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// At the Heart of That Weight 
// Story: Appledashery 
// by Just Essay 
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	That morning, Rainbow Dash stared at her hooves as she trotted across the heart of Ponyville.

The grass bent beneath her fetlocks.  Leaves crunched.  Pine needles tumbled and shifted.

She wished she could feel it all.

With a sigh, the pony stretched and unstretched her wings.  Her mind scraped memories from the past.  If she looked to the northwest, she could spot the top floor of Ponyville Central Hospital peeking out over the tree tops.

The mare's ears drooped as she imagined the most unthinkable exchange.  Her wings stretched again.  If the whole world was a fantasy, the only thing real had always been her feathers.  She had a brief vision—something that was both hilarious and horrifying.  She imagined a block of wood suspended in air.  Suddenly the wood was carved into a prancing pony—but it fell forever.

Rainbow wasn't certain she'd want the numbness to clear by the time it hit the ground.  Even a dead weight could dream so long as it wasn't robbed of clouds.

She tilted her head up, filling her eyes with sky.  It was still the morning, and the clouds were sparse.  A big gray blueness loomed over her... ever expansive and limitless.  All her life, she had spent anchored to one thing or another, whether she knew it or not.  Why hadn't she tried exploring more?  Expanding more?

She closed her eyes, and as the tingling lingered in her limbs, she found her mind floating into warmer spheres.  These weren't skyscapes, but rather a domain of a different, more familiar color.  But even then, she couldn't indulge in the orange... in the gold... in the sporadic freckles of that happenstance heaven.  Once upon a time, it brought her joy.  But even the warmest escapes of her mind were no longer ecstatic things.

Rainbow wondered precisely when and where she reached a point where her only recourse was to punish herself.

Nevertheless, she trotted forward.  Through the numbness, she heard voices... piercing.

The mare stifled a gasp.  She reopened her eyes.

Pinkie Pie and Rarity trotted side by side.  The two had been shopping—as evidenced by the items floating alongside the fashionista.

"...actually wants a coat made entirely out of yak wool!  Do you know how many wars we'd start against the north if I had to procure such a substance?!"

"Heehee!  You should hunt down some really angryyyyyyyy sheep and get them to cough up their fuzziness!  Your client won't know the difference!"

"As hilarious a thought that may be, darling, I'm not in the habit of outright lying to those whom I make dresses for.  I told the customer that we'd make a compromise.  I'll make her two coats... and though the material may be artificial, I do believe I can emulate the texture of yak fur.  Plus... I intend to emboss the collar and accents with Yakyakistanian motifs!  Oh, she is going to be utterly flabbergasted!"

"This one time, I sewed a turtleneck for Gummy.  He fit right in at the Hearth's Warming Eve party!  Well... right up until the guests found him floating around in the eggnog bowl."

"Hmmm... yes, well... how about I design something water-proof for him after this latest job?"

"How about eggnog proof?!"

"Heheh... if you insist, Pinkie Pie."

"Yaaaaay!"

The friends' conversation rose and dwindled.  This was because they had both passed Rainbow Dash... who was hiding behind a tree.

At last, Rainbow Dash stepped out from where she was concealed.  She stood with her wings tightly coiled at her side.  Biting her lip, she gazed down the road at where Rarity and Pinkie had vanished.

Now there was something else in addition to the tingling.  It was a lingering pain that tightened up into a hard granite ball in the center of Rainbow's chest.  Her sighs were heavy things, and she could scarcely turn herself around to continue her lurch home.

It was precisely at this moment that she nearly tripped over me.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash!"  I said with an orange grin that reflected in her eyes.

Rainbow stumbled in place.  When she saw me, the mare bit her lip.  Seconds later, a smile bled out... accompanied by limply spreading wings.  "Oh... h-hey there, sport..."