Flying With Angels

by Garbo


Chapter 3: Mad Desire

As Fluttershy neared Rainbow Dash’s house, she became increasingly nervous. Fluttershy wasn’t sure if the normally jubilant pegasus would be anything like her former self, or if she would be too depressed. And that was assuming that she would want to talk about her crash. She could even be sleeping for all Fluttershy knew.

Fluttershy tried to put herself in her friend’s position, wondering what she would want to do if she somehow lost all of her animals, which were as important to her as flying was to Rainbow Dash. She had to admit to herself that she would not want to talk to anypony, and she could only hope that Dash would not feel the same way.

There were other things to worry about as well. Since she could no longer fly, Dash was no longer part of the weather team. Thus, the former athlete had no way of supporting herself. Her friends would have to help her find a job, Fluttershy reasoned. If they couldn’t, then Rainbow would need to get money from somepony else.

As the element of kindness, Fluttershy planned on giving her as much as she could, but she didn’t have much to give. All the money she earned was by helping people around town care for their animals, and those bits went to caring for her animals or herself. Truth be told, she barely had enough money for anything else. She did go to the spa weekly with Rarity, but Rarity paid for that. She often checked out books from the library, but Twilight never charged her for late books.

Of course, it would probably be those two who helped Rainbow out the most. Pinkie Pie had even less money than Fluttershy did because of the amount of party supplies she bought. As a result, she was essentially living paycheck to paycheck. Even then, Pinkie would not have been able to afford all of those parties without the assistance from the Cakes. Seeing it as an opportunity to drum up business, the couple catered all of Pinkie’s parties for free.

When it came to funds, her friend Applejack was uncertain. Although the Apple Family was one of the richest in Ponyville during the fall, that money had to carry them through the winter as well, and she had heard from her earth pony friend that the family had experienced a number of close calls. Yet despite this, Fluttershy knew that Applejack would help somehow, probably with foodstuffs, which was what Rainbow Dash needed the money for anyway.

Moving out of her daydreams, Fluttershy looked up to find herself no more than a nose or so away from Rainbow Dash’s house. She was startled, but at the same time somewhat amused by this.

“Good timing, I guess.” She circled around to the front of the house, and soon saw Rainbow Dash. She was on the roof.

Silently, the yellow coated mare wondered what her childhood friend would be doing on the roof. Rainbow Dash still hadn’t noticed her presence, and Fluttershy was about to call up to her when she noticed an important detail: a rope. It was a pretty ordinary piece of rope, undoubtedly enchanted as to not fall through the cloud structures of the house. What made it stand out was that it was around Rainbow’s neck.

“Oh, no no no no no,” said Fluttershy, lifting off without a second thought. She already knew what was happening, but the question still came out. “Dash, what are you doing?”

Rainbow had been staring into nothingness, unless you counted the horizon as a material object. The sound of Fluttershy’s voice brought her back into reality. And with this awakening came the most horrifying sight the easily-frightened pony had ever seen. She could only stare in awe as the insane smiled back at her. Smiled – with a noose around her neck and clearly ready to jump. It was not a cheerful smile either. It was the kind of insane smile that Fluttershy had once seen worn by Twilight. And yet, this one was much worse.

“Hey Flutters, how you doing?” Her voice did not match her expression. It was deep and malicious, and made Fluttershy fear that Rainbow might hurt her if she took another step closer.

“But I have to,” she whispered to herself.

“Can’t hear you, F-Shy!”

Fluttershy’s mouth dropped. There was no way that her best friend would say that to her. She of all ponies knew what that nickname had meant, knew the past that she was trying to leave behind her. Rainbow had not been there for that part of Flight School, but she had visited when she could, offering a shoulder to cry on when Fluttershy needed it. Rainbow Dash’s use of that insult felt like a hot nail being driven into her hoof. Fluttershy could feel the tears beginning to form, but she shook them and the insult off. She had to save Rainbow Dash; she had to stay strong. Fluttershy took a step forward.

“Don’t even think about it,” said the maniacal Rainbow Dash.

Trying desperately to remain firm, she took another step towards her. She was now about ten feet away from her target. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I said STOP!”

Another step resulted in much the same response from Rainbow, as did the one after that. But another step brought on and entirely different one. “If you don’t stop right now, I’m going to Kill You!”

Fluttershy whimpered. She had no way of knowing if Rainbow was serious. Yet, if she did not go forward, she would never be able to convince her not to jump. Dash was trying to get Fluttershy to back away out of reach to catch her. If Fluttershy gave in, Rainbow Dash might die. Although she could save the cyan pegasus before she could choke, it was just as likely that she would be killed by her neck snapping.

Fluttershy had no choice but to step forward once again. Usually, the pony brain has a fight or flight response to such a situation, but in this instance, Fluttershy could not use either option. Fight would be the action of jumping at Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy was not entirely sure she could catch her from this distance. And flight would result in the same end.

“Better yet, I’ll just kill myself,” said Rainbow in a joyful tone that did not match her words. “Do you really think you can catch me from there? You can’t fly to save your life, or mine for that matter.”

Suddenly, Fluttershy had an idea. If she could keep Rainbow Dash distracted by conversation long enough, Rainbow might lower her guard enough so she could be sure of catching her. She stopped moving forward, calling upon a confidence that she wasn’t sure she had. She knew she would have to put on a show for this to work.

“I wouldn’t be so sure Dash,” she said, trying to keep her voice at a somewhat normal-sounding level. “I can fly pretty fast when I need to.”

“Oh, so you can talk!” Rainbow Dash shouted in mockery.“It took you long enough. Now why don’t you tell me what you want so I can finish.”

“You know what I want, Dash.”

“Ask again and I’ll see if I want to.” Rainbow Dash casually bounced a portion of the rope up and down in her hoof as if it were just a toy, and not something she was attempting to kill herself with. She treated it with the same disinterest as the rest of her surroundings. Her apathy in the face of death only served to frighten Fluttershy more.

“I want you to get away from the edge and take that rope off,” the normally shy pegasus stated with uncharacteristic nerve. Rainbow Dash noticed the change.

“That’s a little confident for you. I’m impressed. I haven’t seen you like that since, well, I don’t know, Flight School?”

“Don’t go there,” Fluttershy pleaded, her tone losing some of its confidence.

“Why not, F-Shy? I mean, you’re the spitting image of your younger self. At least, before you lost it.”

“Dash. Please, I—“

“What’s the problem? You were the most popular mare in the school. All the cots wanted to go out with you. And If I remember right, you went out with quite a few of them.”

Fluttershy could feel her rage building as well as her fear. “Rainbow, this is about you, not about me!”

Rainbow Dash continued from where she left off as if Fluttershy hadn’t said anything. “You were really close with some of those colts, weren’t you? I remember one of them pretty clearly. What was his name again?”

“Stop it!” Fluttershy was on the verge of tears, her voice little more than a squeak.

“Oh, I remember now: Silver Comet. Yeah, I remember that party. I didn’t see you for most of it. As I recall, you were busy letting him rut the cutie marks off your flank.”

“Rainbow, I mean it!!”

Rainbow Dash’s snide comments continued, her voice unsettlingly even. “Maybe I should ask him about your confidence. Or maybe I could ask that foal of yours. Oh wait, I forgot, you had it killed.”

Fluttershy couldn’t take it anymore. She leaped towards Rainbow Dash in a fury. and at the same time, the maniacal pegasus sprung off the edge. As she fell, she closed her eyes, hoping to feel the tension around her neck, and with it, release from the nightmare her life had become.

=-=-=-=-=

Neither pony knew how it happened, but Fluttershy ended up under Rainbow Dash, who was standing neatly on her back. The blue eyed mare had calmed herself down, knowing that the situation was even more delicate than before. She had known that something like this would happen, but had not planned what she would do if it did. All she knew was that Dash was safe, at least for the moment.

“You know, I could just jump off, but I don’t really feel like it.”

For a second, Fluttershy was hopeful. “You mean you don’t want to kill yourself anymore?”

“No. I just want to wait until you get too tired so I can see the look on your face when I die.”

Fluttershy felt like she was going to vomit. If she let Dash go, she would be directly responsible for her death, and she would never forgive herself.

“Oh, you’re too shy to look at me. That’s more like you. You’ve been that way ever since you killed your baby. It’s pretty sad.”

“Rainbow, I know you don’t mean it. You’ve got to snap out of it!”

“Don’t you get it, you stupid cunt? I never liked you! You were popular! All the colts liked you! And now you won’t talk to anypony but me and your little bitch Applejack, just because you were too weak to raise your own mistake. You sicken me!”

All of this was too much for Fluttershy, and she was no longer able to hold back her tears. It didn’t help that Rainbow Dash only laughed when she saw her crying. It was not Rainbow Dash’s usual contagious, booming laugh, but an evil cacophony.

Before long, Fluttershy’s muscles began to weaken under the weight, her wings flapping at an increasingly slower cadence. Rainbow Dash could feel herself sinking to the sound of Fluttershy’s sobs, and in her present state, it was like music to her ears. She felt the rope touch to the bottom of her neck. She closed her eyes, exhaling the air remaining in her lungs.

“Almost there,” she said with a grin. Another dip from the pony below her, and she felt the rope tighten around her neck, making it hard for her to breathe. Rainbow Dash waited for a few seconds after that, hoping for the final dip that would leave her to her fate. But it wasn’t coming. Not only was she not sinking, but she was rising. She looked down in alarm to see another figure under Fluttershy assisting her. Rainbow had noticed that Fluttershy had been calling out for help ever since she had started crying, but Nopony should have been that close to her house. After all, Fluttershy’s voice did not carry very far.

Fluttershy was just as surprised as Rainbow Dash. Not only had somepony heard her last-ditch screams, but it was the last one she would expect to show up. But before she could think about it too much, Rainbow Dash decided she wasn’t going to let this happen. She jumped off of her back, but was quickly caught by the new arrival. No longer needing to hold up the weight, Fluttershy felt the adrenaline leave her body as she fell to the cloud floor below. She bounced once on the fluffy material, and then came to rest a couple feet away.

A few minutes later, Fluttershy heard a whooshing noise above her, then the soft noise of somepony landing on the clouds just to her right. She felt something sharp touching her side, and from her experience with birds of prey, she knew it was talon. She looked up to see Gilda; Rainbow Dash’s other childhood friend.

“What was your name again?” The griffon asked.

Fluttershy took a few seconds to catch her breath before responding.

“Oh yeah, Fluttershy, how could I forget? It's been a while, though”

Fluttershy didn’t say anything, so Gilda offered her a claw. Fluttershy took it and allowed Gilda to pull her to her feet. Fluttershy was still too weak to fly so the two walked towards the house. “Where is she?” asked Fluttershy.

“I tied her to her bedpost, but she’ll probably chew through the rope any second now.”

“Aren’t you concerned about that?” asked Fluttershy in alarm.

“No. If she bites though the rope, she can’t hang herself with it.”

“That’s true, I guess,” murmured the pegasus.

“All we have to do is keep her from getting to the knives.” Gilda was quite calm about the whole ordeal; she had an air of militaristic professionalism about her, which was contrary to her demeanor during her last visit to Ponyville. This comforted Fluttershy. The two entered the house, and found Rainbow on her way down the stairs. Gilda used her body to block the way. “Hold up, Dash.”

Rainbow looked down on the griffon with disgust. “Oh, well look who it is. What, do you think you can do a better job than F-Shy over there?” Fluttershy cowered away from the anitpathic pony above her in an attempt to distance herself from the insults. Gilda remained calm.

“Well, I don’t see you going anywhere.”

“I’ll just break through the floor, then.”

“I’ll catch you,” replied Gilda.

“Oh, right, I forgot,” said Rainbow Dash, scratching her hoof in her mane while trying to think of another way to kill herself.

“Dash, I heard what happened.”

“Oh, so the griffons do use spies. Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

Gilda sighed. “Dash, I read it in Flyer’s Weekly. I still get that shipped out there you know.”

“Oh sure, now that I can’t fly I get famous. Fate’s a bitch.”

Gilda stomped a claw on the cloud floor to try to get Dash’s attention. It didn’t make much noise, but it worked. “Okay, I know this is hard for you Dash, but there’s no reason to bail out on life. There are some here who still want you alive, you know.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t respond immediately. But when she did, she seemed to have a change of heart. “Gilda, can we talk upstairs for a second? Alone?”

“Sure Dash,” she said, walking up to Rainbow Dash’s second story bedroom.

Fluttershy watched her go, and then watched the door close behind them. Almost immediately afterward, she heard a thud from inside the room. This was followed by more thuds, the sounds of somepony running, and finally, one loud thump. A few seconds later, Gilda opened the door of the room, carrying a motionless Rainbow Dash.

Before Fluttershy could ask what had happened, Gilda explained it to her. “She tried to ambush me. I kind of figured as much. Is there anywhere we can bring her to keep her safe? A jail, or something?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, we don’t have a jail, but maybe Twilight can help us.”

“Twilight. Who’s that?”

“She’s a friend,” she mumbled. “She’s good with magic.”

Gilda nodded, looking down towards the town of Ponyville, which was only a mile or so away. After a few seconds, she turned back to Fluttershy. “Are you okay to fly?”

Fluttershy nodded a little, but didn’t say anything. Her wings still ached, but she figured she could handle a glide down to the ground. The two soared silently into the sky, Gilda carrying Rainbow Dash in her front legs, a delicate balance that required intense concentration. She was able to spare enough concentration to speak with Fluttershy, however.

“So, what happened exactly?” asked Gilda. “I mean, what did she do to you? You seem pretty upset.”

Fluttershy grimaced, trying to keep herself from crying. “She said some things.”

Gilda understood what she meant. After all, she had once been on the business end of Rainbow Dash’s anger as well. Although Rainbow Dash was incredibly loyal, she did not like it when she deemed other ponies fickle. In these instances, she often reacted by lashing out at them for that perceived disloyalty. In the case of Gilda, Rainbow Dash had detested the griffon’s inability to say that she loved her. On the other hoof, she verbally attacked Fluttershy because she wouldn’t let her commit suicide. It did not help that, in both of these instances, Rainbow Dash was emotionally stressed to begin with.

Although Gilda was curious about the nature of what her onetime crush had said to Fluttershy, she knew that Fluttershy would only tell if she wanted to, and for that reason, the griffon did not say anything. The two continued to float along wordlessly until they reached the edge of town. Fluttershy then lead the way to Twilight’s library. When they got there, Gilda moved Rainbow Dash from her front legs to her back. Although Rainbow Dash had the lean build of a flier, she was still quite heavy; and yet through the flight, Gilda had shown no signs of difficulty. Fluttershy had no idea how Gilda had managed.

Fluttershy was not allowed much time to think of these things, for Gilda stepped forward and knocked on the door. Within moments, Spike answered the door. At first, Spike seemed confused.

“Fluttershy, who is this?” he asked.

Realizing that Spike had not encountered Gilda on her previous visit to Ponyville, Fluttershy answered. “It’s Gilda, Rainbow Dash’s friend, if you remember. She came to Ponyville a while ago.”

A look of recognition spread on Spike’s face as he turned to Gilda. He seemed as though he was about to say something, but at that moment, his gaze shifted to the pegasus who lay unconscious on Gilda’s back. “Wait, is that Rainbow Dash?”

“Yes, but there isn’t really time to explain,” said Gilda. “Fluttershy told me I could find somepony named Twilight Sparkle here. Is that true?”

Spike nodded. “What happened, though?”

“Dash tried to hang herself for some reason. I’m assuming it has something to do with the fact that she can’t fly anymore.” The stoic griffon turned to Fluttershy. “That is the reason, right?”

Fluttershy found herself shivering, despite the fact that it was a warm and sunny summer morning. “Um, I think so,” she said. “But it’s been a while since the accident, and she seemed alright the last time I saw her.”

Spike was speechless, but another voice came from inside the library. It was Twilight. “Spike, who’s at the door?”

“Um, it’s Fluttershy and Gilda,” said Spike uneasily.

Twilight did not answer due to her surprise. As quickly as she could, she galloped down the stairs from her bedroom, and came skidding to a halt in the door-frame. After taking a second to find her bearings, Twilight looked at Gilda quizzically, not believing that the griffon had returned after how badly her previous visit had gone. Twilight also noticed Rainbow Dash slumped lifelessly on Gilda’s back. Twilight stared at her for a few more moments, trying to take in what she was seeing. When she finally did, she stepped aside, sending the silent message for the pair to come in. Gilda was the first to go, followed closely by Fluttershy. Spike, who had moved outside to avoid being plowed over by Twilight, brought up the rear.

Carefully, Gilda laid Dash down on the same couch that the now comatose pony had sat at the day before, then sat down next to her. Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy took up different seats. The silence did not last long, and it was Spike that broke it.

“How is she?” he asked, staring at Rainbow Dash’s closed eyelids.

“She’s not dead; I made sure of that,” replied Gilda, leaning forward so that she could fold up her wings. “I know you didn’t hear before, but Rainbow Dash tried to kill herself this morning.”

Twilight’s face went very pale, as if she were trying to impersonate her mentor. She coughed into her hoof in an effort to regain her composure, which was not easy to do considering the circumstances. “But that doesn’t make any sense. I had her over yesterday, and she seemed fine by the time she left.”

Gilda looked equally as surprised as Twilight had. “She wasn’t depressed at all?”

“Well, she was when she got here. She’d just come back from the hospital. I’m assuming you know about the crash, correct?”

Gilda nodded, gesturing for Twilight to continue. “She was visiting with the other pony involved in the crash. She told Dash something that made her pretty upset. She came here wanting to use my balloon to get home, but when I noticed how upset she was, I had her talk about it. By the end of it, she didn’t seem sad anymore; Upbeat, even. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Gilda nodded once again, her eyes closed in thought. “You’re sure she wasn’t just pretending so she could get back home?”

“Well … I don’t know … she seemed pretty genuine to me. Do you really think she would do that just so she could commit suicide?”

“I don’t really know, but I don’t thin she would,” replied Gilda, bringing up a talon to itch at the back of her head. “Dash hasn’t ever had very good acting skills, so I doubt she could hold that sort of thing in.”

Spike and Fluttershy were listening in on the conversation pretty passively. Fluttershy was perfectly content to remain silent as she usually was, but at this moment, Spike decided to speak up. “But that doesn’t make any sense. If she wanted to kill herself, she wouldn’t need to go up to her house. She could have just bought a rope or something.”

If the circumstances were any different, Twilight would have been proud of Spike for thinking of that, and probably congratulated him on his observation. “Spike’s right; She probably just wanted to go up there because it’s her home. If something like that happened to me, I would want to be at home too.”

“Same for me, but that’s not the only odd thing I noticed. Assuming you’re correct, and she was fine when she left here, that would mean she changed her mind while she was at her house. We should probably check out her house and see what we can find there.”

“Good idea. Fluttershy, did you notice anything while you were there? Anything unusual?”

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t see anything like that,” she said woefully. “I wasn’t really paying enough attention.”

“That’s okay. Gilda, can you go check on that?”

“Yeah, I can, but that’s not the reason we came,” said Gilda. “I’m afraid Dash will try hurting herself again. Is there anything you can do?”

“I’m pretty sure I can. Spike, can you get me our copy of the Obice Incantamenta?”

In his subdued state, Spike didn’t say much, as if he was attempting to use as few words as possible. “Shielding spells?”

“Yes,” answered Twilight.

Silently, the green-scaled lizard got out of his seat and walked over to the ladder. After pushing it to the correct area, he walked about halfway up and fetched the book Twilight needed. Spike handed it to Twilight when he returned, and the unicorn took notice of Spike’s apparent depression. She felt a parental concern for her assistant, but she knew that dealing with Rainbow Dash’s problems took priority, and decided to talk to him later. She brought her attention to the book that Spike had given her, flipping through the pages until she got to the page she wanted.

“Okay, we need something to keep her from moving her entire body … lemme see … oh, found it! This is somewhat difficult, but I’ll be able to handle it on my own. I think you should go check on her house now. The sooner we do it, the better.” Gilda nodded, and within moments, she was on her way to Rainbow Dash’s cloud home. Twilight then turned to Fluttershy and Spike, both of whom were having trouble dealing with the thought that Dash had almost died.

“Spike? Fluttershy?” The pair looked up at Twilight, but did not say anything. “Now, I know I’m asking a lot of you, but we need to round up everypony else, and I have to stay here in case Rainbow wakes up. Spike, how about you go get Pinkie and Rarity, since they’re closer. Fluttershy, you can fly over to Sweet Apple Acres and get Applejack.”

Fluttershy’s wings were still aching from the earlier ordeal, but she didn’t bring it up. Instead, she only nodded. Spike, on the other hand, seemed glad to be doing something. “What do I do if they aren’t home?” he asked.

“That’s a good question,” replied Twilight. She took a minute to think about it, and then inspiration struck. “How about this: Go to Rarity’s house first. I’m sure she’s still there. Then to go to Sugarcube Corner, and if Pinkie isn’t there, Rarity can help you look for her.”

Spike nodded, and then rushed out the front door. Fluttershy took a long look at Rainbow Dash before leaving for her task. Soon, Twilight found herself alone in the library, and for the first time since Gilda and Fluttershy had arrived, she allowed herself to shed the mask of confidence she had exhibited. Twilight had learned over time that this was something that many ponies expected of her, for she was a natural born leader. In most cases, however, she was much more nervous than she let on.

It was as Celestia had told her many times during her studies: Being a leader meant not only helping others overcome their uncertainties, but also having to overcome your own. Not only that, but you must often pretend you have all the answers, and that you are not afraid. Twilight glanced over at Rainbow Dash to reconfirm her feelings; She was definitely afraid. She couldn’t imagine what would drive Rainbow Dash to change heart so suddenly, and she was certain that the mare’s happiness had been genuine the night before.

Twilight walked up to the front window, and reflected in it, she saw a phantasm of Rainbow Dash wearing the hopeless, vulnerable expression she had seen when she first came. Although she knew it was her mind playing tricks on her, the apparition still unnerved her. She could see it in her mind’s eye as well, the image following her away from the window to haunt her no matter where she went, as if a precursor to some even greater evil. It’s voice was louder than ever, yet still little more than a whisper. It did not speak, but just the image portrayed words well enough.

You can’t help me, Twilight. Nopony can.

Trying to forget, the mare looked up in the direction of Rainbow Dash’s house. She hoped Gilda brought back some answers. Otherwise, she would have none, and that was a prospect Twilight dreaded facing.

=-=-=-=-=

It took half an hour for everyone get to the Library. Spike and Rarity had encountered some trouble finding Pinkie Pie, but eventually found her throwing a party for Roseluck, whose flowers had taken first prize in the Equestrian Flora Competition. The unicorn and dragon had arrived when the party was in full swing, but Pinkie Pie had dropped everything when she heard what had happened. Fluttershy and Applejack had been at the library waiting for them, as the pegasus had found her charge much more quickly. And finally, Gilda had arrived, carrying the explanation for Rainbow Dash’s attempted suicide: A letter of acceptance into the Wonderbolts.

Everyone had taken this news pretty hard. Spike and Fluttershy seemed the most perturbed, and neither of them had said a word since then. Pinkie’s hair, which had long since gone straight, somehow seemed ever straighter. There was no bounce nor zest in her demeanor, as if gravity only took hold on her when she was depressed. Rarity had gone on for a while about how tragic it was, as her typical coping mechanism for anything was to either talk profusely or mope. In this case, she chose the former.

Twilight, Applejack, and Gilda seemed the least affected, but all still worried about how the cyan pegasus would feel when she woke up. Twilight also felt strangely relieved to know the reason for Dash’s actions, as tragic as the reason was. Gilda was strangely reserved, which struck everypony as odd. She seemed to be a completely different griffon from the last time they had seen them. Although they all wanted to ask her why she had changed so drastically, it had not struck any of them as the right time for that sort of question.

Lastly, Applejack had been asking questions all the while, trying to piece together exactly what had happened. In the end, she got the full story, starting with Rainbow visiting Scootaloo and ending with Fluttershy and Gilda bringing her to the Library. Even after this task was done, she had more questions.

“Twilight, are you sure we shouldn’t take her to the hospital? How long has she been lying there?”

Twilight, who had been fidgeting with a quill on her desk in her thoughts, turned her attention back to the rest of the group. “I already checked for a concussion. She doesn’t have one, or any other problems, and the spell worked without a hitch.”

“Well if she’s all fine-and-dandy, why is she just lyin’ there?” asked Applejack.

Pinkie Pie was sitting in the chair across from Rainbow Dash’s body. Spike was sitting on the floor, leaning against her leg, and Pinkie was using one of her hooves to massage some of the scales on his head. Pinkie knew from her experience with Gummy that it was soothing, but Spike seemed too out of it to care. He hadn’t said a word since returning with Rarity and Pinkie Pie.

“Spike, I’m going to get up, alright?” The pink pony’s usual flashy word choice had long since been replaced by a very limited vocabulary. In truth, none of her friends had ever seen her as sad as she was at the moment, and her usual outgoing nature seemed to be taking the greatest hit.

The baby dragon didn’t show any signs of recognition. When Pinkie got up out of the chair, he allowed his head to fall back onto it like a rag-doll. For a dragon who always seemed to be very interested in the world around him, this sort of detached behavior was almost as abnormal as Pinkie Pie’s. She shot him a quick look of concern before walking over to Rainbow Dash. She leaned over so her ear was right over the resting mare’s mouth.

Puzzled, Twilight walked over beside her pinkie earth-pony friend. “Pinkie, what are you doing?”

Pinkie looked up at Twilight and leaned back up, redistributing her weight equally on all four hooves. “I was listening.”

“Listening for what?”

“I don’t know,” she said plainly, “but I do know she’s sleeping. I can hear her snoring.”

Twilight leaned down as Pinkie Pie had done, and indeed, Rainbow Dash was sleeping.

“Maybe she didn’t get any sleep last night,” offered Gilda.

“Maybe,” said Twilight, looking over at Rainbow Dash. Just as she was about to turn away, she thought she saw a motion. She got the attention of everypony else in the room, and they all watched as Rainbow Dash slowly woke up. At first her face was blissful, but after looking around the room and at the ponies in it, she seemed to remember what had happened. Her expression darkened considerably.

Nervously, Twilight approached the just-awakened mare sitting on the couch. The other occupants waited nervously, their heads moving between the studious unicorn and the athletic pegasus. When Twilight came within a few steps of Rainbow Dash, she spoke. “Hey Rainbow, how are you?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t react, continuing to stare at the floor in apathy. She was not angry or sad as Twilight had expected her to be, but emotionless, like she had been in that split second at the window the day before. Twilight reached a hoof out to Rainbow, fully expecting her to nudge it away. To her surprise, the depressed pegasus allowed her to get closer. The librarian took this development another step further by sitting next to her, and once again, Dash did not react.

Twilight cleared her throat and gave herself a second to collect herself before she spoke. “Rainbow, we’re all really worried about you, and we would really like to know exactly what happened.” Twilight spoke these words as one would to a small foal; a condescending yet friendly tone.

Rainbow Dash shifted a little in her position, hugging her rear legs with her front ones, and at long last, she spoke. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Rainbow, I know it might be hard, but it’s not good to keep that sort of thing inside. You can take all the time you want.”

Rainbow Dash gave a slight sign of recognition before retreating her head in-between her knees. Everyone waited respectfully for her to compose herself. It took her five minutes or so, but when she was finally done, she looked around at everyone a second time, then back at Twilight.

“I tried to kill myself.”

Twilight was perturbed by the simplicity of the answer, despite the fact that she already knew this fact. She did not have a response, and neither did anypony else. Even Applejack, who was typically one of the most confident mares of the bunch, was silent. It was the last instance where anyone expected the most shy pony in the room to speak, and yet, Fluttershy did. Most had forgotten that she was even there, as she had sat in a far corner of the Library and kept to herself. But now she walked over to the rest of the group.

“Dash?”

The rainbow-maned pegasus looked up at her longtime friend. Tears began to well up in her eyes at the sight, and she buried her head in her legs again. Fluttershy knelt in front of her, nuzzling her legs until Dash’s head reappeared. Fluttershy smiled at her kindly.

“Fluttershy, can we talk … just the two of us?”

The kind pegasus nodded. “I think so.”

Twilight, who had just recently gotten up from Rainbow’s side, was skeptical. “Fluttershy, are you so sure that’s a good idea?”

“Twilight, do you really think she’s dangerous?”

“No, but I can’t risk that sort of thing. She might not want to do anything, but she’s not in control of her emotions. You don’t know what will happen.”

“Twilight, I can do this,” she stated firmly.

Twilight looked like she was about to say something, but in the end, she decided to trust her friend. Within a minute or so, everyone was gone from the room, although Twilight stood at the ready on the other side of the door in case anything went wrong.

Now that the room was vacant, Fluttershy re-asked the question.

“What I said to you before. I still … I remember all of it, and I … I …”

Fluttershy, seeing that her friend was about to cry once again, held her in a tight embrace. “It’s okay, Dash; It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay! I hurt you!”

Fluttershy, the tender of animals; the pony who was so often intimidated by such situations; the pony whose life had been forever changed by her foalhood mistakes, somehow found strength. “Yes Dash, you did. It hurt to remember … what I did back then, but it’s nothing compared to how you’re feeling. Right now, I just want you to feel better. That’s all I want; all we want.”

The broken mare nodded in understanding, her sobs echoing in the empty space of the Library. Fluttershy waited for her to subside before inviting the rest of her friends back in. Upon, re-entering, Twilight once again took charge.

“Okay, the first thing we need to do is figure out where Rainbow should go. Personally, I think it would be better for her to stay in her own house.”

Gilda, who had also been relatively silent throughout the ordeal, also spoke. “Are you sure about that? Bringing her back there after that kind of traumatic experience?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, it could cause some anxiety, but I don’t think she’s afraid of her house. I’ve noticed that she’s pretty attached to it. That could be calming for her.”

“She does like the house,” agreed Fluttershy, who was allowing Rainbow Dash to cry into her shoulder. “She built it herself. She’s always been very fond of it.”

“Okay, so we have that taken care of. Now, we’re going to need somepony to stay with Dash to help her through this. Fluttershy, do you think you could do that?”

Fluttershy shifted on her hooves nervously. She looked from Twilight, to Gilda, then back to Twilight. “Actually, I think Gilda would be better. She knew Dash even better than I did back when we were foals, and I have to keep watch on the animals.”

“I guess you’re right. Gilda, can you do it?”

Gilda’s stance straightened out of instinct, her body becoming rigid as if Twilight were a drill sergeant. “Yes, yes I can.”

“Good. And Gilda, I have another question.”

“What?”

“Why are you so different from last time? You don’t act the same at all, not to mention that you speak completely differently.”

“I don’t know,” said Gilda with a small smile. “I just changed, I guess.”

“Oh, okay.” Twilight decided to accept the answer despite how vague it was. She was still curious about it, but if Gilda didn’t want to answer, Twilight figured that it was the griffon’s own decision.

“Well, I think I covered it all. Gilda will bring Rainbow Dash back home so she can get some rest, since I’m sure she needs it. If anypony wants to go home, they can, but if you want to stay here, that’s fine as well.”

Needless to say, everypony opted to stay at Twilight’s, at least for a while. Nopony felt very secure about the situation, and the company of friends helped to alleviate some of their anxious feelings. Gilda set to her part immediately, picking Rainbow Dash up onto her back and walking out the door. Everyone had tried to say goodbye to her, but Dash didn’t seem willing to talk to anypony anymore, so they let her go in peace.

Gilda cleared the building, and after making sure the pony on her back would not fall off midflight, poised for takeoff. She was interrupted by the sound of someone’s voice coming from the library.

It was Fluttershy. “Gilda, I was sort of wondering if we could talk about something.”

“Sure. What do you want to talk about?” asked Gilda.

“About you and Dash.”

“That’s what I thought,” said Gilda with a sigh. Carefully, she put Dash down on her own four hooves. Dash’s ears perked up at the mention of her name.

“Fluttershy, what do you mean by Gilda and me?”

Although she had summoned enormous amounts of courage on multiple occasions, Fluttershy still felt squeamish talking about this topic. “Well, I know that you and Gilda have, um, feelings for each other.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes opened a little wider. “How?”

“I found Gilda after you had a fight at the gorge.”

“And I told her what happened,” finished Gilda, somewhat embarrassed about the memory.

“Oh,” said Rainbow Dash. She walked a few steps to the door and looked back. “Gilda, are we going? I want to go home.”

“Yes, we are. And you’re going back to your animals, right?”

“Yes. I just wanted to talk to you is all.”

Gilda nodded but did not say anything more. Gesturing for Rainbow Dash to get back on, Gilda moved her body as low as possible to the groud. After a moment’s hesitation, Dash sat down on her back. After taking a second to make sure she was balanced, Gilda took off flying. It was a much slower pace than her normal one, but still fast enough so that before long, the pair were little more than a dot if viewed from the ground. After a few minutes more, the griffon soon saw her destination approaching, and with it, a wave of apprehension. It was unusual for Gilda to second-guess herself, as she was confident by nature. Yet at this moment, she couldn’t help but wonder:

“What am I supposed to do?”

=-=-=-=-=

Immediately following Griffon The Brush Off:

Over the last few minutes, the wind had picked up, and the sound of it whistling through the gorge was deafening. Still, it was not enough to drown out the sounds of sobbing coming from the same direction. It had been many long minutes since Rainbow Dash had left the scene, and with it, left Gilda alone. Rainbow Dash’s harsh words hurt her deeply, and although she had stubbornly tried to keep her composure, she had failed. The spaces in-between her claws were caked with dirt as she gripped the ground with them, and her tears were almost enough to turn some of the surrounding dirt into mud. She sobbed and sobbed for minutes on end, no longer caring who might see or what they might do, although she would soon find out.

Gilda felt a pressure on her shoulder, and when she looked up to see what it was; she saw a pony she recognized. She was able to control her sobbing for long enough to remember who this pony was, but when she did, the floodgates burst even more heavily that they had before.

Fluttershy, on the other hand, was utterly confused. The last time she had seen Gilda, she had been on the business end of a growl terrifying enough to make her cry. At that moment, it seemed to her that this ‘friend’ of Rainbow Dash’s was only a rude bully, not someone whose feelings could be hurt like this. Now, she saw that she was utterly mistaken.

If Fluttershy had been any other pony, she might have left Gilda to suffer. But her element showed through in her response, as she decided to comfort the very griffon who had scared her earlier. She knelt down to her level and once again touched her with her hoof. Gilda felt the second contact, and once again, she lifted her head, and saw Fluttershy in front of her once again, but this time, Fluttershy spoke:

“What’s wrong?”

Gilda took a moment to stop blubbering before she answered. “Why do you care? All I did was shout at you.”

“Well, I forgive you.” At first, Gilda doubted this, but when she looked into the mare’s blue eyes, and somehow she knew that it was the truth.

“Really? Why?”

“Well, I think everypony deserves a second chance, and I figured if you’re this sad about something, that’s probably why you got so angry in the first place.”

Gilda was shocked by how correct Fluttershy’s guess had been. “I … uh … yeah, that’s right.” Fluttershy’s tone of voice was comforting, and Gilda found herself opening up to the pony she didn’t even know.

“Well, I came to Ponyville to visit with Rainbow Dash, which you probably know. It was pretty radical at first, you know, just chilling out with her. I almost forgot the real reason I came. I, um, I guess I’ll just say it. I love her. I doubt Dash ever told anyone about it, so you’re probably real surprised right now. So anyway, the main reason I came to Ponyville wasn't just to hang out; I needed to apologize, ‘cause back in Junior Speedsters, I did something really stupid to her.”

Inside, Fluttershy was quite surprised by the revelation that Gilda had feelings for a pony, let alone her best friend. Only a few minutes ago, Fluttershy’s mental image of Gilda was a heartless bully, and nothing more. But she could see how much more there was to her personality.

“So, what did you do?” Fluttershy asked in a calm, even voice.

“I was about to leave Junior Speedsters to go home. The night before, I went to say goodbye to Dash, and she just kissed me all of a sudden. I panicked. I mean, I knew I had a little bit of a crush on her, but I always assumed she would think it was stupid. So I never thought about what I would do if it happened, so I just ran off back to my bedroom like a coward.” At this point, Gilda had started crying again, but she continued to speak through the tears.

“I got up the next day, and I thought about going to fix it, but I was scared. I wouldn’t be able to go back home if I did, and the rest of the griffons would shun me if I got involved with another female, let alone a pony. I even went up to her door, and I was going to knock, but I just couldn’t!” Through her sobs, Gilda’s voice was growing constantly louder. “We could have been happy! We could have stayed in Equestria, and I would’ve been okay never seeing home again because we would’ve been together! But now I’ve ruined everything! She doesn’t even want to see me anymore! What am I supposed to do?”

Fluttershy did not have an answer to that question. Beyond not being very experienced in romance, Gilda’s dilemma would have been nearly impossible for anypony to solve. Since she had no reply, Fluttershy offered the only thing she could: comfort. Cautiously, she put a leg around Gilda. Gilda picked up her head briefly as a sign of thanks, and then continued to cry violently.

As the sun began to set, the pair could still be seen sitting on the edge of Ghastly Gorge, one with her face in the dirt, still crying, and another comforting her in the best way she could. Later, when the sun had nearly sunk under the horizon, the two made their way back to Fluttershy’s Cottage. The walk was mostly silent, but Gilda did say one thing:

“Don’t tell Dash, okay?”

=-=-=-=-=

Author's Note: The end of this chapter will change a little bit. I'm not quite done with it, but I've broken enough promises about finishing this chapter, and I just want it out there now. So if the end seems a little lacking (for now), just keep in mind that i wrote it at 1 AM.