“I didn’t do it! I swear!”
Rainbow Dash’s continuous yells of protest were ignored completely, as the mare soon found herself thrown into an uninviting room. The alien environment screamed dark, damp and desolate as soon as her body planted, and an unrecognisable but murky scent filtered through her nostrils. She fought off a retch, before a loud clamp from behind vitalized her ears and senses.
She was trapped. Rainbow Dash was trapped.
She retorted in a heartbeat, rushing at the door and bashing on its cold, hard frame. She knew the officer on the other side had to be lapping up her misfortune.
The legendary Rainbow Dash locked up? This was absurd!
Rainbow Dash tugged fiercely on the bars, feeling her muscles burn. The steel rods did not budge an inch. She didn’t let that stop her, however, as she tried again, putting every ounce of energy she could muster to break her way out. If it took her all night, she would find freedom. Yes, she had to!
She didn’t even commit that crime. At least, she didn’t think she did. She was flying way too fast to see what had happened. And when she finally turns around to inspect the chaos, she finds herself being accused and getting arrested. She swore she didn’t do it. It must have all been a misunderstanding.
She grunted, pulling at the bars of steel even more. She felt tension in her hooves, straining to even attempt to nudge the giant rods. It was no use; she wasn’t strong enough to budge them. But she was determined to be free. She didn’t like being held against her will.
She banged against the bars, attempting to get the attention of whoever might be behind the locked door. “Hey! Let me out! I’m innocent!”
There was only one answer. A pony she hadn’t ever seen before emerged through the other side of the bars. He looked rather young, likely a fresh stallion just starting the job. She analysed him, knowing that she could easily take him if he even dared to enter. He didn’t even look that tough either.
He raised an object, which Rainbow Dash recognised as a nightstick. The smacking of the stick against the steel bars rang in her ears, making her flinch. “Hush!”
Rainbow Dash could really tell this stallion was a wimp. The way he shouted wasn’t even threatening, but he was on the fortunate side of the bars. She heard him walking away, hanging her head as her last chance of freedom slipped further away.
She was stuck here for the night. And for something she didn’t do.
“Why me?” she asked herself, dropping to the floor and planting her head in her hooves.
“...Something wrong?” a voice asked, rather quiet and abrupt. It wasn’t a pleasant voice, even sounding slightly unappealing.
“Yeah!” she bellowed, “These idiots have got the wrong pony!”
“...Is that so?”
Rainbow Dash snorted. “Don’t I know it...” She sighed, before realising that she had been talking to another presence. “Wait. Who’s there!?”
She darted her eyes across the jail cell, now finally seeing that her cell was conjoined with another. The other room was past another big set of steel bars, likely impenetrable. She couldn’t see the full room, as half of it was covered in darkness. The other half wasn’t particularly inviting either. But the structure of the other cell wasn’t her biggest concern.
She never saw traces of another pony in her surveillance of the other cell. That is, until she saw what looked like an outline of a figure moving in the shadows. She backed up slightly away from the crazy room, frightened of who this mystery pony was. If it was even a pony to begin with.
There was a laugh, as the figure seemed to edge closer towards the gap. “Don’t recognise me? I recognise you.”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t see the other occupant in their fullest, but that voice sounded so familiar. She knew she had heard it somewhere, and she was certain it was the voice of a mare. She definitely came into contact with this mare at some point. But this mare being one of her fans was very unlikely.
But truth be told, she was dumbstruck. She couldn’t recognise the mystery mare by the voice alone. “...Sorry.”
“Tut-tut-tut,” the voice replied, mocking her, “The great Rainbow Dash forgets who she ends up humiliating. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Rainbow Dash flared her wings in defence. She took it as an insult. “What are you talking about!? Who are you!?”
There was a brief pause before the voice spoke. “You don’t remember me at all? And here I thought the academy changed you.”
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, gazing into the figure in the darkness, trying to see who it was, only to be met with nothing. She could tell the mare made a sound of indignation, fully scoffing at her. To her, she must have found this extremely insulting.
But the academy.
She remembered a lot of it. Training to see if she had what it took to become a Wonderbolt. She performed at the top of her class, even eventually becoming a lead pony. But that only happened after she finally spoke her mind towards the other pegasus that took things too far. The pegasus that almost fell out with her.
Could it be...?
“Lightning Dust?” she called out to the darkness.
The other mare didn’t say anything, but moved closer towards her. Travelling through the border between light and shadow of her cell, her turquoise coat and amber mane became revealed. She didn’t look particularly happy. “It’s been a while.”
So it is Lightning Dust. Rainbow Dash hadn’t seen her since she dropped out of the academy. When she became effectively demoted from her lead pony status, she fell down the class. She never paid attention, even side-tracking a lot, and her performances lacked what they used to have. The energy in her was torn away.
Her life had changed after that. After all, her dream was to become a Wonderbolt the same as Rainbow Dash, and having that feeling of being at the top taken away from her must have disturbed her a lot. To her, Rainbow Dash must have taken her position, leaving her in the dust and humiliated.
She had quit the academy shortly after without a word. She never told Rainbow Dash, or any of her fellow trainees. She just up and left, leaving Rainbow Dash behind with questions. She had done so well too. She was easily a good candidate for the Wonderbolts, if only she worked on her attitude and cooperation. A determined flier who was agile and fast, definitely shaping up to be great material.
But that single moment must have got to her. And it seems now; she’s changed her life for the worse. After all, what is she doing in a cell? Something must have changed inside of her.
Rainbow Dash wanted to ask her everything. What happened after she left. Why she left in the first place. What had changed.
She wanted to ask, but she knew Lightning Dust would only scuffle with her, given her present behaviour.
Lightning Dust rose up a portion of her lip, slightly smug. “What’s wrong? Surprised?”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t respond. There was so much she wanted to say, but it just couldn’t be expressed.
However, the other mare wasn’t taking the lack of response too well. She knocked her hoof on the bar, the noise digging deep into Rainbow Dash’s skull. “Answer me!”
Rainbow Dash didn’t take the yelling or loud noise well, as she sprung up in anger. “What!?”
Lightning Dust kept her overarching position over Rainbow Dash, as she leant onto the bars separating them, taunting her. “What are you doing here?”
“I shouldn’t be here!” she protested, “I didn’t do anything.”
“Yeah. Sure” Lightning Dust mocked, attempting not to snicker at Rainbow Dash’s misfortune.
Rainbow Dash quickly gave up. She wasn’t willing to talk with a pony that would constantly scorn her, even if it was what she considered an old friend. She checked out her bed, seeing just what she was going to lie on for the night. It wasn’t particularly inviting, neither clean. She sighed, before lying down on it.
“Hey,” Lightning Dust continued as she kept knocking the bars, “Are you listening?”
Rainbow Dash attempted to ignore the constant banging of a hoof with steel, each one getting worse. Every bang distracted her more, the sound repeating in her head. It wasn’t long before it became a pounding noise, droning on and on. She ground her teeth, as she was losing patience in no time, certain she’d get a headache if it kept up.
She attempted to cover her ears with her hooves, but it didn’t help. Lightning Dust just knocked on the bars harder, looking even more satisfied as she did so. Rainbow Dash tried to curl up, to hide from the noise.
“Oh Rainbow Dash...” Lightning Dust called, almost singing it. “Why won’t you talk to me...?”
That did it.
Rainbow Dash took action, spreading her wings far and charging at the bars, causing Lightning Dust to jump in recoil. “You want to talk!? Huh!? Why don’t you start and tell me why you quit!?”
Lightning Dust, for a brief moment, looked like she had been hurt. Perhaps she made some bad decisions, and hid them up. She was a dedicated pony, always known for completing tasks.
But being called a quitter? That didn’t bode well with her.
She took action, rivalling almost the same as Rainbow Dash, bringing the two of them mere inches away. She did not look angry, but rather snarky. Maybe she just wanted to wind up Rainbow Dash, as some crazy scheme for revenge. But that memory of quitting wouldn’t stay hidden for long.
“If somepony hadn’t ratted me out...” she said, emphasising very clearly her point.
“I didn’t rat you out. I only told Spitfire of your dangerous behaviour” Rainbow Dash replied, not hiding the dangerous portion of her argument.
Lightning Dust pointed a hoof of accusation at Rainbow Dash. “Exactly! You betrayed me! We were a team and you...” She looked down. “You turned your back on me...”
Rainbow Dash seemed to lose her bad temper, as she questioned the odd change of emotion from Lightning Dust. “But I didn’t. You were going about everything the wrong way, turning reckless.”
“...But still.”
Rainbow Dash was stumped. Lightning Dust was... opening up? In all the time she knew her, she had always acted brave, never afraid of showing her positive energy. Has she changed? Was she responsible for this?
“I didn’t mean to get you demoted, but you were going about being a Wonderbolt all wrong. Placing yourself above others, not caring about them and putting them in danger. Even... my friends...”
Rainbow Dash hated that memory. They came to visit her, but were horribly greeted by a tornado she regrettably had a part in making. They fell, and they fell fast. She had acted immediately, managing to save them. But that event is permanently burned into her brain, only a scar of a terrible memory she wish she’d forget. Sometimes, she could still vision their screams as they fell when she looked at them.
“Friends...”
Rainbow Dash turned to Lightning Dust. She was sat on the ground, showing something Rainbow Dash hadn’t seen from her before. She looked in her eyes.
Was it sympathy? Was it sadness? Sorrow?
No. Rainbow Dash could clearly see it.
It was remorse.
But guilt? From Lightning Dust? She never once showed any form of shame after her actions. She even had the nerve to pretend her tornado idea was no big deal, offering a hoof bump to Rainbow Dash afterwards. Putting her friends in danger didn’t seem like a huge deal to her.
Rainbow Dash looked at her directly, with her doing the same in response. Only gazing into each other’s eyes, Rainbow Dash could see it within seconds. Lightning Dust never meant to hurt her friends, even if she denied her recklessness.
“Friends?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Lightning Dust’s expression turned to one of realisation, her irises shrinking. “What?” She twisted herself around, looking away from Rainbow Dash. “Leave me alone.”
Rainbow Dash could feel the uneasiness. Something had Lightning Dust down, and even if she was a bit of an arrogant pony, she still had to help her out. She couldn’t help feeling sympathy for the fellow pegasus. “What’s wrong?”
Lightning Dust did not reply.
“Hey. Come on” she assured her, squeezing her hoof through the bars to tap on Lightning Dust’s shoulder.
Rainbow Dash understood why Lightning Dust remained silent for a while. She felt cold, given her surroundings. The silence and emptiness filled the room, just making her feel bad. What happened to Lightning Dust?
She didn’t know how long it was before Lightning Dust actually moved, sighing as she forced herself up. She couldn’t blame her for taking her time. Something occupied her mind, and given her nature, admitting it might be hard for her to do. She knew, because she saw herself in Lightning Dust. They acted very much like one another, but they still had their differences. She had learnt that the hard way.
“I’m sorry...” she got out, at a level of a whisper.
“...Sorry? For what?”
Lightning Dust looked hurt. In the moment, it seemed like a bad decision she had made came back to haunt her periodically. “For your friends...”
Rainbow Dash remained standing strong, but caring. “You mean the tornado?”
Lightning Dust hung her head and nodded.
Rainbow Dash sighed. This is what must have Lightning Dust shaken up. Even though she never showed it, she must have felt really guilty at putting Rainbow Dash’s friends in danger. That is why she must have become so side-tracked afterwards. Why she severed most of her contact with Rainbow Dash.
Why she ran away. Because she was full of guilt.
But was it the only reason?
Rainbow Dash saw the slightest formation of a tear emerging in Lightning Dust’s eyes. How could she have not seen this coming for her? Even though she forgave her for her actions, she never knew how Lightning Dust truly felt. She was a friend. Not on the level of her best friends, but a friend nonetheless.
She knew Lightning Dust was brave, just like her, even not more so. That’s how she knew Lightning Dust could fight the tears that threatened to take her over. Brave ponies don’t cry after all. But at this point, she needed somepony. She needed a friend.
She needed Rainbow Dash.
“Hey,” Rainbow Dash said, placing her hoof on Lightning Dust’s shoulder again, “What’s wrong?”
Lightning Dust didn’t fight the hoof, rather welcoming it. Passing off what she could muster as a smile, she turned back around to face Rainbow Dash. The magenta eyes she wore that welcomed her and the way she looked at them.
They told her. They assured her... that everything would be alright.
She took a moment, preparing herself. “I don’t. I don’t have any friends...”
Rainbow Dash was shocked. Did she just hear her say that? “What are you talking about? Of course you have friends.”
Lightning Dust shook her head. “No. I’ve always been a solo pony.” She looked up, almost like she was happy. “But when I saw you save your friends. And the way they were there for you...”
Rainbow Dash didn’t say a word, while Lightning Dust faced her again. “It made me realise, just how nice it is to have friends. But... I don’t have any...”
Lightning Dust looked at the hoof placed on her, before pushing at away. She backed off slightly, feeling lonely. She sighed as she looked into the darkness of her cell.
Empty. Dark. Just like her heart. She never had any friends, and never wanted to. She liked to work alone, rather than with others. She always thought that other ponies slowed her down. The very idea of friendship never really came across to her, until she truly saw what Rainbow Dash was like with her friends. She was envious of Rainbow Dash, wishing she could have friends of her own. But she knew nopony would want to be her friend with the way she acts.
Nopony else in her cell. Darkness filling most of it. It’s where she felt she belonged. Forgotten.
Lightning Dust paused when she heard Rainbow Dash hit the bars with her hoof. She only turned her head, curious to see what the pegasus had to say. If she wanted revenge for what she had lashed out with earlier, she’d take it. There wasn’t anything she could do at this point that didn’t already haunt her.
“You stop that right now!” Rainbow Dash yelled, a deep frown on her face, “I know that isn’t you!”
Lightning Dust raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“The Lightning Dust I know wouldn’t ever give up! She wouldn’t be seen here all alone and moping around. What happened to you?”
“I told you, I-“
“And! You do have a friend!”
Lightning Dust blinked. “Huh?”
Rainbow Dash pointed to herself. “Are we not friends?”
Lightning Dust furrowed her brow slightly. “You... you’d consider me a friend?”
“Of course! Yes you might have a bad attitude at times, and all of the incidents you caused weren’t ideal. But ask yourself. Did we not have fun at the academy? What made us so close?”
“...Our dream to become a Wonderbolt? To be the best of the best?”
“That’s true yes. We also have so much in common. After all, we were partnered up for a reason. Not only were we the top of our class, but we both had that little extra thing. Determination. We were both driven hard by our goal. Do you not remember that?”
“...I do.”
“Exactly. It’s true we have our differences, and we might want to achieve something on a different level, but we get along so well. You’re one of the only ponies I know who can achieve something similar to myself. I’m proud to call you my friend.”
Rainbow Dash’s words hit Lightning Dust hard. She was a friend to her? She never would have thought about it, considering she didn’t talk with her that much after the incident. But could it all be true? Do they really get along so well that they can be friends?
Is she actually already a friend?
Rainbow Dash watched as Lightning Dust stood there confronting herself. What she said must have been something deep to her. But she was right. Lightning Dust can always be considered her friend, even if she was extreme at times.
“...I don’t know what to say” Lightning Dust said, almost too quiet.
Rainbow Dash knew she had done right. Her lips turned to one of a smile. “Are you happy?”
That question surveyed in Lightning Dust’s mind for a while. Was she happy? Of course she didn’t like her current location. But Rainbow Dash’s words...
They spoke to her. Yes. She was happy.
Lightning Dust turned and made her way back towards Rainbow Dash, the frown gone. “Thank you Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash took a seat by the bars separating them, before motioning Lightning Dust to join her. The pegasus joined her shortly after, only the bars in between them. Rainbow Dash, now with her perked up mood, leant out a hoof through the bars to Lightning Dust.
Lightning Dust was confused at the offer, before she realised what it was. With the smile fully returning to her, she gave Rainbow Dash the hoof bump she had been graciously offered. She liked it. It was ages since she last did that with Rainbow Dash, but it already felt like old times. She didn’t know how she could possibly thank her.
“Say,” Rainbow Dash said after their action of friendship, “How about we go flying after we get out of here? Just the two of us?”
Lightning Dust sat there, absorbing the offer. She and Rainbow Dash. Both of them talented and fast fliers. They both got that from the academy.
“I’d... I’d like that” she responded, her eyes meeting Rainbow Dash’s.
Rainbow Dash nodded, satisfied. She had made her amends with Lightning Dust, even though she already liked the pegasus. Lightning Dust obviously wasn’t in a good position in life, and needed a boost.
Rainbow Dash was her boost. Rainbow Dash was her friend.
“Hey...” Lightning Dust began, rubbing the back of her head, “Why don’t you tell me what those friends of yours are like? It’d be... nice to hear.”
“You mean my friends who came to visit me?”
“Yeah...” Lightning Dust replied, uncomfortable with the memory of the tornado.
“Sure!” Rainbow Dash responded, ready to tell Lightning Dust about her best friends. It was going to be a long night, and she would ramble for hours, but she didn’t care.
Lightning Dust looked back at Rainbow Dash, as she began to tell tales of her and her friends. Listening to what exciting stories she had would get her back in the game, aiming to get friends. She could change her approach, learning to loosen up. She’d like that.
She’d like that a lot.