//------------------------------//
// Rainbow Dash's Wish 
// Story: Roses and Rainbows 
// by Brian Jacko 
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	Rainbow woke up very late the next day. It felt good to be able to get as much sleep as her body desired. She went back to her old morning routine before she became a Wonderbolt. It felt great to be back in her home again, but she had some catching up to do with her friends. 

Rainbow rushed out and headed over to Twilight's house. She opened the door and found all her friends chatting around the table and having tea. Rainbow closed the door and the sound of it closing made everyone look. They were all stunned when they saw her. 

Pinkie Pie was the first one to move. "Dashie!" she cried out. She raced over to her and threw her front legs around Rainbow Dash. She began talking as fast as she possibly could, "Oh Dashie, how I missed you so much! How is our favorite Wonderbolt? Did you make lots of friends? Huh? Huh? Huh?" 

Rainbow's eyes slightly bulged out of her head from the tight hug. "Pinkie.....let go...I can't breathe," Rainbow managed to say. 

Pinkie Pie squeezed her for a few more seconds and then let go. 

Rainbow caught her breath and said, "Pinkie, you have some death grip of a hug there." 

Pinkie Pie giggled madly and bounced away. 

All of her other friends came over and group-hugged her.

Pinkie Pie came back over and stuffed a cupcake in Rainbow Dash's mouth and joined the group hug. Rainbow Dash swallowed the cupcake and smiled one great big smile. She hadn't felt loved by her friends like this in a very long time.

Her friends broke away from the hug and sat all around her. "What's it like being a Wonderbolt?" Twilight asked. 

Rainbow's smile faded and she sighed. "I'm not a Wonderbolt anymore," she confessed. 

All of her friends were surprised. 

"But Rainbow Dash, what happened? Did you get injured?" Rarity asked. 

"No," she replied. "I just quit." All of her friends gasped. 

"How could ya just quit, R.D? This was yer ultimate passion in life! I thought this was yer dream?" Applejack said. 

Rainbow looked down at the floor. "I was going through a lot of emotional problems and it was just too physically and mentally draining on my health. I realized that I wasn't performing well anymore and I was putting myself and the lives of my other team mates at risk. I also realized how much I missed you all and I needed to come back to Ponyville. This is where I belong. I need to stay here. I had no friends there and I felt isolated and lonely, no matter how many ponies surrounded me. I didn't realize that being a Wonderbolt was going to be this hard. I let my ego get in the way of things yet again. I'm also really sorry that I never wrote back to you all. I was having a lot of personal issues and I stopped reading my mail. I hope you girls aren't mad at me." 

All the other girls confessed that they weren't mad, but they did miss her terribly. 

Rainbow sighed a breath of relief and smiled. "Thanks girls. You really are the best friends I could ever ask for." Rainbow's smile quickly turned to a frown and she sat there without saying anything else. 

Applejack was the first one to notice that Rainbow Dash still didn't look right. It was almost as if she weren't telling them something. Applejack walked over and put her hoof on her shoulder. "Say sugar cube, is there somethin' else wrong with ya? Ya look like yer gonna cry or somethin'. Wanna tell me what's goin' on? Don't be shy now." 

Rainbow couldn't hold it back any longer. Especially after learning that every single one of her friends was still happily sharing life with their own some pony special. She sighed to herself and decided to let it all out. "I'm lonely and I have been wanting to find a new special some pony. I had a one before, but I screwed up badly. 

Pinkie Pie got excited and began bouncing up and down. "Rainbow Dash you had a some pony special and you never told us?" 

Rainbow lowered her head and confessed, "Yes Pinkie, I actually had a few of them while I was away. I'm sorry I never told you girls this. I was just too embarrassed and didn't know what you all would think of me. I kind have been wanting to settle down in my life now and start over again. I just wish I hadn't made so many mistakes. I was afraid of love and commitment."

"Aw shucks sugar cube, aint a one of us are gonna judge ya. Ya know yer a very special friend of ours, R.D. Ya could have told us before. Besides, there are plenty of other good stallions out there." 

Rainbow Dash desperately tried to suppress her feelings, but she couldn't hold them back any longer. She turned her back to her friends and covered her eyes with her hooves. She broke down crying in front of them. All of her friends looked at each other in surprise. They had seen Rainbow get teary before, but to break down and cry was something that had never seen before. 

Applejack put her front leg around her and said, "Aw... There, there, sugar cube. It's ok to cry. Don't be ashamed. We're all here for ya. Tell us what happened with you and yer some pony special. He didn't hurt ya did he?' 

Rainbow Dash sat there for a while struggling to contain her sobbing. She spoke to them in a quivering voice. "No. He didn't hurt me. He was the most wonderful stallion I had ever met and I screwed up the realtionship badly. I could have had something wonderful, but instead I gave him up." Rainbow Dash began to sob again. 

Fluttershy came over with a box of tissues for her. She nuzzled it over to Dash and said, "It's ok, Rainbow. Why don't you tell us about him and what happened?" 

Rainbow took a few minutes to regain control of her emotions, but eventually she talked to them. She told them about how he first asked her to be his some pony special and all the things he did for her. As she was talking about him, everyone heard a loud and dramatic sigh. 

Rarity had used her magic and brought out the red fainting couch. She fell onto it and put her hoof to her forehead. "Oh, I just never knew those kinds of stallions really existed! I wish my special some pony would take some notes from this," Rarity said in a dramatic voice. The room went silent and everyone looked at her. Rarity's cheeks turned red and she said, "So sorry. Do continue dear." 

Rainbow went back to telling them about her experience as a Wonderbolt and how it made her life so miserable to the point where she cut off contact with every pony that she knew. She explained to them how much she missed her former lover and how she tried to date other stallion's again and again to fill up the empty feelings inside of her, but it only led to more tears and frustration. 

When she finished her story, all of her friends looked at her with sad and understanding eyes. 

Applejack spoke once again to her, "R.D., I'm sorry ya went through so much. If there's anythin' yer heart desires at this moment, what would it be?" 

Rainbow didn't have to think about what that wish would be. She told them that she desired to see Soarin' once more, but she was too afraid to go and try to visit him and the chances of him wanting her back again were unrealistic. After all, it had been years since she saw him. They all continued to stay and chat with Rainbow. They spent the whole day with her until night settled and every pony had to go home. 

Rainbow was about to leave herself, but Twilight insisted that she sleep over for a while and that Spike and she could take care of her for some time. 

Rainbow gladly accepted the offer. She needed the company and her friends nearby. Once Rainbow went upstairs to sleep, Twilight and the rest of her friends gathered and discussed what they could do to make her wish come true.