//------------------------------//
// Chapter Three 
// Story: A Simple Flap of the Wings 
// by Heart Felt 
//------------------------------//

        Rainbow Dash approached Sugarcube Corner and opened the door. The bell rang, and she was greeted by two of her friends, Applejack and Rarity. “Howdy Rainbow! Come and join us for tea!” Applejack called.
        The pegasus walked to the table the two were seated at and also sat down. Rarity poured her a cup of tea using magic. Dash took a sip, but found that it didn’t taste like anything. “Darling, how have you been? We haven’t spoken in ages!” Rarity asked in her usual melodramatic sounding voice.
        “But Rarity, we talked just two days ago! You know I’ve been in the hospital!” Dash responded. “I’m doing awesome though!” She took another sip of the oddly tasteless tea, which Applejack seemed to be really enjoying.
        The white unicorn seemed annoyed at the loud slurping noises. “Must you do that?” She huffed.
        Applejack stopped her slurping and huffed back. “Where I come from, slurping is a sign of respect! It means that whatever you’re slurping is really, really good!” She stated and went back to slurping.
        Rarity rolled her eyes. “Anyways…” She took a petite sip of tea, “I’ve invited Twilight over to chat with us!” 
        Dash spit out the tea she had been drinking all over the two ponies in front of her. “What!” Her breathing became shallow and fast. Whatever had her feeling cool and collected before suddenly left. Panic swept over her, but she couldn’t place a hoof on why. It was on the tip of her tongue! Why was she always so forgetful?
        “Golly girl!” The earth pony hollered. “I know you two had a bit of a falling out after that accident, but I know it ain’t all that bad!” She scooted her chair closer to Rainbow Dash and spoke quietly. “All you gotta do is tell her that you’re sorry. She’s an understanding pony, she’ll see where you’re coming from.”
        “But Applejack!” The pegasus pony said in between gasps. “I can’t say sorry to Twilight!”
        “Why not?” Insisted Applejack.
        “Because Twilight is… is…”
        Suddenly, the door to Sugarcube Corner opened. Standing there was Princess Twilight Sparkle, ready to meet with the ponies inside.
        Dash screamed.




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        Covered from head to hoof in cold sweat, Rainbow Dash woke suddenly from her dream. Emotion crashed over her as the events that took place on the mountain flooded back into her memory. Tears flowed openly down her cheeks and she began hyperventilating. “Twilight…”  She sniffed. “...Why?”
        The pegasus pony laid face down on the couch and wallowed in sorrow.  She bawled and sobbed. The cold sweat dried on her coat and caused her to shiver and shake more than she would have normally. Her dream repeated over and over again in her head, each replay becoming more and more exaggerated. Soon she was tossing and turning on the couch, crying silently.
        Eventually the overwhelming sadness departed enough for her to start thinking about other things. Slowly but surely, her mind dug itself out of the ditch it had dug. First she thought about Twilight’s funeral. When would it be? How many ponies would show up? Applejack probably knew. Applejack! She promised Applejack that she would visit as soon as possible. Maybe talking to the earth pony would make her feel better.
        But Dash continued laying on the couch. She wanted to get up, but at the same time she just wanted to lay there a little bit longer. Applejack would understand if she didn’t come over today. Just a little bit longer…
        Then her stomach growled. “Come on!” Dash exclaimed. She forced herself to get up and stretch. The rainbow maned mare shuffled slowly to the front door and opened it. The Summer heat hit her and she once more considered staying home. Her hunger edged her forward, and she took off towards Sweet Apple Acres.




-~-




        Flying to Applejack’s farm felt like a chore. Dash’s body felt heavier than usual, and she felt bored and tired. Though the flight took all of ten minutes, it felt like ten hours. Finally the pegasus arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack was busy tending to the orchard, but spotted the rainbow maned mare and waved. “Howdy Rainbow!” She yelled. Dash landed gently next to the farmer. “Good to see you! How you feeling?” Applejack asked.
        “I’m alright.” Rainbow Dash answered. “I just woke up from a nap. I had the weirdest dream!” She explained.
        Applejack laughed. “Oh you and your crazy dreams! Next you’ll be telling me about how you had a dream about Pinkie drugging you and gutting you or something crazy like that!”
        Dash cringed. She couldn’t imagine what she’d do if she had a dream like that. “Yeah… Anyway, what do you want to do?”
        The earth pony pondered. “I don’t know. I just wanted to talk or something.”
        “Like, hang out?” Dash questioned.
        “Yeah, I guess. I thought you’d be curious about, you know, Twily’s funeral and whatnot.” Applejack replied.
        The pegasus pony looked sadly at the grass below her. “I was wondering about that…”
        “But we don’t have to talk about it if it makes you too sad, it isn’t for a while.” The blonde mare stated. “It takes them a bit to arrange a sudden funeral for a princess, they’re as new to this as the rest of us are.”
        “N-No, it’s fine. I’m fine with discussing it. In fact, that’s what I came over here for.” Rainbow Dash explained. “Mind if we go inside? It’s getting hot out here.”
        “Sure thing, sugarcube.” Applejack replied, and the pair made their way inside the Apple family’s small home.
        The kitchen was small. Even with just the two mares inside it felt cramped. Being packed so tightly together during meals surely brought the Apples closer, both figuratively and literally. Dash and Applejack took seats at the table in the center of the room.
        “So, what all is planned for… Twilight’s… you know?” Dash asked.
        Applejack shook her head. “Well, like I told you before, not much is certain. Rarity is doing a lot of collaborating with the princesses to make sure all of it’s done right.” She cleared her throat. “What I do know is…”
        Rainbow Dash looked down at her lap. The earth pony’s words all jumbled together. “...There will only be a few of us…” The pegasus pony’s mind was racing, and didn’t have the capacity to decipher whatever it was her friend was going on about.
        This wouldn’t be happening if I hadn’t made Twilight try flying like that. What was I thinking? She studied her hooves under the table. Twilight even knew that something was wrong. I should have listened to her. I should have.
        “Hey.” The rainbow maned mare was brought out of her train of thought. “You alright?” Applejack looked extremely concerned.
        Dash stroked her face and found that it was wet. Had she been crying? “Uh- yeah, I’m fine.” She stammered.
        The blonde mare moved closer to Dash and began to comfort her. “I know that this kind of stuff is real sad.” Applejack sounded choked up. “Twilight was our friend, your friend. She loved all of us, as much as we loved her.” Now Applejack was crying. “But you can’t let it get to you. She would have wanted you to move on just as much as you want to grieve. If you keep thinking about it, you’ll get really sick, and nopony wants that.”
        Dash was speechless. Tears flowed openly down her cheeks as she tried to come up with something to say. Thousands of sentences raced through her head, but none of them could make their way out of her mouth.
        Instead of waiting for a response, Applejack pulled Rainbow Dash into a hug. Dash began sobbing. Applejack cried quietly, holding the pegasus close and tight.

        She was sure that they’d get through this together.