The Price One Must Pay

Rainbow Dash walked slowly through the streets of Ponyville. Her wings hung limply at her sides, her head was lowered, and, if one looked closely, tears could be seen sliding down the cheeks of the rainbow-maned pegasus. All around her, ponies went about their daily routines, some sparing a moment to glance at her, but nopony came forward to speak to her.

A drop of rain landed atop the pegasus’ head, but she didn’t take notice of it. Even as the rain began to fall more heavily and everypony else fled in search of shelter, Rainbow continued walking at the same pace as before, seeming not to even feel how wet she was getting. The only change in her demeanor was an increase in the flow of her tears.

“I can’t do this anymore Rainbow Dash! I love you Dashie, you know that, but I just can’t take it anymore. It’s like you don’t even care about me. I gave up so much to be with you, but you didn’t have to change a thing about your life. I’m sorry Dashie, but we’re over.”

The door to Rainbow Dash’s cloud home slammed shut behind her former marefriend. Rainbow paused, her hoof raised and her mouth open, stunned beyond belief. Moments later, it all hit her, and she fell to the floor, sobbing hysterically.

The only mare she’d ever loved as more than just a friend was gone. And it was all her fault. She drove her away, she hurt her, and there was no way she could take it all back. It was already too late.

Rainbow was jolted out of her memories by a white unicorn exclaiming, “Rainbow Dash! Darling, you look terrible!”

Without giving the pegasus a chance to respond, Rarity pulled her into Carousel Boutique. Immediately, the dressmaker used a towel to get Rainbow mostly dry before shoving the dejected mare down onto a chair. As she took a seat across from Rainbow, Rarity asked, “Now, darling, I know something has happened to make you go walking around during a thunderstorm like this one. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I would like you to know that I’m happy to help in any way that I can.”

Both mares sat in silence for a few minutes until Rainbow finally spoke up, “F-fluttershy and I broke up, Rarity. I- I wasn’t good enough for her.”

Rarity got up instantly, and went over to the sobbing pegasus. “Everypony makes mistakes, Rainbow. I know you won’t believe me, but this isn’t all your fault.”

Looking up at her friend through a veil of tears, the rainbow-maned pegasus said, “How? How can it not be my fault?”

Hesitantly, Rarity replied, “Well, in a relationship, communication is extremely important, and, if one pony refuses to acknowledge that, then, arguments, even break-ups, that could have been avoided, often occur. If Fluttershy kept her feelings bottled up all the time, then how could you have known what she was thinking? Rainbow, darling, there was no way you could’ve seen this coming.”

Rainbow Dash said nothing. She knew that what Rarity said made sense, but even with that, she couldn’t stop blaming herself. It was because of her that Fluttershy was gone. Because of her that Fluttershy was hurt and alone in the storm.

Rainbow bolted to her hooves, startling Rarity. “The storm! Fluttershy is out in this! I have to find her!”

Rarity went up to the now frantic pegasus, “Calm down, Rainbow Dash. I’ll help you look for her, but you won’t do any good until you can get a hold of yourself.”

The rainbow-maned pegasus took a couple deep breaths before she said, “Thanks, Rarity. Could you meet me at Ghastly Gorge then?”

“Why at that awful place?”

“Because Fluttershy told me that she likes to go there when she needs time to think. She said that it’s peaceful for her. That’s got to be where she is.”

Rarity nodded, “Then of course I’ll meet you there. I’ll try to go as quickly as I can.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, then pushed open the door to Carousel Boutique and took off into the stormy skies. Below her, Rarity ran as fast as she could while wearing one of her trademark umbrellas on her back.

As she flew, Rainbow Dash continued to mentally berate herself for not seeing how upset her former marefriend had been with their relationship. Luckily, she reached Ghastly Gorge within minutes, and had not had too much time to dwell on what had occurred. Her eyes constantly scanned back and forth, looking for the love of her life, but no matter how hard she looked, she could not see any sign of Fluttershy.

When she caught sight of Rarity, Rainbow landed next to her and said, “I’ve been searching everywhere, but I couldn’t see anything that looked like a pony.”

Rarity replied, “Neither have I. Do you think she might not have even come here at all?”

Just as Rainbow Dash was about to reply, both ponies heard something crack which was almost immediately followed by a terrified scream. The two friends looked at each other apprehensively before setting off at a gallop in the direction of the noise. Within moments they had reached the edge of a cliff and were looking down into the gorge.

“Stay here,” Rainbow Dash said as she took to the skies and flew down towards the bottom of the gorge. As she got close, she could see a large pile of rocks that appeared to have fallen from the cliff above. Landing on top of those rocks, Rainbow saw a bit of light pink mane poking out from between two large boulders.

Her breath caught in her throat as she got closer. She shouted back up to Rarity, “Get Twilight! Hurry!”

Rainbow Dash sat still, tears streaming down her face as she watched Princess Celestia, then each of her four closest friends give their speeches. Before she knew it, it was her turn. On shaky legs, she got up and forced her body to go up to the front of the congregation. Taking her place at the podium, she cleared her throat, then said, “I loved Fluttershy more than I thought I could’ve ever loved anypony. And now, without her, I’m lost. Dying would be easier than trying to live without her, because, at least if I was dead, then I’d be able to be with her again.

"But, there’s no sense in wishing for something that isn’t meant to be. Nopony can change the past. All we can do is move forward to the best of our abilities. Fluttershy had to remind me of that many times, and, this is for her.”

Rainbow Dash took off and flew high into the skies above the funeral ceremony. As soon as she had gotten high enough, she turned and began to fly as fast as she could back towards the ground. A cone almost immediately began to take shape around her body. Fighting against the streams of air, her tears long since evaporated, the rainbow-maned pegasus strained her wings even further.

“You mean the world to me ‘Shy. I never even thought it was possible for me to love somepony as much as I love you.”

Narrowing her eyes in determination, Rainbow Dash pushed herself even harder. She was so, so close. Just a little bit more.

“…I love you too, Dashie.”

Rainbow Dash shot through the barrier, a loud explosion going off at the same time as she did so. But, instead of what everypony at the funeral had expected to see, the colors coming from behind the grieving pegasus were a pale yellow and pink. Even as she slowed down her flight, the twin rings of color continued to burn brightly as they always would. For even though they would not always be there in the sky overhead, the memory of this day would be burned into the mind of everypony who had witnessed it. As would the memory of Fluttershy. Of kindness.

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