The Price of Being Best

by smileyfacer

Rating: everyone
Tags: Random, Slice of Life, Dark, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash
Length: 6477

Wanting to get stronger, Rainbow Dash seeks some old friends to help herself finally become a Wonderbolt. But as Rainbow's skills with flying gets better, her skills with her friends gets worse.

Frustration is all that Rainbow Dash has been getting out of her training lately. No routine is going right, and for the first time, Rainbow Dash is doubting her wings.

In a desperate attempt to become better, she seeks out some friends of her past, that belong there for certain reasons, and receives something that will make her better, faster and stronger.

But what consequences will this new substance have for Rainbow's flying career and friendships, when it not only changes her body, but also her mind?

Quite a long oneshot.

Published 2013-01-01 13:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-01-01 13:20:01 UTC

The Price of Being Best

It was a beautiful and quiet day in Ponyville. The sky was extraordinarily blue, and there was not a single cloud to be spotted in it. That was courtesy of the blue dash that left streaks of rainbow in the sky. Rainbow Dash had rewarded herself with a nap after the mid-weekly clearing of clouds, before doing her usual training routine. She had fondly named it ‘the routine of awesome’, as she hoped that that particular routine would get her into the Wonderbolts.

But the awesome was not so evident today.

“No, no, no, NO! Argh!”

Rainbow Dash lost control of her flight, as she was hit by a gust of wind, and struggled to regain altitude. She wiped her brow as she was flying steady once more, and cringed when she noticed a tree that had been in her way more than once. Some branches had broken off, and others were lying on the ground as if victims of war.

“Urgh, this will NEVER impress Spitfire and the Wonderbolts! It’s definitely NOT awesome!” the mare groaned and made faces at her own incapability. She was just glad that she was just far away enough for nopony to see her do so poorly - it wasn’t good for her reputation that she wasn’t awesome from the second Celestia rose the sun, till Luna rose the moon.

“Alright, Rainbow, c’mon... what went wrong... was it the turning while looping? Or the tornado spins? Maybe the free fall...”

The mare continued to mumble to herself as she flew back and forth at a much slower pace. She rubbed her cheek thoughtfully, before she gasped loudly, after concluding what went wrong.

“You silly filly, Rainbow! You only did eight circles right after eachother, you were supposed to do nine! Here we go!”

With renewed energy the mare attempted to do the awesome routine. But again, she failed, and the tree didn’t miss. The last branch fell to the ground, alongside Rainbow Dash. Out of frustration, the mare screamed angrily, causing the birds in the remaining trees to fly away with shrieks of protest.

“ARGH! Why can’t I get this right!” she complained, and, almost childishly, started pounding the ground with her hooves.

“It’s like my body won’t do what my mind tells it to...”, she sniffled, after she had stopped hitting the ground, and started thinking. Then, she abruptly stood up, and puffed her chest.

“Well, I got news for you body, buddy,” she thundered, “you will do as I say, and that’s the end of it! Together, we will do awesome things, that nopony has ever seen, or even heard of, before we did it! So let’s do it!”

But no matter how many times Rainbow Dash continued to do the awesome routine, she failed. She stopped counting at thirteen, however her attempts that ended poorly did not. Every time, she made a misstep, big or small as it may be, she ended up plummeting into trees, meadows or the nearby river. Hours passed, and before long, the moon was up, and it was too dark and dangerous for Rainbow to continue to practice. With a grumbling stomach, achy wings and a wounded pride, the pony decided to go home for the day. When she got home, she pondered even more about what was and had gone wrong.

While laying in bed, Rainbow Dash quietly let her sore wings rest. One ice pack rested on each of them, but the mare couldn’t help but squint critically at them. She had always been proud of her wings, and she had mastered them quicker than anypony she knew. Now, she couldn’t wonder if they were too weak; something she thought she’d never say about the things that granted her the power to do what she loved the most.

To fly.

The morning after, Rainbow Dash had decided to go to the gymnasium. She simply could not understand why her wings, after many years of faithful awesomeness, had decided to call it quits. The gym she went to was one for pegasi only. It was in Cloudsdale, with focus on the muscles that made the wings of pegasi harder, better, faster and stronger. Thus, at the crack of dawn, Rainbow Dash left her home, and sought advice with her fellow ponies of the sky. She had spent many days there when she was younger, before she moved to Ponyville, to toughen up. It had worked, but it wasn’t the nicest of places to be. The pegasi that roamed the gym were harsh ponies, fierce competitors, and weren’t afraid to play dirty. She remembered how she was back then; much like Lightning Dusk had been. Not afraid of taking risks that not only involved herself, but also ponies around her. Somepony nearly got hurt back then, due to Rainbow’s recklessness, and after much consideration and desire for newer pastures, she moved to Ponyville. Her pegasi friends had laughed at her for wanting to go down to the earth, nothing bad happened - why would she, when she had all she desired in the sky?

She had shrugged it off, and ignored the hateful comments that some pegasi had for Earth ponies and unicorns alike. Whenever she visited those old friends, they’d spew vile things about the ponies in her town. Earth-pounders was the worst, and she cringed just thinking about it. Now, she was happy that she had found friends that were truly awesome.

As Rainbow Dash stood before the gym, a tiny voice told her to go home. After many years of absence in this particular gym, she wondered how the ponies looked. But, cruel as they were, she used to call them friends. There was no need to stick around, and talk about the good old days. She just wanted their advice to get better; a common goal that all of them shared when she was a pony in her teens.
Rainbow took a huge breath, before stepping inside.

“Well, well, well... look who’s back from the ground!”

An echo of harsh guffaws was all Rainbow Dash heard as the doors shut behind her. She recognized most of the ponies in there; some old, but some new.

“Just seeing what you old kettlebell-kickers are up to.” Rainbow cheekily said, and greeted all of the ponies she recognized, Thundersoar, Cloudburster, Airhead and Descent with a wing-hoof, and the ones she did not with a simple nod. She wasn’t there to make friends, and if she knew the old gang right, they weren’t worth getting to know if they hung out at a place like this.

Rainbow Dash looked around for Night Storm, the dark mare that was the leader then and probably still was. None had bothered to keep in touch. The large mare was busy lifting heavy weights with her wings, and Rainbow couldn’t help but notice how bulky the mare was. She had always been a muscly flier, but never of this size. Rainbow swore she was the size of Snowflake, but with a worse attitude. The stallion is more or less harmless, but Night Storm was not. She knew ponies, and wasn’t afraid to show it.

“So, what’s up, Earth-lover?” Storm groaned as she continued lifting, never looking at the cyan mare.

“Quit the names, Storm. I ain’t here to catch up, I need your help.”

The dark mare grinned, and sighed in relief as she stopped lifting. She stood up from the bench, and towered over the cyan mare.

“My help, eh? Been awhile since you asked for that.”

Rainbow shrugged.

“Desperate times, desperate measures.”

“Nothing stops a pegasi from being the best. What can I do for you, Dashie?” she asked, and started to walk alongside Rainbow Dash.

Dash wanted nothing more than Storm to stop patronizing her. They were of the same age, Rainbow in fact older, but she had always been the one belittled. It had started when she had begun backing out after the incident. Always little nicknames that were suppose to make her feel small, childish, and weak, which always worked, even now.

“As I said, I need your help. My wings... they’re, too weak.”

“Too weak?”

Rainbow nodded, and glanced around at the ponies in the gym. More or less the same old crew, but some younger than she had ever seen there. Ponies that were, in fact, quite talented, but led astray by ponies such as Dark Storm.

“Aren’t you working those babies to the bone, Dash?”

“Do you think I’m some sort of amateur? Of course I am!” Rainbow sneered, getting several glances from the ponies working themselves around her. They seemed to be getting up to come to the aid of the black mare, as if she needed help with dealing with a tiny pony like Rainbow. She suddenly felt uneasy, but with a stern look from Dark Storm, they all sat down.

“Still trying to get into those stuck-up Wonderbolts, Dashie?”

Rainbow shrugged once more, which made the giant mare let out a laugh.

“Ah, Dash, you know that your home is here. But, you’ve made your choice, knowing that if I had to make an exception for all of the ponies that ever left us, it’d be you. Now, I think I got something that may do the trick, come into my office.”

Rainbow hid the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. She had only seen a couple of ponies enter the office, whom were abolished from going to the gym. With several eyes on her, she followed into the office, and the door slammed shut behind her.

“Now, Dashie... I got just the thing for you...” Storm said, and began rummaging through the contents of a cupboard.

Anxiously waiting for this whole ordeal to be over, Rainbow glanced around, and noticed several pictures of Dark Storm, and other ponies that may have led the gym before her, posing with various body-related awards. She wondered why she hadn’t heard of them before, but her train of thought was interrupted, as Storm smashed down a jar of something on the desk in front of her.

“Dashie, Dashie, Dashie..”, she cooed menacingly, as the tip of her hoof traced around the lid of the jar, “one day, you’ll come back to us, and show Equestria the true talent that is yourself indeed, but until then, you can settle for this. Protein powder. If you add some of this with most of your meals, you’ll look like me in no time.”

Rainbow eyed it critically, before looking at the bulging muscles that Storm suddenly possessed.

“Is this it? No exercises, no magical tricks?”

“Dashie, this is magic. Just do what it says on the package, and see what happens. If it doesn’t work, come back, and I will give you something stronger.”

“Alright, whatever. Thanks.”

“See you soon, Dash.”

Rainbow Dash hurried home after getting several suspicious looks as she left the office quite quickly. Her heart was beating the entire way home, and only seemed to steady when she locked her doors behind her. She sat down and read the instructions on the jar.

“Protein powder. Add this to your three daily meals, to gain muscle mass and become stronger, blablabla, do not overuse, blablabla. Well, if this made Storm the size she is now, I best get to it! I’ll give it a couple of weeks, to see how it goes.”

Somethings are not easier said than done, and soon, Rainbow were noticing a growth in her muscles.

And so did her friends. On a casual jog through the forest with Applejack, the farmpony was quicker out of breath than her, and even a bit slower.

“Hold up there, RD... I, I can’t keep up!” Applejack said in between breaths. Rainbow Dash slowed, but not happily so. The pegasus kept staying on her hooves, ready to burst with energy, it seemed.

“C’mon AJ! I’ve almost beaten my record!” Rainbow Dash whined, and continued to swap looks at Applejack, and the end of the forest.

With a hard push, Applejack started running alongside Rainbow again, and before long, the two were out of the forest once more. The pegasus seemed to be barely out of breath and energy, but the farmpony was ready to hit the hay.

“I tell ya girl, you’ve been workin’ out!”, she exclaimed, before taking a closer look around Rainbow’s new body, “well, stick an apple in my mouth, and roast my rump, your muscles look great too, RD!”

Suddenly worried that Applejack might figure out that Rainbow hadn’t gotten those muscles through extra hard work, but ‘just’ the protein powder that Dark Storm had given her, she just shrugged and laughed.

“Well, I guess it’s all those protein filled meals I’ve been having, eh! Ha-ha... ha...” she replied, scratching her ear awkwardly. As it was their habit, Rainbow Dash followed Applejack back to the farm, where the farmpony continued to compliment the muscles and the definition that they now had. Rainbow Dash didn’t say much, but only smiled and nodded as a thanks.

“Thank ya kindly for this run, RD! I best head back to the farm now - don’t get too muscly, within the next week, eh?”

“I’ll try my best, Applejack. See you next week!” Rainbow cheered, and spread her wings to ascend into the skies that she so fondly called home. She was anxious to get home, and consume more of the powder that Dark Storm had given her, so she could get even better, and join the ranks of the Wonderbolts.

A few weeks later, the frustration had returned. After successfully doing the routine of awesome flawlessly several times, the mare decided to step it up a notch. But, like the first troubles she had with her previous routine, she simply could not do it. Rainbow had told herself she wouldn’t go back to the gym, but she found herself finding it hard to resist the temptation of becoming even better. Before she knew it, she stood before the doors of the gym, craving more.

“Well, Dashie, I hate to say I told you so... but I did..”

“Don’t gloat, Storm. I’m just here to get better.” Rainbow retorted, and quietly entered the office which Dark Storm had already entered, waiting for her patiently.

“You make it seem like getting better is a crime, Rainbow Dash. It isn’t. Nothing wrong with wanting to be the best, and having a few hiccups along the way.”

“I don’t wanna listen to you more than I have to, just give me the stuff.”

Faking an upset expression and a pout, Dark Storm placed the thing Rainbow Dash needed before her. It wasn’t near the size of the jar of protein powder Rainbow had received. Dark Storm handled it as if it was a ticking bomb, and she didn’t smash it down on the desk like the last time.

“This, will make you as big as me. It works like magic, but don’t overdo it. If you get too much of it, you’ll change in ways even you don’t want to.”

Ignoring the comment, Rainbow Dash nodded sternly, before she left without a word. But on her way home, with the little package held close to her, she couldn’t get the warning out of her head. It wasn’t like Storm to suddenly care for anypony, least of all the one who abandoned her so. Involuntarily, Rainbow Dash was taken down memory lane.

“Wow, that was such a good flight! Is it just me, or are you getting better every day, Storm?”

“You bet your flank I am!”

The two fillies grinned and laid down on a nearby cloud with heaving chests. The only sounds around them were their own attempts to regain their lost breaths.

“Storm?”

“Yeah, Rainbow?”

“Do you think we’ll be Wonderbolts together one day?”

“Don’t be silly, Rainbow,” Storm said, causing Rainbow to smile, as the cyan mare assumed the black one would say yes,”I’ll be a Wonderbolt, and you’ll get to wash my dirty uniforms!”

“Whatever! You’ll get to wash my dirty uniforms!”

Suddenly up for a challenge, the black mare rose and smiled wickedly.

“First one to the gym is a Wonderbolt!” she shouted, and sped off.

“You’re such a cheater, Storm! Wonderbolts don’t like cheaters!” Rainbow retorted, and quickly followed suit after the black dot in front of her.

“What in the buck was that, Storm?!”

The black mare landed in front of the doors to the Cloudsdale gym. The two had been going there for quite some time now, and whereas Dark Storm had no problem fitting in with the harsh ponies there, Rainbow was struggling. The cyan mare did not want to be there today.

“It was nothing, Rainbow. Let it go.” the mare muttered, and was about to walk into the gym, but was stopped by Rainbow Dash.

“Don’t dodge my questions. What, the buck was that?!”

“Get outta my way, Dash. Nothing’s gonna stop me from being the best,” the mare said, and tried to shove Rainbow out of her way, “not even you.”

Resisting the mare’s attempts of moving her, Rainbow Dash didn’t move, but got a somber look on her face.

“What happened to you, Storm... We were supposed to be Wonderbolts, together. Honorable and good,” the somber expression changed quickly, “what you just did, was not honorable, or good. Or anything that any decent pony would do.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?!” the mare shouted in Rainbow’s face.

“What is it I don’t get?! Please, tell me! I want to know!”

“I am not a decent pony, Rainbow Dash! I am not you!” Storm shrieked, and pushed harder at the cyan mare to get past, but Rainbow didn’t budge.

“What is that supposed to mean?” the lesser pegasus quietly asked.

“I don’t want anypony standing in my way, Dash. It’s in my blood, I just... can’t.”

“That is a load of hay, Storm. It’s not in your blood to let an innocent Earth pony almost tumble to her death.”

“Earth-pounders belong on the earth. Whether it be six feet under or above, doesn’t matter to me.”

“You take that back!” Rainbow sneered, “besides, that’s not the only time you’ve gotten out of hand like that. What about the colt that was actually going places? You nearly decapitated his wing, and who knows if he’ll ever fly again?”

“Dash, I will tell you this one more time. You get out of my way, or you’ll be going the same way.” she threatened, and glared at the smaller pegasus.

“No, Storm. You need help. You can’t go around eliminating the competition, because you want to be the best.” Rainbow pleaded, hoping that her friend would realize the madness that had begun consuming her.

“I don’t need HELP, Rainbow Dash! I will be the best, and nopony will stand in my way!” she shouted and used her full force to knock over Rainbow Dash. Dash let out a shriek in pain, as Dark Storm hit her left wing, and tumbled over the cloud. Rendered useless, her left wing was merely dangling at her side as Rainbow Dash fell towards the ground. She flapped her right wing crazily, hoping that she’d somehow manage to at least soar towards the ground, and not crash down to it.

“C’mon Rainbow, c’mon...” she muttered to herself, attempting to become steady in the air. But no matter how much she tried, the earth was approaching with even faster velocity, and the pain in her left wing just wouldn’t stop.

Closing her eyes, Rainbow prepared herself for the inevitable. There were so many things she would’ve liked to do, before she left this world. Train harder, make better friends than Dark Storm, become a Wonderbolt, maybe even read a book...

Suddenly, she felt a gust of wind engulf her, and her heart nearly skipped a beat. Her falling speed slowed, and she felt as if she was being cradled down to the ground. When she finally landed, light as a feather, she glanced upwards, to see a dark dot fly away.

Rainbow remembered that to be the first time she stayed in Ponyville hospital. That was the most boring experience, ever, because then, she didn’t have friends like Twilight to come and care for her. Dark Storm hadn’t visited her once, and back then, she had hoped she would, but knew that the black mare would rather die than associate herself with Earth ponies and unicorns.

Suddenly fearful of the thing that Rainbow had been given by Storm, she wanted to throw it away. To throw it into the Everfree Forest, and settle for hard work, instead of doing it the cheaters way.

But she wanted to be the best, and as long as nopony got hurt, she’d be fine, wouldn’t she?

When Rainbow Dash had gotten home, she had glanced at the package for longer than she’d cared to admit. She desired to be better, but was afraid of what changes would happen to her, if she submitted to the temptation. Rainbow wondered if Spitfire had ever done such things to become the leader of the Wonderbolts.

Had she cheated?

“I just want to be the best...” the mare muttered as the moon shined in her room. She didn’t think it was a mere coincidence that the moonlight was placed directly on the package, as if Luna was trying to help her make a decision. But no matter how much light Luna’s moon shed on the package, Rainbow Dash wasn’t coming any closer to a decision that night, and fell asleep with it between her hooves.

When she woke up the next day, her back and neck were extremely sore. Rainbow had had wild dreams of the future she could have with the use of the package. Leader of the Wonderbolts, best flyer in Equestria, honorable awards for doing Equestria good, and things that only revolved around her flying skills.

With shaky hooves, the mare opened the package, to reveal just one pill.

“Is that it...” Rainbow muttered, somewhat disappointed at the appearance of what would make her the best. But it also filled her with fear, as she wondered how magical it could be, compared to its size, that caused Dark Storm to only give her one.

Before she could regret it, Rainbow took the pill, and swallowed it with some water. She closed her eyes and waited for something, not sure what. When she opened them again, she placed her hooves all over herself in an attempt to figure out if she had gotten bigger, smaller, or changed at all. Dash concluded nothing had happened, and sighed.

“I hate waiting...”

But waiting was what she had to do, and she braced herself with patience.

A week after impatient outbursts of frustration, Rainbow Dash woke up, and felt different. Suddenly filled with excitement, she hopped out of bed, and promptly managed to trip over her own four hooves.

“What the...” she muttered to herself, and took a glance at herself in the mirror. Rainbow Dash gasped loudly.

She looked like a very girly Snowflake. She was just a wee bit smaller, but she was happy that her wings had grown, and not been shrunk to the size of those Snowflake possessed. Rainbow Dash didn't know what to think. She looked just like... Dark Storm.

Usually, that would’ve been enough for Rainbow to stop whatever she’s doing, but she wanted to be the best. No harm in that.

Rainbow decided to go and try out her new hot body. It was time to try and see if she could complete the routines that would get her into the Wonderbolts.

The cyan streak was all over the sky. She soared, she dashed, and ruled the skies as if it was her last day on Equestria. It had taken some time getting used to all of these muscles, but she was as agile and strong as ever. Without too much of a hassle, Rainbow Dash was able to perform all of the complicated and intricate routines, and even perform others. It wasn’t too long before she had attracted a crowd, much to her own pleasure. While soaring and showing off, she noticed the colors of her friends, and quickly descended. Several ponies clapped as she landed, her friends included. They all approached her with big smiles, before the smiles vanished, and jaws dropped instead.

“Rainbow! What, eh, what happened to you?” Twilight asked, and quickly got closer to inspect the cyan mare.

“Loads of working out, of course!” the mare bragged nervously.

“Good gravy, girl! You look like you’re about to burst!” Applejack commented, and carefully poked a bulging muscle.

“Gracious, Rainbow! What happened to you! You were so nicely toned, but now... you look like a brute!” Rarity whined and she too, got closer to inspect Rainbow Dash’s exterior.

“Hey, I do not! I’m just a lean, mean, flying machine!” she retorted.

“You look so strong, Dashie! Can you lift me? Oh, can you, can you? Pretty please!”

Rainbow glanced nervously at Twilight, who shrugged, and stepped back.

“Alright, Pinkie! I’ll lift ya!” Rainbow boasted, and laid down on the soft grass. With a ‘weeeeee’, Pinkie was continuously being lifted up and down by Rainbow Dash and her newfound muscles.

“That was awesome! You’re so strong, Dashie!” Pinkie praised, and then bounced away to prepare a celebrate-Dashie’s-new-muscles-party.

“My, Rainbow... you look a bit scary... like Snowflake...” Fluttershy commented, and cocked her head in what seemed to be frightful confusion.

“Oh, ‘Shy, it’s just me, still! I’m just stronger now!” Rainbow cheered on, and hugged the shy pony so tight, that she gasped for breath.

“Can’t... breathe...” the mare huffed, and took a huge breath when she was released from the muscly hug of doom.

“Well, that’s quite some muscle mass, Rainbow Dash. Your wings have grown too, to make sure that they could even lift all of your body weight off the ground. But, to have done such in that short amount of time, is nearly impossible! Unless you’ve used at least every hour doing 142 wing-ups every day, or any other kind of exercise. Have you been doing just that?”

“Ahe, well, maybe not exactly.” Rainbow said sheepishly, and scratched her ear.

“How so, then?” Twilight probed, eyeing the cyan mare suspiciously.

“I may have gotten some old friends to help me out... no big deal! I just wanted to see how much better I could get!”

“Through cheating?”

“No, no, no, no! Twi, ahem, you got it all wrong! It’s not cheating, it’s just, you know... becoming more awesome in less time and effort!”

“Does sound like good ol’ cheatin’ to me, RD.” Applejack commented, suddenly a stern gaze in her eyes.

Desperate for the approval of her friends, Rainbow Dash listed up the various reasons why the use of Dark Storm’s magic pill, was in fact, quite alright. After some persuasion, the other four ponies slowly nodded, and if they had any skepticism at all, they chose to remain silent about it.

“Well, Rainbow, darling, I suppose that does makes your chances of becoming a Wonderbolt much higher, no offense. What shall you do until the tryouts?”

Flexing her new muscles, Rainbow grinned.

“Practice even more, of course!” she said, and with that, she ascended once more into the sky, more determined than ever to become a Wonderbolt.

And practice she did. Within a few weeks, some ponies of Ponyville claimed that the rainbow streak in the sky was but a myth. Rainbow Dash was so obsessed with her training, that she forgot everything besides just that. More than once she forgot to run with Applejack, leaving the pony to her own lonesome runs. She forgot to return the books that she previously had borrowed from Ponyville library, leaving the librarian confused and distressed about the missing books, and ruining whatever plans she had for that day. And most importantly she had forgotten several appointments with both Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy. Fluttershy was the pony who dealt with those missed appointments the hardest, feeling smaller than ever, and obviously less important to Rainbow than her precious training.

But, today, as if a miracle, Rainbow Dash showed up outside of Fluttershy’s cottage, on the clock. She knocked on the door with great enthusiasm and smiled widely as Angel opened the door.

“Hi Angel! Is Fluttershy home?”

The white bunny shook his head, and smashed the door shut in Rainbow’s face. Aggravated, the cyan mare knocked on the door again, to have Angel open it once more.

“Angel, that was so not awesome. Now let me-”

The door shut in her face again, causing Rainbow to knock on the door furiously, causing the entire cottage to tremble.

“Angel! Fluttershy! Let me in! I’m missing important training hours being here in the first place! Don’t make it a waste of my time to be awesome by myself!”

Angel appeared in the window, and stuck his tongue out at Rainbow Dash. The mare gritted her teeth in anger, and as if something snapped inside of her mind, she crashed into the door. There was a loud thud, before she saw that the door had fallen off its hinges, and on top of Angel. Fluttershy came flying the instant she heard the crash.

“Oh my gosh! Angel! My sweet, dear, Angel bunny! MOVE!” she roared, and with powers that Rainbow had never seen before, the shy pegasus pushed the larger mare out of the way, and the door off of the tiny rodent.

With a few broken whiskers, and a bent ear, Angel seemed to have been lucky to receive just those minor injuries. His eyes were wide open with fear, and you could see his little heart pounding away in his chest.

“Wow, Fluttershy, I’m... I’m so sorry. You too, Angel, I hope you can forgive me...” Rainbow muttered, before suddenly flashing tickets to a Wonderbolt show, “here, a little thing to make you feel bet-”

“Do you think that such... PETTY gifts will make us feel better! I can tell you right now, Rainbow Dash, that it does not! It does not suit us at all! You are... such a bad pony, that I don’t even want to look at you! You’re not the Dash I know! You’re...” she stopped to think of a proper word, before sending accusing glances her way, “a MONSTER! I don’t want to see you again, ever!” She roared, and pushed the cyan mare out of the door, before placing it on its hinges, and locking it shut.

“Fluttershy’s right... I am a monster...”

With tears in her eyes, the muscly mare decided to head home. Suddenly, all the horrible things she had done in the past weeks of her new body came back to her, as if a dam holding up memories had been utterly destroyed. Never had she thought she’d be like this. A picture of herself grinning alongside Dark Storm and all of the cruel ponies showed up in her mind, but she pushed it far, far away.

“I’ll never be like her! Never! My friends mean too much to me!” Rainbow sobbed as she flew home, and buried her face in a Wonderbolt pillow. It was soon quenched with her tears, and her wails echoed off the cloud walls.

“This isn’t you, Rainbow... You love your friends more than anything... you’re the element of loyalty... you’re not an awesome representant of loyalty...”

Rainbow stood up from her bed, and stood in front of the mirror. Sure, she had the body that could get her into the Wonderbolts, and give her eternal fame among all pegasi in Equestria. Sure, her wings were stronger than ever, sure her flank was sculpted to perfection, sure her legs could carry her miles without stopping... but what is it worth, if you don’t have the friends to praise you for it.

This isn’t the Rainbow Dash that is known and loved. What would Spitfire say?

“She’d kick me out of the Wonderbolts... as if I’d even become one.”

Rainbow Dash hung her head low in shame, and walked back to bed.

What was she going to do with herself?

Rainbow Dash wasn’t a pony to mope about situations, but rather change them. When she woke up the next morning, she immediately went to the library, to see Twilight.

“Please, Twilight, I need your help.” Rainbow begged, as she stood before the unicorn, “I don’t wanna be like this anymore. You mean much more to me than being a Wonderbolt ever did!”

“Yes, I heard what happened yesterday. Good for you Angel wasn’t seriously hurt. Fluttershy never would have forgiven you for that.”

Rainbow’s head lowered in shame, before she nodded.

“I know... I’m a very lucky pony to have friends like you. Which is why I need your help, Twi. Please, you know this is not me.”

Twilight let out a smile for the first time since she arrived at the library.

“I know, Rainbow Dash. But I don’t understand, why did you go back to Dark Storm and all of those bad ponies, if you knew it was a bad idea to begin with?”

“Twi, don’t you know that feeling you get, when there’s something you want really badly? And you sort of don’t care if ponies get hurt along the way?”

A flash of recognition sparked in Twilight’s eyes.

“Oh, right! Like wanting the latest edition of the Equestrian Encyclopedia?”

“Eh, yes... just like that.”

“Well, Rainbow, I understand. But sometimes, friends are more important than books...”

“You tell me!” Rainbow giggled and the two ponies shared a laugh together.

“Spike, can you find me that book that has body modification spells in it?” Twilight shouted.

Almost instantly, Spike appeared with the book that Twilight needed, but not before he took quite some time to admire the muscles that Rainbow was about give up on.

“Are you sure you wanna get rid of those babies? I mean, LOOK at them, Twi! Just look! They’re huge!”

“They are pretty cool, but not near as cool as my friends.” Rainbow replied, before giving Twilight a confirmative nod of the spell she was about to do, once she managed to get the book wrestled out of Spike’s scaly hands.

“This might feel tingly, okay?”

“Hit me with your best shot, Twilight!”

Twilight’s horn began to glow lavender, as she focused the energy in her body on the spell that was required. She gritted her teeth in concentration, and soon, her horn buzzed with energy and sent sparks flying everywhere. The air was thick was anticipation, as Rainbow took a deep breath, and faced the magic that was about to hit her. Twilight directed the beam at the muscly Rainbow Dash, and waited for the magic to happen. The mare let out a shout, that Twilight thought was pain.

“Rainbow! Are you okay?!” Twilight called, still casting the spell.

All of her worries disappeared as she heard the laugh emitting from the pony she couldn’t see.

“You’re right, it tickles!”

Twilight rolled her eyes as the mare almost seemed to disappear in the massive cloud of smoke that appeared as the spell was over. Both ponies and dragon coughed, and awaited the result.

“Rainbow? How’d it go?” Twilight said in between coughs, and glanced around the library, desperate for answers. She didn’t have to wait long, for it only took a minute before the original Rainbow Dash came bursting out of the cloud.

“Aww yeah! I’m back to my old self!” she cheered, and nimbly landed in front of Twilight.

“Rainbow, you do know you’re in excellent shape, right? It’s only a matter of practice before you can do all the routines before. It’s not the body, but the mind that does the trick. I’m certain that if you try to do the routines now, you can.” Twilight gently poked at Rainbow’s head, “you can do anything you set your mind to. Not your body.”

Rainbow smiled at the compliments, and blushed.

“Aw, thanks, Twi. I sure hope so. You and all the other girls mean too much to me to ever let that get between us,” she looked nervously outside the library, “do you think Fluttershy will forgive me?”

Without hesitation the librarian nodded, and sent Spike to fetch the other mares.

“I don’t want to see her!” Fluttershy chirped, and struggled with all of her might, as Spike and Applejack tried to push her inside the library. Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were already inside, anxiously awaiting Fluttershy’s arrival, so the cyan mare’s official apology could be told to all ponies.

“Fluttershy, I kno’ you don’t wanna see her one bit, but you have to, I tell ya!” Applejack shouted, before she fell into the doorway, as Twilight magically levitated a fighting Fluttershy into the library.

“Sorry, Fluttershy, but Rainbow needs to make amends with us all, especially you.”

None of the five ponies had ever seen Fluttershy so infuriated. What her expression didn’t show, her eyes did. It was as if there was a wildfire of fury ablaze within them. Before the yellow pegasus had a chance of escaping, or even charging at Rainbow Dash, she spoke.

“I’ve been a fool. A really stupid, not-awesome fool. I just wanted to be a Wonderbolt so bad, that I let my past get the best of me. There won’t ever be a thing that I want so badly, that I want to lose my friends over it,” she shamefully walked over to Fluttershy, “Fluttershy, I’m so sorry about what happened at your cottage, and what nearly happened to Angel. I don’t know if you could ever forgive me, but...it sure would be awesome if you could...”

Fluttershy glanced coldly at the shameful mare before her, before glancing to all of the other mares in the room. She received confirmative nods from everyone, and the pony let out a sigh.

“If you ever hurt him again, Rainbow, so help me...”

Rainbow’s ears quickly perked up, and she smiled widely, before hugging Fluttershy tightly. The remaining mares giggled and joined the hug. The yellow pegasus couldn’t help but crack a smile as they all embraced.

“I do like these hugs much better than the ones before.”

Author's Note

HI guys! Hope you’ve all had a wonderful Christmas, and that it’s all been nice and your dreams have come true. This is just a quick story I came up with, I hope you enjoy!

As always, thanks to C Note for proofreading. <3
(My pleasure of course -C Note)

Oh, and a happy new year to us all, with more friends and friendships!