Chapter 9
Applejack watched with growing concern as Rainbow Dash’s face briefly registered surprise, descended through shades of confusion and worry before finally settling into a trace of faint anger. “Seriously, AJ? You want to talk about this? NOW?”
For a moment, Applejack’s jaw fell slack and closed again uselessly. Her mouth felt dry; the right words just weren’t forming in her mind’s eye. “Ah’m just worried ‘bout ya, Sugarcube. Ah thought ya might need somepony ta talk with.”
“You thought… and with everything else happening now, you thought you could just…” Rainbow Dash’s head fell to her hooves. She shook like a leaf blowing back and forth upon a branch. “You can’t just bring that up. Not now.”
Applejack cringed. “Ah know it don’t seem like the proper time…”
“What proper time? How can there be a proper time? After everything that’s happened? How did you even think I’d ever want to talk about… augh, dear Celestia, I can’t even say it!”
Applejack felt taken aback; Rainbow Dash’s cold stare seemed like a sudden brick wall thrown up before her. She couldn’t move forward. She gritted her teeth and spoke again. “Ah know this is important, and Ah know ya can’t put off thinkin’ about it. Ah just want ya ta know Ah’m here ta help.”
“Well that’s funny, because I don’t want to talk about it.” Rainbow Dash rolled over with a huff, letting her head sink back into her pillow and looking decidedly anywhere that wasn’t at her best friend.
“Come on, Sugarcube. You’ve been makin’ so much progress. Ya spoke with me and Twilight a whole long time yesterday, and Ah heard ya were talkin’ with the rest o’ the girls almost all day today. Ah really think talkin’ helps.” Rainbow Dash remained silent, instead pulling her sheets up closer around her chest. Applejack frowned and stepped closer, “but Ah know ya haven’t told the other girls yet. So Ah wanna let ya know Ah’m here for ya. Ah’m all ears.”
Rainbow Dash grumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow. “I already told you I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Please, Rainbow? Ah’m really…”
Rainbow Dash rolled back over and sat up, coming to rest with her forelegs just on the edge of the hospital bed. She glared hard at her friend; Applejack staggered backwards, caught off-guard by the sudden display. “Let it go, Applejack! I’m not telling you again!”
As if a spark leapt forth in her mind, Applejack recovered her composure and jumped forward to meet the challenging gaze; her nose mere inches from Rainbow Dash’s. Her fiery retort died on her lips though, smothered to bare embers by the sudden crushing weight of everything that had happened the previous few days. Applejack shrank back and took a deep breath; she suddenly felt very tired. Arguing with Rainbow Dash had always came so easily to her, even as the best of friends their back-and-forth banter seemed the most natural thing possible. But as she stared up at Rainbow Dash now, at the pain and hurt and fear in her eyes, a pit opened in her stomach, and she could feel nothing but emptiness and rising shame at being so quick to jump to confrontation. Applejack’s face softened, and she waited for Rainbow’s to do the same. When the Pegasus only retained her defensive glare, Applejack sighed. “Look, Rainbow… Ah’m not goin’ ta fight wit’ ya. Ah just want to talk, ta help ya. That’s all.”
“I don’t want your help.”
“Please, Sugarcube. You’re mah friend, and Ah care about ya.”
Rainbow Dash only kept up her icy demeanor. “Well, if you were a good friend, you’d leave me be like everypony… else.” Her voice cracked on her last word.
“Ah don’t think so. Ah think friends are s’pposed ta be there fer each other when one of ‘em’s hurtin’.” Applejack took a firm stance and looked back at Rainbow Dash, her green eyes calm and soothing. She only received a continued cold stare in response. “Ah ain’t leavin’, Dash.”
“Well I don’t want to see you.” Rainbow Dash huffed as she sank back into her pillows, drawing one up over her head and rolling so her back faced Applejack once more.
The country mare frowned. “Come on now, Dash. Ah know that ain’t the truth.”
The hospital room descended into a heavy silence. Applejack frowned, half expecting Rainbow Dash to continue telling her off. Still, she refused to leave, and the Pegasus said nothing.
After a few prolonged moments, Applejack furrowed her brow in mounting worry. “Rainbow? Ya alright?”
Still the quiet reigned, a pervasive, overhanging curtain disturbed only by soft sounds of breathing and something else: something that sounded like…
“Rainbow Dash? Sugarcube, are ya cryin’?”
A subdued sniffle, “No. I’m… I’m fine,” a prolonged gasp, a choked sob, all echoed in the still air, and Applejack’s face sank. She rushed to her friend’s bedside, reaching out to lay a comforting hoof over her, but the Pegasus shied away.
“It’s ok, Rainbow. Ah’m here for ya, remember?”
“No. Go away. I’m f-fine.”
“Ah’m sorry, Sugarcube.” Applejack reached out and wrapped her forelegs around the mare’s neck against only weak protests, broken intermittently by sobs. “Ah’m here. It’s ok.”
“No. No, it’s not ok.”
“Shhh…” Applejack cooed. Gently, she rolled the Pegasus over and tightened her hug. The other mare made no move to pull away, yet no reciprocating gesture either. Her sobs, unabated now, echoed through the room. The fur around her eyes was matted with the excess moisture that still brimmed beneath glassy magenta orbs. She shook her head again and again, meekly submitting to Applejack’s embrace. The earth pony stroked her friend’s mane absently, more out of habit than anything else; her mind drifting back to countless late nights spent consoling a much younger filly – her parents too quickly taken away, her cutie mark too long in coming, her little heart too broken for the solace of anypony but a big sister to fix. Applejack held Rainbow Dash even tighter. “It’s ok, Baby Girl. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.”
“You don’t… you don’t understand, Applejack. It’s not ok. It’ll never be ok again.”
“Don’t say that, Dash.” Applejack nuzzled her friend lightly. “Ah know everythin’ll be right as rain in the end.”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No you don’t, AJ. You don’t. You can’t know that. Nopony can.”
“Ah’m sure of it.”
“Nothing will ever be the same again.”
“We’ll make it better.”
“You just don’t understand, AJ! Everything’s gone!” Rainbow Dash tried to sit up, but found her way barred by a strong foreleg. She glanced over at Applejack, ready to protest, but broke down again when faced with the other mare’s stern look. Rainbow Dash shook her head, breathing hard in a fruitless attempt to control her tears. “How could you possibly understand?”
Applejack moved a hoof from the pegasus’s chest to dab beneath her eyes. “Ah know you’re hurtin’, Dash. And Ah want ta help. Please, just let me help ya.”
Rainbow Dash settled back into her pillows and her friend’s grasp, her eyes bleary and exhausted. “You can’t help.”
“Ah’m willin’ ta try.”
“Nopony can help… not now.”
“Don’t talk like that.” Applejack whispered – her gaze hard, yet comforting in her own way. “Everypony’s helpin’ ya the best we can. You’re never alone, Rainbow Dash. Ah’m here fer ya, and so is Twilight, and Rarity, and Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, and so many other ponies. We love ya, Rainbow. Never forget that.”
Rainbow Dash just lay still, inattentive, her weary head still shaking, though her sobs were fewer and further between. Drawing courage around her, she wiped her eyes and turned to face her friend. “You still don’t get it, AJ.” She spoke slowly, her words hollow, “Everything… The Wonderbolts, all my dreams, everything I’ve ever worked for, and fought for… it’s gone. It’s all gone, just like that, and it’s my fault.”
Applejack snapped up with a start, jumping up beside her friend, a sudden horror spread upon her face. “No. No, Rainbow, ya musn’t say that! This ain’t yer fault. None o’ this is yer fault.”
“We… were having fun, and we were drinking. Oh, Celestia, we drank too much… all of us, and then, then he kissed me. He kissed me, and it felt good. We were so drunk. I didn’t even try to stop him.”
“Rainbow, please stop.”
“I don’t even like stallions. You already know that, you wanted me to talk about that before, right? So yeah, I’m a fillyfooler, and I shouldn’t like stallions, but something was wrong. He was kissing me and I… liked it. I don’t know why. There was something wrong with me. I was so drunk; I kissed him back. Something… wrong. I don’t even know.”
“What he did was horrible, Dash. Disgustin’ and horrible. Ain’t none o’ this yer fault, now, ya hear?”
“I didn’t stop him. I couldn’t stop him. He took me upstairs and I… I didn’t have a clue what was happening.”
Applejack studied her best friend’s face as she, distant and unblinking, stared blankly up at the ceiling. Rainbow’s countenance descending into a quiet solemnity; the streaks of old tears on her cheeks left dry. Applejack closed her eyes; she found fresh ones there. The mare bowed her head, allowing the silence wash over them like a rising tide.
After some minutes, Rainbow Dash rolled back over to glance at Applejack; her eyes down, her chin resting on the edge of the bed. “Hey, AJ. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten so mad at you before, it’s just… that’s something really personal for me, and to hear you ask about it like that, it… scared me.”
Applejack shook her head weakly. “Ya don’t have ta talk about it if ya don’t want ta, Sugarcube.”
“It’s just… hard. I don’t even know where to start.”
“It’s alright. Ya don’t have to say anythin’. Ah shouldn’t’a pressured ya.”
“No. It’s important, like you said it was. You were right.”
“Ah don’t really need ta know anymore, ‘specially if ya don’t feel comfortable. Ya don’t have to prove anythin’ ta me, Dash.”
“AJ, you deserve to know, you of all ponies do. It’s just...” Rainbow Dash sighed, turning back towards the ceiling. “What can I say? Where do I start?”
“Whatever ya couldn’t say to Twilight, or the others. Whatever ya need ta say; ya don’t need ta hide yer secret from me.”
“I know that. It’s still so hard.”
“Start with how you feel, then.”
The pegasus was quiet for a long moment. “I don’t know, AJ. I feel like… hey, this is gonna sound silly, but do you think you could sit up here with me?”
Applejack gave a slight grin, agreeing without hesitation. “Sure thing, Sugarcube.” Deftly, she eased herself gently up into the bed beside Rainbow Dash as the other mare scooted away to make room for her companion. “Better?”
“Yeah… lots, actually.” Rainbow Dash sighed, taking up one of Applejack’s hooves in her own; she held it tight against her chest. “I guess I feel betrayed, really. I mean, he was one of my heroes, AJ, I… I looked up to him. He danced with me at that wedding, everything. He was my hero and he hurt me.”
Applejack cringed. “Ah’m sorry, ya don’t have to…”
“I feel like… oh, how can I even say it? It just sounds so stupid. You’re gonna think I’m so…”
“No, Rainbow, Ah promise Ah’ll understand. Whatever it is.”
“It’s… I don’t know, you might say I’ve been waiting, for a while now, for the right mare to come along. I guess I’ve been… saving myself for that pony, and now, it’s like he took all that away. I feel like no mare will ever want to be with me now, and because of him I’ll never find anypony or be able to stay with her or anything! And… oh Celestia, I don’t even know why I’m thinking about this!” Rainbow Dash buried her face in her hooves and let loose an exasperated wail. She looked up, bleary-eyed and confused. “I feel like I’m tainted now, or soiled, or whatever, and no mare will ever want me, and I don’t know why I’m worried about that. I just am. I’m so confused! I’ve never even thought about this before and now… I don’t even know! What’s wrong with me, AJ? I don’t understand!”
Applejack was silent for a long while. Rainbow Dash’s breath had caught in her throat. To her, each second seemed so many more; time flowed like molasses. Finally, her friend seemed to find her voice. “Sugarcube, Ah don’t… Ah guess Ah really don’t know what to say.” Applejack fidgeted in her place.
Rainbow Dash nodded, eager to drop the subject. “D-don’t bother. It was stupid anyway.” She gave a short, dry titter.
“No, Dash.” Applejack shook her head vigorously. “It ain’t stupid. Ah’m just not the best at this.” She glanced into her friend’s eyes and felt a knot tighten in her stomach. It wrenched her insides to see the pain, the confusion, the loss glimmering there. It felt like there was nothing she could say that would ever make it better, but she knew she had to try. “Rainbow, ya know, you’re a great girl. You’re brave, and you’re one o’ the strongest ponies Ah know.”
“Not anymore,” Rainbow muttered glumly, squeezing her companion’s hoof tighter against her chest.
“Don’t say that.” Applejack looked away, struggling to find the right words. “Ah’m serious. Ah know it might sound strange, comin’ from me an’ all, but Ah know there’s somepony out there for ya, Dash. Someday, you’re gonna find that special mare, and she’s goin’ ta make ya so happy. Ah’m sure of it, and ya know Ah wouldn’t lie to you. Ya gotta believe me, Rainbow. Everythin’ seems bad right now, but it’ll get better. Ah know it will.”
She looked back over at the other mare; Rainbow Dash stared right back at her – her eyes glistening but warm, somehow – and she was smiling, or at least trying to, as if she wanted to do her best to show her friend she understood. “Th-thaks, AJ. You know, that… that means a lot.”
“Ah know Ah may not be the best with all this, with relationships, or love and stuff, but Ah want ya to know, if you’re ever havin’ problems, or feelin’ like this again, or ya do think ya found a nice mare, well, ya can come talk wit’ me about it. Ah’m here for ya, RD.”
Rainbow gave Applejack’s hoof an affectionate squeeze, albeit quick, and blushed. “Thanks, AJ.”
“No problem, Sugarcube.”
The pair fell silent for a while more, the incessant tick of a distant clock slowly counting down the time left for visitors, and Applejack knew she hadn’t yet said what she had come to say.
“Hey, AJ.”
“Hmm?”
“Why did you come?”
“Ah told ya, because Ah was worried, and Ah care ‘bout ya.”
“No, I mean why did you come here, just to ask about me… me…”
“Likin’ mares?” Applejack added, sensing her friend’s discomfort. Rainbow only nodded weakly.
“Yeah, that. I know you were worried about me and everything else, but why’d you ask about that?”
“Ah s’pose it’s ‘cause Ah know how hard ya try ta keep it all a secret, Sugarcube.” Applejack took a deep breath, suddenly feeling as if her throat were about to seize up. “And secrets, well, secrets just have a way of eatin’ ya up from th’ inside, and Ah wanted ya ta have somepony ta just let everythin’ out to.”
“I guess you’re right. I think I needed that.”
“But, that’s not everythin’, though. There’s somethin’ else, too.”
Rainbow Dash looked pensive for a moment. “Yeah?”
“Ah think ya should… ahh, how do Ah say this? Ah think it’s time the other girls knew…” Applejack trailed off, her words fialing her. Her companion suddenly looked very pale. “Ah don’t mean ya need ta just let yer secret all out or anythin’, Ah just think the girls deserve ta know, now.” Applejack cringed; that had sounded a whole lot better in her head.
Rainbow Dash, all the blood having rushed form her face, sat bolt upright; her eyes wide and her breaths shallow. She closed her eyes and shook her head back and forth repeatedly. “But, I just… I don’t…” Her words stumbled off her tongue, as if each coherent thought had sputtered and died upon reaching the brink of utterance. “No, I can’t.” She took a slow, ratcheting breath, seeming to relax slightly as she did so. “I’ve only ever told you and my parents, and you know how well that went!”
Her voice rose precipitously and cracked in her distress; her eyes so wide they seemed ready to jump from their place.
“Listen, Dash. Ah know yer ma and pa gave ya a hard time when ya told them, but do ya really think the girls would do that to ya?”
“It’s not just that, AJ. They didn’t just give me a hard time about it. They… rejected me. They ignored me and said I was being delusional! I… I can’t even talk about what they did!”
“Ah understand. What they did was awful, Rainbow. Ah know it hurts, especially with everythin’ else that’s been happenin’ lately, it all just hurts, but Ah really think it might help ya ta tell the girls yer secret.”
“I trusted them, AJ. I trusted my parents, I really loved them, and they still hurt me. I trusted The Wonderbolts, and Soarin’, and he still hurt me! How can I trust anypony else ever again? How can I tell them if I can’t even trust anypony?”
“Well, how could ya trust me, then, Dash? Why did ya tell me, all those years ago, and nopony else? Ah had only just met ya a few days before, what made ya so sure Ah wouldn’t turn out like yer parents did, hm? What made ya take that risk?”
Rainbow Dash fell silent once more; just a bit of the color returning to her face. “I… I thought you were just like me, I thought you might be… the same. I was wrong, though, and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Applejack’s gaze softened and she shook her head wistfully. “Ain’t nothin’ ta apologize for, Rainbow. Everypony makes mistakes, and Ah s’pose Ah should’a taken that as a compliment. But do ya see what Ah’m tryin’ ta say, Rainbow? Ya barely even knew me, yet ya told me, just like it was he easiest thing in the world. And Ah know ya can do the same with our friends, ‘specially since you’ve known them so long, now. Hay, Ah’m surprised ya haven’t told Fluttershy, considerin’ how far back ya go.”
Rainbow Dash nodded, finally settling down back into her bed to stare at the ceiling again. “When I ran away from home, I sort of left her there at the Academy. Then when she came to Ponyville, for the longest time, I just couldn’t bear to bring it up. She reminded me too much of Cloudsdale, of home, of my parents.”
“Ah understand, but ain’t everythin’ different now? Ah mean, Fluttershy, Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity? They’re yer best friends, and Ah know fer a fact they’d be more than acceptin’ of ya, and Ah think you know that, too.”
Rainbow Dash was quiet for a moment. “It’s not just that. I know they’d still love me, but it’s still just so hard to say!”
“Ah’ll help ya. Ya know Ah will.”
“What am I supposed to even say? ‘Hi girls, thanks for everything you’ve done for me. Oh, by the way, just so you know, I’m a fillyfooler, and I just didn’t tell you all these years we’ve been friends because I was too scared.’ That sounds ridiculous, AJ! I can’t tell them that, not now, everypony’ll think I’m crazy.”
“Ah don’t think you’re crazy, Dash. Ah just think you’ve ben hurt, and now you’re tryin’ to make sense of one big ol’ mess, and ya just need some help. We all want ta help ya, Dash. You just need ta help us help ya.”
“It isn’t that easy.”
“Ah think you’ll find it’s a whole lot easier then ya think if ya just give it a shot.”
Rainbow Dash looked ready to argue further, but fell back again. “I don’t know, AJ. I don’t know.”
“Promise me you’ll at least think about it? Sleep on it? Just promise me that.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
Applejack nodded once, then rolled out of the bed, landing neatly on her hooves. Rainbow Dash sat up, alarm etched into her gaze. “Where are you going?”
“Ah gotta leave, Dash. Visitin’ hours’re almost up.”
“But I don’t want you to go.”
Applejack felt a pang of guilt attack her chest. She inhaled deeply. “Ah’m afaid Ah don’t have much of a choice.”
Before the bed-bound pegasus could respond, there came a tapping at the door. Applejack strode over to open it. Dr. Stable appeared in the dim hallway, and he bowed graciously to her. “Evening, Miss Applejack. Rainbow Dash. I’m sure you’re both aware visiting hours are now over?”
“Please say she can stay.” Rainbow Dash stared at the unicorn, a pleading look in her eyes. “I don’t want to be alone. Not again. Not tonight. Please let her stay.”
“I’m terribly sorry, Miss Dash. But rules are rules.”
Applejack looked back at her friend, then up at the doctor. “Do ya think ya could make an exception? Just this once?”
The doctor looked apprehensively between the two mares before sighing. “Very well. I suppose there’s no harm in it.” Applejack smiled, and Rainbow Dash gave a contented sigh that turned to a yawn halfway through. “I suppose there’s no point to my remaining here much longer, then. A good night to you both.”
Applejack nodded. “Thank ya kindly, Doctor. It sure means a lot to Rainbow.”
“Yes, yes. Oh! Before I forget, Miss Dash, Redheart and I have decided that, in the morning, you’ll be well enough to move from the Intensive Care Unit into the Recovery Wing of the hospital. Just thought I’d let you know beforehoof. It means you’ll be able to visit with more than two friends at a time, but we’ll need you ready to move by morning, so get some good sleep, ok?” Rainbow Dash nodded, her eyes already drooping. “Wonderful. If you’ll excuse me then, ladies, I have a few other patients to see tonight.” Casting a quick spell, he turned out the lights, so only the pale blue glow of the evening moon lit the room. Seemingly satisfied, he strode away, letting the door shut softly behind him.
Applejack turned away and smiled at her friend before trotting over to the couch that occupied one corner of the room. She stopped short of it however, and, on a whim, walked back over to Rainbow’s bed. The pegasus’s eyes were already closed. Applejack leaned over and planted a light kiss on the mare’s cheek. “Good night, Sugarcube.” Finally, feeling as if her legs were about to give out, she returned to her couch and flopped unceremoniously into it, closing her eyes immediately.
Rainbow Dash smiled wide. “Good night, AJ. Thanks… “ She yawned, “thanks for being my best friend.”
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Particles of dust swirled in early-morning sunlight, having late been stirred from long-unused shelves by the removal of several thick, ancient tomes on Equestrian Law.
Rarity trotted from Golden Oaks’ Library’s kitchen, a tray with a steaming pot of tea and several cups and saucers suspended before her. Entering the library’s main room, she trotted over to her lavender companion, who had fallen seemingly asleep, slumped over a particularly heavy text propped open adjacent to the smoking stub of a candle long since burnt out. “My my, long night it’s been, hasn’t it, Twilight Sparkle?”
The mare stirred suddenly, jerking her head up from the book, a few pages lifting with her, stuck against her cheek, before separating with a faint noise and slipping back down. She blinked blearily up at the alabaster unicorn leaning over her. “Uh’m fine, Rarity, this is… fine.”
“Darling, when I told you to get some sleep, this is not exactly what I had in mind.” The unicorn poured a quick cup of tea and floated it gently down to her companion. Twilight Sparkle nodded in half-recognition. “In fact, this is almost the exact opposite.”
Twilight groaned, setting down her tea after a deep sip, and rubbed her temple. “I tried, Rarity. But I couldn’t.” She shook her head, taking another gulp, “With the trial, and everything else, it’s all happening so fast! I have to be ready.”
Rarity paused for a moment, sipping from her own teacup in pensive silence as Twilight drained the last of her dregs and sat up groggily. Finally, the prim unicorn turned, casting a concerned eye over her friend. “Yes, Dear, I do understand, but Soarin’ was only arrested yesterday. The trial should still be a good while away. You do have time.”
Twilight sighed, her senses gradually returning to their normal level of alertness. “I don’t know, Rarity. I’m going up against real, professional lawyers with years of experience way beyond me! All I have to go on are these books. What else am I supposed to do? I can’t afford to waste any time.”
“Well, Darling. If you don’t think you’re up for it, why did you accept the offer?”
The mare blinked a few time. “What?”
“It’s simple, Darling. If you’re feeling this overwhelmed now, you certainly must have been when Princes Celestia offered you the assignment.”
Twilight Sparkle shook her head. “No, Celestia didn’t want me to do this. I chose to.”
Rarity looked thrown for the briefest of instants, before she shook herself, regaining an air of unflappability, and nodded. “I see…”
Twilight continued speaking as if she hadn’t noticed. “I had to. There’s no other way.”
“You don’t think the Princess could have found a professional Council suitable enough for Rainbow Dash?”
Again, Twilight shook her head. “And let one of those sharks pick apart her life? Learn her deepest secrets? Dissect such a traumatic experience like some cold tactician only out to earn a profit? Turn a blind eye to her pain and suffering and present her case like a clinical study? We have no idea how somepony as hardened and aloof as they are might treat her! I can’t risk that. She needs somepony who cares about her and knows her to represent her. I’ve got to do it.”
Rarity gave pause, and after a few seconds, nodded her agreement. “Whatever you think is best, Dear. I suppose I know sound judgment when I hear it. Although I do worry about you, and I’m sure the others do as well. You must know that.”
“Yeah… I think I do.”
A few more moments of uncomfortable, empty silence passed between the two mares. Rarity observed Twilight’s shifting countenance with interest and apprehension before, sighing one more, she acquiesced to break the lull. “And yet, you still don’t seem convinced of yourself.”
Twilight grimaced. “That’s because I’m not, Rarity. I’m still in over my depth and even books aren’t helping anymore.”
Rarity gently set herself down next to her friend. “Twilight, I may not have the answers you’re looking for, but... let me tell you a story.” Twilight, her curiosity pegged, sat up and gazed earnestly at her friend. “I had barely received my cutie mark the first time my parents went on an extended vacation and left me in charge of Sweetie Belle. Now, back then, I had hardly any idea how to take care of my little sister. Like you, I felt overwhelmed, out of my own depth, and even angry with my mother and father from time to time. But I did my best, and I’ve taken care of Sweetie Belle numerous times since then. Although I grant I still have much to learn, I feel as if I’ve improved every time.”
“But what does that have to do with…”
“My point, Twilight Sparkle, is that we never know what we’re capable of if we don’t test our limits. I had to learn a lot of responsibility, and I’m still learning to be the best big sister I can be.” Rarity daintily cleared her throat. “And you, my dear Twilight, are the most brilliant and talented unicorn I have ever had the pleasure of making acquaintance with. I am confident that we have yet to see your best, but in order to do so, you have to push at your own limits. Don’t be defined by what you think you cannot do; rather, by what you strive to.”
Twilight could only blink at her friend.
Rarity grinned sheepishly. “My mother used to say that to me.”
Then a smile broke out on Twilight’s face. “Thanks, Rarity. I think you’re… no, you are right. That was really helpful.” Twilight gave her friend a quick hug.
Rarity returned the gesture. “I’m glad of it. Now, let’s get to work, shall we?”