A Dash of Inspiration

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo swooped down onto a cloud, both thoroughly tired after a hard session of flying. They caught their breath for a moment, enjoying the cool breeze through their manes. The day was a beautiful one, with a constant wind at their height which both cooled down the pegasi and provided a steady force to be counteracted. Scootaloo, initially awestruck at learning how to fly with Rainbow Dash, of all ponies, had managed to curb her enthusiasm enough to pay attention to the lessons. The flight lessons had been difficult, but the orange pegasus was determined to make her mentor proud and had attacked each challenge with gusto.

Rainbow Dash had just instructed her student in the fine art of flying upside down, an impressive feat for somepony who had just learned to fly a scant month ago. Since Dash’s fateful, property-damaging Sonic Rainboom in the middle of Ponyville, the pair had been spending almost all their time together. Dash’s community service hours dictated that this was necessity on weekdays, but even on weekends and past the normal sessions, the two had seemed almost inseparable.

“Rainbow Dash, that was I” exclaimed Scootaloo between pants for breath, indefatigable as always. “I thought flying upside down was just something the Wonderbolts did!”

“Well, I Ithe Fastest Filly Flier in all of Equestria,” Dash spoke lazily, stretching out her forelegs and feigning nonchalance. “Gotta have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“I just wish I could’ve flown better,” Scootaloo said, sitting down and sighing. Dash instantly broke her veil of disinterest and edged closer to the orange pegasus, putting a foreleg on her shoulder.

“Hey, whoa, don’t you go feeling bad about it,” the blue pegasus said reassuringly. “Scootaloo, that was insane how good you were at flying upside down.”

“. . . really?”

“Of course! You were landlocked just a month ago, and now you’re trying to fly upside down? That’s incredible!”

“But I crashed, like, fifty times!”

“Okay, well. Firstly, you only crashed thirteen times.”

“Because that’s so much better,” Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes.

“And secondly,” Dash continued, accenting her words with a poke to Scootaloo’s shoulder, “it’s good that you crashed that much.”

Scootaloo screwed up her face in confusion.

“Wait, what?”

“Look at it this way,” said Dash, removing her foreleg from around Scootaloo’s shoulders and gesturing with it. “You failed, so you think that’s bad, right?”

Scootaloo nodded.

“But, before you failed, what did you do?”

“. . . Overbalance?”

“You had to start, you silly filly,” Dash concluded, tousling the orange pegasus’s hair. “So what if you didn’t do so well on your first try? You tried in the first place, and that’s the important thing.”

Scootaloo mulled this over for a moment, hunched forward in thought. There were several hmm sounds, hallmarks of a mind at work. Presently, she reached a conclusion.

“But I was terrible!”

“And the next session, you’ll be a little less terrible. The session after that, a little less. The session after that, a little less. Stuff this advanced isn’t easy, and it doesn’t come overnight.”

“Oh,” Scootaloo said in comprehension, but her mood didn’t lighten. She understood on an intellectual level the point that Dash was making, but it didn’t make her feel much better. Dash sensed this, and made one final argument against it.

“Scootaloo, I was not this good when I tried flying like that.” At this, Scootaloo lifted her head and looked Dash in the eye.

“Really?”

“Are you kidding me? I was terrible! Flying every which way, crashing through clouds – I threw out my wings because I tried to do a loop-de-loop. Don’t feel bad about not doing well: you’re leaps and bounds ahead of where you should be according to the school system.” Hearing this account of imperfection was oddly relieving for Scootaloo. If Rainbow Dash hadn’t done so well on her first try, then Scootaloo supposed it was okay that she hadn’t either.

“Anyway, we should be going. We’re already on overtime and you wouldn’t want to keep your parents waiting.”

“Awwwww . . .”

The pegasi parted ways over Ponyville. As she had a month before, Rainbow Dash flew to the town library. Her focus, was markedly different than it had been on that visit. Before, Dash had been frantically trying to find something, anything she could teach Scootaloo that the Equestrian educational system would accept. Now, she glided down to the front door, reviewing her plan of action. She knocked before entering, saddlebags rustling slightly against her sides.

As Dash opened the door, she was greeted by the musty, papery smell of books and binding leather that she had come to know and enjoy over the past month. Seeing neither Spike nor Twilight, Dash took the opportunity to peruse the array of books in the Fantasy & Sci-Fi section. The community service hours had been a blessing in more ways than the time spent with Scootaloo. Thanks to the sentence, Dash had inadvertently discovered that she quite liked reading, when it was about dark elves and monsters and that sort of thing. Her business here didn’t involve books, but she found herself reading the titles to pass the time anyway.

Man, if only the textbooks at flight school had been this cool.

“Rainbow Dash!” interrupted Twilight Sparkle’s voice, “If you had told me a month ago that you’d be a library regular, I wouldn’t have believed you!”

Dash jumped at the sound of Twilight’s voice – perhaps she was a bit more nervous than she wanted to believe. Looking over her shoulder, Dash saw that Twilight was descending the staircase at the back of the library.

“I’m full of surprises like that,” said Dash. She reflected upon how comfortable she was with being . . . a bookworm? No, that wasn’t the right word. With being well-read. There. “Anyway, Twilight, can you spare a moment? I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Can it wait for a moment? There’s this series here I think you’ll enjoy.” Before, Dash could answer, Twilight levitated a book out of the shelves. The book was predominantly beige and the cover depicted a large . . . was that a worm? Dash had seen earthworms before, but they bore nothing but a passing resemblance to this one. She was pretty sure earthworms didn’t have mouths full of teeth, for instance. The book was apparently called Dune and written by one Flank Herbert.

Rainbow Dash continued the line of conversation, partly because she was legitimately curious and partly because she felt a tightness in her stomach relating to what she had come to the library about.

It’s perfectly understandable. Stars above, stop worrying!

“Alright, what’s it about?”

Twilight told her. Rainbow Dash was stunned into silence for a moment.

“It seems more . . . political than the stuff I’ve been reading so far.”

“It is. I figured you’d be looking for something that’s a bit more of a challenge.”

You can use this. Get talking to her, then ask her.

“Sure,” said Dash with a smile. “I’ll be able to fit it in some time.”

“Glad I can help. It’s always nice to have more readers around. I assume you’ll just be checking out the first few, just in case?”

Dash nodded, and Twilight levitated the books over to the main desk. As she started the process of checking out the books, Dash swung one of her saddlebags onto the countertop. It was stuffed near to bursting with paperback novels, nearly all of which belonged to The Legend of Drizzt. Twilight shot the pegasus a raised eyebrow before magicking the books out and into the return bin.

“Dash, there must be at least a thousand pages between those books. You read that in a week?”

“They’re good books,” said Rainbow Dash defensively. “Besides, you just said how great it is that I’ve discovered them.”

Twilight nodded in acceptance.

“It is. Sorry if I’m giving you mixed messages about that. It’s just . . .” her voice trailed off, and she grinned sheepishly.

“It’s just what?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Twilight said, looking down and blushing ever so slightly. She met Dash’s eyes and sighed at the look of curiosity reflected in them. The unicorn set down the last of the Dune books and turned her full attention to the conversation. “It’s just . . . when I first met you, you struck me as a really . . .” Twilight struggled for the right word.

“Dumb jock?” finished Dash, her tone good-natured.

“Yeah,” said Twilight after a pause. “Either you were blasting around at barely-contained speeds or you were napping in the clouds. Now, you’re either in here looking for more books to devour – seriously how did you read all that so quickly – or you’re out doing good deeds and being a positive role model.”

She’s right. Man, when was the last time I went flying for myself?

“Ah, I see,” said Dash, grinning. “You want me to go out and start a bar fight or seven.”

They shared a laugh. It felt good.

“You know, you’re actually right, Twilight. There’s a big storm scheduled over the weekend – I should be able to get in some flying time if I steer clear of it.”

“Oh.” At this, Twilight’s face fell. It lasted only for a split second, but Dash noticed. “I mean, um, that’s good! Yes, good. Hope you enjoy yourself. Ha-ha.”

Now, it was Dash’s turn to give her counterpart a raised eyebrow.

“Twilight, is something the matter?”

“I guess you’ll be too busy to hang out at the library, then,” Twilight said. Dash saw an opportunity and seized it.

“Funny you should mention hanging out, actually,” the pegasus said with a twinge of anxiety in her voice.

“Oh?” asked Twilight, cocking her head to one side. “What do you mean?”

“Well, um . . .” Dash struggled to find words.

Curse you, brain! Why are you locking up on me now of all times?!

“I . . . it . . . you and . . . so . . . do you wanna get dinner sometime?” Dash finally spoke. Twilight just looked stunned. She considered Dash a friend, sure, but not that kind of friend. Dash saw Twilight’s features and realized with horror how her offer had sounded.

“No!” the pegasus cried, leaning forward over the checkout desk and bracing herself with her forelegs. “No, that- . . . I didn’t- . . . it wasn’t- . . . I mean as a gift!”

Twilight had leaned back to keep a distance from Dash, but she relaxed ever so slightly, and her expression shifted to one of curiosity.

“As a gift?”

She didn’t run off. Oh, thank the Gods.

“Yeah! See, you’ve been a great help over the past month with Scootaloo and everything, and I just wanted to return the favour.” Dash gestured sweepingly with a foreleg at the wealth of paper and synthetic leather that surrounded her. “Plus, y’know, the whole discovery of literature thing. So, um . . . My treat? Please?” Dash ended her plea with her hooves together, elbows resting on the library desk.

“Oh,” said Twilight in understanding. “Did you have a specific place or anything in mind?” Dash’s stomach emptied of tension upon hearing Twilight’s words, and the pegasus breathed a sigh of relief.

“Your choice, actually,” said Dash. “I only really know a couple of places, and I don’t imagine that Filly McNeighsty’s would be your kind of restaurant.”

Twilight had relaxed completely now, sitting comfortably on her haunches. She lifted a hoof to her chin and looked to the ceiling in thought. She wasn’t a frequenter of restaurants herself, but she read the reviews in the newspaper from time to time.

“Well, there is that new place on Mane Street. The Garden, I think it’s called. Have you heard of it?”

“I think so – the name is familiar, at least.”

“I’ve heard good things about that place. Good food, nice music . . . alright, sure!” Twilight smiled. “When’s a good time for you? Next weekend?”

“That should be fine,” said Dash, relaxing enough to return to a normal stand. “Say, 8:30?”

“That’d be great! Thanks for the offer, Dash. I must admit, it’ll be nice to be out of the library related to something that doesn’t involve mortal danger or emotional turmoil.”

“Ah, it’s the least I can do,” Dash said, leaning on the desk with one elbow and glancing nonchalantly at her hoof. She projected an air of calm, despite the adrenaline rush moments earlier. “Anyway, I should be going – don’t want to be caught in the storm and all.”

The two said their goodbyes, and Dash trotted out the door. The pegasus gathered herself for a moment, and then sprang into the air. She felt as light as a feather, now that that business with Twilight was past the awkward part.

Dash swept up through the clouds and landed on the porch of her house. She entered, what Twilight had said about change staying with her as she looked around the main room. It was clean, the cloudstuff furniture clustered around a cloudstuff coffee table on one side. On the other, a doorway led to the kitchen and the non-cloudstuff appliances therein. A new cloudstuff bookshelf stood against one wall, with a couple of hardcovers standing in it, and a stairway led up to a second floor, which consisted of a balcony, bedroom and bathroom. Dash trotted over to the cluster of furniture and swung her saddlebags onto the table.

They landed next to a white box wrapped with red ribbon.

Oh, horseapples!

Scootaloo alighted outside her house. Ever since Rainbow Dash had shown her the proper technique, the orange pegasus had been flying everywhere every chance she got. She frowned slightly. Her saddlebags were weighted down with books and homework from the flight school correspondence course (Dash’s teaching had been rather light on aeronautic theory), but that wasn’t the reason for her shift in mood. She had been spending so much time with Rainbow Dash lately that an entire weekend without the blue pegasus’s company seemed unbearable.

And with that huge storm scheduled, Scootaloo wouldn’t even have an opportunity to fly around herself. The orange pegasus sighed, walking up to her door. Opening it and walking inside, she headed for the kitchen to get herself a snack before getting started on her homework. She noticed a note on the kitchen table.

Scootaloo,

It seems this weekend’s storm has gotten a little bit out of hand, so the weather pegasi have been looking for help to get it under control. Your mother and I have been “volunteered.”

We’ll probably be home late, so remember to get to your homework and don’t stay up past your bedtime.

-Love, Dad

Scootaloo’s mood instantly picked up and she started hopping around the kitchen in joy. An entire evening, all to herself! She could do whatever she wanted! She could eat nothing but junk food, she could watch bad movies, she could stay up late! The world was her oyster!

. . . though, she did have a lot of homework to do. And she could finish it all this evening, if she really tried . . .

Scootaloo stopped hopping. She sighed.

Aw man, it sucks being responsible.

Scootaloo was pacing around her room. She had meant to get started on her homework, but instead found herself thinking about her cutie mark – or rather, her lack thereof. Scootaloo had been so sure that her cutie mark would have something to do with flight. When she had first taken off, after a solid day of effort and bruises, she could practically feel the mark appearing.

But nothing had happened.

She had been crushed. If Rainbow Dash hadn’t been there, Scootaloo was sure she would have cried. Thinking back, it was remarkable how much Rainbow Dash had comforted and supported Scootaloo when she’d been having difficulty with . . . well, anything. Aerobatic tricks, personal issues, bullies at school – the list went on.

I should say thanks to Rainbow Dash. She’s helped me a lot.

Shaking her head to clear out the unpleasant thoughts, Scootaloo sat down on the floor pillow in front of her desk and forced herself to start reading.

What matters is doing well, not letting anypony down. What matters is getting into flight school, whether I’m cut out to be a cab driver, or a pilot, or a mail pegasus, or a-

Outside, far off in the distance, thunder rumbled.

-or a weather pegasus.

Scootaloo calmly walked over to her window and looked out.

Rain pattered against the glass in the soothing way that only rain can. The wind wailed through the trees, but didn’t seem to be that strong. She could see a large head of thunderclouds off in the distance, a solid wall of black. There was the brief flash of lightning, then the dull rumble of a thunderclap a few seconds later. Presumably, this cloudbank was under control, as there were no flitting shapes of pegasi around it.

Presumably, it would be unmonitored.

Presumably, it would be a good spot to try one’s hoof at weather manipulation, if one were so inclined.

Scootaloo opened her window.

Rainbow Dash berated herself for forgetting the gift. Inside the white box was a pair of Dash’s old goggles from her time at flight school. Dash had meant to give them to Scootaloo, to show the orange filly how proud she was. Instead, she had been in such a hurry to get out the door that morning, the blue pegasus had completely forgotten about them. Today was the closest session the pegasi had had to a full month, and Dash had wanted to commemorate it. The goggles wouldn’t have the same effect if they were several days late.

A thunderclap distracted Dash from her self-anger. She sped over to the nearest window and looked out. Rain whipped past her face. The sky was already dark with overcast clouds, but the main storm wouldn’t arrive for some time.

I could make it to Scootaloo’s house and back before the storm hits. She would appreciate the goggles even more if she’s cooped up over the weekend.

Her mind made up, Dash turned away from the window. She threw the gift box into a saddlebag, drew the strap up tight and bolted out the door.

She made good time, and was at Scootaloo’s house within minutes. Dash knocked at the door. When there came no response, she knocked again, more insistently. The rain and wind had picked up. Though by no means too treacherous for her to navigate, Dash didn’t relish the prospect of flying through a storm any worse than this.

Still no answer. Something was off about this whole thing.

Well, I’ll just drop off the box and leave a note. It’s not a personal presentation, but it’ll have to do.

Dash opened the door slowly and poked her head in. All the lights were off.

“Scootaloo?” she called. “Mr & Mrs Nimbus?” Still nothing. Forcing herself not to think about it, Dash slipped inside the house. She would drop off the present, nothing more. Nothing was wrong; Scootaloo was probably just asleep early. Yeah, that was it. Despite the reassurances, Dash’s heart beat a little more quickly.

Rainbow Dash, did you ever have any training to be a weather pegasus?

Of course I did. Everypony did at flight school. Why, are you considering being one?

No. She’s gone to bed early. I’ll write a note explaining the gift and then I’ll go back to my house and sleep this off. To that effect, Dash shrugged off her saddlebags. She didn’t have a pencil or pen on her, so she wandered around looking for one. She happened to wander into the kitchen.

She happened to look at the kitchen table.

She rushed back out of the kitchen and into the main room, spine ramrod straight and straining her ears.

“Okay, Scootaloo, you can come out now. Ha-ha, you got me.”

Nothing.

Is it hard being a weather pegasus?

Sure, but it’s AWESOME! Making clouds, directing blizzards and being in charge of the seasons is every bit as cool as it sounds.

Coooooooooool!

And some pegasi can even manipulate lightning. I’ve never done it myself, but I hear it’s INSANE. That much electricity . . . oh man, what it must feel like.

But I’ve seen pegasi buck lightning out of clouds plenty of times.

Just bucking a small bolt out of a cloud is foal’s play. Any pegasus can do that. Really manipulating lightning – creating it, directing it – takes a lot of skill.

Dash’s breathing was ragged now and her heart beat like a tribal drum. She looked around frantically for something, anything to placate her fears. She ran from room to room, any attempt at civility forgotten. Swinging her head around, Dash saw a light emanating from the top of the stairs. She practically threw herself up them. There were a few doors, one leading to a bathroom, the other to a large bed. Light slipped from underneath the third, which was closed. Dash threw open the door to what could only be Scootaloo’s room.

Rainbow Dash, what made you become a weather pegasus?

I enjoy the work, simple as that. Everypony who’s a pegasus can do it, so the pay isn’t great, but it’s enough to get by and it’s really fun.

Do you think I could be one?

Scootaloo, I’m positive that you can be whatever you put your mind to. If you’re interested, I’m sure Twilight has some books on weather in the library, and they’ll do a better job of explaining it than me.

The room was empty.

The window was open, clattering against its frame.

Dash streaked out the window, flying as fast as she could towards the oncoming storm.

Scootaloo had nearly reached the storm clouds. She had initially been shocked by how little warmth there was in the air, but she supposed that was normal, considering the circumstances. The wind had picked up dramatically, but the orange pegasus managed to climb level with the main bulk of the clouds.

Finally reaching her desired height, Scootaloo paused for a moment to take stock. Her wings were sore from exertion, her heart was racing and she was panting from the effort of flight.

No time for hesitation. You can do this.

Scootaloo dove forward and into the cloud bank, worming her way down through it. Her world was nothing but black cloudstuff for what seemed like a long time, but she finally broke through into space.

It was a large sphere of empty space within the cloud, walled in by whirling cloudstuff and the occasional flicker of electricity. The book from Twilight’s library had called this space the “storm engine,” and all thunderclouds apparently had one. This was where the cloud’s electricity gathered before being released as lightning. It was also where a weather pegasus could direct a cloud’s lightning, if she was talented enough.

The storm engine was dark, but not pitch black. Scootaloo flew out into the centre of it, holding her forelegs out above her head. She focused all of her will into the cloud surrounding her, demanding that lightning form. Nothing happened at first, so Scootaloo redoubled her efforts.

Then, she felt it. A slow, crawling sensation that worked its way around the walls of the storm engine. Its presence was reserved, but its power was unmistakable: lightning. Scootaloo shivered, and not from the cold or wind. She felt it more clearly now, felt it split and collect above and below her. The flickers of electricity that rimmed the engine were more frequent now, and almost all of them were happening above or below Scootaloo. There was a pressure building, and the pegasus could sense it begging for release.

Scootaloo grinned, preparing to release the pent-up energy in a dramatic flash. She focused it, forced it into even smaller segments above her head and below her hooves. Scootaloo could feel the raw, elemental power of a lightning bolt just waiting, wanting to be let loose.

Not yet. Not yet. Just a bit more . . .

The pressure was now staggering, and Scootaloo could hear a low whistle coming from somewhere, increasing in pitch. The storm engine was now as bright as day, brighter even, so that Scootaloo had to close her eyes and focus on the power of the electricity.

Now.

She willed the lightning to be, and looked up to gaze upon her work.

With a sudden BOOM louder than anything Scootaloo had ever heard, the top of the cloud blew open and a blue-tipped rainbow streaked in. Scootaloo saw just enough to make out an iris of colours far off behind the figure racing towards her before she was hit by it. Scootaloo’s breath was knocked out of her and she could only watch as events played out.

Scootaloo was thrown through another layer of black cloudstuff, presumably the bottom of the storm engine. She was dimly aware of the warmth of another pegasus beside her. After that, Scootaloo saw what was really happening.

The lightning from the storm engine, craving release, followed her in a crashing tidal wave of electricity. It wound itself into the rainbow trail that was following Scootaloo. No, wait, the trail wasn’t following her; it was following whatever was holding her. Scootaloo’s mind produced the word rainbow, but she was too transfixed by the sight behind her to process it.

The lightning, having been fed by the magical energy of the Sonic Rainboom, had grown in size and speed, and was now composed of every colour of the rainbow. It was now matching the pegasi for speed. As Scootaloo watched, a bolt arced off and struck a nearby tree. The branches of the tree exploded, the leaves vapourized and the main trunk caught on fire, which was bright silver. The lightning behind her actually gained ground. Scootaloo would have screamed, but her lungs were having enough difficulty inhaling the necessary air to breath.

Suddenly, Scootaloo was thrown clear of the other pegasus’s embrace. In the split second before she hit the ground, she managed to keep the figure in her vision.

Rainbow Dash turned around and killed her momentum as much as possible, sending up skids of rainbow where her hooves were. She swung to face the hellish vortex of colour and electricity just as it descended upon her.

There was a release of energy the likes of which Scootaloo had never before seen as the multi-hued lightning poured itself into Rainbow Dash’s small figure. The surrounding area was lit brighter than the sun itself.

Rainbow Dash screamed.

Scootaloo fell to the ground, hard cobblestone underneath her. As she did so, the energy stopped, leaving her ears ringing. Scootaloo raised her head. She saw the limp figure of Rainbow Dash fall to the ground with the thump of bone on rock. For a moment, she was too horrified to even move.

The rain, having been stopped by the force of the blast, started again and Scootaloo came back to her senses.

“Rainbow Dash!” she cried, galloping over to her mentor’s figure. It was very, very still.

“Rainbow Dash!” she shouted, grabbing the older pegasus’s shoulders.

“RAINBOW DASH!” she screamed, her throat raw.

oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods

No, calm down.

shes dead shes dead shes dead shes dead shes dead shes dead shes dead shes dead

Stop it.

what do i do what do i do what do i do what do i do what do i do what do i do

Calm down. Hospital. They’ll help her.

where where where where where where where where where where where where

Pick her up. Get going.

Good. On your back. Keep walking.

so cold so cold so cold so cold so cold so cold so cold so cold so cold so cold so cold

No time to be cold. Keep walking.

sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep

No time to be tired. Keep walking.

i cant i cant i cant i cant i cant i cant i cant i cant i cant i cant i cant i cant i cant i cant

You can. Keep walking.

voices

light

sleep

Rainbow Dash awoke gradually. Her body was in pain, and she didn’t want to start managing it again. She slowly opened one eye, then the other, her surroundings becoming less blurry. She could perceive sounds: the regular beep of a machine, rhythmic breathing from somewhere she couldn’t see, a sharp intake of breath. She looked to her left.

Twilight Sparkle was there, her eyes red and puffy with the memory of tears.

“Gods, you’re awake,” she said quietly.

Dash lay on her back, her wings stretched out flat. She was on a metal table which had been lightly padded on top and was slightly warm with her own body heat. Machines surrounded her, and she could feel bandages on most of her skin.

“. . . what . . . what . . .” she tried to speak, her voice gravel and protesting every syllable.

“Shh, shh, don’t talk,” said Twilight, moving closer. “You were through a lot.”

Dash remembered. The storm. The pain.

Scootaloo.

“. . . S . . . S . . .” she tried again.

“Scootaloo’s fine. Look.” Twilight pointed a hoof at the young pegasus, who was curled up on a floor pillow, sound asleep. Upon her flank was a picture of a bright red cross with speed lines trailing behind it.

“There’s a huge crater in the town square. The doctors said she dragged you in, sopping wet and muttering to herself. They said you’ll recover, Dash, but if you had gotten here any later, then, you . . . you . . .” Twilight’s voice cracked and fresh tears streamed down her face. “Oh, gods above I was so worried . . .”

Sobbing quietly, Twilight leaned forward and slipped her forelegs around Dash in a hug. There was pain, but Dash ignored it. The pegasus forced her foreleg to return the gesture, holding her friend close as Twilight’s tears ran their course. They stayed that way a while.

Eventually, Twilight returned to her normal self. The rest of their group of friends had arrived, along with Scootaloo’s father and what seemed to be half the town.

“Dash?”

A grunt.

“I’m going to go talk to the others now, okay? I’ll just be outside . . .”

Another grunt, an imperceptible nod. Dash closed her eyes and slept to the pitter-patter of rain on the roof.

Twilight stood up shakily, then composed herself and walked out into the hallway.