//------------------------------//
// Revelations 
// Story: Wings of Friendship 
// by DemonBrightSpirit 
//------------------------------//

Rarity managed to get back to the Carousel Boutique from Fluttershy's cottage just as the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived. The three fillies seemed happy and energetic despite being singed and covered in what appeared to be tree sap. The elegant pony made sure the tickets Rainbow Dash had given her were safely tucked out of sight before the troublesome trio noticed her. "Why hello girls!" she greeted them with a smile just as they got to her door.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle excitedly turned to her sister.

"Why don't you three get cleaned up before you go inside?" Rarity suggested as she got a good look at the muck covering the fillies. "I'll make you a snack."

"Aww, do we have'ta?" Apple Bloom whined.

Rarity's smile faded away as she motioned to the grime covering the trio. "I'm not having you girls track…that through my beautiful boutique!"

The Cutie Mark Crusaders gave a collective "aww" as Rarity headed inside to make the promised snacks. Setting aside her things on the first available surface, she made a beeline for her bathroom. If she didn't hurry up and get some towels then three soaking-wet fillies would slop through her boutique. She gathered up the towels and placed them near the entryway.  After that she headed into her kitchen.

Rarity lamented her situation as she set to her task of preparing snacks for the girls. Earlier she had eagerly agreed to watch the rambunctious fillies in hopes that she would be so busy that it would distract her from Rainbow Dash's plight. But already Twilight Sparkle had offered her an outlet for her worries by tasking her with fabricating some wings—no simple task considering she was a seamstress, not some sort of wing maker-er.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders would still have proven to be an amicable distraction had it not been for the task given to her by Rainbow Dash. Giving somepony a gift is normally a joyous occasion, but not this time. The fillies would undoubtedly ask about Rainbow Dash and what was going on with her.  The truth of the matter was not pleasant.

Sweetie Belle was likely the one to be most insulated. Rarity had only told her little sister that Dash was in the hospital and that "everything was going to be fine." It was a vague lie to shelter the filly from the truth. Her parents weren't much more informed than Sweetie Belle, so if a lot of uncomfortable questions come up, her little sister may well be in tears before the night was over.

Apple Bloom was more of a wild card than Sweetie Belle. Applejack knew just about as much about Rainbow's condition as she did, but how much she might've told her little sister is anypony's guess. However, the farmer tended to be exceedingly open and honest. Odds were that Apple Bloom knew more about what was going on than an innocent little filly had any business knowing.

Then there was Scootaloo. That filly looked up to Rainbow Dash as if she were her own sister. Anything she had heard probably came from Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. That was bad. Worse still was how she might react to the truth of the matter. Scootaloo's feeling towards Rainbow Dash were nothing short of adulation. There is no way she would take the news well.

Rarity sighed as she floated a tray of cubed sandwiches organized as hors d'oeuvres over to her kitchen table. Maybe it would be best if she gave the tickets to Scootaloo in private. That way she would only have to deal with one distraught filly. Then again, somepony at some point would have to sit them down and explain to them what was going on. 

Rarity just hoped that she didn't have to be that somepony.

WHAM!

"Don't slam the door!" Rarity admonished loud enough to be heard over the chatter of the excited fillies as they burst into the boutique. "I set out towels for you by the door! Dry yourselves off before you come in!"

"Okay! Thanks sis!" Sweetie Belle's voice echoed through the boutique followed by a generic "thanks" from the other two fillies.

Using her aura, Rarity retrieved a few glasses and straws and set out juice for the fillies. "I've got snacks and drinks set out for you girls here in the kitchen! Now, I need to try and get some work done, so I need you girls to behave yourselves for a little while! All right?"

"Okay!" a collective shout replied.

Judging from previous experience, if she got started right away she could work on a design for about ten to fifteen minutes. Then the girls would get bored which typically precedes disaster. Thankfully, they should give a cry of "Cutie Mark Crusader" followed by some sort of activity or profession. That would be her cue to intervene before something got destroyed, spontaneously combusted, or ripped limb-from-limb. If she had any luck at all they would shout "Cutie Mark Crusader librarians!" or "Cutie Mark Crusader pillow testers!" or something benign like that. Then she could just ignore them and fashion a wing.

Right, Rarity dismissed the thought with a roll of her eyes. Those fillies could still make a huge mess of things no matter how benign their endeavors. The elegant pony gave chuckle as she headed for her studio. Maybe making a mess of things was their special talent. They've certainly shown quite a knack for it.

"Oh wow!" Scootaloo's voice screeched. "Rarity! Where'd you get these passes?"

Rarity froze in place as her face contorted in horror. "Passes?" she breathed as her mind raced. Scootaloo didn't find Dash's gift, did she? That's when Rarity remembered where she had set them down—right underneath the towels she laid out for the little ones. How could I have been so foolish!? she kicked herself as she rushed back to the kitchen.

She made it to the kitchen just as Scootaloo came galumphing in alongside the other two Crusaders. All three of them looked a sight and had damp towels strewn across their shoulders. Scootaloo carried the tickets in her mouth before spiting them out on the table. She then pointed to them with a hoof. "Do you know what these are?"

"Honestly? Not really," Rarity admitted before motioning to the snacks. "Why don't you girls sit down and eat?"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle eagerly followed the suggestion, but Scootaloo couldn't tear herself away from the tickets. "These passes say they'll let you into the Cloudsdale Cloudiseum next week! That's when the Wonderbolts will be there training!" she enthused.

"Sit," Rarity ordered as she used her aura to bring the tickets over to herself. Once Scootaloo sat down, Rarity sighed. "Now, Scootaloo, I received these tickets from Rainbow Dash. She asked me to give them to you specifically."

Scootaloo's eyes sparkled as Rarity floated the passes over to her. "Wow! Is Rainbow Dash going to take me to Cloudsdale!? That would be the coolest thing ever!"

Rarity offered her a very uncomfortable smile. Rainbow Dash wasn't very clear about her intentions, but Rarity couldn't imagine she wanted to go to Cloudsdale and watch the Wonderbolts train. "I'm…not so sure Rainbow Dash will be able to go to Cloudsdale. She is still recovering from her, uh, accident."

Scootaloo whimpered as she looked at the passes in her hooves.

"Um…girls, how much do you know about what happened to Rainbow Dash?"

"You said that she got hurt and was in the hospital, but that she was going to be okay," Sweetie Belle claimed.

"That ain't what my sister said," Apple Bloom countered. "Applejack said that there was an accident and that Rainbow Dash lost one of her wings. She said Rainbow Dash'll never fly again."

"That's a lie!" Scootaloo angrily retorted as she buzzed in the air above her seat for a second before gravity won out.

Anger begot anger as Apple Bloom slammed her hooves on the table and glared at Scootaloo. "You callin' my sister a liar!?"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo shot back. "There's no way Rainbow Dash lost a wing. She wouldn't even have an accident!"

"She did too!" Apple Bloom asserted. "My sister's all kinds of sore about it! Says Ponyville's in a big heap of a mess 'cause nopony can take care of the weather like Rainbow Dash."

"Rainbow Dash just…got hurt! A little, maybe," Scootaloo reluctantly conceded. "There's nothing that can stop her!"

"A pond did!"

"Hey—!"

"Girls!" Rarity interrupted. Once the Crusaders fell silent and turned their gazes to Rarity, she sighed. "Apple Bloom…is mostly right."

Apple Bloom immediately pointed a hoof to Rarity. "See!?" she challenged as she glared at Scootaloo. "My sister ain't a liar!"

Rarity cleared her throat to get attention back to herself. "There was some sort of awful accident. Because of it, Rainbow Dash was hurt very, very badly. She…lost her wing."

"That can't be true!" Scootaloo practically begged. "It's impossible!"

"It's true, Scootaloo," Rarity gently said. "But that doesn't mean she won't fly again."

"Really?" Scootaloo asked as the tears that threatened to spill over receded.

"Right now Twilight Sparkle is working on a spell to replace Rainbow Dash's lost wing. She needs me to sew a suitable replacement for her," Rarity explained.

"Wow!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "You're going to make her a new wing!?"

Rarity hesitated a moment before nodding. "In time, yes. First I need to perfect the art of fashioning wings. I'll need to do some practice wings first."

"When will Rainbow Dash be able to fly again?" Scootaloo pressed.

"Twilight Sparkle seems to think she can get everything together in less than a moon," Rarity recalled. Scootaloo just hung her head as she let out a whimper. "Well, why don't you three help me to design a wing once you finish your snacks?"

Scootaloo and the other Crusaders perked right up. "We could be Cutie Mark Crusader wing…wing maker-ers!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"That'd be a cool cutie mark!" Apple Bloom looked to her blank flank.

Scootaloo just smiled an uncomfortable smile, keeping her reservations to herself. It was unfathomable that the great, and totally awesome, Rainbow Dash could get hurt like that. She sighed as she looked to the tickets. Rainbow Dash wouldn't have given them to her if she wasn't going to take her, right? Even if Rainbow Dash was too hurt to really fly or anything it would still be awesome. She'd get to spend a whole week with her hero! Maybe she could impress her with her new moves! Scooting around Cloudsdale would be awesome!

As she started to brighten, Scootaloo started to get excited about helping Rarity. She could actually help make a wing for Rainbow Dash! Even if she had no idea what exactly that meant, it had to be pretty awesome, right?

"Yeah! Let's make her a wing!" Scootaloo cheered.

Rarity let out a sigh of relief. That went better than she had expected. At least nopony broke down and cried. Then again, these were fillies and more than willing to blindly believe her when she told them that Rainbow Dash's wing would be restored. Even Rarity herself wasn't totally sure if Twilight would be able to deliver what she had promised.

"Why don't you girls eat your snacks? You can join me in my studio when you're done," Rarity offered as she started out of the kitchen. "I could especially use some help from you, Scootaloo. I'll need some sort of model for the proper shape of a pegasus wing."

"Okay!" Scootaloo eagerly volunteered with a huge smile.





While Rarity juggled three fillies, Fluttershy was busy seeing to the needs of countless critters and one recuperating pegasus. The animals had been fed and taken care of for the evening, but Rainbow Dash was being rather difficult. Still, it wasn't anything Fluttershy couldn't handle. After all, it was pretty hard to find somepony more obstinate than Angel Bunny. The one-winged pegasus in the wheelchair could come pretty close, though.

"Please Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy cooed. "It'll make you feel so much better, I promise."

"No," Rainbow Dash refused as she turned her head away.

"You don't even have to do anything, and I'll be as gentle as a cute little butterfly," Fluttershy coaxed. "I'll make sure that it doesn't hurt even one bit."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "It's not like I need it."

"But you do need it," Fluttershy urged. "Don't you want to feel better?"

"It would just be really awkward and a little gross and I just-I don't even think it'd make me feel any better, anyway," Rainbow Dash refused.

Fluttershy sighed before putting on her most endearing expression. "Please Rainbow Dash? For me?"

Dash let out a frustrated groan as she rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's just get it over with," she relented.

"Oh goodie," Fluttershy smiled. "I'll just need you to lean forward a bit."

Rainbow sighed as she slouched forward in the wheelchair. "Go ahead."

Fluttershy pulled up a first-aid kit and placed it on a nearby table. "You're going to feel so much better in nice, clean bandages. You'll see," she assured as she popped the kit open and retrieved a pair of scissors.

"I'm supposed to go back to the hospital tomorrow. I'm sure they plan on changing them then," Rainbow Dash uselessly argued as Fluttershy cut away the old bandages.

"You don't need to worry," Fluttershy assured in a soothing voice as she gingerly pulled the old bandages away. "I do this sort of thing for my animal friends all the time."

"It's not like I'm scared," Dash groused. "It's just…embarrassing."

"Oh, you don't need to be embarrassed, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy encouraged. "It doesn't even look that bad. See? Your fur is already starting to grow back and you can hardly even notice those nasty, old stitches."

Rainbow scoffed. "See if you still say that when you see what-what's left of my wing…"

Fluttershy knew that she should reapply new bandages before moving on, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Oh, I wouldn't worry, Rainbow Dash. I'm sure it's not that bad," she softly said as she peeled back the gauze covering the gap in her cast. It revealed a tiny little nub—all that was left of her wing. It was stripped of its down and the small feathers were just barely starting to grow back, but, more alarmingly, the nub appeared to be quite red and swollen. "Oh my, that's not good."

"Told you so," Dash grumbled.

"Oh, it's not that," Fluttershy dismissed. "It looks like you have a teeny bit of infection here. We'll need to tell your doctor tomorrow, but until then I have a spray that will help," she suggested as she grabbed a small can from the first-aid kit. "This might sting just a little bit."

Rainbow Dash groaned. "I'm sure—augh!" she cried out as the icy mist contacted the mending wound, sending shockwaves of pain through her.

"I'm so sorry! Did that hurt?" Fluttershy fretted as she set the antiseptic aside.

"I'm fine!" Dash lied in an attempt to hide her weakness.

Fluttershy carefully reapplied gauze to the site before taping it in place. "The worst part is over," she cooed. "Angel, be a sweetie and help me with Rainbow Dash's bandages?"

The bunny sighed dramatically as he rolled his eyes. In spite of his silent protests, he hopped over to the two pegasi and perched himself atop the wheelchair. Fluttershy and Angel Bunny worked together to start wrapping Rainbow's torso. Fluttershy would pull the bandages across Dash's front before passing them to Angel. Angel would then pull them across Rainbow Dash's back and pass them back to Fluttershy again.

"It's not too tight, is it?" Fluttershy asked once the first few strips were in place.

"It's fine, Fluttershy," Dash replied.

The yellow mare sighed. Rainbow Dash wasn't even trying to have a conversation with her. She had hoped that the injured pegasus would come around on her own, but she was just being so stubborn! After passing the bandages off to Angel again, she spoke up, "Um…are you ready to talk about what happened this afternoon?"

"That's… Don't worry about it," Rainbow dismissed. "Nothing happened."

Fluttershy whimpered. "B-but…um, the tickets Rarity had—weren't they the prize for winning the competition? Did you win?"

"Technically," Rainbow Dash spat. "Just… Drop it!"

Fluttershy's ears tucked down at Dash's tone. "O-okay. I-I'm sorry."

Fluttershy fell silent as she continued her work with Angel Bunny. It didn't take long at all for the pathetic-looking, gentle-hearted, well-meaning pegasus to make Rainbow Dash feel absolutely awful for being so short with her. "Fluttershy, I…I didn't mean to snap at you like that. Sorry," she earnestly apologized. "I just don't want to talk about it, okay?"

Fluttershy smiled a bit as her ears slowly perked back up. "Oh, that's okay, Rainbow Dash. You can talk about it whenever you're ready to." Finally finished wrapping the bandages, Fluttershy held out the strip as Angel bounced over to the table, grabbed the scissors, and hopped into Dash's lap before cutting the outstretched strip. "There, all done," Fluttershy sweetly said after securing the bandages at Dash's side. "Now, don't you feel better?"

"Thanks, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash muttered. Truth be told she didn't feel better at all, but she wasn't about to tell Fluttershy that. The caring pegasus was just desperate to try to help. Dash sighed as Fluttershy started to pack up the first-aid kit. "Hey, Fluttershy… Do you think Twilight can really get me a new wing with her magic?"

Fluttershy contemplated it a moment as she closed the kit. "Yes," she asserted before grabbing the handle in her mouth and flying over to a nearby closet. After putting the kit away and closing the door, she turned to find an expectant Rainbow Dash. "You know as well as anypony that Twilight Sparkle's magic is absolutely amazing," she asserted. "More importantly, I know she won't give up until she prevails."

"I guess…"

"Oh, don't be like that," Fluttershy gently chided as she pushed Rainbow Dash over near the couch. "Now let's get you all settled in so you can get your rest. I'm sure that after a day like today you must be exhausted."

Rainbow Dash groaned as Fluttershy helped her onto the couch. "I haven't even done anything today," she groused once she was on the couch.

Fluttershy flew into her kitchen before setting a glass of water on the end table next to the couch. Then she zipped into her closet and came out with pillows and blankets. Before Dash had so much as a chance to protest, Fluttershy plopped a pillow under her head and threw the blanket over her. She put a couple more pillows at Rainbow's sides to prop her up before dashing off again. Reappearing a moment later with a small bowl of cookies, Fluttershy placed it next to Rainbow's water. She then flew up the stairs.

"Fluttershy!" Dash yelled as the shy mare reappeared with her front hooves filled with stuffed animals. "I'm fine!" she assured as she struggled to move in her fluffy prison. Pointing a hoof towards the end of the couch, she continued, "If I need anything else I'm sure Tank can handle it." 

The tortoise lying next to the couch slowly nodded in response.

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked as she hugged the stuffed animals.

Rainbow Dash managed to roll over onto her side and away from Fluttershy causing a pillow to flop down off of the couch. "Good night, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash replied, silencing the yellow pegasus's future protests.

"Good night, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy sighed as she dejectedly started to climb her stairs. "Oh! If you need anything just shout. I'll be right upstairs," she called down at Dash after putting the stuffed animals away.

Once she got to her room, she landed with a sigh. Rainbow Dash was being so reticent. Fluttershy couldn't help her friend if she didn't open up and talk about what was wrong. "I really wish Rainbow Dash would just tell me what's bothering her," she spoke to Angel Bunny as the critter bounced over to his little bed, right next to Fluttershy's. "I wonder what those Wonderbolts said to make her so upset," she mumbled as she pulled her covers back.

Before she had a chance to snuggle into her bed, she got an unexpected reply. A squirrel perched on the windowsill chattered in a language only squirrels, Fluttershy, and possibly other critters could understand.

"What do you mean you know what the Wonderbolts said to Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked as she walked over to the rodent. A bit more chattering elicited a gasp from the pink-maned mare. "You shouldn't eavesdrop!" she admonished. The squirrel crossed his arms over his chest and gave Fluttershy an impatient stare along with a few clicks. "Oh, no," Fluttershy whimpered as she withdrew a bit. "Please, tell me what happened." The tiny fuzzball sighed before chattering on. After a few seconds Fluttershy gasped as she covered her mouth with a hoof.

By the time the critter had relayed the story to Fluttershy, she was on the verge of tears. "Th-thank you, Mr. Squirrel," she muttered as she hung her head.

Seeing Fluttershy just standing there after hearing such shocking news worried Angel Bunny. He hopped up onto the bed and over to Fluttershy before gently patting her side. When the yellow pegasus looked up, Angel recoiled so violently that he tumbled back head over foot. Fluttershy's expression was something Angel had never seen from the kind pegasus: unbridled rage.

"How dare she?" Fluttershy growled in a tone that sent Angel cowering behind Fluttershy's pillow. "How dare she do that to Rainbow Dash!?"

Fluttershy started to head downstairs to confront Rainbow Dash, but she stopped at the top of the steps, taking several deep breaths. Her righteous anger began to cool as her kind-heart began to make itself heard. Rainbow Dash obviously didn't want to talk about Lightning Dust, though Fluttershy couldn't understand why. Had she been in Dash's position she'd be crying as she told her friends all about it. But no, Dash had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to talk about it at all. Fluttershy had already told her that she would wait for her to talk about it, too.

Resolving to leave Dash out of it and do things on her own, Fluttershy turned around and headed back into her bedroom. The first thing she did was look for her faithful pet. Finding him cowering on her bed, she spoke softly even though her expression remained harsh. "Angel, I'm going out. I need you to take care of Rainbow Dash for me, all right?"

The bunny nodded emphatically. He had no intentions of arguing with the normally docile pegasus. Right now she was more than a little scary.

With a bit of hesitation, she approached her window and spread her wings. She sent one last glance back at Angel. "I'll be back soon," she assured as she leapt out the window and took to the skies. Nothing was going to stop her from her destination, especially not her own trepidations. What Lightning Dust did to Rainbow Dash was absolutely unforgivable, and Fluttershy was going to make sure that Lightning Dust knew that.

It didn't take too long for Fluttershy to reach Cloudsdale. The hard part was finding where Lightning Dust lived, but find it she did. Fear dominated Fluttershy's face as she stood on Lightning Dust's stoop. Her anger was still alive in her heart, but it had cooled under time's withering presence. Summoning her courage, she adopted a stern, determined expression as she thumped on the door. After a few moments, nothing. Her anger filtered through to the surface once more as she slammed her hoof into the door demanding that those within respond. Still, nothing. Once more pounding on the door, she actually hit it a little too hard. The pillowy cloud door yielded to Fluttershy by falling apart into wisps of vapor as the yellow pegasus tumbled into Lightning Dust's home.

Sitting up and shaking her head, Fluttershy looked around as she wondered if she should leave or if she should seek out Lightning Dust. Just barging in like this was terribly rude, but Lightning was being incredibly rude, too. Why wasn't she answering the door? Sure it was late, but she still should have come to see after the second round of knocks. Deciding that it would be best to have a look around, Fluttershy got up and began to wander about Lightning Dust's house.

As she wandered through the house, she noticed that it hadn't been properly tended to. Clouds accumulated dust and water over time that made a damp, cold, and foggy atmosphere if they don't get properly taken care of every few days. Negligence leads to what Fluttershy was experiencing. The floors were squishy instead of fluffy. The ceiling was sagging as water condensed into an occasional drop, falling to the floor with a squelching sound. The walls seemed to have no clear beginning or end as they wisped out in a fog. It was actually a little scary.

How can anypony let their home get into such a mess? Fluttershy wondered as she slowly searched the house for Lightning Dust. Everywhere she looked in the house was the same misty, cold, and creepy atmosphere. Finally, she came to what had to be Lightning Dust's bedroom. It was empty. Lightning Dust wasn't home. That's why she didn't open the door!

Suddenly feeling quite guilty about breaking into another pony's home, Fluttershy quickly headed for the exit. As she approached the doorway, however, she came to a dead stop as a pegasus stood there eyeing her critically. "Hey, you!" he shouted accusingly.

This pony might have expected her to run, but that wasn't how Fluttershy dealt with this sort of situation. The timid mare cowered as she tried to make herself invisible behind her pink locks. She made a little whimpering sound as she shook a bit.

"What do you think you're doing in here?" he admonished as he stepped inside and towards the shaking pegasus.

"I…I-I-I'm sorry," she muttered in a barely audible voice. As he approached, Fluttershy tried harder and harder to shrink into nothingness. She knew full well that she didn't have any business being in Lightning Dust's home uninvited. Now, it looked like she was in big trouble. She tried to speak, but his stare seemed to paralyze her lungs.

He sighed at the pathetic bundle in front of him. The poor thing was actually crying. One thing was for sure, this wasn't the kind of behavior he expected from some vandal. The only other reason he could imagine somepony being there was somepony who just needed a roof over their head. Sighing, he reached down and nudged her side with his muzzle. "Come on, get out," he insisted.

Once they were out on the stoop, he tried to get her to speak again as he sat next to her on the steps. "I won't tell anypony if you don't," he assured. "If you need a place to stay, there's room at my place," he pointed a hoof to the house right next to Lightning Dust's.

"I-I'm sorry," Fluttershy mumbled again, this time loud enough for him to hear her, if only barely. "I just-I wanted to talk to Lightning Dust… I d-didn't know she wasn't home."

"You're not from around here, are you?"

Fluttershy shook her head as she kept her gaze away from his. "Well…I-I was born here, but I live in-in Ponyville."

He sighed again. "You came a long way for naught," he told her. "There's a bunch of different stories, and I'm not sure which is true. Heh, I'm not sure any of them is true. All I know is that Lightning Dust hasn't been home in a week."

Fluttershy's jaw dropped. "She's…gone?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "The most common story I hear is that the Wonderbolts showed up and took off with her. They say she's going to be the newest Wonderbolt. I'm not so sure I believe them," he paused as he looked to the abandoned house. "She hasn't had anypony taking care of her house. Nopony's heard a word from her, either. Not so much as a letter. I don't know where she went or who took her there, but I'm pretty sure she isn't on her way to becoming a Wonderbolt."

"The Wonderbolts would never let her join—not after what she did," Fluttershy grumbled.

"What makes you say that?"

"O-oh, um…did I say that out loud?" she sheepishly asked as she blushed.

"I wouldn't call it 'loud', but you said it," he jokingly replied.

Fluttershy got up as she finally made eye contact with the other pegasus. "I-um… I should be going. I really shouldn't have come."

"Stay out of trouble," he encouraged as Fluttershy floated up off of the ground.

Fluttershy nodded her agreement as she flew off.

As Fluttershy headed home, her mind tried to make sense of the situation. Lightning Dust wasn't just absent from her home—she had apparently disappeared. If what that pony had said was true, Lightning Dust hadn't been seen since about the time of Rainbow Dash's accident. The rumor was that the Wonderbolts were involved, too. If she was going to get any answers, she would have to talk to Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts. But they were full-fledged celebrities. How was she supposed to confront them about the situation?