"Dash? Dash, please let us in."
It had been an entire week since the day of the Mare-Do-Well celebration, and Rainbow Dash had refused to set foot outside her cloud house. Her friends had been willing to give her time to calm down before trying to talk to her, but when they realized that she had even stopped showing up for work, they decided to intervene.
"Go away." came Rainbow's dejected voice from inside.
"Dash, everypony is worried about you." Twilight called. "They haven't seen you in a week. And the clouds are starting to build up. The other weather ponies can't keep up. I understand that you're mad at us." Twilight's voice broke slightly. "But please.....don't let other ponies suffer because of it."
There was a pause, and then a deep sigh, and the door opened.
The girls visibly flinched at Rainbow's appearance. She obviously had not been sleeping well.
"I'm not mad." Rainbow said wearily. "I just....I don't understand." She raised her head to look them in the eye. "Why didn't you just talk to me? Did you really think I wouldn't listen?"
The girls averted their eyes. They couldn't answer.
Rainbow smiled bitterly. "Wow. My own friends don't trust me to listen to them. I really am a jerk."
"Rainbow, no!" Fluttershy cried, horrified. "We don't think you're a jerk! We just...wanted you to look at the bigger picture."
"We just wanted you to remember what was important." Applejack added. "Savin' ponies. What ya set out ta do in the first place."
"You obviously didn't think I was doing a good job." Rainbow said sadly. "You said so yourself, 'A hero doesn't brag.'"
Applejack winced, her ears flattening against her head. "Maybe I shoulda phrased that better. It's okay ta be proud a' what ya do, sugarcube, so long as it don't go ta yer head."
Rainbow bit her lip, contemplating what to say next, then said, "The thing is....I didn't know what you were trying to say. I just thought Mare-Do-Well was trying to stand me up. And that day at Sugarcube Corner...." She lowered her eyes. "It felt as though you were choosing Mare-Do-Well over me."
Rainbow wiped her eyes. "That's what really hurt. Losing my popularity was one thing. But losing my friends, too?"
"You didn't lose us, darling." Rarity interjected. "And we're so sorry. We never intended to hurt you."
"That was the last thing we wanted." Twilight added, and the others nodded in agreement.
There was silence for a moment, and then Rainbow sighed. "You guys really hurt me."
Twilight nodded sadly. "We know."
Another long pause. Then Dash continued. "I really wanted to be mad at you. But...then I kept thinking about everything. I mean really thinking." She ran a hoof through her messy mane. "That day...when I was signing autographs....that pony could've gotten hurt, or worse, because I was so distracted.
"And then when I was in the river...you pulled that branch so I could pull myself up. And you never really tried to stop me from saving ponies. You just...showed up, saved the day, and then left.
"And even when I was chasing you....you purposefully lead me to alley, didn't you? You wanted to lead me away from the crowd, so I wouldn't be humiliated.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is....you guys messed up, but...I messed up, too."
Twilight took a timid step forward. "So.....bygones?" She raised a hopeful hoof.
Rainbow sighed, then gave a weary smile. "Yeah....bygones." She touched a hoof to Twilight's.
"YAAAAAAAAY!!!!" Pinkie Pie leapt forward and squeezed Rainbow's neck, hard. "We're friends again!"
Rainbow's face turned red. "Pinkie....can't.....breathe......"
Dear Princess Celestia,
We all learned two lessons today.
The first, is that it's okay to be proud of your accomplishments. It's even okay to brag about it once in a while. But you shouldn't let your pride get in the way of what's important.
The second, is that even if you have good intentions, it doesn't mean your actions are the right ones to take. Sometimes those actions can make things worse, and you can up hurting the people you care about.
Nonetheless, if your friendship is strong, you can overcome any obstacle.
Yours faithfully and loyally,
Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash