” she asked angrily, “loving somepony I can never admit my feelings to?” “Stop listening to your brain; listen to your heart!” Twilight replied. “Deep down, what do you want to do?” “I want to hold them close, I want to take them on dates, I want to make them happy,” Dash blurted out. Twilight stamped her hoof. “Then do it.” she told her friend firmly. “You're always loyal to us. Now be loyal to yourself.” “It's not that easy!” Dash said exasperatedly. As if on cue, a large stack of parchment was suddenly thrown into the air by a gust of wind from the open window. “Nothing ever is,” the unicorn sighed. For a long time, the two stood silently. “Well... better get this bombsite cleared up...” Dash said lightheartedly, her words hollow and reserved. Slowly, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle returned to their arduous task. I hope Dash's alright, Twilight thought to herself. The only time I’ve seen her this nervous about something was when she performed in Cloudsdale, and then she had her friends to rely on. But this time... The unicorn shook her head slightly. I'm sorry, Dash. This is a battle you'll have to fight on your own. * * * Rainbow Dash groaned and rolled over for what seemed like the hundredth time. It wasn't that her cloud bed was uncomfortable. Far from it. And the cleaning she had done with Twilight had left her weary. How could anypony have so many books? Once again, Dash rolled over onto her left side and tried to force her mind to shut down. Twilight's words buzzed around inside of her skull, while half formed imaginings flitted in and out of her vision. In some of them, she confessed her feelings to Pinkie and the two quickly fell into a loving embrace, or went on a walk in the park, or just went for a pizza. Some of the things they did made her blush slightly, and caused her wings to tingle slightly under her fluffy blanket. Yet in others, Pinkie rejected her, crushing her self esteem like an autumn leaf and harshly pointing out the pegasus' flaws. Annoyingly, those occurred far more often than the good outcomes. Dash was just about to turn over once again when she finally fell into a deep sleep. * * * The pegasus trotted nervously past the happily mumbling ponies at the party, their monotonous tones occasionally broken by a loud guffaw or the tinkling of glasses. The ornate chandeliers that hung from the gilded ceiling bathed the room in a warm glow that put Dash in mind of firesides after a freezing winter day. As far as she could tell, the room went on forever in all directions. She hadn't even noticed when or where she had entered. Wherever she walked the crowds of ponies mysteriously opened up and left her in a small clearing amongst them. Seeing nothing else to do, Dash walked over to a nearby table laden with punch, food and snacks. “Hey, move your flank!” she grunted at a green pegasus stood in front of the punch. He sidestepped casually out of Dash's path. As she reached for a cup, she noticed something strange. All the ponies in the room had their backs to her. Puzzled, she walked round to the front of the pegasus that had obstructed her path. Yet, without moving a muscle, he always faced away from her. She ran round and round, trying to outpace his bizarre turning, bet to no avail. Finally, slightly tired and not so slightly frustrated, she poked him with her hoof. “Are you shy or something?” she asked, “or are you just ignoring me?” In an instant, all talk in the room stopped. “You want to see my face?” he whispered sadly, “sure thing, friend...” The green pegasus turned around slowly to lock eyes with Rainbow Dash. She hastily muffled a scream with her hoof, and took an involuntary step backwards. The pegasus' face was blank. The features were exactly the same. He still had a snout, ears, a mane. But where he should have had eyes or a mouth... there was nothing. Dash took a few more nervous steps backwards now, when she heard a rustling from behind. Spinning around, she caught sight of other ponies turning their heads to scrutinize her. “What's the matter?” the faceless pony asked in the same quiet, silky, melancholy voice. Dash ignored him, trying not to panic, or think about how he spoke without a mouth, or think about how she was going to escape a room she couldn't see the end of. She galloped through the nearest ponies, the faceless beings silently moving out of her way in the nick of time. She needed a familiar face somewhere in the nightmarish party. And wherever there's a party, Dash thought, there has to be - “Pinkie!” Dash called out to the ball of pure energy in pony form. Pinkie Pie turned from where she was dancing upon a table and tackled the sky blue pegasus. “Dashie!” she squealed, “I’m so glad you could come!” Dash wriggled out from under her friend and gave her a curious look. “Come to what?” “Duh,” Pinkie replied, rolling her eyes. “Your super special extra fantastic tremendously terrific party!” Dash looked around Pinkie's shoulder at the ring crowds of faceless, staring ponies and shivered slightly. “What kind of a party is this?” she asked, trying to keep her rising fear out of her voice. “What are – who are they?” Her voice trailed off as she pointed a hoof at the silent 'party guests'. “Those?” The pink pony giggled. “They're your friends, silly!” Pinkie got up off of Dash and helped the pegasus up. “Why don’t I recognize any of them then? Why are their faces... blank?” Dash asked. “Don't you see?” Pinkie asked, chuckling slightly. She bounced round and round the pegasus with her usual excitement. “It's because... you never had any friends in the first place!” At this she collapsed on the floor mid bounce in fits of laughter, tears of mirth forming in her eyes. Dash began to tremble. She shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “No, that's not true. I have Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack,” she listed, gaining confidence with each name, “and you!” Pinkie laughed even harder, pounding her hooves on the wood paneled floor. Finally, the laughs subsided and she stood up shakily, still chuckling occasionally. “Sure, they may claim to be your friends,” Pinkie said softly, “but remember your 'friends' in flight school?” “Sh – Shut up!” Dash replied angrily, caught off guard. “And as for me?” the pink pony continued, “I wouldn't want to be friends with a fillyfooler like you if you were the last pony in Equestria.” She glared at the pegasus, her exuberance now a distant memory. Pinkie spat on the floor in front of Dash before turning around and trotting away. Silently, as if on command, the party guests followed suit. Rainbow Dash didn't even try to catch up to them. She had curled into a ball, tail and wings wrapped tightly around her body as though trying to fend off invisible blows. “Fillyfooler!” Pinkie's voice rang out, though from her head or the room Dash couldn't tell. “Shut up!” Dash sniffed. “Just - go away... please...” But the pegasus' pleas fell on deaf ears. Again and again, like the tolling of a bell, the voice sang it's hurtful phrase, reverberating louder and louder in Rainbow Dash's ears. “Fillyfooler... fillyfooler... fillyfooler...” “I am not - ” * * * “ - A fillyfooler!” Dash yelled, waking up with a start. She glared around her moonlit bedroom as if daring her dresser or her posters to contradict her, her chest rising and falling heavily. She hadn't been called a fillyfooler for such a long time. She had hoped she would never be called it again. Gradually, the glare broke down with the pegasus as tears began to trickle down her cyan fur. “I'm – not – a – fillyfooler” she sobbed, pounding her pillow with her hooves. Burying her face in the fluffy cloud, Twilight's words echoed in her ears. “Listen to your heart...”
Chapter 3Rainbow Dash lay on her bed, her face buried in the cotton candy textured cloud pillow. The dam that had held in her tears was finally running dry. She coughed croakily, her throat parched, and a solitary droplet ran down her cyan fur. Slowly, reluctantly, Dash lifted her unusually weary limbs and began to pace her room. Part of her wanted to visit Pinkie again. That part of her wanted to be comforted, to be held close by a beautiful pink mare and told that everything was fine. Part of her wanted to fly down, confess her feelings and be done with it. Yet another part of her said both of those ideas were utterly ridiculous. After all, Pinkie Pie would no doubt be asleep. And best party host or no, nopony would appreciate being woken up at two in the morning twice in a row. And as for confessing her feelings? Dash considered poking a manticore with a stick a preferable method of suicide. Reaching the opposite wall once again, the pegasus turned and trotted back towards her bed. With a loud sigh, she sat down on the foot of her bed and placed her head in her hooves. She needed to think. Like a suffocating shroud, silence descended once again. Thunk. Dash shook herself and looked around the dimly lit bedroom. Thunk. There it was again. Thunk. The pegasus got up and trotted out of her room. Thunk. The sound echoed slightly louder as she went cautiously downstairs. Thunk. It was coming from... the door? Thunk. Slowly, Dash opened the large wooden door and poked out her head. With a loud smack, a small rock hit the pegasus on the snout. “Augh!” she cried out, rubbing the bruised area angrily, “What the hay was that?” “Sorry Dashie!” a voice called up. “P-Pinkie?” Dash shouted, anger rapidly being replaced by surprise. Even in the moonlight, there was no mistaking that pink face beaming at her. “Come on down, I have something for you!” Pinkie replied happily. Shaking her head in disbelief, the pegasus glided down to where a pink pony had entrenched herself near a small mountain of pebbles. “What are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash asked. Pinkie giggled and removed a pair of saddlebags she was wearing. “Well, whenever I get nightmares they usually stay around for awhile,” she explained, rummaging through the bags, “so I thought you might have had another one!” The pony finally found what she was looking for as she removed a lamp. Placing it down beside her, she gave a small salute. “Then the Pinkie Pie light artillery division set up fort and waited for you to wake up!” With the flick of a switch, the two ponies became suffused in a soft yellow glow. Nodding in satisfaction, Pinkie returned to her saddlebags. “How... how long have you been waiting here for?” Dash asked, lying down on the soft grass. Her mood was lifting with every second she spent in the presence of the party pony. “Well,” Pinkie began, her voice muffled by the fabric, “I'd say about... three hours! Eventually I heard you shouting something to do with a 'zilly hoover', and then I gave the order to open fire!” The pegasus' jaw dropped. “You – you really shouldn't have done this for me Pinks,” Dash mumbled, slightly embarrassed. “Don't be a silly filly!” The pink pony replied, withdrawing her head from the bag. She sat down opposite the pegasus. “Thirsty?” Pinkie asked, motioning to the flask she'd taken from the bag. “Yeah, thanks,” Dash replied. Silence fell as her friend poured hot chocolate into two camping mugs. Steam billowed into the chill air, swirling and dancing as it meandered towards the sky. Screwing the cap back on the flask, Pinkie handed a steaming mug to her friend. “So Dash, what happened?” The cyan pony remained silent for a long time, staring into her beverage. “...Dashie?” Pinkie repeated, lowering her head to make eye contact. “Look, Pinks,” Dash said carefully, “I... had a nightmare that brought up some... bad memories.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “This – this isn't going to be easy for me, ok?” “I understand Dash,” the pink pony replied. “If you don’t want to say anything that's fine.” Dash exhaled slowly. “No, I have to get this off my chest.” She took a sip from her mug before beginning.“I was born and raised in Cloudsdale. We had a little house on Altocumulus Drive. My dad was a weather pony, and my mum worked part time at the stadium. We used to spend loads of weekends at the park where my dad taught me how to fly, or occasionally we went to see the Wonderbolts perform. A perk of my mum's job.” She smiled slightly at the memory. “I didn't have any brothers or sisters, but I had a gang of friends I hung out with from primary school. We called ourselves the Marvelbolts! I know it sounds kinda... lame, but back then we thought it was the coolest gang ever. We'd practice tricks and formation flying and stuff. Mostly though we just wound up crashing. Anyway, when I turned thirteen I had to go to high-school. My parents didn't have a ton of money, but they wanted me to have the best education I could. I don't know how they did it, but they managed to get me a place at the Institute for Gifted Fliers. I don't even need to tell you how excited I was: the Wonderbolts all graduated from there! It was a boarding school, so my parents flew with me to the institute and then said goodbye. I'd only see them occasionally until I graduated.” Rainbow Dash paused before continuing. “The first day went fairly well...” * * * The filly walked nervously up the steps outside the grand building. She felt slightly reassured by the other seemingly lost ponies surrounding her, but feelings of excitement, nervousness and confusion bubbled inside her like a volcano. Many of the young fillies and colts here were already clustered in small groups, friends from primary school. Rainbow Dash felt a twinge of loneliness. All of her friends had gone to the local comprehensive, the 'griffon academy'. She recognized a few faces, but by sight only. Some ponies were laughing, some were quietly crying. Dash even saw a yellow pegasus curled up in a ball, shivering as though the end of the world was upon them. Suddenly, the huge front entrance swung open making barely a sound. At once, everypony was silent. The headmaster was a large brown pegasus with an impeccable walrus moustache that curled grandly at the tips, not a hair out of place. His brown mane too was immaculately parted as though by a ruler. A pair of silver rimmed spectacles perched on his muzzle, glimmering slighlty in the late afternoon sun. Every inch of the stallion seemed to exude an aura of authority, discipline and respect. Yet the smile he bore as he gazed round at the assembled students seemed as friendly as if they had known each other for years. “Welcome!” he boomed heartily. “It is always with grrreat prrride that I welcome my newest students to the Acadamy for Gifted Fliers!” Dash glanced to her left and stifled a snigger. The yellow pegasus she saw earlier looked more like a gifted faller. With her wings seemingly being used as feathery shields, she bore a striking resemblance to a small feathery stone. “You shall now be shown to your lodgings by our senior students.” He waved a hoof at several pegasi standing behind him. “Tomorrow, at prrrecisely eight of the clock, you shall be rrrequired to partake in the entrance test! This will determine your classes for the rrrest of the academic year. I need not inform you that this is a very important exam and should be treated as such.” He paused a bit before continuing, fixing all of the fillies and colts simultaneously with a serious frown. In an instant however he returned to his cheerful disposition. “Until then, please enjoy what remains of your first day here at your leisure!” With that, the pegasi trotted out from behind him and began organising the new arrivals. * * * After a hasty organisation, the cyan pegasus soon found herself trotting along behind a senior pegasus and two pegasi her age. The senior, who had introduced herself as Nimbus Blitz was about four years older than Dash, with short cut blue mane and a light pink coat. Despite herself, Dash couldn't help but gaze open mouthed at the academy. The main building was arranged like a vast 'H', with the space between the sides housing two enormous flight stadiums. It was these stadiums that immediately caught her eye. Huge striped rings, tubes and pillars stretched into the sky at different intervals across the soft ground. Row upon row of seats surrounded the central stadium, presumably for spectators or teachers. Even as the cyan pegasus stared at the marvelous obstacle course, several students were practicing in it, looping in and out of the various obstacles or simply performing acrobatic feats. “This stadium is largely for agility,” Nimbus explained. She gestured a hoof towards the window. “Students are free to come and train here for their flight exams or to relax. Take it from me – It's amazing fun!” “Um, Nimbus,” a pudgy colt asked, “will we have our exam there tomorrow?” “You'll do some of it there,” she replied, “and some of it in the speed stadium.” She pointed to the wall opposite the window. “Is it difficult?” asked a filly to the right of Dash. The older pegasus giggled slightly. “Don't sweat it! It's just a basic test of your flight abilities. You'll have to go through some obstacles, do a time trial around the track and maybe perform some tricks. Trust me though, it's really not that hard. Just enjoy yourselves for today!” The group began trotting down the corridor once again, their hooves clacking on the marble tiles. As it was lunch, very few students were wandering the corridors, so it came as a surprise to the four, as they neared a T junction, to see a colt come sprinting towards them, soaked from forelock to tail and slipping occasionally in his haste. “Nimbus!” he panted, skidding about a meter before coming to a halt before them. “It's Harley. He's gone too far this time!” Nimbus groaned and put her face in her hoof. “Sweet Celestia, what's he done this time Bolt?” “The third floor toilets!” Bolt replied, “He blew four of them up! Don't ask me how. Long story short, five rooms are flooded.” The pink pegasus swore quietly before turning to her three followers. “Stay here, ok? This shouldn't take long.” Receiving nods from the trio, she turned and half sprinted, half flew in the direction the colt had come from, he himself galloping not far behind. * * * Pinkie suddenly burst out laughing, almost pounding the dirt with her hooves. “Ex-exploding toilets?” she managed. “Yeah,” Dash replied, slightly jarred by the sudden outburst. The other pony's laughter only seemed to increase at this, until Dash wondered whether she could still breathe. Eventually, laughter turned to giggles, giggles turned to snorts, and snorts subsided into occasional hiccups. The pegasus couldn't help but smile. Pinkie Pie wasn't the element of laughter for nothing. “Sorry Dashie,” the pony in question mumbled sheepishly, “I didn't mean to interrupt your story. It's just... exploding toilets.” A chuckle escaped her mouth, causing her to rapidly clamp down on it with her hooves. “Its fine!” Dash assured her. In fact, it was more than fine. She could already feel herself cheering up, a warmth spreading through her previously chill form. She took a long drink from her mug. It was a nice night. “So did you make any friends? It must've been horrible being on your own.” “Yeah, I did,” Dash grinned, before resuming her tale once more. * * * Silence once again fell on the three young pegasi. Dash glanced around the small crossroads they found themselves at. Finding nothing of interest to look at, she turned to the other two. “Hi,” she began awkwardly, “I'm Rainbow Dash.” “Hasty Feathers,” the filly said, “pleasure to meet you!” “I'm Cirrus” said the portly colt. The awkward mood that had hung around for some time finally lifted, and the pegasi soon struck up a lively conversation. “So we found a huge piece of cardboard and went sliding down the hill outside capital park,” Hasty told the other two sometime later. “We all ended up crashing into the skateboarders, and we had to hoof it before they caught us.” All three erupted into laughter once again. It had been fifteen minutes, and there was still no sign of Nimbus. Despite this, Dash couldn't be happier. She'd found two friends when she thought she'd be alone, she was in an awesome school and exploding toilets seemed to be a regular occurrence. It was then that they heard the sound of hooves coming down the hallway to their left. Three colts trotted past Dash, Cirrus and Hasty. The first was a deep brown with a flowing grey mane. The second was a lighter brown, bordering on orange. His chestnut mane was much longer, falling in front of his eyes. The final one was bulkier than the others and deep blue in colour. He too had a mane that fell over his eyes, but black instead of brown. From what Dash could tell, the deep brown pony was leading the group. Suddenly, the leading pony stopped, causing the other two to almost bump into him. “Hey, lard-wings.” He said, turning to look at Cirrus. “Mind moving? You're blocking off the corridor.” His two cronies chuckled nastily. “B-but i'm nowhere near you,” Cirrus replied, hurt evident in his voice. Without warning, the brown colt barged into him, sending him sprawling to the ground. “Hey, looks like he bounced when he hit the flo - ” the colt began, when he was interrupted. Interrupted by a cyan blur smashing into his stomach. With a grunt he too fell gasping to the floor. His companions took a step backwards. Rainbow Dash stood over him, her eyes cold. “What the hay do you think you're doing?” she whispered dangerously. “No!” Cirrus moaned, “Leave it Dash!” The furious pegasus ignored him. “Mind explaining why you hit my friend here?” she asked slowly. The colt got up shakily, staring Dash down. “You kidding me,” he spat, “did you seriously just hit me?” Dash cocked her head in mock questioning. “What does it look like genius?” The colt trotted slowly back to his companions, glaring at the cyan filly all the while. “I'll deal with you later,” he hissed. With that, the three walked off down the hallway to the right. * * * “That big... meanie!” Pinkie interrupted angrily. Once again, Dash used the interruption as a chance to take a drink. “Ooh, if I got my hooves on him, I'd... Um...” She rubbed her head thoughtfully with a front hoof. “I'd not let him buy any of my cakes ever again!” The pegasus eyed her friend. Pinkie's face held a look of solemnity, as though what she had suggested was the cruelest thing anypony could suffer. Judging by her delicious wares, Dash was inclined to agree. “Yeah, they were kinda horrible,” she agreed. “But you're bound to meet somepony like that some time in your life.” “ So did he 'deal with you later'?” The other pony asked. Dash glanced down at her drink. “Well... I'll get to that.” she replied. Her voice was calm, but Pinkie could see her friend was troubled. “Okie – Dokie,” she said cheerfully. “So what happened next?” Grateful for the change of topic, the pegasus cleared her throat and carried on. * * * A hushed silence had once again fallen on the three young ponies, but not from social awkwardness. Both Cirrus and Hasty looked at Dash with a mixture of awe, respect, and in Cirrus' case, worry. “Dash... thank you,” Cirrus murmured. “No-one's ever stood up for me like that, ever.” “Aw, it was nothing,” the cyan filly replied with a trace of pride. “I've seen off worse guys than that back in my old school.” Cirrus gulped before continuing. “Still... you shouldn't have done that.” He glanced hurriedly down the way the three colts had gone as if worried they might hear him. “They're from the same school as me. Their word was law, and anyone who stood up to them... well, lets just say some of them got a transfer afterwards. The worst part is they got away with it. Sure, they were caught now and again, but mostly they managed to steer clear of the teacher's attention.” Dash laughed. “Don't worry, I’ll be fine,” she replied lightheartedly. Upon seeing her confident grin, Cirrus relaxed noticeably and conversation resumed once again. Yet he continuously glanced apprehensively towards the cyan filly. A short while later, Nimbus trotted into view. Her mane was drenched and plastered to her frame, stray droplets of water running down her electric blue locks. Every feather on her wings seemed to be waterlogged, ruffled or limp. To top it all off, a roll of toilet paper had latched on to her back leg and was bouncing along happily behind her. When she came to a halt in front of the three ponies, the trio were trying very unsuccessfully not to laugh. Nimbus stamped the ground with her hoof and glared furiously at them. “What do you think you're laughing at?” she asked. Cirrus, Dash and Hasty took an involuntary step backwards. The laughter stopped instantly. Nimbus allowed her veiled threat to hang heavily in the air, before a wide grin broke out on her soaked face. “I can't believe you fell for that!” she managed to get out before giggling hysterically. It wasn't long before the others joined in. * * * Dash chomped energetically on her hay fries. Evening had long since begun bathing Equestria in it's fiery glow, bringing the young pegasus' first day to an end. It went well, Dash thought to herself. For one thing, she'd made friends. A lot of them. In addition to Hasty and Cirrus who sat either side of her at the large table, five other young ponies were eating there too. Their table was one of about fifty, arranged in orderly rows in the cafeteria. The tiled floor was largely spotless, and the low hum of hundreds of chatting ponies filled the air. One of the walls of the cafeteria was made up of large windows, with doors leading to an outside seating area. Still visible even beyond the ponies eating in the open air was a beautiful view of the earth below, lit by the sun burning red like the interior of a blacksmith's forge. She sighed to herself, earning a giggle from Hasty. “Dash,” she said, waving a hoof before her friends face, “you still with us?” The cyan pegasus snapped quickly back to the present and grinned sheepishly. “Sorry about that,” she said, aware that she'd missed most of the conversation occurring at the table. The other occupants chuckled before talk once more resumed of flying. All eight of them were soon regaling each other with tales of spectacular dives, of aerial maneuvers that defied physics, of speeds that broke the sound barrier. Dash was almost sad as they all finished their meals and trotted towards their respective dormitories. The corridors were now largely darkened, classroom windows shuttered and lights turned low. Eventually, the colts and the fillies split up. The friendly conversation that had encompassed everyone like a warm glow slowly faded away with the departing ponies. The two fillies encountered less and less ponies as they made their way towards the outer reaches of the school, and soon Dash and Hasty walked alone down the darkened hallway. The other pegasus soon broke the silence. “Dash... are you worried about the test tomorrow?” Hasty asked. “Well, maybe a teeny bit,” the filly admitted, “but I’m sure it'll be fine. Anyway, you're the one who pulled off a dive from one hundred meters!” Dash playfully bumped into her friend's side, earning a small giggle. “Yeah, I guess you're right, although that one was more luck than skill.” “Whatever,” Dash grinned, rolling her eyes. Finally, they too had to split up, and after wishing each other good night the two went their separate ways. It didn't take long for Dash to find her room, a small plaque bearing her name affixed to the door. She went inside. The room was small, but pleasantly so. The walls were light pink, and the floor was a soft beige carpet. One window was present on the opposite wall. The room being on the second floor, she had a decent view over the edge of the cloud the academy was constructed on. In one corner was a single bed. A chest of drawers stood sentinel to the right of the door, while a plump cushion was situated near the window. Lastly, several tiny, almost empty bookshelves were attached to the wall above her bed. Dash certainly didn't plan on filling those anytime soon. Somepony had brought up her bag, filled with what little she decided to take with her, and lit the candles adorning the walls. She yawned. The day had taken a lot out of her; Unpacking could wait until tomorrow. For now she had a full stomach, a warm bed and the gentle fuzz of tiredness. She curled up in bed and fell rapidly asleep. * * * “That doesn't sound too bad at all Dashie!” Pinkie said as Rainbow Dash took a pause in her story. Dash smiled sadly. “No, it wasn't,” she agreed. “I used to look back on that first day almost jealously.” She sipped some of the drink she held in her hooves. “Well. Things started going pear shaped after the exam...”
