//------------------------------// // Dancing in the shallows of a river. // Story: Vaguely Familiar. // by Reptilicus //------------------------------// ".....And then Daring-Do leaps down in-between all the kobolds and she pulls out her rifle all cool-like and says 'i guess i missed my invitation' and then she fires the gun and the bullet like bounces off the vault and the whole thing falls into the ocean and she jumps in after it and she falls for like a hundred feet and lands perfectly and all the while the kobolds are just yelling and shouting and firing their revolvers but none of them can hit her cause she's just so dang slick!" "All that really happens in the first chapter?" Pinkie asked wide-eyed. "That's a lot of stuff! Are all the chapters full of that much stuff? How does a book hold that much stuff without exploding? Do books explode alot?" "Yeah! They are the best books, Pinks! Is the new one out yet, Twilight? Please say it is." Twilight couldn't help but smile as she walked down the streets of Ponyville listening to this conversation. From the moment she had passed the Apple farm she had been joined by Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, who were departing from the sleepover. The entire walk to Sugarcube Corner had been filled with endless chatter between the two ponies. Starting from the discussion of the delicious pickle dinner that Granny Smith had prepared and slowly making its way to the topic of the Daring Do book series. Originally Twilight had been upset to see that Dash's restriction cone had been removed, and even more upset when she learned that it had been Pinkie who removed it. But she couldn't deny the results. Dash seemed happier than Twilight had seen the mare in a long time, chatting and laughing animatedly the entire walk. "No, Dash. The author claims she hit a roadblock in the latest book. Some sort of self-written plothole she's trying to pull herself out of." Twilight grinned. "I bet it has to do with that sandalwood amulet from the second book." "Yeah, she never did explain what thing was for." Dash said, squirming further up Pinkie's back. The previous night's events had made Dash feel more comfortable around Pinkie, and when asked if she'd like to be carried through the town today, agreed with little hesitation. She found herself with her chin resting in the curly pink fluffy mane on top of Pinkie's head. "Hey where are we going anyway?" "I'm going to Sugarcube Corner for lunch." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "You two started following me around. I assumed you were coming for lunch as well." "I have to grab some things from my room! Then I'm going to get Dash back home. She hasn't gotten to take her medicines for today yet. Plus I already know what I'm going to make for lunch!" "Yeah my head feels really woozy and all my stitches kinda ache." "You'll feel better in a little bit!" "You look like you need to take a nap." Rainbow observed. "I haven't seen you this tired-looking since that week you had to take care of the Cake twins." Pinkie yawned loudly. "Yeah, I don't think sleeping in a tree is for me! It's like sleeping on a rock only its much itchier and it has bugs crawling around in it. I don't think the bugs like me sleeping in their home without permission." "You two slept in a tree?" Twilight asked. "That doesn't seem very comfortable." "It's not!" "Pfffft. You two don't understand how great trees are. But that's fine. I'll keep being the expert on good napping spots while you naptime peasants continue to use your beds." Dash said in a very regal sort of voice. "Clearly I am a pony far ahead of my time!" The sweet buttery smell of Sugarcube Corner was there to greet them as they approached the building. Decorated and designed to look like a gingerbread-topped spongecake, the Corner was one of the most popular establishments in town. It opened promptly once the sun rose and closed in the evenings. It was a joy to be there for breakfast, brunch, and lunch, and since Pinkie Pie lived in the attic, the Elements of Harmony used it often as a meeting place of sorts. It was run by two middle aged ponies who couldn't have been more opposite in terms of appearance. Mr.Cake who was a tall orange stallion with red stringy hair and a proud chin, and Mrs.Cake who was a short chubby blue mare with rosy cheeks and a coif of swirly pink hair that resembled a scoop of frozen yogurt. The restaurant that the two ran was a bakery, confectionery, and diner all at once, and was the site of quite a bit of chaos due to the large crowds that gathered to eat there. This chaos had only been multiplied in the last year when the couple had given birth to a pair of twins, who were as curious as they were destructive and required near constant supervision, occasionally by Pinkie herself. As the three arrived the front door, Mr.Cake himself poked his head out of one of the windows, his long neck making him appear more like a small giraffe than a pony as he grinned broadly. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle. Usual cup of acorn coffee and rhubarb pie, right?" he said with a nod. "Correct as usual, Mr.Cake!" the purple unicorn replied. "I actually prepared in advance for this. Stay right there and I'll bring it to you. How are you by the way, Dash? I heard about the accident. Terrible stuff. Are you feeling any better?" Mr.Cake cast a concerned glance over to Dash. "Yeah I'm fine." Dash answered as she slid off of Pinkie's back and landed with a small cloud of dust into the dirt outside the restaurant. "Never better. Ow." "Hey Mr.Cake! Do we still have all that banana cream in the pantry?" Pinkie called up to him. "Yep. Coming over to snatch it, huh?" "MMmm hmm! I'm gonna make some banana pudding for lunch." Pinkie turned to Dash who was still recovering from her very short plummet to the floor. "I'm gonna be inside just for a little while, ok? If Twilight offers you any of her food you should say NO because I'm going to make us something really tasty later and I don't want you to spoil your appetite!" Dash nodded as she watched Pinkie disappear through the front doors of the restaurant. With a small grunt she sat on her haunches and stared at the door, impatiently waiting for her companion to return, flicking her tail around to feel less antsy. "So how have things been, Dash?" Twilight asked as she made herself comfortable at one of the small flat tables that sat outside of the Corner. All the tables had been painted to look like amanita toadstools, to help sell the whole gingerbread fairytale motif that the place prided itself on. "Things have been pretty great actually. Soarin and Spitfire visited me a couple days ago." Dash replied, not taking her eyes off the door. "Oh? What'd they have to say?" "I'm technically a Wonderbolt now I think." "Congratulations! That's wonderfully nice of them to visit you in person and um....Dash....Dash? Why are you staring at the door?" "Hmm? Huh? Wha?" Dash shook her head. "Oh yeah, sorry. I was distracted. Oh hey, newspapers!" Dash slowly wobbled over to one of the newspaper vendor machines that dotted the path near Sugarcube Corner. "Today's Saturday isn't it, Twilight?" "Yeah? How come?" "Today is the day they update the official Daring Do serial comic strip! I gotta know what happens this week! Last week Daring snapped a crocodiles head clean off! But it was still alive!" "Dash you know those comics aren't made by the author, right? And aren't technically 'canon' in terms of storyline or plot. They just ask the author every now and then if she's fine with them making it. She keeps agreeing to it for reasons I cannot fathom. Those comics are so trashy." "That's nice and all but I just can't care, Twilight. Those comics are cool as heck and I need to know what happens next. Can I borrow a halfbit? I'll pay you back....eventually." Twilight rolled her eyes and levitated a small copper coin over to Dash who eagerly placed it into the machine's coinslot. With a loud click the windowed latch opened allowing her to extract the two local newspapers that were delivered daily into it: The Ponyville Pantheon and the Canterlot Chronicle. Dash usually never read these besides gaining access to the newspaper comic strips, which she quite enjoyed. Newspapers were generally pretty boring for her. Twilight smiled as she watched Dash tear through the newspapers like a foal opening a birthday present. It was good to see Dash happy and excited about something again. She was soon snapped out of her reverie by a tap on the shoulder. Twilight swiveled around in her chair to see that Rarity had joined her at the table. "Good morning, Twilight. Sleep well? Spike didn't wake you when I dropped him off, did he?" "I'm a pretty deep sleeper, Rarity. Spike once broke three plates once right outside my door and I didn't even wake up. How did that big dress order go? Did you get them all finished?" "Barely." Rarity groaned, massaging her temples. "Just sent them off a few minutes ago. Ghastly things. Absolutely GHASTLY! If I ever agree to do an entire wedding again....please....slap me in the face." Twilight giggled. "I won't do THAT but I'll try to remind you before you take such a big job again." "So how is Rainbow doing?" Rarity asked, leaning over to take a look at the bandaged pegasus who was intently reading the newspaper a few meters away with a very serious look. "I was about to ask you the same thing. This is the first time I've seen her since...that night. She seems pretty happy for now. She and Pinkie are getting along much better than I'd have expected them." "Yes....." Rarity quietly agreed. "They're growing very close wouldn't you say?" "Mmm Hmm!" Twilight nodded cheerfully. "I haven't seen Dash this cheerful in a long time." "Well....I think perhaps you might want to reword that...." Rarity said with a panicked look as she pointed her hoof past Twilight, beginning to free herself from the chair. Twilight turned to see that Dash had stopped reading the newspaper and was currently on all fours, swaying side to side with large tears dripping down her face. The pegasus awkwardly wobbled over to the newspaper machine and fell to her side, curling into herself so she could hide her face with her wing as Rarity and Twilight galloped over. "Rainbow? Rainbow what happened? What's gotten you so upset?" Rarity called as she came to a stop. "We can't help you if you don't tell us!" Twilight shouted desperately. "What happened!" the high pitched screech of Pinkie alarmed as she made her way out the front doors, noticing Rarity and Twilight standing next to the shivering form on the ground. The pink mare galloped over, the large saddlebag to her side flapping noisily with it's banana-laced contents as she ran. "Did she hurt herself? Oh no she hurt herself didn't she!" Dash uncurled and shakily reached out her forelegs to Pinkie who gingerly grabbed them. With a swift motion the cyan pegasus had dragged herself up against Pinkie, burying her face into the pink mare's chest with a loud cry. Pinkie looked around frantically, unsure of what was going on. What in the world happened in the last few minutes to make Dash this upset? "....it's MY fault...." was the only muffled statement they could make out of the muted sobs as Pinkie wrapped her forelegs around Dash, looking very frightened and confused all at once. "Oh dear." Twilight grumbled picking up one of the newspapers and levitating it in front of her face. The front page article was highlighting a blurb about the other victims of the accident. The Canterlot Chronicle 'AN UPHILL BATTLE FOR CLOUDSDALE CRASH VICTIMS' Ponies injured by the crash last weekend remain almost entirely hospitalized. Director of Disaster Relief Services, Shelly Conch, has been stated as trying to apply for assistance to get relief funds for the victims, many of whom simply cannot afford to pay for the costs of hospital care, bringing to light Cloudsdale's glaring issues with it's lack of safety insurance policies. "It has been a slow process." she said on Thursday. However by far the saddest stories to come of this disaster are the ones from the children. Little Cinnamon Breeze, age 4, still has yet to come out of her concussion-caused coma after being struck by a piece of marble. Her parents, Autumn and Sea Breeze, have been besides themselves with grief, unsure how to respond when the Pediatric Neurologists at Cloudsdale Clinic inform them repeatedly that the foal shows little to no brain activity. Rumors abound that the Princesses are hard at work with the neurology department to use acute time-reversal spells to help some of the victims, in similar ways that they repaired the beyond life-threatening injuries on racer Rainbow Dash. However as hope dwindles and the bills pile up, many ponies believe that whatever spell our leaders can conjure up, may be too little too late. However there is a small silver lining to this cloud. Many are reporting a mysterious masked (continued on page 3) "She didn't do....anything. Cinnamon....." Dash sobbed as Twilight grimly folded the newspaper. "I...can't...help her." "You know what?" Twilight asked aloud, looking very tense. "This is the last thing you need to be reading right now." Twilight gritted her teeth as the tip of her horn glowed scarlet then violet. A small particle field of tiny purple sparkles enveloped the unicorn, swirling into a small tornado that engulfed Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash as well. Rarity winced and backed away from the twister of magic as all at once there was a bright flash of pink light and the clap of thunder and then silence. Rarity opened her eyes to find that she was now alone on the sidewalk, surrounded by a small dissipating cloud of dust and purple sparkles. ****************************************** "Pinkie." Twilight demanded. "Can we talk?" "In a moment, lemme get her a snack!" "NOW, Pinkie." Pinkie gingerly stepped away from the kitchen cabinets with a worried expression. Twilight didn't get cross with Pinkie very often, but something in the unicorn's tone was worrying. Like she was about to get yelled at. Which was one of Pinkie's least favorite activities. She slunk across the room, stopping to lean over to observe Dash whose wails had become a trickle of quiet sniffles, barely audible under the pillow she had decided to cover her head with. "I'm gonna go talk to Twilight, but I'm going to be right back and then I'll make us something yummy, alright?" she whispered. Hesitantly, Pinkie came to a full stop in front of Twilight who was going through Dash's mail. A rather large pile of envelopes, magazines, and neatly tied scrolls sat before the unicorn, unfolding and re-folding themselves as she read them in a blink of an eye. "Pinkie when was the last time Dash had her medication?" Twilight asked without looking up from the floating storm of papers. "Yesterday...." "When, yesterday?" "In the morning right after breakfast." "And why didn't you bring any to the sleepover at Sweet Apple Acres?" "Oh...well I was really excited cause I never get to have sleepovers at Sweet Apple Acres! Applejack and her family are usually so private with their property, you know? And Rarity was there and they were having fried pickles! And everyone likes Granny Smith's fried pickles and it was just so much to think about that....I guess I forgot." Twilight let out a long disappointed sigh. It wasn't as bad as yelling but it hurt quite a bit more, making Pinkie fold her ears flat against her head. "Pinkie, you know Dash is supposed to take those pills every 8 hours right?" "Y-yeah...." "Pinkie I know you want to take care of Dash as best as you can but you can't....DO things like this. Once that medicine wears off, she stops being comfortable. Once she stops being comfortable her injuries are going to hurt. Once she starts to hurt, she's going to have these episodes where even little things are going to send her off the edge." "She seemed so happy yesterday." Pinkie whispered. "I mean really happy." "She probably was. But that doesn't mean she's all better, Pinkie. You can't just forget things like medication! It's bad enough that you removed her cone. And don't think I didn't notice that new bandage on her wing either." Twilight lowered the letter pile to give Pinkie a rather blank look. "That's part of being responsible!" "I'm being responsible!" Pinkie shot back, though there was no courage in those words. "Pinkie theres a big difference between running a candy shop, or babysitting, or taking care of a baby alligator when compared to taking care of a full-grown pony. Especially one who is hurting herself out of grief. If you can't handle it you need to let us know. We're Dash's friends too, and we're worried about her, alright?" "Okie Dokie." "Good, make sure she takes her medicine with whatever lunch you're planning. I'm taking these letters with me." "Why...erm....are you taking all the mail and stuff? Isn't that sort of important? I mean it's her mail not yours! You could at least leave her magazines here I know she likes those!" "I'll leave one of the magazines. The rest of these are just....triggers. We need to get all the stressful triggers out of her immediate environment." Twilight frowned at the confused look on Pinkie's face. "It means we need to get rid of stuff in her house that's going to make her sad. The last thing she needs to be doing is reading newspapers about all the horrible fallout from the accident. And half of these letters are hate mail. And I don't even want to think how she'd react if she saw this bill for the medication and the surgery. I don't even think Cadence has that much money. All these reminders need to stay away from her to keep her happy. She'll heal faster if we can keep her mood up." With a small burst of magic Twilight had shrunk the mass of papers into a small pile of origami swans that she levitated into her saddle bag. "Part of your job here, Pinkie, is to keep Rainbow upbeat. I know that's what you're good at. The others are too, which is why none of us protested when you offered to stay here and look after her. But you have to do MORE than that. Alright?" Pinkie shuffled sadly, kicking small poofs of cloud into the air. "Are you upset with me?" Twilight let out a small exasperated sigh. "No, Pinkie. I'm just upset. This has all been really stressful for all of us." "Why is it so hard to keep Dashie happy, Twilight?" Pinkie asked innocently, glancing behind her shoulder at the pegasus on the couch. "She's acting so strange, even when she's happy." "Dash is really extroverted, Pinkie. It's a trait she shares with you and Applejack." "I wish I knew what any of that meant!" "Dash is an extrovert with means she's very talkative and aggressive. However she's also very private when it comes to her emotions, and has a hard time expressing them. The opposite of Fluttershy and I guess Rarity kinda. You're similar....I think. Actually scratch that, I don't really know what you are. You're something else entirely, Pinkie." Twilight said with a small grin. "My psychology professor would have loved talking to you." Pinkie grinned back, not entirely sure if any of what Twilight was saying was meant to be taken with positive or negative connotations. "Alright. I have a piece of rhubarb pie waiting for me back in town and I'm sure your dad...erm..I mean Mr.Cake is probably wondering where I went and I'm sure Rarity must be having a panic attack. And Pinkie.....please remember what we talked about. I have faith that you're going to do fine." There was a quick spark of white light from the end of the unicorn's horn followed by a clap of thunder and an explosion of purple sparkles. Pinkie couldn't shake the feeling she had somehow screwed up. She and Dash had been so happy last night sleeping in the tree. And the party had been fun! And they were having fun together? Didn't that count for anything? Was it all meaningless? She quietly walked over to where Dash was laying, the sniffles having long come to an end. "Hey pal." Dash rasped with a wry grin. "Sorry for going to pieces again." "It's fine, Twilight says you're an extrafart which means you have trouble with feelings or something. I'm not really sure it was all very sciencey and confusing." "Sounds like Twi." "I need to give you your medicine!" Pinkie grabbed the small brown bottles of pain killers and mood relaxers and brought out a small pill for each. She placed them onto the couch cushion in front of Dash and turned to get a glass of water, only to see Dash quickly lap the two pills up and swallow them dry. "Oh ew! How can you swallow pills without a glass of water!" Pinkie lamented, wrinkling her snout. "That's like eating cookies without milk." "I'm impatient!" Dash said with a smile. "I want to feel good again, quick as possible." "I'm gonna make us some banana pudding for lunch! Would you like that? I put little vanilla wafers and puffed rice into it and then when its nearly done I mix in some marshmallows and top it with whipped cream! I think it's pretty darn good if I do say so myself. And I DO say so myself!" "I'm gonna be so fat by the time I can fly again." chuckled Dash. "But I'm not really hungry right now, Pinks. All that crying made me exhausted." "Time for a nap?" "Time for a nap." Pinkie lay onto the floor and began unzipping her fluffy pink sleeping bag. "Hey um....Pinkie?" Dash asked, with a small tremble in her voice. "Yeah, what is it?" "You know if uh....you don't like sleeping on the floor....um...ah, how can I put this? I liked when you slept up here with me the other night after I bit my wing." "You did?" "Yeah....I mean, I dunno. It felt nice. And I felt....safe, I guess. It kept my neck warm and I was able to sleep better than I usually do. But I mean if you don't want to, it's cool. I know you get cold sometimes with the temperature up here...and I thought maybe you know...uh...if we were both here that...you know...." Dash rolled her eyes. This was an uncomfortable subject to talk about. Why was it so hard to make this seem cool? It was very frustrating. Pinkie's eyes lit up as a small devious smile spread across her face. "Oh! OOOooohhh! I get it now....so now you don't think snuggling is that lame, huh?" Dash blushed and furrowed her brow. "Please don't call it that." Pinkie let out a small giggle and leaped onto the couch, squeezing her body up against Dash and giving the pegasus a quick nudge in the cheek with her snout. "All aboard the embarrassing snuggle train! Toot toot! Today's passenger is Dashie! Please keep your hooves and tails inside the train at all times! In case of an emergency, Pinkie Pie can be used as a floatation device! Gracias por viajar con el tren de abrazo!" Pinkie gave Dash a small nibble to the ear. "Please...stop saying words." Dash mumbled, failing to hide her smile while her cheeks turned even redder. "Okie Dokie, I'll stop." Pinkie said as she lowered her head onto Dash's neck, sending a tingle down the pegasus's spine. "Try to have a nice sleep, ok? When you wake up I'll make us that banana stuff for dinner instead. Although I'm not sure if bananas for dinner is allowed." "Well I won't tell the dinner police if you won't. Deal?" "Deal!" Dash cautiously wrapped her arms around the warm fuzzy pink mass to her side and hugged it close, the warm pleasant feeling of coziness coaxing her into dreamland once more. It would be several hours before either of them awoke. ******************************************* Darkness stretched infinitely in every direction. There was a din of sound, unlike that of any other sound that any creature had heard. So loud that it folded upon itself, its echoes colliding with the source, making a profane silence that was impossible to ignore yet all at once impossible to hear. It rattled and shook as the darkness passed and clouds began to form, misty at first and gaining solidness as they collided. One by one tiny lights began to manifest above the gloom. Too large to be stars and too small to be a moon. As they appeared they introduced themselves with a quiet note, like the strike of a piano chord. They gleamed pink, their shafts of incandescence piercing straight downward, leaving rings of light in the clouds. Dash knew this was a dream. The real world was never quite this weird. Although weird things did happen in town. But for now, she knew she was safe, floating lazily through the clouded darkness without the aid of her wings. Like a river of air rippling before her, the currents ebbed and pushed her slowly forward biding their time til' she awoke. "This dream is really boring." she thought to herself. Hours seemed to pass by as she remained mostly thoughtless, only keenly observing the idea that this was, in fact, a dream and nothing more. She was stirred from the loud quiet by a figure passing by on a cloud. Who could that be? Well if it's in a dream it must be important. Might as well go over there and have a chat. It has to be less boring than this constant floating, right? Right. Curiosity powered her to seep over the cloudbank and land next to the figure. It slowly turned to face her and Dash soon found herself face-to-face with...herself! Or at least an idealized version of herself. It was Dash as she had always hoped to be, dressed head to toe in a Wonderbolts uniform, looking strong, powerful, beautiful. And although they could not be seen, the cheers of the crowd could be heard echoing over the expanse. "So am....I supposed to be having a conversation with myself?" Dash asked. "What do you think, doofus?" the doppelganger replied, in a harsh but familiar voice that Dash couldn't quite place. "A better answer would have been yes but alright. How long til' I wake up? This dream is really boring." "You don't wake up until we're done talkin', kiddo." "Talkin' about what?" "Your failure." "Oh is this about the race? I thought a week of nightmares was bad enough now I get to talk to myself about it. That's just great." "Shut up. Look here, dweeb. While you and I are talking do you know what the rest of you is up to?" "Sleeping? We're in a dream after all. Kinda answers itself." "Shut up. And no, it's not the sleep. You're curled up with Pinkie Pie. That's the problem." "Pffft is that what this is? Why do you care? Pinkie Pie is my...our...well MY friend." "Friend huh? Heroes don't need friends." "I'm not...a hero?" "Exactly. Look at you. It's pathetic. A burnt little pegasus who can barely function without her 'best friend' around. Meanwhile I'm a huge success. One problem though: I don't exist." "You seem like kind of a jerk. What if I don't want you to exist?" "So you prefer being co-dependent on someone with half your IQ?" "HEY! Pinkie isn't dumb! You're dumb! She's just silly and chill. Like me." "Silly..... right. Is the silly part the thing you like the most about her? Or is it her smile? Her hair? Her bubbly personality? I got a laundry list of this garbage going here." "....." "Or is it her skin? Her short fluffy little hairs that make you feel all warm and comfortable? Is it the way she says your name? You love it when she called you Dashie, huh? Even when you ask her not to." "I don't think I like this conversation. I'm not sure what part of me you're supposed to be but I think you're kind of a flankhole and I'm gonna head over near a different cloud." "Ok. That's cool. Just....you know. Run away like you do with everything else. Run like you ran from Flight Academy when it got too hard. Run like you ran from Cloudsdale to be with that wuss, Fluttershy. Run like you ran from Gilda when you realized she was better than you." "..." "Thought so." "You remind me alot of Gilda, actually. Your voice is a lot like hers." "I should. She taught us a lot. I listened. You're forgetting what she taught us about love. You've forgotten all the things we've been through for the ponies we love. All the things you sacrificed just to be where you are today." "I think I'm doing pretty alright." "OH? IS THAT SO? A proud pegasus like you living in a little slum like Ponyville? A school dropout? No real family. Relies on her friends for everything. Selfish. Stuck-up. High-strung. Broken." "Stop it." "You think the Wonderbolts care about you? Naw, if you weren't such a screw-up they might find you impressive. They pity you. That suit you got is a pity suit. I can smell the shame in it from here." "I said stop it." "You think the Weather Team is gonna let you have your job as Manager back once you can fly again? Get real. You're going to be a cripple for the rest of your life. You think they'll let a cripple run a business that requires as much physical work as the Weather? You think you're ever going to be able to really train with the Wonderbolts? Ever be as good as them now that you've smashed your talent into a bunch of bloody bits? Now that they KNOW you're crazy and tried to tear your own wings off?" "Shut. Up." "Why do you do that anyway? Flying is the only thing we ever had any talent in. It's the ONE thing we didn't suck at and now you're trying to throw it away? Like garbage? YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME? THIS IS OUR LIFE, YOU IDIOT! THIS IS EVERYTHING!" "SHUT UP!" "Or did you just want attention? Pull out a few feathers and watch everyone have to make time for you. Just you. Poor widdle Dashie Washie got all hurt and now everyone has to drop whatever they're doing for her, huh? We both love the attention we get from flying and now that we can't you tried to get it another way, huh? Gotta feed the beast." "SHUT UP!" "Cares more about herself than the ponies in the hospitals that SHE PUT THERE. They're dying right now Dash and it's all your fault. They'll never laugh or smile or love someone else again and its all because of YOU, pal. All because you didn't listen to Gilda. All because you decided you'd rather have friends than a future." "THAT'S NOT TRUE! I'm here because I'm not going to let my friends get hurt like I did. I'm not going to let another pony have to feel alone and afraid like I did before I came here. I'm not going to be another Gilda. We're the Element of Loyalty. We stick by the ponies we love because it's the right thing to do. Not because we want attention!" "If you don't want attention than why are you SNUGGLING HAPPILY with that BIG PINK DORK up there?" "Because I......." ".....yeah. Good work, Dash. You passed the test." "What test?" "The test to prove that you're a dweeb. You've set a new bar in dweebishness." "You know what?" "What." "I'm glad I'm not like you anymore. I'm really glad my friends made me who I am today." "That so?" "Yeah. You disgust me." "Cool. I'll just go, then." "Don't let the door hit you on the way out." "Enjoy relying on those who are weaker than you." "Don't come back." "I won't." ***************************************** "Wake up!" Pinkie shouted. Dash's eyes snapped open. "What? What happened?" "You've been all wiggly and kicky and yelling things in your sleep. You kicked me off the couch. I thought you were having a bad dream. Ponies don't usually kick things in their sleep unless they're having a bad dream!" "I was." Dash mumbled. "I knew it! My Pinkie Sense always knows when something is wrong." Pinkie crawled back onto the couch. "Do you want to talk about your dream? I find nightmares are less scary if you have someone to share them with." "Not really." Dash mumbled, taking a look out the window. The sun was setting somewhere outside, casting orange rays of light into the house. "How long was my nap?" "About two hours. You snore real loud. Tank tried sitting on your nose to see if it'd make you snore quieter. Ya hungry?" "Yeah, a little." "Then prepare yourself! For the most bananatacular cuisine to ever cross your lips! It will be...uh...what's that word Rarity always uses.....oh yeah! MARVELOUS!" Pinkie leaped off the couch, ready to make her way to the saddlebag fulled of banana puree and cream and prepare a wholesome yet fruity dinner. But she'd only made it a few steps before she felt a light tug on her backside. She turned to see Dash releasing the end of her tail, a worried look on the pegasus's face. "Hey....um.....I wanted to say thanks." "What for?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head to the side. "For being here with me." Pinkie gave Dash a small nod and went to retrieve her package. A thank you was a simple thing. Seeing ponies smile or feel happy was usually enough thanks for Pinkie. She never asked for anything back from those she helped. Never bragged about the happiness she spread to others. Never desired fame or fortune for the simple act of keeping the town and its inhabitants cheerful. She loved to make them smile. But despite that, it still felt extra nice to have someone thank her. It felt nice to know that someone acknowledged her with something as respectful as gratitude.