“Where are we even going?” Luna’s shouting was barely audible over the sound of the northern winds rushing past their heads. The dark frozen expanse that laid before them seemed endless, and was spotted with mountains and cliffs. It would have been a beautiful night if not for the dreadful weather that came down upon them. Luna tiredly followed Rainbow Dash through the storm, constantly trailing a few feet behind her.

Rainbow moved onward with determination in her eyes. Her rugged mane danced violently in the wind as her wings were forced against her back. She tried her best to ignore Luna’s constant questioning; she had had enough of her. She didn’t know where they were going or what they were going to do once they were there, but doing nothing wasn’t an option.

Luna struggled to shorten the distance between her and Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash, we must stop and rest! The storm is worsening!” she yelled, but the pegasus simply kept marching onward against the bitter currents. “We can’t just wander. Aimlessly!”

“Will you shut up already!?” Rainbow snapped at her before continuing on her lonesome course through the snow.

Luna sighed as she lowered her head towards the snow. She knew all too well why Rainbow was acting this way. But how could she be held responsible? This was all so new to her. She had accepted the fact that she had lost her only friend, but why did she have to make it worse by treating her this badly? As if her troubles of late weren’t enough. She could hear the anger in the pegasus’ words whenever she spoke, she could see the resentment in her eyes. Was what she had done to her really that bad? She wasn’t even sure what she had done!

As they went on, the blizzard grew significantly more aggressive and Rainbow was having trouble to keep putting one hoof in front of the other but she did not back down. “We won’t stop unti- whoa!” a harsh gust caught Rainbow’s feathers and sent her flying across the sky. She spiraled towards the ground to be greeted by a large pile of snow. She opened her eyes and saw Luna looking down at her with a worrisome look on her face.

“Fine, we’ll rest someplace!” Rainbow exclaimed before bursting out of the snow and taking flight, soaring towards the nearest cave, leaving Luna to struggle through the thick snow and icy storms towards their hiding place.

Rainbow Dash could hear the wind howling outside as she stared up at the icy ceiling of their lair. An eerie silence hung in the air. She had enveloped herself in the thickest of blankets but they gave her no solace from the piercing cold. She wasn’t tired, how could she be? How could she possibly get to sleep when she knew that her friends were out there, maybe even struggling for their lives!?

She sighed; things had never looked this hopeless before. What if she never saw them again? She shivered at the thought. She hated this. Never before had she ever felt so helpless. She was always one to fight her problems head on. But now all she could do was sit and wait for something that might never come.

She had all of this anger built-up in side of her but there was nothing that she could do about it. It felt even more infuriating to her. She simply couldn’t stand to wait another second when her friends needed her. Was she letting them down? She could never life with herself if she ever let them down. It was even more nerve-wrecking than the god awful silence that ringed in her ears. She hated silence. She hated doing nothing.

Meanwhile, Luna lay on the other side of the cave. The two mares had their back turned to one another. The princess felt weak and tired but she could not get herself to go to sleep. She knew that if she allowed her mind to wander it would happen again. Her own dreams had become too much to take for her. She had lived for thousands of years, but in all her days she had never felt as miserable as she did now. Her life had become a prison from which she could not escape, trapped in between regret of the past and fear of the future.

What was she to do? How could she ever return to Canterlot? How could she ever look her sister in the eyes again after all that had been revealed to her? She had no life, no hope, and nopony to care for her. “As if anypony ever did.” she thought to herself. “As if anypony ever turned a head to see how you were doing, nopony did. Nopony cares, nopony listens.” She just needed one pony. If just one pony cared things wouldn’t be as bad, but she was all alone. She felt as if her time had ended long ago, but somehow, she was still here. Oblivion would have been a welcome relief. She felt herself dozing off to the realm of the sleeping as the battle to stay awake became more and more difficult. She had to keep herself from falling to the allure of rest.

“Rainbow Dash?”

The pegasus was torn from her lonesome contemplation. She sighed as Luna´s voice invaded her mind, just when she was trying to block her out. “Go to sleep, princess.” she said with a hint of anger and annoyance in her tone. She could not deal with her right now.

“I Just-“

“Sleep.”

“But I… I just want to-“

“I don’t care!” she yelled as she hid underneath her covers.

Luna sighed. It had been like this for the past few days. She never meant hurting Rainbow, she never meant hurting anypony. But somehow, she always ended up the antagonist. There was a time when she knew who she was, but she now found herself in a dark forest for the clear path was lost. Perhaps it was time to take matters into her own hooves; she wasn’t going to accomplish anything by doing nothing.

“Why must you fight me so?” she said as she rose from her covers and ran towards Rainbow with power in her voice and conviction in her eyes. “What have I done to you?” she asked, having had more than enough of the way that Rainbow treated her. She had sat and obeyed for a thousands of years, she was going to set things right. “I never asked for this. I’m just trying to help you but all you do is flare at me.” She stepped closer towards to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow, if I have done anything to harm you, I am sorry”

Rainbow remained silent.

A tear formed in Luna’s eye. “What is your problem!?” she yelled.
Rainbow’s head popped up from underneath the covers. She looked straight into Luna’s eyes with a furious gaze. “You wanna know what my problem is?” she snapped at her. “My problem is that ponies like you are too busy living your perfect lives to even give a buck about who you hurt!”

“What have I done to you!?” she pleaded.

“That’s the worst part, you don’t even know! You don’t care. You’re too busy being the perfect little princess to even notice who you hurt, whose heart you break!”

Luna had never seen the pegasus this angry. Rainbow’s eyes showed- was she crying? “Rainbow, I just- It’s not that I don’t like you-“

“No, I’ve heard enough.” She snarled at her. “I won’t waste another heartbeat on you.” Rainbow Dash swiftly turned her back on Luna. The princess trotted back to her sleeping place as a single tear traveled down her cheek.

“Pinkie Pie?” she asked, her voice trembling. The two remained there in the snow. Pinkie Pie’s bouncy pink hair waved in the wind. Twilight could see the party pony’s blood-shot eyes staring down at her hooves in the dark of night. It seemed as if time had stopped and Twilight had no idea on what to do in this situation. She wasn’t even sure what was going on.

Pinkie Pie raised her eyes. She stared right into the unsuspecting unicorn’s gaze. Twilight was suddenly struck with an overwhelming sense of compassion. She could see the desperation in her friend’s eyes, the longing.

“I could make you smile again, Twilight.” Pinkie said softly. She darted forward.

Twilight’s eyes shot open wide in surprise. Pinkie Pie was on top of her. She could feel her friend’s muzzle exploring her neck. The pink pony’s hooves were buried firmly in the snow next to poor Twilight’s head, locking her in place. Twilight’s mind had never been so chaotic, it searched desperately for an explanati-oh god, Pinkie’s tongue! Twilight bucked her friend off of herself, causing Pinkie to tumble through the thick snow.

“What are you doing!?” Twilight yelled.

“No, Twilight! I’m so sorry!” Pinkie Pie yelled desperately as her head popped out of the snow. “I didn’t mean to, I promise!” Subtle streams of tears ran down her face, darkening her normally bright pink coat.

Twilight had never seen Pinkie Pie cry before, she didn’t think anypony had.

“Twilight?” Pinkie Pie looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“Pinkie Pie! What the-”

Pinkie Pie ran away into the forest, leaving a trail of subtle teardrops in the snow. Twilight could hear her whining echo through the forest, slowly getting softer and softer. “Pinkie, wait!” Twilight yelled before charging off after her troubled friend. She could see the earth pony’s fluffy pink tail disappear behind the trees as she ran after her. The dark of night made it difficult to see where she was going but she couldn’t possibly leave Pinkie Pie like this. She needed answers.

Pinkie Pie just kept running as fast as she could. Twilight must have hated her. She wouldn’t be surprised if her friend never wanted to see her again. She didn’t care where she was going as long as it was away from the only pony that she could not face. Then, the trees that clouded her vision disappeared and she was faced with the endless night. She gasped and immediately came to a halt as the snow beneath her legs gave in for an endless depth. Her little pink hooves graced the very edge of the abyss. Her fluffy pink mane swayed in the wind.

“Pinkie!” Twilight appeared from the dark of the forest. She slowly approached Pinkie Pie, sitting on the edge. The cold gusts of wind blew past their heads. “Just come with me!” she yelled desperately. “We have to stay together.”

Pinkie Pie turned away from the icy chasm and looked Twilight straight in the eyes with a look of anger on her face. “What, so you can yell at me again?” she snapped at her. Twilight was shook by her friend’s sudden change in demeanor. “So you can ignore me again!?”

“That’s unfair! I don’t ignore you or any-”

“When was the last time that you took anything I said seriously!?” Pinkie Pie had never sounded so enraged, she seemed furious. Her breathing became heavy as her chest rose and fall rapidly. Her anger was clearly expressed by her stare. “When, Twilight!?”

“That’s- I-“

“You don’t know!” she yelled. “You never listen. You never take anything I say seriously, you just toss it away!” Pinkie Pie slowly drew closer to Twilight. “Do you have any idea how frustrating that is, Twilight?”

“I’m sorry, Pinkie. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Twilight said as she walked towards Pinkie Pie and wrapped her legs around her. Suddenly, she was pushed back and she fell into the snow with a loud thud. She looked up to see Pinkie Pie looking down at her with watered eyes.

“Save your breath, Twilight! You… You… big meanie!” she yelled before charging off. A decision which she would soon come to regret as the snow gave in for the endless abyss. Her eyes shot open in fear as she fell. She quickly grabbed on to the rocky edges of the cliff. Pebbles and snow fell down into the endless void below.

“Twilight!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Help me!”

It was dark, as dark as a summer’s night could be. Every night seemed to be darker than the last. It was the kind of dark that caused one to whisper, even when alone. And alone she was, as alone as a young pony could be. The moonlight, while dampened by her deep purple curtains, still managed to enlighten the covers of her bed.

The moon…

It seemed to be so welcoming lately. It appeared to be a sign of something that could be. Sometimes at night, she would walk towards her bay window and stare out over the endless expanses of Equestria’s lush green meadows basking in the light of the moon. She would imagine herself running through them without a care in the world, with nopony to stop her. Just running… galloping at full speed with her mane dancing in the starry night as the grass graced her legs. She thought about it often.

Sometimes, somepony would be running beside her. Not really doing anything in particular, just running. Not really caring where they were going as long as they could run forever in that starry night. It was her greatest wish to just be able to experience that one moment one more time… one last time.

She was shook from her contemplation by an owl, hooting at her window. She looked up into the little circular skylight that spotted the middle of her ceiling. It seemed so enchanting to her. She just kept staring up into the stars above. Every star brought back a memory of a time long past. Every spot in the heavens reminded her of a certain joy, a certain pain. Some were nice; nights were she played under the always subtle yet bright moonlight. But some were less enjoyable; reminding her of nights when she contemplated on the bad things that had happened, on the good ponies that had faded away. Each star had its meaning.

As she stared through the little window, a filly’s voice came to her.

“Come on Luna! It's only like fifteen feet high!”

She quickly turned away and buried herself beneath her sheets. She could not allow her mind to wander again. It always brought her sleepless nights when she did. It hurt less when she didn’t about it. She stared up against the bottom of the dark blue covers that hid the world from her. When she came out from underneath them, she was greeted by the same dark room again.

It seemed to be perfect; there wasn’t a dirty spot in the room, and luxurious pieces of furniture could be seen in every corner. Stars were depicted upon the ceiling and the tapestries, giving the room a certain mystique about it. Every single item in the place appeared to be priceless. The room harbored a certain sense of safety.

But it was all a lie…

A prison, a cruel façade, a sick trick played on her in order to keep her calm. The entire room was a trap from which she could not escape. Every single day she was there, counting away the hours as they came. She wanted nothing more than to break free, to just escape and run away into the endless night, never to be seen again.

She kicked the covers off of herself and started to wander the room. She felt like she was a little bird in a cage, wanting to spread her wings and fly away. She could feel her sanity fade by the day. The only thing that kept her from going insane was the little spark of hope that she had kept hidden away, the single thought that someday, her mare in shining armor would return to take her far away.

Her eyes soon fell upon a small crystal vase that stood at her window. A white lily drifted in the subtle layer of water that glistened in the moonlight. The flower itself maintained a certain sense of beauty about it even though its petals were old and long dried out. No matter how hard she tried, she could not get herself to look away from it.

“Beautiful…” she whispered softly.

The word still lingered in her mind. It was amazing how something as simple as a flower could take her breath away. A cold wind swept past her curtains, making them dance ever so gracefully in the dark of her room. The flower trembled slightly in the cold and one of its petals fell off. It fell into the water below, sending a ripple through the vase. Luna’s expression swiftly turned from apathy to sadness.

She drew closer to the vase as it sparkled faintly in the starlight. Her horn started to glow with a faint blue aura as she pointed it towards the broken flower. The water started to ripple as the petal flowed up into the air and attached itself to the flower once more. Luna smiled softly as she looked at her most prized possession.

The sound of a hoof hitting the hard marble floor resonated through the room.

“Oh no.” she said to herself.

The sound was soon followed by a rhythmic series of hoofsteps. Somepony was coming closer, and she knew exactly who it was. Every step worsened her already overwhelming sense of fear. It sounded again, and again, and again.

She quickly darted towards the massive circular bed that stood in the middle of the room and hid beneath the sheets like she always did. Her door slammed open and a shadow loomed over her as the impressing figure of an alicorn entered the room. The hoofsteps came to a halt and an eerie silence that seemed to draw on forever enveloped the place.

“Daughter?” a strong regal voice spoke to her.

A second silence came over them as Luna wondered whether she should answer or not. Eventually, a blue mane came out from underneath the covers, swiftly followed by Luna’s watchful eye, looking up at her nighttime intruder.

“M-Madam?” one could easily hear the fear in the young mare’s shaking voice.

Luna looked up into her ‘mother’s’ focused gaze. She was clearly tired; her bloodshot eyes seemed to have lost the sense of conviction which they used to carry, yet they still maintained their overwhelming beauty. Her normally perfect bright red mane had become a mess; it hung limply over her head, obscuring parts of her face. Surprising to Luna, she did not wear her ruby-studded crown upon her head. Her normally pristine white coat appeared to be worn out and dirty in the dark of Luna’s room.

“We’ve talked about this, dear.” she smiled “Call me mother.” The older alicorn’s grin sent a chill down Luna’s spine. Her words sparked something deep within the young mare. She felt an overwhelming need to speak against her.

“Why should I?” she said as she rose from her lying position as her silken covers slid off of her. She wore a look of anger on her face. “You’re not my mother.” She spat her words as if they were poison.

A lightning bolt shot through the sky, illuminating the dark room for mere seconds. The older alicorn’s expression turned from kindness to pure anger. “You ungrateful whelp!” she shouted as she used her magic to lift Luna out of her bed and send her flying.

Luna’s soft blue mane danced through the air as her covers were scattered across the room. Within moments, she slammed against the wall. A yelp of pain echoed through the halls. Her stepmother drew closer as she gathered herself from the floor. Their eyes met, and a wave of fear hit Luna. She grabbed the nearest blanket and shuffled backwards frantically until her back met the wall, never losing the gaze of the alicorn that towered above her.

“I have given you so much yet you cast it back in my face!” she yelled. The older mare’s face was barely visible in the darkness but Luna could still see the seething rage in her eyes. Her voice boomed through the darkened palace halls as Luna hid behind her silken shield.

Suddenly, Luna felt something new stir deep inside of her, a feeling that until now had always been so foreign to her. Her mother’s words were just so infuriating. “I never asked for this!” she screamed into the alicorn’s face. “I never asked for this life, for this palace!” Had she really just yelled at her? Was she really capable of such a thing? She just didn’t know anymore. She had been stuck in this wretched place for too long. All of her emotions; sadness, joy, love, had been taken from her, leaving only a maddening rage behind. It was the only thing that still felt real to her. It was the only thing upon which she could still act. It was all so new to her.

Her act of heroism soon came to an end as her face hit the floor. She never did really get used to the feeling, even after all this time. “Do you think I enjoy this!?” her mother yelled. “Do you think I like having a daughter who is such a failure!?” Luna slowly regained her composure. Her eye was beaten and bruised. The second hit came even harder; leaving her lying flat on the floor. The festering rage inside of her only grew stronger. She didn’t care for the pain; she was used to it by now. But it was her mother’s words that truly got to her. “Answer me!” A dreadful silence came over them; Luna sat on her haunches as the older alicorn towered above her. Minutes had past until the queen left her side.

This anger…

“I bucking hate you.” She sniffled as a tear escaped her eye. Her mother suddenly came to a halt. “No...” she thought as fear took over her mind. “Please don’t-“her mother’s head snapped back, staring Luna down over her shoulder. She wore a wicked smile on her muzzle. Her luscious red mane hung over her head, covering one of her eyes. Solaria’s stare had always made her feel so small and insignificant.

Her gaze turned to the crystal vase that stood by Luna’s window. “What’s this?” the queen said in a curious tone as she took the flower from the face and held it in her hoof.

In mere seconds, all the life and color seeped out of Luna’s face.

“Such a pretty flower.” she said.

“Don’t!” Luna screamed at the top of her lungs as her tears rolled down her muzzle. She seemed to be ready to dash towards the defenseless little flower at any moment.

A fiendish smile crept across the queen’s face as she focused on the white lily in her hoof. “Did she give this to you?” she smiled. She watched as the flower caught fire, slowly burning away in her grasp.

Luna lost it.

She screamed. She took flight and darted towards her mother as her horn started to glow with a faint black aura. Her long blue mane fluttered behind her. She collided with the larger alicorn, stabbing her in the heart with her horn. A stream of blood hit her face. The queen got knocked back into the wall, causing the heirlooms and artifacts that spotted the wall to fall to the floor.

Desperately, Luna dug through the ashes of the burnt flower with a look of fear in on her face. She lifted her hooves and watched as the black remains fell from them. The darkness surrounded her from all sides.

“You dare…?” Luna turned her gaze to see her mother struggling on the floor.

“You!” she screamed as a bolt of black energy shot forward from her horn and collided with the alicorn’s bleeding form, sending her flying against the polished blue walls of the palace again as the storm raged outside.

“You did this to me!” Luna’s voice boomed through the darkened palace as another blast caused the walls of the place to rumble. Meanwhile, the queen’s agonizing screams could be heard clearly. There was nothing but rage in the young mare’s eyes; they were void of any other emotion. “All my life! You made me!”

The room was filled with a curtain of dust and smoke. Luna laid on her side as she gasped for air. Once the smoke had settled, and the red in front of her eyes had faded, she rose from the floor. She felt… wrong.

Luna gasped as she looked upon the body of the older alicorn lying on the floor. The pony’s long red mane rolled across the floor. Feathers fluttered down slowly in the moonlight past her still form. Luna slowly approached her. “M- Mother…?” she asked softly. “Why aren’t you-“

Her cold body shot upward. Her eyes shot open and started look frantically for any sign of what was going on. Her room was gone. The lifeless form was gone. She looked down at her own two hooves; the blood that smeared them had vanished. Slowly, the unforgiving grip of reality returned to her as her heart raged in her chest. Her gasping breath appeared before her muzzle in the cold air of the frozen cave.

Memories returned to her one by one, each more crushing than the last. She felt afraid again. She felt hated. She felt desperate. She felt scarred, lost, and unwanted. But the feeling that was most prominent in her mind was loneliness. There was nopony else, only silence.

Her eyes opened wide as the dream came rushing back to her.

“I…” her trembling voice echoed softly trough the hollow. “I murde-“she quickly forced the thought away. She could not allow herself to go there again. “I murdered her.” She hid her face in her hooves as she burst into tears. She could feel the warmth of her tears drip down her nearly frozen hooves. She needed somepony right now. Anypony! She needed somepony to tell her that it would all be ok, to tell her that it was not her fault. But nopony was there.

Tears kept falling from her muzzle as she sniffled softly. What was she to do? What could she do? There was no way to run away from the past. She felt as if she did not belong in the world, in this time. What was her place?

She raised herself from the cold, hard floor. She did not want to stay there a moment longer. Suddenly, a soft snoozing sound invaded her ears. Through the dark of night she could see Rainbow Dash, sleeping at the other end of the cave.

Desperately, Luna approached her slumbering form. The pegasus’ rugged rainbow mane lied sprawled over the floor. Luna’s hoofsteps broke the looming silence that hung in the air. “Rainbow, I-“

“I won’t waste another heartbeat on you!” The alicorn’s march came to a halt as Rainbow Dash’s fiery voice boomed through her head. She closed her eyes as a tear escaped her. She bowed her head to the ground; Rainbow Dash hated her. She could not face her again, not like this.

Her fatigue started to lull her into sleep once more, and she could not fight it. She didn’t want to have to go through it all anymore. She didn’t want to be reminded anymore. She could not take another one of the horrid nightmares that plagued her. She would sooner die.

Her gaze fell open the cave’s entrance; Gusts of wind and snow blew through it. She looked into the black abyss of the night, the one thing that she was still familiar with these days. She whimpered as she moved slowly towards the night.

An icy chill crept up Rainbow Dash’s spine; she shivered beneath her furry covers. Her eyes shot open. She stared at the frost-covered walls of her sleeping place. She groaned in annoyance; another sleepless night, another night filled with angered contemplation and softly spoken curses.

She could feel the cold digging into her skin. Her mind had become a chaotic mess. Her life had become a road filled with maybes and what ifs, and all because of a single mare. She turned in her sleep to look upon her companion’s sleeping place.

“Wait, what!” she whispered as she darted out from underneath her covers and trotted over to Luna’s covers. She was gone. An uneasy feeling formed in the courageous pegasus’ stomach. Where could that mare have run off to at this hour? She turned her gaze to the cave´s entrance; she stared into the deep black of night that lay beyond it.

She could feel the chill of winter intensify as she neared the outside world. Streams of snow and ice blew past her head as her mane waved in the air. A violent gust of wind forced her to the ground; she closed her eyes as she fought back against the forces of nature that assailed her. She wasn’t going to give up this easily, she never had.

A flash of light blinded her as she left the recesses of the cave. Soon it faded, allowing her to stare into the massive expanses of the night sky. The snow immediately assaulted her face, making her flinch beneath the wings that shielded her. The rolling hills of white seemed to go on forever.

She heard a sound far off in the distance. It was soft and faded, but still hearable over the sound of the raging storm. She couldn’t really make out where the sound was coming from, but it became louder and louder as she continued to march onward through the frozen wastes.

She could see somepony sitting in the snow. It was Luna! Rainbow mustered all of her effort to trot through the thick layers of frost as the storm came down on her. What was she doing out there? As she approached the shaded form of Princess Luna, she realized that the wailing noise came from her.

Was… was she crying?

Luna sat with her hooves dug deep into the snow. Her messy mane hung over her face, merely gracing the ground below. Her eyes were closed shut as tears dripped from them, rolling down her face before falling into the snow. Short gasping whines escaped her muzzle as she cried.

The whining sound resonated through Dash’s ears. A heavy feeling grew Inside of her, weighing her down. Then, a second sound appeared in her head. It sounded like a little filly weeping. The sound grew louder and louder in her head. She lost her sense of reality.

The sun was on its way to plummet down into the horizon. A small yellow pegasus sat on a lonesome cloud far away from her hometown of Cloudsdale. She buried her face into her little hooves as tears fell from her face.

Dash could not stand seeing Luna like this. She wanted to resent her, to hate her even. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not get herself to think badly of the princess. She could not get herself to not… love her? She sighed.

The filly’s cries were carried away by the warm summer winds that surrounded her. An orange light flowed over her head as the sun nearly vanished behind the mountains. “I’m so sorry…” she whimpered. “I’ll try harder, I promise.” The filly’s tear-stained pink mane covered her face.

The sound of the storm raged in Luna’s head as her memories rushed through it. Hundreds of images flashed before her eyes. Death, pain, and regret were all she could see. “I’m so sorry…” she whimpered as the faces of the ponies that she had hurt appeared before her. “I never meant to hurt anypony. She shivered as tears rolled down her chin.

“Shy!” another filly’s squeaky voice reached her ears. The distressed pegasus looked upward to see her friend Rainbow Dash floating above her, flapping her little blue wings against the air. She landed next to the yellow filly. Her hooves bounced up and down on the fluffy cloud on which they sat. “What happened?” she said softly. The crying pegasus could hear the sincerity in her voice. “You only come here when… something bad happens.” The yellow filly turned to face Rainbow Dash. She gasped “What happened to your-“

She just wanted it to stop. She just wanted it all to end. What place was there for her in this world now? Who would accept her after all that she had done? How could she ever accept herself? She trembled as she felt somepony’s hoof on her shoulder. She turned to look straight into Rainbow’s face. The blue pegasus wore a look of sympathy on her face. “Rainbow Dash?” she said as she whimpered softly.

The little filly burst into tears. “It’s my own stupid fault.” She said sadly. “I deserve this.” She said as she pointed her hoof at her beaten eye. The filly was obviously in a lot of distress. “I’m not the flyer that I’m supposed to be.” She sobbed.

“Shh…” Dash cooed as she drew closer to Luna and wrapped her wing around the alicorn’s cold, frigid form. “Everything is going to be okay, I promise.” Luna could feel Dash’s feathers rustle against her back. Dash wrapped her arm around Luna’s neck and pulled her into her. The problems that she had with this mare, all of the petty differences, did not matter right now. She felt awful about how she had treated this pony. Never before had she felt like she was the bully.

“Buck ‘em!” The blue filly yelled as she lied down next to her crying friend and laid a comforting wing on her back. “Look at me, Shy!” she exclaimed as she put her hoof to the pegasus’ chin and forced her to look straight into her eyes. “I’ll never let anypony hurt you again, ever!”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t let go!” Pinkie Pie screamed fearfully. Twilight struggled to hold on to the earth pony below. She looked down into the pink pony’s crying eyes. She dug her hind-legs into the cold frozen snow in an attempt to get some stability. The storm boomed into their ears. The harsh winds blew past Twilight’s hooves. Their tales and manes waved violently in the air.

“I- I-“it was getting harder and harder to hold on. How could she ever hope to pull Pinkie Pie up to safety? If only she would have spent less time reading books, and more time lifting them.

She felt her hooves moving forward. The sound of the snow moving slowly past her legs filled her ears. Pinkie Pie felt herself moving farther and farther away from the edge of the cliff. “Please, Twilight!” she screamed.

“I can’t-“

Pinkie Pie screamed at the top of her lungs as she lost grip of Twilight’s hooves. In a matter of seconds the frozen cliff ascended far above her. She just kept screaming as she closed her eyes shut in fear. After a while, she opened her eyes to see herself still floating in the air as a purple aura surrounded her from all sides. She could feel a warm glow building inside of her. It was familiar warmth which she had felt often since the arrival of a certain librarian to Ponyville.

Meanwhile, Twilight groaned as she mustered all of her power to keep her friend from falling. Then, in a moment of desperation, she screamed as she lifted her horn to the skies. Pinkie Pie was flung into the air. A loud poof could be heard as the pink pony collided with the soft snow. Twilight stood gasping for air in the cold of night. She collapsed on top of Pinkie Pie as the pressure on her legs became too much to handle.

The two lied panting in the snow. Twilight’s face was buried in Pinkie Pie’s fluffy pink mane. “Why, Pinkie?” Twilight pleaded. She was clearly exhausted.

“Because you hate me.” She whispered.

Her friend’s words hit Twilight hard. She loved all of her friends deeply. “No I don’t!” she yelled. “I love you!” she said stubbornly, agitated by the fact that Pinkie Pie could even begin to think that Twilight hated her.

Pinkie Pie jumped up as she gasped, sending Twilight tumbling through the snow. “You do!?” she yelled as her eyes sparkled brightly with joy.

“Wait, I mean-“

“Twilight Sparkle has a little mare-crush!” she cooed as she brought her hooves to her cheeks. She could not help but giggle at Twilight’s horrified facial expression.

“But I didn’t-“

“Twilight is silly for the fillies!” Pinkie Pie burst into laughter. She rolled through the snow as she giggled uncontrollably.

“I never said!”

Pinkie Pie raised herself from the floor. “Oh, don’t worry Twilight.” She said laughingly. “I may have a little crush on you too.” She said as she gave Twilight a small innocent kiss on the muzzle before she hopped off towards their sleeping place. Twilight sat there with her eyes and mouth wide open as a furious red blush crept across her face.

The storm had finally died down. Rainbow Dash and Luna sat next to each other, not really saying a word. Luna sniffled softly in the dark. They just looked up into the sky above. Millions of little sparkling dots spotted the heavens that night. Sure, Rainbow was curious as to why Luna was acting so strange lately, but she felt that it was best not to ask. She had to think of a way to stop Luna from crying.

“You… You’re really pretty.” Oh Celestia, why did she say that? “You’re really pretty, really Dash!?” she spited herself. She didn’t think that she had ever used the word ‘pretty’ before. She sent Luna an awkward smile. The alicorn burst into tears. “No, I’m sorry!” Dash said desperately. “I didn’t mean-“

“I’m sorry.” Luna said softly as she turned away from Rainbow Dash, not daring to look the other mare in the eyes. A single tear rolled down her face as she looked down into the snow.

“Wh- What?” Rainbow stuttered.

Luna turned to look her friend in the eyes. “I’ve made mistakes.” She sobbed. “I never meant to hurt anypony. I just wanted to be left alone.” With every word that Luna spoke, the compassion that Rainbow Dash felt grew stronger. “I’m a terrible pony.”

“Shut up.” Rainbow said bluntly. “You shouldn’t talk down on yourself like that. The fact that you’re here is proof enough that you’re not. “

“I suppose that if I hadn’t left my home… I never would have met you.” She said softly. She stared into Rainbow’s purple eyes. An incredible feeling rushed through her body, sending shivers down her spine. She forced her eyes shut as a tear escaped from them. “I’m not like you… and I wish that I were.” She mustered all of her courage to meet the pegasus’ gaze. “You’re beautiful, and clever, and you never make any mistakes and I…” she sobbed. “I don’t deserve y-“

Her eyes shot open wide as Rainbow Dash’s muzzle met her own. She shivered as she looked straight into Dash’s caring eyes. She could feel her limbs getting weak as the cold inside of her faded away. Rainbow’s legs and wings wrapped around her, sending a wave of warmth over her skin. She trembled heavily in the Pegasus’ legs as tears escaped her eyes. She fell backwards and landed in the soft snow. Their lips parted. Luna looked up at Rainbow Dash. The young pegasus wore the most honest smile on her face that Luna had ever seen. A single tear rolled down Rainbow Dash’s face. “R-Rainbow?” she stuttered.

All she need was for somepony to tell her that it was not her fault, for somepony to come and show her that she was not the monster who she thought she was.

Somepony did.