Rainbow Dash woke up when the light from the morning sun reached her eyes. Her body felt sore and tired. She could tell she was lying on the ground, it was cold and hard. In contrast the sun was keeping her warm as it fought away the shadows. As she tried to get to her feet she heard Fluttershy call out.

“Rainbow Dash! Your awake!” Fluttershy quickly rushed over and help Dash stand. Dash winced and sharply inhaled as a dull pain flared down her side. “Are you in pain?”

“I'll live.” Dash grinned and slowly moved away from Fluttershy. “But, more importantly, did you see him? Did you see Ray?!” She asked excitedly. Fluttershy stared at her.

“Ray... Has been dead for a long time...” She said softly. “How could I see him?”

“He was there, just before I.....crashed. He was flying in the sky next to me. He knew I was going to crash, so he told me to pull up. Hes.... Still with me.” Dash smiled.

Fluttershy shook her head. “Rainbow Dash.... I was watching you and I...” Fluttershy trailed off and looked down at the ground. “Maybe your right.” She said softly.

They spent the next couple days camping in the field. Although Dash's injures weren’t severe, her right wing was just a little too sore for her to fly long distances. After the first night Fluttershy became quieter then usual. No matter what Dash would do to get her to liven up, she couldn't break through Fluttershy's shell. On the third day Dash gave up.

“My wing feels better...Its time to go.” Dash said coldly to Fluttershy, who was playing with a little raccoon. Fluttershy looked up at Dash and tried to speak, “Rainbow Dash... I'm... So...” Dash flapped her wings and rose into the air, not waiting for the pegasus to finish. Their trip back was just as quiet then their trip out. When they arrived back at Cloudsdale, Dash streaked off without a word, leaving Fluttershy in the middle of a rainbow colored wake.

Dash had not seen Fluttershy for almost two weeks after the trip. She decided that it was probably because of the way she treated her friend... Although she tried to apologize, every time she found herself on Fluttershy's doorstep, a fear surfaced that she hadn't felt in years; and she would leave. Today, she decided, was the day that she would apologize to her best friend.

Dash flew to Fluttershy's house, determined to make everything right. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer. So she sat in front of the door. After an hour of waiting she decided to rest her eyes from the bright midday sun. Then she decided that the door was rather comfortable, the perfect place for a nap.

“Rainbow Dash...Wake up... Dashie?” A voice pulled her from her sleep. A slight blush crept her face from hearing her nick name. She quickly opened her eyes. Fluttershy was sitting a couple feet away from her. They stared at each other for several minutes before Dash decided to speak up.

“Fluttershy, I'm sorry I was such.... such a mule.” Dash said, eating hoof fulls of her pride with each word.

Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m Sorry Rainbow Dash... I didn't believe you... about Ray,” she said. Dash smiled. Before she could respond Fluttershy pulled an envelope out of her saddle bag. “I got this for you.” Fluttershy said with the letter in her teeth. She passed it to Dash, which she swiftly opened. Inside were two blue tickets to an upcoming wonderbolt event. Dash's eyes widened as she read them over and over.

Before Fluttershy realized what happened Dash had her pinned to the cloud floor in a hug. “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou.” Dash repeated over and over again not noticing the blush spreading across Fluttershy's face.

“Okay.” Fluttershy said quietly.

The time had come for the aerial event, it was held at the Cloudsdale Coliseum. It had lasted for several hours. Dash watched in quiet wonder as the Wonderbolts would blaze across the sky in perfect formation. Fluttershy was sitting next to Dash, more interested in the rainbow mare then the show going on in the sky. Suddenly Dash turned to Fluttershy. Fluttershy turned away from Dash quickly. “Fluttershy. I think... I think I know what to do. I have to do it for both us. I have to do it for him.” She said before turning her gaze back to the sky.

“If going to be a wonderbolt...” Dash trailed off. “I...I have to go... Please come see me tomorrow.” Dash quickly jumped from her seat and flew down to the aisle. She leaped from the balcony and dove under the stadium. Although she stayed away from the performers, her trail had caught the attention of the stadium. Mummers about 'Rainbow Danger Dash' return could be heard from the occasional pony in the stand. Or at least that what Dash liked to think.

She flew from the stadium to the weather factory. She knew she had too much history in Cloudsdale to really be able to move on, so she would leave her home, her family...and even her best friend... to achieve Rays and her dream.

She applied for a weather tending position in Manehattan, but all they had was a weather management job in a small town called Ponyville. So she took it. Heck, if the current manager wasn't a fan of armature racing, or had she not signed an autograph....or taken several pictures... she might have not gotten the job.

Dash didn't realize it then, but she was going to make a mistake she would regret for many years. The job started a couple day after she had accepted it, but she left the next day. She didn’t have much in her old home. Just two books, A photo album and Goldwings. She couldn't bring herself to tell her parents, but she figured they didn't care. They hadn't spoken in almost a month.

As for Sunshine, she couldn’t remember the exact conversation, but she did remember the little filly crying and begging her not to leave. She promised her that when she was a famous Wonderbolt, she would come and visit her, and take her all over Equestria. Dash stayed with her till the filly feel asleep.

The last thing Dash did before she left was write a letter to Fluttershy.

'Fluttershy,

I'm sorry for being a bad friend and leaving. I know I should have told you in person, but I don't think I could leave...if I made you cry again. Please don't worry about me, just know that you were my best friend and I will remember you forever.

Your Friend,
Rainbow Dash Dashie'

Dash stared at the short letter that she left hanging on Fluttershy's door. She knew she was bad at writing, but she was even worse at goodbyes. This would have to do... It was the best that Fluttershy would get. She wouldn't know, for many years, how much that she had hurt Fluttershy that day.

Rainbow Dash yawned as she woke, feeling a strange sensation against her face. She sat up and opened her eyes. She had fallen asleep against a book, a photo book. It was open to the last page, but there was no photos on this page, only a single dark blue feather. She smiled as she pulled the feather from the book and closed it. She picked up the book and put it back in its place on the shelf.

Dash turned back to her bed and stared at the golden feather she had left on the bed. She turned her head towards her dresser and eyed the golden ticket laying on her shelf. “Almost there Ray... This is for both of us.” She picked up the feather and tucked it into her hair behind her ear.

She left her room, glancing at the gala tickets one last time before closing the door. She glided down the stairs and landed at the foot of her kitchen, where she packed a hardy meal into her one of her saddle bags. Then she proceeded to do her morning stretches, taking care not to disturb the feather on her head.

As she left her home, the sun was already rising over the horizon and there was no trace of the intense thunderstorm that passed through Ponyville. She looked over the remaining clouds, scanning the shining objects. A flash of gold caught her eyes for an instant. She could almost see the dark blue pegasus flying through the morning sky. She knew he would always watch over her.

She opened her wings and flew.

A/N:
Thanks for reading this whole thing and sticking with this story until i finished it. Over time, I will be doing minor edits and grammar edits. This last chapter may also see some major edits, but with me going to school, its going to be hard for me to work on anything major ( I think), so I wanted to share this rather then let it die off.

Thanks again for reading. Leave comments below, (Im going to try to start responding!) and rate if you would like to.