Sister Dash

by Black Kyurem

Rating: everyone
Tags: Mare Do Well, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Sad, Main 6, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Cutie Mark Crusaders
Length: 9300

Rainbow Dash's friends are sentenced to community service in Canterlot for an old incident that unintentionally deceived everyone in Ponyville.

Princess Celestia somehow finds out about the mysterious Mare Do Well and discovers her secret identity, leaving her furious. As a result, she revokes holding back an old punishment she had for Twilight Sparkle and places the blame on Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie as well. While serving their time doing community service for the stuck-up sophisticated ponies of Canterlot, their track records are all smashed to pieces and Ponyville steadily falls into disarray. As Rainbow Dash mourns over being lonely, she remembers a promise she made to a friend - to become like a big sister somepony always wanted. Having someone to confide in makes all the difference.

[img]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NKaggjEtg-A/USwMGvnpgvI/AAAAAAAAXkg/7c_czYjbNvM/s1600/AnnoyedPrincessCelestia.png[/img]

Published 2013-02-03 04:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-02-03 04:40:01 UTC

Farewell, Mare Do Well

~ Day 1 ~

It was a lovely morning like any other in Ponyville and Rainbow Dash was pushing clouds around as usual. That's when she heard wailing from down below. Looking down, Dash gasped at a horrible sight. Ponies everywhere were lying injured in the streets with several more grieving and running amok. Some kind of disaster or accident has struck Ponyville, but how and when was unclear. Rainbow zoomed down to investigate the situation.

"Oh, this is a horrible crisis!" wailed the mayor.

"What's happened here, Miss Mayor?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Trixie has returned! And she's taking over Ponyville! We've tried to stand up for her, but she's too strong! Her spells have caused serious injuries to our citizens!" Rainbow Dash was horrorstruck.

"Pull my chariot, you fools!" came the voice of Trixie. Snips and Snails were badly hurt, but Trixie was still forcing them to pull her mode of transportation through the streets. "No one displeases the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"We need a hero!" wailed Snips. "Somepony who can save us from this tyrant!"

"Yeah," agreed Snails. "Where's Mare Do Well? She will save us." A sudden rush of an unpleasant past memory hit Rainbow hard upon hearing the words of that fake hero. So she confronted Snips and Snails.

"Guys, Mare Do Well isn't real," she said to them.

"Coming from you?" retorted Snips. "You're just jealous."

"Huh?"

"Mare Do Well can do it all," said Snails. "She can use magic and she can fly! What can you do, Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow was insulted.

"I'll show you," she huffed. "I may not be a hero, but you guys don't need one when you've got... Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty!"

"Oh, please," snorted Trixie. "Gimme a break." And with the power of her Alicorn Amulet, she cast a dangerous magic spell that clipped Rainbow's wings off. The once proud Pegasus stared in horror as her wings lay on the ground, magically dislodged from her body.

"MY WINGS!" she shrieked. "What have you done to me?!"

"You fool," sneered Trixie. "No one can stop the Great and Powerful Trixie! Or should I say... the Great and Invincible Trixie!" She laughed evilly and her voice started to echo in Rainbow's ears.

"Look at you!" snarled Snips. "You're no hero! Mare Do Well is the best!"

"Yeah, why did she disappear anyway?" asked Snails. "Did you help?"

"What?!" stammered Rainbow.

"As I recall," said Mayor Mare. "You showed up unexpectedly at our thank-you ceremony and threatened to unveil our most humble and gracious hero. After that, the mysterious Mare Do Well disappeared without a trace. So we believe you are the reason why Mare Do Well never showed up again. And now is a time when we need a real hero! And she's not here!"

"But... I... I..."

"Hahahahaha!" laughed Trixie. "It looks like you've as good as doomed Ponyville. Now that I'm taking over, you and the rest of your petty friends will be forced to worship the Great and Powerful Trixie... forever!" She then fired several blasts of magic and what Rainbow saw was that when each citizen was hit, that citizen became a Mare Do Well. Soon, Rainbow Dash was surrounded by Mare Do Wells.

"No..." she cried. "They're coming... to get me!" Trixie then hit Rainbow with another blast of magic, causing her to sway back and forth in dizziness. Rainbow's vision was getting blurrier by the second and she was feeling terribly drowsy.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie now sentences you to a deep sleep for a hundred years!" boasted Trixie. "Good night, Rainbow Dash." The Pegasus collapsed to the ground, but when she opened her eyes again, she saw that everything around her seemed to be frozen in time, including Trixie and the Mare Do Wells.

"What's... going on?" Rainbow muttered.

"Rainbow Dash," said a familiar voice. She turned and saw Princess Luna herself approaching her.

"Princess Luna!" she exclaimed. And then it hit her. "Wait a minute... Is this all just a dream?"

"Yes," answered Luna. "You're still sleeping safely in your bed. But you are dreaming because you have been holding on to feelings you never knew you had."

"I am?"

"Tell me," said Luna. "This Mare Do Well... Does she still haunt you? Are you afraid that your friendship with the others hangs in the balance?" Rainbow Dash thought long and hard. She remembered that although Twilight Sparkle and the others ultimately intended to teach her a lesson not to brag and to be more humble, deep inside she had never been more hurt by her friends in her whole life and now after all this time, she wasn't sure if they could be trusted. Why didn't they talk to her first? Did posing as a false hero only make Rainbow Dash look like the most pathetic Pegasus in Ponyville?

"Yes," answered Rainbow. "Something's been on my mind for months now... My friends hurt me more than any pain I've ever felt in my whole life. I'll bet they never knew what I've been through. All my life, I've been tormented for who I was. And I... never had any real friends. When I started saving ponies in Ponyville, they loved me because I was doing good deeds. I was there for them. I swore I would never leave Ponyville hanging. But then Mare Do Well came along and took away everything that I ever had. My glory... my fame... my life... I thought I lost it all. And what hurt the most was that each of my friends were in fact Mare Do Well. My best friends posed as her and they were no better off than me boasting about great she was. Did my friends do the right thing? Or were they just trying to make me look weak and helpless? I need to know." Rainbow then began to cry. "I... I just wanted to be somepony! I didn't wanna live my whole life as a nopony! I... I was taunted! I was jeered at! That's why I wanted to show everypony how cool I was, so I could put that past behind me!" She sobbed as her tears splashed on the ground.

"You've been holding back for too long, Rainbow Dash," said Luna. "But you were able to confide in me. I'm sure your friends did only what they thought was right, but because they didn't think twice about a possible worst-case scenario, it sounds like all they really did was hurt your feelings. Apparently, Twilight Sparkle, my sister's most faithful student, has created a friendship problem. You have every right to feel this way." Rainbow sighed.

"I'm ready to wake up now," she said.

"Very well," said Luna. "But always remember this. If you look inside your heart, you will find somepony who will always be there for you." The Princess of the Night cast her magic on Rainbow Dash, causing her to wake up from her dream. As she lay in her bed, she looked at her clock and realized she had slept in for at least half of the morning.

Princess Luna entered her big sister's throne room to deliver her latest report. Celestia was sitting on her throne with two royal guards beside her.

"Sister, I bring you the latest report from Ponyville," said Luna.

"What is it, little sister?" asked Celestia.

"I have just been to see Rainbow Dash."

"Rainbow Dash? The winner of this year's Young Fliers' Competition?"

"Yes, big sister." Casting her powerful magic, Luna projected an image of none other than the costumed Mare Do Well, her cape flowing behind her.

"Who is that?" asked Celestia.

"This is Mare Do Well," answered Luna. "The mysterious hero who rescued ponies from accidents all over Ponyville. At first, Rainbow Dash was rescuing ponies from certain peril, true to her representing the Element of Loyalty."

"And this... Mare Do Well has been troubling Miss Rainbow Dash?"

"I'm afraid so, big sister. But look at this." Casting even more magic, she conjured up projections of four Mare Do Wells unmasking themselves and revealing their shocking identities. Celestia gasped.

"Those are... my loyal subjects! The bearers of the Elements of Harmony! But how can this be?!" What Celestia saw was Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, and Fluttershy all in costumes. And when Luna cast another magic spell, an image of Rarity sewing the Mare Do Well costumes was seen. "Rarity?" But Luna wasn't done yet. Casting another projection spell, she allowed Celestia to see Twilight and the conspirators plotting to oust Rainbow and seemingly teach her a lesson in grace and humility.

"That Rainbow Dash is goin' a mite too far with her braggin', even for us," said Applejack. "Ah reckon we should do somethin' to stop her."

"I could talk to her!" suggested Pinkie. "She'll listen to me cause I'm her bestest, bestest friend!"

"Get real, Pinkie," scoffed Twilight. "This whole thing has gotten to her head so much that I don't think she'll listen to anypony."

"But if she won't listen to us, then what should we do?" asked Fluttershy.

"We need to teach her a lesson," said Twilight. "And I know just what to do."

"As you can see," said Luna. "Twilight Sparkle is the mastermind behind Mare Do Well. Now if I recall, you gave her a warning on creating friendship problems when she accidentally put all of Ponyville at risk of being destroyed with an uncontrollable magic spell. Perhaps, big sister, you might want to revoke forgetting her punishment. Because it seems like she and her friends haven't learned a thing." Celestia looked livid. Her white body started to turn a light shade of red.

"Twilight Sparkle..." she grimaced.

Back in Ponyville, Scootaloo was cruising around town on her little scooter, pulling out all the stops with the aerial stunts she knew. She soon arrived at the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse.

"Hey, Scoots," said a familiar voice. "Been waiting for ya." To Scootaloo's pleasant surprise, it was Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus she looked up to like the older sister she always wanted.

"Rainbow Dash!" In her excitement, Scootaloo rushed up to Rainbow and hugged her. "Wow! I can't believe you're here!"

"Of course I am! I knew you'd come here. So, how would like to hang out with me today?"

"Really?!" Scootaloo's eyes lit up. "Oh, boy! I would love to! Take me anywhere, as long as I'm with you!" Rainbow Dash smiled.

"Alright, Scoots, hop on!" she said. "We're gonna fly!" Scootaloo was elated. Soon, she was on Rainbow Dash's backside, buzzing her little wings as Rainbow Dash soared through the Ponyville skies. I gotta admit, this is so cool, thought Rainbow. First I loved reading, and I'm hanging with the closest thing I have to a kid sister! This oughta be good for my track record. She then started to descend towards the town below. "Come on, let's get something to eat!" But just when she had a feeling it was going to be a good day, her eye caught the sight of Princess Celestia herself addressing her five closest friends. Princess Celestia? She wasn't planning to come to Ponyville today. What's going on? "Hang on, Scoots. I gotta check something out." She came in for a landing and allowed Scootaloo to get off her back. As she got closer to the scene, it looked like Twilight Sparkle and her friends were in trouble because Celestia was not looking too happy and there were three royal guards surrounding Rainbow's five friends.

"What were you thinking, Twilight Sparkle?!" said an irate Celestia. "What you and your friends did not only singled her out according to her behavior, which was the wrong thing to do, but it was mean! You put your friendship at risk and you're lucky you didn't ruin it."

"But Rainbow Dash had to stop!" said Twilight Sparkle desperately. "Her bragging was out of control!"

"And you honestly thought this was the answer?! All you did was create a friendship problem, and after I warned you not to! I'm very disappointed."

"Pardon us for sayin', Princess," said Applejack. "But we believed Rainbow was so full of herself, she probably wouldn't have even listened to us if we tried to reason with her."

"So you didn't even try?" asked Celestia. Applejack looked guilty.

"Guess we shoulda," she muttered.

"I'll say. You should have talked to her first. Pretending to be somepony capable of ousting her put so much on the line, more than you could have ever comprehended! And this goes to you especially, Twilight Sparkle! Not only did you come up with this idea to begin with, you used magic to show that you were better than Rainbow Dash. You forgot that she's only a Pegasus!" Twilight felt tears beginning to come to her eyes, realizing how much trouble she and her friends were in.

"We're sorry!" she pleaded. "I'm sorry!" But Celestia just shook her head.

"Hmph. Well, you'll have plenty of time to think about how sorry you are... once I hand out your punishments!" The five ponies gasped.

"But... I didn't think-"

"You should have. This is what happens when you fail to think twice before your actions. This time, you will have a lot to think about... my former student." An arrow struck Twilight in the knee. The words stung her so hard that tears flowed out of her eyes. Celestia then walked right on past her and the royal guards escorted Twilight and the others away. Rainbow was aghast.

"Princess!" she called after her. Celestia stopped for a moment and looked back to see Rainbow Dash. "Princess? What's going on? Where are you taking my friends?" Celestia hung her head for a minute, but then faced Rainbow.

"They will not humiliate you anymore," said Celestia, and continued to walk off with her royal guards. Rainbow stared in stunned silence, hovering in mid-flight.

Rainbow Trash

~ Day 2 ~

Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were all standing in Canterlot's throne room before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, neither of the regal sisters looking too pleased. Royal guards were stationed near the five ponies making sure that they didn't try to go anywhere.

"I don't understand, Princess," said Twilight.

"Well you should," said Celestia sternly. "Your actions that day were uncalled for. Not only did you set Rainbow Dash up to make a fool out of her, but you also deceived everypony in Ponyville! Now I understand that your intentions were good, but you should have at least tried to talk to her first. This should not have had to be a case in which actions spoke louder than words."

"Are you gonna punish us?" asked a worried Pinkie Pie.

"Of course I am," said Celestia. "All of you should have known better. And Twilight Sparkle, I thought your studies on the magic of friendship meant more to you than this."

"But why?" asked Twilight, now starting to cry. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm teaching you a lesson... in friendship lessons!" answered Celestia, showing no sympathy.

"Well..." murmured Fluttershy. "If... this is what we deserve... then it's what we deserve."

"Wait, Princess!" pleaded Applejack. "Please allow us to make up fer this! We'll apologize to Rainbow and promise not to do this again. Just give us another chance! Please!"

"I'm afraid that to ensure this won't happen again, your punishments will have to be carried out," Celestia responded. "Now then, I sentence all five of you... to community service. Thirty days. Here in Canterlot. No magic. And no wings." Celestia then cast a magic spell on Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy, hindering them of their horns and wings respectively, shocking the three of them. "As for you especially, Twilight Sparkle..." Twilight gulped. "If you want any chance to return to your studies as my protégé, perhaps it would be in your best interest to write a five-page friendship report to me, explaining why singling out how a pony behaves for the chance to make that pony better is wrong."

"F-five pages?!" stammered Twilight. "I've never written a report that long before! I don't think I have enough to say to cover that!"

"You don't, huh?" said Celestia, unfazed. "Well then, how about ten pages? Single spaced." Twilight was now getting scared by her mentor's remorselessness.

"W-without magic?!"

"Without magic. You'll just have to use your hooves or your mouth to write with." Twilight's eyes burned with tears, but Celestia did not feel sorry for her, nor did this seem to pain her. "Guards, take them to their rooms."

"Yes, your highness," said one of the guards without question. So the guards escorted the five sorry ponies away.

"You may apologize to Rainbow Dash when you return to Ponyville," Celestia said to them as they were led out of the throne room. She then breathed heavily through her nostrils.

Meanwhile, in Ponyville, several denizens were throwing out remnants of Mare Do Well merchandise, including newspaper articles and costumes.

"I can't believe this," said Lyra to her best friend Sweetie Drops. "Twilight Sparkle of all ponies instigated Mare Do Well just to set up Rainbow Dash!"

"Yeah, that purple freak is no hero," agreed Sweetie Drops. "We loved Rainbow Dash because she did things for us."

"If there was a Mare Do Well for everything we did, we'd all feel the same way Rainbow did," said Amethyst Star, tossing out a little filly's Mare Do Well costume. "Sure, she have been milking things a little much, but she always cared about us." That's when a Mare Do Well with Pegasus wings suddenly showed up in front of the three ponies, startling them at first. But Amethyst Star then sighed. "Derpy, take it off." She pulled off the mask and there was Ditzy Doo, revealed to be wearing a leftover costume Rarity made for Fluttershy.

"How did you know it was me?" asked Ditzy Doo.

"Come on," groaned Amethyst Star. "Even you know Mare Do Well isn't real. She's a phony."

"I just don't know what went wrong," said Ditzy Doo, pulling off the rest of the costume and tossing it amongst the garbage.

"Well, let's think about this," suggested Lyra. "We should have guessed that Rarity made those costumes, being the 'high and mighty queen of fashion'."

"And it's certainly no coincidence that Mare Do Well came along after Rainbow Dash started saving lives," Sweetie Drops added on. "Ugh, how could we have been so blind! Mare Do Well didn't just show up to be a hero just cause accidents were happening all over Ponyville! She came here targeting Rainbow Dash to succeed in ousting her!"

"Also," said Amethyst Star. "We might not have noticed, but Twilight Sparkle and her friends were the only ponies not happy with Rainbow Dash being a hero. They just thought she was being big-headed."

"It all adds up!" concluded Mayor Mare, joining her fellow ponies in getting rid of Mare Do Well stuff. "Twilight and her friends created Mare Do Well because they wanted Rainbow Dash to stop! And we didn't have a problem with her! She was helping save lives! And we... turned away from her. But I guess that's the problem with us and praising heroes. A new one comes in and that hero gets all the attention. That's how Twilight Sparkle easily deceived us all!" The other three ponies sighed. "To think..." the mayor went on. "I once gave Applejack the Pony of Ponyville Award for her dependability and named Twilight Sparkle the All-Team Organizer for our Winter Wrap-Ups. We can count on them to help other ponies, but I guess maybe they just can't help themselves. And now their infighting is costing them their friendships." The Cutie Mark Crusaders were nearby, having listened in on everything.

"Does this mean we'll never see our sisters again?" asked a teary-eyed Sweetie Belle to Apple Bloom.

"Ah hope not," said Apple Bloom, sniffling and wiping her nose with her hoof. "Ah had no idea things were that bad." They then heard Amethyst Star speak up.

"By the way," she said. "Speaking of Rainbow Dash, has anypony seen her?"

"What?" said Scootaloo, who heard her.

"I'm afraid I haven't," answered Lyra. "Come to think of it, I don't think anypony has seen her all day."

"That's too bad," sighed Amethyst Star. "I really wanted to apologize to her. She wasn't doing favors because she wanted the attention. Well, maybe she did, a little, but I think she just wanted to help others."

"Rainbow Dash is missing?!" cried Scootaloo to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "Oh, no! Where is she! I gotta find her!" And she dashed off to look for her would-be sister. "Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash, where are you?!"

Thirty Days

~ Day 3 ~

The Cutie Mark Crusaders met up at their clubhouse, each of them greatly saddened that the ponies they loved would not likely be returning to Ponyville anytime soon.

"Ah still don't get it," said Apple Bloom. "Mare Do Well happened months ago. How could it still be so bad now?"

"I still did the stupidest thing ever," said Scootaloo. "I gave up on Rainbow Dash as my hero. And I haven't forgiven myself since."

"Rarity always used to say to me that forgiving one's self is one of the hardest things to do," assured Sweetie Belle. "You could always talk to Rainbow Dash. She must be so lonely without her friends. I'm sure she'll listen to you."

"I couldn't find her anywhere!" replied Scootaloo. "I looked everywhere in Ponyville! I looked yesterday and I looked today! Nopony knows where she is!"

"Her friends would know," sighed Apple Bloom. "But they're gone. And who knows how long Ponyville will last without them."

"Most of the ponies are still upset that they were played," added Sweetie Belle. "But I'm sure it won't be long before they realize that their services are needed here."

"Ah can't bear to think of them wherever they are, sufferin' for whatever punishment the princess has dished out," mourned Apple Bloom.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Rainbow Dash had crept to the Golden Oaks library, knowing that Twilight was no longer there. But Spike was. Rainbow Dash peered into the window and saw the little dragon curled up in a fetal position and lying in a puddle of his own tears. It broke Rainbow's heart to see Spike in such condition, so she went to knock on the front door.

"Spike, it's me, Rainbow Dash!" she called. Spike stopped crying instantly, surprised that Rainbow would come.

"Rainbow?" he murmured, and went to answer the door. When he did, Rainbow trotted in.

"Spike, I'm so sorry," she cried, hugging the purple dragon as he started crying again.

"She's gone, Rainbow," Spike sobbed. "She's gone... I can't work without her... I can't do anything without her."

"I heard that the mayor is gonna hire a new librarian to work here."

"It won't be the same. I can't stand not working with Twilight. She means everything to me! What am I gonna do?"

"Why don't you go to Canterlot and try to reason with the princess?" suggested Rainbow.

"It won't do me any good," cried Spike. "The princess can be very strict sometimes. And she was so mad at Twilight and her friends."

"I think it's at least worth a try." That's when Spike suddenly belched up a letter from Princess Celestia. "Oh, man! What does the princess have to say now?" Spike read the letter and gasped.

"Thirty days?!" he cried.

"What?" said Rainbow, not completely understanding.

"They're gonna be gone for thirty days! Starting today!" Rainbow's eyes flooded with tears.

"My poor friends..." she whimpered.

Down at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack's family must have received word about Spike's letter as well because Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, and Apple Bloom were all in a state of moping.

"Our li'l Applejack's really gonna be gone for thirty days tops," moaned Granny Smith. "Our here farm just won't be the same without her."

"It's bad enough that ah don't have mah cutie mark," said Apple Bloom. "But now ah'm gonna be without a sister for thirty days!"

"Eeyup," said Big Mac sadly. They looked on in sad silence for a whole minute.

"Well, ah think it's best that we just get back to work," said Granny Smith, breaking the silence. "Of course, without Applejack, business is gonna be slow, ah reckon."

Sweetie Belle was peering into the window of the Carousel Boutique, so sad that Rarity was no longer there. Of course, there was a notice saying when the doors would reopen, but thirty days would be such a long time to wait, even more so for Sweetie Belle to be without a sister.

"Maybe, maybe I'll try the Sisterhoof Social without a sister! In fact, I think I'll try the rest of my life without a sister!"

Sweetie Belle started to cry.

"I didn't mean it, Rarity," she sobbed. "I don't wanna be without a sister ever again! I love you!" And she collapsed to the soft ground, crying.

Fluttershy's cottage was now deserted and all the animals she used to look after were sad, scared, and unsure of what to do without their beloved caretaker. Angel poked his head out of his little house, but found no food for him. None of the animals were positive if they would be able to forge for themselves, especially for thirty days straight. Angel thought back to all the horrible things he committed, even to his owner, Fluttershy, and cried. As if things weren't bad enough, hungry Timberwolves began to look on from the edge of the Everfree Forest, lying in wait...

And finally, at the Sugarcube Corner, Carrot Cake and Cup Cake were bustling and struggling to finish a huge order trying to do the work of three ponies. With Pinkie Pie to be absent for thirty days, they had no helping hoof to help with catering or any baking whatsoever. Like with Sweet Apple Acres, business at the Sugarcube Corner would be slower without Pinkie Pie. And although Applejack would have made a fine substitute, she would not be present for the next thirty days either.

"I don't see how you could be missing her," said Minuette. "Pinkie Pie and the others set up to believe some fake hero was better than Rainbow Dash."

"Well, yes..." stammered Mr. Cake. "But..."

"But that doesn't mean that Ponyville is better off without them," finished Mrs. Cake. Minuette thought about that.

"Yeah... you're right. Without Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres, business will be slower. And without Pinkie Pie, business may just end up trudging here as well."

"And without Pinkie Pie, how are we gonna remember to smile every now and then?" wailed Lily Valley. "The horror, the horror!"

"Oh, we can't just wish those ponies gone from our lives!" said Daisy.

"We've practically come to depend on them!" added Rose.

"Okay, I'm convinced," said Minuette. "Thirty days is too much... but... we'll somehow have to manage without them. They are under the watchful eye of... Princess Celestia! The ruler of all Equestria! And we dare not trifle with her." Rainbow Dash had been listening in from outside the whole time. Being without her friends for thirty whole days was too much for her to bear. So she took off into the sky and quickly flew straight home. Once inside, she jumped onto her bed and cried into her pillow.

It's the Hard Knock Life

~ Day 4 ~

It was second day of toiling community service for Twilight and her friends. They had to put up with the snobby, rich, and sophisticated ponies of Canterlot, who demanded one hundred percent perfection. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity alone had it rough, not being able to use magic or wings to make things easier. And although Applejack was no stranger to hard work, putting up with the sophisticated Canterlot ponies was making her terribly irate. Even Pinkie Pie lost sight of trying to have fun from listening to the constant yammering of rich ponies, mostly having demanded her to stop dancing around.

Twilight had to scrub and polish a giant golden statue of Princess Celestia, using only her hooves without her magical horn. It was bad enough to not be able to use magic, but she also had to put up with constant criticism from wealthy Canterlot ponies, who expected absolute perfection, even from a Ponyville ruffian.

"You're not using enough elbow grease," said Jet Set. "That statue is supposed to sparkle and shine, just like our grand, magnificent leader."

"That's easy for you to say," grumbled Twilight. "In case you didn't know, I can't use any of my magic to help."

"Well, who made you Celestia's prized pupil?" sneered Upper Crust. And both the rich ponies walked away, their noses in the air. Twilight immediately broke down.

"It's no good," she sobbed. "I can't put up with this any longer. It's too much."

"Come on, Twilight," said a unicorn guard supervising her. Yet he didn't sound harsh at all like the princess. "You've gotta keep at this. Princess Celestia says it's for your own good."

"Yes, but does that mean listening to those awful Canterlot ponies?" Twilight cried. "They think I'm nothing!" The guard patted her on the back.

"It'll be all right, Twilight," he said, trying to sound even the least bit sympathetic. "Just pull yourself together. I'll give you five minutes."

Both Applejack and Pinkie were working in a fancy kitchen alongside Canterlot ponies. But despite them both working their hooves off, the snobby, sophisticated bunch continued to criticize their skills, mainly because they were from Ponyville and believed such bakery could not match up to the pride of Canterlot.

"The Grand Galloping Gala will be hosting this bake sale," declared a Canterlot unicorn. "Therefore, each and every baked good must be perfected."

"Pinkie and ah are the finest bakers in Ponyville," retorted Applejack. "Ah think you'll be fortunate that we're helping y'all."

"Bleeeaaaach!" Another Canterlot unicorn starting sputtering on a nicely-baked apple fritter Applejack had previously prepared. "What's... in this?!"

"Oh, fer cryin' out loud," steamed Applejack. "Ah followed yer recipe exactly! What in tarnation is wrong now?!"

"This stuff tastes like... commoner's filth!"

"Well, no wonder we can't our baked goods exactly right," snorted the first unicorn. "Of all the bakers to lend their hooves, we get stuck with lowly, uncouth Ponyville misfits!" Applejack looked ready to explode, while Pinkie's curly mane and tail deflated.

"We have a right to complain to the princess herself for your atrocious baking!" snarled the second unicorn, and both of them walked away in a huff. Pinkie Pie let loose with a stream of tears.

"It's not fair!" she cried. "We're stuck here doing work for ponies who don't even care!" As Pinkie bawled loudly, Applejack threw her hooves around her.

"Aw, Pinkie Pie," she murmured. "Ah admit, this is gettin' too rough. We gotta find a way outta this. Ah still can't believe the princess herself would do this to us... all because of a... cowardly act we pulled on poor Rainbow..."

Fluttershy's part in community service seemed to be more forgiving. She was helping Fancypants, the most influential pony in Canterlot, tidy up the castle courtyard to prepare for an upcoming garden party. As Fluttershy worked hard, garden critters continued to admire her presence and occasionally gathered around.

"Fluttershy, I must say you have a natural talent with animals," said Fancypants. "I am most impressed."

"Oh, yes," agreed Fluttershy. "I love taking care of animals. It's what I do."

"And these animals... you can talk to them and understand what they're saying, yes?"

"Absolutely." That's when an unpleasant feeling crossed her mind. Her own animals back at her cottage were no longer under her care. She sighed. "Um... Fancypants?"

"Mm? What is it, my dear?"

"I think thirty days here is a bit too much. I hate to think of my poor little animal friends back home. They have nopony to take care of them."

"I see. And you don't think anypony else from Ponyville is capable of handling your job?"

"Oh, I don't wish to doubt anypony. It's just that the animals love and understand me. I'm not sure how they'd be able to cope with anypony else." She then sniffled. "Oh... Oh, poor Angel... All alone..." She whimpered and cried.

"There, there, my dear," said Fancypants, attempting to comfort Fluttershy. "I'm sure that in the long run, things will all work out."

"My beautiful coat! It is wrinkled! Fix it!" A tall white stallion, sitting in a comfortable chair, chucked his small black jacket at Rarity, which landed on her face, infuriating her. The indignity! Of all the community service to be done in Canterlot, she had been assigned a position of servitude to the royal Prince Blueblood, the snobby, selfish, stuck-up mare that Rarity developed an animosity for during their first date. Rarity slapped the jacket onto an ironing board and proceeded to iron it. "Be more gentle! My coat is very sensitive. I don't want any rips in it." Rarity was having the most trouble keeping her temper under control, but who could blame her? But during ironing, she heard another complaint from Blueblood. "Hey! Where's my pedicure?" This distracted her, causing the hot iron to make contact with one of her front hooves. Rarity shrieked as her hoof jerked away in the searing pain that followed. She clutched her pained hoof, which now had a tint of red on its end as a result of getting burned. "If you're going to take a break, would you at least get me a drink, my dear?" said Blueblood, not seeming to care or notice Rarity's misfortune. Apparently, he just wanted to be pampered every minute. "Make it a tall Scotch." Rarity's face went red with rage and steam came out of her ears. That's when one of the royal guards supervising her held up a bucket of water with his magic. Rarity quickly doused her burnt hoof in it and winced in pain. "Why does service have to be so slow?" complained Blueblood. "Could've picked a better unicorn."

"That's enough, Your Highness," said a Pegasus guard. "These ponies are here under the supervision of Princess Celestia. And she has requested that her fellow ponies should be more cooperative and considerate." But this only earned the guard a frown from Blueblood. A unicorn guard returned Blueblood's jacket to him, but when Blueblood cleared his throat, the guard rolled his eyes and used magic to slip the jacket on him.

"Come, Your Highness," said the guard, escorting Blueblood from the room. The moment they left, Rarity broke down into a state of hysteria.

"Oh, why me, why me?!" she sobbed. "Of all the community service for Canterlot, I get stuck being a slave to the pony I despise!" Rarity wailed so loudly, that two guards had to go over and try to calm her down. "This is the worst possible thing that could happen to me! I've never been so miserable in all my life!" The guards were now worried about Rarity, giving each other nervous glances as if she was suffering from a mental breakdown.

After community service for the day was done, the five ponies were escorted back to their rooms. Apparently, Princess Celestia had assigned each of them to separate rooms as a means to up their punishments and had two guards each assigned to watch the rooms. But after two days of community service, each of the guards ended up listening to the ponies they were watching over crying from inside their rooms. Pinkie Pie and Rarity were wailing the loudest. The guards thought to themselves that Celestia's punishment had been taken a shade too far, or perhaps the ponies were just getting unlucky being stuck with the stuck-ups. But they ultimately decided not to question their princess, believing that it was taking a while for her to get over how mad she was with her subjects who bore the Elements of Harmony. All in all, it had been a miserable day for Twilight and her friends, save Fluttershy who was crying only because she was afraid that her beloved animal friends back in Ponyville would be lost without her, including her pet bunny Angel. When it was 9:30 at night, the five ponies eventually cried themselves to sleep. For many days to come, tomorrow would be another hard day.

Let My Ponies Go

~ Day 5 ~

The area around Fluttershy's cottage was now dilapidated with no more animals. Even the inside of the cottage was bare. From outside a window, a shadow of a Timberwolf peered in, growling...

Back at Rainbow Dash's house, Rainbow was still in bed. Her face was tear-stained and her cheeks were red as a result of her crying for an apparently long period of time. Tank, her pet tortoise, crawled onto the bed and tried to sympathize with his owner. Rainbow pulled him in close and hugged him tight.

"Oh, Tank," she murmured.

Back at Canterlot, Celestia was sitting on her throne when a royal guard came in and respectfully bowed, removing his helmet in her presence.

"Your Highness," he said to her. "Some of the ponies have begun to complain about the community service." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "They are saying it's because their new helpers are from Ponyville," the guard went on. "They believe that the quality of community service has been degraded."

"What?" said Celestia. "That can't be. I know the work must be hard for my subjects, but... I know they're better than this." She put a hoof to her chin in thought. "Send in one of the bakers to see me if they have a complaint."

"Yes, Your Highness." A few moments later, one of the Canterlot bakers rushed in with a tray of apple fritters, the specialty of Applejack from her latest family reunion.

"These things are commoner's filth!" said the baker. "We can't sell these at our charity bake sale!" Celestia used her magic to bring one of the apple fritters to her and sampled it herself. To the baker's surprise, Celestia found it very delicious and ended up eating the whole fritter.

"Mm... It tastes fine to me," said Celestia. "What's the problem?"

"What's the problem?! It lacks the genuine quality of the pride of Canterlot! And you've hired Ponyville scoundrels to help with our work!" Celestia was practically insulted.

"That's no way to talk to my subjects!" she snapped. "I may have assigned them to community service, but you're not making things any easier for them! They do wonderful work and you're not giving them any credit! Now get out!" Furious, the baker slammed his tray of apple fritters on the ground and walked out. Celestia took a deep breath to try to calm down. "This isn't how I was hoping things would go." She then proceed to write a letter.

Meanwhile, at the Sugarcube Corner, Granny Smith and Spike were babysitting Pound and Pumpkin Cake, but the little foals had been crying nonstop. And even when Mr. and Mrs. Cake came back, they were still bawling their eyes out.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Spike.

"They haven't stopped crying since Pinkie Pie was taken away," said Mr. Cake.

"They miss her," said Mrs. Cake sadly. "Spike, you and Granny Smith have done enough for one day. We'll take things from here."

"Okay," said Spike dejectedly, as he and Granny Smith left. No sooner did Spike leave than he belched up a letter from Princess Celestia. "The princess?" He read the letter and gasped.

Back at Canterlot, the guards were escorting a crying Fluttershy to Princess Celestia's throne room. Celestia gasped seeing the Pegasus breaking down.

"Oh no, what happened?" she asked the guards.

"The citizens accused Fluttershy of being uncivilized for communicating and interacting with the garden animals. One of them called her... a freak. She wasn't able to get any work done." Celestia actually did a face-hoof as Fluttershy cried even louder over being reminded of such an insult.

"What in the name of Equestria is wrong with them?" She then came over to Fluttershy and comforted her by wrapping her wing around her. "Shhh... There, there, Fluttershy. I'm so sorry things aren't going well. I didn't intend for this to happen. You're not a freak and you know it." She then looked up at her guards. "Escort Fluttershy to her room, please," she said to them. "She can have the rest of the day off."

"Yes, Your Highness," said an earth pony guard, who proceeded to lead Fluttershy out of the throne room.

"Oh, and tomorrow, I'd like you to take her home."

"To Ponyville? Are you sure?"

"Yes," answered Celestia. "It pains me to admit this, but my people here in Canterlot are behaving far worse than I could have imagined. I wanted all the ponies to help each other out, but things just haven't been going too well. I think it's best if Fluttershy leaves for Ponyville tomorrow."

"As you wish, Your Highness." The guard then escorted the still sobbing Fluttershy to her room. Celestia sighed.

"What about the others?" asked a Pegasus guard.

"I'll think about that," answered Celestia. That's when Spike barged into the throne room. He ran right up to Celestia and stopped to catch his breath.

"I... came as soon as I could..." he panted.

"Ah, Spike," said Celestia. "I'm glad you're here. Come with me."

"I haven't seen Rainbow Dash for days!" wailed Scootaloo. "And it's all my fault!" Scootaloo had been pacing around inside the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse.

"Now what in the hay would make ya think that?" asked Apple Bloom.

"I told you! When Mare Do Well came along, I saw her as the new hero in town in favor of Rainbow. I even invited Rainbow to come and witness her first public appearance! And Mare Do Well turned out to be her friends in disguise this whole time! I was played for a dupe!"

"That was months ago!" insisted Sweetie Belle. "You can't say that Rainbow hasn't gotten over it!"

"I haven't!" said Scootaloo. "I can't even begin to forgive myself! You have no idea how much it hurts me!"

"If ya feel that bad about it, why don't ya pay her a visit?" suggested Apple Bloom.

"And how do you think I can do that?" said Scootaloo, now disgusted. "In case you forgot, I can't fly!" She stomped her hoof.

"Don't worry, Scootaloo," said Sweetie Belle, putting her front hoof around Scootaloo's shoulder. "We're your best friends and we're gonna help you in whatever way we can! Don't forget, we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

"To the end!" declared Apple Bloom. Scootaloo smiled warmly.

Back inside Celestia's castle, Twilight was miserably working on her friendship letter in her assigned room. Without her magic horn, she ended up having to use her mouth to hold her quill while writing, which wasn't working out too well for her, as her words were coming out a bit sloppy. She eventually spat out the quill and broke down into tears, but then she heard the door open. When she saw that it was Princess Celestia, her lip quivered as more tears fell from her eyes. But Celestia seemed to know just what to say.

"My faithful student," she said to Twilight, causing her to immediately stop crying. Celestia gave Twilight a small nuzzle. "Twilight Sparkle, I underestimated those Canterlot ponies. I did not think they would behave this way towards you and your friends." But this was not much of any comfort to Twilight, so Celestia went on. "But this doesn't change you and her friends being wrong for what you did to Miss Rainbow Dash. However, it seems that I need to make amends for how my people have treated you." She then had a look at Twilight's friendship letter as it had been written so far. She softly chuckled upon seeing that Twilight's writing was a bit messy without magic. "I see how important magic is to you, seeing as it's all you've ever really studied. Well, it has been a huge part of my teachings, to learn how to control raw magical power. Tell you what..." Celestia then brought Twilight's horn back to her surprise. "Rewrite what you have so far and then you can go." Twilight's mouth opened in even more surprise.

"Go?" she asked. "You mean, back home?"

"Yes," answered Celestia, smiling warmly. "To Ponyville. Do what you can and I will send you and Fluttershy back tomorrow. I'd say you and your friends have learned an important lesson already." Twilight nodded.

"Speaking of, what about Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie? Can they come home too?"

"They will in time," assured Celestia. "However, I wish to speak to each of them individually first."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Twilight. My mind's made up. I think you and your friends are better off doing community service in Ponyville." Celestia then left the room, but then she seemed to be talking to someone else outside. "You can go in now." And that someone else was Spike, who rushed towards Twilight with his arms outstretched.

"Twilight!" he said.

"Oh, Spike!" sobbed Twilight, getting a big hug from her number one assistant. "I missed you!" Both of them cried.

Someday Soon

~ Day 6 ~

"There! That's her house up there!" Scootaloo led Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to the cloud where Rainbow's house was. "I may not be able to fly, but I'm still a Pegasus! So I can walk on clouds! All I need to do is somehow get up on that cloud."

"Sounds like this is a job for..." started Apple Bloom, then joined in by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. "...Cutie Mark Crusaders catapult builders!" So the three of them dashed back to Sweet Apple Acres to look for building materials.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she sat all alone in her room, still in bed. The past few days had been hard for her ever since she came to realize her closest friends would not be returning the next morning or the morning after, or so she thought. She turned her head and gazed at a framed photo of the six of them in a group hug at Sugarcube Corner.

"What we're trying to say is, it's great to be really good at something, but it's important to act with grace and humility."

"What were you thinking, Twilight Sparkle?!"

"But Rainbow Dash had to stop! Her bragging was out of control!"

"And you honestly thought this was the answer?! All you did was create a friendship problem, and after I warned you not to! I'm very disappointed."

"We're sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Hmph. Well, you'll have plenty of time to think about how sorry you are... once I hand out your punishments!"

"But... I didn't think-"

"You should have. This is what happens when you fail to think twice before your actions. This time, you will have a lot to think about... my former student."

Fluttershy, Twilight, and a unicorn royal guard stepped off the train, arriving at the Ponyville train station.

"I'm glad Princess Celestia let us go early," said Fluttershy.

"And I'm still her most trusted student," said Twilight Sparkle proudly. "Now then, we have somepony to see." But on their way, they saw the practically crippled state of Fluttershy's cottage and gasped. Poor Fluttershy was about to cry, but she heard a monstrous roar and saw her beloved pet bunny Angel being chased by a hungry Timberwolf.

"Angel!" shrieked Fluttershy. Initially believing she was too weak to save Angel, she started to cry, but when she saw Angel moments away from being eaten, her inner courage broke out and she flew right into the Timberwolf, distracting it.

"You leave Angel Bunny alone!" Fluttershy hollered at the Timberwolf. "You monster!" The Timberwolf just roared in her face, spooking her at first, but she bit back. "Yes, that's right. I'm talking to you!!" And with that, she began to administer her signature stare, which actually began to intimidate the Timberwolf a bit. "Get out of here right now," she growled, continuing to fire her venomous look right into the Timberwolf's now spooked glowing eyes. "Otherwise," continued Fluttershy. "I won't feel bad about turning you into firewood!" The Timberwolf gave a yelp and ran away scared, back into the Everfree Forest from whence it came. Angel was so glad to be alive that he ran up and hugged Fluttershy. "I missed you, Angel," cried Fluttershy, as Twilight looked on happily.

Now holding the photo in her hooves, Rainbow Dash felt tears in her eyes, but she was not too cool to not wipe them away and pass it off as sweating through her eyes. She initially believed that their friendship was practically all but ruined as of now. Who knows how long her friends would be gone and stuck at Canterlot serving their punishment time. However, she did not know that at least Twilight and Fluttershy would soon come home.

"Well you, you, you are such a, a flip-flop - cool one minute and lame the next. When you decide not to be lame anymore, gimme a call."

"Look at you! You're no hero! Mare Do Well is the best!"

"Yeah, why did she disappear anyway? Did you help?"

"Something's been on my mind for months now... Did my friends do the right thing? Or were they just trying to make me look weak and helpless? I need to know."

"Twilight Sparkle..."

"Where are you taking my friends?"

"They will not humiliate you anymore."

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm teaching you a lesson... in friendship lessons!"

Just outside, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had prepared a small catapult, with Scootaloo sitting in the contraption. Hold on, Rainbow Dash, thought Scootaloo. I'm coming.

"Ready, aim, fire!" shouted Sweetie Belle, and she and Apple Bloom triggered the catapult, which successfully flung Scootaloo onto the cloud safely.

"Good luck, Scootaloo!" called Apple Bloom, both she and Sweetie Belle waving to her from below.

Poor Dash didn't even feel like reading any of those Daring Do books. She hugged the photo to her chest as tears streamed down her face.

"I thought things were gonna start so well that day," she murmured through her tears. "But I couldn't have been more wrong." And that's when she heard a knock on her door.

"Rainbow Dash?" said a small voice. "Are you okay? Can I come in?" Rainbow knew that voice all too well, so she put down the photo and answered the door. There was Scootaloo, with a sorrowful look in her eyes. "I'm so sorry I doubted you. Can we still be sisters?" Rainbow Dash smiled warmly and allowed Scootaloo to come into her home.

"Of course we can," said Rainbow Dash. "I'm glad you're here... Scootaloo." They both got on her bed and snuggled up together.

"If you look inside your heart, you will find somepony who will always be there for you."

Now Rainbow Dash understood. Maybe... she thought. I can't be with my friends, but Princess Luna was right. At least I have somepony to confide in. Rainbow felt another tear in her eye.

"Hey... Scootaloo?" she said.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you... Thanks for being here for me."

"You're welcome. I'd do anything for you, Rainbow Dash." The two sisters stayed where they were, wrapped in each other's warm embrace on Rainbow's bed, enjoying their company and the bond they shared, the bond Scootaloo had always wanted.

Twilight and Fluttershy came to the cloud where Rainbow's house was. They both wondered if Rainbow was actually home and hoped she did not forget about them.

"Hey, Twi! Wait up!" Applejack suddenly came trotting to them along with Pinkie Pie and Rarity.

"Applejack!" cried Twilight. "Pinkie Pie! Rarity!" The five ponies shared a group hug before turning their attention upward to Rainbow's house.

"Do you think she's home?" asked Rarity.

"Do you think she'll ever forgive us?" asked Fluttershy.

"Do you think she'll even remember our names?!" asked Pinkie Pie, earning her an awkward look from the others.

"Well," said Twilight. "There's only one way to find out. Let's do this."

THE END

Somepony Like You

Rainbow Dash sighed as she sat all alone in her room, still in bed. The past few days had been hard for her ever since she came to realize her closest friends would not be returning the next morning or the morning after. She turned her head and gazed at a framed photo of the six of them in a group hug at Sugarcube Corner.

"What we're trying to say is, it's great to be really good at something, but it's important to act with grace and humility."

"What were you thinking, Twilight Sparkle?!"

"But Rainbow Dash had to stop! Her bragging was out of control!"

"And you honestly thought this was the answer?! All you did was create a friendship problem, and after I warned you not to! I'm very disappointed."

"We're sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Hmph. Well, you'll have plenty of time to think about how sorry you are... once I hand out your punishments!"

"But... I didn't think-"

"You should have. This is what happens when you fail to think twice before your actions. This time, you will have a lot to think about... my former student."

Now holding the photo in her hooves, Rainbow Dash felt tears in her eyes, but she was not too cool to not wipe them away and pass it off as sweating through her eyes. Their friendship was practically all but ruined as of now. Who knows how long her friends would be gone and stuck at Canterlot serving their punishment time.

"Well you, you, you are such a, a flip-flop - cool one minute and lame the next. When you decide not to be lame anymore, gimme a call."

"Look at you! You're no hero! Mare Do Well is the best!"

"Yeah, why did she disappear anyway? Did you help?"

"Something's been on my mind for months now... Did my friends do the right thing? Or were they just trying to make me look weak and helpless? I need to know."

"Twilight Sparkle..."

"Where are you taking my friends?"

"They will not humiliate you anymore."

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm teaching you a lesson... in friendship lessons!"

Poor Dash didn't even feel like reading any of those Daring Do books. She hugged the photo to her chest as tears streamed down her face.

"I thought things were gonna start so well that day," she murmured through her tears. "But I couldn't have been more wrong." And that's when she heard a knock on her door.

"Rainbow Dash?" said a small voice. "Are you okay? Can I come in?" Rainbow knew that voice all too well, so she put down the photo and answered the door. "I'm so sorry I doubted you. Can we still be sisters?"