Tornado Fighter Dash

Thick black storm clouds filled the sky above Ponyville. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, the sound echoing until it became lost to the sounds of the storm. Thick drops of rain fell in heavy sheets, nearly traveling horizontally from the force of the wind.

The weather had called for a massive storm. Strong winds and heavy rain was supposed to last through out most of the night. It was strongly recommended that any and all ponies should stay inside to keep safe and warm until the storm was finished, which was to be just before sunrise.

At the Ponyville library, Rainbow Dash sat beside one of the windows. She had her hind legs resting on top of Tank's shell (his propeller removed for the moment so he did not fly around the library) and held a book on her stomach. As she read, she kept one ear on the storm, listening to keep track of it.

As one of the town's weather ponies, it was part of her job to help create the weather that is scheduled for the day, be it a clear sunny day, a light rain, or a heavy storm such as tonight. It was also part of her job to help keep track of the weather in case something unexpected should happen. That was one of the reasons she was staying at the library instead of at her house. Living in the clouds, she would actually be above the storm and unable to see what was happening. Another was that it was a building that was easily recognized, so if anything happened, the pegasus on duty at the weather station would know exactly where to find her.

The silence in the library was interrupted by the sound of hooves coming down the stairs. Dash was soon by Twilight Sparkle with Spike close behind her. The purple unicorn turned alicorn walked over to her friend.

"Are you enjoying the book?" she asked.

"Meh," Dash gave a shrug as she responded, "It's not bad. Not as good as Daring Do, though."

"Well at least you're giving it a chance. I was just coming down to grab a quick snack. You want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good." Rainbow Dash gave Twilight a wave of her hoof and continued to read. The purple alicorn looked at her friend a moment, still surprised how much the athletic pegasus had gotten into books.

"Okay, egghead," she said with a grin, "well if you change your mind, help yourself. That is, if you can put your book down long enough." Laughing to herself, she turned and walked toward the kitchen.

"Oh ha ha!" Rainbow Dash shouted with a roll of her eyes. She watched her friend go to the kitchen, still chuckling, before returning her attention to her book. Twilight was heading back up the steps when a knock came at the door.

"Who would be out in this weather?" Twilight asked as she started for the door.

"I'll get it," Dash said as she set her book down. She quickly rolled over and flew to the door. After landing, she took a hold of the knob and pulled it open. Standing on the other side was a yellow pegasus with a teal tinted mane.

"What's wrong, Raindrop?" Rainbow asked. Raindrop was supposed to be on duty at the weather station, monitoring the storm. The only reason she would ever leave her post was if there was some sort of emergency.

"We got a report that there is a tornado forming in The Everfree Forest," she responded. "We're guessing that it's going to move toward Ponyville, starting with Fluttershy's-" Raindrop did not get any further in her statement. As soon as she had started to say "Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash was off in a rainbow colored streak.

Reaching the meadow between Fluttershy's house and the rest of Ponyville, Rainbow Dash could see the whirling black cyclone of wind and clouds. As the report had predicted, the tornado was leaving The Everfree Forest and would be heading toward Ponyville shortly. While Dash could not be certain, it could very well hit the hut that Fluttershy called home, not only injuring the yellow pegasus, but some of the animals she took care of.

Worried about her friend, Rainbow Dash headed for the tornado. As part of her training as a weather pony, she knew the protocols for dealing with such an event. None of the other pegasus ponies on the weather team had arrived to help yet. If she had stopped to think about it, Rainbow Dash would know that it would be better to wait for assistance. She still would not have done so. A pony was in trouble, a friend no less, and nothing would stop her from doing what she could to help.

Rainbow Dash flew directly at the tornado. Without realizing it, she watched the wind to figure out the direction and speed. Making her way into the whirlwind, she began to move in the opposite direction of the funnel. The blast of wind and debris forced the sky blue pegasus to squint as she pushed forward. Made her wish she had brought her goggles with her. She had to keep her eyes open though. Not only was it important to avoid any obstacles that would come flying at her, but she would need to be able to adjust with the movement of the tornado as well. The sound of the wind howling past filled her rears, rendering her deaf to any other sounds. Even the the boom of the thunder was rendered mute at the moment.

Clenching her jaw, she pushed herself forward hard, driving herself to fly as fast as she could. Every ounce of energy she had, she put into forcing herself against the wind, shifting as little as possible to avoid any obstacles, curving to follow the the curve of the cyclone. Her wings worked harder than normal, adjusting for as many of the numerous wind currents while still keeping the pegasus moving forward.

It was almost a relief when she saw the fading edge of her own contrail. She knew she had to have finished several revolutions by now, but with the winds and debris, there was no reference point to figure when or how many. By seeing it, not only did Rainbow Dash know she was making the full circles, but more importantly it meant she was now going fast enough to catch up with the trail before it was able to fade from sight. She would never be able to do a Sonic Rainboom (although the burst of energy and speed would probably help stop the tornado), and she would not be able to stop the tornado on her own (a fact she would not want to admit), but maybe she could slow it down enough that the others could arrive and help, or somehow slow it down so that Fluttershy could get somewhere safe with the animals.

The world suddenly turned a bright white in front of Rainbow Dash's eyes. There was a single, loud, BOOM! before everything turned silent. She felt..something. She felt something hit one of her wings. But she could not feel them now. She couldn't feel...anything. Her body refused to move. For a moment, the white turned a beautiful shade of glowing purple before fading into blackness.

I've got you, Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash?

Oh, dear Celestia...

A Hospital Bed Awakening

Rainbow Dash, the newest captain of The Wonderbolts, stood in front of her team, grinning widely and waving at the crowd. This was so exciting. Now, after three years on the team, she was the captain. Not only was she performing her first show with the new rank, but she was actually performing it in Ponyville of all places (awesomest weather pony in Ponyville).

Looking out at the crowd filled her with greater excitement as she saw her friends in the front row. Twilight Sparkle ("Nurse! We need medical attention here!") sat there, watching calmly from her spot. Fluttershy ("Oh dear. What happened?) sat beside her, barely peeking over the railing, with Rarity on the other side in sunglasses and some overly expensive hat on her head. Further down were Scootaloo ("what are you doing here?") and Pinkie Pie, practically bouncing on the rails and ready to jump off and run toward her. If not for the fact they were being held back by the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Applejack ("You can't see her now, sugar cube. They have to take her into surgery"). The two of them probably would have too. Scootaloo had been Dash's biggest fan "since forever" according to the orange pegasus, and Pinkie Pie was an impossible pink party pony who just happy for everyone to be happy.

"Alright team," she shouted, "Let's get to work ('It's too damaged. We're going to have to amputate.") and show these ponies what a Wonderbolt can do ('We've done all we can. I'm sorry.')!" After pulling her goggles (I should have brought me goggles) down and adjusting them, she took off, quickly followed by her teammates.

Dash flew across the field, the other four quickly falling into position on each side of her. As they five of them reached the end, they pulled up. The other four pulled away while Rainbow Dash continued up toward the clear blue sky (heavy black clouds. Everything turning white).

Arcing backwards a moment, she turned in mid-air and flew down toward the ground. Counting off the seconds she pulled up and straightened out. The timing had been perfect. She flew out the library door (Twilight? "I've got you Rainbow Dash") and past Raindrop ("There's a tornado"). The crowd cheered from from the stands as she flew past, leaving a rainbow trail through the rain-filled sky.

She continued across the field, heading toward Fluttershy's hut (She'd never leave those stupid animals in weather like this). As she circled it (go against the wind), she wondered where the other Weatherbolts had gotten off to. As much as she hated to admit it, she could not do this alone. She needed help (need medical attention).

Her muscles started to ache (Everything hurts. Everything's numb.) as she turned to fly toward the tornado. It glared down at her with glowing red eyes, baring its sharp rock teeth. Reaching out with its arms, it started to grab chunks of the ground and throw it at the pegasus. She was able to dodge them with ease.

"You can't hit me you bag of wind!" she shouted, "I'm the best flyer in all of Equestria ('She will never fly again)!"

With a roar of frustration, the monster reached up and ripped a lightning bolt from the sky. Snarling, it threw the bolt at Rainbow Dash. Her eyes went wide as she saw it coming. Her body tensed, but refused to respond.

Everything turned bright white.

Everything went black.

Everything hurt. Rainbow Dash mentally reminded herself to be more careful next time she practiced. When was the last time she had something to drink? Her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton and her tongue stuck to the roof. She tried to open her mouth and work up some saliva to free her tongue. It seemed easier than opening her eyes.

"I think she's waking up," a voice said. It sounded familiar. Summoning up the strength and will, she forced her eyes open. It was an annoyingly slow process, and everything was bright and blurry when finished. She stared up at the ceiling, waiting for her eyes to focus.

As she was able to see clearly, she realized that this was not her bedroom. She let out a groan as she realized that she recognized the ceiling she had been staring at. She had been in the hospital often to recognize the room from practically any angle.

Slowly she moved to sit out, letting out a groan of pain. Not only did every muscle in her body ache, but the movement gave her a sense of dizziness and made her stomach churn. She had to close her eyes again, rubbing a hoof against the side of her forehead as she waited for the nausea to pass.

Feeling settled, she opened her eyes and looked around, seeing her friends surrounding the hospital bed. Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy were the closest to her, one of them on each side. Twilight was focused on Rainbow Dash while Fluttershy turned to stare at the floor when looked at. Next were Applejack and Rarity. Applejack looking out from under hat which was pulled lower to her eyes than usual, and Rarity chewing her lip. At the foot of the bed stood Pinkie Pie, front hooves propped on the baseboard. The pink pony smiled, but wasn't grinning, and something about her mane seemed less puffy.

"How ya' feelin', Sugar cube?" Applejack asked, breaking the silence.

"Like I got hit by a wagon," Rainbow Dash groaned, rubbing her head again. "What happened?"

"What happened," Twilight snapped, just short of yelling, "was that you flew out into a terrible storm and tried to take on a tornado by yourself! What were you thinking, Rainbow Dash?! You-"

"I!" Dash shouted, cutting her friend off, "was thinking that it's my job as to deal with the weather, like the tornado. I was thinking that I could slow it down until the rest of the team arrived to disperse it I was thinking that if I didn't do something, a lot of ponies, including Fluttershy, would have gotten hurt." She glared at the Twilight until the purple alicorn looked away.

"You're right," she said softly, "I'm sorry."

"It's not like I haven't been in here before, Twi." Dash gave a wave of her hoof at her friend and turned to look at all five. "So how bad is it? A twist?" All her friends looked down and away, not saying anything. "A sprain?" They continued to look away, Rarity chewing her lip and Fluttershy hiding behind her hair. "A break?"

"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash," Twilight Sparkle you repeated. The bed-ridden pony turned to her friend again, blinking in confusion.

"You said that already. I told you, I'm not mad at you."

"Not that. It's just... well..."

"Rainbow Dash," Rarity spoke up, "What precisely is that last thing you remember?" Rainbow Dash looked from Twilight to the white unicorn, tilting her head a moment. Closing her eyes, the sky blue pegasus took a deep breath and tried to remember.

" I was in the tornado," she said, "flying in the opposite direction of the wind. I was starting to go fast enough to catch up with my rainbow trail. I remember wondering what was taking the others so long. All of a sudden, everything went white, and I couldn't move." Her brow furrowed and eyes squeezed tighter. "I... I think I heard Twilight's voice saying something." She opened her eyes and looked at the others again. None of them met her gaze.

"You did hear my voice," Twilight finally said. She took a deep breath. "I got there the same as the rest of the weather team. We arrived just in time to see you thrown from the tornado. I was able to catch you with my magic, but..." She stared at the floor, licking her lips.

"But?" Rainbow Dash repeated, looking at her friend.

"The doctors believe that you were struck by lightning," Fluttershy continued, "They said that it was a miracle you survived. But... your... wing... uh..." She crouched down, turning to hide her face behind her pink mane.

"I'm afraid your wing was too badly damaged," Rarity said, "They had no choice but to amputate it."

Rainbow Dash scrunched up her face as she looked at her friend. That didn't sound right. She knew the meaning of the word, and she understood each word individuality as they were said, but the sentence just did not make sense.

"What do you mean?" The pegasus felt a hoof touch hers and looked to find Twilight's resting on top of hers.

"The wing was where the lightning most likely struck," Twilight explained, "Everything was too damaged. They had no choice but to remove it."

Rainbow Dash looked at her friend, not saying anything. Her gaze drifted down to their touching hooves then slowly turned and looked up at all her friends. She looked from one of them to the other, scanning all their faces. A smile spread across her mouth as she let out a chuckle.

"Okay, guys. You got me. Very funny." She continued to laugh slightly, looking between them.

"We would never joke about something like this, Rainbow Dash," Pinkie Pie said. That was quite a surprise to Dash. Pinkie normally did not use full names unless she was being serious or was angry.

Anger was what Rainbow Dash was suddenly feeling. Her ears dropped back as she glared at her friends, crossing her forelegs across her chest.

"Well then you're wrong!" she shouted. "Somebody made a mistake. Because I do not have a wing missing. I'm going to be just fine! I'll be up and flying again in the next week. Just you wait and see. I'll show you all that my wings are just fine!"

The five friends stared at the bed-ridden pegasus, their faces all expressing the shock at the outburst of rage. Twilight Sparkle recovered first. Clearing her throat, she turned to the others.

"Maybe we should give Rainbow Dash a moment alone." She turned back to Rainbow Dash. "We'll be right outside the door if you need us." The others gave a nod and started turning toward the door. Each one walked out (even Pinkie, instead of her typical bouncing hops), turning to look back at their bed-ridden friend before moving out of sight. Twilight Sparkle stopped at the door, turned to give her friend a sad smile, then turned back and continued out the room.

Left alone, Rainbow Dash felt her anger fading, leaving a pang of guilt. It was not fair of her to lose her temper and yelling at her friends like that. They had at least been trying to break the news to her gently. It wasn't their fault that the doctors had been wrong. She had both her wings, after all... didn't she?

Turning her head, she looked at the right side of her body. A small sigh of relief escaped the pegasus as she saw the bulge of wing pinned against her body through the bandages. Turning her head around, she checked the other side. She scrunched her nose, staring at it.

Something didn't look right...

Slowly the realization sank in. The bandage was too flat to be covering her wing. It wasn't flat against her body because of the gauze and padding, but the entire area was too smooth to have anything bulging underneath them. She knew exactly where her wing was supposed to be, too. It was supposed to be right at the spot where... something... red...

"MY WING!" she shrieked out. "Dear Celestia, where's my wing?! I can't fly without my wing. I-I... I can't..." Her words were lost as she looked around. She grabbed at the top sheet, holding it tight against her. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she lost control of her breathing, starting to hyperventilate. Everything blurred as tears filled her eyes. Rainbow Dash shut them as tight as she could, trying to stop the flow. It did no good. Nothing would stop them now.

After a second (thought it seemed like longer), she felt the warmth of another pony against her as a pair of forelegs wrapped around her in a hug. The hug was soon joined by another, then a third, fourth, and finally a fifth. Her five closest friends were there, hugging her tightly, comforting her as best they could.

Rainbow Dash cried.

Brave Face for a Fan

Rainbow Dash laid in bed, staring out the hospital room's window. Her arms rested on her stomach, holding a book against her. It was a Daring Do adventure book. In fact, it was the same book she had read the last time she had been here. It was the same book that had been the first of the Daring Do books she had ever read, even if it wasn't actually the first in the series. It was that fact which had made it her favorite in the whole series.

She did not really feel like reading it.

In honesty, she really didn't feel like doing much of anything. After she finished crying and her friends had left, she felt exhausted, but couldn't get to sleep. Lunchtime had come and gone. She had gotten some food, but hadn't eaten. She didn't feel hungry. Well... that wasn't true. She was very hungry, starving in fact. But for some reason, eating didn't actually seem worth the effort. So her food had just sat there until someone took the tray. Some time after that (she had no idea how long, not bothering to keep track) the book cart came by. Dash had asked for the Daring Do book... but... When she looked at the cover, there was no real thrill in reading it. So it just ended up resting against her as she continued to stare out the window.

"Hey Rainbow Dash," a familiar voice said. Rainbow Dash's ear gave a twitch at the sound. She slowly turned to look at the door to her room. Standing there was a small purple and green dragon. He stood half behind the doorway, one hand gripping the frame as he leaned in.

"Hey Spike," Dash said, barely above a mumble. "Came to see me too, huh?"

"Yeah. I would have been here with the others when you woke up, but Twilight asked me to make sure someone didn't try to skip school to come see you." With that, he moved to the other side of the doorway, turning and raising an arm as though presenting someone.

An orange pegasus filly with magenta mane popped into view. She grinned widely, bouncing in place. The filly ran into the room and leapt at the bed. The small wings fluttered, trying to help the young pegasus fly before she landed. Before she even finished touching sheet, she ran toward Rainbow Dash, giving her a hug.

"You're okay! You're okay!" the filly squealed, hugging Dash as tightly as she could.

Rainbow Dash looked down at Scootaloo. The little filly was her biggest fan, though probably not physically. Dash had become a like a big sister to the young pegasus in all but blood at this point. Looking down at the smile, the last thing Dash wanted to do was make Scootaloo sad as well.

"Hey there squirt," she said with a smile and returned the hug. "'course I'm okay. It's gonna take more than a little tornado to stop me." She pushed the smaller pony away a little, using one of her hooves to ruffle the filly's mane. Scootaloo let out a little laugh as her head was rubbed.

"I was so scared," Scootaloo said. "I saw miss Twilight running through town and carrying you magically. By the time I caught up, she was at the hospital and someone said you had to go into sur.. shur... suh... That they had to operate. After waiting FOREVER, someone came out and said that they had to... uhm... amp... aplu... amphu... some really weird word I don't know. I tried to ask what it meant, but no one would tell me. Then Miss Twilight had Pinkie walk me home because it was really late and I should be in bed. And when I got up, Spike was waiting with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to make sure I went to school instead of skipping to come see you."

"Wow!" Rainbow Dash grinned. "Sounds like you had a busier night than I did. I got to sleep through the whole thing."

"So, you're really okay?" Scootaloo tilted her head as she asked, raising one of her eyebrows.

"Come on, squirt. Who's the best athlete in Ponyville?"

"Rainbow Dash."

"Who is the best big sister a filly could ask for"

"Rainbow Dash!"

"Who not only has one of The Elements of Harmony, but one that guarantees she will always stick by you?"

"RAINBOW DASH!!" Scootaloo shouted, as did Spike. The sound of the young dragon got the attention of both of the pegasi. Spike looked at them as he gave a nervous chuckle.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "Guess I got carried away in the excitement."

"It's cool Spike," Rainbow Dash reassured him. She turned her attention back to Scootaloo. "Hey, tomorrow is Saturday, so there's no school. If you're not doing anything else, you can come spend some time with me. I'll even read to you." She picked up the book from where it had slid over to her side and lifted it up for Scootaloo to see.

"That would be awesome!" the filly squealed, practically dancing in place on the bed. "I can come by after lunch, then hang out with you until dinner. Ohohoh. Maybe we can get Miss Rarity to bring Sweetie Belle and Miss Applejack to bring Apple Bloom. Then the six of us can all have a slumber party and stay here all night. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

"I don't think that the hospital would go for that." Dash gave a shake of her head as she grinned. She glanced around then leaned in toward Scootaloo, whispering. "Listen, I have a couple bits in the drawer, and Nurse Redheart mentioned they had some oatmeal honey cookies fresh from Sugar Cube Corner. Why don't you do me a favor and go grab one for each of us." She gave a little wink.

Grinning, Scootaloo hopped off the bed and opened the drawer. She grabbed the bag of bits before running past Spike and out the door. As soon as the filly was out of sight, Rainbow Dash sagged. She let out a massive sigh as she looked down, feeling exhausted. She had no idea that pretending to be happy could wear a pony out quickly. It suddenly made sense to her why Pinkie Pie would crash so hard when becoming sad. There was no way the pink pony could fake being that happy for that long, and if she was that happy, then it makes sense she could be that sad as well.

"So how are you really doing?" Spike's question had caused Rainbow Dash to jump and look at him. Had she actually forgotten that he was there? She had just seen him there a second ago.

"I feel like my wing is still there," she finally responded. "Keep thinking that I'll be able to fly as soon as I get out of here." She flopped back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. "Then I remember what happen and....Twilight says that I'm still in denial. Also said that she would look to see if she could find a spell that would let me re-grow it. Doesn't remember seeing anything like that before though."

"Come on, Rainbow," Spike said, "If anyone can find a spell to help, it's Twilight." While Rainbow Dash had been staring at the ceiling, he had walked over to the side of the hospital bed. He pulled himself up on the side, bracing against the bed frame. He looked up at her, still smiling. She looked at him a moment, then looked away.

"Yeah," she mumbled, "I guess so." The two of them stayed where they were for a moment, not saying anything.

The silence was broken by the sound of approaching hooves. Scootaloo returned with the bag of bits and three cookies. Moving past Spike, she put the bag on back in the drawer. She then turned to the other two, giving them the cookies.

Spike took his excitedly, tossing the whole of it into his mouth. He let out a small noise of excitement as he chewed, enjoying the soft gooey cookie and the hint of the honey with the oatmeal. Scootaloo didn't eat hers quite as quickly, needing to take actual bites of the cookie, but she still munched it as quickly as she could.

Rainbow Dash took hers as well, and just looked down at it for a moment. She had tried the baking from Sugar Cube Corner, be it made by Mister Cake, Mistress Cake, or Pinkie Pie. They had the best baked goods in all of Ponyville (unless it included apples, then you had to go to Applejack's family), and being friends with Pinkie, Rainbow Dash had gotten to try nearly all of them. If it wasn't for her constant training, she probably would have eaten a lot more of them and ended up a pegasus that was too pudgy to fly. Although now, she couldn't fly anyways.

Noticing that Spike and Scootaloo were watching, Rainbow Dash smiled and took a bite of the cookie. It didn't taste as good as the cooking usually did. In fact, it didn't really taste like anything. There was no sweet tangy honey taste or the taste of grains from the oatmeal that she noticed. The thing tasted like paper. Not even high quality paper either, but the cheapest type available that a filly would buy for school.

Since she was being watched by Scootaloo and Spike, Rainbow Dash smiled as she continued to chew, letting out a small noise of pleasure. She continued to to eat the cookie, despite not being able to enjoy it. It was really weird to feel relieved when she finally finished it.

"Excuse me," a white earth pony with pink mane called from the doorway. "Sorry to interrupt, but it's time to change your dressing." She looked Spike and Scootaloo. "It...might be better that you two wait in the hall or something."

"I should probably head home anyways," Scootaloo said. "See you tomorrow. I promise." She gave Rainbow Dash a hug, squeezing the large pony tightly. The young filly hopped off the bed, and headed for the door, giving one last wave before disappearing.

"I guess I should get going too," Spike added. "If Twilight is looking for a way to get you your wing back, she'll probably need my help." He gave Dash one last pat before dropping from the side of the bed to the floor and leaving.

"What a cute filly," the nurse said as she walked over. "Is she your little sister?"

"Yeah."

"How is she taking the news about your wings?"

"She doesn't know yet." And if Twilight's plan works, Rainbow Dash thought, she will never need to.

A Place to Stay

Today was the day that Rainbow Dash was released from the hospital. The wound from where her wing had been was healing properly, according to the doctors, so they decided to discharge her. Before actually letting her go, she was reminded to clean and dress the wound at least once a day. As she left, she found Scootaloo and Fluttershy waiting for her.

"What are you guys doing here?" Rainbow Dash asked, tilting her head at them curiously.

"Well..." Fluttershy started. "We thought that.. uhm...since you have to walk to the library, we... we would keep you company." She hunched down toward the ground. "That is, if that's okay."

Walk? Rainbow Dash had to walk to the library? The thought had not even crossed her mind before. The pegasus was aware she was not flying for a while, but the fact she would have to walk everywhere for a while had not sunk in. It was going to take forever to get anywhere. She let out a sigh.

"Well I guess we should get going then." Dash began to walk toward her friends, then with them as they started through Ponyville and toward the library.

"Are you really going to be staying at the library until you get better?" Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash had asked her friends not to tell the young filly. Dash would explain it herself if and when she had to. She put on a fake grin.

"Sure is," she answered. "I can't get to my house since it's in the clouds, and I need to stay somewhere until I get better." All of her friends had offered to let her stay with them, actually. She actually had to think about which one to stay at. Pinkie Pie lived above Sugar Cube Corner in an apartment attached to where the Cakes made their home. The apartment would be too small for the two of them and it would probably disturb the Cakes. With two foals, they did not need additional guests and interruptions. Fluttershy's hut was crowded with animals, and the yellow pegasus was still recovering from having Discord stay with her. Plus, Rainbow Dash was not ready to go near that field where... the accident happened. Applejack had an extra room or two, but being around the entire family would make Rainbow Dash uncomfortable. She would also be uncomfortable at Rarity's, but for very different reasons. The white unicorn was so uptight about her place at times, it made the pegasus worried she would make a mess and get scolded like a foal. Twilight's library was not perfect, but it did seem like the best choice at the moment.

It did not take long for Rainbow Dash to become irritated. Walking to the library was taking too long. She knew exactly where she was going and how to get there. If she could fly, she would have been there in seconds. As it was she had to walk through town, which meant having to deal with the traffic of other ponies who were moving at different speeds.

As she continued to walk, her gaze drifted toward her friends. Scootaloo walked quickly, having to keep up with the larger ponies. The quicker pace didn't seem to bother the little filly in the slightest. Fluttershy stood between the other two. Being the one to walk the most, she could have easily been in the lead. Instead she stood back slightly, keeping close to the pair and looking up from the ground just enough to avoid bumping into any other ponies.

Having friends by her side made it more tolerable. Rainbow Dash always found it easier to move at a slower pace when there was someone else there beside her. Getting the chance to walk with her the pony she has been friends the longest with and the filly who looked up to her so much she wanted them to be like family was kind of nice. She might have enjoyed it more under different circumstances.

Eventually the three of them finally reached the library. Rainbow Dash slowed down more as she got closer, looking at the building. Most likely Pinkie Pie was inside with the others, waiting to start the party. The pink earth pony loved to throw parties, and a friend getting out of the hospital seemed like it would be the perfect excuse.

"You might want to keep back," she told the other two as she moved forward. "If I know Pinkie Pie, there's a burst of confetti waiting for us to open the door." Reaching the door, she pushed it open and braced herself.

Nothing happened.

Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion. Slowly, she stepped forward, sticking her head through the door, she looked around. From behind her came the sound of a pop mixed with the squeal of a noise maker. She felt a blast of air against her backside, and saw confetti falling down in front of her. Craning her neck to lock behind her. There stood the grinning pink pony, her front hooves resting on the top of her party cannon.

"SURPRISE!" Pinkie shouted. "Were you Dashie? Were you surprised? Were ya were ya?" She was bouncing in place as she asked, grinning as wide as her mouth would let her.

"Yes, Pinkie," Dash admitted as she rolled her eyes, "You surprised me."

"Great!" Pinkie Pie said from inside the library. "Now that you're here and surprised, we can get the party started."

Rainbow Dash had turned her head as soon as she heard her friend's voice from the other side of her. The pegasus blinked in confusion, wondering how her friend had managed to suddenly get inside without passing through the doorway. More importantly, where did the decorations come from? The library had been in its usual appearance just a moment ago. Even after all these years, Pinkie Pie could still surprise everypony.

From the kitchen, others started to emerge. Spike came out first, carrying a cake. Behind him came Rarity, carrying drinking glasses, and Applejack who had a bowl of punch. Not far behind were Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Music started to play as the refreshments were placed on the table. Rainbow Dash looked at her friends, then walked over toward the table.

"Hey Spike," she asked, "where's Twilight?"

"Upstairs with her books," Spike responded. He waited by the cake with excitement as Pinkie Pie started to slice and serve it. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and gave a nod.

"Of course she is." She turned to Pinkie PIe. "Save a slice for us. I'll be right back." With that she headed for the library stairs. Reaching the bottom of the steps, she stopped and looked at them. She could climb them with ease, but she only did that in Canterlot. Normally at the library, she would just fly up along the hall with ease. She chewed her lip a moment, then moved to start climbing up.

In her room, Twilight Sparkle sat at her desk. An aura of purple energy encompassed her horn as she used her magic to hold a book in front of her. The silence was interrupted only by the sound of pages being flipped.

Rainbow Dash moved further into her room, stepping extra hard to make her hooves thump against the wood of the floor as she moved closer. Twilight gave no sign of noticing as Rainbow moved closer. Standing side by side, the pegasus noticed how the alicorn looked. Twilight's neck curved as she held her head low, chin nearly resting on the desk. There were bags under her eyes and the lids were half closed. She seemed to blink at a strangely fast speed.

"Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, getting no reaction

"Twilight!" she repeated, still getting no response.

"TWILIGHT!" she shouted next to her friend, causing her to jump and gasp in surprise. The magic around the horn vanished, dropping the book. Twilight turned, staring for a moment as her mind tried to process the sight in front of her.

"Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here? Did they discharge you early for some reason?"

"No they didn't..." Dash stopped and looked at her friend a moment, noticing the signs of exhaustion. The pegasus then turned her gaze to the desk, looking at the piles of books on and around it.

"Were you up all night reading?" she asked.

"I... I guess so?" Twilight turned toward the window looking outside. "Well... re-reading them actually. None of the books from the other libraries have arrived yet, so I'm going through the ones I already have again in case I somehow missed something." Twilight closed her eyes, lifting a hoof to cover her mouth as she let out a large yawn. Turning back to her desk, her horn glowed once more as she lifted the book back up, turning to the page she had been on.

"Other libraries?" Dash repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I sent a message explaining what happened and requesting any books that might be useful. It's probably going to still be a few days before they arrive though."

Rainbow Dash stood there, watching her friend for a moment. If anyone could find a spell that would bring back her wing, it would be Twilight Sparkle. Her talent was magic and she was very good at it. She also had been studying and reading since she was probably old enough to learn how to read. Now here she was, putting all of her brain power to helping a friend get a wing back. Even if it meant missing out on sleep, or a party or...

"When was the last time you ate?" Dash asked. Twilight set the book down and tilted her head, rubbing at her chin as she tried to remember.

"Um.." she said after a moment, "I guess it would have been lunch yesterday now."

The statement elicited a sigh from Rainbow Dash. It was closer to supper time now. So that means that Twilight not only stayed up all night, but had gone more than a full day without eating. Rolling her eyes at her friend, Rainbow Dash moved closer. She placed a hoof on the book, shutting it and pushing it down onto the desk.

"Come on, Egghead," she said. She then turned around and headed for the door to the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Twilight asked, still sitting in her spot a moment longer before getting up and following.

"Downstairs, where the party is. We can get some food and then you can get some sleep."

"That's silly, Rainbow Dash. I'm don't need to-oooh..." Twilight's train of thought was derailed as she felt a little dizzy. She had to stop, sitting down a moment as her legs wobbled. Closing her eyes, Twilight took slow deep breaths until the feeling of everything spinning faded away.

"Well," Twilight said slowly, "I guess taking a little break and getting something to eat isn't such a bad idea after all." Getting back up, she followed her friend back down to the library's main room, where cake and friends waited.

Confession of Fear

"Twilight," a voice whispered.

"Hey, Twilight."

"Twilight." The sound of her name being whispered finally woke Twilight Sparkle up. Blinking she lifted her head. Her horn slowly began to glow, bathing the room in a gentle purple light to let her eyes adjust before getting brighter. Now that she could see, Twilight looked around. Her gaze slid over Spike asleep in his basket and stopped as she caught sight of a figure standing near the foot of her bed.

"Rainbow Dash?" she asked, moving to sit up in bed more. "What are you doing in here so late? I thought you were headed straight to bed after the party."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash mumbled. "Sorry, but I couldn't sleep. I was hoping I could... sleep with you? Maybe talk a little?"

"...Sure." Twilight shifted and moved to one side of her bed. The light of the room dimmed as the blanket glowed, lifting it aside to let her friend get under. Rainbow Dash walked to the side of the bed and climbed in, laying down on her uninjured side.

"Thanks."

"No problem," Twilight said with a small smile. "So, what's on your mind?" Rainbow Dash chewed on her lip a moment, shifting on her pillow to look down at the bed instead of at her friend. Half a minute passed by Twilight's calculation without speaking. She was curious, but knew not to push. After another minute, she could see that Rainbow Dash had decided to finally open up.

"I'm scared," the pegasus said slowly. "Everything I am, everything I have ever been, has been connected to my wings. Fastest flyer in Ponyville, weather pony, young flyer champion, all about flying. Even my dream -- my only dream -- of becoming a Wonderbolt includes being able to fly. Everything I know, everything I am, is tied up in being a pegasus. Without-" She stopped as her voice cracked. She wiped at her eye, removing the tears, and took a deep breath before continuing.

"I don't know who I am without my wings." Dash's voice still trembled with emotion. "My entire life has been about flying since I was big enough to do so. With that taken away, I feel like... like... everything that makes me who I am is now gone. It..." She rubbed at her nose, thinking for a moment. "Imagine if you woke up one morning to find out you couldn't do magic or read."

Twilight Sparkle shifted as she tried to imagine what her life would be like for her. Magic was her special talent, something that she had been learning and practicing since she was a filly. Even before she got her cutie mark for it, she used it quite a bit. And reading was what she did with most of her free time. Granted it was no longer the only thing she did now, but she did spend a lot of time reading books and practicing spells.

What would she do if she could do neither?

"I honestly can't imagine what it would be like," she finally admitted, giving a shrug.

"Exactly!" Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof as she spoke. "Reading and magic has been a part of your life for so long, you can't imagine life without it." She let out another sigh. "Except now, I might have to. I know you're looking, but I have never heard of anypony ever getting a limb back. I might never fly again."

"How are you dealing with that?" Twilight asked, trying to keep Rainbow Dash going.

"I'm not," the pegasus snapped. "I-I want to yell. I want to scream. I want to smash things. I want to FLY for crying out loud. I hate being stuck on the ground. I hate not being able to fly. I...I.. I just hate how my life is right now. And I can't even blame anypony for it. What's weird is that I feel like that makes it worse, and I don't know why." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I think what I hate most is knowing that there is nothing I can do about it."

Twilight Sparkle looked at Rainbow Dash a moment, then moved closer. Reaching out, the purple pony took a hold of her sky blue friend and pulled her into a hug. Dash held still a moment, tensing against the embrace. Slowly she began to relax, hugging back. Shifting, she hid her head against Twilight's chest, nuzzling into it. Quietly, Rainbow Dash's tears started to flow. After a while, the quiet crying turned into fully audible sobs. She held onto her friend tightly as she let out her frustration.

Twilight bit her lip and closed her eyes, holding back her own tears. Seeing her friend so upset was painful for her as well. She felt a lump swelling in her throat and a pain in her chest. It made her wish that she could do more to help. For now, she would just have to wait and let her friend cry it out. So she held her friend, rubbing a hoof against her back gently.

Slowly the sobs turned into hiccuping whimpers. After a while, the hiccups passed and the whimpers turned silently. After waiting a while longer, Twilight Sparkle leaned back. Taking a hold of Rainbow Dash's chin, she lifted it so they were looking at each other eye to eye.

"We're going to find a way to fix this," Twilight said, " and if not... I guess you'll just have to find something else to be awesome at. That shouldn't be a problem for the coolest pony in Ponyville." She gave a small grin, getting one with a chuckle in return.

"Yeah." Rainbow Dash gave a gentle nuzzle. "Thanks Twi. I think I can get to sleep now. Getting all that out made me feel exhausted." She shifted to lay back down. "Uhm... Can you... wrap one of your wings around me?"

Twilight Sparkle blinked in confusion for a moment, then smiled and nodded. Carefully, she stretched out one of her wings and lowered it to cover Rainbow Dash like an extra blanket.

"Thanks again, Twilight." Dash let out a yawn and shifted one more time. "Good night."

"Good night... Dashie."

Slipping into Morning Routine

"Rainbow Dash? What are you doing up?" Spike stood at the doorway to the kitchen, still yawning and rubbing at his eyes. He had woken up for some reason (most likely Rainbow Dash leaving the room, but he did not know that), and decided he was thirsty. The young dragon had come downstairs to get a drink of water -- and maybe grab a gemstone -- before going back to bed.

"Just getting some breakfast," Rainbow Dash replied. "You can go back to bed." She continued to search through the cabinets for the dishes she needed.

"But the sun's not even up yet." He pointed out the window, where the sky was still dark. "Why are you up so early?"

"Habit mostly," she said as she turned to face him. "Get up early, get a quick workout, watch the sunrise, then either work on a stunt or report to the weather team." She sat down. "Been doing it for so long, I don't even think about it anymore. I was at the stairs before I remembered that this wasn't my house."

Spike watched a moment before stepping further into the kitchen. He moved next to Rainbow Dash, opening the cabinets and helping show her where everything is. It was pretty easy for him. Of the two that lived in the library, he was the one who used the kitchen more often. After some thought, he decided to stay up and eat with her instead.

"So what are you going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "Go outside. That's much is for sure. After being stuck in the hospital bed, I really don't want to spend the day staying inside. I guess I'll fly... walk... around a little. Maybe I'll go by the weather patrol station and see how things are going. I have all day with nothing to do so who knows." She gave a shrug.

Upstairs, Twilight Sparkle woke up, staying still for a moment. Her wing was still stretched out to one side of the bed, and she thought she could still feel the heat against her feathers. Rainbow Dash's scent still lingered on the pillow and sheets. She looked around, finding herself alone.

After enjoying the warmth and aroma a little longer, curiosity got the best of her. After climbing out of bed, Twilight looked around the room to be sure, then headed down stairs to find the others. Getting downstairs, she looked around as she headed for the kitchen. A small smile formed as she saw Spike and Rainbow Dash at the table. Looking up, Dash noticed Twilight first.

"Are you usually up this early?" the pegasus asked, "or did something wake you up as well?" Spike turned around to look at Twilight Sparkle, then turned back to Rainbow Dash.

"Twilight almost never gets up this early," the young dragon explained. "Although a couple of times, she has stayed up until morning. Usually she's studying or doing research on something. Sometimes she even gets so busy that-" The rest of Spike's statement was cut off as a purple glow encompassed his snout, holding it shut.

"I don't think Rainbow Dash cares much about my study habits," Twilight said before letting Spike go. "I am curious though: what are you two doing up?"

Spike answered first, explaining how he was just coming down to get a drink of water and found Rainbow Dash up already. Dash then went to explain how she usually got up this early. Twilight listened as she moved around the kitchen, grabbing some things to have a quick bite of her own.

"I guess that explains the napping," Twilight said, more to herself than to anyone else. Taking a seat, she started eating as well. Her eyes would drift between Spike and Rainbow Dash. Spike was eating the way he normally did, quick and a little messy. Rainbow Dash... Twilight could not quite put figure out what, but something about her friend did not seem quite normal.

Now that she was being watch, the pegasus began to actually eat her breakfast. She had gotten just a little bit of cereal, and mostly had been stirring that around in the bowl. She still did not feel very hungry. Same as last night during the party. Rainbow Dash had gotten a piece of the cake, but had been able to set it down without eating it and not having anyone notice. Now, with Twilight and Spike both sitting across from her, she felt like she was being watched.

Slowly, she took a spoonful of food to her mouth, and ate it. It still did not seem to have much taste to it. Not as bad as it used to be, though. It still tasted like eating paper, but a higher quality paper that would be used by a business; still cheap, but would hold up a little longer.

"Hey, Twilight," Spike suddenly spoke up, "why don't you go with Rainbow Dash on her walk around Ponyville?"

"What?" Twilight turned toward Spike. "I can't go for a walk. I'm trying to find a way to help grow her wing back."

"Come on Twilight," the dragon continued. "You have been through those books a dozen times since the accident. I don't think going through them again is going to do any good. Besides, you could probably use the rest."

"But if the books I requested arrive-"

"I'll be here to accept them. And if it's that important, I'm sure I can get somepony to come find you to let you know."

"Well... I guess if it's okay with you, Rainbow Dash."

"Yeah," Dash said with a slight nod, "It's fine with me."

Twilight looked at her friend quietly for a long moment. Rainbow Dash said it was fine, but Twilight got the impression that the pegasus actually did not care about having company on the walk or not. Did their talk last night not help after all? Was Rainbow Dash more upset than she was letting on? Twilight considered that, if that were the case, then she should keep a close eye on Rainbow Dash to be extra safe.

"Alright," Twilight said with a smile, "we can get going whenever you're ready."

"We'll head out as soon as you finish breakfast then."

"Okay." The purple pony watched her friend a moment longer, then returned to her breakfast. Once finished, the two of them headed for the door and out the library to walk around Ponyville.

A Day Around Town

The walk through town was a bit awkward. It seemed like some of the ponies that they passed were staring as the two went by. Not all of the ponies, or even the majority for that matter, but enough for it to be noticeable.

Rainbow Dash actually did not notice it. She was paying more attention to the ground and the road beneath her hooves than anything going on around her, with one exception. As she walked slowly, most of her thoughts were inwards. The more she walked the more she wanted to fly. Unfortunately that reminded her of the fact she could not fly.

On occasion, her thoughts -- and gaze -- would drift to Twilight Sparkle. There was one upside to all this; Dash was getting ready to spend more time with Twilight. She was not sure why, but that excited the pegasus a little. It was similar to a way she felt about seeing Gilda again... until it was discovered what a jerk the griffin had become.

Rainbow Dash flicked her gaze toward her friend. Ever since the day of the accident, Twilight had been putting all of her time and energy into seeing if there was a way to help and grow the wing back. Would she be working so hard for any of her other friends? Probably. She was very smart and seemed to be a quick study. Not just about books either. That would have included friendship. The alicorn had been a unicorn with no friend that only cared about her studies when she arrived in Ponyville. Now she had some really good friends and had even helped everypony in town. In Equestria if you included their world-saving endeavors. Still, a part of Rainbow Dash could not help but wonder if there was something more about it.

For her part, Twilight Sparkle was taking notice of the other ponies watching the two of them and was unaware of her friend's glances. Everywhere they went, others seemed to be watching them. Often when Twilight would look at them, the others would quickly glance away. Whether it was because Rainbow Dash was walking around instead of flying or because they were not yet used to seeing Twilight with wings, she was unsure. She was tempted to ask, but thought better of it. If they were staring because of her, there was nothing to really do about it since she was the same pony she had always been over all. If they were staring at Rainbow Dash, then drawing attention to the issue would only make the pegasus more self-conscious and depressed about the issue.

Twilight chewed on her lip as she looked at her friend. How was Rainbow Dash feeling? Of course she was upset, but how severely? Did the conversation last night help any? It had been rather odd to Twilight, opening up like that seemed extremely out of character for her friend. The few times Twilight knew that Rainbow Dash had been nervous or scared, the pegasus had put on an act of pretending everything was fine. Right now, you could easily tell that she was upset. Then again, this was something that Dash had never been through before. Probably never even imagined it was a possibility. Celestia knows that Twilight never did. Not to any of her friends.

The two of them reached their first destination: Town Hall. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash went inside and headed up toward the top, where the weather station was located. It made sense since Town Hall was the oldest and tallest building in Ponyville. The weather team would be one of the first groups set up when Ponyville became a town proper, and they would want to have a high vantage point both as a natural inclination for pegasi and to get a better view of the surrounding sky for their weather control duties. It also made sense that there were ways to access it from the ground since earth ponies such as the mayor would need to be able to speak with them.

As she followed Rainbow Dash up toward the office, Twilight Sparkle found herself getting excited. She had never been up to the weather station before. Twilight had been curious about it, but had never had an excuse to visit. Now was her chance to see what it actually looked like. She could barely stay behind Rainbow Dash as they reached the door and pushed it open.

It was a disappointment. The office looked like just that: an office. Opposite the door was a window large enough to fly in and out through that was currently open. To the right was a small area with chairs and a water cooler. One pegasus stood there, getting a drink. To the left was a counter. Behind it sat another pegasus, currently busy with paperwork. She looked up as the two approached.

"Hello Rainbow Dash," the desk pony said with a smile, "What brings you here today?"

"Hey," Dash replied as she moved closer, "Just checking to see how things are. Is Mayfly in?"

"Sorry, she's out." The pegasus behind the desk gave a shrug. "So much is going on that we are short-staffed as it is. Everyone is pulling double shifts and working as much as they can. If we didn't need to have someone at the desk at all times, I'd probably be out putting clouds over at the carrot farm."

"Short-staffed? Why would you be short-staffed?"

"Well after... uhm..." the pegasus made a motion toward Rainbow Dash, "your accident, the main weather control officers in Cloudsdale thought we should undergo re-certification and review safety procedures."

"What?" Dash growled. "It was an accident because of The Everfree Forest. No way could it have been expected." The pegasus at the desk gave a shrug, causing Rainbow Dash to let out a sigh. "The least they could do is keep enough ponies around to run things smoothly. I guess I'll leave you to your work then."

"I'll tell Mayfly you stopped by." The pegasus at the desk gave a small wave as Rainbow Dash turned and started walking away. Twilight watched a moment, then followed.

"I don't know if this is a good idea," Twilight said as they approached the field. "I mean I don't see why you would want to come out here when you can't practice your stunts. Seems like it would just make you depressed." MORE depressed, actually, she thought as she continued to follow her friend.

Rainbow Dash did not say anything. She just sat down on the hill and looked out over the field. It was just open ground outside the edge of town. There was no official owner. Most importantly to Rainbow Dash, it was where she did her training. Practicing old stunts and creating new ones, improving her speed, avoiding obstacles for her agility, she had done it all out here. Her and Twilight Sparkle were even sitting on the same hill that Twilight and the others had been sitting the last time Dash had crashed and injured herself during practice.

Looking at it now, she realized that Twilight was right. Dash had hoped that being out at the field would be comforting. Instead, it caused an ache in her wings to spread wide and take to the air. Jaw clenching, she tried to think about other matters: the smell of the grass, the sound of the breeze making it sway, the warm sun shining down from above.

This place sucked.

Twilight saw her friend sag then lay down. It sent a slight pang of guilt and sadness through her to see Dash so upset. Twilight moved closer then laid down, pressing shoulder to shoulder. She lifted up one wing, stretched it out, and settled it over her friend. Rainbow Dash did not seem to respond.

"How about after this we go get some lunch at Sugar Cube Corner?" Twilight asked, giving a small smile.

"I guess," Rainbow Dash mumbled, shifting slightly. As she laid there, Twilight kept close and waited patiently.

As the two walked back to town and started toward Sugar Cube Corner, Rainbow Dash began to slow down. Twilight tilted her head back, keeping track out of the corner of her eye. Dash did not actually stop, but she had slowed down and seemed to be paying attention more to the ground than anything else around her.

Twilight slowed down as well, moving to stand beside Rainbow Dash. When the two of them were side by side, Twilight gave Dash a small bump with her shoulder, smiling when her friend looked up. The pegasus gave a small smile back, but did not seem to really feel it.

As they reached Sugar Cube Corner, Rainbow Dash stopped completely. Twilight took several more steps before noticing. Turning, she looked back at her friend again.

"Are you coming?" she asked

"Yeah," Dash replied, "just give me a minute." Twilight gave a nod and stood waiting for her friend. She watched as Dash took a deep breath and straightened up. The blue pegasus moved past, heading for the door and into the eatery.

This time Twilight Sparkle saw Rainbow Dash put on the act. Something seemed to fall into place and make more sense about the pegasus to the purple pony. The way she acted when it was just the two of them or when walking the street was the way Rainbow Dash actually felt. The way she was behaving now was an act. It was the same as when Scootaloo visited in the hospital and during the party last night. For some reason, Dash did not want to let others know how badly this whole situation was bothering her. Does that mean that she had opened up a little last night? Would she be acting like that around Twilight if not for the confession? Or would the two of them living together for a while mean that the truth would have come out sooner or later? Twilight shrugged to herself and went inside.

"Hello, Mrs. Cake," she said as she saw the pale blue earth pony behind the counter.

"Hello," Mrs. Cake said, smiling at the two. "It's nice to see you two."

"Where's Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking around.

"She was nice enough to take the twins out for a while." Mrs. Cake started for the kitchen. "But she made a special order for you two before she left. Just find a place to sit and I'll be right out with it." Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash looked at each other a moment in confusion. Knowing they were coming was odd in such a way as to be normal for Pinkie, but not staying around to meet them seemed out of place for her. After giving a shrug to each other, the two went to sit in a back corner of the room.

After a minute Mrs. Cake returned and set a tray on the table in front of Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. On it were two cupcakes. Each was frosted to match the color of the ponies' coat, with their cutie mark made out of sugar candy on top. When the wrappers were peeled away, Rainbow Dash's cupcake was dyed a rainbow of colors (somehow separated from each other but touching), and Twilight Sparkle's was purple with sugar crystals that refracted the light to sparkle.

Twilight Sparkle started to eat hers, letting out a small noise of pleasure. The cupcake had taste of blackberry to it. The sugar crystals gave it a granulated texture unfortunately, but not bad enough to ruin the treat. Not perfect, but pretty good. It could be fun to be part of Pinkie Pie's taste testing experiments, provided she did not try anything to get too creative or strange. She looked up at her friend, and slowed down.

Rainbow Dash was eating hers, sort of. It was more taking nibbles on it then actual bites. The face she made gave the impression that it was more out of politeness than actually enjoying the cupcake. It was for Twilight to tell exactly what Rainbow Dash was thinking, but it was clear she was not happy about her special treat.

The two of them returned to the library after lunch. Rainbow Dash had decided that she had enough of today. Although she would not say so, she was also uncertain what else to do with the day. Usually she would have worked out and taken a nap by now. In a way, she had gotten a work out by walking all over Ponyville, and a nap actually sounded very tempting.

"I'm going to go lay down," she said as the two of them went inside.

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight called out, "wait. I want to tell you that you don't have to hide how you're feeling. Not from any of your friends, and certainly not from me. I won't say we know what you're going through, because after last night's conversation I don't think we ever will. That doesn't change the fact that we.. that I ... want to be there to help you however I can. There's no need to put on a brave face and pretend everything is okay when it's really not."

Rainbow Dash had stopped when Twilight had called her name. The pegasus had stayed where she was as her friend talked. As Twilight finished, Dash slowly turned around and walked toward her friend. Tears filled the pegasus's violet eyes, running down her cheeks.

"Thank you." She kissed Twilight on the cheek. "And thank you for walking around Ponyville with me. It was nice." With that she turned and headed back to what was her room while she was staying there.

Twilight stood in place as her friend left the room, then dropped to sit on her haunches. She stared at the floor of the library, her face burning as it turned a deep red.

What just happened?

Divine Side-Line

As Rainbow Dash slept, she found herself having a nightmare again. It was a problem she'd been having since waking up in the hospital. Nearly every night she would have terrible dreams dealing with the accident. The only exception had been the night she had fallen asleep in bed with Twilight Sparkle.

Tonight, Rainbow Dash dreamed that she was a filly again. Her parents had taken her to watch The Wonderbolts perform for the first time ever. Filly Dash was so excited, her eyes wide as she watched the pegasus pony team fly above them and do their stunts.

"When I grow up, I'm going to become a Wonderbolt!" she shouted excitedly, hopping up and down in place.

"You?" a deep voice called out, "A Wonderbolt?" Rainbow Dash turned toward the voice curiously. Standing before her was a chocolate brown pegasus with black mane. He was dressed in The Wonderbolt uniform, but Rainbow Dash knew who he was supposed to be.

"You'll never be anything, Rainbow Klutz!" he snarled out. "Nopony is going to want anything to do with a broken, worthless pegasus that can't fly." A peel of laughter had echoed through the crowd at "Rainbow Klutz." Soon, other voices began to join in the shouting.

"Worthless."

"Broken!"

"Nopony wants you!"

"Useless!"

"Pathetic!"

"Who would care about a pegasus that can't even fly?"

"Shut up!" the filly shouted. "Shutuptshutupshutup!" She closed her eyes tight a moment, trying to stop the tears from flowing out. Opening them back up, she stared hard at the brown pegasus who started it all.

The pegasus let out a chuckle, which turned into a fully bellowing laugh and then the echoing boom of rolling thunder. Stretching his wings out as wide as he could, he began to flap them. The movements were slow at first, but quickly picked up speed. With each flap, wind picked up; starting from a gentle breeze and growing in intensity and fierceness until reaching devastating speed and strength. Also with each flap, the pegasus grew, becoming larger and larger until his hooves were the size of his hoof. No one in the crowd ran.

"Nopony will ever love"

"Who could want to be your friend?"

"Who would want YOU as their sister?"

"Can't do anything!"

"Waste of space."

Rainbow Dash cowered against the ground, her hooves over her head to try and cover her ears. She squinted as her eyes teared up from both the emotional mix of anger and sadness, and from the powerful winds blowing in her face. Above her, thick clouds started to collect over the ones they already stood on, but the new ones were thick and dark, heavy with rain. They flashed with lightning, the booms of thunder mixing with the rolling echo of the monstrous pegasus.

A beam of silvery moon light pierced through the overcast sky and ended against the monster. The beam grew larger, the light of it becoming brighter. As it did, the clouds were forced apart around it, and the brown pegasus began to shrink down. Lightning faded, being replaced by the clear silver light of a full moon. The sound of thunder faded as the sky grew clear. The winds slowed, once more turning into a gentle breeze.

In the light of the moon, a silhouette appeared. Feathered wings flapped gently as the figure floated down toward the ground. A midnight blue alicorn landed, posing a moment before folding her wings against her side. Her mane and tail were a nimbus of night blue with the shimmer of stars spread throughout it. Slowly she approached the cowering filly who looked up slowly.

"Princess Luna?" Rainbow Dash asked. Pushing herself to sit up, she looked at the princess. Scootaloo had mentioned that Luna could enter the dreams of others, but Dash never thought she would actually see it herself.

"Hello Rainbow Dash," Luna said. "I have seen you having a great many distressing dreams and my sister told me of what has happened."

There was a shimmer of energy around Rainbow Dash. The scared and frightened filly faded from sight, replaced by the fully grown pegasus that she actually was. Her face lit up as an idea came to her.

"Wait," she practically shouted, "you and your sister are two of the oldest and most powerful ponies alive. That means that if anypony could give me back my wing, it would be you." She smiled widely, practically bouncing at the thought, but stopped as she saw the look on Luna's face.

"I am sorry, Rainbow Dash," the princess replied, "but I am afraid that is not possible."

"What? Why not? After all I've done, is this too much to ask?" She flopped back down, letting out a sigh.

"It is not that." Luna moved closer and sat down. "It is true that being alicorns of great longevity, we are more powerful than most, but our power is not infinite. Our greatest power is tied to the domain which grants us our powers: sun and day for my sister; moon and night for myself. Beyond that, while our magical strength is greater than most, are ability in spells is that of most unicorns. Admittedly my sister has learned a great number of spells, but many of those are in books that. In this case, with her knowledge and skill in magic -- which is her very domain -- Twilight Sparkle is your greatest hope for finding a spell which shall restore your wing." Reaching out, she place a hoof gently on the back of the other pony.

"Oh." Rainbow Dash laid her head on her hooves, looking down. Her ears went limp as she looked down at the clouds beneath her. After a minute, she looked up again.

"Well what about Discord?" the pegasus asked. Before Luna could answer, a sizzling sound filled the air. From eight feet above the cloud they were on, to wisps of smoke appeared.

"Oh, my ears are burning!" a voice called out. From the bottom edge of the wisps, two grey goat ears appeared. A pair of yellow eyes blinked into existence, looking toward the pair of ponies. The gaze narrowed as a wide grin showed off the sharp white teeth, including one large fang. A small tuft of white hair sprouted down from beneath the teeth, curling slightly. More features began to fill in, creating a head.

"Discord?" Luna asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh come now, Luna," Discord said, "Do you really think I would not enjoy the lovely chaos of some of the dreams ponies have? Now that I'm not going around creating chaos like I used to, I need to find some way of getting my fill." As he spoke, the rest of his body appeared. Reaching down, he picked up a large chunk of cloud with his eagle claw and began to shape it.

"You can give me back my wings, right?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking up at him. "I mean you took them from me when you were evil, so you can give them back just as easily, can't you?" The hope she felt faded as quickly as it appeared when she saw the look on Discord's face.

"I am sorry, Rainbow Dash," he said, "but I cannot give you back your wings."

"Why not?" Dash smacked one of her hooves against the cloud, creating a small hole. "Like I said, you managed to take my wings once. So why can't you just snap your fingers and give me a new one?"

"Oh I could give you a new one." He released the cloud he held after shaping it like a wing. It flapped through the air and attached itself to the side of Rainbow Dash. "At least I think I can. Anyway, the wing i give you would not be your wing. It could be a bird, or bad, or dragon. It might also be an insect, or even a wing from a glider." As he spoke, the cloud wing shifted to mimic the shape of what he was describing. "Besides, even if I did, any wing I gave you would be temporary."

Rainbow Dash swatted at the fake wing on her side. Instead of bursting completely, it floated up to Luna's face to create a mustache against the underside of her nose.

"How long would it last?" the pegasus asked.

"Couldn't actually say," Discord said with a shrug, "Best guess would be when it would cause the most chaos. Probably when you were used to it and in the middle of something important. Most likely while you were quite a distance from anything you could safely land on actually."

"Now I'm curious as well," Luna spoke up, "Why would you do such a thing if you are trying to reform and make friends?"

"You make it sound like I have a choice in the matter," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I'm a spirit of chaos, Luna, and part of chaos is that it has to change. No matter how strange something is, if a pony sees something often enough, they get used to it. Why, just have Rainbow Dash think about how much she's gotten used to Pinkie Pie. I'm willing to bet that things Pinkie did Dash found strange at first, she doesn't even give a second thought to."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash admitted with a roll of her eyes, "This conversation is getting lame and not helping. It's starting to look like I'll never get my wing back.

"Oh, you'll be fine," Discord said as he shifted. "Now if you'll excuse me, all this talk about Pinkie has me curious. Last time I stopped by in her tree, she was waiting for a candy apple tree to be ripe." With that, he flew up into the air before looping down and vanishing into the clouds beneath them.

"While he could have been kinder," Luna said, "He is correct. Whether you manage to regain your wing or no, you shall be fine. You have wonderful friends, Rainbow Dash, and they will love you no matter how this turns out."

"I know they will," Rainbow Dash said with a sigh, "but like I told Twilight last night, everything about me -- including my dreams -- was all wrapped up in flying. Without it, I don't know what to do. You still have a mustache, by the way."

Luna blinked a moment in confusion at the last statement. Reaching up with a hoof, she felt the cloud mustache on her upper lip. With a sheepish smile, she dissipated it in a small puff of water vapor. She then gave Rainbow Dash another reassuring pat.

"You will simply discover new dreams to pursue," the princess stated. "Perhaps you will find one that will make you happier than you expected, or perhaps it will be for the better. Could you imagine what would have happened had Discord achieved his dream when he was first released from his statue, or I when I returned as Nightmare Moon for that matter?" Luna stood up. "I must be going. There are other ponies whose dreams I should check on. I hope you a pleasant sleep for the remnants of the night." She gave a bow of her head and turned. Luna walked away, fading into the night and the dream world.

Dressing the Issue

Twilight Sparkle awoke to the sound of knocking on the library door. Blinking she turned to look at her clock to see what time it was. After getting up earlier than usual, she had been pretty tired last night. Unfortunately, getting kissed -- even if just on the cheek -- from Rainbow Dash made it hard to sleep.

Twilight felt her face heating up as she blushed. She could still feel her friend's lips on her cheek. It was a very unexpected move. It also caused Twilight to have dreams that were quite exciting and passionate, to say the least. She really should talk to Rainbow Dash about the kiss. Not right now though. Later. Like when Dash was feeling better. Or maybe at a time when it would feel awkward. Like never. Never sounded good. Twilight found herself leaning mostly toward never.

"Twilight," Spike's voice echoed from the hall. "Hey, Twilight. Good news. The other books you requested finally arrived." Twilight moved to sit up, looking at Spike standing in the doorway.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked. "The library was supposed to be open an hour ago."

"I was going to, but you were tossing and turning all night. I thought it would be better to just let you sleep and keep an eye on things. If anything happened, you're right here."

"I suppose so." Tossing the covers aside, she got out of bed and stretched. "You said the books finally arrived?" Spike gave her a nod as she approached then moved aside to let her pass. Moving quickly, Twilight headed down the stairs and toward the main room. Her horn glowed as she approached, picking up the books and holding them. She glanced at the titles and authors where applicable, trying to mentally file them away and physically organize them in the proper order.

"Do you know when Rainbow Dash will get back? She will probably be excited to hear these arrived."

"She hasn't gotten up yet."

The statement made Twilight stop. She turned to look at Spike, blinking in confusion.

"Are you sure?"

"I checked on her room when I got up. She was still in bed. I've been in here all morning, so she couldn't have gotten up and left without me noticing."

Twilight chewed her lip a moment as she thought. Rainbow Dash had actually gone to bed early. Even without having napped, it seemed like the pegasus would have gotten up sooner. More so since she had managed to maintain her habit of rising early yesterday.

Getting an idea, Twilight went to the bathroom. She grabbed gauze, bandages, tape, and antiseptic. Carrying them with them, she went to the door to what was currently Dash's room. She gave a gentle knock, then a firmer one when she got no response. Slowly, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked as she looked in. It seemed to be as Spike had said. She could see Rainbow Dash still in bed. As she got closer and moved around to the side. Twilight could see that her friend was lying on her back, eyes open and staring up at the ceiling. When standing right beside the bed, the purple pony could see the hints of a trail leading down from the pegasus's eye to a wet spot on the pillow.

"We forgot to change the dressing yesterday," Twilight said since it had been what she had been planning to begin with. She gave herself a mental kick. "Is something wrong?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes shifted, looking from the ceiling to Twilight and back. After a moment more, she moved to sit up in bed. Her head turned to look at the far wall.

Twilight's ears drooped a little. Clearly something had made matters worse, but she was not sure how to approach the subject. It would probably be better for Dash to talk about it, but she could be stubborn. If Twilight tried to force the conversation, her friend will just get stubborn and refuse to talk. If that happened, then it might make it harder to get Dash to open up again later.

Pushing the thoughts aside, Twilight chose to focus on the matter of the dressing instead. The glow of her horn grew brighter as she split the focus of her magic; part of it keeping the supplies afloat within reach and part to remove the bandages. Pulling them off with the used gauze, she set them aside. Twilight then shifted to look at the wound, checking to see how well it was healing. There was no sign of it getting infected. She applied the antiseptic to the spot as the nurse told her, just to be certain.

"I saw Luna and Discord in my dream last night," Rainbow Dash said. The statement caught Twilight Sparkle off guard. She stared in stunned silence a moment, accidentally pouring out more of the antiseptic than she intended. Shaking her head to recover from the surprise, she righted the bottle. The spill was not too bad. A little too much on the spot and fur surrounding it with a few drops making it to the bed.

"I didn't know Discord could enter a pony's dreams," Twilight said as she continued to put fresh dressing on the wound.

"Well it looks like he can," Rainbow Dash responded, glancing at her a moment before looking away again. "Anyway, they said that neither of them could help me get my wing back. Luna said a lot, but basically she doesn't have the power to do it and neither does Celestia. Discord said he could give me a wing, but it would eventually disappear and probably and the worst possible time. So basically if you can't find a way to fix it, I'm never going to fly again."

"...Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?"

"I'm sure. I've been having bad dreams every night except for the one I spent with you. If it had been one, it would have been a lot more interesting than just sitting around in a cloud and talking about the limits of their powers. Besides... It just felt real."

Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash a moment, then turned back to her work. She tried to keep her thoughts focused as she held the gauze in place and began to wrap the bandages around them. They were supposed to be tight enough to stay in place and keep clean, but not too tight as to constrict blood flow to the skin and surrounding area.

"Well I have good news on that part," the purple pony said, " the books arrived this morning."

"Yay. Books." The tone of Rainbow Dash was such that Twilight could practically see the eye rolling despite the pegasus not looking at her.

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight responded. She wanted to scold her friend for the comment, but also be sympathetic about the issue.

"I'm sorry, Twi." Dash let out a sigh, sagging slightly. "I know it's supposed to be good news since it means you can keep looking. But it seems like this is less and less likely to be a way to fix this. I might just have to start getting used to being a one-winged freak who will never be able to fly again."

Twilight quickly taped the bandages in place. She then moved, climbing onto the bed with Rainbow Dash and standing on her right. Twilight grabbed her friend and pulled her in tight, hugging her so that Dash's cheek was pressed against Twilight's chest. The alicorn rested her chin against the top of the pegasus's head, nuzzling the rainbow colored mane gently.

"You're not a freak," Twilight said, just above a whisper. "You're just a pony who had a bad accident. It's not your fault and it's not like you're the first. No one is going to think less of you over what happened." She broke the hug enough to look her friend in the eye. "If the worst happens and there's no way to fix it, then you can stay here for as long as you want. You'll find a way to get on your hooves again."

"I guess so," Rainbow Dash mumbled, looking away. "Thanks for helping Twi, but I think I would like to be alone for a little while longer."

"...Okay..." Twilight let go and pulled away, moving back off the bed. "I'll see to it that there's something in the refrigerator waiting for you when you get hungry." She looked at her friend a moment before picking everything up and heading out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Twilight gave one last look at the door. With a sigh she turned and started walking toward the main room. She chewed on her lips as she went, staring down at the floor. Her thoughts were more turned inward and toward Rainbow Dash than where she was actually going. Fortunately she had walked the library so many times that she did not need to pay attention. Twilight made it down the stairs and into the main room with no trouble. It was when she finally walked into a pile of books and knocked them over that her attention was finally brought back to the present.

"Spike?" she asked as she looked around until spotting him. "You're on kitchen duty for the moment. Please make sure that there is plenty to eat when Rainbow Dash or I get hungry."

"No problem," the young dragon replied, puffing out his chest. "You can count on me."

"I know." She gave him a quick hug. As he went to the kitchen to do as he was asked, Twilight turned back to the books that had arrived. Her horn began to glow brightly as she lifted them up, setting them on the table in the middle of the room in stacks all of equal number of books. She then got a quill, an inkwell and some parchment in case she needed to take notes. With everything set and ready, Twilight picked up the first book and opened it.

Scoota-boost

"Miss Twilight?" a voice said from behind, making Twilight Sparkle jump. Turning around, she smiled as she caught sight of the purple maned orange pegasus filly.

"Hello Scootaloo," Twilight said, "I take it you came to see Rainbow Dash?" She shifted her eyes to look around the room. First, she wanted to check the time. Twilight tended to get so caught up in her research and study that she lost track of time. It very well could be late enough that school let out for the day and she simply did not realize it. At the same time, Scootaloo could be a very impulsive filly. Like her idol, she would sometimes act without thinking. As such, it was also possible that the young pegasus had instead decided to skip school and visit Rainbow Dash instead.

The second reason was to see if whether or not Scootaloo had come alone. Most of the time, the pegasus filly was in the company of her friends Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, and the three of them had a tendency to cause a lot of mischief. For the most part, they were well behaved foals. It was just that when together and trying to get their cutie marks, their enthusiasm to try everything that came to mind would get out of control. Twilight still remembered the mess she had to clean up after their "Cutie Mark Crusaders library assistants" attempt.

"Yeah," the young filly exclaimed, "I wanted to see her yesterday, but I had to stay after school, then there was crusading that we could not put off, and then I had homework." She spoke quickly, every word running together. "But I got everything clear for a couple hours so I can totally hang out with Dash now." The excited filly's wings fluttered as she gave a little hop at the last part. Her eyes danced with excitement as she grinned widely as she could.

"Well, Rainbow Dash is upstairs in her room," Twilight said. "It's the only one with the door closed. I'm sure she'll be happy to..." she stopped speaking as she heard the sound of hooves bounding up the stairs. She turned her head to watch the filly go, then returned to her books. Although a part of her was tempted to sneak up and listen. Unfortunately, she would most likely get caught in the act.

Scootaloo ran up the stairs, wings fluttering to try and get her to actually fly up them. She looked at the doors, finding the only one that was closed. She could barely contain her excitement as she pushed the door open and went inside.

"Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow Dash turned from where she was sitting by the window. At the sound of her name, she turned to see the little orange pegasus. Looking at those big purple eyes and excited smile made it difficult to disappoint her. Rainbow Dash straightened up and put on her best smile.

"Hey there, squirt." The moment Dash had made the statement, Scootaloo ran toward the older pegasus and hugged as tight as she could. Rainbow Dash looked down at her a moment, then hugged back.

"I came to hang out and see how you were doing," the filly said, looking up. "So how much longer until your wings are better? When are you going to start doing your awesome stunts again?"

The question sent a twinge of emotional pain through Rainbow Dash, making her phantom wing ache with the desire to fly. Turning her head, she looked out the window a moment. A weight settled in the pit of her stomach. Fortunately, she did not feel the need to cry anymore. What she did feel was that maybe it was time to tell the filly the truth of the matter.

"Come on kid," she said as she broke the hug, "I think we should go somewhere and have a talk." She got up started heading for the door,

Scootaloo stayed where she was, blinking in confusion. As Rainbow Dash walked out of sight, the young filly got up and chased after her. Once caught up, Scootaloo followed closely as they headed down stairs.

"Hey Twi," Dash said as they walked toward the front door, "Scoots and I are going out for a while."

"Okay," Twilight responded, not really looking up from her book.

Dash was tempted to find Spike and let him know, but the pair of pegasi would probably be back before it was even noticed by the purple pony. She looked at Scootaloo and motioned with her head to follow. The blue pegasus started walking toward the door and outside.

The older pegasus stopped as she caught sight of Scootaloo's scooter. Actually, what got Dash's attention was what was attached to the scooter. A red wagon sat behind it, the handle tied to the back by a piece of rope. Rainbow Dash had seen it before. It was practically the official method of transportation for The Cutie Mark Crusaders. Dash had never seen it up close though. Usually she would catch sight of it shooting past on the streets while she sat on a cloud above it all.

"I thought maybe I could take you for a ride if you wanted," Scootaloo blurted out.

"I don't know," Dash replied. She then turned to look at the younger filly "Do you think you could handle it?" She gave a smirk, getting one in return.

Once they got going, Rainbow Dash found herself clinging to the wagon very tightly. Her eyes were wide as she held on, pressing herself as tightly against the bottom of the wagon as she could. Not the best move since she ended up feeling every bump against her stomach, her entire body jarred and shaken by the event.

Dash had no idea that Scootaloo could drive so fast. The filly had to be the fastest thing on wheels in all of Ponyville. Not as fast as when Rainbow Dash flew, but much faster than she had anticipated. It was not simply the speed that worried her since she was always moving as quick as she could. it was also the fact that Dash was not in control of the matter. Usually it was her own hooves or wings that she was using to move as quick as she could. She was relying wholly on her own reflexes and judgement to keep safe. Now she was relying on someone else.

A part of her was actually surprised to realize that she actually did trust Scootaloo enough to do this. Despite be afraid because she was not in control, Rainbow Dash actually believed that the orange filly would get the two of them around town safe and unharmed. Dash found it a little comforting to know she had so much faith in Scootaloo.

The two completed their circuit around and through Ponyville, returning to the Library without incident. When the ride stopped, Rainbow Dash hopped out and stretched her legs. She gave Scootaloo a grin.

"Not bad Scoots. You've got real talent with that scooter." The praise from Rainbow Dash go Scootaloo so excited, Dash almost expected her to explode. The older pegasus gave a quick glance at the younger's flank, noticing their was no mark on it. The filly will probably figure it out some time soon.

"Thanks," Scootaloo said, "So what did you want to talk about?"

The question made Rainbow Dash freeze for a moment. She had been so caught up in the ride she had forgotten the reason she had wanted the two of them out and alone to begin with. With a sigh, she sat down.

"Come here and have a seat." She pointed at a spot beside her. Scootaloo walked toward the spot. She looked at her idol with confusion as she moved to sit down.

Dash took a deep breath and began to tell Scootaloo the truth. She told what happened with the hospital and the loss of her wing. Dash was careful not to make it too gory, but she did explain that the word was "amputated" and what it meant. She went on to talk about the meeting with Luna and Discord, and how they could not help. The pegasus did mention that Twilight Sparkle was still looking for a cure, but Dash was feeling extremely skeptical of her chances by now.

"So," Scootaloo said, "you'll never be able to fly again?"

"Looks like it." Rainbow Dash looked down at the ground and away from Scootaloo. "Guess you're gonna want to look for a new big sister and hero to look up to..."

"No way!" Scootaloo practically shouted, "Even if you can't fly, you're still the coolest, awesomest, most radicalest pony ever! And there's no way I would ever give you up as my big sister." She moved closer, pressing herself against the older pony's side.

Rainbow Dash looked further away, keeping her face hidden. After all, it would not be cool to be seen crying.

"Heh," she sniffed, "Thanks kid." She turned to look down at Scootaloo. "You know this also means I won't be able to teach you to fly though, right?" Reaching up, she gave the young filly's mane a ruffle.

"I didn't think of that." Scootaloo shifted, sagging slightly. She suddenly perked back back up with a grin. "Maybe I can teach you to ride a scooter. Then you could start creating a whole new set of tricks and be the awesomest stunt rider ever!" She pulled away from the older one. "I'm going to go see if I can find a scooter big enough for you. See you tomorrow." Excitedly she ran to her scooter. As soon as she was on, the filly drove off as fast as she could go.

Rainbow Dash watched her go, feeling a swell of pride at Scootaloo's enthusiasm and optimism. Getting up, Dash went back to the library. Stepping inside she looked around. As she expected, Twilight Sparkle was still at her table looking through the books she got. Dash moved over to her friend, watching closely for a moment.

"So I told Scoots the truth," she said.

"Oh?" Twilight asked. She set the book down and turned to face Rainbow Dash. "What happened?"

"She went to get see about getting me a scooter so she could teach me how to ride."

"Does that mean I'm going to have to worry about getting run over by you now?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash looked at her a moment, Seeing the grin, she started to smile herself. Soon the two of them were chuckling.

Sparkle Still Needs Sleep

Twilight Sparkle let out a sigh of disappointment as she reached the last entry of the book and found it not what she was looking for. There were plenty of interesting spells that she could use later, but none that were helpful in regards to regrowing an entire limb. She set the book down with all the others that she had already gone through.

How long had it been since she the books had arrived? Seven days? Eight? Twilight was uncertain. She had been working on the problem constantly. The only times she would stop were to get something to eat when she got too hungry or sleep when she was too tired to see the words on the pages any longer. Whether it was day or night when she fell asleep was rarely noticed.

Twilight stifled a yawn, rubbing at her face. Taking a short break, she went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. A smile spread across her face as she caught sight of a glass of milk and a plate with a sandwich and hay fries. Her stomach let out a gurgle of anticipation as she pulled the food out of the fridge and moved to set it on the table. A small sigh of pleasure escaped her as she began to eat.

"Finally taking a break," a voice said from behind her. Twilight turned to see the source, though she recognized it from the sound already. Standing at the doorway was a sky blue pony with rainbow colored mane.

"I got hungry," Twilight said, turning back to her sandwich. She lifted a hoof to stifle another yawn before taking another bite.

"Twi," Rainbow Dash said as she moved move closer, "maybe after you should get some sleep."

"Don't be silly Rainbow Dash. I'm fine. I mean I know how..." she was stopped a moment as she yawned again, "to take care of myself."

"Twilight; it's been a week since the books arrive, and I've only seen you sleep twice in that time. Doesn't seem like it would do much good if you found something only to be too exhausted to do anything."

"Okay, okay. I'll go to bed after I finish this meal.... and one more book." Twilight tried to rush through the last part as quickly as she could.

"I'm pretty sure that you're going to pass out if you try and keep going," Dash said, narrowing her eyes at her friend.

"If I do, then Spike will just toss a blanket over me as he usually does." Twilight stopped a moment as a thought occurred to her. "Where is Spike, anyways?"

"He went to bed hours ago. Any sane pony would be asleep by now."

"So what are you still doing up?" Twilight asked. She moved to turn so she can keep eating her sandwich and watch her friend. Rainbow Dash shifted, looking down and away. She rubbed one of her hooves against the floor for a moment.

"I was in bed," the pegasus responded, "until I had a bad dream." She moved to sit down, letting out a sigh. "A week since I was visited by Luna and Discord, about two and a half since the accident and I still have nightmares nearly every night." Rainbow Dash sank lower on her forelegs, almost laying down. Her head was held low so the end of her snout practically touched the floor. The front of the rainbow colored mane flipped down, covering her eyes from being seen at an upper angle. She continued to shift one hoof back and forth.

Twilight Sparkle stared at her friend while still eating. The statement came as a bit of a surprise to the purple pony. She had not been aware that her friend had been having trouble sleeping, or that there had been consistent nightmares. Then again, Twilight was spending every waking minute she had going through the books and looking for a way to fix Dash's wing. As such, the alicorn had not really been paying attention to much of anything going on around here. Placing a hoof against her head, Twilight mentally kicked herself for her stupidity. She was so busy trying to find a way to help her friend that she was not even there to provide any comfort or support to the very same pony. The purple pony perked up as an idea suddenly came to her.

"Tell you what," Twilight said, "how about this: I go to bed after I eat this, and you come with me. That way I have some company until I fall asleep, and you have someone to comfort you if you have another bad dream. What do you think?" She smiled as she looked at Dash, uncertain if the pegasus was looking up at her through the colorful mane, or still staring down at the floor. The smile slowly started to fade as Twilight waited for a response. Seconds of silence seemed to crawl by.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash finally responded, "That's sounds like a good idea."

The smile returned on Twilight's face a moment. She then returned to her meal, unaware that she started to eat quicker. The last bites quickly disappeared, letting her stomach well satisfied. The pony stayed where she was a moment, enjoying the feeling before finally standing up.

"Alright Dash. Let's..." she stopped as she yawned again, dropping back onto her haunches. "Sorry. Think I'm more exhausted than I realized." Slowly, Twilight got back up and started for the door. As wobbled as she went, hitting her shoulder against the frame.

"Geez," Rainbow Dash said, "You're so tired that you can barely stand. You'll probably crash before you get upstairs." Her eyes rolled a moment at her friend. She stood up and walked toward the tired pony.

"I'm fine. Just give me a moment to collect myself. HEY! What are you-" Twilight shifted, blinking in tired confusion as Rainbow Dash moved to slip under her.

"Trust me. This will be faster and safer." Shifting, the light blue pony got her friend across her shoulders. Adjusting her stance, Dash pushed up. She let out a growl as her body tensed, taking the weight onto her shoulders and lifting Twilight off the ground.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight snapped, "Put me down!" Her statement was ignored as Rainbow Dash began to carry her. "You know I'm a princess now, right? I could order you to put me down."

"You could," Rainbow Dash agreed, "doesn't mean I'll follow it. Or I could point out that as one of your subjects, it is at times my duty to help you when and how I can, including assisting you to your room." She grinned at her friend as she continued to walk. Reaching the base of the stairs, Dash carefully began to climb up, making certain to not hit her friend's head or flank against the walls.

Twilight let out a snort, rolling her eyes. Otherwise she did not really fight being carried. As they climbed the stairs, her gaze drifted to her friend's flank. She could see the strong muscles of the leg flex beneath the fur. The movement was almost hypnotic.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was unaware of being checked out. Her attention was more focused on the space of the hall. After all, she did not want to hit her friend against either wall. Reaching the doorway, the pegasus turned and shifted to get the two of them in without incident. She carried her friend to bed, gently setting Twilight down before climbing in herself.

Twilight Sparkle moved to lay down, getting comfortable quickly. She turned to look at Rainbow Dash moving to lie down beside her. The pale blue pegasus moved to get closer, wrapping an foreleg around the purple pony and moved closer. Twilight looked down at the head now resting against her chest, moving one hoof to rub along Dash's side.

Tilting her head, she nuzzled at the soft rainbow colored mane. Twilight closed her eyes and breathed in, taking in the scent of her friend. After a few minutes, the silence was broken the sound of her friend's gentle snoring. Twilight grinned

"Good night, Rainbow Dash." She placed a small kiss on top of the sleeping mare's head.

"...I love you..."

Rainbow's Run

Rainbow Dash woke up with a yawn, trying to open her eyes. She felt a lot better than she had in days. It had been nice to get some sleep without having bad dreams constantly. It had been so nice she considered rolling over and going back to sleep. Rainbow stretched out, and stopped as the warmth against her underside finally registered. Opening her eyes fully and looking down she found... Twilight sleeping against her?

Slowly everything started to come back to Rainbow Dash. She had gotten up in the middle of the night and gone downstairs where she found Twilight in the kitchen. Dash had insisted that Twilight go to bed, who had countered with the offer of them sharing a bed. Dash had accepted and ended up carrying Twilight upstairs to bed. The two of them then cuddled up and went to sleep.

Except the way Dash remembered it, she had cuddled up to Twilight's chest when falling asleep. How had they ended up moving enough to be spooning? And how did Dash end up being the big spoon for that matter? Not that she minded. Shifting slightly, she nuzzled at the back of one of Twilight's ears. Hopefully the slight tickling sensation would wake the other mare up.

Twilight Sparkle flicked her ear as something tickled the base of it. As the feeling continued, she raised a hoof to swat it away..and felt a muzzle? Twilight suddenly felt wide awake. Turning, she saw the familiar face of Rainbow Dash. Twilight let out a sigh, relaxing as she remembered what happened last night. She smiled up at her friend.

"Hi."

"Hey."

"Sleep well."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash looked around, "I wonder how long we've been asleep though. What time is it?"

Twilight chewed on her lips and shifted, looking around.

"After ten," she finally said. "I guess we should probably get up."

"Yeah," Dash agreed.

The two of them continued to lay there, neither getting up. They continued to look at each other, Twilight's back pressed against Dash's chest and stomach.

"We should get up," Twilight said again, "can't stay in bed all day. I still have more books to go through." But she still did not move. She looked at Rainbow Dash's eyes, and thought she saw something. Pulling away, Twilight rolled over to look at Dash face to face again.

Now, Twilight was able to fully see the look in her friend's eyes. It was a look that she had seen before, but had not recognized back then. The look she was seeing in Rainbow Dash had been the one she had seen a dozen times when she was a filly. It was the same way her brother had looked at Cadence; a look of desire.

Licking at her lips, Twilight moved closer. She continued to look Rainbow Dash in the eyes as she brought her muzzle closer to her friend's. Twilight could almost smell the scent of her friend. The alicorn's heart pounded in her chest as she moved toward the pegasus, pursing her lips.

Twilight Sparkle pushed away from her friend and rolled out of bed.

"I should really get back to my research books," she blurted out. Her ears pulled back close to her head and she could her face burning as it turned beet red.

"Yeah, okay." Rainbow Dash replied. She pushed the blanket off her and climbed out of bed. Moving around it, Dash pressed her shoulder against Twilight a moment, then gave her a nudge.

"I'm going to go for a run," Dash stated, "It's been quite a while since I've had a proper work out."

"Okay," Twilight responded, not looking at her friend.

Rainbow Dash looked at her a moment. As Twilight continued to look away, the pegasus finally shrugged and walked away. She turned back at the door to give one last look before leaving the room and heading down the stairs.

Once outside, she began to stretch out. Although she had taken a few walks, it had been a while since Rainbow Dash had enjoyed a proper work-out. Hopefully the weeks of inactivity had not made her too soft.

As she thought about soft, her mind began to drift to Twilight. When the two of them were cuddled up in bed together, Dash noticed how Twilight's body felt. Being more interested in books than working out, naturally Twilight would not be as fit as Dash or Applejack. Despite not being as physically active, the alicorn was still pretty fit. There was a little bit of fat on her form, but it seemed to be mostly around her hips and flanks.

Rainbow Dash gave a shook of her head, trying to push the thought away. Feeling stretched and limbered, her body was ready to run. Looking around, she studied the area around her and considered her route. She did not want to spend the entire day running, and she was not as fast a runner as she was... as she used to be as a flyer.

After some consideration, Rainbow Dash decided that it was time to go back to the field where the tornado had been. It would be better to confront the area instead of trying to avoid it for as long as possible. It also meant an opportunity to visit Fluttershy. Dash had not seen the shy yellow pegasus since the party for getting out of the hospital. Having decided, Rainbow Dash started to move at a canter.

The late morning sun felt wonderful on her body, soaking through her coat and making her feel warm. The only exception was the spot covered by a bandage. Since the spot where her wing had been amputated had been healing, Dash was no longer wrapped in gauze and padding as she originally had been. Now it was just a small patch over the immediate spot to protect the stitches and prevent infection until the wound healed completely.

She enjoyed the feeling of her run as she went. It felt great to finally work out again after a month. She kept from the major roads as she went through town, keeping the steady pace as best she could. Every muscle in her body tingled as she worked them. Rainbow Dash was probably going to be stiff and sore tomorrow, and she was actually looking forward to it.

After getting through town, she reached the edge of the field. Although she did not intend to, Rainbow Dash stopped at the edge, looking out across it. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as it went dry. Her heart started to race faster than it had during her entire run.

Dash had been planning to do a full gallop across the field to Fluttershy's. Looking at the area now, her legs wobbled and she did not feel up to it. Instead, she walked across it, going slowly. She looked around as she did, looking to see if there was any damage still visible from the tornado.

The suction of the funnel had torn a furrow into the ground. It was not too bad, about a foot and a half deep and nearly three wide. It was on the long side, close to six feet maybe. As she looked at it, Rainbow Dash noticed something; grass. It was not much yet, but there was fresh grass starting to sprout and grow in and on the furrow. In its own way, the field was healing as well. There would be a scar from the spot being deeper than the rest around it, but soon it would look more like it used to.

Rainbow Dash tried to hold onto that thought a moment. If the ground could heal from its devastation, so could she. The flicker of hope quickly faded with a sigh. It was not the same thing though. It would be more like she were a tree that had its roots ripped from the ground. Pushing the thoughts aside, she continued toward Fluttershy's hut.

Reaching the front, she knocked on the door with her hoof and sat down to wait. After a moment the door cracked open. A blue eye peaked out through the crack, looking through a length of pink mane.

"Hey Fluttershy," Dash said, looking at the peaking pony.

"Oh," a meek voice said, "Hello Rainbow Dash. Are you here to pick up Tank?" The door opened further to reveal the yellow pegasus. A tortoise wearing a pair of goggles on its face and a propeller on its shell flew out toward Rainbow Dash. Stopping in mid-air, it stretched out to rub its cheek against hers. The action got a grin from the blue pegasus, returning the motion.

"Yeah," Dash replied, "but also to see you. Haven't seen you since I got out of the hospital." She looked at her friend, who looked away to stare at the floor.

"Oh," Fluttershy mumbled, "um..sorry. Uh... Well I was just about to have lunch. You could join me. That is... if you want to."

Rainbow Dash moved to step inside, seeing Fluttershy smile. The two of them walked to the kitchen, working their way around the various animals that shared the house. Most seemed to ignore the pair of ponies The one exception was a white rabbit sitting on the couch and glaring at Rainbow Dash.

Dash glared back a second then continued to follow her friend to the kitchen. Fluttershy was quickly grabbing another plate and glass, setting it on the table.

"So," she said as she continued, "Uhm.... how is everything going?" She then started to fill Dash's plate.

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh, rolling her eyes. Getting comfortable, she began to fill Fluttershy in on what happened. She talked about the nightmares, and the dream with Luna and Discord. She talked about Scootaloo and the scooter plan. Dash also talked about how Twilight Sparkle was still looking through her books for a spell to grow the wing back.

"Uhm, Dash?" Fluttershy slowly said. "I... uh... never said... I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Rainbow Dash repeated in confusion. "Sorry for what?"

"Well... If it hadn't been for me... you wouldn't have been out in the storm and... well..."

"Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that you've been blaming yourself for what happened?"

"Well... yes. I mean you came out in the storm to stop the tornado because-"

"It would have hit Ponyville and ponies would have gotten hurt!" Rainbow Dash cut her off. She sighed, rolling her eyes. Fluttershy looked away, almost ducking under the table in the process. Dash got up and walked over, sitting beside her friend. Reaching out, the blue pegasus put a hoof on her yellow friend's flank.

"Okay," Dash said, "Yes that would have included you, but it wouldn't have mattered. If you hadn't been living here, it would have been a different pony in danger and I still would have done it. Honestly, even I had thought there had been time to wait for the others, I probably still would have tried to do it alone. We both know how my ego can be."

"...yeah..." Fluttershy mumbled. The entire time Rainbow Dash had been talking, Fluttershy had not been looking at her. The yellow pegasus had been looking the other way and looking down with her face covered by her mane. Now she turned and looked and looked at Dash with tear filled eyes. The two pressed close to each other and hugged for a moment.

"Alright," Rainbow Dash said as she pulled away, "That's enough mushy stuff. Don't want to get all sappy. Besides I have a run to finish." She stopped as she reached the door to the living room and faced Fluttershy. "I'm still staying at the library for now. And you don't have to wait for me to come see you here you know."

"Oh...uhm... okay." The yellow pegasus gave a nod, looking at her friend.

"Come on Tank," Rainbow Dash said as she continued across the living room and toward the front door. Tank flew after her, literally, as they headed out of the hut and back outside. Dash watched her pet a moment before walking down the hill from Fluttershy's house and out to the field. As she got further away, the pegasus began to speed up until she ran at a full gallop. It was only long enough to reach the out buildings of Ponyville, at which point she returned to a canter.

The return run to the library had been as uneventful the run from it. As the large tree came in sight, Rainbow Dash felt a sense of relief and excitement. The work out and visit with Fluttershy had been great, but she was glad that it was almost over. Plus she would get to hang out with Twilight Sparkle again.

Dash slowed down as she reached the door, stopping to push it open. She was just in time to hear a groan of frustration and a thump. Twilight Sparkle was at her table, head resting against the surface with her eyes closed.

"What's wrong, Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked as she moved closer.

"Wrong?" Twilight Sparkle groaned. "What could possibly be wrong? Just because I have been sent books of spells from some of the most powerful unicorns in history and can't even find one healing spell, doesn't mean anything is wrong, does it?"

"You haven't found anything?"

"I wouldn't go that far." Twilight lifted her head and looked at her friend. "I've found spells that will help replace lost fur, spells to reduce swelling from sprains, and spells to help set broken bones to help them heal. I also found one theory for a spell which is supposed to help grow new skin that the creator never got to work. With some experimentation and study, I might get that to work, which means I could have something for cuts and scrapes. From that I could possibly come up with a way to regenerate your wing, with luck and years of work." She groaned and planted her head on the table again. "And I'm almost out of books to check." She perked up. "Maybe I missed something. If there's nothing in these then I can go back and-"

"No," Rainbow Dash suddenly cut in. "I know you, Twilight. You didn't miss anything. If there had been a spell you were looking for, you would have found it."

"I guess." The alicorn slowly shifted again. "I could try and go see Zecora tomorrow. Maybe she'll know something that helps. A book I missed or a spell of her own or something."

"Great. As for me, I'm going to take a shower." Dash grinned at Twilight. "Do you want to join me?" She gave a wink then turned and started for the stairs without waiting for an answer.

Twilight would be grateful for that too. Her eyes went wide at the teasing. She could feel her face heat up as she blushed again. It was made all the stronger and more embarrassing to her because a part of her was actually considering it. Twilight said nothing and stayed where she was. Her gaze stayed on her friend, watching Dash's backside as she went up the stairs.

No Tome to Help

Twilight Sparkle let out a sigh as she reached the last page of the book she was looking at. Once more, she had found no spell that would actually be of use her pursuit of finding a way to regrow a limb. It was really starting to seem odd. In the thousand plus years since Equestria was founded, there had to be ponies of every type which had suffered injuries. So why were there not more attempts to find a way to heal and mend them? Why could she not find any indications of a unicorn attempting such a spell? Something other than a just a theory on how to help regenerate lost skin.

Turning, she grabbed the next book, and realized it was the last one. Twilight felt a mix of relief at nearly being finished with the books and disappointment that none of the books had been what she needed to help her friend. She had been going at this day and night, stopping to eat or sleep and once to visit Zecora (which got her some possible potions to help improve healing and reduce scarring that might be of use, but nothing to help with a lost limb).

Twilight picked up the last book and stopped as she looked at it. It was not so much a book as a journal; more the type that somepony would keep notes in instead of something to be used by others for future reference. The cover was made of a flexible leather that was held closed with a metal clasp. Unlatching it, she opened the book. As soon as she did, a sheet of paper fell out. Twilight recognized the penmanship, she had been reading it since she was old enough to do so. Setting the book down, she picked up the note.

My dear Twilight Sparkle,

I was hoping you would not read this note. For if you are, it means that you are about to read this journal. If possible, please save this as a last resort should none of the other books which you have requested been of help.

To start, this is not one of the books you had requested. It is a journal of a unicorn of great intelligence but questionable morals. I will not go too much into the events of his life, but he became obsessed with matters which lead him into illegal activities and dabble in black magic. He kept many journals and made many notes on his quest. Most of them have been locked away due to being far too dangerous. This is the only one which is considered safe enough to be seen by the public, and I am told the most likely to have the answer that you seek. My hope is that it is not necessary and that you find what you need before reading beyond this note.

Please be careful.

Signed,

Princess Celestia.

Twilight stared at the note a long moment, blinking in confusion. What could the pony have been up to in order to have the other journals locked away? Twilight knew of such things happening before. Like this, there had been some where the pony had some which were forbidden and others that were available. Maybe she could ask the Princess Celestia about it some other time.

Setting the note back down, Twilight picked the book back up. She opened it once more and turned to the first page. In a smooth curving penmanship, The Journal of Doctor Victor Frankencolt was written across it. It was a name that Twilight had never heard of before. Flipping the page, she began to read.

The term was not entirely accurate though. There were small paragraphs of writing, but there were also drawings. Not random sketches of figures as somepony who was learning to draw might do. They were more anatomical drawings used to study medicine. There were drawing of legs, wings, and heads; full lengths of spinal columns; later in the book were various bodily organs. Every image would have several parts of it labeled for reference.

As Twilight continued to read, the drawings appeared less often. The ones that did appear seemed to be in regards to surgical processes need to re-attach a lost limb. The concept was a bit crude, but very similar to the method that was currently used if a leg or wing could be saved.

Twilight Sparkle slowed down as she reached a portion she had not read of in any book before. The pony that had written the journal reached a point where he was trying to figure a way to maintain the functionality of a severed limb while detached from the main body. There was mention maintaining blood flow and several times using galvanism to work the muscles and maintain nerve impulses. It was interesting and could have been useful if they still had the wing, but not really something which was of use at the moment.

Near the end, she found a part which may be what she was looking for. There was a point where Frankencolt had begun to speculate on a way to regenerate a limb. Flipping a little further ahead, she found a part where he had managed to perform a few experimental attempts on volunteers.

Twilight's hope quickly came crashing as she read on. She had come so close to finding an answer. With a sigh she flipped on, continued to see if there was more information that would help. Reaching the end of the journal, she set it with the others with a sigh.

"No luck?" a voice asked from behind her. Turning toward it, Twilight found Rainbow Dash at the bottom of the stairs.

"No," the purple pony said with a shake of her head, "I found something that came close, but it didn't work and the pony who wrote it did not actually explain the magic use to even get as close as he did." She closed her eyes and rubbed at her head gently. "I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, but I don't think that there is anything else I can do."

"Thanks for trying," Dash said, moving closer to give her friend a hug. Twilight smiled and moved to hug back. Shifting, she nuzzled at the rainbow colored mane, giving it a gentle sniff. She suddenly pulled away, perking up.

"Maybe we don't have to give up yet," Twilight exclaimed. "Maybe we can use The Elements of Harmony. It grew back Rarity's tail and helped restore the cutie marks to the right ponies. Maybe they have the power to help restore your wing as well."

"Twilight, you can't seriously be thinking about doing something like that, can you?" The pegasus tilted her head, one eyebrow raised. One of the ears twitched as she stared at her friend.

"No," the purple pony admitted, sagging. "But I'm out of ideas. I want to do something to help because your my friend and I... uhm... Well..." She looked away as she tried to figure out how to say it aloud to an awake Rainbow Dash. As such she did not realize what was happening until she felt a pair of lips pressing against her own.

Twilight's eyes went wide as she looked at Rainbow Dash. Slowly the shock faded, giving away to excitement. Closing her eyes, she pressed forward, returning the kiss with her own. Twilight let out a gasp as the kiss broke, trying to catch her breath. She could feel her heart thumping against the inside of her chest.

"I know," Rainbow Dash said, "I... I feel the same way about you." As she said this, the pegasus looked down at the floor. She turned bright red with embarrassment as she confessed her feelings.

"You do?" Twilight blinked rapidly in confusion. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well at first I didn't think you did," Dash said, still not looking at Twilight. "Then I thought you did, but wanted to wait for you to come to me because I didn't want to scare you off..." She chewed her lip a moment. "And I was scared. If I was wrong, it would really mess things up between us."

"Oh." Twilight moved to rub her cheek against Dash's "Well you weren't wrong. As for telling you... I wanted to. It just... with all that was going on, it seemed like a bad time." She shifted her body. "So what happens now?"

"With you and me?" Dash shifted as she spoke. "I guess we start trying to date and see if there actually is enough between us for a relationship that is more than just friends." She turned to look at Twilight. "As for just me... I guess I'm going to have to find a new job and sell my house in the clouds, look for a place of my own."

"A place of your own?" the purple pony asked. "Why? You can stay here as long as you want."

"I know. But I have a house full of a life and memories, and there's not enough room here. Besides, I think it would be more fun to come pick you up for a date some times. Maybe I can even invite you over for dinner some times."

Twilight Sparkle looked at Rainbow Dash a moment, then slowly smiled.

"That sounds nice."

Last Look at a Home

Rainbow Dash gripped onto the ski of the Pinkie-copter, holding as tightly as she could. She would either look up above her, back around to Pinkie piloting the device, or straight ahead; basically anywhere but down.

It was a very new experience to the pegasus. All her life she had flown, and loved it. Now she was afraid of heights. That was the big difference now though; Dash had flown. She was able to fly through the air under her own power. Now she could not do that. If she fell, there was nothing she could do to save herself. At best, she could flap her wing and create a pretty rainbow spiral before crashing into the ground.

After a while longer, Dash did not know how long, the house made of clouds came into view. The pegasus gave a smile as she caught sight of her home. A smile which quickly faded at the thought of possibly not seeing it again.

"Are you sure you want to do this Dashie?" Pinkie Pie asked. She panted as she pedaled hard, working the the gears that controlled the propeller using hoof-power. Working the Pinkie-copter seemed to be the only thing that caused the pony to show any signs of exertion. Rainbow Dash sometimes wondered if the pink pony ever actually slept, or just jumped on the bed all night.

"I'm sure," Dash said, glimpsing back at her friend. "I can't get up and down anymore. A cloud house should be used and enjoyed by a pegasus that can actually fly. I'm going to miss the place, but I'll be fine. Really." She turned back toward the house, watching as it got closer.

The copter had been modified magically since the last time it had been repaired. One of the changes was that Pinkie could now land her contraption on a cloud. It was one that she now used, setting down on the equivalent of the front lawn. As soon as she landed, Pinkie Pie hopped off the Pinkie-copter, using the cloud-walking spell cast on her to bounce up toward the front door.

Rainbow Dash stood up and climbed off. She walked up as well, watching her friend. It seemed like the pink pony had recovered from being worn out as soon as they landed. Reaching the front door where her friend waited, Dash pushed it open and went inside.

The place really was larger than one pony alone would need. The entire place would be better suited more for an entire family than a single mare. It was more a tower than anything, standing about three stories in height. It was also a bit messy. Nothing was actually dirty, but there were things all over the place that could be picked up.

"Rainbow Dash," a voice shouted from outside, "Pinkie Pie, we're here. We also have the boxes." At the sound, the two turned around to look back outside. Twilight Sparkle, as well as Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack, moved to climb out of the hot air balloon floating against the edge of Dash's home. Twilight and Rarity's horns glowed as they levitated several empty cardboard boxes. Fluttershy lifted one in her mouth to carry with her, and Applejack had four stacked on her back.

Rainbow Dash smiled at the sight of her other friends. Stepping outside she moved past them and down to the balloon to grab a box as well. Somehow, Pinkie Pie was already there, climbing out with one box covering her head and another her tail. She bounced past Dash and into the house again, the boxes not even seeming to shake with the motion. The blue pegasus continued to grab two boxes and carry them inside to join the others.

"Well I've never really packed up a house before," she told them, "so I'm not really sure where to start. I guess just start by working where ever you want." Picking her boxes back up, she started up the stairs. The other five looked at each other a moment, then started to spread out and begin packing where they could.

For her part, Rainbow Dash went to her room. Stopping at the door, she looked around for a moment. There were not a lot of memories in this room, but the most important things were here as well. She mostly just slept in here (or anywhere in the house she felt like actually), but it was also where she kept the most important things she had collected from her life and adventures.

Looking around at everything, she started to make decisions on what to do with what. First she set aside two things to take with her when she left; her guitar and a framed photo. She then began to pack. With one box, she started by placing a pillow in the bottom of it. Next she put in some things which were fragile. The pegasus continued to pack that way, alternating between her bedding and items that were delicate.

Next she began to pack the Wonderbolts memorabilia. Dash decided to include the dress she wore to the Gala since she had been wearing it the first time she met Spitfire and Soarin. It had been so exciting to meet Wonderbolts, even if she did end up embarrassing herself by trying to show off and get their notice.

Rainbow Dash stopped a moment as she pulled out her uniform from her time with the Wonderbolt Academy. That had made her stop for a moment. It made her feel a strange mix of joy and sadness. It had been fun training and she was quite proud when she when she had made it as a commander, if also a little guilty that Lightning Dust got in trouble for being reckless. The pride and triumph of that moment made the memory of not being able to become a Wonderbolt now all the sharper, an emotional scar that was torn open once more.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight Sparkle called from the door, "We thought you'd be down for more boxes by now. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Dash put the uniform into the box. "Just getting caught up in memories and dreams. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do now." Twilight moved closer, giving a nuzzle on the cheek.

"You'll find a way." The purple pony turned toward the guitar. "You are not playing that in the library though."

"Not even one power cord?" Dash asked, chuckling with a little grin. Twilight rolled her eyes at the joke, then stopped as she saw the picture.

"Are those your parents?" Twilight asked, pointing at the framed image.

"Yeah. Dad worked at the factory to make rainbows and mom was on the weather team."

"You never seem to talk about them. Are they..." Twilight stopped a moment, trying to think of how to phrase the question.

"Dead?" Rainbow Dash gave a shake of her head. "No. We kind of drifted apart when I got older. Anyway, they're retired now. Traveling. Sometimes I get a postcard from them. Makes it kind of hard to send them a message though."

"Oh." Using her magic, Twilight lifted the picture and brought it closer. "You look a lot like your dad."

"What can I say? Being this awesome must run in the family." The pegasus grinned as her friend rolled her eyes.

"I'll take this down stairs," Twilight said as she set down the picture and picked up the box with bedding. "I'll let the others know you're okay, but if don't take too much longer with that one, okay?"

"Okay." Dash watched her friend go, letting her gaze drift to Twilight's rump to watch it shake. Once Twilight was out of sight, Dash continued to pack her Wonderbolts collection. She packed each piece as carefully as she could, the last being the autographed poster that had been on her wall for years. She set it on top, making sure not to fold it too much so it would avoid getting creased. Finished, she carried it downstairs.

The others were still working, putting as much as they could into the boxes. It actually seemed to be going quicker than expected. At the rate everypony else seemed to be going, The house would be packed before the end of the day. That would mean that Dash would only have to come back the day the movers came to collect everything and put it in storage. Once that was done, the cloud house would be put up for sale. Hopefully it would sell quickly so Dash could use the money from it to purchase a new home in Ponyville.

The six of them managed to get the entire house packed up and ready to leave before it got dark. It was a bit of a relief when it was all done. All of them sat in the living room, facing each other. Rainbow Dash shifted, looking around.

"It looks... different," she said. "With everything packed up and ready to go, it kind of doesn't feel like my home anymore. Seems so... big... and empty..."

"Would you care to be alone, darling?" Rarity asked.

"No," Dash replied with a shake of her head, "I think we should get going though. Let me just grab some things that I left upstairs." Getting off the couch she went upstairs to grab her parent's photo and her guitar. As she came back down, the others were already standing and waiting for her by the door. The six of them left, walking down the front toward the hot air balloon and Pinkie-copter.

Halfway down, Rainbow Dash stopped and turned around. She stood there, staring up at the tower that had been her home. She was going to miss it. After all it had been the first place she lived in that was just hers. The pegasus had planned on being there the rest of her life. She even dreamed it would become a museum to her after she joined The Wonderbolts. Giving a single sniff, she turned away and headed back to the Pinkie-copter. As soon as she was on, Pinkie started pedaling and they were off.

An Attempt at Fine Art

Rainbow Dash limped back toward the library, head low and ears down. Twigs stuck in her mane and tail and her coat was so covered in grass, she nearly looked like she was supposed to be green instead of her natural sky blue. Every muscle in her body ached, and not in a way she was really used to.

Next to her, Scootaloo pushed along on her scooter. The young filly went slowly, matching the pace of the older pegasus. Occasionally, the young orange pony would glimpse toward her friend before looking forward again.

"It was pretty good for a first try," Scootaloo finally said, "Maybe you'll do better with a scooter made for older ponies."

"I appreciate the thought, squirt," Rainbow Dash replied, "but I don't think that I'm ever going to be very good on one of those things. You must have some real talent to do half of what you can with it."

"Thanks," the young filly squealed excitedly. The grin on her face faded quickly. "So, does that mean you're going to give up?" She almost missed it when Dash stopped, causing the young filly to make a hard stop and turn to face the older pegasus.

"Are you kidding me? Do you really think that I'm going to give up just like that?" The stained pegasus sat down, looking at the younger one. "Kid, if I gave up just because I couldn't do something the first time I tried, I would not be half as awesome as I am. Do you have any idea how many times I crashed when I was learning to fly and first trying to do my awesome stunts?"

"No."

"Me either. Because it happened so many times that I lost count." Reaching out, Rainbow Dash grabbed Scootaloo and pulled her into a hug. "Trust me on this, even if you're good at something naturally, you still have to keep trying to be great. Got it?"

Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash a moment, seeming to be awestruck. After a moment, she shut her mouth and smile, giving a nod. Taking advantage of the closeness, she gave the other pony a hug, getting her mane ruffled in return. After a moment the two broke apart and continued on. As soon as they reached the front of the library, Scootaloo peeled off to head home on her own.

"Hey, Twilight," Rainbow Dash called out as she entered the building. She continued to limp in, heading straight for the stairs. Twilight turned at the sound of her name, smiling. The smile froze a moment before slowly shifting as she caught sight of the condition Rainbow Dash was in.

"What happened to you?" Twilight finally managed to ask.

"Well let's see..." Dash sat down, thinking a moment. "I was traveling down hill to build up speed when I hit a rock and was launched over the handlebars and landed face first in the ground. I managed to do a jump from the hill, but the front wheel landed wrong so scooter and I both fall to the side. I tried jumping again and spinning the scooter, but I guessed the time wrong so we crashed. That time I ended up rolling down the hill. Uhm... something happened with a bush. That's kind of fuzzy. Basically every thing I tried to do with Scootaloo's scooter ended up with me crashing." She stood back up. "So now, I'm going to take a shower and see how much of this I can wash off."

"Before you do that," Twilight moved as she spoke, "Pinkie Pie stopped by for you. I told her you were out with Scootaloo and didn't know when you would be back. She left a gift for you. We set it up in your room." She smiled then turned to the stairs and started toward them.

"Can't it wait until after I shower?" Rainbow Dash groaned. She stretched her body, feeling a pain in her back from one of the hits it took. Her remaining wing gave a quick flutter before folding back up against her side. She followed her friend to and up the stairs.

"I suppose it could," Twilight admitted, looking back, "but if Pinkie Pie was right then you would just have to wash up again after."

That statement made Rainbow Dash stop a moment. She tilted her head, staring at her friend who continued up the stairs. It was kind of an odd statement. She could not help but wonder; what had Pinkie Pie have brought that would have her needing to take wash up after.

In the room that Dash was supposed to be staying in (she had actually been sharing the bed with Twilight since they expressed their feelings for each other), there was an old sheet spread out on the floor. Standing on top of the sheet was an easel with a large canvas set atop it. There were also containers of paint and several brushes.

"Painting?" Dash asked, moving to look at the set up.

"Pinkie thought that you could use your good wing like a brush," Twilight explained, "something about 'really neat whooshie flying movements' or something. She did bring you a few brushes just in case though." She pointed at them with her hoof.

Rainbow Dash looked at the brushes then back at the easel. She moved to circle around it, studying the whole thing curiously. It was very odd to the pegasus. She had never painted before in her life. Closest thing to it was when she would make rainbows.

"I don't know anything about painting," she finally said. Reaching out with a hoof she poked at the canvas.

"Well some say that you don't need to, since it's supposed to be a form of self-expression. If you want to learn about it, though, we do have some books on the matter."

"Maybe later. Guess it can't hurt to try her idea first." Stopping back in front of the easel, Dash turned to the paints and opened them. Her head tilted as she looked between the colors, trying to decide which one to start with. Finally she reached out with the wing that still remained attached to her right side, and dipped some of the primary feathers into the blue. The pegasus then reached out, stroking the paint across the canvas with a wave of her wing. She shifted to move across the surface several times, leaving a series of strokes.

Dash let out a chuckle as she looked at the marks she made. With greater enthusiasm, she dipped her wing into the green and added some of it to the image. As she got more excited, she added more colors. Her wing fluttered as she used it for a brush, dipping it into the paints and flapping it across the surface of the canvas. Red and purple, orange and yellow, all were added to the white surface, blending as they were added with long flying slashes and short quick flutters. Finished, she sat down, grinning as she looked at it. She then turned to Twilight Sparkle.

"So what do you think, Twi?" the pegasus asked, still grinning. Twilight moved next to her, sitting down to look at the new painting for a moment.

"It's pretty," she finally said. "Almost makes me feel like I'm flying. Do you think you'll keep painting then?"

"Maybe." Dash gave a shrug. "I don't know if I could actually do it to make a living, but it is kind of fun. Might just do it as a hobby or something." She stood back up. "I'm going to take a shower... Would you come help me?"

"Why Miss Dash," Twilight said with mock shock, "Are you suggesting inappropriate behavior between to mares in the bathroom?" In a more serious tone she added: "It does sound like a large jump from simply sleeping cuddled up together."

"It sounds like it could be fun," Dash replied with a grin, "but not exactly what I had in mind. Between how sore I am and how much dirt and grass I got on me, I'm going to need help getting cleaned up." She gave the other pony a shoulder bump. "If you think that you are ready to do more than cuddle, I could return the favor and wash you as well."

Twilight Sparkle looked at Rainbow Dash a moment. A smile slowly spread across her mouth as she moved closer. Twilight tilted her head down, rubbing against Dash's chest.

"That actually sounds nice," she murmured. "I think the new Daring Do is in. We can curl up and...what is it?" She looked up at the pegasus, feeling a shift in the way they were sitting. Twilight could see the wheels turning in her friend's head.

"You mentioned that the library had books on art," the pegasus said slowly, "Are there also books about writing?"

Major Announcements

Spike and the six ponies were all in the library. The seven of them sat around a covered table, chatting as they ate. Most of the plates were empty as they finished the main course. Some had finished quicker than others, feeling impatient as they waited for dessert. Others were finishing slower, more interested in talking than their salads.

Rainbow Dash stood up and cleared her throat. The sound drew the attention of the others, turning quiet as they looked toward the pegasus.

"I'm sure you are all wondering why you have been invited to this little dinner party," Dash said, getting some nods in response. "Well I have some announcements. The first one... is kind of personal. I doubt it's going to come to a surprise to any of you though. After talking about it last night, Twilight and I have decided to be open official as a couple." There were murmurs from the others.

"Well, ah di'n't expect that, but ah'm happy fer the two a' ya."

"I thought I detected something different between the two of you."

"Oh, that is wonderful."

"We should totally have a party to celebrate."

"So, when did you two actually start becoming romantically involved?" Rarity asked, turning to Twilight.

"Well it's kind of hard to say," Twilight said after thinking it over, "Dash and I started sharing a bed to actually sleep. That way there would be certainty that I got enough and Rainbow Dash wouldn't have any bad dreams. It was later on we admitted we were attracted to each other."

"So when did you two stop sleeping together," Pinkie Pie asked, "and started 'sleeping together?'" The question made Twilight's eyes go wide, her face turning bright red as she blushed at how personal it was.

"Anyway," Dash called out to get everypony's attention again, "the next one is a bad news good news type a thing. I'm going to be staying at the library longer than originally expected. That means that, bad news, my stuff will have to stay in storage longer than expected. The good news is it's because I'm buying the field I used to practice at so I can actually turn it into an exercise field."

"Yah mean like a place fer ponies to work out?" Applejack asked.

"Exactly!" the pegasus shouted with a grin. "I may not be able to fly, but I can still use the field for running. Others could do the same and who knows what else. Also figured I could hold classes or group training sessions on weekends or do some personal one on one when somepony wants to. Maybe even something for the foals."

"That sounds really great Dash," Twilight said. "Sounds like you found something you'll really enjoy doing. I also can't believe you managed to keep this secret from me at least long enough to send out the invitations."

"Yeah," Applejack spoke up, "It does sound like somethin' you would enjoy. What made yah come up with this idea though?"

"I was out there with Scootaloo," Dash explained. "Realized that even if I can't fly, I still really liked to go out there to run and work out. So I looked into it and found out that nopony owns it yet."

"Uhm..." Fluttershy mumbled as she slouched down. "Do you have enough to be able to afford it?"

"Okay," Dash called out with a roll of her eyes, "This is all getting very boring. Why don't we just have dessert and can stop worrying about it all."

"YAY!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she started to help serve the cake.

That night, after the party had been cleaned up and the other ponies went home, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash headed upstairs. Twilight followed, watching the backside of Dash. The pair went to their room, Spike having moved into the other when the couple started to become more playful in bed so he could sleep.

"I still can't believe you managed to keep that secret from me so well," Twilight said.

"Yeah." Dash climbed up into bed. "I wanted to tell you as soon as I thought of it. It was the only thing I could think of that's as awesome as I am."

The purple pony listened to her friend, smiling slightly. Her eyes went wider and ears perked as she got an idea. The smile grew wider, turning to a grin. Straightening up, she raised her chin.

"It may be as awesome as you are, but not as awesome as us."

"'Awesome as us?'" Dash repeated, blinking.

"That is correct," Twilight stated. "For you see, WE," she flared her wings out as wide as she could, "are Princess Awesome." She held the regal pose a moment, letting the statement sink in. She stopped the pose as the sound of laughter echoed through the bedroom.

"'Princess Awesome?'" Dash asked with a chuckle. "More like 'Princess Egghead.' Why are you acting so weird?"

"Now is that anyway for the Royal Love Servant to speak to her princess?"

"'Royal Love Servant?'"

"Yes," Twilight said, pointing at Dash, "You are my Royal Love Servant. As such, it is your duty to give me affection, including cuddles and kisses as I desire."

"And if I don't?" Rainbow Dash asked, more out of curiosity than defiance. She had seen Twilight's silly and fun side before, but this seemed a bit odd for the alicorn. It made Dash wonder what her friend was up to.

Twilight Sparkle turned her head, narrowing her eyes. Her horn began to glow as she started using her magic. The aura encompassed Rainbow Dash, holding her in place on the bed. The magic also encompassed a feather, levitating it for both to see.

"Oh no," Dash said, rolling her eyes, "Princess Egghead is going to make me write a letter."

"I am sure Princess Egghead would do such a thing. However, Princess Awesome has something else in mind." Twilight grinned, moving to stand at the foot of the bed. Using her magic, she kept Rainbow Dash in place and lifted one leg. The feather moved closer.

"Twilight?" the prone pegasus asked, her voice quivering. "What are you..No. Don't. Don't you dare-" She burst into laughter as the feather began to tickle the bottom of her foot. She squirmed and kicked, trying to get away from the feeling. It did not do much good since she was being magically held in place.

"You shall not escape the wrath of Princess Awesome!" Twilight shouted. She turned Dash onto her stomach then lunged on top of her. Pinning the pegasus, Twilight then brought the feather up, running it against the edge of the ear.

"Stop!" Rainbow Dash shouted, still laughing. "Stop, stop! I can't take any more!"

"Do you surrender?" Twilight asked, pulling the feather away just enough to keep from tickling.

"Yes. I surrender."

"And do you swear to be Princess Awesome's Royal Love Servant? To give us the attention and affection we desire and feel we deserve."

"I swear."

"Very well." Twilight put the feather down. "We accept this as your word and shall end your punishment. Now, the princess demands a kiss."

Rainbow Dash chuckled with a smile, then moved to do as she was ordered.

Opening Day

Rainbow Dash stood on the outside of the fence. Her head rested on one of the posts as she looked out across the field. There was a smile on her lips and a quiver in her stomach.

Since she had made the announcement, the pegasus had been working hard to get everything ready. There had been a lot of paper work to fill out at the mayor's office to fill out, first to buy the field then to get permits to turn it into a business. Once she owned it, it took a lot of work to get it ready. A fence had been built around it. Not to keep ponies in or out, but more to mark the boundaries. There were also areas set up for specific work out routines, such as the tracks set up for running; one for foals and one for adults.

Now it was the official grand opening. Today was the day that Rainbow Fields (why couldn't she come up with a better name?) would be starting business as a place for Ponyville ponies to exercise. It was really exciting.

It was also making her nervous. Not as bad as when she had been competing in the best young flyer competition. It helped that she was not going to be performing stunts in front of a crowd, especially the Wonderbolts. At the same time, this was a big deal. She was about to open her own business for the first time. She had put nearly every bit she had into the place. If it did not work out, Dash would be completely broke until she could get some other job.

Not that it would be too bad. She could always stay with Twilight Sparkle until being able to stand on her own hooves. That reminded Dash; Twilight and the others were all waiting for her. She should join them and open the field for everypony that's waiting. With a deep breath, she got up and moved away from the fence post. She gave one last adjustment of her hat, then continued toward the front.

A sign above the gate announced the name of the field. Below was a sign with "Grand Opening" scrawled across and each support beam had balloons tied to it. At some point, Pinkie Pie had set up a table outside the fence, and was now sharing drinks and sweets. Her other friends were there as well, and several other ponies. Dash stopped at the table, reaching under to pull out the bullhorn. Carrying it with her, she moved to stand in front of the gate.

"Mares, stallions and fillies!" she called out through the bullhorn, "Thank you all for coming to the grand opening of Rainbow Fields. My hope is that the ponies of Ponyville will have fun and get in shape." She set the bullhorn down and turned around to place one hoof on the gate's bolt.

"And now, I hereby declare Rainbow Fields," she slid the bolt back and shoved the gate.

"OPEN!"

A small cheer came up from a part of the crowd. Rainbow Dash moved to one side of the gate, smiling as she watched the ponies enter the field. She could not help but grin as the group filed past her. Her friends moved up, stopping beside her and watching as well.

"Well, Sugarcube," Applejack spoke up, "looks like you got quite a few here."

"Yeah," Dash squeeled, "Isn't it awesome?" The grin faded to be replaced by a look of concern. "Has anyone seen Scootaloo?"

"I'm sorry darling," Rarity said, "but I saw Sweetie Belle head out with her and Apple Bloom earlier today. Most likely they are so distracted with their attempts to get their-"

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ASSISTANT COACHES!" three voices shouted from behind the white unicorn, quite to her shock. The look on her face as her styled maned was ruined caused a laugh from Pinkie and a grin from Applejack. Rainbow Dash turned to look at the three. She was not smiling.

"Glad you could make it," she said, "but you three are technically late. You were supposed to be here when I actually opened."

"Sorry," Scootaloo said.

"We were going to try and get here early," Sweetie Belle added.

"But ah forgot mah whistle and we had to go back fer it," Apple Bloom finished. The three of them lowered their heads but lifted their gaze up at Dash. The trio made their eyes as wide as possible, tears filling the bottom. Each had their lower lip stuck out, quivering slightly.

"Alright, alright," Dash cried out, turning her head away and raising a hoof over her eyes, "Put the pouts away already. Just try to keep it from happening again, okay?" She lowered her foreleg, looking at the three. The crusaders all nodded, looking as innocent as possible.

"Come on," the sky blue pegasus continued. "We have work to do. Even have our first customer." Turning, she walked into the fenced in area with the three fillies following close and the other friends at a more casual pace. Dash grabbed a clipboard and took it with her as she continued.

The crusaders stopped, staring with their mouths falling open. Standing beside the smaller track was a pink earth filly wearing a tiara in her purple and white mane. Beside her was a grey one in glasses with silver mane.

"Guh," the pink one huffed, "Do we really have to go through with this? I mean my dad already paid you-"

"And I'm going to make sure he gets what he paid for," Dash interrupted. "You were sent here to work out, and you're going to. Now, I have a lot to do, but luckily I have some assistants to make sure get the exercise done." She motioned toward the crusaders. The pink and grey fillies' eyes went wide in horror.

"I have to listen to... THEM?" the pink one cried out.

"Yah mean we get to boss Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon around?" Apple Bloom asked, almost bouncing excitedly. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at her then at Dash, grinning as wide as possible.

"Hold on there," the adult pegasus called out. She moved toward the trio. "First, Diamond Tiara's the client, not Silver Spoon. Though if she wants to stay, she'll have to follows the same rules." Silver Spoon let out a groan of disgust, but stayed next to her friend.

"Second," Dash continued, "Only one of you will be coaching her. Which leads me to three." She shifted and her voice softened. "I know none of you are fond of Diamond Tiara, seeing as she picks on you. But, whichever of you decide to do this, I need to put a lot of trust in you on this. You have to be able to put aside your personal feelings enough to do your job and not be mean to her. Do any of you think you can do that?"

The three of them got quiet, looking back and forth from one to the other. The slouched slightly as they avoided looking at Rainbow Dash.

"Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo suddenly blurted out, pointing.

"Me?" The unicorn filly blinked in confusion.

"Scootaloo's right," Apple Bloom said with a nod, "If any o' us could give Diamond Tiara a fair chance, it's you."

"I don't know..." Sweetie Belle stared down at her hooves, rubbing one against the grass. She looked up as Rainbow Dash moved closer.

"Well they think you can." Dash reached out with her wing and put it on Sweetie Belle. "So looks like you're it." The pegasus began to lead the unicorn toward the two waiting earth ponies. "Just..."

Dash paused a moment, thinking. She was going to tell the young filly to "just be like," but be like who? Dash would jump into getting a fight too easily. Rarity would probably have a way of working this, but she could not imagine what. Pinkie would try to make friends, but that seemed unlikely. The pegasus thought of all her friends, but could not figure out what one would do that would work for Sweetie Belle as well.

"Just do you best," Rainbow Dash finally concluded. "Now here's the schedule so you can make sure she does all the exercise she's supposed to, and a bullhorn in case you need to give some encouragement." She handed the two items to the small filly. "Good luck."

Sweetie Belle took the clipboard and horn, looking at them a moment. After letting out a sigh, she walked over to where Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were waiting.

"Okay," the unicorn mumbled as she looked at the schedule, "First we are to do some warm-up stretches before running the filly track. So let's go going."

Diamond Tiara looked at Sweetie a moment, then turned her head up, letting out a sniff. Silver Spoon looked at Tiara, then mimicked her action.

"Come on," Sweetie Belle asked, "Pleeeease?" She looked at the pair, trying make her eyes as wide as possible. It did no good since the pair continued to look up and away. The only acknowledgement was a snort. The pleading look quickly faded to one of disappointment before shifting into irritation. Sweetie Belle picked the bullhorn back up and brought it to her mouth.

"MOVE IT!" she shouted through the device. The two earth ponies were knocked off their hooves, rolling as they were blown away by the shout. Soon as they got back up, they pair began to run. Sweetie Belle let out a little grin before following after them.

"I think she'll be able to handle it," Dash said with a chuckle. She watched a moment before turning to the two remaining crusaders. "Now for you two. You ready to work?"

"Yes, sir!" the pair of them shouted, giving a salute.

"Scootaloo," the adult pegasus stated, "get your scooter and go to the running track. If any pony starts to go slow, try to get them encouraged to keep running. Apple Bloom, go over and start showing the ponies some aerobics. Here's a list of what they need to get done. Dismissed." She gave a salute back and watched to two run off.

Twilight moved up, standing beside Dash. She watched the crusaders as well before moving to bump her shoulder against the pegasus. Twilight gave a gentle smile, getting one in return.

"First day and you already have assistants hard at work." Twilight lean closer, nuzzling. "You seem to be getting into the swing of things pretty quickly."

"Yeah. Hopefully things will keep up and this will actually work out." She turned to nuzzle Twilight back.

"Do... Do you still miss flying?" One of Twilight's ears flicker as she ask. She looks down, continuing to rub her cheek against the pale blue coat.

"...Yeah," Rainbow Dash finally replied. "I've been flying most of my life and I always thought I would be flying for years. It's been a part of me for so long that I think I'm always going to miss it. It doesn't hurt nearly as much as it used to though. And you know what?"

Dash moved away and turned around. She lowered her head to press it against Twilight's and gently pushed up to encourage the alicorn to look up. The two looked each other in the eye.

"I have something really wonderful," the pegasus said, "right here." Moving closer, she pressed her lips against Twilight, enjoying the moment.