//------------------------------// // Koan 3: Whose Problem? // Story: The Sound of One Hoof Clopping // by Trick Question //------------------------------// The sun was shining bright, and it was a beautiful day far above the ground. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were walking together along a large cumulus patch in Cloudsdale, sharing stories as they trotted among the clouds. Visiting Cloudsdale brought back many pleasant memories for both of them. Without warning, a large male palomino pegasus pony galloped straight into them from behind, slamming sidelong into Fluttershy and knocking her over into a pile of fluffy cloudstuff. Rainbow Dash barely managed to dodge the assault. "Out of my way, fillies," the stallion called back rudely, already a quarter-furlong into the distance. "I’ll show him," said Rainbow Dash, punctuating it with a snort. Her wings sprung high for the chase. However, she remembered her fallen friend, and reached over to help the slighter pegasus to her feet first. Fluttershy brushed her soft mane from her eyes with one hoof, and held Rainbow Dash’s shoulder back with the other. "It’s okay, Rainbow," Fluttershy insisted. "Unfff," said Dash, placing a hoof against her own face in frustration. "Fluttershy, I thought we were teaching you to be less of a pushover." Fluttershy thought for a moment, but did not remove her hoof. "Yes, that's true. But I didn’t do anything wrong to cause this," she said. "This caught us both by surprise, and I doubt it was personal. He's probably just a very rude pony, or at least he is today." "Well, fine," said Dash, "but somepony really needs to teach that jerk a lesson. I mean, don't you want to do anything about what happened to you?" Fluttershy nodded, dusting cloudstuff from her wings and removing her hoof from her friend. "I agree, he does need a lesson," she said, her voice surprisingly bold. "But I guess I'm not in a very generous mood today, Rainbow. This whole knocking-me-down thing is just going to have to be his problem." And with that, Fluttershy smiled sweetly enough to disarm an entire herd of jerks. Rainbow Dash felt her choler subside. She chuckled, placing a wing around her good friend. "Yeah, sport, I guess it is," she said, and the pair continued on their way.