Rainbow Dash sighed softly as she looked over Ponyville from her cloud. A cool autumn breeze drifted through the sky, bringing with it a chill that bit into the warm orange glow of the sunset. It was thanksgiving in Equestria, and ponies everywhere were preparing to enjoy the comforts of a warm home, a big meal, and a loving family. All ponies, that is, except for Rainbow Dash. The petite pegasus was alone this year, as she seemed to be every year. Not that it bothered her. Not too much. Her parents were long since gone, victims of the great war. She wasn’t the only one of her friends who had suffered a loss; Fluttershy lost her father, and Applejack lost both of her parents, but they had others in their family with whom they could bear the sorrow. Over time, they all filled in the gaps left by those lost, and moved on with their lives. Rainbow had moved on too, but there was no one left she could call her family.

As the setting sun sank lower in the horizon, Dash ruffled her cyan wings, shivering as the cold set in. With weather duties long over, and her friends otherwise occupied with their families, the pegasus had nothing to do. She hadn’t bothered to cook an elaborate dinner. With nopony else to enjoy it, she really didn’t see the point. Getting up, she spread her powerful wings, expertly sensing the air currents flowing past her. Finding one she thought favorable, she lifted off her cloud, and angled towards the town center. At the very least, a walk through town would stave off boredom more effectively than flying home.

Rainbow braced herself against the wind, the air biting her as she accelerated. She had always preferred flying in the summer. Her body was built for speed, and while her small frame greatly aided in this pursuit, it didn’t leave her with much insulation by pegasus standards. Ignoring the chill, Dash leaned into her downward assault, streamlining her body into a more aerodynamic shape. Rooftops grew larger and sped past as Dash cruised effortlessly into town. Flying, even if it was just gliding, always instilled a sense of pride in the rainbow pony. She was fast. Period.

Approaching the ground, Dash’s primary feathers twitched ever so slightly to steer her into a perfect landing right in front of Sugarcube Corner. Dash looked the bakery over, and thought of Pinkie Pie. As usual, the bubbly earth pony had gone home to her rock farm for the holiday. To this day, Rainbow Dash could not comprehend how such a peppy pony could have come from a place as dull as a rock farm. By this point, Pinkie was probably in the middle of singing one of her many songs. Probably about food, or maybe the joy of family. That last thought struck a chord in Rainbow’s mind, bringing her back to reality. It must be nice to have a family to go home to, she thought, as she began her walk through the town.

Rainbow Dash was content with her position in Ponyville. She had a beautiful home in the sky, and good friends she could hang out with regularly. It was only rare occasions like this that she ever felt alone.

Her travels brought her past Rarity’s boutique. Though she was no expert in cooking, Rarity had been all too happy to close shop in order to prepare for her family’s stay. She always went all out to cook her family the fanciest meal she could manage to put together, even if they did not all enjoy it as she intended. At this, Rainbow heard a muffled shout come from somewhere inside the boutique, followed by an equally loud retort. Rainbow smiled slightly. More than likely it was Rarity and Sweetie Belle arguing again. Probably over something silly like which fork to use. Rainbow dash giggled as she thought of all the times she had watched the sisters duke it out over the tiniest of misunderstandings.

As she passed Rarity’s boutique, Twilight Sparkle’s library came into view. Twilight had mentioned earlier that she and spike would be spending Thanksgiving with Princess Celestia in Canterlot. Her brother and parents would probably be there too. Not exactly the most typical of family structures, but the love was there. In many ways, Celestia was like a surrogate mother to Twilight, and even though Spike had no biological family, and wasn’t even a pony around, Twilight considered him just as much a part of her family as Shining Armor and her parents were.

Thinking so much about her friends served only to depress Rainbow Dash. She considered herself very lucky to have such wonderful friends, but with all the emphasis this time of year had put on family togetherness, Dash couldn’t help but think about what she was missing out on. She stopped walking, her motivation to keep herself occupied having been overcome by the paralyzing feeling that her walk was pointless. Strong and independent as she seemed, Dash was not immune to the loneliness that seemed to plague her life. As much as she tried to keep up with her friends, it always seemed like there was something in everypony else’s lives that she couldn’t catch up to. Something that she would never be able to experience. Thoughts of her parents ran through her mind. Old memories of her mother baking dinner, or of her father telling her bedtime stories.

What it all came down to was that Rainbow Dash missed her family. Feeling a chill run heavily up her spine, Dash grit her teeth and braced herself against the cold. Except she knew that it wasn’t the cold that bothered her. Her eyes watered, and her chest felt heavy. Forcing herself to move forward, Dash began trying to think of something to distract herself. She thought of Fluttershy in her cottage. Fluttershy’s family had died around the same time as Dash’s, and in the beginning they had always been a huge support to each other. Dash knew that if she needed, she could always go to Fluttershy’s, and share in the feast that she and the other woodland critters were having. Her door was always open. But something inside of her made Rainbow Dash decide that she didn’t want to bother her. Fluttershy would probably worry, and it really was something that shouldn’t be that big a deal. Dash reassured herself that she’d be able to overcome whatever sadness she was feeling. She could handle a little loneliness. She was awesome. Right? But in the back of Dash’s mind, she knew that she couldn’t.

Overcome by sadness, Rainbow Dash stopped in the street, grimacing in an effort to fight back tears. She felt pathetic for feeling this way, and she was glad the streets were empty. She knew she had to get home before somepony saw her, but just couldn’t manage to find any strength in her wings. Sitting down, Dash felt the light trickle of a single tear running down her cheek. Temporarily distracted from the world around her, Dash was oblivious to the sound of hoofsteps approaching from behind.

Author's Notes:

First fanfic! Split it up into a few chapters, because I think it helps with the flow a bit.