Guilt and Forgiveness

by Charlie_K

Guilt and Forgiveness

Guilt and Forgiveness.

"So... what exactly is she doing?" Rarity asked as she and the rest looked up at the skies as Rainbow Dash zoomed overhead. She had just stepped out of the Carousel Boutique to get away from the latest dress she'd been commissioned to do in order to rest her neck and eyes when she saw the others looking up at the impromptu aerial display going on.

"Ah dunno but it sure is fancy lookin'," Applejack commented.

"Rainbow Dash said she was trying a new method of deploying the Sonic Rainboom. Something involving a corkscrew approach to generate more speed and increase her aerial stability for greater control," Twilight explained as she watched the cyan pegasus entering the high speed spin.

"I hope she doesn't get dizzy and make herself sick," Fluttershy stated.

"She's making me dizzy down here," Pinkie Pie stated as her eyes were spinning to try and keep track of Rainbow Dash's flight pattern.

"Oh I do hope she doesn't get airsick up there," Rarity commented.

All eyes were on Rainbow Dash as she was spinning faster and faster. The mach cone had just started to form ahead of her, signalling that she was gaining the speed necessary to break through it. However things didn't quite work out as planned. Nopony knew exactly what went wrong, only that something did when Rainbow Dash went careening off to the side, spinning faster and faster out of control, doing loops in the air that were entirely unplanned and far too rough to be something she had in mind.

"Oh dear," Rarity stated as she watched, afraid of what would happen next.

"Where's she going?" Pinkie Pie asked, now moving her entire head to try and follow her path.

"I think she's headed in our-"

"Hit the dirt!" Applejack yelled as she saw Rainbow Dash coming in their direction at breakneck speed.

Everypony scattered once the realization hit that Rainbow Dash was headed right for them and beyond the point where she could control her speed or trajectory. They'd barely managed to clear the spot before the cyan pegasus hit the ground full force, cutting a trench across the surface as she skidded out of control before coming to a stop, after crashing into the trunk of a tree first. When the dust settled and it was safe to look up again they all saw Rainbow Dash banged up and dazed, upside down and sitting on her head as her back rested against the trunk of the fractured tree.

"Are you alright darling?" Rarity asked upon seeing her friend's condition.

"Corkscrew Rainboom, not cool," she groaned and tried to sit up, or perhaps sit down was more appropriate. Whatever it was she tried to move from her position but found it difficult. "Is everypony alright?"

"No!"

The yell surprised all of them as they looked about to try and figure out who had uttered it. There was Rarity who was present and accounted for, Pinkie Pie who looked like she was still coming off an amusement high, Fluttershy with leaves and twigs in her main from having dived into a bush and Twilight who was looking around, leaving only...

"Applejack!"

"Don't ya ever watch where yer goin' RD?" she asked through grit teeth as she gripped one of her forelegs as she laid on the ground, completely unmoving. "Ya plowed me like ah was a field gettin' ready fer harvest!"

"Oh Celestia!" Rainbow Dash stated, immediately getting back into an upright position and hurrying over to Applejack's side, but not before the other four managed to reach her first. "Oh Applejack I'm so sorry, it was an accident! Are you alright? What's hurt?" she asked frantically.

"Ya got mah leg good, ah think it's broken ah can't move it," Applejack replied as she cringed at any attempt to actually move. "Real nice flyin' ya feather-brained idjit!"

"Just lay still Applejack, we'll get you to the hospital right away and get you some help," Twilight reassured her.

"No teleportin'," Applejack objected.

"Fine, no teleporting. But we've gotta keep you from moving because you might have other injuries. I'm going to levitate you so all you have to do is lay there and try to relax," Twilight explained.

Rainbow Dash was more or less left on the sidelines, watching as her friends hovered around the downed Applejack before Twilight levitated her off the ground, all of them running off to the hospital to get her taken care of. All the while she couldn't help but think about the events that transpired, asking herself the most obvious question, "What've I done?"

---

"What've I done? What've I done?" Rainbow Dash asked herself as she paced in the receptionist area in a frantic manner.

Despite being the fastest flyer in Equestria she'd been the last one to arrive at the hospital. She'd been so out of it she hadn't even noticed being left in the dust until it was too late. By the time she actually made it into the hospital Applejack was being wheeled away by an orderly pony for examination. She'd missed out on everything and now there was nothing for them to do but wait for news of her condition. Waiting meant slowness and helplessness, she didn't deal with slowness and helplessness well at all.

"What if she's permanently injured? What if she needs her leg amputated because they can't fix it?"

"Rainbow Dash calm down!" Twilight said as she approached her worried friend and blocked her patch to force the pacing. "Applejack is going to be fine. Unicorn healing magic is strong and can work wonders. Applejack's not going to lose her leg or anything like that," she explained as calmly as she could. "Now would you please just sit down before you wear a groove in the floor?"

"I can't sit down Twilight I'm the one that put her here in the first place," Rainbow Dash replied in a frantic manner, before zooming over to the receptionist's desk. "Listen I don't want any medical bills being charged to the Apple family! I've got insurance through the weather department, great insurance with the kinda work we do. I'm gonna pay for all her expenses, whatever she needs, understand?"

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight spoke up and practically dragged her friend away from the desk before turning to the receptionist on duty, "she's just really stressed right now," she offered up as an explanation, getting a shrug in response. With that settled she turned back to the frantic pegasus. "Rainbow Dash you're scaring everypony. I've never seen you so freaked out and worried before. What's the matter with you?"

"You don't get it Twi' you wouldn't understand. Applejack's my friend and I hurt her today. Me, the Element of Loyalty, I hurt one of my friends and went against my element, me!" she stated. They couldn't understand, none of them could, they didn't get the conflicting feelings she was experiencing right now and the turmoil that was going on inside of her. "Oh Celestia, I think I'm gonna be sick," she moaned as she held her stomach before bringing a hoof to her mouth.

Twilight was first to respond, immediately levitating a wastebasket over from the desk area for Rainbow Dash and not a moment too soon as she vomited right as it was under her chin. However as she'd been practicing her stunts for the better part of the day she'd made sure to eat light and barely had anything to bring up other than a painful series of dry heaves, although it was still enough to send Rarity dashing off to the restroom gagging, while Fluttershy tended to her ill friend and stroked her back.

"Is everything alright here?" Nurse Redheart asked as she entered, seeing Rainbow Dash with her head hanging over the wastebasket and trying desperately to spit out whatever was left behind.

"Yes Nurse Redheart, Rainbow Dash is just upset, that's all," Twilight reassured her. "Is there any news on Applejack?"

"I'm afraid Applejack took quite a beating in the collision she experienced. However she escaped with only a minor concussion and a broken foreleg. Doctor Whooves is tending to her now. We'll be keeping her a couple of days for observation to make sure she's alright before releasing her. After a few days rest her leg should be healed enough she can go about her normal activities," Nurse Redheart explained calmly. "It's quite fortunate that she's such a strong earth pony as that helped her a great deal. Had she been anypony else I can't say the same for certain."

"Thank Celestia!" Rainbow Dash stated, perhaps louder than she needed to but she was so relieved at hearing Applejack was going to be alright. "Can we see her now?"

"Once the good doctor is done you can visit her. In the meantime though I have to ask to try and keep the commotion down, you're disturbing the other patients," she informed them before turning to leave, but stopped and looked back at the wastebasket. "I'll call somepony from janitorial to take care of that."

"So Applejack's gonna be just fine?" Pinkie asked.

"Seems that way," Twilight replied.

"Ya-" Pinkie stated but was silenced by Fluttershy placing a hoof over her mouth and shushing her to comply with Nurse Redheart. "Oh right sorry. Yahoo," she whispered.

Rainbow Dash felt relieved, as well as exhausted. She'd been so tense with worry and now it was all over, and all she wanted to do right now was sit down.

+++

"Hey Applejack," Twilight greeted as she entered the room first, followed closely by the others while Rainbow Dash lingered at the rear, almost afraid of what she'd see.

Inside it wasn't much different from the last time she'd wound up here with a broken wing. Ugly room, ugly curtains, unpleasant smell, the only thing different was that she was the one looking in instead of looking out. Looking in at Applejack in the hospital bed, wearing that ugly thin green gown, her leg heavily bandaged and held elevated by a rope and pulley system, her hair hidden by the bandages wrapped around her head, various machines hooked up to her and giving readings of her overall medical condition.

And the whole reason she was here was because of her stupid stunt. It was enough to make her wanna try and vomit again despite the emptiness to her stomach.

"Hey girls," Applejack greeted as she turned to face them. "So when do ah get outta here an' back ta Sweet Apple Acres?" she asked.

"Not for a couple of days unfortunately. They wanna keep you here for observation because of your concussion," Twilight replied.

"Dang ah was afraid o' that," Applejack sighed and leaned back against the pillows that were propping her up. "Stuck in here an' can't tend ta the farm."

"Applejack I'm so sorry, this is all my fault," Rainbow Dash said as she stepped forward and propped herself up on the side of the bed. "Don't worry I'll take care of it all until you get better. I'll help out on the farm and get your stuff done. And as soon as we leave I'm going right to the weather bureau, I've got medical insurance through them, they'll pay for everything I promise!"

"Well that's mighty nice o' ya Rainbow Dash but ya don't need ta worry none about it. Applebuckin' Season is over with so the worst o' the work is already done, Big Macintosh can take care of it jus' fine 'til ah get outta here. An' it ain' like we're dirt poor er nothin' ya know. Wha' with more of less makin' Ponyville a possibility an' supplyin' apples to the grocers and whatnot," Applejack told her. "And 'sides it ain' like ya intended ta plow inta me like a hungry pig inta slop. Just a matter of bein' in the wrong place at the wrong time. It coulda happened ta anypony."

"S-so you're not mad?" Rainbow Dash asked hesitantly, "you're not gonna yell at me?"

"Ain' no use gettin' mad about an accident, stuff like that jus' happens. 'sides yellin' at ya wouldn' be productive er nothin'," Applejack explained, "if anypony should be apologizin' it should be me fer yellin' at ya earlier. Ah wasn' exactly thinkin' straight at the time."

"No it's okay, I totally understand," she replied and set back down on the floor and turned to the others. "Can you keep Applejack company while I go take care of some things that're kinda pressing?"

"Sure!"

"Of course we will darling, take care of whatever you need to."

"Thanks I really appreciate that," Rainbow Dash said before more or less dashing out the door to the room.

"Now jus' wha' the hay is up wit' her?" Applejack asked, thoroughly confused; even moreso than when trying to figure out Pinkie Pie.

"I think her Element of Loyalty status is negatively affecting her sense of guilt," Twilight suggested. "I'm sure she'll be alright once she calms down."

"Ah hope so. Her wantin' ta take responsibility an' all is fine so long as she don' go overboard wit' it. Las' thing ah need is her doin' her own version of Spike's whole Dragon Code thing," she muttered, earning a nod and a giggle from the other girls.

They stayed and talked about anything under the sun to keep Applejack's mind off of the fact she was stuck in the hospital. Rarity about how to dress up such drab styles that the hospital seemed to be plagued by, Pinkie about how they were going to have a party when Applejack was released, Fluttershy about how she'd look after Winona, and Twilight about bringing over some books she could occupy herself with; that being the one point Applejack objected to. "Ah ain' got nothin' against books, it'd just take me too long ta get through one" had been her reasoning, which had been a lot better than what Rainbow Dash had said regarding the Daring Do series. But eventually visiting hours were over and they practically had to be chased out by the hospital staff before finally relenting to leave, with the promise of coming back tomorrow.

Meanwhile far above the ground, laying about on a stray cloud a certain cyan pegasus was engaged in an activity she never saw herself doing in a million years; thinking long and hard about everything that had occurred today, and what she was going to do about it.

---

"Are you really sure that Applejack is gonna go for this?" Spike asked as he watched Twilight levitate several books into her saddlebag before closing the flap on them. "Didn't you say she's not a fast reader?"

"That's why I'm only taking books with short stories in them, Spike. Even if Applejack is a slow reader she can still get through several of the stories in these books," Twilight explained. Being in charge of a library certainly had its perks, like knowing the contents of each book. Short stories weren't really her thing, what with a mere ten pages being able to hold so little in her opinion, but other ponies seemed to like them enough. "I'll be back later Spike," she said as she walked out the .door.

"Okay, tell Applejack I said hi," he called after her, before turning back to the task of dusting the library, muttering to himself incoherently as he closed the door.

Twilight hummed to herself as she trotted over to the hospital, wanting to get there as soon as visiting hours began so she'd have plenty of time with Applejack, mildly curious as to what the others would be doing to try and cheer their friend up. Although on the way maybe she'd stop and pick up one of those daffodil muffins Pinkie had said the Cakes were making today, they were always so good.

At least that was the overall plan until something caught her ear and made her pause. It was a noise she definitely wasn't familiar with, but then there was nothing. Before she could think on it she heard it again. It sounded like a dull "whump" if she had to describe it. It sounded almost like Applejack when she bucked a tree but not with the same sharp pitch of the crack.

"Surely the others can keep Applejack company for a little while without me," she said to herself, deciding to investigate the ruckus.

Following her ears lead her closer to the edge of the village and into the beginnings of the Everfree Forest, the noise slowly getting louder so she knew she was heading in the right direction.

"What could it be?" she asked herself as she stepped closer before catching a glimpse of movement up ahead through the leaves. Squinting it looked like Rainbow Dash. Was she investigating the source of the noise? "Rainbow Dash?" she asked as she got closer. Rainbow Dash didn't seem to hear her as she didn't stop to look up from what she was doing... which turned out banging her head against the side of the closest tree, producing that same "whump" sound she heard earlier.

"Rainbow Dash! What're you doing!?" Twilight asked in a horrified manner as she galloped over to her friend to stop a followup headbutt to the tree's trunk.

"Leave me alone Twilight," Rainbow Dash stated and whacked her head against the tree trunk again.

"Rainbow Dash stop it you're going to hurt yourself!" she objected and latched onto her to keep her from doing anything more.

"That's the idea!" she said and easily overpowered the purple unicorn to bang her head against the tree again, and again, and again.

"Rainbow Dash I said stop!" she yelled and levitated Rainbow Dash completely off the ground so she couldn't get anywhere near the tree. "Now what's going on? Why're you headbutting that tree?"

"You wouldn't understand Twi' now put me down, I'm not done yet!"

"Try me. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you until you explain yourself, and give that poor tree a chance to recover, you're knocking the bark right off of it," Twilight told her.

Rainbow Dash sighed in an exasperated manner, not wanting to talk about it at all, but also knowing that Twilight wasn't going to let her go if she just scowled at her; she really had to learn how to do that stare Fluttershy was so good at.

"Fine," she grumbled, "what's wrong is I hurt Applejack yesterday. I could've killed her! You heard Nurse Redheart, she said she was lucky she was an earth pony and she was so strong. Do you know what that means Twilight? Had it been anypony else that I slammed into when I lost control of my trajectory they could've died!" she yelled at her, before her voice and anger faulted. "I could've killed somepony yesterday. Me the Element of Loyalty, I could've killed one of our friends. We're the Elements of Harmony, we can't afford something like that and we nearly wound up there because I was so reckless," she paused, "I-I feel horrible Twi', I hurt inside. My chest feels so heavy and my stomach is killing me."

"You feel guilty," Twilight explained simply.

"Exactly! I feel guilty for hurting Applejack and knowing what could've happened if she were any other pony. And to make matters worse she forgave me without even hesitating. She had every right in the world to tear into me and she just... just forgave me," she paused, clearly disturbed by the last part most of all. "I feel so guilty and it hurts and I just, I just, I can't stand it Twilight it's horrible. I did something wrong and I need to suffer for it. And right now headbutting that tree is the only thing that's making me feel better about myself. I... I..."

"You want to be punished for what you did?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah that's it! Now put me back down so I can get back to it!"

"Rainbow Dash there are easier ways to be punished for doing something wrong, ways that don't involve giving yourself a concussion and killing a tree in the process," Twilight said as she released her magical hold, but not before standing in front of the tree. "If you seriously believe that you need to be punished because of feeling guilty then there are alternatives."

"Like what?" Rainbow Dash asked in a dismissive nature.

"Well..." Twilight paused and thought. "You could always be spanked," she finally suggested.

"Spanked?" Rainbow Dash asked as she raised an eyebrow, "what's that?"

"You don't know what a spanking is?" Twilight asked, Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Well spanking is a form of physical punishment, usually administered by one's parents or other legal guardian when they're bad and do something wrong. Generally it involves applying a series of swift, sharp swats to their hindquarters with something like a manebrush, although any other wooden implement will work just as well. There's usually a lot of pain involved, and crying," she explained a bit hesitantly. "Are you sure you weren't punished as a filly?" she asked at seeing Rainbow Dash's disbelieving face.

"Never anything like what you just described. When I was bad my parents would usually make me sit in a corner, although sometimes I'd get grounded and have to stay in the house for a week and couldn't go out to play, only back and forth to school," Rainbow Dash explained.

"Is that all?" Twilight asked.

"Isn't that enough? I got my cutie mark for flying fast, do you know what it's like to be confined for a week like that?" she asked rhetorically. "But sometimes... sometimes when I was really bad they'd use "the harness" on me. It was like the most evil contraption in all of Cloudsdale a parent could use. It has strong leather straps and buckles that kept a pegasi from even being able to unfold their wings. It was painful to wear and forced them to walk everywhere they went. Anypony wearing one always got teased by the other colts and fillies," she explained, shuddering at the memory.

"That's terrible," Twilight replied with genuine surprise.

"Tell me about it," she said and reached around to rub one of her wings in memory. "Were you spanked growing up?"

"Well... a few times," she finally admitted, wincing at her own memories. "It hurt, but I always deserved them when I received them and I knew it. And after it was all over I was always forgiven for what I did and I didn't have to feel guilty anymore."

"So it worked then?" Rainbow Dash asked, receiving a nod in response. "So that's what I need right now? I need to be spanked so I can stop feeling guilty?"

"Well I didn't say that, I was just throwing that out there as a suggestion," Twilight quickly explained. But from the look on Rainbow Dash's face it seemed she was too late. When she got that look it usually meant she had already made up her mind and there was no talking her out of it. "You mean you actually want to be spanked like a bad little filly?" she asked hesitantly.

"Anything's gotta be better than feeling like this. Physical pain is one thing, I'm used to that. But this is something else entirely, something terrible and it hurts in ways I can't solve with a hot shower and some muscle rub, I'm out of my element here," she explained and paused. "Twilight can... can you help me? Will you do this thing, as a friend?" she asked.

Twilight really didn't want to be in this position, and if she even suspected she'd be asked such a question she never would've brought up the topic. She so wanted to refuse... but Rainbow Dash's eyes were pleading right now, filled with desperation. And she was getting a bit of a sick feeling right now that if she didn't help her she was just going to continue headbutting the tree until she worked through her guilt on her own.

"... Alright," she finally stated, "but not here!" she added quickly, "follow me."

+++

"The library?" Rainbow Dash asked and blinked. "Are you sure about this?"

"Trust me on this," she said and pushed open the door. "Hey Spike, why don't you take a break," Twilight suggested, "you've been working really hard today and I'm proud of the work you've been doing. Why don't you go over to Sugarcube Corner and see if Pinkie Pie can make you one of those sapphire sprinkle cupcakes you like so well," she suggested as she used her magic to open up the chest on the table that served for holding the smaller amounts of money, before bringing out several bits and dropping them into his claws.

"Woah, you really mean it?" Spike asked, taken aback by Twilight's out of the blue generosity.

"Sure you deserve it. And whenever you come back can you bring me a daffodil muffin? I've been craving one ever since the Cakes put them out," Twilight told him.

"Yeah sure I can do that. And thanks!" Spike said with excitement as he headed out the door, clutching the bits in his claws as he went.

"That should keep him busy for a while," Twilight told Rainbow Dash as she closed the door afterwards. "Pinkie'll have to make the sapphire sprinkles first," she explained.

"Twi' that's genius," Rainbow Dash stated with amusement, before taking a more serious note and remembering what they'd come here for. "So... are we really doing this?" she asked.

"In a minute, just lemme grab my manebrush," Twilight said as she levitated the aforementioned object down from the bedroom area to their current location, "and follow me," she continued and turned her focus to the floor, a secret door opening to a set of stairs that lead to the library's basement.

"Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused now about why they'd be heading down to the basement.

"It's more private and there's less chance of somepony seeing or hearing anything," Twilight explained. Rainbow's expression dripped of "should've known that" but she didn't say anything and just lead the way down, Rainbow Dash following close behind.

The walk down wasn't nearly as long as Rainbow Dash had hoped it would be. It was way too soon that she found herself in the storage room/basement/laboratory of the library tree, various items and pieces of scientific-related equipment stored about the room against the walls, on the shelves next to various tomes, and on the ceiling... looking up she could see the ceiling structure being built around the roots of the mighty tree, almost integrating them into the architecture.

"Are you really sure that you wanna go through with this, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, feeling that she deserved every chance to pull out of it before it was too late. "Once we start it's gotta be seen through to the end to be successful. We can't stop halfway through."

"I'm sure Twilight," Rainbow Dash said and nodded uneasily. "Guilt is way no fun to be carrying around. Please... please spank me..."

"Alright Rainbow Dash, if you say so," Twilight replied and turned her concentration to her friend, her magic encircling her hooves and holding them firmly to the ground. Almost immediately Rainbow Dash reacted to being detained.

"What the hay!?" she asked and pulled at the magical restraints but to no avail. She'd never admit it but she was starting to get scared now.

"Sorry Rainbow Dash but it's necessary. Spanking by nature hurts, and anypony is going to try and get away from it no matter how determined they are to stick it out, it's just a natural reaction," she explained as her magic lifted the pegasi's tail out of the way of her hindquarters. "Are you ready?"

"I... I guess so," Rainbow Dash said and took a deep breath to steady herself, unsure of what to expect.

"Alright then. Let's begin," Twilight said as she readied her manebrush, drawing it back and swinging it forward, making square contact with Rainbow Dash's hindquarters firmly.

Rainbow Dash gasped more out of surprise than pain, taken completely off guard by what just happened. However she didn't have time to think about it as she quickly felt another firm slap, followed immediately by another, and another, and soon a firestorm of firm swats and slaps by the hardwood brush, all landing with pinpoint precision.

"Ugh!" Rainbow Dash grunted, refusing to let any other kind of sound out as she was determined to remain strong and firm and take her punishment like a mare rather than a filly. She was strong, she was destined to be a Wonderbolt, what was a little pain to her?

However that little pain was quickly growing from a dull ache into a full course hurt parade! She had no idea if the swats Twilight was giving her were strong or soft in nature compared to what others did, but they were being delivered so fast that each new swat built on the ache of the previous one and gave no room for recovery. On top of that her hindquarters were starting to burn; burn like her muscles after a really intense workout. But the burn showed no signs of stopping and was instead just getting hotter and hotter. It felt like her hindquarters were glowing bright red through her cyan coat, and she wouldn't be a bit surprised if they were right now.

For the most part Rainbow Dash was able to maintain her composure, simply grunting or occasionally letting loose a yelp of "ouch" or some other variation of the word. Occasionally it was a bit of off color language to express her distaste. But the longer it continued the more difficult it became.

"Hurts!" Rainbow Dash choked out, "can't breathe!" she added as she squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip.

Twilight said nothing in response and instead remained focused on carrying about the punishment, swinging her manebrush with precision on each swat, delivering the same amount of force each time.

By now Rainbow Dash was really fighting it. Her entire body was jerking, trying to get her some relief was the pain she was experiencing but it was no use; it was like Twilight had enchanted her manebrush to home in on her backside no matter where it was. It was getting harder and harder to breathe and remain composed, each swat pushing her closer to letting out a scream in pain and breaking her composure. She tried so hard to resist but the screams just wanted to come out so bad, as did tears. She didn't want to cry, but it might not be her decision for much longer.

"Let it out Rainbow Dash, you'll feel better," Twilight instructed calmly.

"No!" she choked out and fought to hold back with all her might. Her efforts were rewarded with a particularly hard swat over her hindquarters, forcing a pained scream out against her will.

"Let it out," Twilight said again just as calm as previously, no trace of hostility in her voice whatsoever at her instructions not being met.

"I said no! I don't wanna cry!" she shouted back, only to receive several more very hard swats in punishment to force the issue. Finally and without her consent, the tears she'd been fighting so hard to hold back started to flow freely, as did the sobbing and soon all out bawling. It was only afterwards that the swats returned to their previous level of intensity, not that she was paying much attention right now.

She had lost all track of everything by now. She wasn't paying attention to how many swats she was getting or how long it continued, or what the Wonderbolts would think of her if they could see her now. All that was going through her mind was the unbearable amount of pain she was in and her helplessness to do anything about it.

"Why're you being spanked, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked after what seemed like an eternity, raising her voice enough for her friend to hear her over her own crying.

"For h-h-hurting Applejack!" Rainbow Dash managed to choke out inbetween sobs.

"Are you sorry that you hurt her?" Twilight asked her.

"Y-y-yes!" she bawled in response, "I-I'm sorry I hu-hurt Applejack! S-s-she's my best friend. I was careless and-s-s-sutpid! I-I never wanted to h-hurt her! I-I'm sorry! I'm s-s-so sorry!"

"Very good Rainbow Dash," Twilight told her before delivering one last swat and releasing the magical restraints.

The moment Rainbow Dash was free her forelegs immediately flew to her haunches to try and soothe the pain she was in, leaving her top half to drop to the floor while her bottom half remained fully upright and away from anything that could come into contact with her hindquarters, all the while crying helplessly and openly without regard to anything. Twilight set the manebrush aside and rubbed at Rainbow Dash's back and wings in a comforting manner, staying by her side for as long as she was in need, watching and noting as the crying eventually gave way to sobbing, and then to quiet and occasional sniffling.

"It's all over now Rainbow Dash," Twilight said as she used a magic to bring in a hoofkerchief to help dry the cyan pegasus' eyes and blow her nose, which she did with a resounding and almost comical honk. However Rainbow Dash said nothing, so she just continued sitting and stroking her back, "you took your very first spanking very well."

"Thanks... I guess," Rainbow Dash finally muttered as she continued laying in the half up/half down manner. But as Twilight's words sunk in better her eyes suddenly shot open with terror. "Wait... first spanking? You mean there's more on the way!?" she asked as a sense of fear came over her.

"No nothing like that, I promise," Twilight reassured her, earning a sigh of relief from Rainbow Dash. "I'm just saying you did well for never having been spanked before. That couldn't have been easy for you to do."

"Yeah... well... you know how it is, me being me and all," Rainbow Dash replied in an effort to regain some of her composure. She moved to push herself back into a standing position but quickly fell back down as the moving of the skin on her haunches reignited the pain all over again, causing her to yelp and sending her hooves back to their original position. "Owowowow!"

This was going to require a little rethinking. Instead of trying to stand back up again she unfolded and flapped her wings to hover off the floor, allowing her to touch back down on all fours, all the while wincing from the movement.

"So do you feel better now, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, receiving a very dirty look in response.

"You swatted me with a manebrush who knows how many times, my backside aches and burns like I got zapped by lightning, and I can't move without feeling the urge to scream! And you ask me if I feel better!?" she asked. Twilight winced but otherwise remained firm where she was, almost like she was facing her down. What kind of stupid question was that anyway? Did she feel better?

"Well you did say you wanted to be punished because you felt so guilty it hurt," Twilight pointed out, causing Rainbow Dash to sheepishly blush.

"Oh yeah, I guess I did," she said and chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head at her own forgetfulness. Although it did become necessary to stop and think on it for a minute, "I... guess I do... maybe?"

"It can be a complicated matter, don't feel bad if you're confused some," Twilight reassured her and ran a hoof over her messy mane. "Do you feel like you can walk? Wouldn't want Spike to come back and catch us down here."

"Yeah that's probably a good idea. Let's get outta here," Rainbow Dash replied and headed for the stairs, grimacing the whole way and occasionally letting out a low "ow" as she climbed. Twilight just shook her head and smiled at her friend's stubborn nature before heading up the stairs herself and shutting the basement door behind them. Spike would never know what went on while he was away and that's what she wanted.

"Oh that hurts. And I mean really, really hurts," Rainbow Dash moaned.

"I'm sorry about that but it's all a part of the process. Not a very pleasant part but there's really not much you can do about it," Twilight explained.

"Yeah so I learned. I think I'm gonna go find a raincloud somewhere and park myself on it, that oughta help some."

"Okay Rainbow Dash. If you need anymore help feel free to drop by," Twilight replied, feeling that the matter was over.

"I'll keep that in mind Twi', and thanks... for...you know... everything..."

"Why Rainbow Dash," Twilight said with an almost mischievous grin and approached the cyan pegasus again. "Are you thanking me for spanking you?" she whispered, only to be immediately shushed in response.

"Hey not so loud, ponies will hear ya," she stated in embarrassment. She paused and looked around the room in a paranoid manner before finally giving a small nod in confirmation. "Yeah..." she whispered.

"No problem, I'm just glad I could lend a hoof to a friend in need," Twilight replied.

Rainbow Dash was about to reply but just as she opened her mouth the door to the library swung open as Spike was coming back in, which wouldn't have been a problem except for the fact that she had been standing right by the door. By the time she thought to move it was too late and the door hit her squarely on her haunches, eliciting a pain filled yelp as she flew up into the air while grabbing at her hindquarters all over again.

"Oops! Sorry Rainbow Dash, didn't know you were standing there," Spike said as she looked up at her, genuinely surprised that she's reacted in such a manner.

Rainbow Dash had to bite her lip to keep from screaming as the throbbing in her hindquarters were reignited full force. Her primal instinct was to chew Spike out something fierce, but looking down at him she couldn't bring herself to lay into something that was truly an accident and partly her fault. After all he didn't know she was standing there so it wasn't done on purpose.

"Eh it's alright, ya just caught me off guard with how hard you could actually kick that door open, guess I should've watched where I was standing," she replied, doing her best to regain her composure and maintain an air of cool. "Anyway I'd better get going. I need to keep an eye out for wandering storm clouds since no rain is scheduled until next week. Later guys," she said and flew out the door, now desperate to find a raincloud to park herself on for a few hours.

"... Is Rainbow Dash alright? She was acting kinda weird," Spike pointed out as he watched the pegasus leave.

"Oh she's alright, just feeling guilty about the accident with Applejack. But we had a talk and I think she's feeling better now," was all Twilight had to say on the matter before deciding to change the subject. "Did you get your cupcake?"

"Not exactly. Pinkie Pie didn't have any sapphire sprinkles but she had some small pieces she called sapphire chunks to put on and oh those were so good," he said, licking his lips with appreciation, before turning his attention back to the present. "Oh! I got you your daffodil muffin like you asked," he finished and set the pastry good on the table.

"Thanks Spike," she replied, glad that he didn't try and press the matter out of curiosity. Now she could consider the matter closed and enjoy that delicious, heavenly scented daffodil muffin that was just calling her to it.

---

If there was one thing that Rainbow Dash was certain of, it was that sleeping on her stomach wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do.

After leaving Twilight's library house she'd been quick to seek out the closest raincloud in the area and parked herself in it, letting the cool wet nature of her perch work to soothe the fire in her hindquarters, and stayed there for what seemed like hours; mainly because it had been hours.

As the sun went down and Luna's moon came up she knew it was time to head home for a much needed rest. However that was the time when she learned what amount to another painful lesson, being that clouds weren't always as soft as they looked. Despite her cloud bed being light and fluffy and otherwise heavenly in nature, it still put a great deal of pressure on her haunches when she flopped down, forcing her to try and sleep on her stomach.

To say the least the night hadn't been as restful as she'd hoped it would be. She was so thankful that there was no weather scheduled for the day as it gave her an excuse to sleep in.

At least she was trying to, but that infernal knocking at the door was disrupting her sleep! Who the hay was it as this hour? Who the hay was knocking at the door to her cloud castle so high above ground anyway? Grumbling she got up, hovering over to the door so she wouldn't have to walk and flung the door open intent on giving the uninvited visitor an earful!

"Oh, hello Rainbow Dash..."

It was Fluttershy of all ponies. Now she was really grumpy, she couldn't yell at her, not with the fact that she didn't have any malicious intent to her.

"Hey Fluttershy, what's up?" Rainbow Dash asked, figuring that she wasn't going to get any sleep with the way things were proceeding so she might as well get it over with and get up.

"Well I just figured you'd want to know that Applejack is being discharged from the hospital within the hour," Fluttershy explained. "Pinkie Pie plans on throwing her a party to celebrate the occasion before noon."

"Oh, that's great," Rainbow Dash replied, less than excited about the idea of Pinkie throwing a party. It wasn't for lack of liking parties, but as sore as she was she had concerns about what kind of party games might be involved. "I don't know if I can make the party but I'll try. Just tell them to save me a piece of cake or something, alright?" she asked.

"I guess I can do that. But you're still going to see Applejack aren't you?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah of course, I wanna make sure she's alright after everything that happened, being the one that crashed into her and hurt her. I just... might have to wait until later today to visit her. I still gotta make sure that the weather bureau is taking care of Applejack's hospital expenses and that can take a while," Rainbow Dash explained.

"I'll try and explain that to the others in case you don't show up. It's really nice that you're doing that for Applejack," Fluttershy replied. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Yeah, later," Rainbow Dash replied and shut the door as Fluttershy left. First thing was first, making sure all the paperwork was getting sorted out properly. After that though she had other matters to tend to. Matters that were going to require a lot of thinking. "This ain't gonna be easy," she muttered to herself and prepared to do something she wasn't accustomed to.

---

It was around late afternoon by the time Rainbow Dash made her way over to Sweet Apple Acres. Normally she could've been there in a matter of seconds, just like she could clear the skies over Ponyville of stray clouds. But this wasn't a random visit, it was much different, even intimidating in nature. Part of the reason she'd waited so long was the concern that Applejack would be upset and not want to see her face right now.

She also needed the time to compose her thoughts more than she normally would and figure out what she wanted to say and do. She'd skipped Pinkie's out of the hospital party out of necessity of having some quiet time to just think things through. And after a lot of thinking she now found herself at Applejack's home, slowly descending out of the sky as she watched the earth pony out and about, hobbling on her three good legs as she stubbornly attempted to tend to her chores.

"Hey Applejack..." Rainbow Dash spoke up as she came down, hovering just above ground level now.

"Hey there RD, what's up, 'sides you?" Applejack replied, turning away from her chores for the moment. "Didn' see ya at Pinkie's party, she's a might upset ya didn' show."

"Yeah sorry about that. I kinda had a lot on my mind at the time and needed to think... and I kinda wanted to speak to you in private away from the others," she replied and touched down on the ground.

"So like ah asked what's up? Yer lookin' like there's somethin' weighin' heavy on yer mind right now," Applejack stated and sat down on her haunches to face her.

"Well I wanted to apologize for getting you hurt because it was my dumb mistake in the first place. Like I said my insurance through the weather bureau will pay for your hospital bills, I just gotta get the paperwork all sorted out first. You know how these things are," Rainbow Dash stated.

"Much appreciated there Rainbow Dash, but ah know ya didn't come all the way out ta Sweet Apple Acres ta talk about hospital bills an' such. Wha's really up?" Applejack asked.

"There's no getting anything past you is there?" Rainbow Dash and let out a long sigh. "Alright to tell you the truth it's like this. I... I feel really guilty for getting you hurt. It was my dumb mistake and you shouldn't have had to suffer for it. It's all my fault that your leg is broken and you got a concussion and I feel horrible about it," she explained.

"Aw it ain't no big deal Rainbow Dash, like ya said it was a mistake, an accident, not like ya did it on purpose. Ah ain't holdin' no grudge er nothin'. ah'm just glad Applebuckin' Season was over with," Applejack replied. Granted they'd had this conversation back at the hospital, but as she'd learned over the years sometimes Rainbow Dash needed an occasional reminder.

"Yeah well that's good, but I still feel really guilty over it so... go ahead and lemme have it," Rainbow told her, however Applejack only gave her a confused look as to what she meant. "You know, yell at me or something."

"RD jus' what in the hayare ya talkin' about? Are ya actually expectin' me ta yell at ya just 'cause ya had an' accident?" she asked. Rainbow Dash hesitantly nodded. "Ya mean ta tell me that ya came all the way out here 'cause yer feelin' guilty and expectin' me ta rip inta ya like some sort of unreasonable monster?"

"No nothing like that, it's just... well you've got every right to be angry at me and that's what I was expecting, but the fact that you're not just makes it worse. I could take you being mad at me because I deserved it, but... but..." she paused and choked up. "Oh Applejack please yell at me, kick me or something! You're my friend and I hurt you because I was being careless and not thinking about what I was doing," she pleaded as she clutched at her chest. "I've got all this guilt inside and it hurts so much, it makes me feel sick, it's like a lead weight inside me and I can't stand it! Twilight tried to help me yesterday but it didn't work!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa hold up there RD, jus' calm down a minute," Applejack said as she put her good foreleg up. "First thing's first, how'd Twilight try an' help ya?"

Rainbow Dash gulped, now wishing she'd kept her big mouth shut. She'd been way too fast to talk and now she found herself in a precarious spot. She didn't want to tell Applejack about what happened yesterday, but trying to lie to the Element of Honesty wasn't something known for working. She didn't see much choice out of this matter other than to come clean.

"Alright... promise not to tell?" she asked, of course she got a nod in response. "Well yesterday..." she paused as she moved in closer until she was right next to Applejack's ear so she could whisper to her. "Twilight sort of... spanked me..."

"Say what now?" Applejack asked and raised an eyebrow. "Twilight spanked ya yesterday 'cause ya were feelin' guilty over crashin' inta me like ya did?" she asked. Rainbow Dash uneasily nodded. "Ya ain't pullin' ma tail or nothin' are ya 'cause it sure ain't funny. Now ah think ah heard everything."

"It's true, honest, I swear," Rainbow Dash stated.

Applejack looked her over, looking her in the eyes for any signs of mischief of falsehoods. Only thing is there was none to be found in those big magenta eyes of hers. As best she could tell Rainbow Dash was telling the full truth and nothing but the truth.

"Wow," Applejack finally stated, a bit surprised by the turn of events. "That so huh?" she asked, Rainbow Dash nodded again. "Well ah really don' know what ta say. It's just so... so... how hard did Twilight spank ya anyway?" she asked, feeling an absolute need to change the subject to something that wasn't so... weird.

"Well I don't really know I've got nothing to compare it to. Yesterday was kinda... my first time ever getting spanked," she admitted.

"Seriously? Yer parents never spanked ya when ya was a filly growin' up in Cloudsdale?" Applejack asked.

"Nope. Usually when I got punished for being bad it meant getting grounded. Do you know what it's like when you earned your cutie mark for flying really fast and you've gotta spend the entire week stuck in your home because you got into a fight at school with some loudmouthed colt? Trust me it's like torture," Rainbow Dash explained. "But all that's beyond the point AJ. I feel terrible and I just can't stand it. I can't take you not being upset with me. I need you mad at me, I need you to want me punished for what I did to you! I need... I-I need," she stuttered but was silenced as Applejack placed a hoof against her mouth.

"Jus' lemme see if ah gotta hold o' this whole thing," Applejack said and paused. "Yer sayin' that ya feel guilty and want some kinda retribution?" she asked. There was a confused look at the word "retribution" and Applejack sighed. "It means ya wanna get paid back fer what ya did," she explained, at which Rainbow Dash nodded. Applejack drew back her hoof before she continued talking. "So... what exactly? Do ya wan' me ta spank ya or somethin'? Is that why ya brought up the thing with Twilight?"

"Oh not this again," Rainbow Dash muttered to herself before turning her attention back to Applejack. "I... I guess that's what I'm saying. Maybe... yeah. I'm not gonna quit feeling guilty until you do something so... so... oh I can't believe I'm saying this... Applejack would you please spank me?" she asked, the redness of her cheeks threatening to bust through her cyan coat.

"A'right RD if it'll make ya feel better. Jus' go wait in the barn an' ah'll be there in a few minutes. Just gotta find Applebloom an' tell 'er not ta come inta the barn 'cause I got some personal matters ta take care of," Applejack told her.

"Thanks Applejack, I really appreciate this," she admitted before flying over to the barn.

"Rainbow Dash yer definitely one o' the most complicated ponies ah ever did meet," Applejack said to herself now that she was alone again. If somepony had told her last week that this was going to be happening she wouldn't have believed them. But here she was and... she didn't even want to think about it, it was making her feel weird.

Meanwhile in the barn Rainbow Dash was waiting patiently for Applejack to show up so they could get this underway. Or at least as patiently as she could, which in her case involved a lot of pacing about in an anxious manner and pondering if she needed to go and find her. Fortunately she didn't have to as she spotted Applejack walking -or more accurately hobbling- into the barn not long after.

"Are ya really sure ya wanna go through with this RD? Even after Twilight spanked ya yesterday?" Applejack asked her.

"Trust me Applejack this is embarrassing just to think about. I don't want this... but I need it if I'm ever gonna be able to forgive myself."

"A'right, a'right ah get it, jus' gimme a minute here," Applejack replied and pulled the door to the barn shut. "Follow."

Rainbow Dash obeyed the impromptu command and trailed behind Applejack over to a corner of the barn where the floor was devoid of straw, instead a wooden platform was on the floor and adorned with several strong looking ropes. The whole area looked weird to her.

"If we're gonna be doin' this then we're gonna be doin' it right. Hop up on there so's ah can git ya tied down," Applejack instructed.

"Wait, tied down?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Sorta an Apple Family tradition. We're strong earth ponies built fer buckin' and when we buck 'cause we're gettin' spanked it's... not pretty. So we gotta have our legs restrained," she explained and left it at that, looking back to Rainbow Dash and waiting for her to make up her mind.

Rainbow Dash just nodded and gulped before finally climbing up on the wooden platform, allowing Applejack to proceed in tying her legs down and her tail up and out of the way. She tugged at the restraints, testing them and finding them just as effective as Twilight's magic yesterday. This was definitely not going to be fun.

"Last chance ta back out RD," Applejack said as she slipped her good foreleg into some sort of assembly that was constructed from a metal and leather sleeve attached to a rectangular piece of wood about half the size of her leg. "Ya sure that ya wanna go through with this?"

"Please don't make me say it again Applejack, let's just get it over with," Rainbow Dash said and took a deep breath to steady herself. "I'm ready."

"If ya say so," Applejack said as she walked over to Rainbow Dash and got into position. "Ah don' know how many yer gonna need so ah'm just gonna wing it," she explained. Rainbow Dash nodded and she began, drawing her foreleg back and swinging forward, sharply swatting her haunches with the paddle assembly with a loud slapping noise.

Rainbow Dash jumped, caught entirely off guard at how much more that had hurt than yesterday. Had Twilight gone easy on her and this was what a spanking really felt like? Or was she still just tender from yesterday? She didn't have much time to think it over as another swat soon landed on her haunches, forcing her to fight back a yelp of pain. Another swat had her straining with all her might to keep quiet, and a forth broke her composure and forced a strangulated yelp to escape her lips. It was then that the swats started coming a whole lot faster, making any hope of silence impossible. This was a whole lot different than yesterday, a whole lot more intense. That ache in her hindquarters was quickly growing intolerable and the burn was easily reaching the intensity of a forest fire. There was no slow buildup to test her tolerances, they were far beyond that point already and it was only out of pure stubbornness and determination that she was resisting the intense desire to break down like she had been forced to yesterday. But with each new swat that resolve was being tested and she didn't know if it was possible.

Applejack was silent the whole time as she carried out Rainbow Dash's request, displaying great skill at hitting her mark even as the cyan pegasus struggled to move and escape, the futile attempts to shield her haunches. She was doing her best not to put too much thought into the matter, knowing full well that if she did it was going to be really weird.

"Hurts!" Rainbow Dash choked out as she squeezed her eyes shut as hard as she could and grit her teeth.

"Granny Smith always said it's gotta hurt ta heal proper," Applejack replied, all the while continuing the swatting without missing a beat.

There was no relief in sight, just a constant and steady stream of pain raining down on her and no way to get away from it. Her resolve, her stubbornness was proving entirely insufficient. She wanted to scream, to howl, to cut loose and yell her hooves off with all her might. Had she been offered something to bite down on she would've bitten it in half by now.

"I'm sorry!"

"Sorry for what RD?" Applejack asked while still continuing the swatting.

"I'm sorry f-for s-screwing up and crashing i-into you!" she choked out, trying to hardest to fight back the desire to cry, "I'm s-sorry I broke your leg and put you in the h-h-hospital! You're my b-best friend a-and I wound up h-h-hurting you! I-I'm sorry A-Applejack! I c-could've killed you by being s-stupid and I'm s-s-so so sorry!" she finished before finally breaking down, unable to hold back her crying any longer.

To see a pony as strong as Rainbow Dash start crying so openly was... disturbing to say the least. But one thing was for certain, there was no way she was delivering another swat to her reddened haunches. She shook the paddle off of her foreleg before undoing the knot that held all the ropes in place together and let Rainbow Dash free. Immediately after being released her forelegs flew up to her haunches to try and soothe the burn, again leaving herself vulnerable to her top half falling to the platform while her bottom half remained upright.

As Rainbow Dash cried Applejack just sat by her, stroking her along the back while waiting for her to calm down on her own. She didn't know a lot about psychology but she'd say Rainbow Dash had a lot to get out of her system right now, and it was best not to interrupt her. She'd just wait until her friend was more coherent on her own, all the while offering whatever degree of physical comfort she could to her.

It turned out to be a longer wait than expected as Rainbow Dash had a lot of crying that apparently needed to be done. But eventually the crying slowed to sobs, and then eventually to simple sniffles.

"It's all over now RD," Applejack reassured her as she stroked her mane and down her back.

"I'm sorry..." she repeated, just as she'd done throughout the entire crying episode.

"Ah know ya are, but ya don' have ta be sorry no more, all's been forgiven," she said, even though in her mind there was nothing that had to be forgiven on the matter. But as she had said, Rainbow Dash was stubborn and just couldn't admit to the fact that things really were as simple as she said they were.

Which reminded her. There was definitely no way she was going to tell Rainbow Dash that part of the Apple Family experience involved being forced to sit on your haunches on the platform afterwards and face the corner until told to get up, she didn't need that right now. And she definitely didn't need to know about the use of a switch.

"A'right let's get ya back up, ya ain't doin' yerself no favors layin' down on them boards," Applejack told her and wrapped her forelegs around her midsection to lift her up. Despite the whining and stifled screams of protest at being jostled about so roughly she really was helping Rainbow Dawn up as gently as she could until she was back in a standing position.

"Oh Celestia it hurts," Rainbow Dash whimpered.

"Ain't tellin' me nothin' that ah ain't learned mahself the hard way," Applejack admitted. "The next question's prob'ly gonna sound stupid, but now that it's all over do ya feel better?"

Rainbow Dash nearly did a double take at being presented with the same question again. What was this some sort of conspiracy? But then she remembered from yesterday that it wasn't about physical feelings but emotional feelings. And now that she stopped and thought about it... she did feel better, there wasn't a feeling of guilt weighing her down. She almost felt... lighter.

"Yeah I guess I do. Thanks Applejack."

"No problem RD. Jus' don' ask me ta do somethin' like that again, it's just too weird," Applejack told her, causing Rainbow Dash to actually laugh.

"Don't worry about that I've got no plans of ever going through this again. The whole hurting to heal thing isn't my style," she replied. She tried to take a step but grimaced and nearly fell down again, but she managed to remain upright. "I guess I'd better get going now, I've taken up enough of your time with this whole mess."

Rainbow Dash thought she was going to be walking out of here under her own power after all that? Yeah she was a stubborn pegasus alright if she was entertaining that belief.

"Why don' ya stay over an' have dinner instead o' jus' running off, give yerself a chance ta rest up an' recover," Applejack suggested, causing Rainbow Dash to stop in mid-step.

"Really?" she asked and turned o face her, wincing at the movement. "Wait, won't they know something's up if I can't sit down at the table? I really don't want anypony else finding out about this."

"Aw shoot RD it ain't nothin' to get embarrassed about. Anypony could wind up settin' down on a prickly bush an' need help gettin' all the thorns out. Ah tell ya that's happened ta us more than once," Applejack replied.

"What're you..." Rainbow Dash began to ask, confused as to why Applejack was talking about prickly bushes. But she was stopped when Applejack gave her a look; the kind of look she usually saw Twilight give when she wanted somepony to think things out for themselves rather than ask for an explanation to be provided. So she thought, and nearly slapped herself in the head when she got it. "Oh right. Darn those prickly bushes, they're a real pain in the hindquarters," she said and chuckled.

"Now yer gettin' it Sugarcube. Now come on an' let's eat ah'm gettin' hungry," Applejack told her.

"Right behind ya," she said and followed, all the while wincing at each step she took. "Darn prickly bushes..."

---

Dear Princess Celestia,

I learned something really important about friendship today, or last night rather if you wanna get technical. When you have friends and you do something that gets them hurt, even if it's an accident, you feel really guilty about it and want to do everything in your power to help them. But I already knew that, that's not what I learned. Sometimes that guilt persists even after you've helped your friends get better and you feel horrible even when everypony says you have no reason to. What I learned is that a real friend will help you even when they have every right to refuse because of what you put them through, and they do so because they care more about the suffering that you're experiencing than they do their own. That's when you know that you're really lucky.

I also learned that when something's really wrong and you feel bad about it, sometimes you have to hurt before you can properly heal. It's certainly not fun no experience, but it definitely works even if it doesn't sound like it will.

Signed,
Rainbow Dash

Author's Note:

This was never an attempt at a fetish work, I never had any intention of heavily focusing on the inclusion of a gratuitous number of slapping sounds or the explicit detail others include in their works. Rather it was born out of the notice that MLP:FIM isn't a series that seems to have been touched upon those with a heavy interesting is spankings, discipline and punishment in general. At least not at the time of this writing. That lack eventually resulted in the idea of writing something to fill that void.

Choosing who would do what wasn't an easy task as there was no reference material to work with. But eventually I picked Rainbow Dash to be the one on the receiving end due to her element being loyalty, figuring that if you're very loyal to your friends and you do something that winds up getting them hurt you're going to feel guilty and willing to do whatever's necessary to fix that feeling. Twilight seemed a natural choice to start the process as she's very knowledgeable in general and would approach the matter from a detached clinical perspective acting like a researcher who wouldn't take any joy out of the process, and was simply going along as a friend because it was requested of her. Applejack proved to be a necessity in order to provide a sense of closure for Rainbow Dash to leave no doubt in her mind that everything was ultimately alright and she no longer had any need to feel guilty.

Comments

[FakeScienceMonthly]

I love it. There's something magical about this.

I think it's just the way it's written. You write like a cartoon. You have the same sort of tricks to draw the minds eye to the right place for maximum effect. It's not so much painting a scene as it is animating it. The story has beautifully clean edges. It feels a lot like the show, even though the content goes off the standard track.

You have, not only a good understanding of the characters you are working with, but characters in general. The idea of guilt and forgiveness is not a particularly complex one. Like the show, you take an idea that would commonly be learned as a child, and apply it to these adult characters. Like the show, you succeed in making it interesting by being clean and transparent. If you don't know what I mean by that, I mean that characters act in a focus towards the event at hand and don't get clouded out in other issues. Also, by transparent I mean it takes a simple point, and lets the reader see all the way through it to its core.

It's also delightful how you set things up in a way so the characters are oblivious at the correct times only. It gives a good sense of naivety, while keeping from be too annoying if they fail to keep up to our intelligence. It has a scene that would be very kinky if you had not done this right. You got away with this in the same way the show gets away with lots of things that could be implied romance if not in context.

The flow of the story is really interesting. Like I said before, it really draws the eye to the right place. You had all the scenes you needed, and not much pointless extra (maybe a little bit, but not a huge concern). I was concerned about the quality of this story from the description and the sole random tag, but the tag was well used for this. I half expected a troll fic.

Anyway, it's a good story, but not completely flawless. You have a problem with speech patterns.

"Hey girls," Applejack greeted back, "so when do ah get outta here an' back ta Sweet Apple Acres?" she asked.

should be:

"Hey girls," Applejack greeted back. "So when do ah get outta here an' back ta Sweet Apple Acres?" she asked.

You can only use the comma's to join two partial sentences. If the first part of the dialogue is a complete sentence, you have to use a full stop. Apart from that, you are also not using comma's in some places you should. I don't have time to find all that, but you might want to look into comma rules.

Your writing feels like you are still learning in a few places. I hope you keep writing stuff though. You have good style to build on.

[Autumn Wind]

I'm planning on reading this in a bit, but a little piece of advice: You want want to have the story's description, um, describe the story .

It's good to know that this is your first attempt, but it would be great to know what to expect going in.

[Smitty91]

A very nice, well-written, touching story. Well done! :)

[OutOfBandwidth]

Nice work! You really have the skills to let the characters act really natural. I could read that story very smooth and I had many story's to compare.

[Xibit]

Dear RD,

It hurts me that my forgiveness was not enough for you. Accidents are one thing, but no true friend would ever pain you on purpose. Parents are quite another barrel. They want to teach you and be certain you learn the lesson well. Your guilt meant you had learned the lesson. As it lingers you remember it and when it begins to fade you'll still recall. Forgiveness is forgetting, being forgiven is to know love and loyalty...and learning.

Honestly & with Love, always
Your Friend ~ AJ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spanked 2x - both times restrained - seems gratuitous.