Limits

Chapter 4:
-Like You Mean It-

“I think you should go to her house and apologize Rainbow.” Twilight said glancing up at the cyan pegasus floating on a cloud several feet above her. “After all it was your fault her route was waylaid.”

“She doesn’t have a house.” Rainbow blurted absently.

“Did you just say he doesn’t have a house?” The purple mare questioned, stopping midstride in the middle of the road. Noticing this Rainbow Dash dissolved the cloud, catching herself on the air in between before hovering back to her waiting friend. “Then where does she live?”

“Here and there I guess.” Rainbow Dash answered dismissively.

“But didn’t you go to flight school together?” Twilight asked curiously. It made sense to her seeing as they were both pegasi and about the same age.

“It’s not like we were friends.” The blue mare said defensively. “What about that fancy magic school you went to? How many friends did you have?” A culpable look from Twilight told her all she needed to know.

“She was there during the first few lessons I guess.” Rainbow Dash went on her magenta eyes rolled up as if she could see the events she was describing in the air above her head. She sounded bored however, as if it were old news. “But then there was some sort of accident at the cloud factory. I never saw her again after that.”

‘Some sort of accident’ might explain Derpy’s irregular eye condition, but it didn’t explain why she was homeless. “I still think you should apologize.” Twilight reiterated, as the blue mare inattentively acknowledged the idea. The unicorn frowned up at her friend disappointed by her lack of remorse. “…or maybe I’ll have to tell somepony about that magazine you got stashed back at the library?”

Rainbow Dash’s face flushed briefly, after which she quickly relented with an exasperated sigh, throwing her hooves into the air in mock surrender. This brought a smile to Twilight’s face, though the suggested blackmail left her feeling a bit guilty.

“Thank you.” The purple unicorn said smugly ignoring the angry glare Rainbow Dash gave moments before she speed off, leaving a shimmering streak of rainbow in her wake.

--

Derpy Hooves smiled at her new mailbag. As she had feared the stylish unicorn had jazzed it up somewhat, with silver rhinestones glittering from one corner of the satchel flap, the shape vaguely resembling the grey mare’s bubble cutie mark. The logo, which had begun to peel, had been reattached, the frayed bits of thread around its edge expertly mended, alongside a tear at the bottom left corner which Derpy had been watching grow larger by the day. The bag strap itself, which had been replaced with one that was doubled stitched for lasting durability, was also decorated with shimmering silver rhinestones.

The mail mares initial revelry was short lived as she had quickly given half her remaining bits for the repairs, too scared to negotiate for a smaller price. She had splurged on her garden salad the day before, her excitement getting the better of her, and now she was regretting that decision after learning, and paying, the price Rarity sought.

She stared at the menu in front of her. Everything sounded so appetizing, but at the same time she knew her options were limited. The bits she had left would need to last her the next several days.

“Are you ready to order miss?” The waiter asked coming to stand beside her. She stared at the menu a minute longer before pointing to a simple daffodil sandwich, which also happened to be the cheapest item on the menu. The waiter acknowledged the order before asking if she would like a drink to go along side. The grey mare shook her head, deciding that getting something to drink would only deplete her bits faster. She could use the water fountain in the park for free.

“And for you?” The waiter asked turning to the cyan blue mare who had alighted just across the table from Derpy. She slide the menu to her side of the table, perusing it quickly before choosing several items, all of which the waiter likewise acknowledged. Before Derpy could complain the stallion departed leaving the confused grey pegasus alone with Rainbow Dash.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“What does it look like?” The mare answered easily. “I’m having lunch with you.”

“I’d have lunch with Nightmare Moon before I’d have lunch with you!” Derpy said hastily. The cyan mare leaned back into the haystack she sat on an arrogant smile on her face. “Nightmare Moon isn’t here any more.” The blue pony replied smugly. “So it looks like you don’t have a choice.”

The waiter brought their food out an uncomfortable amount of time later and Rainbow Dash tucked in with a sloppy ferocity. Derpy picked at her sandwich, having found out already how difficult it was to eat with her sore tooth. The blue mare stopped briefly, midway through her meal, eying the grey pegasus curiously. “Aren’t you hungry?”

The grey mare’s stomach grumbled in reply when she cast her lopsided gaze away. A frown crossed her face as her left eye remained on Rainbow Dash. “It’s none of your business.”

“Look, I’m sorry about yesterday alright?” The blue mare relented. “There, I said it. Are you happy now?”

The wall eyed mare rubbed at her eye with a hoof, trying to coax it into a more desirable position, namely anywhere but Rainbow Dash’s smug smile. “You call that an apology?”

“I said I’m sorry.” The cyan mare retorted. “What more do you want?”

“I want you to mean it! I want you to apologize because you are genuinely sorry, not because somepony told you it was the right thing to do!” The mare shouted drawing the attention, and ire, of the other ponies at the cafe.

“You know about that?” Rainbow Dash asked, surprised the mare had called her bluff. Derpy stood suddenly, stuffing her uneaten sandwich into the empty pouch of her mail bag. Rainbow watched her with a confused expression.

“I do now.” The pony remarked with a scowl, the ferocity of the expression ruined by her wonky eyes. She tossed down several bits before spreading her wings and leaping into the sky, leaving a dismayed Rainbow Dash sitting at the table alone. The waiter arrived moments later, casting the mare with a disapproving glare. “Your bill madam.”

“Put it on my tab.” The exasperated blue mare said spreading her own wings.

“You do not have a tab!” The waiter shouted at the now empty space the mare had been moments before. He grumbled irately under his breath as he began to clear the table.