"And so you see, we had to do this. Not just for Rainbow Dash, but for everyone in Ponyville. It was only a matter of time before somepony got hurt due to Rainbow's negligence."

As Twilight cheerfully explained to the citizens of Ponyville about Mare-Do-Well and their reasons behind it, she and the others on stage failed to notice Rainbow Dash at the far right, who, despite smiling herself, was looking significantly uncomfortable.

For a moment, the crowd was silent. Then, one mare raised her hoof. "So... you all did this just to get your friend to tone down her bragging?"

"Exactly."

The mare's face twisted into confused disbelief. "Um...that's....that's kinda overkill, doncha think?"

Several ponies in the crowd nodded in agreement.

Twilight smiled faded slightly. "I admit...it was a bit unorthodox, but-"

"Ha! 'Unorthodox.' That's one way of putting it." Bon Bon muttered, though everypony could hear her.

"Oh come on, Bon." Lyra spoke up. "It's not like anypony died. And we all know how stubborn Dash can be. If she didn't listen to them the first time, it's highly unlikely that talking to her again would work."

At this Twilight began to look very uncomfortable. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie shared nervous glances. Rainbow Dash just stared at the ground.

Lyra furrowed her brows. "Wait...you guys did try to talk to her first, right?"

They didn't answer. They didn't have to.

Lyra threw up her hooves in exasperation. "Seriously?! You didn't even try? You just immediately jumped to, 'let's put on a costume and pretend to be superhero'?! What sane pony does that?!"

The crowd grumbled in agreement.

Applejack marched up to the podium and said, "Look, what does it even matter? The point is, it worked."

"Umm.....no it didn't." said a stallion in the back. "In fact you kinda made things worse."

"That's preposterous!" Rarity said pompously. "How on Earth did we make things worse?"

"Where have you been?" Roseluck shouted angrily. "Ever since Mare-Do-Well showed up, Rainbow Dash's behavior became more and more erratic! She went from bragging to full on crazy! She became absolutely desperate for attention!"

"Oh come on, now." Applejack said. "Ah'm pretty sure y'all are exaggeratin' just a bit."

"Darlin', she picked me up an' flew me across th' street, without even askin' if Ah needed help." Granny Smith deadpanned.

"She mowed my lawn without even asking permission first." One stallion grumbled. "And she did a crummy job, too."

"She tried to get praise for opening a jar." One unicorn mare stated, glaring at the five ponies near the podium. "If that's not desperate, I don't know what is."

The five mares on stage just stood there, stunned. This was not what they were expecting at all.

"You know, earlier today I saw Rainbow Dash sitting on a cloud." Scootaloo said, pulling off her Mare-Do-Well hat. "She looked...sad. And the cloud was gray...and stormy." Scootaloo's frowned deepened. "I....think you guys hurt her feelings."

The five ponies reeled back as if struck, then turned to look at their friend. Rainbow Dash was sitting on her hind corners, hunched down and facing away from the audience. Her tail was wrapped around her body and her wings were pressed tightly against her sides.

The girls' hearts broke at the sight. They had never seen their friend look so dejected.

"So just to recap," Bon Bon spoke up. "Instead of talking to your friend, you went behind her back and plotted to humiliate her to get her to stop bragging. And instead, it made her crazy jealous and act even worse. And only after you revealed yourselves and told her why you did this did she get the message."

"I...We-"

"Which means if you had talked to her from the very beginning, this whole thing could have been avoided." Lyra added.

"We just-"

"So basically, your whole plan was one giant waste of time, and you put your friend through the wringer for nothing!" Bon Bon concluded angrily.

"We only wanted to-"

"And not only that, but you guys dragged her out here, to your party, and made her sit there while you pretty much just tell us what a bad pony she is." yelled a mare from the crowd, pointing her hoof at Dash. "Sweet Celestia! With friends like you, who need enemies?"

Twilight covered her mouth with her hoof, feeling absolutely sick.

"Come on, let's get out of here." A stallion said, his voice thick with disgust. "I don't know about you, but I've had enough Mare-Do-Well to last a lifetime."

One by one the ponies removed their Mare Do Well paraphernalia, and the crowd parted.

Mayor Mare, who had been silent the whole time Twilight had been speaking, slowly shook her head at the group in disappointment, and she too walked away.

Only the six friends remained. Twilight slowly approached Rainbow Dash, who had not moved the entire time.

"Dash....I....we didn't mean to....we only wanted to.......Dash?"

"..........you laughed at me."

Twilight was shocked, not just a Rainbow speaking for the first time since they came onstage, but how.....broken her voice sounded.

"That day....at Sugarcube corner.....I went to you for support....and you all laughed at me."

Rainbow turned her head, and Twilight struggled not to flinch at the sorrow that radiated from them. She also noticed that Rainbow's eyes were slightly red, and her cheeks.........she had been crying this whole time.

All five ponies' ears flattened. This was not what they had wanted.

Without another word, Rainbow spread her wings and flew up. Up, up....until she could no longer be seen.

Twilight's hind legs gave out as everything began t sink in.

"Guys?" Pinkie Pie spoke, after a long moment of silence. "I think we done goofed."

Author's Notes:

Yeah, I know. I should finish one fic before I start another.

But this had been swirling around in my head for a long time and I got tired of obsessing about it.

I promise I will update "Canterlot Friendship" as soon as possible.