Dashes, Dots, and Pegasus Spots

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue
Chapter 2

Chapter 1

It was past noon when Twilight Sparkle finally finished her latest report to Princess Celestia. It was a list of all the new games she had learned to play while in Ponyville, complete with rules, diagrams of the various boards or playing fields, and drawings of the pieces used. She was particularly proud of her pictures of chess pieces and, when the final line was drawn, she released the magic manipulating her quill pen with a satisfied sigh.

“There!”

“All done?” her small assistant Spike asked. The baby dragon put away the last two books he had been reshelving in the library they shared as a home and joined her at her desk. “Hey, nice! I like how you make Princess Celestia into the king piece—though if you ask me, you don’t really need to suck up to her. You are her favorite pupil, you know.”

“Ha ha, very funny.” When the ink had dried, she rolled the parchment into a scroll. “Please deliver that, Spike…then we can go and get some lunch.”

“Excellent! I’m starving!”

Twilight Sparkle’s belly rumbled suddenly and she gave the young dragon a rueful grin. “Me too. Sorry I made you wait so long, but I was really into my work.”

“That’s okay…as long as you make it up to me with a nice, big ruby or sapphire.” Picking up the scroll, Spike belched a thin streamer of green flame into the air. The flammable parchment instantly ignited and vanished, magically transported through the air to Twilight’s mentor, Princess Celestia in Canterlot. “There, all done! Lunchtime!”

He hopped up onto Twilight Sparkle’s back and the young unicorn trotted from the library out into the brisk coolness of an early autumn day. She paused at the doorway to enjoy the sight of all the trees taking on the first glimpses of their fall colors, but her grumbling tummy cut her appreciation short.

“Alright, Spike, where should we go for lunch? A pastry over at Sugar Cube Corner?” She turned her head right. “Or a salad at the café?” She glanced to the left and grinned brightly when she spotted a familiar blue figure lying in the shade of a nearby tree. “Hey, look, it’s Rainbow Dash. I haven’t seen her for days…I think AJ said she was off in Manehattan or something. Let’s go say hi.”

“But what about lunch?” Spike asked plaintively.

“Oh, well…we’ll just ask her to come with us. If she’s been to Manehattan, I’m sure she’s got some interesting stories.”

The lavender unicorn trotted to the tree, calling out to her friend as she did so. When Rainbow Dash didn’t reply, Twilight paused briefly, one hoof off the ground. Maybe she was wrong and had mistaken some other pony for her friend…but no, that was definitely Dash’s rainbow-colored lightning bolt cutie mark she saw on the pegasus’s flank.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash…did you hear me?”

This time, the cyan pony raised a wing halfheartedly in answer, but she didn’t come rushing up to Twilight with the stories of her amazing adventures bubbling on her lips as she normally would have. In fact, she didn’t even turn around.

“Huh, rude,” Spike complained.

“No…no, I don’t think so, Spike.” Something was not right about Rainbow’s attitude, or even her posture. She was slumped on the ground, her forelegs stretched out before her, her hind legs splayed to either side of her body. Concerned, Twilight took a few steps closer and tried again. “Rainbow, are you alright? I heard you’d gone to Manehattan…Spike and I wanted to know if you want to join us for some lunch and tell us about it.”

“No thanks.” Rainbow Dash’s voice was listless and dull. “I’m not hu—” The young mare broke off as she fell into a harsh fit of coughing. Her hooves scrabbled at the ground as the fit shook her slender frame. Twilight gasped, for it looked as painful as it sounded.

“Ow,” Rainbow Dash whimpered when the coughing abated. She pressed her hooves to her temples. “My head!”

“My gosh, Rainbow…that sounded awful! Are you getting sick?”

“Sick?” Rainbow repeated, her voice now tinged with scorn. “I don’t get sick! I have a perfect consti—” She sneezed rapidly three times and moaned again.

“Rainbow, that doesn’t sound good.” Twilight walked around beneath the tree to face her friend. “Maybe you should go see—oh my Celestia!”

“Whoa!” Spike exclaimed, tumbling off Twilight’s back in his shock.

“What?” Rainbow Dash asked anxiously. She wiped her hoof under her nose. “Something green?”

“N-no! Something pink!” Spike said

The pegasus flinched back slightly, looking confused. “Huh?”

Before Twilight Sparkle could explain what had startled her and Spike, another voice rang out sweetly, “Hellooo ladies! Fancy meeting you here—I just finished up a large order and was on my way to a late lunch. Would you both like to—my goodness, Rainbow Dash! What in Equestria has happened to your face!” Rarity the unicorn stopped in her tracks and quailed, raising a hoof over her eyes.

Now Rainbow Dash looked thoroughly perplexed and frightened, as well as utterly exhausted. Eyes wide, she touched her face. “What is it?” she demanded, her voice breaking off into another fit of coughing. “Tell me!”

“Well, it’s…it’s hard to explain,” Twilight began, but rarity quickly nudged her out of the way and flipped open the saddlebags she was wearing. Using the magic of her horn, she levitated a small hand mirror.

“It’s probably better if we show you, dear.” She exchanged a worried look with Twilight as she edged the mirror forward to float before Rainbow’s face.

“Oh my gosh!” the pegasus squealed. She leapt to her feet, swaying unsteadily. “What…what happened to me? I didn’t look like this before! I’m…I’m…”

“Spotted,” Spike supplied for her.

Rainbow Dash’s pretty, pale blue coat was mottled by dozens of bright pink dots, which crisscrossed her face, body, wings, and legs like freckles. They were quite vivid and it was only due to the tree’s shade that Twlight hadn’t noticed them when she’d first seen the pegasus.

“What is this?” Rainbow asked, looking at her friends pleadingly. “What’s happening to me?”

“I’m not sure. It’s all very odd.” Twilight stepped closer to nuzzle her friend comfortingly, but she hissed when her nose touched Rainbow’s cheek. “Dash, you’re burning up. You have a fever.”

Rainbow Dash’s rose-colored eyes suddenly swam with tears. “Okay, I’ll admit it…I haven’t been feeling well since I got back from Manehattan yesterday. I came down from home to see if I could get some tea or something, but I was so tired I couldn’t even make it to the café.”

“Why don’t you come into the library and sit down then—Rarity, could you please run for Nurse Redheart?”

“Oh, well, Twilight dear, I would gladly, but she’s not in Ponyville right now. I heard she got called to Canterlot to help with a badly sprained hoof.” The white unicorn rested a hoof briefly against Rainbow’s flank and nodded seriously. “Oh, she is right, darling. You definitely have a fever. Come along.”

Normally Rainbow Dash would have bristled at being bossed around by the prissy seamstress, so it was a show of how terrible she really felt when she meekly followed Rarity to the library, her head hanging so that her rainbow forelock fell into her eyes. As she walked, she began to cough again violently and shivered from nose to dock.

“Poor dear,” Rarity crooned, leading her towards the sofa in Twilight’s reading room. “Come on, you lie down right here. And don’t you worry…even with the nurse gone, I’m sure Twilight will be able to find out what’s happened to you in one of her books.

“Right. I’m on it.” Twilight cantered through the library, pulling books off the shelves seemingly at random. Spike followed her closely, catching the books she tossed over her shoulder and piling them up on the sofa by Rainbow Dash. The stacks were soon taller than the baby dragon and Rainbow Dash tilted her head to read some of the titles.

“A Modern Compendium of Common Ailments. Dr. Fetlock’s Encyclopedia of Equine Illness. 101 Perfectly Easy to Find Herbs for Illness. The Medical Manual of Mare Maladies?”

“There’s got to be something in one of these that will explain your symptoms.” Twilight joined them at the sofa and sat on her haunches. Using her horn, she levitated a book before her eyes and started flipping rapidly through the pages. “Now, let’s see…you have a fever, a cough…”

“Achoo!”

“Sneezes.”

“Don’t forget that she’s trembling like a leaf in the wind,” Rarity pointed out. “You wouldn’t have a spare blanket about, would you, Twilight?”

Twilight had her nose buried in a book, but pointed over her shoulder to the balcony loft where she and Spike slept at night. “In the trunk at the end of my bed.” While Rarity trotted upstairs to fetch a blanket, she continued, “And pink spots spreading randomly. Now, Dash, you said you started feeling sick after you got back from Manehattan?”

“Uh huh. I was really tired on the flight back, but I thought it was just the distance…though a long flight has never really bothered me before. And when I got home I noticed that my throat felt scratching, but I figured that was just the dust.”

“Oh, so a sore throat too. You didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t ask…and if you want a list of everything, my head feels like an outraged dragon is stomping through it.”

“Hey!” Spike protested. He was perched on one of the stacks of books and was busily flipping through a thick, green encyclopedia. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at him.

“My legs and wings ache too.” She lifted her feathered wings and frowned at the way they shook.”And they feel all weak.”

“Hmm…now that is interesting. How about your appetite? You said a few minutes ago that you weren’t hungry. Have you eaten anything today?”

“Uh, no…and come to think of it, I didn’t eat anything yesterday either. Not since I left Manehattan. But I’m not hungry at all.”

“Upset stomach?”

The pegasus nodded as Rarity returned with a pink and white striped afghan, which she tucked in around her friend.

“Okay…” Twilight went on, her eyes still riveted to her books. “Now, why were you in Manehattan?”

“Oh yes, how thrilling!” Rarity burbled. “Did you get to go shopping? All the fall fashions should be out by now.”

“No. Some big shot scientist there discovered a new way to distribute snowflakes so they fall more evenly and keep their designs better. I was sent for the Weather Patrol to take his class.”

“Did you notice if any of the other ponies in the class weren’t feeling well?”

“Well, now that you mention it, my roommate in the dorms was coughing, but I didn’t see any spots on her.” She gasped suddenly. “But she was as pink as Pinkie Pie, so maybe I just didn’t notice them.”

“I think that’s exactly what happened. You must have caught whatever this is from your roommate and it took until you got home before you felt any of the symptoms.”

“But what is this? I’ve never heard of a pony breaking out in pink spots before.” She paused, biting her lip, and her eyes watered again. “You’ll be able to find a cure, won’t you? It’s not…I mean, I’m not going to…”

“Oh, nothing like that, darling,” Rarity quickly and kindly assured her. She raised a corner of the blanket to dab away the cyan pony’s tears. “I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”

“Actually…it kinda is,” Spike suddenly spoke up. “According to this,” he held up the Medical Manual of Mare Maladies, “you have a bad case of pegapox.”

“Pegapox?” Rainbow Dash squeaked.

“Let me see that, Spike.” Twilight took the book from her assistant and rapidly scanned the text. “He’s right…aches, fever, upset stomach, coughing…and bright pink spots.” She glanced up at the pegasus, whose spots seemed to have multiplied in the few minutes since they’d been inside. “It says it’s rare, but highly contagious once the spots appear.”

“Contagious?” Rarity backed up a step, but quickly returned to Rainbow Dash’s side, her expression contrite, when the pegasus glanced at her in surprise. “Sorry, Rainbow. Instinct, if you will.”

“It’ll be alright, Rarity. You and I are in no danger. It’s called pegapox because it is only caught and carried by pegasi. Unicorns and earth ponies aren’t affected at all. Rainbow, when was the last time you spoke to any other pegasi here in Ponyville? In Weather Patrol?”

“No. Since I took the snowflake class, I got a few days off. I didn’t even check in when I got back. I just went straight home.”

“Not even Fluttershy?”

“She’s been busy with a family of chipmunks that moved in with her. That storm last week knocked down their tree,” Rarity supplied.
Despite her illness, Rainbow Dash clucked her tongue scornfully. “Never would have happened if I had been in charge of the winds…”

“But that’s good, right?” Spike asked. “Not the chipmunks, I mean, but the fact that nopony’s had the chance to become infected here in Ponyville. All we have to do is make sure Rainbow Rash stays away from all pegasi for…” He glanced over Twilight’s shoulder at the book. “…two to three weeks until the disease runs its course.”

“Excuuuussse me? Rainbow Rash?”

“Pretty good, huh?”

The pegasus narrowed her eyes at the dragon, then chuckled. Her eyes suddenly squeezed shut and she moaned. “Oh, my head. I’m gonna feel like this for two to three weeks?”

“Not this badly, I’m sure,” Twilight advised. “The majority of the symptoms are just like the flu…you’ve had the flu before, so you know how it progresses. The first few days are always the worst. This says that the spots will turn purple and then blue within a week, maybe ten days, and after that, you won’t be contagious anymore, though you’ll probably be weak and fragile for the full three weeks.”

“Fragile? Ugh, fine…then I guess I’ll just go home and sleep.” She slid miserably off the sofa, the blanket falling from her withers, and slunk towards the door.

“Uh, Rainbow…”

“Are you sure you have enough supplies in your house?” Rarity asked. “Because, dear, you’re going to need plenty of juice and soup to keep your strength up and, as you know, none of us earthbound can easily get to your door without the balloon. And we won’t be able to get a pegasus to deliver anything.”

“Sure, I’ve got lots of…uh…ah, darn it!”

“Rainbow, wait…”

The pegasus pushed the door open and winced at the light in her eyes. “Ow,” she murmured. “Well, guess I’ll go to the market first and…” She lifted her trembling wings and flapped them, rising off the ground.

“Rainbow, no!”

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash’s wings wilted when she was only six feet in the air and she plummeted to the ground in a flurry of slender legs and feathers. The two unicorns hurried to her side, helping her up as she spat out a mouthful of dirt and grass. “What just happened? My wings totally gave out on me!” She raised them again, staring at them in confusion as she wriggled the feathers.

“I’m sorry, Rash—oh, I mean, Dash! You didn’t let me tell you…pegapox affects your wings too. Now that the spots have appeared, you won’t be able to fly until they turn blue and fade.”

“Oh horse apples!” Rainbow swore. “You’re saying I’m grounded? For two weeks?” She began to march rapidly in place, stomping her hooves in a mini tantrum. “This. Is. Not. Fair!”

“Well, fair or not, there’s no way you’re going to be able to fly up to your house.” Twilight stepped up behind the little pegasus and gently pushed her back into the library with her head. “You’re going to have to stay with one of us—at least we can help take care of you.”

“Who?” Rainbow wanted to know as Rarity took charge from Twilight and nudged her back onto the sofa, using her horn to pull the blanket over her.

“Well, Fluttershy would have been my first thought, but you can’t go anywhere near her while you’re spotted pink or she could catch it too...maybe you should just stay here.”
“No, she can’t do that, Twilight,” Rarity said with a shake of her mane. She carefully smoothed the wrinkles out of the blanket. “You live in the public library—ponies are always coming and going for books. She won’t get any peace or quiet, especially on that balcony you call a bedroom.”

“Oh, I suppose you’re right…though I do have Spike and Owlowicious to help out…um, how about Pinkie Pie. She loves to have company and I’m sure she—”

“Not Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash yelped, her voice breaking. When the two ponies and Spike stared at her in shock, she hung her head over the edge of the sofa and amended in a lower voice, “Don’t get me wrong, Pinkie is great and all. She’s one of my best friends…but if I stay with her she’s going to want to throw me some kind of I’m-Sorry-You’re-Sick party, and then a Get-Better-Soon party, and when my spots finally go away an I’m-So-Glad-You’re-Well-Again party. With the way I’m feeling right now, I can’t deal with all those parties.”

“I guess that’s probably true,” Rarity agreed. “And you don’t need so much excitement. Right now you just need lots of rest and quiet, so I think…”

“I suppose Applejack and the Apple family would—”

“Absolutely not, Twilight! She’s in the middle of her, uh, applebucking, as it were. If you would let me finish, I was about to say that Rainbow Dash will come stay with me.”

“You?” Twilight and Rainbow asked in unison.

“Why of course, darlings. It makes perfect sense. It’s just me and Sweetie Belle, and she’s in school all day. The boutique is usually quiet and my living space is separate from the shop, so she will have plenty of quiet privacy. You can take Sweetie’s room, Rainbow. She won’t mind, she’ll just stay in with me.” The unicorn clapped her snow-white hooves together, then put an arm around her ill friend’s neck, hugging her gently. “And I will play nurse. Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash, with me taking care of you, you will be back on your wings in no time!”

Rainbow Dash managed to smile gratefully, but Twilight Sparkle couldn’t miss the glint of utter horror in the blue pony’s eyes. It was going to be a long three weeks.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Rainbow Dash was having the strangest dream. She was lying on a pile of itchy, scratchy pine needles, her legs and wings tied up tight, while an ogre stared down at her. It seemed to be debating on how to cook her dinner—broiled, fried, or baked. She could even feel the fire it had started for the task, the heat blazing on her skin and making her sweat.

“No…don’t eat me…” she murmured. “I’m all stringy and boney…”

“Stringy and boney?”

Now, that was weird. Why would an enormous ogre have such a sweet, high voice?

“Rainbow Dash? Are you awake?”

And how in the hay did it know her name?

Confused, the pegasus drifted up from the dream and peeked out from under the blanket…only to find herself staring into a pair of bright green eyes hovering no more than three inches from her face.

“Aaiiih!”

With a hoarse scream, she jumped up and flailed away from the eyes, but the sheets and blankets had tangled themselves around her legs while she’d slept and she was trapped. She struggled and fought the confinement until exhaustion took over again and she went limp, hanging facedown off the bed with her eyes squeezed shut.

“Forget it,” she mumbled. “Go ahead, ogre. Just make it quick.”

“Ogre? I’m not an ogre. What are you talking about?”

Rainbow cautiously opened one eye and peered sideways. A tiny white unicorn was sitting on the bed beside her, watching her curiously.

“S-Sweetie Belle?”

“Yeah!” The unicorn smiled. “Were you having a bad dream or something? You were talking about an ogre and you called yourself stringy and boney.”

Rainbow Dash groaned and levered herself back up on the bed to lean against the pillows, kicking her legs free of the blankets. She noticed a little green teddy bear lying on the mattress beside her and picked it up, staring confusedly into its button eyes.

“That’s Bobo. If you squeeze his tummy, he squeaks!”

The pegasus curiously squeezed the bear around the middle, raising an eyebrow as it let out a high-pitched wail. The unwavering, sewn on smile and beady eyes started to give her the creeps so she tucked the toy under the pillow beside her.

“Rarity says you’re sick and we’ve got to take care of you. You look so strange, all spotty like that.”

“Thanks. Oh, my head is killing me.” She rubbed her temples with her hooves before looking at Sweetie Belle again. “How long have you been sitting there? I thought you were in school.”

Sweetie scoffed. “Yeah, like four hours ago. You’ve been asleep a long, long time.”

“Sure doesn’t feel like it. I’m still so tired.”

“Aren’t you hungry? Rarity said you might be hungry, so I made you a snack. You need lots of nutrients when you’re sick so you can get better. Look!” She bounced off the bed and lifted a tray from the floor, holding it out to the pegasus proudly. “See! I made you toast, and apple juice, and some cookies, and an orange, and pickles!”

“Pickles?”

“Uh huh! I love pickles.”

Rainbow Dash glanced skeptically at the food arranged on the tray. There was a small glass filled to the brim with amber apple juice, a plate with two slices of toast charred to a blackened crisp, an unpeeled orange, and the aforementioned cookies arranged on the same china plate with half a dozen pickle spears.

“I, uh, th-thanks, Sweetie…” Her stomach clenched at the thought of eating anything, let alone the odd snack before her. “It looks, um…well…”

“I know! Yummy, right? Here, have a cookie!” She held up a sugary circle covered in pink and purple sprinkles, one edge soggy and discolored by green pickle brine.

“Sweetie, I don’t think I can…”

“Oh, you’re awake! Wonderful! Sweetie, you haven’t been bothering Rainbow Dash, have you?” Rarity appeared in the doorway. “I told you she needs to sleep.”

“I didn’t wake her. I was just watching over her and she woke up on her own.” The filly set the tray down on the bed, hopped onto the mattress again, and sat back on her haunches. “I think she was having a bad dream or something. And I don’t think she’s hungry, sis.”

Rarity stepped up to the bed and peered at the tray, one sculpted eyebrow lifting. “Yes,” she gave a light, uneasy chuckle as she met Rainbow Dash’s pained eyes. “Well, I don’t think she’s ready for cookies and pickles yet. She’s probably better off with some soup.”

“Aw!”

“Maybe in a little while. The juice is a good idea.” She carefully plucked the full glass from the tray before it could spill and set it on the bedstand. “Why don’t you get her a straw to make it easier to drink?”

“Okay!” Her face brightening again, Sweetie Belle jumped from the bed and pranced out of the room.

“Well, she tried.” Rarity lifted the tray, wrinkling her nose at the burnt smell of the toast, and set it on the floor. “She’s been so excited to help me nurse you back to health. She even said you could use all of her toys if you get bored.”

Rainbow Dash reached under the pillow to pull out the green teddy bear, shuddering at the fixed grin.

“Yes, adorable, isn’t he? Now, how are you feeling, darling? You’ve been asleep for more than six hours. I was beginning to get worried.” As she spoke, Rarity walked around the bed and straightened the twisted covers. “My my, you certainly tossed and turned, didn’t you? It must have been some dream.”

“Ogre,” Rainbow Dash replied, and sneezed.

“Well, that’s uncalled for! I was just asking.”

“What? No, not you…in the dream. It was…it was an ogre.” She slumped down into the pillows, coughing into her hoof. “Six hours? Really? I feel like I haven’t slept in a week.”

Rarity tskd, tucked the blankets around her friend again, then held up a thermometer. “Here. Twilight sent Spike over with some instructions. She wants me to keep track of your temperature. Open up.”

The pegasus shook her head. “No thanks. I hate those things.”

“We need to know how high your fever is. Open up.”

“I’m fine.” Rainbow clamped her mouth shut.

“Open up, Rainbow Dash. Stop being so stubborn. Oh! Don’t you shake your head at me! Open up. Open. Open!” Her white hoof suddenly shot out and clamped onto the blue pony’s nose. Dash gasped, startled, and Rarity immediately popped the thermometer under her tongue.

“There! Now that wasn’t so hard, was it? Don’t forget I have a little sister, Rainbow Dash. I know all the tricks.”

Rainbow Dash glared at her over the bulb of the thermometer and crossed her legs over her chest stubbornly.

“Now…I’m going to make you some soup to go with your juice. What do you like best, clover or carrot?”

“Mmockli.”

“What was that, dear?”

“Mmnocoli.”

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

Pulling the thermometer from her mouth, Dash said, “Broccoli.”

“Rainbow Dash, how can we get a proper reading if you don’t keep the thermometer in your mouth?”

Groaning in exasperation, Rainbow Dash returned the thermometer under her tongue. “Weh oo axd!”

“What was that?”

The pegasus threw up her hooves helplessly. “Nvv mnd!”

“Whatever, darling. Broccoli, you say? Are you sure you wouldn’t rather a nice clover broth?” She watched her friend shake her head. “No? What about a sweet carrot puree…lot’s of vitam—you’re sure? Well, I guess I could make broccoli soup. I would have to go to the market to get some broccoli, of course.”

Rainbow tilted her head so she was peering up at the unicorn from beneath the fringe of her hair, her large magenta eyes pleading. She held out a pale blue hoof covered in bright pink spots and Rarity sighed, relenting.

“Alright. I suppose Sweetie could keep you company while I’m gone and come get me if there’s an emergency.”

“Cn tak care mmsef!”

“Yes, dear, I’m so sure you can. You just lie back and relax, drink your juice, and I will be back before you know it.” Picking up the tray, she left the room calling out, “Sweetie! Have you found that straw yet!”

“Erm, Wawity? Oo fegot th’ mometer! Wawity?”
A few moments later, Rainbow Dash heard the front door slam downstairs and hoofsteps as Rarity left for the market. Almost immediately after, Sweetie Belle appeared with a pink swirly straw.

“Found one!” she announced, plunking it into the juice and rearing up to put her hooves on the mattress. She gave Rainbow Dash a severe look. “Rarity said I have to make sure you drink all that juice before she gets back…so start sipping.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at the bossy filly, but Sweetie Belle only frowned back and pointed to the glass.

“All of it.”

Shrugging, Rainbow Dash dropped the thermometer on the side table and picked up the glass. As she took a long, cool sip of Sweet Apple Acres apple juice, Sweetie checked the thermometer, shaking her head grimly at the reading.

The apple juice was cold. It felt nice on her sore throat, but caused her to shiver.

“Oh no…that’s not good. How can you be cold when you have a temperature? Do you need another blanket? How about a hot water bottle?”

“N-no…I’m good.” After seeing what the filly had done to the toast, she didn’t Sweetie doing anything with boiling water. “The j-juice is c-c-cold.” She took another sip, satisfying the little unicorn.

“Okay. Uh…are you tired? If you’re not we could play a game? I have lots of games.”

“A game?” Rainbow thought about that for a moment and realized that she was tired, but didn’t feel like sleeping yet. Not if her fever was conjuring up dreams of pony-eating ogres. “Okay…whatcha got?”

“All kinds of things.” Sweetie bounced off the bed and went to her closet, flinging the door open and rooting around. Rainbow Dash heard a series of thumps, bangs, and crashes and pushed herself up on the pillow to peer across the room. From her vantage point, she could only see a fluffy pink and lilac tail twitching back and forth as the unicorn dug about.

“You okay in there, Sweetie?” she called, coughing harshly.

“I’m fine! Do you want to play dominoes or checkers? Ooh! Never mind…I just found Bubble Jump. Have you ever played that? It’s really fun.” She backed out of the closet, a sweater caught in her mane, dragging a brightly colored box. “Here it is! You’re going to love this, Rainbow Dash.” She shook herself rapidly, dislodging the sweater, and jumped back on the bed. Sitting on one of the extra pillows, she unpacked the box and starting arranging the board, explaining the rules as Rainbow Dash watched.

“See…you have to get all your colored pieces to the home space by going around the board. But if you land on a bubble, it bounces you right back to the start. Here, I’ll go first and show you!”

Selecting the yellow tokens, she rolled a pair of dice across the board and moved two of her pieces, counting each space out loud. Her second token landed in a space marked by a bright blue bubble and she dutifully moved it back to the starting circle.

“Your turn!” she quipped. “You can be green.”

With a shrug, Rainbow Dash arranged her pieces and rolled the dice. Both of her numbers moved her forward on the board, avoiding bubble spaces and pulling ahead of Sweetie Belle.

“Aw yeah! I could get to like this game.”

Twenty minutes later, her opinion was rapidly changing when Sweetie moved her second yellow piece onto a yellow home square, while she had landed on three bubbles in a row.

“Are you kidding me! How do you keep doing that?” She lifted one of the dice and squinted at it. “Are these things weighted or something?”

Sweetie Belle laughed. “No, silly. It’s all luck…though you sure don’t seem to be very lucky.”

“Hey, this is my first time. I’ll bet you weren’t very good the first time you played.”

“Yes I was. I beat Rarity sixteen times in a row.” The little unicorn smiled smugly. “It’s your turn again.”

Grumbling under her breath, Rainbow reached for the other die, but stopped when she heard a door open and close downstairs. Sweetie immediately perked up.

“Rarity’s home.”

As if she had heard her sister, Rarity called out from the stairs, “I’m back! And look, Rainbow Dash, I brought you a visitor.”

“Visitor?”

“Hey there, Sugarcube! Ah heard you was feelin’ poorly and came to cheer you up.” Smiling broadly, Applejack sauntered into the room behind Rarity. “Ah was in town deliverin’ some apples to Twilight’s and she mentioned you’d caught some itty bitty bug so—” The orange earth pony stopped in midstride, her green eyes growing round as saucers at the sight of her friend. Her mouth hung open briefly as she got over her initial shock, then the corners twitched upwards in a snicker.

“It’s not funny, AJ,” Rainbow Dash said sulkily.

Applejack let loose a roar of laughter, tipping her head back so hard she had to hold her hat to her hair. “Lansakes, Rainbow! Look at you! You got more spots on you than a dalmation!”

“They’re called pegapox,” Sweetie announced. “They’re really bright, aren’t they, Applejack?”

“They sure as sugar are, Sweetie.” The country pony sidled closer to the bed, staring at Rainbow Dash and shaking her head slowly. “It’s just too amazin’. Why, if Ah wasn’t seein’ it with mah own two eyes, Ah’d never have believed it…Sweetie Belle, you got any markers around here?”

“Markers? Yeah, I have some.” Moving carefully so as not to upset the game, Sweetie raced to her desk and rummaged through a drawer until she found a purple marker. “Will this do?”

“Perfect.”

The filly carried it to the orange pony in her mouth. “What do you need it for?”

Applejack uncapped the marker and grinned slyly. “Ah wanna try to connect the dots and see if Ah can find a hidden picture.”

“What! You wouldn’t!” Scowling, Rainbow scurried back into the pillows as her friend approached. “Applejack, you keep away from me!”

Applejack laughed again and passed the marker back to Sweetie Belle. “Just kiddin’, Sugarcube. Now what in tarnation happened to you?”

Rarity and Rainbow Dash filled her in on the story, explaining the trip to Manehattan and the sick roommate and the sudden inability to fly that had left Rainbow Dash grounded in Ponyville.

“So Sweetie and I have taken her in to nurse her back to health,” Rarity concluded. To Rainbow Dash she added, “They were out of broccoli at the market, darling, and won’t have any more in for three days…but I got a wonderful bunch of watercress and some alfalfa so I’ll whip you up something fabulous.”

“But, Rarity, I don’t even like wat—”

“You sure you’re up to this, Rarity? If you want, I can take her off your hooves. We’ve got plenty o’ room down at the farm…and we both know how difficult Rainbow can be when she sets her mind to it.”

“Wh—hey! I’m sitting right here!”

“It’s quite alright, Applejack,” Rarity said, ignoring Rainbow Dash’s outburst. “I’m perfectly capable of handling her myself, especially in this pathetically weakened state.”

“Helloooo! You do realize I can still hear you two!”

“Well, of course you can hear us, Rainbow…we’re only standin’ two feet away!”

Rarity shook her head worriedly and leaned in close to Applejack. “The poor dear…I think the fever has made her delirious.”

“I’m not deliri—oh, forget it!” Rainbow fell back against the pillows and crossed her arms angrily over her chest. “When did I go back to being a foal?”

Sweetie Belle climbed back onto the bed and took her place across the game board. “Aw, cheer up, Rainbow Dash…it’s only going to be a couple of weeks.” She held out the dice, smiling innocently. “And it’s still your turn.”

Applejack stayed long enough to help Rarity make dinner, then left with a promise to come back tomorrow with a few bottles of fresh apple juice. After winning the game and the two following it, Sweetie left the room to start on her homework. Rarity excused herself as well, saying she had some sewing to do while Rainbow Dash got some much needed rest.

Alone in the bedroom with a bowl of watercress and alfalfa soup cooling on the table beside her, Rainbow Dash kicked fitfully at the blankets and tried to get comfortable again. It was dark outside, for Celestia had lowered the sun, and she was tired, but she couldn’t fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes and started to drift off she would begin to cough or sneeze and her head would pound fretfully.

Moaning, she turned onto her side, then flopped onto her belly. A moment later, she spun to the other side and yelped as she came face to face with the beady, unblinking eyes of Bobo.

“This is not going to work…I don’t care how cute they think you are…to me, you’re just creepy.” Picking up the offending bear, she slipped out of the bed and, swaying woozily with every step, crossed to the closet. The interior was a jumbled mess of toys, clothing, blankets, and books, completely at odds with the rest of the room.

With a sigh of relief, Rainbow Dash hid the bear beneath a pink bathrobe and a picture book, then crept back to bed. She yawned as soon as her head hit the pillow and snuggled deep into the soft blankets.

She was sound asleep when the bedroom door cracked open and emitted a shaft of light across the floor. Sweetie Belle tiptoed inside, but stopped when Rarity’s voice filtered in from the hall.

“Don’t disturb her now, Sweetie. She really needs her sleep.”

“I won’t,” Sweetie called back in a whisper. “I just need to get my pajamas.” She trotted to the closet and dug through its depths until she found a nightgown. As she was backing out, she spotted a small, green plush teddy peeking out from beneath her bathrobe.

“Bobo…how did you get in here?” Picking up the bear in her mouth, she brought it to the bed and carefully tucked it in beside the slumbering pegasus. “There. Now you stay put and take care of Rainbow Dash. She needs you right now.” Flinging her nightgown over her shoulder, she stepped into the hall and shut the door behind her, plunging the room into darkness.

Unaware of the visit, Rainbow Dash slept on, watched over throughout the night by the bright, shiny eyes of Bobo.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The day dawned crisp and cool, with pale grey cloud cover and a breeze that sent the fallen leaves dancing across the ground in a swirl of autumnal color. There was a hint of moisture in the air, but as far as Rarity knew, the Weather Patrol had no rain showers scheduled for today. Still, the chill in the air put her in the mood for something warm and comforting, so she bundled up in a scarf and hat, then slipped quietly out of the boutique.

The delightful aroma of cinnamon and apples already filled the air, drifting from Sugarcube Corner. The Cakes were both early risers so they could supply Ponyville with their delicious baked goods. With the abundant harvest from Sweet Apple Acres, it seemed apple muffins and cakes were on the menu.

“Hi Rarity!” A bright pink pony with wildly curly hair greeted the unicorn at the door. She carried a small basket covered with a blue checkered cloth. “This is funny running into you here because I was just on my way to your house! Don’t you think that’s funny? Of all the ponies to show up at the door...I’ll bet you woke up thinking that some muffins would be really nice on a cold day like this and I woke up thinking that you and Rainbow Dash would probably want muffins on a cold day like this, especially poor Rainbow Dash…I know I sure like a good, hot muffin when I’m sick!”

Rarity blinked, startled by Pinkie Pie’s sudden appearance, though she was not at all surprised by her rapid fire speech or the fact that she knew about Rainbow Dash’s illness. Such odd insight was an everyday occurrence with the hyperactive pony.

“Oh, good morning, Pinkie…you’re up early. Yes, I thought some warm muffins would be just the thing on a morning like this.” She glanced over her shoulder at the grey sky and winced as a cold droplet of water struck her nose. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was going to rain.” She shivered delicately, then smiled down at the basket. “Are they apple cinnamon?”

“Mm hmm! Applejack dropped off a big, huge, giant bushel of apples last night. We’ve got so many apples we don’t know what to do with them all. We’re making cakes and fritters and turnovers and muffins…such yummy, yummy muffins! I know these are some of Rainbow Dash’s favorites. Is it true Dashie is covered with lots of spots?”

“Unfortunately yes. She’s very sick with pegapox…she can’t even fly right now, so she’s staying with me and Sweetie.”

The pink pony’s cheerful grin fell and she shook her head. “That’s too bad.” Perking up again, she continued, “Maybe she should come stay here with me! I’ll take extra super duper looper care of her!”

Rarity chuckled uneasily. “Yes, well, Pinkie, that was mentioned actually…and Rainbow did say that you’re one of her best friends…but right now what the poor dear needs is lots of peace and quiet and it will be hard for her to get that above a bakery.” She paused to breath deep of the delicious aroma of baking muffins. “Especially with such delightful treats to draw everypony here. The boutique is much quieter. But I’m sure she would love to have you visit...”

“Oh.” Pinkie looked disappointed again.

“Besides,” Rarity quickly went on, “I’m sure you’ll be far too busy here since the Cakes absolutely depend on you.”

“I guess…” Her bright blue eyes began to sparkle. “And I’ll be busy planning too!”

“Planning?”

“Yes! Dashie’s gonna need a party when she’s all better. All that time cooped up in bed with nothing fun to do…ooh! I know! I can make her a fun package with games and music and toys—”

“That’s a fine idea, darling! You can bring it by later…maybe with some more muffins?” The unicorn pulled the basket closer with a hoof, briefly closing her eyes with pleasure as apple-scented steam wafted up from beneath the cloth. “And I should really be getting back, dear. I’m sure Rainbow and Sweetie will be waking up any minute.”

“Oki doki loki!” Cheered by the task before her, Pinkie Pie waved frenetically, then bounced back inside the bakery, the door slamming behind her. With a sigh of relief, Rarity picked up the basket in her mouth and cantered back to the boutique just as the sky opened up and fat drops of rain spattered down.

“That’s odd…I was sure there was no rain forecasted for today.” She slipped inside and hung her scarf and hat by the door, shaking rain from her mane. “Brr…and it sure is cold.”

She heard clattering coming from the kitchen and followed the noise down the hall. Sweetie Belle was awake and hard at work, the counters covered with a messy array of dishes and boxes and bottles. The filly was standing on a stool, struggling to reach a jar of cocoa powder on the top shelf. Her little horn glowed as she tried to levitate it down, but her magic powers were not fully developed and she could manage little more than an erratic wobble.

“Sweetie! What in the world…oh, don’t move, darling!”

Her sudden appearance startled the little unicorn, who overbalanced on the chair and began swaying back and forth precariously. Rarity dropped the muffins and hurried across the room, catching her sister before she fell into an open bag of flour.

“Thanks, sis!”

“Darling, what are you doing in here? I’ve only been gone a few minutes.”

“Oh this? I’m going to make breakfast for Rainbow Dash!”

“Breakfast?”

“Uh huh…pancakes! I was thinking about it last night…maybe this is what I need to do to get my cutie mark. Maybe I’m going to be a nurse pony and I’ll help take care of everypony whenever they get sick or hurt!” She scrambled free of her sister’s hooves and clambered back onto the stool. “Do you think Rainbow Dash would like some cocoa with her pancakes? I can’t reach it and—what’s that smell?”

“Smell?” Rarity was looking helplessly around her normally spotless kitchen, wondering how a few moments of absence had resulted in a mess that would take hours to clean up.

“Yeah, it smells really good.”

“Oh, that…I got some apple muffins from Sugarcube Corner. It’s so cold out I thought something freshly baked would warm us right up.”

Sweetie Belle drooped visibly. “But what about my pancakes?”

“I didn’t know you wanted to make pancakes, darling.” Despite the mess, her sister’s forlorn eyes nearly broke the generous unicorn’s heart. “But I’ll tell you what…I will help you make some cocoa to go with the muffins today, and we’ll save the pancakes for tomorrow.”

“Well…” Sweetie looked ready to argue, but the aroma of muffins won her over and she hopped from the stool. “Okay. Mmm! These smell so good! Did Pinkie Pie make them?”

“Of course. Why don’t you get out a nice plate and some butter for them? I’ll start the cocoa and we’ll—”

“Aaiiiih!”

Sweetie dropped the basket of muffins and looked towards the kitchen door in shocked horror. “That was Rainbow Dash! Oh no! She’s dying!”

Rarity burst out laughing and quickly hugged her little sister. “No, Sweetie, she’s probably just having a nightmare—fevers can do that sometimes. The poor thing—it must have been a bad one.” Rarity quickly levitated the cocoa powder from the top shelf. “You stay here. I’ll go check on her.”

“Okay…” The filly didn’t look entirely convinced, but nodded. “I’ll get her some juice.”

She hurried to this important task while Rarity trotted upstairs and into Sweetie’s room.

“Rainbow, darling…are you alright? Did you have a night—” She stopped in her tracks raising an eyebrow. “Um, what are you doing?”

Rainbow Dash was fully awake and pressed against the wall, all four hooves squeezed together on one of the bedposts, her chest heaving erratically and her mane and tail had standing straight up. Her eyes were wide and white, the magenta irises and pupils shrunk in her terror. Seeing Rarity, she pointed a trembling hoof down at the little chartreuse teddy bear lying on one of the pillows.

“H-h-how did th-that g-get there?” she stammered.

Rarity laughed for the second time in as many minutes. “I put it there yesterday afternoon, remember? Really, Rainbow…it’s just a teddy bear.”

The pegasus shook her head emphatically. “N-no…I moved it before I went to sleep last night. It wasn’t…I didn’t…I swear that I…” She swallowed hard, her mane dropping back against her neck. “Rarity, it’s staring at me.”

“Darling, you’re being silly…it must be the fever.” Rarity scooped up the bear and plunked it on Sweetie’s desk. “Come down from there. Honestly, I don’t know how you manage to perch like a bird on tiny things like fenceposts and branches and headboards, yet you still crash into barns and houses on a daily basis.”

“Not a daily basis.” Rainbow cast the bear a wary, suspicious glance, then crept down to the bed and slipped down between the covers once more. Rarity tucked them around her and held up the thermometer.

“Open up.”

Rainbow opened her mouth without a struggle this time and even suffered the unicorn to feel her forehead with a hoof. Her fever was still high, making her mane cling damply to her face and neck.

“Are you feeling any better this morning? No? Well, I have something that will cheer you up…freshly baked apple cinnamon muffins! I got up early and went to Sugarcube Corner…so they’re still warm and steaming from the oven. Sweetie’s downstairs getting one ready for you with a cup of cocoa. I’d say that’s just the start for such a cold, rainy day, wouldn’t you?”

Rainbow Dash sat up with a start, looking confused. “Waiwy?”

“What was that?”

“Waiwing? Iz waiwing?”

“What in Equestria is a waiwing? Is that some kind of bird?”

Rainbow shook her head and pointed a hoof at the curtained window. “Wain!”

“Oh!” Rarity laughed as she finally understood. “Rain! Why didn’t you just say so? Yes, it’s raining…it started when I was leaving Pinkie’s.” She opened the curtain to show her patient the heavy droplets sheeting hard against the glass. “Fall is definitely here. But I must have gotten the days wrong—I didn’t think we were getting rain for a few more days.”

“Nt spsd wain!”

“I’m sorry? Honestly, darling, I can’t understand a word you’re saying.” Rarity closed the curtain and trotted back to the bed, plucking the thermometer from Rainbow’s mouth with her magic and checking the reading.

“I said, it’s not supposed to rain today!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her voice squeaking and breaking into a fit of coughs. “Who’ve they got doing the weather? It’s Cloudkicker, isn’t it? He can never stick to the schedule! Remember that big storm we had at the beginning of summer? All his fault, because he decided to skip a shower that was meant for the farms.” She slapped the blankets angrily with a hoof. “Ooh, when I get back on my wings I am going to give that pigeon-headed pony a piece of my mind! You know he’s been trying to steal my weather duties out from under me, don’t you?”

Rarity had listened to this tirade with wide eyes. When Rainbow Dash finally paused for a breath, she interjected with a carefully straight face, “Well, I hardly think an unprecedented and cold storm like this is going to win him any votes to oust you, darling. Sit forward please.”

The flustered pegasus huffed but leaned forward so Rarity could plump her pillows. The motion made her cough violently, but she continued to complain about the unscheduled storm.

“This is all going to fall back on me, you know. I’m gonna get better and then I’ll have to work my feathers off just getting the weather back to normal. The mayor will probably even blame me when he decides to make it snow tomorrow or some—”

“Lie back.” Rarity didn’t wait for her to obey, but shoved her rather brusquely into the pillows and pulled the covers up to her chin. “Comfy?” She leaned over the pegasus until their noses were almost touching, staring sternly into her eyes until Rainbow Dash meekly nodded just to escape the glare. “Good. And don’t worry so much about the weather—a little rain is expected in autumn. I’m sure you can skip a storm next week or something and make up for—”

An incredibly loud crash from downstairs made them both jump in fright. A moment later, a tiny voice drifted up.

“Uh oh.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

Rarity groaned, hanging her head in despair. “That filly…” With a fierce glance at Rainbow and an order to remain in bed no matter what the vicious teddy bear did, she raced downstairs to the kitchen.

Suddenly reminded of Bobo’s presence, Rainbow leaned back in her elbows and watched the teddy bear closely. It stared beadily back, the sewn on grin seeming to sneer at her. She blew a snorting breath out her nose.

“I’m watching you,” she said, then yipped in fright when a strong gust of window shook the boutique and the bear toppled forward, tumbling off the desk to land on the floor. Rainbow Dash stretched her neck out, straining to keep it in view while staying safely under the covers. She fully expected the bear to leap over the edge of the bed at any second, so when Sweetie Belle pushed the door open and whispered good morning, she screamed and jumped backwards, falling off the mattress in a tangle of hooves, blankets, and feathers.

“Oh no! Are you alright! I didn’t mean to scare you!” The little unicorn bounded around her bed to help, but stopped when she saw Rainbow Dash sprawled upside down on the floor, her hind legs folded over her head so her tail swished in her eyes. Her spotted wings were flapping uselessly as she tried to unwrap herself from the blanket and muttered under her breath. Sweetie’s lip twitched and she began to laugh helplessly.

“What was that for? I only said ‘good morning’.” She watched Rainbow Dash struggle for a moment longer, then shook her head pityingly. “Hold on…you’re just making it worse.”

With the filly’s help, Rainbow managed to get free of the binding folds of blanket and fell over onto her side. With a groan, she sat up and rubbed her aching head, then hopped back into the bed.

“Do pegapox make you fall off things too?” Sweetie wanted to know. With an effort, she pulled the blankets back onto the mattress. “Because that was just weird.”

“No.” Rainbow petulantly smoothed the blanket and leaned back against the pillows. “It was the bear.”

“The be—oh!” Sweetie bounced to the floor and collected the fallen Bobo, placing him back on the bed. “He must have fallen off. You should keep him close, Rainbow Dash. He’ll take good care of you. He’s one of my favorites.”

Rainbow Dash stared at the bear now sitting only inches from her hoof and tried to think of a way to tell Sweetie that it was evil without hurting the filly’s feelings. But there was no denying the fondness in the unicorn’s green eyes as she looked at the bear and even Rainbow Dash had enough tact to swallow her words. Instead, she asked, “What was that crash down there?”

Sweetie ducked her head ruefully. “Oh, you heard that, huh?”

“Princess Celestia probably heard it in Canterlot. Did you knock down a wall or something?” She tipped her head to one side with a smile. “I’ve done that before.”

“No…I was getting you some juice and, well, I kinda spilled some flour…and the juice…and a brand new jar of cherries. But it’s weird…I thought Rarity was gonna yell at me when she came downstairs, but her eye only started twitching a little and then she said that you were lonely up here and you wanted me to keep you company.”

“Oh, uh…ye—” Rainbow Dash burst into a fit of coughing, doubling up on the bed from the sheer force of them.

“Ouch. That sounds bad,” Sweetie observed. “And you’ve got more spots than before… but don’t feel bad,” she added quickly when Rainbow Dash glanced at her from under her eyelashes. “They’re really pretty. At least the spots aren’t brown or a really ugly green. Rarity makes clothes with pink polka dots all the time.” Sweetie sat down on the floor, looking thoughtful. “So, what do you wanna do? You just woke up, so you’re not sleepy anymore, right? We could play a game or color or maybe I could put on a puppet show for you or…”

“Uh, Sweetie…” The pegasus cleared her sore throat with a small whimper. “You know you don’t have to hang out with me all day, don’t you? It’s Saturday. Don’t you usually play with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo all weekend?”

“I don’t mind! I’m gonna go over to Apple Bloom’s later do so some homework, but it’s too wet and cold to play outside.”

“Homework? On a Saturday?”

“We have to do a four page report.” Sweetie Belle stuck out her tongue in disgust. “How boring is that? We get to work together, but we have to turn it in on Monday. We’re gonna meet at Sweet Apple Acres so Applejack can tell us what farmer ponies do for irrigation.”

“Irrigation? Why didn’t you say so before? I can tell you all about irrigation.”

“You can? Really?”

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms over her chest and fixed the filly with a withering look. “Duh, weather ponies have to know about irrigation…we’re the ones who bring the weather to the farms. It’s important for us to know where to drop the rain so the ditches will channel it properly to the fields and orchards.”

“Ooh! Hold on!” Sweetie raced from the room to get her school saddlebags. When she returned, she plopped herself on the bed, notebook on the mattress before her, pencil held ready in her mouth. “Okay…how does a weather pony know where to send the rain?”

Rainbow Dash was still explaining the long standing relationship between Ponyville’s weather patrol and the farm ponies when Rarity arrived with a tray of muffins, juice, and steaming cocoa. The white unicorn looked slightly frazzled and there was still a dusting of flour in her purple hair, but she managed to smile.

“And what are you two discussing so seriously up here?” she asked.

“Rarity…you were wrong! Rainbow Dash does know all about irrigation! Farm ponies like Applejack need the weather ponies to make sure the rain goes to the right places. I can’t wait to show all this to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo—I’ll bet no one else in class is gonna write their paper from the weather si—ooh, those muffins smell good!”

While the filly helped herself to breakfast, Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at her friend. “What did she mean, you were wrong?”

“Wrong? Oh, it’s nothing. Here, I brought you some juice too and some cough medicine.” She poured a generous dollop of thick, green fluid onto a spoon. “That cough of yours is getting worse.” Lifting the spoon with her magic, she expertly popped it into Rainbow Dash’s mouth before the pegasus could protest.

Unprepared for the sudden, bitter taste, Rainbow Dash gagged and sputtered, then grabbed frantically for her glass of juice. Draining it in a single gulp, she made a face at Rarity.

“Yuck! A little warning next time?” She licked her lips and grimaced into the empty glass. “You’d think ponies would have figured out a way to make medicine taste good by now,” she muttered.

“I agree…but hopefully this will keep you from coughing so much. Now, have a muffin and some cocoa—even if you don’t feel like eating, you need to keep up your strength.” She gave Rainbow an apple muffin, watched her take a bite, then added almost as an afterthought, “Oh, by the way, Pinkie Pie will probably be stopping by later today with a…a care basket for you. And she’s already planning your party for when you’re better.”

Rainbow started to protest, but the delicious muffin buoyed her spirits. She shrugged resignedly and leaned over to sip her cocoa. “She’s Pinkie Pie. It was bound to happen. She can throw me a hundred parties if they all have muffins like this.”

“Well, that’s the spirit! Now, I have an order I have to work on today, Rainbow, but I’m going to be right downstairs, so you yell or send your ‘nurse’ if you need me.” She gestured to Sweetie Belle, who beamed at her with a cocoa mustache coloring the tip of her nose.

The little ‘nurse’ dutifully kept Rainbow company for the next hour, working on her essay and then playing another game of Bubble Jump. Sweetie was in the process of winning, again, when a cheerful voice exclaimed, “I love that game!”

Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared on the bed, a bulging basket in her mouth.

“Hey, Dashie! Wow, look at you! If you get anymore spots, they’re gonna connect and you’ll look like me! Ooh! We’ll be twins! And I love the pjs! Is it true you can’t fly right now because you’re all spotty? I’ll bet you hate not being able to fly. I would hate not being able to fly too…well, I would if I had wings. Did you like the muffins? I love muffins on a cold day like today? It is really cold, isn’t it? I didn’t think it was supposed to rain today, but I had to walk all the way here in the rain, so I guess it was supposed to rain today, but it was alright because I had muffins for breakfast so I was nice and warm.”

She finally paused for breath, smiling brightly. Sweetie Belle and Rainbow Dash both stared, then exchanged glances.

“Whoa,” Sweetie murmured. “How does she do that without passing out?”

Rainbow shrugged. She had no idea.

“I brought you some goodies so you won’t be bored since you have to stay in bed for so long.” She pushed the basket closer to Rainbow Dash. “There’s books, and games, and stuff to color—I love to color when I don’t feel well—and some yummy snacks, and—”

“Aaahh!”

Rainbow had reached curiously into the basket, but jerked backwards, frantically shaking her hoof in an effort to dislodge the tiny, purple-eyed alligator that had clamped onto her.

“Oh, there you are, Gummy! I was looking for you everywhere!”

Laughing, Pinkie tugged the little reptile from Rainbow’s leg. Gummy snapped toothlessly onto her mane and hung there, blinking vapidly. “I guess he wanted to come and say get well to you, Dashie.”

“Gee…uh, thanks, Gummy.”

“Ooh! Look at all this stuff!” Sweetie Belle examined the contents of the basket and laid them out, piece by piece, on the bed. There were coloring books and crayons, card games, a packet of cookies, a yoyo, and several books bearing the stamp of the Ponyville Library. The cover of one had an elaborate picture of a pony in armor, wielding a long sword and battling a legion of goblin-like creatures.

“I took those out a few days ago from the library and I was supposed to return them, but then I heard you were sick and I got to thinking that you might like them, especially since you can’t really do much when you’re sick but lie in bed and I figured Twilight wouldn’t mind if I lent them to you first and brought them back a little late.”

“Cool! Thanks!” Contrary to belief, Rainbow Dash actually liked reading, but between her flight practice sessions, Weather Patrol chores, and her general dislike of sitting still for any extended period of time, she couldn’t find much time to curl up with a book. Now, with three weeks of enforced stillness to look forward to, she could probably get through half the library.

“That looks good!” Sweetie said.

“It is!” Pinkie Pie assured her. She stood on her hind legs and mimed swinging a sword through the air, then batted her eyes and fell into a phony swoon. “It’s about this really handsome prince who has to go on a long and dangerous journey to save the pony he loves, and along the way he meets all these really strange friends and fights these really big meanie monsters. But I’m not gonna tell you anymore because then it’ll ruin the surprise at the end and it’s a really, really good one. Oh! And one more thing…check this out, Rainbow Dash. You’re going to love this!”

Pinkie dove head first into the basket and emerged with the wooden handle of a bronze bell in her mouth. She shook her head from side to side and a loud, melodious note chimed out.

“Nice…what’s it for?”

“To ring when you need somepony to come and help you. You know, what if Rarity’s all the way downstairs and you really, really need her help but your throat hurts or you’re coughing too much to call her? Then you can just ring this and she’ll know to come!”

“Oh! Well…that can be useful I guess.”

“Useful and fun!” Pinkie shook her head back and forth rapidly, making the bell sing out until Rainbow winced and Sweetie covered her ears. When the pink pony finally stopped, her eyes shook briefly in her skull and she had to blink to straighten them again. Laughing, she placed the bell on Sweetie’s nightstand, within easy reach of Rainbow Dash.

“Did I hear something ringing in here?” Rarity suddenly appeared in the doorway with Twilight Sparkle at her side. The purple unicorn was wearing a heavy set of saddlebags and had a troubled look on her face that turned to surprise when she saw Pinkie Pie in the room.

“Oh, hey Pinkie.”

“Hi Twilight! See, Rainbow Dash? I told you it would work. Did you come to give Dashie a care package too? What’s in yours? Books, I’ll bet. I brought Dashie those books I took from the library—I hope you don’t mind.”

“Huh? Oh, uh, no…no, that’s alright.” Twilight glanced at the floor and scuffed a hoof on the rug. “Um…”

“That’s not a good look,” Rainbow Dash remarked, coughing into her hoof.

“Twilight’s had news from Canterlot,” Rarity said. She also looked subdued.

“What news?”

“It seems the pegapox has spread over Manehattan. We don’t know if your dorm mate was the first to have it or if she caught it from some other pegasus, but over half of the city’s winged ponies are grounded with spots. There are even a few cases reported now from Fillydelphia. It’s…” Twilight paused and fidgeted again. “It’s pretty bad, Rainbow. With so many pegasi down, the princess is worried that the rest won’t be able to manage the weather properly. She’s called out an Equestria wide quarantine for all pegasi showing symptoms so no other ponies will get sick.”

“Quarantine!” Pinkie repeated, looking shocked.

“All ill pegasi in Manehattan and Fillydelphia are ordered to present themselves at special infirmaries so they can be cared for by unicorns or earth ponies until they get better. And, uh, Princess Celestia wanted to know if we’d had any cases here in Ponyville and—”

“You didn’t tell her about me, did you?” Rainbow Dash was horrified and began to sink down beneath the covers. “I have to be quarantined? Is she gonna make me go back to Manehattan?” She was now buried beneath the blanket up to her nose, but her eyes were wide and upset. “I don’t want to leave—I feel awful. And do you have any idea how long it will take to get to Manehattan when I can’t fly?”

“Does Rainbow Dash really have to leave, Twilight?” Pinkie asked. She looked ready to cry. “Because she doesn’t have any friends in Manehattan to take care of her and make sure she gets plenty of rest and lots of juice and reads really good books so she won’t be bored and—”

“It’s alright, Pinkie!” Twilight interrupted. “Rainbow’s not going anywhere.”

“She’s not?”

“I’m not?” Rainbow had sunk even further under the blanket so only her magenta eyes, ears, and forelock were visible. Now she crept out again, staring at Twilight suspiciously. “So…you didn’t tell the princess I have pegapox?”

“Of course I did! I’m her most trusted student.” When Rainbow, Pinkie Pie, Sweetie Belle and Rarity gaped at her, she added, “But it’s alright. Rainbow has the only case of pegapox in Ponyville and we were very lucky that she didn’t meet up with any other pegasi when she got back from the city. Princess Celestia said she’d be better off staying here—there’s less of a chance that she’ll infect anypony. We just have to make sure she doesn’t have contact with any pegasi. So, Rainbow, you’re effectively under quarantine like all the others, but your quarantine is here in the Carousel Boutique.”

“Oh, well that’s not so bad!” Sweetie Belle piped up. “She was staying here anyway. We can take much better care of her than some stranger in an infirmary.” The little unicorn crossed the mattress to lean against the pillows beside Rainbow Dash and gave the pegasus a hug. Grinning at Twilight, she announced, “I think this could even help me get my cutie mark! Maybe I’ll be a nurse pony!”

Twilight smiled at the filly. She was always trying to gently guide Sweetie Belle and her friends in their search for their cutie marks. “Well, it looks like you’re in good hooves, Rainbow. I’ll write Princess Celestia and let her know. And in the meantime, I was reading through the book on herbal remedies and I whipped up a couple of tonics, a tincture or two, and even an herbal bath that might make you feel better.” She lifted a small, dark green bottle from her saddlebags and unstoppered it. Instantly, an incredibly sour, putrid odor filled the room. Rarity gasped, turning slightly green, while Rainbow and Sweetie Belle both hid their noses under the blankets.

“Twilight! What is in that stuff!” Pinkie Pie crept closer to the unicorn and leaned over to sniff the green fumes leaching from the bottle. She stiffened, her pink hair standing straight up, then toppled off the bed as her eyes rolled back in her head. A second later, she bounced up again and stuck out her tongue. “Yuck! You want Rainbow Dash to bathe in that stuff? She’ll smell like a skunk…oh, maybe it’ll make her look like a skunk too. Could you see Dashie with a black coat and white mane, though I guess she’d have a black coat covered with pink spots so she wouldn’t look completely like a skunk but…”

“Actually, that’s one of the tonics. She doesn’t bathe in it…she has to drink it.”

“What!” Rainbow pulled the blanket from her nose and stared at Twilight, outraged. “No way! Are you crazy!”

Ignoring her, Twilight stoppered the tonic, then removed a large paper envelope from her bags and opened it. “This is the herbal bathe,” she said, revealing a mixture of salt crystals, pink powder, and tiny leaves. A new smell filled the room, but this one was immensely wonderful, sweet and herbal and flowery all at once. “You just shake about a cupful of this into a hot bathe and soak until the water cools. It should help with your achiness.”

“And…that?” Rarity pointed a hoof at the tonic bottle.

“That one is for her sneezes. And I have one here to help lower your fever and…oh, this one is neat.” She lifted out a small clay jar and showed them a creamy salve that had a strong, almost minty smell that wasn’t unpleasant. Scooping out a dollop, she smeared it on Rainbow’s throat before the pegasus could stop her. The blue pony’s nostrils were immediately filled with the sharp smell and she winced, but as she breathed in she noticed that the annoying tickle she’d had in the back of her throat and the urge to cough had diminished. She took another deep breath and let it out in a snort of surprise.

“Whoa! That’s even better than Rarity’s cough syrup.”

“Really? Oh, good, because I wasn’t sure I was making it right and there was a slight chance that it wouldn’t stop your cough so much as set you on fire, but it looks like…” Twilight broke off with a nervous giggle when the other ponies all stared at her. “Well, anyway, these will make you feel a little better even if they can’t make the pegapox go away completely. I’m going to head home to write Princess Celestia and let her know how you’re doing.” She winked at Sweetie Belle. “And that you have a great nurse taking care of you here in Ponyville. Let me know if you want me to make any more of these.” She quickly emptied the contents of her saddlebags onto the nightstand and pointed out the hastily written labels that described what each one did.

“Thanks, Twilight. And tell the princess thanks too…you know, for not making me go back to Manehattan.”

“I will. Feel better, Rainbow. You’ll be good as new before you know it.”

“Ooh, Twilight, wait up. I’ll come with you. I need to take out some more books to read while I’m baking muffins.” Pinkie Pie bounced after the unicorn as she left the room and they could hear her babbling away all the way down the stairs. “What do you think is a good baking book? Something about volcanoes? Ooh, or how about a desert?”

“Well, that was nice of her,” Sweetie Belle spoke up when Pinkie’s voice had finally faded away. She hopped over Rainbow to inspect the array of bottles. “I wonder what’s in all of these?”

“It’s probably better if we didn’t know,” Rarity said dryly.

“Yeah, I agree,” Rainbow drawled. “In fact…um, dump that one down the sink for me, would you?”

“What?” Sweetie turned to scowl at the pegasus. “You can’t do that! Twilight made it for you so you would feel better.”

“If it’s a choice between sneezing and drinking that…stuff…I’ll sneeze my nose off. There’s no way I’m drinking that…whatever it is.”

“But it’s medicine. Medicine is good for you.”

“Sweetie, don’t badger her. If you want to know the truth, I probably wouldn’t take it if it was me.” Rarity lifted the bottle with her horn, her lip curling in disgust. “I don’t even think I could take opening this again.”

“But, Rarity! How am I supposed to become a nurse pony if I can’t even get my patient to take her medicine?”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the filly. “Tell you what, squirt, I’ll take some if you take some.”

“I…um…” Sweetie Belle glanced at the bottle, then back at the ill pegasus. “Uh…okay. I guess sneezes aren’t so bad.” A clock in the hallway started to chime and she gasped. “I have to go over to Apple Bloom’s and work on my report.” She grabbed her notebook and pencils, shoving them into her saddlebags. “Thanks for your help, Rainbow Dash! You get some sleep and drink lots of juice and I’ll read you our report when I get home!”

The filly skipped out of the room and Rarity waited for the sound of the front door slamming before smiling at Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow, thank you for being so nice to her. I know this can’t be easy for you—being sick, being grounded, and now being quarantined—and Sweetie can be a little…enthusiastic.”

“It’s fine. She’s pretty cool.” Rainbow snuggled down in the bed and yawned suddenly. “Though she’s freaky with that Bubble Jump game…I think she cheats, but I can’t figure out how.”

“It’s uncanny, isn’t it? I haven’t won a single game against her yet.” Seeing that Rainbow Dash was getting drowsy, the white unicorn excused herself so her friend could get some sleep and went to her own room to work on the sewing order and pajamas she had started the night before. With Sweetie out of the house and Rainbow Dash sleeping, she had the peaceful atmosphere she preferred for her work. Even when Sweetie returned from Apple Bloom’s several hours later, she volunteered to bring juice and soup up to their guest, leaving Rarity to complete her work. The afternoon passed so smoothly that Rarity was startled to look up from her sewing machine and see that the sun had set.

Realizing she hadn’t heard from her sister or her friend in hours, Rarity trotted upstairs to Sweetie’s room, but froze in the doorway at what she saw.

The nightstand was still cluttered with Twilight’s remedies and empty juice glasses, but now held a pair of handmade Get Well cards from the other two Cutie Mark Crusaders and Sweetie’s report. Rainbow was curled under the blankets, her head resting on the pillows with her mane spread out in a messy fan. Sweetie Belle, a book tented open on her belly, was cuddled up beside her. Both ponies were sound asleep.

Charmed by the scene, Rarity crept into the room, carefully draped the blanket over her sister, and kissed her on the forehead. “Goodnight, darling,” she whispered, placing the book on the nightstand. “Keep this up and you’ll have that cutie mark in no time.”

Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

The bathroom was filling with steam as hot water gushed into the gilt-edged tub. Humming brightly to herself, Rarity carefully arranged a pile of thick, fluffy, pink towels on the white wicker hamper. When the pile was secure, she turned off the water, then opened the herbal packet Twilight had given them and added it to the tub. The powder and small leaves immediately sank into the bath, tinting the water a delicate mauve and lending the steam a delicately sweet and odd scent of flowers and cotton candy. Rarity breathed in deeply, then followed the groans of agony down the hall to Sweetie’s room.

Rainbow Dash was draped across the bed, her front hooves and head hanging over the edge, the rest of her tangled up in a cocoon of blankets. Her bedraggled mane covered her spotted face, hanging in limp tangles over her pain-filled eyes. As Rarity watched, she struggled upwards, flopping sideways onto the pillows with a moan. She only managed to lie still for a few seconds before she turned again, facing the footboard with her forelegs stretched before her and her rump and tail sticking up in the air.

“Still achy?” Rarity asked sympathetically.

“This is awful! I’ve never felt this bad before—and I’ve flown face first into mountains! I can’t get comfortable no matter what I do! My legs ache, my head and back ache, my wings ache…even my ears ache!” She changed position again, squeezing her eyes shut, and ended up on her back with her four hooves flailing above her. “When will it stop!” she wailed.

“It’s only been five days, darling. These things take time. But don’t fret…I have just the thing for you. A nice, soothing bubble bath!”

Rainbow lifted one of the pillows and pressed it over her face, but the unicorn heard a muffled, “No way. I can’t move.”

“Oh, but darling, it’s sure to make you feel better. We’ll get you a new pair of pajamas and your mane and coat will be nice and clean…” Rarity waited, smiling, but Rainbow Dash didn’t move. For a moment, she feared the sick pony had fallen asleep again, but when she tapped her friend on the shoulder, Rainbow spun over and tried to escape by burrowing into the blankets.

“Oh no you don’t!” Rarity caught the rainbow tail in her teeth before it could disappear and unceremoniously hauled her friend backwards and onto the floor. Rainbow landed in a graceless heap, looking momentarily dazed, then groaned in pain.

“Ow, Rarity…what was that for?” She tried to clamber back onto the bed, but Rarity swerved to block her. “Leave me alone…I just want to go to sleep.”

“You need this bath, Rainbow Dash. You’re running a fever and you’ve been all sweaty. I’ve already drawn the water and added Twilight’s herbal mixture, so you can have a long, soothing soak and it will give me a chance to tidy up in here and freshen your bedding. Come along now.”

Her horn suddenly glowed, surrounding Rainbow Dash in a bubble of shimmering color. Realizing what Rarity was doing, Rainbow gasped and tried to bolt, but was soon encased in the bubble and lifted into the air. Her hooves galloped frantically, unable to come in contact with the floor.

“Hey! Put me down!”

Rarity grimaced as she backed out of the room, dragging the hovering pony in a sphere of bluish light behind her. She wasn’t used to using her telekinesis on more than a pair of scissors or a few bolts of cloth and the struggling young pegasus was almost too much for her.

“Hold still, Rainbow Dash!” she said through gritted teeth. “You wouldn’t want me to drop you, would you?”

“Yes! Put. Me. Down!”

Rarity finally did, plopping her indignant friend on the fluffy bathmat, then dragging the pajama top over her head before she could right herself. Sitting on her haunches, Rainbow Dash glowered at the unicorn from beneath a fringe of limp mane.

“Not cool, Rarity,” she protested. “No levitating me without my consent!”

“Oh, quit complaining. You will feel so much better after this, I promise you. Come on, up you go.” She shoved Rainbow Dash with her forehead, nudging her unrelentingly to her hooves. Still scowling, the blue pony wriggled out of the pajama pants and grudgingly plopped into the water.

“Yow!” she screamed, immediately shooting back out and landing on the curved rim of the tub. She frantically shook each of her hooves in turn, mincing along her perch as steaming water streamed down her legs. “Ow, ow, ow, ow!”

“Too hot, darling?” Rarity asked, watching her.

“Oh, not at all…” Rainbow said, flicking water off her tail and wincing. “If you’re trying to make pegasus soup!”

Rarity laughed. “Rainbow Dash, now you’re just being silly. Look, it’s perfectly fine. Nice and…” She dipped her horn into the water and jumped back with a squeal. “Ouch! Oh…oh, my…I guess that is a tad on the warm side. Let me fix that for you.”

She added cool water until the temperature was no longer scalding and watched as Rainbow Dash tentatively tested it with a hoof before stepping down into the tub. The water covered the pegasus to the neck when she folded her legs beneath her and she sighed as the heat leeched into her aching limbs.

“There! Now that’s better, isn’t it?” Rarity folded a small hand towel and draped it over the edge of the tub, patting it invitingly with a hoof. “I told you a good bath would work wonders for you.”

“Hmmm,” Rainbow murmured, resting her chin on the towel and closing her eyes. “Not so bad, I guess.”

“Good. Hold still then and keep your eyes closed. This’ll just take a minute and then you can relax.” Rarity lifted a cup of water from the tub and tipped it over her friend’s head, letting the warm liquid drench Rainbow’s neck and mane. Picking up a bottle of shampoo next, she lathered the multi-colored locks, then rinsed them thoroughly.

“This is my favorite shampoo—it’ll make your mane and coat so soft and shiny.” She tsked sadly. “A pity you won’t really get to enjoy it. With all these beautiful colors in your mane and tail…” Her blue eyes lit up suddenly. “Idea!” Spinning about, she started rooting through the drawers of her vanity, pulling out brushes, combs, and hair ribbons.

Rainbow Dash was relishing the heat of the water and the wonderful relief of all her achiness being soaked away when a slight tugging on her mane wrenched her from a sleepy doze. She forced one eye open and looked up at the smiling white unicorn.

“Rare, what are you doing?”

“Nothing…just getting all this wet hair out of your face.”

“Oh, okay.” The pegasus let her eye drift closed. Relaxing fully, she began to hum to herself, a quiet little tune that surprised Rarity. Normally Rainbow preferred rock music and anything with an energetic beat, but this was a sweet and lilting melody like a lullaby.

“Rainbow, that’s really pretty. That’s not a Stratosphere song, is it?” she asked, naming the group Rainbow currently favored.

“Hmm?” Rainbow tilted her head and opened her eyes halfway. “Stratos—no…it’s nothing…just something my mom used to sing when I was a filly and I got hurt or sick.”

“Really? It’s so nice. What are the words?”

Rainbow opened her mouth to reply, then cocked her head to the other side, frowning. “You know what? I don’t remember. I used to know them by heart, but…wow…I haven’t thought of this song in years. It was…there was something about stars, I think, and getting older. Oh, I don’t know!” She shook her head, the motion pulling her mane from Rarity’s gentle magic. A strand of red and orange hair fell into her face, neatly coiled and wrapped in a curling ribbon. Her eyes crossed to bring it into focus.

“Uh, Rarity…?”

The unicorn giggled guiltily. “Okay—I’m styling your hair! But give it a try, Rainbow. It’ll look wonderful, I promise—and even if you don’t like it, it’s not like you could show it off around Ponyville anytime soon. We can always change it back.” Rarity put both hooves on Rainbow’s cheeks, tilting her head up and staring pleadingly into her eyes. At the same time, she pooched out her lower lip, making it tremble. “Please?”

For a long moment, Rainbow toyed with the idea of refusing—she liked her mane the way it was and all she really wanted to do was soak in the warm water and maybe take a nap.

Then Rarity started prancing in place, the clacking of her hooves on tiles making Rainbow’s head throb.

“Please, please, please, please, please! I have such an amazing idea for you and I really think you’ll like it and I hardly ever get a chance to give you a makeover!”

“Okay. Okay!” Rainbow’s voice was muffled by Rarity pushing her cheeks together. As soon as she agreed, the unicorn squealed happily and abruptly released her. Rainbow’s head dropped back to the edge of the tub, clipping her chin on the porcelain.

“Ow!”

“What was that?” Rarity had already turned away to rummage through her drawers for more combs and curlers. She glanced over her shoulder to see Rainbow Dash wincing and rubbing her sore chin. “Oh, do be more careful, Rainbow Dash. The tub is slippery.”

“Me? Are you serious?” Rarity stared at her, uncomprehending, and Rainbow sighed. “Whatever.” She sloshed around in the tub until she was comfortable again, sighing contentedly as Rarity started styling her mane.

“This will be absolutely adorable,” the unicorn crooned, separating strands of yellow and orange mane and rolling them into curlers. “Though it could be even better if you’d let me give it just the tiniest bit of a tr—”
“Not a chance.”
“Fine. Well, it will still look lovely…it won’t be as curly as mine, of course. We’re going for something softer and playful—almost like Sweetie’s, but a little more mature and hip.”

Rainbow had started humming again, but stopped at the mention of the filly. When Rainbow hadn’t been sleeping, Sweetie Belle had been her constant nurse and companion throughout the weekend, and had raced home each day after school since to help Rarity care for her. At first Rainbow had worried that the little unicorn would get annoying, but then found she really enjoyed her company…especially when Sweetie read the library books out loud and tried to give different voices to each of the characters.

“How much longer is Sweetie gonna be staying with you?”

“Another whole month, can you believe it? We were all so surprised when Mom and Dad won that sweepstakes in the Equestria Weekly.”

“A three month, all expenses paid tour around Equestria,” Rainbow said dreamily. “I must have sent in fifty entries and I didn’t win so much as a free subscription.” She snorted. “But it’s given you a good chance to spend time with Sweetie, hasn’t it? She’s really cool.”

“Er, yes, she is…cool. It was a bit of a trial at first, having her here all the time, but we’ve gotten used to each other. I must say that I’ll be sad to see her go when Mom and Dad get back.” Rarity finished with the last few curlers, then settled a shower cap over Rainbow’s mane. “There! We’ll just let that sit for awhile. Are you feeling better now? The water still warm enough? Good. I’m going to freshen up your bed, so you call if you need me.”

There was no response from the blue pony—she had finally dozed off. Leaving the door open, Rarity went to Sweetie’s room and busied herself stripping the blankets and linens from the bed and bundling them into a ball for washing. Using her magic, she neatly spread new sheets and a plush comforter, smoothing out all the wrinkles before shaking the pillows out of their shams to change them. To her surprise, a little green teddy bear fell out of one of the pillowcases, no doubt hidden there by Rainbow Dash. Shaking her head and laughing to herself, Rarity picked up the toy and placed it in the nightstand drawer.

When she finished with that, she turned her attention to the nightstand itself, lifting crumpled tissues into the waste basket, arranging the pile of library books, and straightening the small collection of Get Well cards Rainbow had received in the last week. There was one from each of her friends, one from Spike, another from Apple Bloom, and five from Scootaloo. The orange pegasus filly had made one for each day Rainbow had been ill and had given them to Sweetie Belle to deliver. She had been determined to bring them over herself at first, and Rarity had been forced to gently but firmly turn her away. She hadn’t even been discouraged by the sign the mayor had hung on the boutique door which read Quarantined Pegasus Within.

When the burly colt had shown up on Sunday evening with the hand painted plaque, Rarity had vehemently complained, sure that it would affect her business by scaring away potential customers. The mayor had insisted, however—she didn’t want any of Ponyville’s pegasi to forget about Rainbow Dash’s presence in the boutique and possibly spread the pegapox. Rarity even had to get her mail from the post office since the mail mare was refusing to deliver it. It all seemed a little unfair to Rarity, but she was willing to put up with it for Rainbow Dash’s sake.

When the room was tidy again, she checked in on Rainbow Dash—still dozing—and trotted downstairs to fix dinner. A frigid breeze made her shiver as she entered the kitchen and she hurried to the window she had left open earlier, slamming it shut against the cold. Glancing outside, she saw a small, yellow shape rapidly filling the sky with roiling grey clouds and realized they were in for another unplanned rainstorm.

“Rainbow won’t be happy about that,” she murmured, resigning herself to hearing the pegasus complain about the mismanaged weather all evening. “Oh well. The best thing for cold weather is a nice, hot soup!” Taking out a bunch of freshly purchased carrots, she began cutting them into thin, perfect circles, absently humming Rainbow’s little tune.

The creamy carrot puree was simmering on the stove and a tray of cheese biscuits were browning nicely in the oven when Sweetie Belle burst through the door with a blast of cold wind, rain, and blowing leaves.

“Brr! It sure is cold out there!” she squeaked, turning and struggling to shove the door closed while the wind blasted against it. When the latch finally clicked shut, she spread her hooves and shook vigorously, her normally curly hair puffing out in a large, frizzy pouf. “Isn’t it only supposed to be this cold in winter?”

Rarity brought her sister a towel and spent a moment drying the filly’s rain-dampened coat.

“Seems the temporary weather pony still hasn’t gotten the hang of the schedule. Just another reason Ponyville will be happy when Rainbow’s pegapox finally go away.”

“How is she feeling?”

“Still pretty lousy, but I made her some soup and she’s been relaxing in a hot bath. She’s probably ready to go back to bed though.” Rarity winked at Sweetie Belle. “And I think she could use something to cheer her up, so what do you say we unveil the surprise pajamas?”

“Yeah!” Sweetie exclaimed, shaking off the towel and following Rarity to her Inspiration Room. “And we should let her wear them too!”

“Y-yes.” Rarity laughed weakly and lifted the pajamas she had made for Rainbow Dash off the mannequin. She was really quite pleased with the way they had turned out and very excited to present them to her friend.

Rainbow Dash lifted her head from the towel when they entered the bathroom.

“Water’s getting cold,” she murmured drowsily, and yawned. “Wow, did I fall asleep? How long have I been in here? I remember talking about your parents and their trip…and then nothing after that.”

“You’ve been out for a little more than an hour. I’d say it’s time to get you back into bed. It’s all clean and ready for you.”

“Yes! Bed…that sounds awesome right now—oh, hey, Sweetie Belle.”

“Hi! Are you feeling any better?” Sweetie put her front hooves on the edge of the tub as Rainbow Dash shakily rose to her feet. The little unicorn scrutinized her wet coat closely and gave a delighted gasp, then frowned and sighed. “Aww, for a second there I thought your spots were getting darker, but it was just the water.”

“It’ll happen eventually,” Rarity told her. “We just have to be patient.” She helped Rainbow out of the tub and wrapped her in a huge towel. The blue pony’s teeth began to chatter as soon as the cooler air struck her wet coat.

“Ooh, it’s cold!” she exclaimed, unconsciously repeating what both Rarity and Sweetie had said earlier. “Wait…it’s not supposed to be so cold yet. What is that feather-brain doing to my weather!”

“Making it rain again,” Sweetie announced.

“Again? Is he crazy! He’s going to bring the leaves down too early and cause floods and…and…”

“Calm down, Rainbow. There’s really nothing you can do about it now.” Rarity carefully folded the wet towel, then held out the pajamas and smiled excitedly. “I have a surprise for you! Look! Brand new pajamas! Aren’t they darling? I made them just for you. They’re going to look smashing with your new hair style and—”

“You let Rarity style your hair?” Sweetie was amazed. “Really?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Call it a moment of weakness. I was tired.”

“Haha,” Rarity said, deadpan. “You two are utterly hilarious. Rainbow…hurry up and try these on before you get even more chilled.”

Rainbow complied and turned her head about to look at herself in the new clothing. She had to admit that she really liked the spiral pattern, and the way Rarity had added a drawstring hood to the long-sleeved top. The inner lining was a bright, vibrant green that brought out the green in her mane and tail, and the back had been fitted with comfortable slits for her wings. There were no ruffles, no lace…all in all, the pajamas were incredibly—

“Cool!” she announced.

Rarity’s face lit up and she clapped her hooves together happily. “Really?” she squeaked, then settled into a more dignified pose. “I mean, yes, cool…I’m so glad you like them.”

“They’re so cute!” Sweetie said. “And I helped pick out the fabric!”

“Yeah? Very cool. Thanks guys. They’re great.”

Despite the cold weather and continual rain, Rainbow’s spirits were lifted by the bath, pajamas, and the tidy state of the room when she climbed back into bed. As she snuggled down into the clean sheets and Rarity began removing the curlers from her mane, Sweetie rummaged through her schoolbags for another Get Well card.

“From Scootaloo,” she announced, holding it up so Rainbow could see the stick figure ponies rendered in crayon beneath the large Get Well Soon the little pegasus had painstakingly written across the top. Sweetie placed it on the nightstand with the other cards, then sat on her haunches and grinned. “And you’ll never guess what she did today!”

“Who? Scootaloo?”

“Uh huh! She showed up at school and she was coughing and shivering and her coat was covered in little pink spots!”

The two mares gasped and looked at one another in horror.

“No!” Rainbow cried. “I haven’t been anywhere near her.”

“It’s spreading?” Rarity asked, visibly upset. “But we’ve been so careful—oh, what if the other pegasi catch it too and aren’t able to fly? Then the weather really will go all—”

“Hold on!” Sweetie held up a hoof imperiously. “I’m not finished.” When she had their wide-eyed attention again, she continued, “So, she comes to school and she tells Miss Cheerilee that she’s sick and that she probably has to be quarantined here at the Boutique too, but she doesn’t have any fever and her wings were beating fine when she rode her scooter up to the school and her cough didn’t sound anything like yours, Rainbow Dash. Then I noticed that some of her spots seemed…weird.”

“Weird?” Rainbow’s eyebrows rose briefly in confusion, and then her mouth fell open. She laughed weakly. “No! Sh-she didn’t!”

“Yes, she did!” Sweetie beamed. “She drew them on with a marker! She said she didn’t when we told Miss Cheerilee that she was faking, but then Apple Bloom threw a cup of water at her and the spots started to run!”

Rainbow Dash burst out laughing, grabbing one of the pillows and pressing it over her mouth to cover her wild giggles. Even Rarity couldn’t keep from chuckling.

“That silly filly! Wh-what happened?”

“She got better real quick after that…and then she jumped on Apple Bloom and the two of them ended up staying after school for fighting.”

“That’s terrible,” Rarity lamented, pursing her lips at Rainbow Dash, who was still shaking with laughter. “Poor Scootaloo…she must have been so upset.”

“Hahahaha! That is so awesome! Only Scootaloo could think up something as craz—ow! Rarity!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I pull too hard?” Rarity’s voice was syrupy sweet. “Hold still, darling. I’m almost finished.”

Rainbow Dash scowled and crossed her hooves over her chest, but let Rarity remove the last of the curlers from her mane and brush through the resulting ringlets. Sweetie Belle sat on her haunches to watch, her eyes growing wider with each passing moment as Rarity’s vision unfolded.

“There!” she announced, arranging a few strands of orange hair so that they fell artfully over Rainbow’s eye. “Tres magnifique!”

Rainbow looked askance of Sweetie Belle, whose mouth opened and closed soundlessly before she exclaimed, “I…uh…love it!”

“Really? Can I have a mirror?”

Beaming, Rarity fetched a small hand mirror, using her magic to levitate it before her friend’s face. “See? You look gorgeous!”

“I…I…” Rainbow’s mouth dropped as she stared at her reflection and the soft ringlets that now framed her face and lay gracefully against her neck.

“You’re speechless! I knew you’d love it! Didn’t I tell you?” Rarity threw her hooves around Rainbow’s neck and hugged her fiercely.

“You did!” Rainbow squeaked, her friend choking the breath from her. “I…uh…thank you?”

“You’re so welcome!” Rarity released her after another tight squeeze, then looked concerned as she coughed and gasped for air. “That awful cough. It just won’t stop, will it? No worries—Twilight brought over more of her salve. It’s downstairs, so I’ll fetch it for you and bring up some dinner. Are you hungry? I made cream of carrot puree!”

“Carrot? But you said you were gonna make broccoli.”

“Yes, well, I would have…but the broccoli just didn’t look as nice as the carrots.” The white unicorn left and Rainbow Dash flopped against the pillows, sighing and staring up at the ceiling.

“Great. Now I’m sick, I have weird hair, and I have to eat carrot soup.”

“Aw, it’s not so…bad,” Sweetie told her, rearing up to put her hooves on the mattress. “It’s just a little different, that’s all. You might get used to it.” Her green eyes widened suddenly, focusing on something behind the pegasus. “Besides…there are worse things.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

Sweetie dropped to the floor and trotted around the room. Rainbow’s eyes followed the filly, who paused before the window and gestured to the cloud-covered sky outside. Thick, heavy flakes of white were spiraling swiftly to the ground.

“Like it’s only autumn…and it’s starting to snow.”

Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Ring Ring Ring! Ring Ring Ring!

Rarity gasped as the jarring sound of the bell burst through her thoughts, startling her and making her jump. The fabric she had been carefully feeding beneath the needle of her sewing machine jerked from her grasp, the neat line of tiny stitches turning into a jagged streak before the material bunched up and stalled the mechanism.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, staring in horror at the destruction of what had been almost two hours’ work.

Ring Ring Ring!

“That bell!” Balling up the ruined fabric with her horn, Rarity tossed it onto a shelf and stalked from the room. “I have to remember to thank Pinkie Pie for that!” Pushing open the door to Sweetie’s room, she plastered a cheerful smile on her face. “Yes, Rainbow, what can I do for you?”

The pegasus was lying on her belly, her chin propped on an upturned hoof. An open book lay tented on the blanket before her, next to the bell she had used to summon Rarity. She sighed heavily as her friend came in. “I’m bored.”

The unicorn stopped, one hoof raised, and stared at Rainbow Dash incredulously. Her right eye began to twitch. “You’re bored?” she repeated. “You called me in here to tell me you’re bored?”

“Uh, no.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and flopped over onto her side. Her spots had finally darkened to a rather lovely shade of purple and most of her aches and weariness had vanished with the pink, leaving her restless. “I called you in here to help me come up with something to do.”

“Rainbow, I was right in the middle of something. Can’t you read a book?”

“I did! I finished them all.” She held up the one that was on the bed. “I even read this one twice.”

“Then play a game.”

“What game can I play all by myself?”

“Hmm, let me think. Solitaire, maybe? Sweetie should have a deck of cards around here somewhere, I believe.” She opened the nightstand drawer and began rummaging around, pulling out random items to see what hid behind them. She absently tossed them over her shoulder, forcing Rainbow to dodge as pens, papers, and small toys became projectiles. When a green, plush bear went soaring at her head, the pegasus screeched in fright and batted it across the room. It bounced against the wall and landed on the floor with a squeak.

“Rarity!” she exclaimed, breaking into a coughing fit. “Don’t do that!”

“Don’t do what?” Rarity turned and saw the items that now littered the floor by the bed. A flash of white drew her eyes across the room just as Opalescence pounced on Bobo, claws splayed. The cat landed on the bear and sank her teeth into its plump belly, shaking her head from side to side.

“Opal, no! Stop that! It’s not yours!”

Rainbow crept to the bottom of the bed and peeped over the edge, breaking into a grin. “No, go on, Opal! Get it! Good kitty!”

“Stop egging her on, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity minced up to her cat, looking very nervous. “Opal, Mommy needs the teddy-weddy.” She tentatively reached out for Bobo, but pulled her hoof back when Opal hissed and swatted at her. “Pwease, sweetie?”

“Pwease?” Rainbow snorted laughter, but her eyes went wide and she scrambled frantically backwards when Opal picked up the bear in her mouth and jumped onto the bed. “Keep away from me!”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash, really! It’s just a stuffed bear!”

“It’s not just the bear…it’s your cat! She’s mean!” Gingerly, she waved a hoof at the fluffy, white feline. “Go on, Opal…go play somewhere else!”

Opal’s eyes narrowed and she hissed again, then curled up in the exact center of the bed with Bobo clasped between her paws. She immediately closed her eyes and started purring.

“She is not mean! She’s just a little…difficult, is all. Though I suggest you be careful where you put your hooves while she’s there.” Rarity stuffed all the discarded items back into the drawer, then turned to leave.

“Uh, Rarity?”

The unicorn paused at the door. “Yes?”

“I’m still bored.”

Rarity sighed. “Why don’t you take a nice nap?”

“I took one earlier. I’m not sleepy.”

“Then maybe you could…I don’t know…color?”

“Color? Really? Do I look like a filly?” Coughing, she slumped down in the pillows and sulked. “Come on, Rarity! For the last half hour I’ve been staring out the window and trying to figure out how in the hay Cloudkicker thought a wind storm would get rid of three days worth of snow. I’m going crazy in here by myself. Can’t you just stay and, you know, talk to me for a while?”

“Rainbow, I’d love to, really, but I have this order I’m working on and—”

Rainbow Dash cocked her head sideways thoughtfully. “Oh yeah? Can I come watch?”

“You want to watch me sew?”

“Well, no, not really, but it’s got to be better than lying here watching that!” She pointed to the window, where a gale force wind was blowing about leaves, snow, and anything else that hadn’t been properly tied down. She scowled at the grey sky for a moment, then shook her head and faced Rarity again. “I won’t get in the way.”

Rarity gave in. “Alright…but I’ll move my project up to my bedroom—you can just rest in my bed for the afternoon and we can talk.”

“Sounds good to me!” Rainbow slid off the bed, casting a wary glance at Opal and the teddy bear as she did, and followed Rarity down the hall to her room. Hopping up on the unicorn’s large bed, she arranged the pillows to her liking while Rarity fetched the sewing supplies for her order.

“Okay, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said, setting up her sewing machine and selecting the perfect color thread. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I don’t know.” The pegasus propped herself up on the pillows and laced her hooves behind her head. “I figured you’d come up with something.”

“Well…alright…” Rarity thought for a moment, then brightened and held up a swatch of the fabric she was using. “Isn’t this lovely? I’m making seven dresses for a shop in Fillydelphia. The owners saw the outfits I made for Hoity Toity and wanted me to create a special line just for them. Isn’t that exciting!”

Rainbow Dash leaned forward slightly to examine the fabric and raised an eyebrow. “Sure,” she replied. “That’s great. But…”

“But what?”

“Nah, forget it.” The pegasus sat back and began to hum to herself.

“No, I want to know. But what?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It is obviously something, Rainbow, since you thought to bring it up in the first place.”

“Well, the cloth is kinda boring, isn’t it?”

Rarity looked from her friend to the bolt of very expensive cloth and back again. “I fail to see what you mean.”

“It’s just plain white. You’re going to spice them up, aren’t you? Add some color to help them stand out?”

“Spice them up?” Rarity gave a weak chuckle. “Darling, I don’t think you understand. These are winter dresses. My theme is Snowy Dream. If you look close enough, you’ll see that this fabric has a subtle iridescence to it. When the light hits it just right, it absolutely shines with delicate color, like sunlight hitting freshly fallen snow.” She giggled, then coughed self consciously when Rainbow stared at her in utter confusion. “It’s all part of a finished vision…it’s hard to imagine now, but when it’s done, you will be amazed!”

“If you say so. I just think plain white is boring.”

“You won’t for long. You see, Rainbow Dash, with fashion like this, you have to see more than just the fabric or the ribbons or the stitching. It’s all about the vision, the theme.” Rarity launched into a detailed explanation of the styles she was incorporating into her line and why her fabric choice was perfect. This led to a discussion of the winter fashion lines that were already appearing in the high end stores and boutiques of Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and Canterlot.

As she talked about her favorite subject, Rarity went to work on her dresses, carefully measuring and cutting the white fabric and feeding it into her sewing machine to be pieced together with tiny, perfect stitches.

Rainbow Dash tried hard to pay attention at first, but as an hour passed, then two, her eyes glazed over from the monotonous clacking of the needle and the soothing drone of Rarity’s cultured voice.

The unicorn was just comparing the differences between boat and v-necklines and glanced up to ask Rainbow’s opinion just as the pegasus let out a gentle snore.

“Rainbow? Rainbow, dear, are you awake? Rainbow Dash!”

“Aaih! What! Emperor lines!” Rainbow Dash sat up with a start, her sleepy eyes opening wide. “Pintucks! Ruching!” She yawned widely, covering her mouth with a hoof and gave Rarity a sheepish grin. “Uh, see? I was listening.”

“Am I boring you, Rainbow Dash?”

“No! I mean, well, yes, but that’s okay.” She moved Rarity’s lacey pillows to the edge of the bed and flopped down on her belly so her hooves hung off the mattress. Resting her head on her knees, she continued, “Uh, tell me more about the differences between satin and silk.”

Rarity eyed her for a moment, then shrugged. She was just starting her explanation again when the bell above her boutique door suddenly chimed.

Rainbow Dash lifted her head and looked eagerly towards the hall. “Ooh, company!” she said, unable to keep the delight and relief from her voice. “Guess we’ll have to finish this discussion later, huh?”

“Try not to look so disappointed, darling,” Rarity said with a little sniff. “I think I liked the blank stare better.”

The pegasus rolled her eyes. “You mean the same one you get when I talk about cloud patterns and flight training and the Wonderbolts?”

“Yes, well…” Rarity laughed, blushing a little. “Anyway, it’s probably a customer. I’ve been getting so many orders for scarves and capes to keep out the chill, I hung up the Please Ring for Service sign since I knew I would be up here.” Rarity folded the piece she had been working and started for the door. “You can just relax there, Rainbow. I won’t be long.” She grinned slyly. “We can finish our talk when I come back.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, sure…um, you know, Rarity, I’m starting to feel…” She yawned widely. “…a little sleepy. M-maybe I should go read Saddles of the High Seas again and take a little nap before dinner.”

Shaking her head, the unicorn hurried down the stairs to the front room of the shop, putting on a charming smile as she opened the door. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique!” she sang. “Where every outfit is chic, unique—”

“And maaaaagnifique!” Pinkie Pie finished for her, bouncing out of the wind and into the shop. “So everypony should take a peek, if it’s super duper clothes you seek and…uh, they hear a mouse squeak? No, that doesn’t make sense. They like leeks? Or maybe—”

“You mind holdin’ the rhyme time til later, Sugarcube? It’s powerful cold out here.” Applejack nudged Pinkie further inside with a push of her head, then turned to drag a large jug in behind her. “Whew!” she said, closing the door against the wind. “This wind is somethin’ else, isn’t it? Ah lost my hat three times comin’ here.” She took off her Stetson and ran her hooves over her mussed hair. “Mah mane’s almost as poofy as Pinkie’s.”

“I think it’s a good look on you,” Pinkie said with a giggle. “You should wear it like that more often.”

“Oh! I thought I heard Pinkie and Applejack.” Rainbow Dash appeared at the bottom of the stairs, smiling at her friends. “Hey guys!”

“Hey, RD, look at you! Outta bed already!”

“Check out her spots!” Pinkie exclaimed. “They’ve gone purple!”

“Yeah, finally!” Rainbow said with a laugh, raising a hoof to examine the plum-colored dots speckling her blue coat. “I was starting to think the pink would never go away.”

“I thought the pink was really pretty. But I guess these are pretty too.” Pinkie bounced over to the pegasus to peer at her pegapox. “They look great with your pjs. I can’t wait for Rarity to finish the set she promised me.”

“I’m almost done with them, Pinkie,” Rarity told her. “I’m just a little behind because I’m still working on my main line and everypony needs capes and cloaks and scarves because of the cold. I’ll have them done soon though.”

“It’s okay!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “I can wait. But they’re going to keep me nice and roasty toasty warm at night!”

“We’re all gonna need them soon if this weather keeps up like this,” Applejack muttered. “With all this wind and rain and snow, mah apples are fallin’ off the trees willy nilly and gettin’ bruised. Ah can’t sell ‘em when they’re like that, but like Granny Smith always says, ‘when life gives you bruised apples, make apple juice’!”

Rainbow Dash winced at the mention of wind tossed apples. “Sorry about your crop, AJ. I’m going to get everything back to normal as soon as I get my wingpower back. If what Twilight read is true, I should be able to fly again in just a few more days, maybe a week tops.”

“But Rainbow, dear, even then you’re going to need to take it easy. You really shouldn’t be working any weather until you’re fully recovered.”

Rainbow gave the white unicorn an incredulous look. “Whose side are you on, Rarity? Do you want this crazy weather fixed or not? Because for that you’re going to need a weather pony who actually knows what she’s doing.”

“I understand that, darling, but you really wouldn’t be doing anypony any favors if you overexerted yourself and became ill again, now would you? In fact, you really should be in bed right now.”

“But I don’t feel—”

“Go on now. Back into bed.”

“But we’ve got company.”

“And I’m sure Applejack and Pinkie Pie will be happy to come visit with you, upstairs, when you’re back in bed.”

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed slightly, some of her old stubbornness returning with her energy. “You’re kidding me! Rarity, I’m not some little foal that you can—”

“Rainbow Dash, you get back into bed right now or, I swear to Celestia, the next time you fall asleep I will glue Sweetie Belle’s teddy bear to your tail!”

The pegasus gasped and took a step backwards. “Y-you wouldn’t!” she said, her voice uncertain.

Rarity lowered her head, glaring at her friend from beneath her long lashes. “Try me.”

The standoff lasted for another minute as the two glowered at one another. Applejack and Pinkie Pie both sat down to watch, Pinkie looking perplexed, while Applejack grinned widely, enjoying the spectacle.

In the end, Rainbow Dash gave in first when she was overcome by a fit of coughing. Dropping her eyes and frowning, she muttered, “Fine! But only because I wanted to go anyway. I have a book to reread.”

“Ooh! You don’t have to reread anything!” Pinkie Pie interjected. “I brought you a whole bunch of new books from the library. Twilight and I picked them out together.” The pink pony bounded up the stairs, following the pegasus back to her bedroom.

“Oh good! Maybe Pinkie will keep her occupied for awhile.” Rarity turned to smile at Applejack. “What’s in the jug, if I may ask? Apple juice?”

“That’s right!” Applejack proudly tapped the container with a hoof. “The best apple juice from here to Fillydelphia. Probably even further, Ah reckon. You’ve been goin’ through so much juice for Rainbow, Ah thought Ah’d save you havin’ to deal with all the little bottles.”

“That’s a great idea. The bottles are starting to stack up—but the juice is so good for Rainbow Dash. I’ve made her all kinds of nice, healthy soups, but she barely touches them. Here, let me help you with that.” Rarity lifted the jug with her magic and trotted with it through the hall to the kitchen, Applejack close on her heels. With a small groan, she hefted it onto the counter. “How much do I owe you?”

The earth pony shook her head. “Mah treat, Rarity. Least we all can do what with you takin’ care of Rainbow and all. And like Ah said, the farm’s got a lot of juice this year.”

“Yes, that bumbling pegasus with his snow and wind—I do agree with Dash on that one.” Rarity shook her head unhappily. She knew the Apple family lived off the proceeds from their farm and couldn’t afford a very bad year. “Will you be alright? You’ll have enough to take care of your bills, won’t you?”

Applejack sighed. “Things’ll be tight, but they always are when you got a farm. We’ll manage like we always do—‘specially if we can sell all the apple juice. Plus Pinkie’s already talked the Cakes into buyin’ up a whole bushel of the not so bruised apples to use in cakes and pies and tarts and the such. She’s plannin’ a party o’course.”

“Of course. But that’s good news, isn’t it?” Rarity let her eyes drift closed for a moment. “Mmm, warm apple pie with cinnamon and flaky crust, and apple cakes with iced sugar, and baked apples—oh, that sounds lovely! Especially with all this cold weather.”

“That’s sure true, but you’re startin’ to drool a little, Sugarcube.”

Rarity snapped out of her reverie and giggled sheepishly. “Yes, well, it’s sure to be a wonderful soirée. All of Pinkie’s parties are. I just wish Rainbow was well enough to attend. A party would definitely perk her up.”

“You’re right there. Speakin’ of Rainbow, that was a good trick getting’ her to go back to bed. What was that about a bear?”

“Oh, Sweetie has this little teddy bear toy and for some strange reason Rainbow thinks it’s evil and after her. I blamed it on the fever at first, but it does seem to show up in the weirdest places even after it’s been put away.”

Applejack snickered. “Rainbow afraid of an itty bitty bear—woo hoo, Ah’m never gonna let her live that down. So, what’s it been like, you two bein’ roommates for, what, goin’ on two weeks now?”

“In a couple of days it will be.” The unicorn frowned thoughtfully as she pulled four glasses from the cupboard and poured apple juice into each one. “Let me say that things were, uh, easier when she was so tired and achy that she only wanted to sleep or lie still. But now that she’s feeling a little better she’s always bored and antsy and going out of her mind with worry about this weather, even though I keep telling her it’s not her fault and there’s nothing she can do about it.”

“That’s our Rainbow. She does takes her weather duties seriously and about the only time Ah’ve ever seen her stay still for more than a coupla minutes is when she’s nappin’.”

“I know exactly what you mean.” Rarity pushed one glass closer to Applejack and took a sip of juice from another. “Now that her fever has broken, she just doesn’t want to stay in bed, and I doubt she’s ever gone this long without flying before.” The unicorn sighed heavily. “To tell you the truth, Applejack, I think we’re both starting to go a little—”

“—crazy! That’s what I’ll be if I don’t get out of here soon! I can’t stand not being able to fly!” Rainbow Dash pushed open the door of her borrowed room and slipped inside, Pinkie Pie hopping at her heels. She watched as Rainbow lifted her wings and flapped them half-heartedly, only managing to lift herself a few inches from the ground. “I miss the wind in my mane, the clouds under my hooves, the speed making my eyes sting!”

“Yeah, it’s gotta be terrible,” Pinkie sympathized. “Like how I would feel if I woke up and couldn’t make cookies and cakes and yummy sweet, sugary treats anymore!”

Rainbow looked over her shoulder to roll her eyes at the odd pink pony, then thought about what she had said. “Yeah, exactly! All this lying around and sleeping and keeping still—I mean, I like a good nap as much as any hardworking pony, but Rarity seems to think I need to sleep through ninety percent of the day! And the soup! I swear somepony must have told her once that you need to eat soup when you’re sick, because that’s all she makes for lunch and dinner. Carrot soup, squash soup, potato soup!” She shuddered and stuck out her tongue in disgust. “Watercress soup. But I’ve been here almost two weeks and she still hasn’t made me any broccoli soup yet. Is that too much for a pony to ask?”

As she spoke, Rainbow Dash pulled back the covers on the bed, only to be confronted by a pair of blank, shiny button eyes and a stitched on smile that seemed to leer at her from a chartreuse face. The pegasus screamed and leapt backwards, colliding with Pinkie Pie and scrambling to safety behind the earth pony.

“Aaiih!” Pinkie also screamed, her light blue eyes bulging with fright. She dropped to the floor, covering her bushy mane with her hooves. “What is it? A monster? Zombies? A one eyed, one horned, flying purple pony eater?” After a moment of cowering, her natural curiosity got the better of her and she look up. “Oh! It’s just a teddy bear!” She bounced onto the bed and grabbed Bobo in a tight hug, rubbing his plush fur against her cheek. “Aww, he’s so cute! Isn’t he so cute, Dashie?”

“No!” Rainbow shot back. “He is not cute. He’s evil! I swear that thing moves on his own—that was not where he was when I left this room earlier.”

“Really?” Pinkie held up the bear and scrutinized it carefully. “He doesn’t look evil to me. He looks all soft and cuddly.” She hugged the toy, eliciting a high-pitched squeak from its belly.

“Then tell me how it got under the blankets? It was waiting there for me, but nopony here moved it. Rarity and I were both in the other room and Sweetie’s at school.”

The answer to her question came in a loud, rumbling purr near the window. Both ponies paused and peered over the bed to see Opal lounging on the edge of the rug and looking entirely too pleased with herself.

“Did you do that?” Rainbow accused, scowling at the pampered cat.

Opal responded by nonchalantly licking a paw, then deliberately stood and turned about to present the pegasus with her fluffy hindquarters.

“Snotty furball,” Rainbow muttered. She climbed onto the bed, casting a wary eye at the bear in Pinkie’s arms, and leaned against the pillows. She was silent for a moment, staring thoughtfully at the window.

“Hey, Pinkie?” she asked at last.

“Yeah?”

“Is the pony eater purple…or does it just eat purple ponies?”

“You mean like Twilight? Well that’s pretty mean of it! Twilight’s never done anything bad to anypony. She sure doesn’t deserve to be cooked up and eaten like a cupcake by some big, scary monster who thinks she’s—”

Rainbow Dash leaned forward to press a hoof against Pinkie’s lips, cutting off her tirade.

“Forget I asked,” she said, sighing wearily, but smiling all the same. She certainly couldn’t be bored with Pinkie Pie around. “What books did you bring me? I really liked that one about the pirate ponies.”

“I’ve got something even better this time! I found this story about these ponies who have to go on a journey to find some magic jewels to save their sick friend. And Twilight searched the whole library for this book she saw once that she thought you’d really like.” Pinkie abandoned Bobo and hopped off the bed, appearing an instant later with a stack of books in her hooves.

“Wait! What?” Pinkie had brought no saddlebags with her and she hadn’t been carrying any books when she’d come upstairs. “How did you—no, on second thought, I don’t want to know.” Rainbow looked eagerly at the books instead, spreading them out on the bed in front of her and inspecting the covers. She’d really enjoyed the funny and light hearted novels Pinkie usually brought, but was pleased to see an epic fantasy this time. She preferred the action and adventure and the sense of danger on every page.

Twilight sent only nonfiction books, but was adept at picking histories and documentaries that Rainbow Dash found fascinating. The book she had provided today looked especially cool—there was a dark storm cloud on the cover with a zigzag bolt of lightning writing the title.

“Storms of the Century—The Greatest Recorded Storms of Equestria History,” she read. “Awesome! Tell Twilight thanks for me.”

“Oki doki loki—she’s a great librarian, huh? Just the other day she found this super awesome amazing cookbook for me with all these recipes for cookies that I can’t wait to try at the Let’s Warm Up party I’m having.”

Rainbow had been flipping through the storm book, listening idly to her friend, but perked up at the mention of a party.

“What party?” she asked.

“Just a really fun one that’ll help us all feel better about the weather.” Pinkie saw Rainbow’s eyes narrow a little and flicker towards the window again. “It’s not your fault, Dashie,” she insisted, knowing exactly what her friend was thinking. “And it’s really not so bad, just a little windy and snowy and cold. But now we get to have a party and I’m gonna bake apple cookies!”

“When is it?”

“Day after tomorrow.”

“Oh.” Rainbow’s ears drooped. Even though she felt better and the books said she was no longer contagious now that her spots had turned purple, the mayor had decided that she should remain quarantined until they went away completely. “I guess I’ll just go to the next one,” she murmured.

“Aww, I’m sorry, Dashie. I would have made it later, but I have to use Applejack’s bruised apples before they go bad.”

“It’s okay.” Rainbow let out a tiny snort. “Rarity probably wouldn’t want me to go anyway.” She flopped back into the pillows and raised a hoof before her eyes. “I can’t wait for these stupid spots to go away.”

“They will soon enough. And then we’ll throw you an even bigger, better, more fantastic party to celebrate and the whole town will be invited!”

The blue pony couldn’t help but smile at the thought of a Ponyville-wide party in her honor, just because she’d gotten over the pegapox—it was strange to think that, just two weeks ago, the very idea of a party had made her groan in misery.

“And,” Pinkie continued without pause, “I promise to bring you a whole big plate of delicious goodies from this party so you can pick your favorites for yours.”

Pinkie started to describe the cakes and tarts and cookies that she was planning to make, but was interrupted by the door banging open and Sweetie Belle galloping excitedly into the room.

“Rainbow Dash! You have to look outside! Hurry! It’s so neat! Oh, hi, Pinkie Pie!”

Grinning from ear to ear, the filly leapt onto the bed and grabbed Rainbow’s hoof, pulling her upright and towards the window.

“Come on—you’re going to love it!”

Obediently, both Rainbow and Pinkie both scrambled off the bed, following the little unicorn to the window and crowding in front of the glass. They sat and looked out at the dark, grey clouds covering the sky and the broken branches and other debris whipped up by the fierce wind.

“What are we looking at?” Pinkie asked when a minute had passed with nothing special happening. Her breath misted on the cool glass and Sweetie hurriedly wiped it clear.

“Just watch! It’s going to be any minute now!”

They waited again, but the scenery remained unchanged. Rainbow Dash stifled a yawn and was just about to ask Sweetie what they were expected to see when a bright green dot suddenly spun through the clouds.

“What in the hay—is that a-a kite?”

It was a kite, a green diamond kite getting tossed and dragged by the wind towards them and, hanging tightly to the string and getting dragged along just as fast was—

“—Scootaloo!”

The orange pegasus filly had wrapped the kite string around her forehooves and was using the force of the wind to get to amazing speed. Her tiny wings buzzed for balance as she lifted a hoof from her handlebars and waved up at their window. They waved back as Scootaloo dropped her hoof onto one of the small wheels lifting the scooter in a wheelie and spinning around and around in a series of tight circles. With the help of the kite, she banked off one of the town benches, jumping high into the air and cartwheeling.

“Wow! Did you see that!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Scootaloo managed to turn about and came back towards the window, shoving the scooter ahead of her and letting the power of the kite yank her off the ground. She flew through the air for twenty feet before gravity caught up with her again and she dropped, somehow managing to land with one hoof on her scooter, the other raised behind her.

“Whoo!” Rainbow cheered, opening the window despite the cold and leaning out to cheer for her little fan. “Way to go, Squirt! Awesome!”

“Yay, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle yelled.

The filly waved again and turned once more, now weaving her scooter in and out of the benches, trees, potted plants, and other obstacles that lined the street. It was a similar stunt to Phase One from Rainbow’s own routine.

“Oh no! Look out!” Pinkie Pie cried, pointing to the sign post that stood in Scootaloo’s way.

Scootaloo saw the obstacle, but instead of dodging, she leaned lower over her handlebars and buzzed her wings to add her own propulsion to the power of the wind. She rushed at the post, a look of pure determination in her purple eyes.

“She’s going to crash!” Pinkie yelled.

“Stop! Scootaloo! Stop!” Sweetie squeaked.

Rainbow Dash didn’t say anything, but leaned far out the window, her own rose-colored eyes wide as the filly waited until the very last instant to jump off her scooter, leaping over the handlebars and leaning back so she could run up the signpost with the help of her momentum. She reached the top and flipped backward, letting the dancing kite hold her up so she floated gently to the ground. Smiling hugely, she bowed to her audience, who cheered and stamped their hooves against the windowsill.

“What in Equestria is going on up here!”

The three ponies at the window turned around to see Rarity and Applejack standing in the doorway, watching them in complete confusion.

“Rarity! You have to see what Scootaloo’s doing!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“It’s so cool!” Pinkie added.

“Yeah, awesome!”

“And loud too,” Rarity sniffed. “We could hear you shouting all the way downstairs.”

“They probably heard you all the way down at th’ farm,” Applejack added. She trotted to the window and squeezed in between Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, using her rump to push them aside. “What’re we lookin’ at?”

Down below, Scootaloo was now riding in leisurely circles, still windsurfing with the kite and waving up at the window each time her circuit brought her around to see them.

“Well, ain’t that a clever idea!” Applejack exclaimed. She waved to the filly, laughing. “Hey there, Scootaloo!”

“Hi Applejack!” the filly called.

“Scootaloo is out there…in this cold?” Rarity hurried to the window and peered out. Her lips pursed disapprovingly. “Whatever is she thinking? She’s going to freeze her little wings off. Not to mention she could hurt herself with that kite in this wind.” Leaning out the window, she shouted, “Scootaloo, darling, it’s far too cold to play outside today! You go home now, dear. Sweetie will see you tomorrow at school!”

Scootaloo’s face fell as the unicorn shut the window and pulled the curtains closed.

“Aw, Rarity, she was just showing us her new tricks,” Sweetie protested. “She’s been working on them for two days and wanted Rainbow Dash to see—”

“That’s wonderful, Sweetie, but Rainbow should be in bed, not sitting in front of an open window on a cold night. Really, Rainbow Dash, you should know better. All you need is to catch a chill and have to spend another two weeks in bed.”

“It was only a couple of minutes,” Rainbow Dash protested, rolling her eyes. “And the fresh air felt nice after being cooped up so long.”

“It won’t feel nice if it makes your cough worse or brings back your fever. Ugh!” The white unicorn shook her head angrily. “Do I have to do everything myself?” Planting her hooves, a blue glow suffused her horn as she pointed it at Rainbow Dash.

“Okay, okay! I’m going! Rarity, knock it off!” Rainbow Dash turned to get back into bed, aided by Rarity’s blue magic, which wrapped around her rainbow tail and hoisted her hind end off the floor. Rainbow tumbled head over heels on the mattress, landing with her nose buried in the pillows as Rarity levitated the blanket over her. “Stop that!” she snapped, turning over and pushing her bangs out of her eyes. “What did I say about levitating me!”

“What did I say about staying in bed? You say you want to get better and go out to fix the problems with the weather but you won’t do anything I say to—”

“That’s because you’re not my mom!”

Rarity took a step backwards at the fury in Rainbow’s voice.

“I…I never said I was, Rainbow Dash. I’m just trying to—”

“Well don’t! Quit bossing me around!”

“I…well, I never meant…I was just trying…” Rarity’s blue eyes glanced over at her little sister and the two guests, who stood silently by the window. Her lip quivered for a moment, then firmed as her own natural stubbornness came forward. “There’s certainly no reason to shout at me, Rainbow Dash. I wouldn’t have to be so bossy if you would just behave yourself for once.”

“Me?” Rainbow pointed a hoof at her chest and laughed humorlessly.

“Yes, you. Being sick has been hard on you, we all know that, but do think it’s been easy for me these last two weeks? Cooking for you, cleaning up after you, making an extra special pair of pajamas just for you!”

“I never asked you to do any of that! You volunteered!”

“I…I’m starting to feel sorry that I did!” Rarity felt her eyes flood with tears and, to hide them, whirled around and cantered from the room.

Rainbow Dash stared at the door for a long moment, then crossed her hooves over her chest and sulked.
“Now, Rainbow, don’t you think you oughtta…” Applejack fell silent as Rainbow Dash looked at her. The blue pony’s own eyes were damp and she quickly tried to wipe them dry, hiding the motion behind a cough.

“Ah guess it’s about time we went home, eh, Pinkie?” Applejack nudged her fellow earth pony and started for the door.

“Oki doki…uh, loki.” Looking upset, Pinkie followed Applejack out the door. “Hope you like the books, Dashie,” she said before darting into the hallway.

“Mm hmm,” Rainbow replied, not seeming to notice that Pinkie was gone.

Sweetie Belle was silent for a moment, then timidly crept up to the bed and put her hooves on the mattress.

“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have made you go to the window. A good nurse wouldn’t have—”

“It’s not your fault, Sweetie Belle.” Rainbow managed a small smile for the filly. “You’ve been a great nurse.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the best. And Rarity wasn’t…” Rainbow sighed heavily. “You know, Sweetie, I’m feeling pretty tired right now and I’ll bet you have homework to do, so…”

Sweetie Belle got the hint and nodded. “Okay. I’ll talk to you later.

After the filly left the room, Rainbow Dash tried to distract herself with her new books, but couldn’t concentrate as the words kept blurring on the pages and she had to continually wipe her eyes clear. She finally gave up and slumped down on the bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin and turning to stare at the curtain covered window. As the wind beat against the glass and whistled around the corners of the boutique outside, she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

It was just past midnight when an incredibly loud clanging split the night air over Ponyville. Rainbow Dash sat up with a gasp, blinking confusedly in the darkness and wondering what had awakened her. She cocked her head, listening carefully, but heard only the angry moaning of the wind, which sounded even stronger than before.

Sighing in disgust, she snuggled down again and curled into a ball, only to yelp and clap her hooves over her ears as the deafening sound rang out again.

A blue glow blossomed under the door, followed quickly by the sound of approaching hoofsteps. The pegasus winced as the door burst open in a spill of bright light from Rarity’s horn. The unicorn was dressed in a pink bathrobe and matching slippers, her long mane hanging at her neck in curlers. Sweetie Belle, wearing a frilly nightgown and looking sleepily frightened, hovered close by her side.

“What in the name of Celestia is that?” Rarity asked.

Rainbow Dash shoved the blanket aside and crept to the window. “Sounds like somepony’s ringing the bell in the clock tower,” she said, pulling back the curtain.

“Why would they do that?” Sweetie wanted to know. “It’s the middle of the night and everypony’s trying to sleep.”

“I don’t know…” Rainbow looked out the window as the bell sounded a third time. Across the village, lights were going on in houses and windows were opening as confused and sleepy ponies called out to one another. She quickly scanned the street below, but saw nothing to cause any alarm besides some broken branches. Slowly, her eyes drifted up the street, then lifted instinctively to the skies.

“Oh horseapples!” she breathed, the blood draining from her face.

“What is it?”

Rainbow Dash spun around. “We’ve got to get out of here—downstairs, hurry! Sweetie, grab a scarf or a blanket. It’s gonna be cold outside. Rarity, where’s Opal?”

“Sleeping on my bed, why?” The unicorn was forced to trot after her friend, who was already rushing down the hall. Opal hissed and spat as the pegasus tried to lift her off the bed, then yowled as Rainbow simply bundled her in a blanket and tossed her to Rarity, who caught her with her magic and wisely decided to keep her wrapped up.

“Rainbow, what is going on?” she demanded, now following her down the stairs to the boutique where Sweetie Belle was waiting for them. “What is it? Why do we have to go outside? Tell me! Rainbow Dash!”

“It’s bad,” Rainbow finally answered her. She opened the front door, wincing as a blast of icy wind roared into the shop, swirling leaves and twigs across the floor. “It’s really bad. We’ve got to get everyone out!” She broke into a fit of coughing that bent her over for a moment, then a look of determination crossed her face and she pushed her friends out the door.

The wind was worse as soon as they stepped outside. The force of it stung their eyes, bringing tears, and whipped their hair about so wildly that it got in their way. Sweetie Belle cried out as she lost her footing and was dragged down the street by the gale, but Rainbow Dash leapt after her, catching the fluffy pink and lavender tail in her mouth and hauling her back to safety. The filly pressed her face to Rarity’s flank and whimpered.

“What is this?” Rarity shouted, her words lost by the roaring of the wind. Rainbow cocked her head and pointed questioningly at her ear. “What is this?” she yelled again, jumping as a brilliant flash of lightning crackled overhead, bathing the entire town in an eerie blue light. The resulting crash of thunder was almost immediate and painfully loud. Sweetie screamed.

“Go!” Rainbow shouted back, shoving her again with her head. “I’ll explain later! Run to Twilight’s! Now!”
Rarity went, the fear in her friend’s eyes all the incentive she needed. Careful to keep her own body between the worst of the wind and Sweetie Belle, she cantered away from the boutique while Rainbow darted back and forth across the street, kicking frantically on doors and ordering any ponies who answered to run to the library. More lightning flashed, a series of bolts that turned the night into day. Rainbow paused long enough to look over her shoulder as one particularly bright bolt illuminated the funnel cloud rapidly reaching towards the ground.

Twilight Sparkle and Spike were already awake, alerted by the bell a few moments before, and were suitably surprised by the onslaught of ponies who poured into the library as soon as they opened the door. Her tree home was soon filled to capacity and the din of raised voices became cacophonous.

“What’s going on!” Spike asked, covering his ears with his claws and climbing onto a table so he wouldn’t be stepped on.

“I—I’m not sure. It must have something to do with the bell ringing so late.” Twilight looked around, bewildered, and shouted, “Please! Everypony, calm down! Can somepony tell me what’s happening here?”

Spike’s green eyes surveyed the crowd and he pointed. “There’s the mayor. Maybe she knows.”

“Right!” Levitating her little friend onto her back, Twilight pushed and nudged her way through the milling mass of ponies, heading towards the tan mayor mare, who also seemed to be trying to calm the crowd with just as little luck.

“Hey Twilight!” Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared at her side with her baby alligator, Gummy, clinging tenaciously to her mane. “This is really exciting, isn’t it? It’s just like a big party, except there aren’t any treats and nopony seems to be having any fun.”

“Pinkie, do you have any idea what’s going on here? Spike and I woke up because of the bell and, the next thing we know, every pony in town is at our door!”

Pinkie frowned and looked over the roomful of ponies. “Well, I wouldn’t say everypony, Twilight. Fluttershy isn’t here and I don’t see Applejack or her family. They must still be out at the farm. But I saw Lily and Rose and Daisy, and there’s Ace, and Bon Bon and Lyra are here and—”

“Yes, yes! But why are they here?”

“Oh! I thought you knew that. Rainbow Dash told us to come here. The Cakes and I were all sleeping when we heard the bell ringing and telling us to wake up, and then there was this really loud banging on the door and it was Dashie looking all scared and upset and she told us that we all had to come here as quick as we could. She didn’t tell us why though—she just ran off to bang on another door.”

“Rainbow Dash? But she’s still sick and staying with…” Spotting a familiar white pony through the crowd, Twilight grabbed Pinkie Pie and shoved her way across the room to where Rarity huddled against a wall with Sweetie Belle, who had somehow managed to find Scootaloo in all the confusion.

“Rarity! Rarity, over he—” Twilight’s hoof came down on something soft and she screamed as a yowling, bristling ball of white fur shot into the air in front of her.

“Opal! No, sweetums! Down!” A blue ball of light surrounded the enraged cat, lifting her away from Twilight and depositing her on a high shelf. “You stay right there, sweetheart, so nopony will step on you.” The white unicorn turned away from her pet as soon as Opal started licking a paw, and fixed Twilight with tired, worried eyes. “Twilight, I’m so sorry that we’ve all dropped in on you like this without warning. Hello, Pinkie.”

“Hi!”

“It-it’s alright, I guess. There must be a reason for—Snips, Snails, you put those books down right now! They’re not toys!”

The two colts jumped and looked at her guiltily. Quickly, they put the two books they had been tossing around back on the shelves and melted into the throng of ponies.

Twilight groaned and hid her face wearily in her hoof. “Do you have any idea going on here? Pinkie says Rainbow Dash told everypony to come here, but she didn’t say why and I don’t see her anywhere.”

“She’s not here yet? I thought she was right behind us!” Rarity stood on the tips of her hooves and looked over the room for a familiar multi-colored mane. “We were all sleeping and the bell woke us up. Rainbow looked out the window and saw something out there that really scared her. She went pale and then she ordered us to come here She wouldn’t even tell me what she saw.”

“Yeah. Mr. Cake wanted to know what was going on too, but she wouldn’t say. She only ran off to another house.”

“This isn’t good, Twilight,” Spike spoke up. “Hardly anything gets Rainbow Dash spooked.”

“You’re right, Spike. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this and for that we need to find Rainbow.”

“I’ll help!” Pinkie volunteered.

“Me too. Sweetie, you stay here with Scootaloo, alright? I’m sure we won’t be long.”

“But I want to come too!” Sweetie jumped to her hooves and nudged Scootaloo. “You might need the Cutie Mark Crusaders for this.”

“Actually, you’re right! Do you think you two could watch Gummy for me? All this commotion has made him scared and he really needs some hugs.” Pinkie peeled the tiny alligator from her mane and passed him over to Scootaloo. Gummy’s purple eyes blinked blankly at the little pegasus, then he latched toothlessly onto her wing. Sweetie Belle frowned, knowing she was being manipulated, but nodded anyway. She yanked Gummy free and wrapped her hooves tightly around him.

The three mares fought their way through the crowd again, pausing sporadically to ask if anypony had seen Rainbow Dash and knew what was going on. Each answer was the same—Rainbow Dash had told them all to come here as quickly as they could and then had rushed off to some other house. Nopony knew what was wrong—even the mayor was completely confused—and Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found.

“This is really serious,” Rarity murmured. “Twilight, I don’t know what Rainbow Dash is doing, but she’s still sick. She thinks she’s all better, but she still has that awful cough and—”

“I know. We’ll find her.” Twilight reached for the door, only to yelp when Rainbow Dash suddenly slammed it open, flattening her and Spike against the wall. Pinkie and Rarity gaped at the wild-eyed pegasus, whose mane and tail were mussed from the wind and tangled with twigs and leaves. She had an equally disheveled colt at her side, his orange-maned head hanging low.

“Everypony! Listen up!” Rainbow called. Her voice barely carried over the din and the noise continued unchecked, so the pegasus pulled in a deep breath. “Everypony, listen up!”

The room finally fell silent, all eyes turning to the doorway.

“There you are, Rainbow Dash! What is the meaning of all this?” The mayor pushed her way to the front of the crowd, frowning severely and straightening her glasses on her nose. “Why were you ringing the bell at this hour?”

Rainbow Dash started to reply, but went into a fit of coughing instead that drove her to her knees. Her friends quickly gathered around her as the rest of the townfolk suddenly remembered that their usual weather pony had been sick. The few pegasi in the room backed up nervously, hiding behind unicorns and earth ponies.

“She’s got pegapox!” somepony shouted. “She’s contagious.”

“Yeah, she’s supposed to be in quarantine! She’s still got spots.”

Rainbow managed to get her coughing under control. With Pinkie and Twilight helping her, she got back to her hooves, though she was visibly trembling. Ignoring their accusing words, she turned to glare at the pegasus colt beside her and nudged him hard with a hoof. “It wasn’t me ringing the bell. It was him. And now the featherbrain has something to tell you all.”

The colt lifted his eyes to the villagers, his ears flattened against his head as he dragged a hoof across the ground. “Well…” he murmured. “I, um, I needed to get rid of the snow and the wind wasn’t…well, it wasn’t working, but I thought I could melt it with some rain, so I whipped up some clouds and…” He broke off, a whimper escaping him as Rainbow Dash continued to glare. “I’m sorry, everypony. I couldn’t remember what clouds I needed, so I brought a cumulonimbus and it, uh, it reacted with the wind and…”

“Th-there’s a supercell coming straight for Ponyville,” Rainbow Dash finished for him. “A huge storm. And it’s already forming a tornado!” As the ponies burst into cries of alarm, she turned to unicorn at her side. “Twilight, the library has a cellar, doesn’t it?”

The studious purple pony looked at her, momentarily struck dumb by the horror that was rushing towards them, but Spike nodded and pointed to a door.

“Over there. It’s dusty and doesn’t have anything in it but some old chairs, boxes, and trees roots.”

“That’s perfect. We’ve got to get everypony down there. Everyone but the pegasi. It’s safer underground.”

“Right!” Spike grinned and tapped the top of Twilight’s head with his knuckles. “And we definitely don’t want everypony panicking and rushing and causing a stampede, do we? If only we had somepony who could organize everyone—”

Twilight’s eyes cleared at the mention of organization and she immediately took charge, directing all the earth ponies and unicorns down to the basement with the help of Spike and the mayor.

“But Dashie, not everypony is here,” Pinkie Pie said. She and Rarity held back from the line of ponies heading downstairs. “Applejack and Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith and Big Macintosh are all still at Sweet Apple Acres and Fluttershy is way out by the Everfree Forest. What are we gonna do about them?”

Rainbow closed her eyes briefly as another painful coughing spasm shook her. “Th-The Apples will be alright. The storm’s blowing away from them and—cough, cough, cough—I intend to keep it that way. And Fluttershy’s house is in a hill. Not much a tornado can do to that, unless she decides to go outside.”

“Unlikely,” Rarity said. “Fluttershy hides inside as soon as she sees any hint of a storm. They terrify the poor dear.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true. I was visiting her once and I wanted to make some cookies but I dropped a pan on the floor and Fluttershy screamed like this, ‘aaiiiihh’, and ran and hid under her bed and it took me almost an hour and a whole batch of chocolate chip cookies to talk her back out and—”

“Right, Pinkie. So she’s probably okay.” Rainbow Dash sighed. “I just hope all her animals are alright. They’re really the only reason she’d go outside. We’ll just have to move the clouds to—” Her voice drifted off for a moment, her eyes taking on a faraway look.

“Rainbow? Darling, are you alright?” Rarity put a hoof on the pegasi’s shoulder. “You’re trembling all over and you’re chilled through! Come inside, we’ll get you a blanket and—”

Rainbow shook her head. “No time,” she murmured, looking at the pegasi gathering around her. Most seemed leery of her spots and a few were openly trying to cover their mouths with their hooves. She frowned, but faced them anyway. “With the size of this cell and the direction of the wind, any twisters that drop are going to run right through Ponyville unless we stop them. If they hit, they could destroy everything they touch, all the houses, the school, the entire town.”

“What can we do?” asked a petite mare with a pale pink coat. She fluttered her wings nervously. “The only weather wrangling I’ve ever done is for the Winter Wrap-Up.”

“We’re gonna need every set of wings we can get.” Rainbow raised her own wings and flapped them hard. She was able to lift a foot off the floor, but couldn’t maintain the hovering for longer than a moment and quickly set down again. “And I can’t fly yet. But I know what to do and I’ll direct you. It’s not gonna be easy, but if we work together, hopefully we can shift the path of the storm so it’ll miss Ponyville completely.” A gust of wind struck the library, making the thick branches shake and creak loudly. Rainbow ducked and lowered her ears. “But we’ve got to hurry.”

“But you’ve still got pegapox!” a colt shouted out. “We could all catch it! You shouldn’t even be here.”

“The books said she’s not contagious anymore,” Rarity snapped at him. “It was the mayor who said she had to stay quarantined until the spots went away completely. And she couldn’t very well stay alone in the boutique. Not with such a storm coming…right for…it…” The white unicorn’s face fell as she suddenly realized the very real danger to her home and livelihood. She swayed unsteadily, putting a hoof against the wall to keep from falling over.

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said, jumping forward to glare at the colt in a way that was very unlike her. “And do you know how to fight a superduper cell?” She turned her blue eyes to each of the pegasi, stretching forward to press her face uncomfortably close to theirs. “Huh? Do you? How ‘bout you?” She sat down with a thump and bobbed her head knowingly. “That’s right. I didn’t think so! So you are going to do what Dashie tells you to do and get rid of those big cumuloninny cloud things right now, because if you don’t and Ponyville gets destroyed, I will never bake any of you anything yummy again!”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t help laughing and smiled smugly at the other pegasi. “Let’s go. We’ve already wasted too much time already. Pinkie, you and Rarity better go downstairs with the others. Underground is the safest place for you to be during a storm like this. Everypony else, outside!”

The wind was fiercer than ever outside. The giant, roiling mass of clouds summoned by Cloudkicker blocked out the stars and Luna’s moon, but lightning flashed so rapidly that the sky seemed almost as bright as midday. The accompanying thunder competed with the roaring wind for which was louder. The funnel cloud Rainbow had seen before was still rapidly dropping towards the ground.

The jewel-toned eyes of the ponies went wide at the terrifying sight, then quickly turned to Rainbow Dash for directions. The blue mare coughed into her hoof and lowered her head to keep the wind from whipping her mane into her eyes.

“Okay!” she shouted to be heard above the thunder. She jabbed a hoof at three of the ponies. “First things first! You, you, you! Up into those clouds—we’ve got to break that cell apart before it forms anymore tornadoes.”
“How do we do that!” a blue and green colt wanted to know. He yelped and ducked, almost losing his balance to the wind, when Rainbow Dash spun around and kicked at him with both hind legs.
“Like that! Kick holes in them, push them away, do anything you can! Just do it now!”

The three ponies leapt into the air, struggling against the wind before vanishing into the mass of clouds. Without pausing to watch them, Rainbow turned to the others.
“The rest of you are going to go for that tornado.” She twirled her hoof in a clockwise direction. “It’s going counterclockwise—you’re going to fly around it clockwise as fast as you can! Change the direction of the wind and we might be able to bre—!”

“Look! There’s another one!”

Spinning about, Rainbow was horrified to see a second funnel cloud dropping from the base of the storm. It moved faster than the first, sending a long, tapered tendril stretching for the ground. As though taking its lead from the tornado, the cloud overhead opened up as soon as the funnel touched the earth and hail as large as chestnuts poured onto the town.

“Ponyfeathers,” Rainbow breathed, flinching as one hailstone struck the tip of her nose. Trying to ignore the stinging pain, she wracked her memory for all she had ever learned about giant storm cells and tornadoes. She had taken all of the classes in flight school, having discovered her aptitude for weather work early on, and had aced all her tests when it came to the harsher forms of weather—but Ponyville was so peaceful, she never had to deal with anything greater than a rain shower and the occasional thunderstorm.

But there were still seven pegasi staring at her expectantly and this new tornado heading their way. Biting her lip, Rainbow squinted through the wind at the second twister, tracking its path along the ground and determining that it was on a collision course with the joke shop and the school. The tip of its funnel was particularly narrow and thin—this one was fast and kept shifting across the ground, vacuuming up everything in its path.

A bright yellow mare darted into her line of sight, her dark green eyes wide with fear. “Rainbow Dash, why are you just standing there?” she shouted, the wind whipping her words away as soon as they left her mouth. “What do you want us to do?”

“Give me a minute—I’m trying to figure it—oh!” She gasped and smiled toothily as a crazy idea came to her. “Lemondrop, come here!”

The yellow mare leaned close, her concern for Ponyville greater than her fear of catching pegapox. She looked stunned as Rainbow Dash shouted her plan into her ear and glanced nervously at the tornado for an instant before nodding firmly.

“It’s worth a try!” she shouted, flaring out her wings and jumping into the air. The wind immediately tried to catch and spin her away, but she battled against it and tapped three of her friends. “Let’s go—I’ll explain on the way!” The four darted into the sky, their colorful forms quickly swallowed in the darkness.

“Alright, now you three need to—” Rainbow Dash turned to address her three remaining helpers, but froze when she found four ponies facing her.

“Rarity?” Rainbow shook her head in confused shock. “What the hay—what are you doing here?” A flowerpot full of wilted daisies suddenly whizzed through the air over their heads and they both yelped and ducked just in time. It struck the bakery instead, shattering into hundreds of terra cotta shards and showering them all in clumps of soil. Standing up again, Rainbow grabbed her friend and pushed her around the corner to the back of the building, where the wall and roof offered protection from the wind and hail. “I told you to go into the basement with the rest of the earth ponies and unicorns!” she yelled. “You’re gonna get hurt out here!”

“I had to come and help!” Rarity had a blanket, no doubt a throw taken from the library, slung over her back. She yipped at a loud clap of thunder, but held her ground determinedly, raising the blanket with her magic and draping it over Rainbow’s shoulders. “You may be the only pony who knows what to do,” she shouted, tying two corners around her friend’s neck like a cloak, “but you are still sick, Rainbow Dash. Somepony has to watch over you—and I don’t care if you call me bossy or not. I’m staying!”

Rainbow started to protest, but gave up when the warmth of the blanket made her aware of how cold she was. “Thanks,” she murmured, no longer shouting. Rarity, however, understood and smiled. They stared at one another for a moment, then both said in a simultaneous rush, “I’m sorry!”

“It was my fault!” Rarity added. “I shouldn’t have—”

“No!” Rainbow broke in. “It was me! All you wanted was to—”

“No! No, no, no, no, no! Rainbow Dash! Come here, quick!” A sage green mare named Snapdragon had peeked around the corner of the bakery and now came running back to them. “There’s another one! And it’s big! Bigger than the others!”

“What!” Rainbow gave Rarity a startled look, then galloped back to the main street and gaped at a third funnel cloud that had formed from the storm. She had never heard of three tornadoes coming from the same cloud before. Stunned, her mind went briefly blank as the cone touched down—what in Equestria was she going to do now? There were only three pegasi left and this last twister was the largest one yet. It was a giant wedge, easily half a mile across at the base, the swirling clouds filled with dirt and rocks, trees, branches, water, even a carriage that had been parked on the road. Electric blue flashes of lightning crackled across the roiling surface and shot down to the ground, splitting tree trunks like kindling. One nearby oak was hit, the wood groaning and screaming in protest as an enormous bough tore free and crashed to the ground, forcing the ponies to jump out of the way or risk getting crushed.

“Oh sweet Celestia!” Rarity’s voice cried in her ear. “It’s coming right for town!” The unicorn looked back and forth between the tornado and the village. “Everything will be destroyed!”

“No, it won’t!” Rainbow yelled. “We’ll stop it! We’ve got to!” Her teeth chattered violently with the cold and her legs trembled weakly. Though she hadn’t done any flying, she felt very tired. “We’ve got to,” she repeated more softly.

“How in Equestria are we going to stop that one?” Cloudkicker yelled frantically. He danced from hoof to hoof, his orange wings flapping and flaring at his sides. A window broke nearby, shattered by a hailstone, and he jumped a foot in the air at the noise. “There’s only three of us left against it! We can’t! We need to all get underground like the others and wait for it to go by!”

“Be quiet, you birdbrain!” Snapdragon shouted at him. “This storm is all your fault to begin with! Dash is trying her best to fix your mistakes so the least you can do is shut your muzzle until she—”

Rainbow Dash stepped away from them, unable to concentrate while Snapdragon continued to berate Cloudkicker. Leaving the shelter of the bakery, she trotted into the street, facing the storm again as hail tumbled and cracked on the ground all around and the wind brought tears to her eyes.

“Come on, Rainbow—think!” she berated herself. “They’re all counting on you!”

This twister was too powerful for them to try counter spinning, and the tip of the funnel far too wide to lift and redirect like Lemondrop’s group was attempting to do with the second cone. The only way to stop something this large was an equally powerful force to disrupt the spinning winds and the updrafts that fed the tornado, but there was no force made by ponies strong enough to…

“That’s it!” she shouted. Whirling, she galloped back to the bakery, where Snapdragon had Cloudkicker cowering against the wall, refusing to let the colt flee back to the library. “I’ve got it! But we have to hurry! We’re only gonna get one chance!”

“One chance at what?” Rarity asked, following her. “What are you going to do, darling?”

“A sonic rainboom!”

“What!” the four ponies cried in unison.

“We perform a sonic rainboom in the center of the tornado! The force of the rainbow should blow through the cyclone and break it up!”

Snapdragon stared at her as though she had gone mad. “A sonic rainboom? How are we gonna do that? Dash, you’re the only pony who’s ever done one! I can’t fly that fast!”

“Neither can I!” said the third pegasus, Honeydew.

“It’s crazy!” Cloudkicker protested. “Insane! Who’s going to—?”

At that moment, Ditzy Doo, one of the pegasi Rainbow had sent to break up the supercell, managed to poke a hole in the clouds. A shaft of bright moonlight slipped through, shining down directly onto Rainbow Dash so her multi-colored mane shone with a strange, silvery tint. She glanced upwards, eyebrows raised, then grinned as an even crazier idea came to her.

“I will!”

“Rainbow Dash, what are you thinking?” Rarity tried to catch the trailing end of Rainbow’s blanket cloak in her mouth, desperate to stop her friend from trotting towards the roaring tornado. “You can’t do a sonic rainboom now! You can’t even fly!”

“That’s why I’m going to need your help. You can do it, Rarity!”

“But you could be hurt! Rainbow…” She succeeded in grabbing the blanket and tugged the pegasus back a step, but Rainbow Dash simply wriggled out of the makeshift cloak and put a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder.

“Rarity!” she shouted. “I know you’re scared, but time is running out! Now, are you going to help me do this or not?”

“I—of course I will. But I still think you’re crazy!”

Rainbow laughed. “Hey, it’s always worked for Pinkie Pie!” She galloped towards the tornado and, despairing her part in the impromptu plan, Rarity hurried to keep up.

“Okay, you all know what you have to do!” Rainbow glared at the tornado and took in a deep breath. “Let’s do this!”

Snapdragon and Honeydew caught the blue pony in their hooves and lifted into the air, carrying her up into the storm. Cloudkicker hesitated on the ground for a moment longer until he caught Rarity glowering at him. Muttering under his breath, he leapt for the sky, leaving the unicorn to watch and wait.

Ducking under a bench to hide from the hail, Rarity stared up at the first twister and the trio of ponies she could see flying in rapid circles around the grey vortex. As Rainbow had predicted, the counter spinning was working on this smaller tornado and the cone was breaking up into filmy wisps of cloud like cotton candy.

Lemondrop and her group were still struggling with their own twister. They were flying only around the tapered end, their motion thinning the clouds into a trailing rope they used to pull the tornado off course. It fought their efforts like a dog fighting a leash, but Rarity could see that, even if they lost their hold now, they had dragged the funnel far enough from the town to keep it from causing any harm.

That left only the giant monster of a tornado bearing down on Ponyville, the swirling winds roaring louder than any dragon or manticore the unicorn had ever encountered. Trembling, Rarity peeped out from beneath the bench and searched the skies for Rainbow Dash, but the little pony had been swallowed by the clouds.

“You can do it, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity murmured. “Good luck!”

“Higher!” Rainbow called, her words whipping away into the night. She pointed a hoof at the base of the stormcloud. “We have to go higher!”

Snapdragon nodded, she and Honeydew battling the winds to fly higher. Frigid, soaking rain poured down on them, interspersed with bruising hail. They had to dodge bolts of lightning that seemed determined to knock them from the sky and ice began to form on the edges of their feathers and in their manes and tails, making the upward climb more difficult. Though Rainbow Dash was light weight even for a pegasus, the two mares were soon flagging, their wings struggling with each beat.

“I—I can’t go a-any further!” Honeydew gasped. Her grip on Rainbow slipped and Snapdragon cried out, swooping to catch the blue pegasus before she fell. “I’m sorry!” Honeydew called, dropping back towards the ground.

“We—we’re not high enough! I need to be able to get up to speed!”

“I’m trying!”

Snapdragon flew higher still, gritting her teeth as the air grew colder and thinner and her muscles ached with the effort. Just when she was sure she couldn’t flap another foot higher, Cloudkicker pulled close to her side, taking Rainbow from her hooves and powering upwards.

“Good luck, Dash!” Snapdragon yelled. Folding her wings, she sped downwards, eager to get out of the storm.

His forelegs wrapped tightly around Rainbow Dash, Cloudkicker surged higher into the storm, weaving through bolts of lightning like Scootaloo had woven in and out of obstacles on her scooter earlier that evening. One bolt came particularly close, washing them both in heat and filling their nostrils with the acrid smell of singed hair. Cloudkicker winced, but didn’t dare look back at the remains of his tail.

Shielding her eyes with her hoof, Rainbow indicated a patch of gray fractal cloud just twenty yards ahead. Cloudkicker flew above it, then spiraled down to land on the leaden surface. Directly below them, the gaping maw of the tornado spun and whirled, tearing up earth and trees on its way to the tiny, helpless Ponyville.

“You really think you can do this?” Cloudkicker shouted. He looked over the edge of the cloud and gulped, his knees quaking.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and didn’t reply. Though she was well aware of her talents in flying, the sonic rainboom was one stunt that had repeatedly denied her efforts. She had only pulled it off twice before, and never through the center of a tornado, and never while stricken with an illness that affected her ability to fly. If she failed this time—if she couldn’t build up enough speed or if she got hit by a piece of flying debris—Ponyville was doomed. Though she probably wouldn’t survive to see it.

She couldn’t deny that it was an extremely dangerous idea, and the Ponyville residents surely wouldn’t fault her if she didn’t go through with it—but a flash of lightning suddenly lit up the town far below and she could see the Carousel Boutique and Sugarcube Corner and, further away, the large hollow tree of the library.

“No storm is destroying Ponyville as long as I’m around!” she snarled, raising her wings. Pawing the cloud with a hoof and kicking up a miniscule flash of lightning, she launched herself into the air, jackknifed, and shot down through the eye of the tornado.

Darkness enveloped her and the low pressure inside the funnel made her ears pop, deadening the roar of the wind to a dull drone. Rainbow pointed her hooves straight down and let gravity take over. She plummeted towards the ground, flapping her wings to fall even faster. Muscles that hadn’t been used in two weeks protested the strain, but she pushed herself harder, gaining speed with each passing second. Her eyes stung, then began to water. The wind pushed her lips back in a fierce grimace.

“Come on!” she moaned. “Faster! Have…to go…faster!”

Her head began to pound, but the air around her hooves was starting to bow outwards. It felt like pushing against a taut sheet. She flapped faster, gritting her teeth as the air fought back, threatening to stop her and fling her back into the clouds like a trampoline.

“Oh…no…you…don’t!” she screamed. A wave of dizziness washed over her, but she dug deep inside for one last burst of energy and shoved against the barrier. “Just…a little…more!”
In a brilliant flash of rainbow lightning, the air burst around her and the tornado exploded outwards in a thousand fragments of colored cloud. The sudden change in pressure made sparks flash before her eyes and threw her into an uncontrolled freefall. Wings hanging helplessly at her sides, Rainbow Dash plummeted towards Ponyville hundreds of feet below.

Epilogue

Epilogue:

“For she’s a jolly good pony, for she’s a jolly good pony! For she’s a jolly good pony, who saved all of Ponyville!”

Sitting at the head of the long table in the town square, a spot free Rainbow Dash blushed as the song ended in a loud cheer.

“Thanks, everypony,” she said. “But it wasn’t all me. I couldn’t have done any of it without Rarity, Snapdragon, Lemondrop, Ditzy, and all the other pegasi…”

“This is no time to be humble, Dash!” Snapdragon called out. “It was mostly you!”

The mayor stood up, raising a glass to her. “She’s right, Rainbow Dash. Without you and your fantastic sonic rainboom, Ponyville would no longer be here. Despite being ill and unable to fly, you risked yourself to save all of us, our businesses, and our homes. For that, we thank you!”

As the ponies cheered again, Rainbow Dash looked around at the small town and sighed contentedly. The wind and hail had caused damage, of course, but it would have been much worse if any of the tornadoes had reached the village. And in the week since the storm, the industrious ponies had managed to repair almost all of the broken windows and torn shingles, and cleared away all the blown branches and debris.

“Here, Dashie, you have to try this apple muffin! Ooh, and these little apple tarts, and some of this apple cake!” Pinkie Pie piled plates of desserts in front of her, stacking them in a wobbling tower that threatened to spill apples, cream, and frosting all over them at any second.

Rainbow laughed cheerfully and flapped her wings, flying to the top of the stack and rescuing a whole apple pie from certain demise. Turning a backflip, she landed beside Rarity and set the pie in front of her.

“Oh, it feels so good to fly again!” She winked at the unicorn. “So much better than falling, eh, Rarity?”

Rarity also laughed. “Definitely. That’s something I won’t be forgetting anytime soon!” Though everything had worked out in the end, she had been terrified that Rainbow’s crazy plan wouldn’t work and she wouldn’t spot her friend in time, or that her levitation spell would fail to catch the pegasus before she struck the ground.

“I still don’t know why you didn’t come get me,” Twilight Sparkle said, frowning at her apple crumble. “The two of us working together would have made catching her a lot easier.”

“There wasn’t any time, darling” Rarity said, lifting a fork with her magic and taking a delicate bite of apple pie. “The third tornado showed up so suddenly and was moving so fast, we never could have made it to the library and back before it hit.”

“I wasn’t even sure we would make it to the top of the storm in time,” Rainbow added. “I have to give Cloudkicker some credit there—the featherbrain had some stamina at least.” She gave her head a little shake. “But if he ever tries to work the weather in this town again—”

“Wouldn’t worry about that, Sugarcube,” Applejack said, draping a hoof over Rainbow’s shoulders. She and her family had weathered out the storm on their farm, which had suffered no more damage than a few broken branches and enough fallen apples to supply treats for the party. Now she lowered her voice conspiratorially, “Seems the mayor thought Cloudkicker could do with a little more trainin’ in the weather business and sent him back to the Cloudsdale flight school.”

“Aw, really?” Pinkie Pie started to pout. “I kinda liked the snow.” When her friends all looked at her like she was crazy, she shrugged and said, “What? I like making snowponies!” Quickly polishing off the rest of the goodies in three huge bites, the pink pony jumped up and grabbed Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash by the hooves, dragging them to an open space of grass nearby and producing a phonograph out of nowhere. A loud Stratosphere song filled the square. “Come on—what are we sitting around here for? Let’s party!”

“The boutique is going to be so quiet again—you leaving today, my parents coming back for Sweetie in a week.” Rarity sighed. “And just when we were getting along so well again.”

“It’s not like I’m moving to Manehatten, Rarity.” Only Rainbow’s rump and tail were visible under Sweetie’s dust ruffle as she searched beneath the bed for any library books and get well cards she may have forgotten. “I’m still going to be right above Ponyville—we’ll see each other every day.”

“But living in that little cloud cottage?” Rarity tsked. “I still can’t believe your beautiful house was the only one in all of Ponyville to be destroyed by the storm.”

“Well, it was made of clouds. And the cottage is only temporary—I’ve got plans for a new place that’s going to be even more awesome than my last one.”

“You know you’re welcome to stay here until it’s finished.”

“I’ll manage.” The pegasus backed out from under the bed and blew her bangs out of her eyes. “This place is great, Rarity, but I can’t wait to sleep on a cloud again.”

Deciding that nothing had been left behind, the two mares went downstairs, where Sweetie Belle was waiting beside the saddlebags containing Rainbow’s pajamas and other possessions. The little filly’s head was hanging sadly and she sniffled when Rainbow gave her an affectionate nuzzle.

“Aw, what’s wrong, kiddo? You aren’t still sad about not getting your cutie mark, are you?” Rainbow asked her. “Cuz you were still the best nurse ever, even if it isn’t what you’re destined to do.”

“No.” Sweetie wiped her eyes. “I just wish you weren’t leaving. I liked having you here.”

“Me too. But it’s okay—I’ll see you around. I still have to beat you in Bubble Jump, you know.”

Sweetie snorted derisively. “You can try anyway. But you’ll never beat the champion!”

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity admonished, shaking her head. “Lovely, Rainbow Dash, that’s your influence for sure!”

Rainbow laughed and hugged the filly, then slung her saddlebags onto her back.

“Time to get going,” she said a little sadly. “I’ve got a cloud house to build.” She stepped out the door, blinking in the bright autumn sunshine, but hesitated on the doormat.

“Is something wrong?” Rarity asked her. “If you forgot anything, you can just pick it up later.”

Rainbow turned around suddenly and flung her hooves around Rarity’s neck, squeezing her tightly. The unicorn gasped in surprise, then returned the embrace.

“Thanks, Rarity,” Rainbow whispered. “For everything.” Sniffling, the pegasus turned away quickly so nopony could see the tears in her eyes. “See ya later!” she shouted, jumping into the air and whooping as she spun a barrel roll.

“I’m really gonna miss her,” Sweetie murmured, leaning against Rarity.

“Me too, darling.” Rarity nuzzled her sister and turned to go back inside. Sweetie sighed and followed.

“I really hope she likes her present though. Wish I could have seen her find it.”

“Present?” Rarity paused, looking at the filly in confusion. “Oh, Sweetie Belle, did you make her another card? That was nice.”

“Even better!” The filly grinned brightly. “I didn’t want her to be lonely without us, so while you two were upstairs, I hid Bobo in her saddlebags.”

Rarity gaped at her beaming little sister. “Y-you did?”

“Uh huh! When Rainbow Dash gets home she’s gonna be in for a big surprise!”

The End

Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Twenty minutes later, Rarity led an uncommonly quiet and earthbound pegasus from Twilight’s library, keeping up a steady stream of encouraging chatter like she did when she was trying to coax her cat out from beneath the bed. Rainbow Dash was still wrapped in Twilight’s striped blanket, but shivered so violently she had trouble walking.

“I’m going to keep looking for some remedies,” Twilight assured them both from her doorway. “Even if I don’t find a cure, I’m sure I’ll come up with something to alleviate your symptoms, Dash.”

“Mmhmm,” Dash murmured, and sneezed.

“Feel better, Rainbow,” Spike called out, wisely omitting the Rash while he was still within kicking distance.

“I’ll bring back your blanket later, Twilight,” Rarity promised. “Come on, Rainbow dear…let’s get you home and straight into bed.”

Rarity’s boutique smelled like flowers and made Rainbow Dash sneeze. The sneezes made her head throb, and her pained groan brought a curious meow from Rarity’s white cat.

“Mummy’s back early, Opal, darling,” Rarity cooed. “And I’ve brought us a guest. You remember Rainbow Dash…she’s going to stay with us for awhile.”

Rainbow Dash and the cat eyed each other warily, then Opal sniffed and sauntered away.

“Nice to see you too,” Rainbow muttered.

“Don’t mind her. She does that to me too. She only really gets along with Fluttershy.” Rarity shucked her saddlebags and waved a hoof to Rainbow Dash. “Sweetie Belle’s room is this way…” She stared at the pegasus for a moment, her head cocked to one side, and tsked sadly. “It really is a shame your spots are such a garish hot pink—a light pick or carnation would have looked lovely with your coat.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah, Rarity, that’s what I’m concerned with right now.”

The unicorn tapped her chin with a hoof, her lips pursed thoughtfully. Suddenly, she gasped, and her dark blue eyes began to twinkle with excitement.

“I know just the thing, Rainbow Dash.” She grabbed the weakened pegasus, pushing her backwards into the room until she stood in the center of a small area rug. “You stay right there. I’ll be right back!” She rushed away, returning only a moment later with a folded bundle of pale pink cloth.

Rainbow Dash took a hesitant step backwards, her eyes growing wide and worried.

“What is that?” she asked, voice breaking into a cough.

“Just the thing to make you comfortable.” Before Rainbow Dash could escape, Rarity grabbed her and flew into a flurry of frantic dressing.

“Ow! Stop it! What do you think you’re…? What’s with the pink! Is that—lace, are you crazy! No, not ruffles! Rarity…I’m not…ow…there’s no place for my wings! Aaiih! Watch out with those scissors!”

“Hold still, Rainbow Dash! Ugh, will you stop trying to sit! This would go a lot easier if—ow, your wing just hit me.”

No matter how prim and delicate Rarity claimed to be, at the moment she was able to overpower the ill pegasus and, moments later, she backed away from a thoroughly disheveled and disgruntled Rainbow Dash, who stood in the middle of the rug with her head hanging and her hooves splayed in a defensive posture. Realizing Rarity was finally done with her, she glanced down and let out a distressed little whinny, for she was now clad in a pale pink silk pajama set with pearl buttons and flared sleeves that came halfway down each leg before ending in a cuff of delicate, filigreed lace with a decorative bow. Rarity had cut holes in the back for her wings and had used her magical skill at sewing to neatly hem the edges so they now looked as though they had been made for the pegasus.

“Oh, Rainbow!” Rarity’s eyes closed as she smiled with delight. “You look absolutely adorable!”

Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue in disgust. “Are you nuts? I look ridiculous, Rarity! I can’t wear this…I’m…” She sighed suddenly, her tail drooping and her head hanging low. “I’m too tired to even fight over this…I just wanna take a nap.” Her rose-colored eyes suddenly widened and she lifted a hoof. “But I draw the line at the bunny slippers.” She kicked off the offending, fluffy white footwear.

The unicorn grinned playfully. “I’ll admit, the slippers were just a little joke on my part, I never expected to get away with them for long. Now, let’s get you upstairs and into bed…Sweetie’s room is right this way.” She led the cyan pony through the boutique to her living quarters, then down a tastefully decorated hall to a door emblazoned with a Do Not Enter sign and a crayon colored shield with the letters CMC in the center. Rarity pushed the door open and gestured Rainbow Dash into a cheerful, bright room decorated in shades of pink, lavender, and aqua. The plump bed was covered in a thick, fluffy quilt edged in ruffles, and the pillows seemed to call out to the exhausted pony.

“You’re sure Sweetie Belle won’t mind me taking her room?” she asked, looking around at the wooden toybox, shelf full of books, white desk, and braided rug strewn with toys. As she edged closer to the bed, she noticed several drawings pinned to the wall and recognized a childish sketch of three little ponies: a yellow earth pony, a white unicorn, and a bright orange pegasus. The letters CMC were scrawled at the top.

“Oh, not at all. She’s not called Sweetie for nothing, you know. She’ll be thrilled to have company and will probably want to help me nurse you back to health.”

“You really don’t have to, Rarity…I probably just need lots of sleep. I don’t want you to go all out for me.”

Rarity trotted to the bed and pulled back the quilt in a neat line. Turning the Rainbow, she patted the mattress. “Into bed now. And don’t you worry about putting me out. I want to help.”

Rainbow Dash suppressed a groan as she climbed into the bed and flopped down on her side. Her entire body ached now and her head was throbbing with each breath. She wriggled and nestled into the pillows, trying to get comfortable.

“I must say, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said as she pulled the blanket up over the pegasus, “No matter what you think, those jammies look wonderful on you. I simply must make you a set of your—Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?”

The sky-blue mare had turned over once, then rolled back again abruptly. Now she was batting the pillows with her hooves. “Trying to get comfortable,” she answered, flopping onto her back, then turning onto her belly. “These sheets feel scratchy and the bed is all lumpy.”

“Scratchy? Lumpy?” Rarity laughed. “Oh, dear, it must be the fever talking.” She scooped up a fold of the lavender sheets and rubbed them against her cheek. “These are 1200 thread count cotton sheets that I brought all the way from Fillydelphia. There is nothing finer for bedding, I assure you.”

“Maybe if you don’t sleep on a cloud!” Rainbow tossed about one final time, then finally came to rest on her side, her head nestled in the pillows. She gave a sad little sigh.
“You never even need to fluff cloud pillows. They always stay soft and don’t go flat.”

“Oh, well, I guess that must be true. Hmm, let me see…ah, I know. I’ll get you more pillows and you can sleep on them and pretend it’s your cloud. I’ll be right back!”

Rainbow Dash watched her trot quickly out of the room and smiled as her eyes drifted closed. Despite the pajamas, Rarity was being so nice…truly the spirit of generosity. Maybe being grounded wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Rarity returned with a pile of spare pillows, all covered in striped pink shams.

“Well, Rainbow Dash, these don’t exactly match Sweetie’s décor, but I think they’ll do for—” She paused in the doorway and smiled. Rainbow Dash was already fast asleep, her wings tucked close to her body and one hoof hugging the pillow.

“Poor thing,” the unicorn said, shaking her head. She piled the extra pillows by the door, then tiptoed to the bed. Using her horn, she levitated the quilt over Rainbow Dash’s slumbering form and carefully tucked it around her. She turned to leave, but paused and trotted quietly back to the braided rug. Selecting a small green plush teddy bear, she gently slipped it beneath the covers and lifted Rainbow Dash’s hoof over the toy. The pegasus sighed in her sleep and unconsciously hugged the bear close.

“Oh, she will love this when she wakes up,” Rarity whispered slyly. “Best Young Flyer and Teddy. Oh, precious!” Turning off the light, she added, “Sleep well, darling,” and slipped out of the room.

She was in her sewing room, drawing out the designs for a new pair of silk pajamas, when the front door opened to a wave of giggles and youthful voices. Her little sister, Sweetie Belle, pranced into the boutique, followed by her two best friends and fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Rarity hurried to cut them off before they could head upstairs.

“Hello girls!” she said. “How was school?”

“Boring!” Scootaloo exclaimed, her face crumpling in disgust “Miss Cheerilee gave us all a report to write on the history of pony made irrigation in Equestria and we have to get it done by Monday!”

“Yeah, it’s so unfair,” Apple Bloom said miserably in her gentle accent. “It’s gonna take all weekend.”

“We were just going upstairs to study,” Sweetie added, shrugging to show the large schoolbooks in her saddlebags. She started around her sister, but Rarity side-stepped to block her. “Hey!”

“You can’t go in your room, Sweetie Belle…at least, not right now.”

“Huh? Why?” The tiny unicorn’s light green eyes widened in shock. “Did Opal get in and mess up all my toys again? Ooh, that mean cat!” She tried to edge around Rarity, but her sister spun and caught her fluffy pink and purple tail in her mouth.

“No, dear, Opal hasn’t done anything lately…and I think you owe her an apology for that. No, the reason you can’t go in your room because Rainbow Dash is in there right now…and she’s sleeping.”

Sweetie Belle sat on her haunches, looking thoroughly confused. “What?”

“That’s weird.” Apple Bloom cocked her head to one side, squinting. “Why?”

Scootaloo’s purple eyes brightened and her mouth dropped open in excitement. “Rainbow Dash is here! Hey, maybe we should ask her about irrigation in Equestria. She knows all kinds of things!”

“Well, uh, Scootaloo…while Rainbow is very bright and knowledgeable about many things…you’d probably be better off asking Applejack about irrigation. Besides, Rainbow Dash is in no state to answer questions right now, and actually, Scootaloo, I’m very sorry about this, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

The little orange pegasus visibly wilted and Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked stunned.

“But why?” Sweetie wanted to know.

“Y-yeah? Did I do something wrong, Rarity? I didn’t mean to.”

“Oh, darling, no, not at all. It’s not your fault. You’re always welcome here…just not today…or tomorrow…or for the next three weeks or so.”

“Rarity, what are you talking about?” Sweetie demanded. “What is going on? Why is Rainbow Dash in my room?”

“It would seem she contracted a very contagious illness called pegapox while she was in Manehattan a few days ago. It’s made her feel quite miserable and tired, and it keeps her from flying.”

“Oh no!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “Thayt’s awful!”

“She can’t even fly?” Scootaloo was horrified by the thought.

“Not right now. And since she can’t fly, she can’t make it up to her house, so I invited her to stay here with us for awhile. But Scootaloo, pegapox is only contagious to pegasi, so you cannot be anywhere near her right now…that is why I have to ask you to leave. Neither Rainbow Dash or I want you to become ill.”

“Oh…okay.” A flicker of nervousness entered the normally fearless filly’s eyes and she took a hesitant step back from the stairs. “I guess I should go then. Tell Rainbow Dash I hope she feels better.”

“Ah’ll go with y’all,” Apple Bloom piped up. “We can go home t’ Sweet Apple Acres and ask Applejack about the irrigation.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Scootaloo sounded disappointed, but brightened quickly and said, “We should make Rainbow Dash a Get Well card…I’ll bet she’d like that.”

“Yeeah! That’s a good idea! Ya wanna come w’ us, Sweetie?”

Sweetie Belle looked from her friends to her sister, and then up the stairway. “I’ll stay here. If Rainbow Dash is really sick enough that she needs Rarity to take care of her, then my sister’s gonna need help. I’ll study up for the report though and we can meet tomorrow to put our notes together.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah, that’ll do fine. See ya tomorrow, Sweetie!” The orange and yellow fillies left the boutique, the door slamming behind them. Sweetie turned to her sister.

“Is Rainbow Dash really, really sick? She’s going to get better, isn’t she?”

“Oh, of course, darling. It’s like when you had the flu that time…she’s tired and achy and has a fever, but it will run its course eventually. I hope you don’t mind that I put her in your room. She needs peace and quiet right now—you can sleep in with me. It’ll be fun.”

“That’s okay…she can even play with my toys when she gets bored.” Sweetie remembered very clearly when she had been sick with the flu. When she hadn’t been napping, the sheer boredom of being bedridden had nearly driven her crazy.

“I’m sure she’ll like that,” Rarity murmured, her eyes twinkling. She returned to her sewing table and the sketchpad she had laid out. Curious, Sweetie followed her.

“What are you doing?”

“Designing a pair of fabulous pajamas for our guest.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea!” Sweetie looked at the sketches, cocking her head to the side. “They’re really pretty…but does Rainbow Dash really like that much pink?”

“Well, not really. But this is just the rough design. I’m sure I have a fabric that will work for her.”

“I know!” The unicorn raced for the storeroom where Rarity kept all her bolts of cloth. There was a slight thump and a crash, followed by an oops, and the filly cantered back with a bolt of cloth balanced on her back. Two spools of ribbon rolled across the floor after her. “What about this one, Rarity?”

The cloth she had chosen was cream-colored cotton and covered in tiny spirals of every possible color. Rarity recognized it immediately as a bolt she had gotten in a special bulk shipment she’d purchases sight unseen. She hadn’t been able to think of a project for it yet, and so had tucked it away in the back of her storeroom. Now she rolled out a yard and stroked the soft cloth, pursing her lips thoughtfully. It certainly wasn’t pink—and the spirals were funky enough to work for Rainbow Dash’s quirky style sense.

“You know, Sweetie…this might just be the thing!” She picked up her sketchpad and started adding color to the drawing with pencils. Satisfied with the result, she spread the cloth out on her table and lifted a pair of scissors with her horn as her little sister smiled up at her. “Rainbow Dash is in for a real surprise when she wakes up!”