//------------------------------//
// Chapter 40 - Many short stories 
// Story: Dusk Shine in pursuit of Happiness 
// by bigsnusnu 
//------------------------------//

Many short stories

A beautiful sunrise in Ponyville slowly began to creep its way slowly across the sleepy village.  Rainbow Dash clenched her eyes tight but still began to wake up slowly as the first rays of morning streamed through the window.  The crippled pegasus was desperate to gain some more sleep.  Her tired body demanded that she continue to snuggle herself in this comfortable bed, a far cry from the hospital bed in which she had had to sleep for almost a week.  Also, after waking up in the middle of the night to run into the forest only to have cried and finally release her repressed feelings, the only thing that Rainbow Dash wanted at that moment was to sleep more.  So, she reached down with her hoof to grab the blankets and snuggle up again. However, she stopped when she noticed that instead of blankets, there was something else on top of her.  Rainbow Dash opened one tired eye and looked down, noting that there was a purple-furred hoof hugging her body. As she looked at it, it took several seconds for her brain to wake up to finally understand whose hoof that was hugging her.

"Dusk!" The pegasus's brain screamed, finally realizing who it was.

Rainbow Dash jumped out of bed and looked back, where she checked what she had suspected.  She was not only asleep in Dusk Shine's bed, but TOGETHER with Dusk Shine.  It also appeared that Rainbow’s sudden jump had unintentionally shifted the colt awake as he now began to stretch and wake up slowly.

"Why was Dusk hugging me!? What does that mean to-!?" Rainbow Dash began to think with a hot blush on her cheeks, until suddenly her brain stopped the flow of agitated ideas she had and reminded her of what she had decided the last night. "No!  Stop getting nervous, I decided yesterday. I have to accept it... Accept that Dusk will never love me..." Rainbow Dash finally thought, slowly calming down, unable to avoid putting on a sad look.

"Hm? Good morning Rainbow..." Dusk said, waking up, rubbing one eye while the other noticed that his friend was there. "Did you sleep well?"

At Dusk's question, Rainbow Dash began to blush, but immediately closed her eyes, breathed slowly and calmed down.

"Yup, I slept well.  Although it seems that I slept with an unexpected company." Rainbow Dash said, speaking quietly, but without being able to look Dusk in the eye.

Dusk Shine blinked a couple of times, not understanding what his friend meant. Then he looked down and realized that he was lying on the bed that Rainbow Dash had used to sleep, and it was then that Dusk's face turned completely red.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry. It's... It's just that yesterday I stood by your side, waiting for you to sleep." Dusk stuttered, his face red with shame. "Then, at some point in the night I think I felt tired and decided to lay down just a second to rest.  I didn't realize that I fell asleep next to you, I'm sorry!"

While Dusk was explaining himself, he remembered Pinkie Pie.  Not only did he remembered that this situation was very similar to when Dusk woke up one morning in surprise that Pinkie Pie was in bed next to him, only that now it was the other way around and it was he who had slept with one of his friends without her consent; but also because Dusk remembered that the night before, after reaching Rainbow Dash at the entrance of the forest and convincing her to return to the library.  He had followed Pinkie Pie's advice and decided not to take his eyes off the pegasus again, that's why Dusk had stayed in the room until he made sure that Rainbow Dash fell asleep.

"It wasn't my intention to go to bed and…invade your personal space.  I just... I didn't want you to spend the night alone... I'm sorry." Dusk finally added, already calmer, with a distressed look.

"I understand, don't worry." Rainbow Dash also said with a sad look. Looking for a second at her wings and then looking directly into Dusk's eyes for another couple of seconds. "I think I’m still not over what happened to me, but now I'm determined to move on.  Believe me, I feel a lot better than I was last night." Rainbow Dash added with a sad smile.

Based on her voice, facial expressions and body language, it was obvious that Rainbow Dash was feeling sorry for herself and her actions. However, she definitely looked a lot better than before.  She now seemed much more sincere and more expressive of her feelings, almost to the point of normality.  Relief washed over Dusk as he saw that his friend was finally showing signs of recovering both emotionally and mentally. 

"I'm glad you feel better." Dusk finally said with a small and honest smile. "Well, I think it's time for breakfast, let's go."

Thus, both ponies went down the stairs and headed towards the small kitchen of the library, walking carefully so as not to wake up Spike, who was still sleeping in his basket in the main hall of the library. Dusk decided not to wake up as he felt guilty for making noise at night and for surely waking him up.  With his magic, Dusk quickly prepared a basic breakfast, serving two glasses of orange juice, and preparing a couple slices of toasts with fried hay.  Rainbow Dash meanwhile had a satisfied smile at the gracious attention of the colt.

As Rainbow Dash began to eat and Dusk was preparing to do the same with his toast, he stopped when he noticed a piece of crumpled paper on the floor.

"What is this?" Dusk said, using his magic to levitate the paper and stretch it to see what it was.

Rainbow Dash took a look at the paper that Dusk was levitating and instantly stopped eating and put her toast back on the plate.

"It's the invitation to the Best Young Flyer Competition that came to me yesterday." Rainbow Dash said, pursing her lips and looking away.

"Oh! Sorry, I had forgotten." Dusk said with a sad look, remembering when Fluttershy had handed her the letter, and Rainbow Dash threw it after knowing that she obviously could not participate with the current state of her wings.

"Don't worry, I can't help talking about the things I did before.  I have to get over it." Rainbow Dash finally said, sighing and sipping her orange juice.

"Hmm... So... What is that competition about?" Dusk asked, internally thanking Rainbow Dash for being more willing to talk about an issue that she clearly did not yet overcome, but wanted to do.

"It's an exhibition held every year at Cloudsdale, where Equestria's best amateur fliers compete with each other.  Everyone can show their best flight skills, from speed, accuracy, dexterity, it can even be something artistic, and finally, the jury decides who wins." Rainbow Dash replied, cheering up slowly as she spoke and remembered last year's competition. "And this year there is an extra prize, the winner will be able to spend an afternoon with the Wonderbolts! I already had an awesome routine! I was thinking of using my speed and agility to-" Rainbow Dash added raising her hooves and imagining how she would do her routine but stopped suddenly.

For a second Rainbow Dash forgot her tragic reality. She then took a sad look at her fallen wings, her spirits disappeared completely, and she looked down sadly.

"Gosh... for a moment… I forgot it, how stupid of me..." Rainbow Dash said with a sad smile. Then she breathed slowly to calm down and looked at Dusk with a sad smile. "I wanted to participate this year, but not for the trophy, but for the extra prize of being able to fly with The Wonderbolts... But now the last thing I want is for them to see me like this."

Dusk looked at his friend with grief and then also lowered his head sadly, empathizing with his friend and feeling the pity that Rainbow Dash must feel after fate took away the opportunity to participate in that competition. Dusk was sure, with Rainbow Dash’s incredible speed, that she would have won easily. If only there was another way of...

Suddenly Dusk raised his head with wide eyes as he reviewed the idea he just thought.

"It could work..." Dusk whispered, thinking out loud while looking at nothing. Then he took the glass with orange juice from a sip, got up quickly and took Rainbow Dash by the hoof. "Come with me, I have an idea."





Dusk and Rainbow Dash had quickly left the library were now crossing the bridge on the outskirts of Ponyville and began to enter the small, luminous forest that was next to the dark Everfree forest.

"Where are we going?" Rainbow Dash asked, walking next to Dusk, still not understanding where her friend was leading her. Then Rainbow Dash began to think for a second about what should have triggered Dusk to leave the library unexpectedly, and only one thing occurred to her. "Is it something about the Best Young Flyer Competition we were talking about?"

"Don’t worry, you'll know soon." Dusk responded while still walking forward to his destination. "You may not be able to participate in the competition, but there might be a way to win the prize. But I’m not sure, I think you better judge it for yourself."

Rainbow Dash looked curiously at Dusk, trying to guess what the unicorn was planning, without coming up with an answer.  Seeing how patience wasn’t one of her best virtues, she thought about continuing to insist that the colt tell her.  However, she decided to make an effort to not to ask more and just follow Dusk. No matter what it was, she was just thankful that Dusk was being so worried about her, and that in addition, he wanted to make a nice gesture to her.

While both continued walking, they stopped suddenly when they heard several familiar voices not too far away.  Giving way to their curiosity, both ponies diverted the way they were going and advanced to where the voices were coming from.  Upon reaching the voices, Dusk made Rainbow Dash crouch behind a bush next to him and then pointed her up.

There, in the treetop, there were three fillies that both knew very well: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.  The fillies were chatting on a small platform that was in the treetop, from which there was also a rope that looked like being linked in the distance with another tree.

"What are they doing?" Rainbow Dash asked, whispering to Dusk.

"I don't know, but I don't want to interrupt them." Dusk replied, smiling proudly. "Perhaps they’re learning some valuable lesson from-"

"Okay! Now we’ll earn our cutiemarks by throwing ourselves from a zip line!" Scootaloo shouted animatedly, while, from under the tree, Dusk opened his incredulous mouth after realizing that he had been completely wrong and that the fillies were just doing another crazy thing.

"Seriously... when they will learn that cutiemarks aren’t earned like that..." Dusk said hitting his frustrated face.  The colt remembered that he had sworn to himself not to help the three fillies or tell them how to get their cutiemarks, hoping they would find out by themselves and in turn learn a valuable lesson. Unfortunately, it seemed that every hint that Dusk told them was worthless since the fillies continued to do random activities trying to earn their cutiemarks, each activity crazier than the previous one.

"Are those three gonna be okay using that zip line?" Rainbow Dash asked, watching Scootaloo with a mixture of fear and amusement.

"They'll be fine.  Spike had told me about this zip line.  He’s used it a couple of times already." Dusk replied with a frustrated sigh. "As long as they go one at a time, there shouldn't be-"

Again Dusk was interrupted by the shout of the three fillies, which, to Dusk's horror, launched themselves from the zip line at the same time.

The three fillies traveled at high speed along the rope, only hanging from their harnesses. However, the friction and combined weight of the three ponies together was far too much than the rope could take, and it eventually snapped, causing the three fillies to fall screaming over the treetop.

"Ouch! That must have hurt." Rainbow Dash said, wincing one eye in pain after seeing the young ponies fall.

"Thankfully, the zipline wasn’t that high up to begin with. Still, we should probably go see if they’re alright." Dusk said, a little worried.

Dusk and Rainbow Dash approached to where the fillies had fallen to see if they were well.  But even before arriving, they could already tell that the fillies were not injured, since from a distance they were seen hanging from the tree where they had fallen.  It seemed that the sticky resin of the tree had stuck to their fur and saved them from falling to the ground.  Although, now all three had the new problem where they had to deal with the resin that wouldn’t come off their fur.

As Rainbow Dash and Dusk approached, they both managed to hear what the little fillies were talking about.

"I told you it was a bad idea; we should continue with my idea of getting cutiemarks for extreme mountaineering." Apple Bloom said, disappointed as she struggled to free herself from the resin and reach the ground.

"Maybe if we try again?" Sweetie Belle said, turning with an effort from the position where she had stuck to the resin, to verify that no cutiemark had appeared on her side.

"No, I don't think it’ll work... But I don't know what else to try! Maybe we're doing something wrong..." Scootaloo said, finally managing to take off one of her hooves from the tree's resin.

"I wonder if had taken my sister this much to get her cutiemark…" Sweetie Belle whispered, thinking out loud.

At Sweetie Belle's words, Scootaloo opened her eyes wide and stared at her unicorn friend.

"That's it!" Scootaloo said, holding Sweetie Belle and shaking her excitedly. "How did we not think of it before!?"

"What are you talking about?" Apple Bloom asked, who had also already managed to remove two hooves from the tree resin.

"We should ask the ponies that already have their cutiemarks how they got them." Scootaloo said animatedly. "And I know perfectly who to ask first, the coolest pony in Ponyville! She's fast, tough, fearless, the greatest flyer ever to come out of Cloudsdale!"

"Fluttershy?" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle guessed in unison with confused looks.

"What?!  No!  I'm obviously talking about Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo replied with a great shout of enthusiasm.

Hearing her name, Rainbow Dash turned pale and stepped back from where she and Dusk had been listening.

"What's wrong?" Dusk asked worriedly when he saw the pale pegasus.

Without saying a single word, Rainbow Dash turned around and began to walk in the opposite direction from where the fillies were.

"Rainbow Dash, what's wrong?" Dusk asked again, running to reach his friend.

"Didn't you hear her!?  All those things that Scootaloo said about me, I... I'm not that pony anymore!" Rainbow Dash said with a sad and somewhat desperate look, then seeing her fallen wings, trying in vain to move them. "I... I'm not the pony she admires anymore..."

Dusk looked worriedly at his friend and then saw in the distance the three fillies, who were still trying to get out of the tree resin they were attached to.

"Scootaloo can't fly either... Maybe it would be good for Rainbow Dash to talk to her." Dusk thought as he looked at the little orange filly.

"I can't talk to her, Dusk. Not yet... I'm not ready..." Rainbow Dash said, looking scared at Dusk, reading what her friend was thinking.

Dusk looked at the prismatic mare for a few seconds and then lowered his head as he sighed. His friend had been through a lot, and only yesterday had she managed to accept what was happening to her. She was healing little by little, and perhaps it was not good to rush things.  Perhaps it would be best for Rainbow Dash to heal at her own pace before she could talk with her biggest fan.

"Okay..." Dusk finally gave up. "From what I see, it’ll be a good while until those girls free themselves from all that resin. Come on, let’s go back to where I was taking you." Dusk added, walking again to return to the main road.





"So, you wanted to take me here?" Rainbow Dash said after realizing where Dusk was leading her.

Moving along the path, Rainbow Dash finally recognized the place, but dismissed the idea when she thought it must be wrong.  However, there was no mistake, Dusk had taken her to where she had believed: Fluttershy's cottage.

In the small and beautiful meadow that was in front of Fluttershy's house was its owner, the shy yellow pegasus, who at that time of day fed the multiple animals that depended on her care.  As they moved closer to the cozy cottage, the confusion became more noticeable on Rainbow Dash's face.

"Do you want Fluttershy to participate and win the Best Young Flyer Competition for me?" Rainbow Dash asked incredulously, reaching the only logical answer there could be to be there. "I thought you already knew Dusk, but Fluttershy... well, she’s not exactly the fastest pegasus."

As if to justify Rainbow Dash’s point, Fluttershy flew chasing a bunny, flying so slowly that a butterfly by her side passed her.

"I already know that, but just look closer." Dusk said, pointing back to where Fluttershy was flying.

After catching the rabbit and feeding him a carrot, Fluttershy began to turn and weave carefully around the little animals that already ate, as if she were a snake slipping through a pile of rocks. Then Fluttershy took more food and flew with subtlety and care between the branches of the tall trees, leaving food in every birdhouse that was there and taking care of never hitting any branch so as not to disturb her beloved birds.

"You see it!?" Dusk added enthusiastically, hoping that Rainbow Dash finally understood his plan. "You said it, Fluttershy is not the fastest, but she is very agile and careful.  Imagine her on an obstacle course! You said that the competition could be won in different methods other than speed. Well, here is our solution!"

Seeing Dusk's excited face, Rainbow Dash looked back at Fluttershy as she flew, and then looked down again to see Dusk.

"It won’t work." Rainbow Dash said with little emotion in her expression at Dusk's confused look.

"Oh! What a nice surprise!" Fluttershy suddenly said, only then realizing the presence of her friends. Then she landed and saw Rainbow Dash with special concern. "Did that rest yesterday make you feel any better?" Fluttershy added as she looked at Rainbow Dash with a small smile.

"Yeah... although it’ll be tough to get used to never being able to fly again..." Rainbow Dash said with a sad smile and then looking away, thinking that it still hurt to accept the truth.

"Never again!?" Fluttershy asked, scared.

Then Rainbow Dash remembered that Dusk had only told her friends that she wouldn't fly for a while. She scratched her head and looked at Dusk, who only answered her gaze with a supportive look.  Indicating to him that it was her decision, Rainbow Dash finally decided to tell her friend everything that happened.  When she had finished her explanation, tears flowed freely from Fluttershy’s eye and was then quick to pull her crippled friend in a tight embrace.

"Easy… Easy… Flutters, that's enough!  You're going to make me cry if you keep going." Rainbow Dash said, ending her friend's warm hug and wiping a tear, not wanting to get emotional again.

"That's why we came for your help.  We want you to participate in the Best Young Flyer Competition instead of Rainbow Dash," Dusk told Fluttershy in an attempt to change the subject so Rainbow Dash could avoid feeling more negative emotions.

Upon hearing Dusk's request, Fluttershy looked at him with an astonished face and stared at him for a second in silence, believing she had misheard him.  But at Dusk's watchful eye, she understood that he was not kidding.

"I-I couldn't... I'm not as fast as Rainbow Dash... Even a foal could beat me..." Fluttershy replied, lowering her distressed head.

"That's why we shouldn’t focus on speed but your dexterity instead!" Dusk said with energy in trying to cheer up his friend. "Look, just fly between the tree branches just like you did when feeding the birds, think that in each branch there is a nest and that you need to fly as carefully as possible."

Fluttershy looked at Dusk very doubtfully, wanting to tell him that putting his faith in her was not the best option, but then she glanced sideways at Rainbow Dash and her fallen wings.

"Okay… I’ll give it a try." Fluttershy finally answered, swallowing nervously.

Then Dusk took a couple of steps back to give space to Fluttershy.  The yellow mare opened her wings, closed her eyes, and then set a determined look before flying. With impulse, she then flew directly to the branches of the nearest trees, and as Dusk indicated.  She imagined that in each branch, there were nests of newborn birds that’s she couldn’t touch lest she ended up hurting them.

Fluttershy's speed was definitely average, possibly even a bit below average.  But what definitely stood out was that the yellow pegasus was able to pass between very small spaces without touching any branches with agility and skill rarely seen.

"Do you see!? If we make an obstacle course where Fluttershy has to-" Dusk said enthusiastically, looking back at Rainbow Dash, until he was interrupted by her.

"Huff... Listen Dusk, Fluttershy definitely has some skill.  But even so, this won't work, and I'll show you why..." Rainbow Dash said with a somewhat tired look. Then she took a couple of steps forward and stretched her hoof to put it next to her mouth and that her voice reached Fluttershy. "Fluttershy! Remember that in the competition, there will be hundreds of ponies watching your routine!"

As soon as Fluttershy heard Rainbow Dash's scream, her concentration disappeared, and she immediately imagined hundreds of ponies pointing at her and mocking her. At that moment, Fluttershy's skill vanished, and she hit all the branches of the trees in front of her, causing her to fall to the ground, fortunately, without hitting herself hard.

"You're right... I forgot about that..." Dusk said, hitting his frustrated face.  He couldn’t believe that he had forgotten his friend's crippling stage fright.

"Hurry! I think it's over here! We’ll figure out how to get a cutiemark in no time!" A childish voice suddenly said.

In the act, Dusk and Rainbow Dash turned around, scared to look where the voice they had only heard minutes ago was coming from.  It was Scootaloo's voice, who seemed to be approaching there with her two friends.  Upon discovering who was approaching, Dusk and Rainbow Dash jumped to hide behind a bush before the perplexed gaze of Fluttershy, who did not understand why they both did that.

"Why are you hiding!?" Dusk asked in a whisper, surprised to see that Rainbow Dash had also jumped after the bush next to him.

"I already told you, I don't want Scootaloo to see me like this, and I don’t want to talk to her about how I got my cutiemark either!" Rainbow Dash whispered back. "And why are you hiding?"

Dusk looked nervous for a second and then looked away. "Probably for the same reason as you..." Dusk replied, remembering that he didn't like talking about his cutiemark either.

"Hi, Fluttershy!" The three smiling fillies said in unison as they arrived before the yellow pegasus, who still looked astonished as to why Dusk and Rainbow Dash had suddenly hidden themselves.

"Why hello, little ones.  What brings you here?" Fluttershy asked kindly smiling at Scootaloo.  The orange filly was on her scooter with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom riding in the cart towed behind it.

"We want to know if you've seen Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo asked, very excitedly.

"Yeah! We want to know how she got her cutiemark." Sweetie Belle added.

"Oh! Knowing Rainbow Dash, she definitely has to have a very interesting story. Hmm… it's strange though, I never really asked her how she got her cutiemark." Fluttershy hummed in thought.  Despite knowing Rainbow Dash since childhood, the shy mare remembered that she had never told her about how she got her mark. Although, it wasn’t like that was exactly a rare occurrence among friends.  After entering adulthood, ponies thought of their cutiemarks as a mundane fact of life.  Normally, when discussing about cutiemarks, ponies would talk about their meaning rather than how they received them.  "I don't think I've told Rainbow Dash about how I got my cutie mark either. Which now that I think about it is quite surprising... In fact, if it hadn't been for her, I would never have gotten mine." Fluttershy said thoughtfully, speaking more with herself than with the fillies. Then, she looked at the three butterflies on her flank and smiled lovingly as she remembered.

"Wait, Rainbow Dash helped you get your cutiemark!?" Scootaloo asked with a look of amazement.

"Tell us!" Apple Bloom said excitedly.

"Let's get out of here." Rainbow Dash said from behind the bush.  She then began to gently shove Dusk in an attempt to get him to leave with her.

Despite Rainbow Dash’s pushing, Dusk still stayed in place hidden within the bush.  When he looked to her in astonishment as to why the pegasus would want to leave, he noticed the apparent nervousness on her face.

"Let's listen... just for a while," Dusk said with a small pleading smile since he really wanted to take this opportunity to get to know more about his friend and her past.

Rainbow Dash made a nervous face but eventually relented and sat back reluctantly as Dusk brought her ear closer out of the bush to hear more clearly the story his friend was about to tell the three fillies.

"It was probably the fifth of sixth coldest day in my entire life..." Fluttershy said, faking a shiver as she remembered that memorable day of her childhood. "It was my first day at the Flight Camp... You may not believe it, but at that time, I was very shy and a somewhat clumsy flyer.  So, it took me several days to gain the courage to finally dare to fly by the practice circuit with the other foals my age.  But I was so nervous that as soon as I wanted to start with the circuit, I stumbled and fell right at the starting line.  A couple of bullies approached and began to make fun of me. It was the most humiliating moment of my life!  But then out of nowhere, Rainbow Dash appeared and landed in front of me and began to defend me from all their hurtful words.  Rainbow Dash then challenged the two of the bullies to a race on the circuit.  So the three of them took their places at the starting line, and I gave the starting signal to the race.  As soon as I gave the signal, the three competitors passed by me so fast that their tailwind blew me right off my cloud.  While I was falling, I was too terrified to open my wings.  But then, just when I was going to fall to the ground, a flock of butterflies saved me from falling. I had never seen those beautiful little creatures since the butterflies never fly as high in the sky as Cloudsdale.  And while I was on the ground, I was able to see a whole bunch of woodland critters that only ever saw before in books.  While I was fascinated by watching the different animals, I suddenly heard a loud boom and the sky was dyed green for a second... I never knew what caused it, but what I do remember that the animals ran away because of the noise. Seeing them so scared, only one thing came to my mind: I just had to help them. So, I approached all of them and began to calm them down little by little... That's when I discovered that I had the ability to communicate with animals at another level, and it was then that I knew what I wanted to do with my life, and my cutiemark appeared." Fluttershy finished telling with a bright smile.

"Wow... That’s a really sweet story..." Dusk said while smiling affectionately, as he was still hidden behind the bush, looking with some tenderness at Fluttershy.

"It is... if you don't know the whole story..." Rainbow Dash murmured with a sad look.

"And... That's it!? How did the race end!? What happened to Rainbow Dash!?" Scootaloo asked impatiently that unlike her other two friends, she lost some interest in Fluttershy's story as soon as she stopped talking about her idol.

"Oh! Well, I wasn't there, so I don't know how the race ended.  Maybe you should ask her." Fluttershy responded by looking over to tell the Cutie Mark Crusaders that she was just behind the nearby bush.  But as soon as Fluttershy looked at the shrubbery, she watched as Rainbow Dash peeked through the bush and signaled her not to say anything, hiding again just when the fillies looked there.

"Do you know where we can find Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked anxiously.

"Uh... M-Maybe she's taking a nap at home, you know how she likes to take naps on her days off, hehe..." Fluttershy replied nervously, deciding to listen to her friend.

Following Fluttershy's advice, Scootaloo urged her two friends to get back into the scooter's cart, and the three left swiftly to Rainbow Dash's house. While, as soon as the fillies moved away, Dusk Shine and Rainbow Dash came out from behind the bush.

"Why did you hide?" Fluttershy asked, confused.

"Long story..." Rainbow Dash replied, not wanting to give details.

"I didn't know that’s how you got your cutiemark.  It was a very cute story." Dusk complimented, smiling as Fluttershy blushed. "It’s not common to ask other ponies about the origin of their cutiemark, but every time I hear about them, I’m amazed at the power that something that looks so simple can have. When thinking about the cutiemark, I can't stop thinking of all that powerful unknown magic that-"

Suddenly Dusk fell silent when a brilliant idea flashed his head, and he opened his eyes in amazement at what had occurred to him.

"Rainbow Dash! I have an idea to heal your wings!" Dusk said with great enthusiasm, taking Rainbow Dash by the shoulders.

"W-What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash said nervously, with all her being attentive to every word Dusk said.

"There is magic more powerful than that of the ponies, magic that doctors can’t occupy, but that we can occupy. Healing magic so powerful that it even served to save a powerful alicorn from darkness!" Dusk said, almost unable to contain his emotion.

"The Elements of Harmony!" Rainbow Dash shouted in amazement at the realization of Dusk's plan, with the same amazement and emotion that Fluttershy also put at that moment.

"That's right! And for that, we need all our friends." Dusk said with a determined look, seeing his two friends present, who shared his gaze, knowing that they had discovered how to fix Rainbow Dash's serious problem.

Then the three ponies ran in search of their other friends, knowing who they should go first.





Applejack's house was the same distance from Fluttershy's house as the town, so it was the best option to go first.  When they arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, Dusk, Rainbow, and Fluttershy didn't take much time to find Applejack, who was in the barn making some bales of hay for the winter. Once they found her, the first thing Rainbow Dash had to do, was to tell again that the problem of her wings was not something temporary as they thought, which left Applejack scared, knowing that flying was everything to her friend.  Before Applejack could be too sad about the pegasus’s situation, was that Dusk quickly told her about his plan to use the magic of Harmony.

"That... That may work!" Applejack said, regaining her spirits after hearing Dusk's plan. "I remember when we used the Elements of Harmony, it felt like everything was possible! It can definitely cure Rainbow Dash!"

"Well, it's decided, now we should look for Rarity and Pinkie Pie as soon as possible so that—" Dusk began to say excitedly, but suddenly shut up when his ear detected a sound he had already heard that morning.  Dusk turned and saw that in the distance, there was a small cloud of dust created by a small scooter that was rapidly approaching the barn where they were.

"It's Scootaloo and the others!" Dusk shouted in surprise, looking at Rainbow Dash.

Quick as a flash, Dusk and Rainbow Dash did the same thing they did at Fluttershy's house and hid behind some bales of hay.  Just then, the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived and saw only Applejack alone in the barn, who had been confused looking at the bundle behind which her friends had jumped.

"Fluttershy, why did you jump with us!?" Dusk whispered surprised to see that not only Rainbow Dash had hidden with him, but also his shy friend.

"I don't know... Everybody was doing it... I just wanted to be popular." Fluttershy whispered with a shy, embarrassed smile.

"Heya Sis!" Apple Bloom said greeting her older sister.

"Hi girls, what brings you here?" Applejack said, smiling, deciding to ignore at the moment the strange behavior of her friends.

"We wanted to know if you've seen Rainbow Dash today." Apple Bloom said. "We went to her house, but it seems she isn't there, and then I told Scootaloo that she sometimes takes naps in the trees in the farm."

"Yeah! It's very important! We have to find her!" Scootaloo added anxiously.

Applejack hesitated a little at the fillies’ question, then looked sideways at the bale and thought for a few seconds. She could guess that surely Rainbow Dash didn't want to be seen with her wings in such conditions, but she didn't want to lie to the fillies either.

"You won't be able to find Rainbow Dash at her house; she's staying in the library with Dusk. Probably if you go later, you’ll find them there." Applejack said finding the solution to not betray her friend or lie at the same time, thinking that at least she would give Rainbow Dash some time to prepare before talking to Scootaloo.

"Agh... we'll never know how Rainbow Dash got her cutie mark...!" Scootaloo said with a mixture of grief and frustration. The little orange pegasus had spent the whole morning looking for Rainbow Dash and had driven her scooter through almost half Ponyville and its surroundings, which obviously was getting tiresome.  But for her, every effort was worth it in order to get something as valuable as Rainbow Dash’s cutiemark story.

"Hey sister, could you tell us how you got your cutiemark?" Apple Bloom asked excitedly, taking the opportunity to ask for that detail that had never occurred to her sister.

"Have I ever told you that story?" Applejack said, remembering and remembering that she had never really told her little sister that. "Well, if you want to hear it..."

"Sure... whatever..." Scootaloo muttered in resignation, while Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Dusk Shine paid attention to listen to Applejack's story.

"It was probably the fifth of sixth coldest day in my entire life..." Applejack said, faking a shiver as she remembered that day, making the same gesture that Fluttershy had made in telling her story. "At that time, it was just a little pony, a little younger than you, Apple Bloom.  One day, after seeing some pictures of my Aunt and Uncle Orange in the big city, I decided that I didn't want to spend my whole life in a dusty farm.  I wanted to try to live a sophisticated life.  So I took my things and traveled alone to Manehattan, the most cosmopolitan city in all of Equestria.  As soon as I put on a hoof in the big city, I realized that the city dwellers were very different from the ponies I had known until then, much more refined and polite, but also colder and carefree with others. Still, I didn't lose heart and went to my aunt and uncle’s house, who welcomed me warmly, happy for my visit, and somewhat curious and amused by my 'picturesque' way of talking, walking, and combing. The first thing they did was show me the manners that were used in the big city, as well as teach me to speak with property and to fix my way of combing and smiling, all so that I could fit without problems in the elegant parties to which they attended... I remember the first elegant party I attended; I was like a new attraction for all of them: a country pony that moved to the big city.  So everyone asked me questions about what living the big city was like, obviously I responded with proper grace and elegance, as my aunt and uncle taught me. But as soon as I remembered and talked about the farm, it was impossible for me to avoid talking as I always did and being myself, which made my relatives nervous, and me too. I was so worried that day that I couldn't close an eye all night, and I stayed awake until the sun came out that cold morning. It was there, watching the sunrise from the window of my room, remembering the orchards, the meals, the laughter, Granny, my brother and my whole family, that I started to look in the direction of Ponyville while crying with nostalgia.  While I was weeping, I heard a big ole boom in the distance, and the sky lit orange for a second! Then a rainbow appeared in the sky, pointing right at Ponyville and the farm, and everything became clear! I knew exactly who I was and who I wanted to be! Without taking anything or saying goodbye to my aunt and uncle, I ran and ran to the train station with a big smile and took the express to Ponyville. Upon arriving and getting off at the station, I kept running to the farm, crying with happiness to see my family waiting for me. It was then that I felt a tingle on my flank, and this beauty appeared." Applejack finished saying, proudly showing her cutie mark.

"Aww... What a beautiful story..." Sweetie Belle said after Applejack finished talking.

Given Sweetie Belle's comment, Dusk and Fluttershy thought they were totally in agreement. Like Fluttershy's story, Applejack's story was also pretty, but at that time, there was something else they both had in mind: The color in the sky... The distant noise... Was it common to see and hear that at discovering your cutiemark?

"I had already thought about it when I heard Fluttershy's story…" Dusk thought to remember. "Something similar happened when I got my cutiemark... Maybe it's normal, since I've never heard the stories of other ponies on how they got their cutiemark, but then... Why had I never read anything like that?"

"Alright, enough of cheesy stories, time to keep looking for Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said hurriedly, pushing her two friends to the cart of her scooter.

Then the three fillies quickly left the scooter, just as fast as they had arrived. As soon as the fillies moved away, Dusk, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy also left behind the bales.

"Well, we should leave too." Dusk said, again with a determined look as he gave priority to his mission of helping Rainbow Dash. "Time to go with Rarity."





Dusk and his three friends quickly arrived at Rarity's house, guided most of the way by Rainbow Dash, who seemed increasingly animated, eager to be able to use the Elements of Harmony to return to normal as soon as possible.  Upon arriving at Rarity's house, they knocked on the door several times, but it seemed that there was no one at home.

"Ugh! Where’s Rarity when you need her most!?" Rainbow Dash said, impatient to see that her friend seemed not to be home. "Maybe we should go to the Spa, or Cafe, or maybe-"

"Calm down..." Applejack said, putting her ear on the door of the house to hear better. "It seems that there is someone inside, I’m hearing something."

Then Applejack carefully opened the door, and everyone entered Rarity's house, deciding that because of the urgency of the situation, they would enter without their friend's permission, who perhaps simply hadn't heard the knock on the door.  Upon entering the main hall, everyone looked everywhere, verifying that indeed her friend was not there.  Then the four ponies put their ears on alert when they noticed that there was noise on the second floor, in Rarity's room, where they then heard several voices. The four ponies slowly climbed the stairs, feeling a little guilty for continuing to trespass in their friend’s home.  It was there that they saw the door to Rarity’s room was left ajar.  One after another, the ponies peeked through the crack with one eye to see who was in the room. Dusk and Rainbow Dash almost fell back when they saw that the self-proclaimed 'Cutie Mark Crusaders,' the three fillies that they had been hiding all day, were in the room wearing half-sewn dresses while Rarity quickly sewed the three dresses.

"Why are the girls here? And why are they trying on dresses?" Dusk whispered, surprised, and confused.

"Can someone explain to me why we are doing this?... When we should be looking for Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo suddenly yelled annoyed as if she had read Dusk's mind.

"It's a small favor, I'll compensate you." Rarity replied with a smile. "A client asked me for some dresses for her daughter. I planned to ask Sweetie Belle for help, but it was good luck to meet you three! That way, I could finish faster!"

"Yeah...’good luck’..." Scootaloo muttered annoyed, not only because her search for Rainbow Dash had been delayed, but also because she had been forced to put on a dress.

"Come on, it's not that bad." Sweetie Belle added, looking with a smile at her pegasus friend, who, unlike her, enjoyed wearing dresses, especially if it was to help her sister. "Besides, now we can also take advantage of asking my sister about her story."

"My story?" Rarity asked without understanding what her sister meant.

"The story of how you got your cutiemark!" Sweetie Belle replied excitedly.

"Oh!  Well, I don't think knowing how I got my cutiemark helps them get yours, you just have to be patient." Rarity said, smiling tenderly, but at the expectant look of her little sister, she finally relented. "But if you want to know so much... I remember it as if it had been yesterday.  It was almost winter; it was probably the fifth of sixth coldest day in my entire life... The day before we were doing the rehearsal for a school play, I obviously decided to participate behind the scenes and make the costumes, from an early age wanting to fulfill my goal of being a dressmaker. I had been working for weeks to make the dresses for the work, and in the end, they all loved them! Everyone but me... I felt that I could do better, I wanted my classmates to shine on stage, and while their dresses were unique, but as much as I tried, I couldn't think of anything to improve them and give them that 'je ne sais quoi'. Finally, the day before the premiere, when I had lost all hope, the magic of my horn was activated! With a force that I had never had before, and against my will, my horn dragged me out and away from the town, attracted like a bee to honey, all afternoon and all night of that day.  I had no idea where my horn was taking me, but the magic of the unicorn doesn't happen without reason, deep down I knew it had to do with my love with fashion, even perhaps with my long-awaited cutiemark, whatever the reason, I knew it would take me to my destination! So obviously my disappointment was huge when finally, at dawn the next day, I arrived at my destination, a quarry, where there was only a huge and ugly rock... That was my destiny!? Be a rock farmer!? The most boring profession in the world!? It could not be possible!! But it was then that I heard something like an explosion that scared me, and the sky for a second lit a deep blue, and then it happened! The huge rock broke in two and revealed that inside it was full of rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and other more beautiful gems I had seen. At that moment I knew, that was what I was looking for, that was what my dresses needed. Without wasting time, I took those gems, ran back to the village, and gave my all to finish the dresses just in time before the presentation that night. Seeing how the audience cheered the show and looked at the dresses in wonder, my heart leaped with happiness, and a light appeared on my flank... it was my cutiemark that finally appeared."

"Another beautiful story!" Sweetie Belle said happy to know the story of her sister's cutiemark.

"I liked it too! I think it looks a bit like my sister's." Apple Bloom said smiling.

At that moment, behind the door, not only Apple Bloom had that thought, but also Dusk, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy, who had also listened carefully to Rarity's cute story, and we're also a little surprised at a few but obvious similarities between Rarity's story and the other stories.

"Is it normal to see colors in the sky when you get your cutiemark?" Applejack whispered, looking at Dusk.

"I... I don't know..." Dusk replied, thinking maybe it would be interesting to study a topic as forgotten as the cutiemarks in the future, as long as it wasn't his own mark.

"Yeah, yeah, a very nice story... But how does that help us!" Scootaloo suddenly said, annoyed, just when Rarity took off the dress she was wearing since she had already finished marking the seams. "None of those namby-pamby stories aren't getting us any closer to our cutiemarks! They're all about finding who you really are and boring stuff like that."

"Yes, Scootaloo, that's exactly what-" Rarity said with a smile, realizing that, although she hadn't realized, Scootaloo had finally hit the spot. However, it stopped when she was interrupted.

"Come on, Crusaders! We need action, we need to find Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said without even listening to Rarity, just thinking about Rainbow Dash while pushing her two friends to get out of there soon.

Hearing that the little fillies were approaching the door, Dusk and his friends jumped in fright and ran down the stairs. When they reached the first floor, the three mares hid behind a curtain, but there was no place to hide Dusk, so the colt quickly opened a small closet and hid there, just before the little fillies ran down the stairs and they ran out of Rarity's house.

"Sweetie Belle! Girls! Don't run in the house!" Rarity said down the stairs, too late for her cry to reach her little sister, who had already run out of the house. "Hmpf! That filly..."

Suddenly Rarity looked scared towards the closet next to her when she heard a noise. Then she jumped in fright when suddenly the door opened and Dusk appeared, who fell to her feet with a dress that got stuck in Dusk's body due to how quickly he had entered the closet. Then Dusk stared at Rarity with a silly face of guilt.





"Dusk... Did you just come out of the closet?" Rarity asked with a false face of doubt as she endured her laughter when she saw Dusk and the dress on him.

"Yes, I… No! Of course not!" Dusk said, blushing after noticing his friend's double meaning joke, quickly taking off the dress.

"What were you doing hiding there?" Rarity asked, this time more serious.

Before Dusk responded, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash came out from behind the curtain that hid them. Then Rainbow Dash, for the third time that day, had to explain everything that happened, starting by telling the truth about the condition of her wings. Hearing it, Rarity covered her mouth in horror, and her tears began to flow at the thought that her friend had lost the most valuable to her.

“Oh, my dear, darling, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity said in between sobs.  “If only I had known that fate had dealt you a horrendous set of cards!  Oh, to lose your most cherished gift of flight!  Why, the mere fact that you are standing here before me despite how much you’ve lost…It’s the bravest, most heartbreaking act that I’ve…” 

"Enough! Please don't cry! We have the solution." Rainbow Dash quickly said, raising a hoof and looking away, since she felt a mixture of guilt and sorrow when she saw her friends crying because of her guilt after hiding the truth from them.

"Sniff... You have a plan?" Rarity asked, quickly wiping her tears.

"The Elements of Harmony!" Rainbow Dash said with a big smile.

"The Elements…?" Rarity repeated, who then understood what her friend was referring to and the plan they had. "Yes! It's brilliant! That has to work!"

"I'm sure they will, we all felt their power." Dusk said with a calm smile, putting his hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder.

Then the other mares also approached and made the same gesture of Dusk, smiling at Rainbow Dash, swearing to themselves that they would do the impossible to help their friend.  While Rainbow Dash for a second, for the first time since Dusk had come up with that plan, she stopped thinking about herself and her wings, and only smiled with gratitude, thinking only of how lucky she was to have such great friends.

# End of chapter 40