This chapter is from Rainbow Dash's POV.

Chapter 10: Black-Coated Discord!

I watched as the black-coated Pegasus flew towards my house. He wasn't going too fast, but he wasn't slowing down, either. I called out his name several times, but he never looked back at me or stopped flying. I wonder what was up with him. When I saw him with Fluttershy on my way to Sugarcube Corner, he looked as if he were enjoying himself. He seemed happy. Then his smile and happiness faded when I came along. Was he upset with me? What the hay did I do?

My thoughts were cut short when I saw Featherwing open my front door and walked into my house. I thought he would slam the door in my face, but instead he left it open. I felt one of my eyebrows raise in confusion. I wasn't about to let my curiosity suffer, so I flew right in my house and looked around to find Featherwing.

"I know you're in here, Featherwing! Come out of your hiding spot!" I shouted.

"I'm not hiding," I heard Featherwing say. At least I think it was Featherwing; his voice sounded so different. It was soft, mellow, and kinda depressing. I've heard my best friend angry before, but never like this.

"I'm in the living room." He continued with his sulking voice. I felt a cool breeze brush against my spine at the sound of this new voice.

I flapped my wings into the living room and spotted him. He laid his head on the armrest of the cloud couch. I couldn't see his face, but his body was slouched and seemingly floppy. It looked like if I poked him, his whole body would jiggle.

"Featherwing?" I said his name softly as I began to land. My wings were getting tired.

Everything was silent for a moment, minus the chirping of birds outside of the house. He didn't move his head to look at me, and I could barely hear him breathing. Was he breathing?

"Featherwing!" I said a bit louder. Maybe he didn't hear me.

Still nothing. It was so quiet; quieter than a conversation between Fluttershy and a turtle.

I can't take this anymore; I arched my eyebrows, took in a large gasp of air into my lungs, and shouted: "FEATHERWING!"

"I can't face her!" Featherwing finally said while facing me.

"Whoa." I heard myself breathe. My eyes widened when I saw Featherwing's face. His eyebrows were arched, his teeth were clenching tightly against one another, and he was heaving. He glared at me with terrifying eyes; the eyes of a truly upset pony.

"Fe-Featherwing…What's—" I was cut off.

"Look at me! I can't face Fluttershy looking like…like a monster!" Featherwing said through his bared teeth.

I could only stare at him. I wanted to look away because his face was so scary, but I couldn't. Something told me I just couldn't.

When he noticed I wasn't going to say anything, he continued. "I'll scare her off, and she'll never want to hang around me again! And I don't want that…" A bit of Featherwing's horrid expression softened a bit.

"Why…Why are you so angry?" I asked hesitantly. I didn't want to trigger more anger from him.

"My cutiemark…" He replied. His glaring eyes focused on the lightning bolt on his hip. I glanced down at it, too.

"Your…cutiemark?" I repeated.

"Fluttershy told me how she got her cutiemark; how you protected her from those guys being bullied. You helped her get her cutiemark, in some sense or another. It was beautiful, Fluttershy's story. You two share a wonderful friendship. But me…" Featherwing's lips sealed themselves shut.

I stared at him with confusion. "What about you?"

"When I was a filly, I went to Junior Speedster Fly Camp. I wasn't a strong flier just like Fluttershy, so my parents took me there to become a better flier. It was fun, but lonely. Because of my black coat and one yellow zigzag streak in my tail, everypony thought I was strange and dangerous. So, no one approached me. I was always alone. That is until one day somepony finally approached me. Her mane was long and red; it sparkled when it was hit by sunlight. Her coat was dark blue just like her eyes. Her name was Wishbeat; she was a Pegasus unicorn, just like her brother, Flashbang. Their appearance was intimidating just like mine, so we fit in together. We became instant friends.

"We played together, ate lunch together, had sleepovers, and all sorts of things. We were inseparable. One day, I was listening to the radio, and I heard something called "The WubHour with DJ Pon-3". It was an up and coming filly DJ which seemed to trigger something inside of me. It was my first time ever hearing music that sent shivers down my spine. It was the first time I felt strong and powerful. It was the first time I heard dubstep. When I heard it, it made my wings stronger and my heart beat faster! It was a given that I had to show my friends my new discovery.

"I flew over to Wishbeat and Flashbang's house with my ting winged ear plugs blasting dubstep in my ears. My flying was so strong that all my training at the Junior Speedster Fly Camp seemed inadequate. When I got to my friend's house, I told them about the new music I found. Wishbeat wanted to hear it the most; she was always excited to try new things. I didn't realize how loud the music was until she placed the earplugs in her ear. Wishbeat screamed at the boisterous banging in her ear. She tumbled to the ground and held hear ears with her hooves. I assumed her ears were ringing because she kept repeating 'make it stop' even when the earplugs were far from her ears. I tried to apologize to her, but her brother shoved me away from his sister.

Finally, Wishbeat had stopped shaking and screaming. She was now very still. Flashbang and I stared at her, worry rushing into our stomachs. Wishbeat looked up at us from where she lay with her eyebrows knitted. I wondered why she looked so worried, so I asked if she was okay. I remember she tilted her head to the side and didn't respond. I asked again, and she was silent. Her brother yelled her name, but no response. She didn't even flinch like I did when Flashbang yelled. Then I felt my eyes widen, and my mouth fall ajar and the realization of why she hadn't reacted. I remember Flashbang turned to face me, his eyes filled with rage and worry for his sister. He said to me 'get away from here, black-coated discord!' I was hurt and completely devastated that he would say that, even after everything we'd been through. But I deserved it; I hurt his sister, after all.

"So, I flew off. I flew away as fast as I could; faster than a lightning bolt. The rhythm of dubstep playing in the back of my mind kept me flying faster and faster until I felt a small spark hit my hip. I landed right in the middle of Canterlot when I found a lightning bolt cutiemark planted right on me." He said.

I stared at Featherwing for a long time, trying to grasp everything that he had told me. It was a lot to take in. I would have never known that this was Featherwing. He seemed like a normal Pegasus to me, but now I know he's a sad and lonely Pegasus. I could feel my eyebrows knitting as I continued to stare at him. I felt so useless; if I had been there, he wouldn't have to feel this way at all. He'd still be with Fluttershy, having a good time. Instead, he's here with me, feeling disgusted of himself.

"So, when Fluttershy asked me about my cutiemark, I remembered all of that...I was so upset with myself that I couldn't face her. I didn't want her to see the monster I truly am." Featherwing's angered face had finally gone. He now stared at his bottom hooves with wet eyes.

I couldn't just sit here and let him feel this way! I'm Rainbow Dash, and I'm awesome! And all of my friends have to feel awesome, too, or I'll feel like I'm hogging up all the awesomeness! So, with that in mind, I sat up straight, took a deep breath, and launched myself to Featherwing. I heard him gasp for air as I embraced him as tightly as I could.

"Rai-Rainbow Dash! I can't…br-breathe!" Featherwing struggled to say, but I didn't care. He needed this!

"You're not a monster, Featherwing. You're a really cool pony! Even though you get on my nerves with your nagging and nit-picking about every little mistake I make, you're still a really great friend. Fluttershy would never think you're a monster even if you told her exactly what you told me. Trust me, Featherwing, there's nothing wrong with you." I let go of him finally. He gasped for air while I laughed.

"And don't forget, Featherwing! You're best friends with the one and only Rainbow Dash, so whenever you're feeling down, just come find me and I'll help you see the awesome side of life!" I said with a grand, toothy smile across my face.

Featherwing looked at me, seemingly trying hard not to smile back. Nopony can withstand my awesome smile! And just like that, a smile was returned on his face.

"Thanks, Rainbow Dash." He said, softly.

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right? Now go and find Fluttershy; I'm sure she's wondering where they hay you ran off to!" I reminded.

His eyes widened at the thought. "OH! You're right! I'll see you later, Rainbow Dash!"

I watched as he hurried off and flew back to the Everfree Forest.

Back to Fluttershy.

Back to his happiness.

Welp, I hope you enjoyed another chapter of Replaced! More to come this week. Thank you to Zuelatak for the new character Flashbang. More of Flashbang and Wishbeat, perhaps? Let me know if you'd like to see more of those two siblings in later chapters. Please review. Por favor. Onegaishimasu. Please.