High up in the clouds, a yellow pegasus filly sat on the cloud bleachers as all the other young ponies practiced there flight techniques. She let out a sad sigh as she watched them. It was only the first day of Flight Camp, and she had already been teased about her weak flying ability. She unfolded her scrawny wings and looked down at them wistfully, all of the other students' taunts and jibes seeming brutally honest to her now.
As she let her wings fold back to her sides, a small noise caught her attention. It sounded like sniffling, but she couldn't be sure. As she paid more attention to the slight sound, she realized that it was coming from beneath her hooves, underneath the very bleachers she was sitting on. Her curiosity pricked, she did a little hop-skip-glide to the edge of the seats and poked her head over, attempting to find the source of the sad noise.
There, sitting with her back to the filly, was another young pegasus. Her coat was blue, and she sported the most beautiful mane the filly had ever seen before, with all the colors of the rainbow streaked through it. It was from this prismatic pegasus that the sniffling was coming from. She was obviously upset about something.
The yellow filly hopped off the bleachers and glided down to land a good ten feet away from the upset pony. She wasn't sure what she was planning to do, but she had to try something to cheer her up.
"Oh my. What's the matter? Are you hurt?"
"G-g-go a-away" the little pegasus ordered through broken sobs.
Normally, the timid and borderline-antisocial filly would be more than willing to obey such a command. But there was something, some nurturing instinct inside of her, that told her she could not just abandon a pony in need. And this little cyan pegasus was clearly in need.
"Maybe if you told me what was bothering you, we could--"
"STOP PRETENDING TO BE NICE TO ME!" The yellow filly reeled back in surprise from the sudden outburst. The rainbow pony was now standing and facing her accusingly, tears still streaming from her rose-tinted eyes and down her face. "That's what they all do! They pretend to be nice to me. They act like they're my friends. And then the second I mess up? WHAM! They're pointing and laughing and calling me names! So just go away! I don't need fake friends, and I don't need pity. I don't need anything, 'cause I'm... 'cause I'm..." She sat back down with her back once more to the shocked filly, letting her ears droop in sadness. "'Cause I'm the coolest pony around" she finished quietly, sorrowful yet resolute at the same time.
The cyan pegasus closed her eyes and waited like that. She waited for her to say something cruel, or to fly away and leave her forever. A few moments passed before she heard the soft rustle of feathers and the telltale sounds of a pegasus taking off behind her. She sighed, though whether in relief or disappointment she could not be sure. What if she really was trying to be nice to me? the filly thought idly. What if I just threw away my one chance at having a true friend? Agh, come on. When are you gonna learn your lesson? No pony's ever gonna be your fri--
Her eyes shot wide open as warm hooves and soft wings gently wrapped around the filly from behind. It was the warmest embrace she had ever received. That one simple action conveyed the loving and caring nature of a parent, the kinship and protectiveness of a sibling, and the understanding and trust of a friend. Friend...
Instead of struggling or trying to escape the yellow filly's hug, she simply sank into it, now openly weeping without any restraint. It was an odd and unique sensation for her, to be this painfully open and honest with anypony nearby. But, somehow, it just seemed right. It was as if she could share anything with this pony, a pony that she didn't even know, and she would never be judged or ridiculed for doing so.
The yellow filly waited patiently until all of the pony's tears were spent before ending the embrace. "Feel better?" she asked in genuine concern.
She nodded in response. "Yeah, thanks" she sniffed. "You must think I'm really uncool, crying like a little foal..."
"Not at all. Even the cool ponies feel like crying sometimes" she said sagely with a smile.
"Hehe. You know, you're alright. I'm sorry I acted like such a jerk to you earlier."
"Oh, I don't mind. But are you better now?" she asked with a worried frown. "Do you want to talk about why you were over here crying?"
She gave a tired sigh. "My name's Rainbow Dash, see? But everyone calls me Rainbow Crash, just because my landings aren't always the best." The little filly sniffed again, still trying to reign in her tears in an attempt of keeping up her tough persona.
"I think Rainbow Dash is a very pretty name" the yellow pegasus replied honestly. "At least your name isn't something plain or boring like Fluttershy."
"Are you kidding me?" Dash burst out. "I wish my name was half as beautiful as that!" The shy pegasus blushed at the unintentional compliment. "By the way" Rainbow continued, wiping the last of her tears away. "You never told me your name."
"Oh, um... It's Fluttershy..."
"Oh..." was all Dash could say before an awkward silence enveloped them.
Dash was the first one to break the uncomfortable silence. "Hey, um... Do you think you could, maybe, not tell anypony that I was crying? It's bad for my rep., you know..." Fluttershy smiled and nodded in understanding. "And, uh... maybe, we could... talk again later? You know... about feelings, and... stuff?"
Fluttershy's smile broadened at that. "That's what friends are for."
~~~
Rainbow Dash wiped away a tear at the memory as she approached the library. That's exactly what friends are for... to be there when you need them... to cheer you up... to listen to your problems... everything that I've failed to do for Fluttershy. My first true friend. Well don't worry, 'Shy. I've learned my lesson. I'm gonna be there for you no matter what from now on. I'll be the best friend you deserve. I'll--
Dash reached her destination and stopped outside of one of the libraries many windows, and what she saw inside broke her heart. Twilight was embracing Fluttershy, and the pegasus was crying into her shoulder, letting out all of the pent-up emotion inside of her, just as Dash herself had done all those years ago. The crushing reality that hit Rainbow right then nearly made her wings stop working.
She had been replaced.
When Dash was a filly, Fluttershy had been there for her, been there to embrace her and comfort her. Now, all these years later, she had failed to uphold her end of their unspoken agreement. She had failed to be there. To hold her. To comfort her. And in her absence? When Fluttershy had needed a friend most? She turned to Twilight. Rainbow was too late, and now their friendship had been diminished, tarnished and turned dull. Never again would she be the one for Fluttershy to confide in, and vice-versa. How could Dash ever hope to confide in 'Shy, when she was incapable of returning the favor?
Rainbow was forced to land as the weight of her utter failure and all that entailed began to pile on top of her. Broken and defeated, she turned and began to walk away, head hung low and a dark cloud of despair floating overhead.
Dash hadn't gotten very far when she heard somepony galloping straight towards her. She lifted her head somewhat to see who it was, more for her own safety rather than actually caring. She found it hard to care about anything at the moment. To her slight surprise, she found Rarity standing in front of her. Her mane was disheveled and she was gasping for breath. Rainbow idly realized that if Rarity had ran straight here from the boutique, she must have flown all the way to Fluttershy's cottage and then to the library in about a minute. Huh. Nope, still couldn't care.
Aside from looking like she could drop dead at any moment, Rarity looked pissed. "YOU! Irrational, feather-brained, reckless FOAL of a pony! If you've said anything to hurt Fluttershy's feelings, I'll... I'll..." She trailed off as Rainbow continued walking right past her, head once again hung low. "What... What happened? Rainbow? Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow just kept on walking, not feeling any desire to chat with anypony at that moment. Anypony except one... but she would be lucky if she ever saw Fluttershy again after the way she failed her.
Rarity's apprehension grew by the second as she watched her friend's departure. What in Equestria could have caused her such sadness? She was afraid to hear the answer to that question.
Judging from the direction that Rainbow had been walking in, Rarity assumed she had just left the library. So she headed towards the massive tree house, steeling herself for whatever she would find there.
At first everything seemed normal when she arrived, but as she was about to knock on the front door, she could hear the distinct sound of Fluttershy crying inside. Throwing caution to the wind, Rarity flung the door wide open with her magic and galloped inside. She was met by the shocked looks of both Fluttershy and Twilight, still embracing each other, albeit feeling slightly more awkward about it with the addition of a third pony. Rarity was oblivious to this in her current worry for her fragile friend.
"Fluttershy! Oh Fluttershy, darling, you mustn't blame yourself! It was me who told Rainbow Dash about the voice, and then, well, you know how reckless she gets. She just flew out my door before I could convince her otherwise! She really was only trying to help. If only I had never opened my big mouth, she would never have come here!"
"Wait, Rainbow Dash was here?" Fluttershy asked, obviously surprised.
Rarity's brain did a double take, and all she could manage to say was "...huh?"
"Wait, you didn't tell Dash about the voice?" Twilight asked Fluttershy, sounding the most surprised of them all.
"I haven't seen Rainbow all week" Fluttershy replied defensively (or as defensively as Fluttershy could).
"Why did you think Dash had been here?" Twilight asked, returning her attention to Rarity.
"Because I saw her leaving the... Why was Fluttershy crying?"
"What's all the commotion?" Spike asked from the stairs. "Oh, hey Rarity. Want a sandwich?"
"That's it, time out" Twilight said, putting an end to the questions. "We need to get everypony together right now and get everything out in the open."
"Marvelous idea. Maybe then I can stop making matters worse" Rarity added with only the slightest hint of sarcasm.
Fluttershy was still scared of what her friends would think when she told them she had a voice in her head. Although the only ones who didn't know by now were Applejack and Pinkie Pie. "Oh, um, I don't know..."
"Don't worry, Fluttershy" Twilight assured her. "Your friends will be right next to you every step of the way."
Fluttershy smiled gently, bolstered by her words. But Twilight still didn't have the power to turn her uncomfortably sad feelings into uncomfortably happy ones. Only one pony in all of Equestria had the power to do that.