“Sometimes... just sometimes...” Rainbow Dash murmured from where she lay upside down on her bed, her head dangling off the side as she played with her hooves. “...I'd love to trot up to Twilight and—like—ask if she could conjure of a spell.” She gulped. “A spell that would make me forget that the last year ever happened. I'd stop remembering everything. I wouldn't remember the Grand Galloping Gala. I wouldn't remember the Running of the Leaves. I... j-just wouldn't remember any of the stuff that made me... turn into what I am today.” Her dull eyes fell on the window overlooking Ponyvillean night. “I'd be back to doing my usual routine. Pulling off radical stunts over the rooftops of town. Obsessing over the Wonderbolts. Pulling pranks on Rarity.” She hugged herself tightly. “Only... I-I'd no longer remember what it is that makes me feel like I could be happier... that I should be happier than what I am now.”
“Or...” Lancie yawned from where his little stone self leaned against the edge of a dresser with folded arms. “...you could just—find the next shard and let me wish you your legs back into shape, that way you wouldn't have to use your crutch as... such a crutch.”
“Hrmmf...”
“Don't 'Hrmmf' me!” Lancie glared up at her. “Y'know, sometimes I think you're being yanked around by some evil master's puppet strings and it's gotten you all tangled and mixed up!”
“Oh yeah? And why would you care?”
“Because that evil master isn't me!” He pouted. “And I'm jealous!”
“Heh...”
“For real, though, Sparky...” Lancie paced closer to the bed. “If something supposedly makes you so 'happy,' then how come it also tears you up inside? Wouldn't it be better to let go.”
“I... I-I can't...”
“Why not? You make it sound like you'd be better off without it.”
“Hrmmm...”
“And what's more, a part of you is willing to admit it.”
“Easier said than friggin' done.” Rainbow stared at him upside down, her fuzzy muzzle open. “Haven't you ever been in love, Lancie?”
“Sparky, I don't call what you've got 'being in love.' It's more like 'being in tractiong.'”
Lancie blinked his granite eyes. “Nnnngh... I dunno...” He rubbed his scalp and muttered, “It was... an awful long time ago.”
“And yet you still remember it, huh?”
“Meh... I-I guess...”
“And with you, what are we talking about exactly?” Rainbow's eyes blinked. “Centuries? Millennia? That crud isn't so easy to let go, even for an immortal, huh?”
“Look—what is this, Skinner's Stable?!”
“Hehehehe—”
“Stop giggling! You're too miserable for it.”
“Don't underestimate the power of awesomeness.” With a grunt, Rainbow rolled over and hopped onto the floor, knees wobbling. “I-I take a licking and keep on ticking.”
“That's a dayum rusty pocketwatch if you ask me.” He sighed and turned away from her with folded arms. “So, what next? More incessant moping while I waste away in here, gathering dust?”
“Nope. I'm going for the shard.”
Lancie's eyes fluttered open. “Really?” He turned and squinted up at her. “Wow, that was rather quick.”
“I can't help it,” Rainbow muttered, pausing before her door. “Times like this... the best thing I can do is move.” She gulped, then shuddered. “I feel best when I'm moving.”
“And yet you never seem to do enough of it.”
“I don't pay you to be ironic.”
“Bite your tongue. You don't pay me at all!”
“Good point.”
“So, is this legit, then?” Lancie leaned his head aside. “The arc's over? We're on to the next leg of the journey?”
“Well...” Rainbow's lips curved. “There's one thing I've gotta do first.”
“Lemme guess. A shower.”
“Heh... that too.” She cleared her throat. “Something else. Something I promised...”
The next afternoon, I pushed along my scooter, turning to wave at my friends. “See ya, Sweetie Belle! See ya, Apple Bloom!”
“S'long, Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom waved from where she and Sweetie Belle marched by themselves down the country road. They shouldered their saddlebags and pressed on home. “Good luck with your research assignment!”
“Heh!” I smirked. “I'll have luck getting to it at all! I've got some moves to perfect!”
“You're hopeless, Scoots!” Sweetie giggled. “Try not to miss too much!”
“Hey! Good thing I'm such a good sport on the playground! Cheerilee will help me bounce back! You see!” I turned to face ahead with a smirk. A big blue shape dropped down in front of me. “Whoah!” I skidded hard.
Rainbow stopped me with a firm hoof. As I stopped jerking in place, I glanced up to see her glaring at me. “So...” Her eyes narrowed even further. “Is somepony thinking about skipping out on her homework assignment?!”
“Uhhhhhh...” I sweated, feeling the heart pounding in my chest. “Uhh-uhhhhh...”
“... ... ...” Slowly, that trademark smirk crossed Rainbow's muzzle. “Well, better spend it doing something awesome, then.”
I stared at her. “Mmmmmm!” I bit my lips, squeeling beneath rosy cheeks as I leaned down against the scooter's handlebars. “Gl... gl-gliding... pr-practice...?”
“C'mon, Squirt...” Rainbow lifted me off the scooter and tapped my helmet. “Better keep this on. After all, we're gonna get you to hit record speeds!”
“Wooohoooo!” I cheered, clinging to her as we soared over the gold-thatched rooftops. “You're the best, Rainbow!”
“Yeah yeah...” She winked back at me. “Don't let it get around...”