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// Chapter Five 
// Story: A Simple Flap of the Wings 
// by Heart Felt 
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        Awaking from a dreamless sleep, Rainbow Dash rolled around lazily and tangled herself up in the sheets. She opened her mouth wide and yawned. Shifting off of the bed, the pegasus shook off the blankets onto the floor and trotted into the bathroom. After cleaning herself up, she made her way into the kitchen and fixed herself some oat cereal. 
Dash sat at her kitchen table in solitude. The events of the night before slowly came back to her. She ate slowly spoonful by spoonful as she pondered how exactly she would be able to get the help she knew she needed. Would I even be able to get any real help? Nopony can just fix another pony’s thoughts. The rainbow maned mare looked down sadly. What if I can’t be fixed? She finished her breakfast and headed for the front door.
The pegasus opened the door and peered outside. It was a bit damp from the storm the night before, but otherwise it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining through a few clouds making it warm yet pleasant. There was a slight breeze that flowed through Dash’s mane and gave her goosebumps. She stretched her wings in preparation to fly. The moment she took off, instinct took over. She soared quickly to her destination, thinking of what to say once she got there. The more anxious she became, the longer the journey seemed to take.
        After what felt like an hour, Rainbow Dash arrived at Sugarcube Corner. She walked in the door and the bell to signal an arrival rang. Mrs. Cake greeted her. “Hey there Rainbow! Haven’t seen you around in a while.” She put down a tray of pastries on the counter. “Pinkie Pie! Rainbow Dash is 3here!” The pink maned mare called.
        “Coming!” Dash heard her friend yell from another part of the building. Pinkie suddenly appeared behind her. “Heya Dashie!” Dash yelped and jumped.
        “Pinkie, there is no need to startle your friend like that!” Mrs. Cake stated with concern. Pinkie Pie huffed.
        Dash shook her head. “It’s no big deal Mrs. Cake. I’m used to Pinkie. After all, we’re best friends! I just haven’t seen her in a while, that’s all.” She turned to look at the party pony. “You wanna go hang out someplace?”
        The pink earth pony bounced with excitement. “You haven’t wanted to do anything in a while! What do you want to do? Play pranks, have me watch some of your stunts?” 
        “Well, I was thinking that maybe we could just talk, you know?” The rainbow maned mare responded. 
        “That sounds good, let’s go!” Pinkie lead Dash out the door, and the two walked out into town.


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        Ponies were everywhere. Street vendors pushed their goods towards families who would quickly refuse the offer and scuttle away. Pegasi flew over the crowds of earth and unicorn ponies below. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie stayed shoulder to shoulder in order to keep from losing each other in the masses.
        “Then I said, you’ve got to be kidney me!” Pinkie laughed hysterically.
        The pegasus pony laughed. “It sounds like you really enjoyed your anatomy class!”
        “Yeah, the dissections were the best part!” The party pony answered. Most of the conversation they had was one-sided, Pinkie doing most of the talking. Dash didn’t mind, however she wished that she had more to say. Once they got to where ever they were going she was sure to be talking more.
        There were fewer ponies and fewer buildings as the two finally made it out of town. They settled beneath an old tree near a stream. It was warmer than before, but in the shade of the tree it was nice and cool.
        “I thought that here would be a nice place to chat.” Pinkie Pie explained. “I can tell that you want to talk about something super serious.”
        Dash cocked her head. “How could you tell that?”
        “My Pinkie Sense, of course! My left knee is itchy.” She scratched her knee for emphasis. “Anyway, what’s up?” She asked, face full of wonder.
        The blue pegasus sighed. “I don’t know if you’ll really understand where I’m coming from, but just hear me out.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “This might be a little hard for me to talk about, so please bear with me.”
        “Everyday when I wake up, every single day, I wish I hadn’t. I always have these terrible dreams that make me not want to go to sleep even though I wish I could just sleep forever. I don’t like my job anymore, I barely like hanging out with my friends anymore, heck, I don’t even like to fly anymore!” Her voice began to crack and her face felt hot. “This all started after Twilight died.” She began to sob.
        Pinkie Pie leaned in close to Rainbow Dash and hugged her. “I know you’re sad about Twilight, Dashie. Everybody is.” She leaned back and made a pouty face at the pegasus. “But it is kind of bad to feel that sad.
        Dash huffed. “You’re telling me.”
        “It might not seem like it, but I was about as sad as you are once.” The party pony began to explain. The rainbow maned mare looked on in disbelief as Pinkie began her story.
        “Before I threw my first party and got my cutie mark, thanks to you, my life sounds like it was about as bleak as yours sounds. Working on a rock farm is not all it’s cracked up to be.” Pinkie stated. Dash had never really thought about what it must have been like to work on a place called a rock farm. The earth pony continued. “Everyday I’d wake up at dawn with my sisters and start my work. It was not very fun…” Dash could’ve sworn she saw Pinkie’s balloon-like mane deflate a little. “While I loved my family and they loved me, they were also not too fun to be around. Me and my sisters would play games like kick-the-rock and who-can-throw-the-rock-the-farthest, but those got boring after a while. Plus we got in trouble for playing with the produce.” The party pony sighed. “Sometimes I just didn’t want to wake up to another boring day.”
        Rainbow Dash was surprised. She knew that Pinkie Pie’s life wasn’t all that great before she earned her cutie mark, but she didn’t know that it affected her so much. She always seemed so optimistic.
        “My life back then doesn’t sound as bad as yours does now, but I still asked for some advice.” At this statement, Dash saw Pinkie’s mane perk back up. “My dad took me to town after I threw my first party because I was still feeling down and he was worried. I went to a counselor and they suggested that I move to a larger town, so they helped me find Mr. and Mrs. Cake and they let me move in and gave me a job.” Pinkie smiled once more. “I’m so thankful I was able to change my life that day. Otherwise, I would have never found you or all my other friends!”
        The pegasus pony pondered what her pink friend had just told her. “That’s good I guess.” She acknowledged. “But… You weren’t dealing with what I’m dealing with.” 
        “You’re right, I wasn’t. I still don’t know what you’re dealing with.” Pinkie replied.
        Dash let out a breath. “Pinkie Pie… It’s my fault that Twilight died.” Tears continued to roll down her cheeks as she admitted her mistakes. Retelling the story of that fateful day was emotionally painful beyond anything the pegasus had dealt with, other than dealing with that day itself. 
        “And that’s why I feel so bad Pinkie, it’s all my fault!” Dash hiccuped as she completed telling her tale.
        Pinkie Pie was in shock. “Dashie,” she began. “Dashie, it isn’t your fault!” She quaked.
        “It is my fault! I shouldn’t have made her go off that mountain! I shouldn’t have started her off so quickly like that!” The pegasus pony bawled.
        The pink mare shoved a hoof into the crying pony’s mouth. “Now you listen here Dashie!” She pulled Dash close. “Everypony makes mistakes. One time I ate an entire one-hundred and seventy-three layer wedding cake that was meant for two stallions! Not only did I have the worst tummy ache in the entire universe, but I had two very angry ponies who wanted a refund! Mr. Cake had me clean all the dishes for weeks! All of them, even if I just cleaned them the day before!” Pinkie ranted.
        “That doesn’t have anything to do with this!” Dash yelled back.
        “No it doesn’t! Sorry!” Pinkie Pie apologized. “But I do want you to know that it really isn’t your fault that Twilight isn’t around anymore. I’m sure that there is more to your story than you told me. You wouldn’t just let Twilight fall, because you were her friend. Even if you still believe that it is your fault, you just gotta know that everyone makes mistakes, some worse than others.” Pinkie Pie pulled the pegasus into a hug. “I still love you Dashie, you’re my best friend. I don’t care what you do, I still will always love you. Through thick and thin! But you need to get some help. I’m glad that you came to talk to someone, even if it was just me.”