Fluttershy looked out her window and sighed. The pony she was expecting at her abode this evening was late, again. It seemed that the mare in question would always be late to these “appointments”. Much to Fluttershy's relief everything had calmed down after yesterday, the day of the town-wide pranking of Rainbow Dash. But she did admit, it was fun to pretend to be a cookie-eating zombie and her animals had fun as well.

The butter-colored pegasus cracked a slight smile as she saw a familiar rainbow dot walking, not flying, up the path towards her cottage. She turned from the window to get ready. Better late than never. With a flutter of her wings Fluttershy moved pillows this way and that, fluffing a few as she set them on her couch.

Soon enough, there was a meek knock on her cottage door. Fluttershy glided over and opened it. Beyond the doorframe stood a sullen Rainbow Dash whose ears drooped as she studied the floorboards. “Can I come in?” She asked softly as she rubbed her foreleg with the opposing hoof in a nervous fashion.

Fluttershy nodded and stepped aside to let her friend in and shut the door behind her. Rainbow Dash sulked over to her position on the overstuffed couch. “How are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked, making light conversation as she hovered over.

“I’ve been better.” Came the response from the prismatic mare who was lying prone on the sofa.

“Uh humm” Fluttershy set a pillow near Rainbow Dash’s flank. “Did you learn anything from last night?” She asked in a conversational tone.

Rainbow Dash sighed, she knew this was coming, so she had recited the response on her trip here. “That pranks are fun and good as long as everypony is laughing but that I sometimes take them too far.” She said in a robotic monotone before she looked to her long time friend and sighed with sincerity. “I’m really sorry Flutters. I shouldn’t have done that to you.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “I’ll be right back.” She walked upstairs to her bathroom, leaving the prismatic mare to her own thoughts. It wasn’t for too long though, before Fluttershy found what she was looking for and returned to her friend. “Ready?” She asked, holding something in her hoof.

Rainbow Dash grumbled and sat up, waiting for Fluttershy to sit on the couch. With grace that no pony could match, Fluttershy took her seat. Rainbow Dash flopped on her belly over her friend’s lap with her flank in the air as she brushed her tail out of the way.

Fluttershy revealed what she had brought down from the bathroom. A wide, thick wooden manebrush used only for this special “meeting” they had. Fluttershy spun it in her hoof. “Why did I ask you here?” She asked the mare the obvious question.

“I…I went too far with my pranks. I scared you when I shouldn’t have and pranked ponies I shouldn’t.” Rainbow Dash responded, the robot tone from before was gone and instead she had a hint of apprehension in her voice.

“Um hummm.” Fluttershy responded as she rubbed the smooth side of the brush to Rainbow’s flank, causing the mare to flinch.
“And honestly I would have pranked anyone who was out in the Everfree that night.” Rainbow let out a soft chuckle. “You just happened to be the only pony out that late. Since you like to be up late anyway it just seemed like perfect timing.” She dug herself into a deeper hole.

Fluttershy had stopped her rubbing with the brush. “Dashie, answer me honestly. Why do you keep ending up here, on my lap?” She sighed.
Rainbow Dash was quiet for a moment. “I…I tend to act before I think.” She admitted.

“Uh huh. And you don’t think you’ll end up here every time?” Fluttershy asked but didn’t let Rainbow Dash answer. “Because if I remember correctly, the last time you were here was after you caused thousands of bits in damage to the weather factory. You forced an early snow and almost hurt several ponies in the process for the sake of keeping your pet from hibernating.”

Rainbow Dash’s ears fell flat against her head again. “Heh. Thanks again for bailing me out on that one. I was lucky they were able to offer me some overtime shifts at the factory cleaning things up, but the thousand bits you loaned me really helped.”

“You’re missing the point Rainbow.” Fluttershy grew tired of her friend constantly redirecting the subject. “If it wasn’t that, it was when you lied in order to compete in the Equestria Games for both Cloudsdale and Ponyville. Then it was hurting yourself performing some trick or another, and do I have to bring up the Mare-Do-Well incident?”

“Well in my defense Mare-Do-Well was kinda your guys’ fault…” A swift KRACK of the manebrush on Rainbow Dash’s flank stopped that train of thought from going to the station.

“Rainbow Dash, I’m afraid you’re not understanding the reason behind all of this.” Fluttershy tone grew sharp as Rainbow Dash gasped for air.

Once Rainbow Dash could draw in a breath she stammered. “I-it’s to learn a…lesson.” Rainbow Dash inhaled tersely as she regained her ability to breathe again.

Fluttershy nodded. “Exactly, and since our friends’ methods don’t seem to stick well, I’ve been forced to use the same method that was used on you as a filly. You remember don’t you?”

Rainbow Dash remembered well. It started one day after flight school. She had gotten into another fight with a bully, this one resulting in a bloody nose on her end and a black eye on his. Fluttershy’s parents were beyond peeved when she walked into their house that day.

“Rainbow Dash! What were you thinking?” Mrs. Shy ran up to the rainbow-maned filly with a wet rag. Normally the reserved pegasi were not quick to emotional outbursts, except in the right circumstances. Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash was the cause of all those particular circumstances.

“He deserved it.” The squeaky voice of the teenaged filly rang out.

“Deserved it? Rainbow, this is the third time this month something like this has happened.” Mr. Shy walked over shaking his head. “When your father hears about this…” He started to scold but was cut off by the sudden reaction of the filly.

“Dad doesn’t care!” Rainbow Dash yelled, yanking herself away from the efforts of Mrs. Shy. With a buzz of her wings, Rainbow flew past them and up the stairs to Fluttershy’s room where she knew her friend would be waiting.

Indeed the butter-colored filly was sitting on her bed with her legs tucked under her. She heard the commotion from downstairs and was expecting her friend to retreat to her room. Once Rainbow Dash slammed the door behind her she collapsed on the floor in a sobbing heap.
In the soft way Fluttershy was known for, she flittered over to her weeping friend and laid down next to her, draping a wing over her in a warm embrace.

“What happened today?” The soft voice of the older pegasus cut through the filly’s cries.

“Hoops made fun of me again.” Rainbow bit her lip, trying to hold back her emotional outburst. Fluttershy sighed. “He, he said that my dad’s nothing but a cloud pusher and it’s no wonder my mom left him.” Rainbow Dash choked back another sob. Fluttershy’s heart felt like a wendigo had wrapped itself around it as she felt sorry for her friend. Rainbow's dad worked hard, usually pulling two shifts at the weather factory in order to make ends meet for the two of them. So Rainbow Dash spent most of her time with the Shy family.

“And what did you do?” Fluttershy asked, already knowing the answer.

“I…I punched him in the face.” Rainbow’s tears had subsided. “But he was asking for it!” She rushed to defend herself.

Fluttershy was silent as she mulled thoughts over in her head. It was times like these Rainbow Dash preferred noise. Silence meant she had done something wrong and that her friend was disappointed in her. Rainbow winced as she felt Fluttershy get up, the warmth from the other filly had disappeared and she was left cold and alone.

Fluttershy got to her feet, “I’ll be right back.” She stated softly and left the room, leaving Rainbow Dash to her thoughts.

“Stupid Hoops.” Rainbow Dash kicked at the floor. “I should have punched him where the sun don’t shine.” She growled as the confrontation at flight school played out in her mind over and over like a broken record.

The click of the door alerted the small filly to Fluttershy’s return. The older filly had something on her back but it was hidden between her wings. “Rainbow Dash I worry about you.” She stated with a long drawn out sigh. “But you need to think before you act.” She lowered her wings to reveal a wooden mane brush.

Rainbow Dash cocked her head to the side in confusion. Fluttershy sat on the bed in a rigid posture that Rainbow Dash thought would be uncomfortable. “Rainbow, I want you to lay across my lap…”

It was the same position Rainbow Dash found herself in now, years later. She was strewn across Fluttershy’s lap, that same wooden hairbrush clutched in the older mare’s hoof.

KRACK!

With a swift motion Rainbow Dash felt all the air being deflated out of her body once again and it was replaced by the stinging sensation on her backside.

KRACK!

Went another relentless assault on her hind end that left the squirming pegasus reeling and gasping for air. Once she was able to catch her breath again…

KRACK!

And this continued again, and again, until Rainbow Dash was trembling. When she was done Fluttershy set the mane brush on the coffee table next to her Home and Hearth magazines. The shy mare collected the sniffling, headstrong speedster and held her close in a hug.
Tears tugged at the corners of Fluttershy’s eyes. “Please Rainbow Dash. I don’t want to have to keep doing this but I want you to understand how your actions can hurt other ponies.”

The cerulean mare nodded her head furiously. “I’m sorry Flutters.” She choked out, her voice cracking as she returned the hug with a small smile. She began to regain her composure, “But I was totally serious about the Mare-Do-Well thing…”