"And that's how I got my cutie mark, for the third time," Rainbow Dash huffed in exasperation as the Cutie Mark Crusaders asked to hear it again. By now some of my friends had been listening too, even though everyone here had already heard it.
"Please, Rainbow Dash! Just once more!" Applebloom begged, hopping up to Rainbow Dash as she started to leave.
"That's what you said the last two times!" Rainbow Dash retorted, sending the disappointed filly away. Besides, it was hard enough for her to tell a lie over and over again. "See you later guys! I'm going to go take nap." Everyone shook their heads in agreement and waved to each other, and then Rainbow set off to fin a comfy cloud.
She found a suitable one, and plopped down. As she drifted of into her dreams, she gave a painful smile as she remembered Little Cherry.
"I'll race you to that cloud!" Rainbow Dash shouted, and flew over. She quickly landed on the cloud, and looked back to watch her sister as she struggled over. Her sister was almost the exact opposite of Rainbow Dash in everything-she was a hot, rich pink with a black and white striped mane, that was always up in a fancy hair-do. She was slow and sickly, as she had been from birth. Since she couldn't race, she spent all of her time being fancy and girly. Rainbow Dash resented her.
Little Cherry was only her little sister's nickname. Her full first name was Cherry Tart, even though she was pink, not red. What made her mom pick that name? Oh well.
Rainbow Dash groaned as Little Cherry was dragging herself up onto the cloud, huffing and puffing. She collapsed, panting for breath. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and pushed her into a sitting position. Her mom had told her to be gentle with Cherry, but she wasn't going to get any tougher without being pushed around.
"C'mon, slowpoke, stop being such a drama queen," Rainbow grumbled, sending glares that hurt like daggers at her sister. Cherry gave a sheepish smile and got up on her wobbly legs.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, I'll try harder, next time, I will," she panted, trying to look enthusiastic. Rainbow grunted and nudged her in the side, sending her sprawling over the cloud.
"Oh, brother," Rainbow sighed. She dived off the cloud after her sister and plucked her out of the air miles before she hit the ground. "Okay, you win, we'll go home now,"Rainbow Dash carried her sister through Cloudsdale, while Cherry complained how she still wanted to play, but secretly loathed flying.
Things went this way most of their lives, until Rainbow Dash went off to Junior Speedster's Flight Camp. She couldn't visit Cherry there, and she was supposed to be there the whole summer. She soon meet some friends and told tim all about her sister, and about how she was the most worthless flyer ever known.
Of course she left out they fact that she was disabled.
Her poor sister had a hear condition, making the rest of her body weaker because of it. Of course, Rainbow Dash didn't understand, and when she didn't understand, she got angry and upset. Upset because her thrill of having a little sister to race with melted away the moment she had ever tried to fly.
Then came the fateful day when Rainbow Dash had stood up for Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash lined up to race the two bullies at the starting line, and eagerly awaited the checkered flag to come down. Soon the race began, and they dashed off. Rainbow Dash remembered the thrill of the race, the adrenaline beating in her veins, and her wings pumping so fast, they just kept going up and down out of habit. She sped ahead, and smirked as one of the foals smashed into a cloud ring.
The rest of the race was a blur for Rainbow Dash, after she let instincts and split-second decisions guide her way through the maze of obstacles. She faintly remembered a yell of another foal as he spun out, but she kept going. She couldn't stop now. Even though she had already won, what's the problem of getting a better time?
She raced past the fish line, cheers of her peers going up around her. She smiled triumphantly, letting her exhausted wings flop down to her sides. She had to remember to stretch later, or she wouldn't be able to fly for days. Still, she didn't think she could fly another minute today.
She was standing there, soaking up the smiles and praise, when a camp counselor burst through the crowd to have her quickly shoved away to a more quiet spot. The counselor's name was Static Shock. Rainbow Dash had loved this counselor, as she had always had been in favor of Rainbow Dash, and had a tough but friendly attitude. Rainbow couldn't begin to comprehend what she was doing now.
"What the hay?" Rainbow had said, squirming slightly to try and get around the pony blocking her way back to the finish line. Rainbow soon gave up and stared at her counselor with a grumpy face. Her counselor stared back with sad, sorrowful eyes.
"Rainbow, there's something you need to know," she stated plainly. Rainbow softened her gaze, and then furrowed her brows in confusion. What was going on?
"This might be hard for you to take but- Cherry Tart is in the hospital. She was practicing her times so that she could be really fast, but her heart had failed and she had a heart attack. She told us she wanted to be as good as you, Rainbow. She doesn't have long." Rainbow just stared blankly at Static Shock. She couldn't feel anything but shock.
But then reality came crushing down on her, and she stared forward in horror. This was her sister! Little Cherry, who she had loved her whole life, but was too stubborn to tell her that. She had been so cruel, and now her sister was dying without her there beside her.
Dash leapt into the air, and sped off towards the hospital. It wasn't too far, but it wasn't close enough. Besides, who knew how long Cherry would last?
Rainbow Dash sped along, going as fast as her tired wings could carry her. The thought of her small, sick sister fed speed to her wings, and Rainbow pushed through the pain. She dodged clouds, pegasi, and even a flock of birds flying towards her.
"I'm not going to make it," Rainbow Dash thought, and tears started leaking from her eyes, quickly to be caught in the wind and carried away. She flew faster and faster, until she felt an odd sensation build up. It felt like wind resistance, but it got worse no mater how much faster she beat her wings.
Then, when she was about to give up, there was an ear-splitting boom and colors spread out around her. the resistance was gone, and she was going faster than she had ever flown before. She never acknowledged her accomplish meant until the day after it had happened.
The hospital came into sight, and she burst through the doors, wiping them off their hinges. she pulled up sharply in order to avoid smashing head on into the surprised receptionist.
"Where is Cherry Tart?!?" Rainbow Dash cried, and the pony behind the counter pointed wildly down the hall and said "Last door on the left." Rainbow was gone in a flash, and a second later, she was at her sister's bed side.
"Cherry? Can you hear me?" Rainbow Dash hearkened in vain for a reply. Her eyes flicked up to the monitor across the bed. The flashing blips were rapidly scrawling across the screen, leaving little space in-between each heartbeat.
"Cherry, if you can hear me," Rainbow fumbled, then swallowed the ball of hard clay that seemed like it was stuck in her throat. She finally managed to choke out the words, "If you can hear me, I have always loved you."
Rainbow Dash stared at her weak sister's face, and watched as Little Cherry's mouth flicked into a small, ghostly smile. Suddenly, the beeping in Dash's ears stopped, and the line on the monitor had gone flat when she checked. When she turned back to her sister, the smile had disappeared, leaving only a small, little sister behind.
Rainbow Dash's Mother, Summer Breeze, burst into the room to see Rainbow with her head on the foot of the bed, sobbing and wailing for her sister. Summer Breeze sat down beside, and held Rainbow in her arms as they both wept for Little Cherry Tart.
Rainbow Dash awoke with tears streaming from her eyes, gasping in between sobs. "I'm sorry, Cherry Tart!" She cried out into the setting sun, "I'm sorry!" She lay there weeping until the sun had set, then wiped the tears from her red, puffy eyes.
"Cherry, I'll make it up to you," Rainbow said, giving a weak smile,still sniffling, "I'll stop keeping you a secret." Rainbow Dash flew off her cloud, ready for a distressing night as she planned to tell each and every pony in Ponyville the real story.
