Rainbow Dash flew over Ponyville more slowly than usual. She wasn't practicing any stunts or trying to impress anypony right now; she was looking for her best friend. She had checked Fluttershy's cottage first, but the yellow pegasus was nowhere to be seen. Angel didn't even know her whereabouts. The library, the boutique, even the Cutie Mark Crusaders' club house; Fluttershy had well and truly vanished. Now Rainbow floated over the town, sweeping the roads with one last glance before returning to Sugar Cube Corner to meet up with Applejack and Pinkie, who were searching for their friend as well.
Rainbow Dash's chest tightened a little when she didn't see Fluttershy's cream-colored coat among them.
"I take it you guys didn't find her either" Dash said upon landing.
Applejack shook her head, her worry evident on her face. "Nope, couldn't find the little pegasus anywhere."
"Even Gummy doesn't know where she went" Pinkie Pie added dejectedly, her usual smile replaced by a worried frown.
"Darn it!" Applejack suddenly burst out, kicking the dirt with her fore-hoof. "This is all ma fault! Ah know how she can get. Ah should never have lost ma patience like that."
"No, it's my fault" Rainbow conceded. "I shouldn't have egged you on. I know how much she hates arguments."
"Well I think it's nopony's fault!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, regaining a bit of her normal energy.
Rainbow looked surprised while Applejack raised an eyebrow at her. "An' just how do ya figure that?"
"Did you HEAR Fluttershy shout? She was upset about a lot more stuff than just one little argument."
"Well, what else could'a been eat'n at her?" Applejack wondered aloud.
"Don't know, but whatever it is, it's a doozie." Pinkie gasped. "Maybe even BIGGER than a doozie! like-- like-- a doozie of a doozie!"
"No way" Rainbow Dash said, stamping a hoof with conviction. "If 'Shy had something big like that bothering her, she would have told me. We've been friends for, like, ever. She tells me everything."
"Maybe..." Applejack said, tapping her chin with a hoof thoughtfully. "Did either of ya notice her acting at all strange lately?"
"well, she was a little mopey this morning," Dash admitted, rubbing a hoof along the back of her mane self-consciously. "But that's just Fluttershy being Fluttershy. Right?" The way she asked at the end made it sound as if she were trying to convince herself more than them.
"Don't know" Pinkie Pie replied. "But somepony's gotta give her a hug, and I'm just the pony for the job!" With that, the pink pony charged away to continue the search for the missing pegasus.
"You think she was right, about something else bothering Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked, sounding more concerned than she would have liked.
"Ah'm not sure, but the more Ah think about it the more sense it makes. Anyway, let's keep on looking. Ah can't stand the thought of the poor girl all alone, crying her heart out."
Dash nodded in agreement and took off to continue her search. Don't worry Fluttershy, I'm coming...
~~~
Fluttershy lay at the base of a large tree in the middle of the Everfree Forest, all alone and crying her heart out, just as Applejack had feared. Without even the company of her woodland creatures, she had never felt this alone since she was a filly. Stupid Fluttershy spoke a little voice in the back of her mind. Stupid, pathetic Fluttershy. You don't deserve your friends. All you deserve is to spend the rest of your life alone like this.
"No. You're wrong" Fluttershy fought back, still crying into her hooves. "My friends... My friends love me... They would do anything for me..."
Oh really? Remember how Applejack hated you when you couldn't find the courage to even talk to one of your so called "friends"?
"She... She didn't hate--"
Ooh, and how about that argument between Rainbow and AJ? That was fun. Do you remember why they started arguing in the first place?
"..."
That's right. It was because of you. You destroyed their years worth of friendship in mere moments. Doesn't that make you feel awful?
"...Stop..."
Stop? But we haven't even gotten to the best part yet. The way you shouted at your "best friends", it was hateful. It was disgusting. It was exhilarating.
"Stop it..."
But what's really fun is that deep down, you loved shouting at them like that. As much as it killed you to raise your voice, you couldn't help but feel that one little glimmer of satisfaction, of being that final hammer that drove the wedge between them, the final act that shattered their friendship forever. Face it, Fluttershy. You aren't kind at all--
"SHUT UP!"
...
Silence returned to the forest as Fluttershy's thoughts took her words to heart. But were those really her thoughts? She prayed to Celestia that they were something, anything, else. She truly wanted to believe that everything was alright, that if she went back to Sugar Cube Corner right now, her friends would still be there, laughing together and having a good time.
But what if the voice was right? What if she really had destroyed all their friendships? Her heart was already broken, as was her mind if the voice was any indication. She really didn't think she would be able to handle it if their friendship was broken, too.
Fluttershy fell back into her quiet sobbing as the possible repercussions of her actions assaulted her mind. She didn't notice the soft wing beats or the gentle disturbance of the air around her as four hooves landed gently on the ground beside her.
"...Fluttershy?"
Instead of jumping or turning or doing anything that might have registered as surprise, Fluttershy merely buried her face even further into her hooves. "I thought I told you to shut up" she said quietly.
Her friend's words hurt Rainbow Dash more than she thought anything possibly could. It was as if an ice cold knife had been plunged into her heart.
"Flutters', I..."
Too late did Fluttershy notice that the words she heard did not originate from her mind, but instead from the cyan pegasus standing beside her. She suddenly panicked, realizing how her words probably sounded like they were directed towards Dash.
"Rainbow! No, I wasn't talking to you! I was talking to myself again! I would never, ever tell you to, um, be quiet! I'm really, really sor--"
Her apology was quickly cut off as Rainbow Dash wrapped her in a warm embrace, her own eyes shimmering as she appeared to be on the verge of crying as well. Fluttershy was speechless for a several moments as a light heat began to rise in her cheeks, the sudden action completely taking her by surprise. A hug was the last thing she would have ever expected after everything that she had done. Let alone a hug from the self-proclaimed "coolest pony in Ponyville".
"I know" Dash said softly, her immense relief held in those two little words. The two mares simply sat there for a while, Rainbow Dash with her hooves wrapped softly around Fluttershy, who had no objections whatsoever.
Eventually Dash ended the moment, releasing Fluttershy from the hug, much to the mare's disappointment. "I'm really glad I found you, 'Shy. You really had us all worried."
"Oh, I'm sorry" Fluttershy apologized as she wiped a hoof across her eyes to dry them. "Um, how did you find me? If you don't mind me asking."
"I was flying over the forest looking for you when I heard you shout."
"Oh" Fluttershy said, her mind revisiting the very unpleasant conversation she had had with herself. "Are... Are Pinkie Pie and Applejack mad at me?"
"What!?" Rainbow exclaimed, shocked that Fluttershy was even worried about that. "Are you kidding? They were just as worried about you as I was. In fact they're out there looking for you right now."
Fluttershy's eyes widened in surprise. "They are!? I thought they'd be upset at me for causing that argument and then raising my voice..."
"'Shy, you had nothing to do with that argument. AJ was just being impatient, and I was just being stubborn. Simple as that. And besides..." Dash's eyes softened. "We could never stay mad at you. Sure, we might get a little annoyed from time to time, but we will always be your friends. Besides, you're the nicest pony in all of Equestria. It isn't even possible to ever not like you."
Fluttershy felt the heat rise in her cheeks once more and she dropped her gaze to avoid Dash's eyes. Just like this morning, Dash had somehow managed to change her uncomfortably sad feelings into uncomfortably happy ones. Now if she could just get rid of the uncomfortable part, her life would be perfect.
"Come on" Dash said as she stood and stretched her wings. "Let's get back to Ponyville. We should probably let AJ and Pinkie know that they can stop looking for you now." Dash grinned at the thought of the two ponies on a wild goose chase.
Fluttershy nodded, standing as well and returning Dash's grin, though she smiled for other reasons.
On second thought, she could deal with the uncomfortable feeling. With Rainbow Dash beside her, her life was already perfect.
The voice she had heard was far from her mind as she flew back to Ponyville with her best friend.