Chapter 2: Blood Tests and An Old Pony
As Rainbow Dash returned to where the finish line was, she started to notice that Fluttershy was nowhere around. Hey, where is she? I did all that for her and she’s not here? If I don’t find her, Im gonna be really really angry! Thought Rainbow Dash as the various Pegasi who were watching the race came up to congratulate her. She looked around forgetting everything else to find her friend. Her family gave her everything, and now when Rainbow Dash wants to see her after stopping those bullies for good, she just disappears. This started to make the filly very sad and slightly angry. Then a mare came up to her.
“That was wondrous flying, where did you learn that move from?” The mare said.
She replied, “Uhh, I don’t really know. I guess making rainbows are my talent? Well, I think I’ll call that move the Sonic Rainboom! Doesn’t that sound awesome! Oh, and have you seen a yellow filly with a pink mane?”
“Umm… the one who fell? No, but that’s not important right now… I would like to offer you an opportunity to become famous. To become the most well known, and greatest flier in all of Equestria!”
Confused and intrigued, Rainbow Dash said, “Well….. I don’t know… It sounds super awesome, but let me find Fluttershy first.”
The mare seemed more interested and now suspicious when she heard the name Fluttershy. “You said your friend Fluttershy correct?”
“Yup! She’s practically my best friend!” said Rainbow Dash.
“I believe that pony has been long dead… and if not, she surely died from the fall off of the clouds at the beginning of your race, dearie… I’m sorry for your friends loss.” Replied the mare
Rainbow Dash started tearing up in her eyes. Fluttershy can’t be dead, she’s a better flier than that even if she fell. And if this pony saw her, someone else should’ve too. How come nobody saved her? I would’ve if I saw it! And why did she say she was already dead? Does that have anything to do with why at home mom and dad called her some other name? And why they never had her name on her schedules? What’s going on? Then Rainbow Dash started to cry harder than she ever did before. Nothing made sense. Everything that happened today was so new to her and now she’s letting her emotions get the best of her. All she could think about was the fact that Fluttershy was dead and she’ll never see her again. She cried so much she didn’t realize the mare had picked her up and was taking her somewhere. They got in a Limousine-like wagon and then once inside, Rainbow Dash cried herself to sleep.
When she woke up, she was in what looked like a doctor’s office. Why was she in here? All she knew was that she wanted to go home and tell her mom and dad about everything and get them to look for Fluttershy. The memory of Fluttershy made her start crying again. Then her father came into the room, wearing a typical doctor suit. Her father was a well respected doctor in Cloudsdale. He was always busy at work and didn’t visit home all too often, but when he did he would always help improve his daughter’s skills at flying and help improve her wing strength.
Seeing her father, she became very confused, but immediately gave him a hug.
“Hey Rainbow, how are things going? Are you ok? I heard you did amazing at your race, I’m very proud in how you stood up for your friend like that.” He said
“Dad where is Fluttershy? Is she ok? How come that mare said she was already dead? What is going on dad?” Rainbow Dash rushed out of her mouth.
“Don’t worry, your friend is fine, she survived the fall and met her true love. Everything is fine dear, but she said she doesn’t ever want to come back up. I’m sorry you won’t ever get to see her again.”
“But… How… I’m her only friend! She has to at least tell me about her true love! I was supposed to be the first person to know!” Tears formed into her eyes as she realized she’ll never be able to see her again unless she leaves Cloudsdale, but doing that would make her miss her parents.
“She said that she doesn’t want to see you again and you have to accept this Rainbow… I’m sorry this happened. You got your cutie mark, and she found love. It’s how things have to be.”
At hearing that Fluttershy doesn’t want to see her again she started to get angry. My family gave her everything she could have wanted, and now all this!? Did friendship mean anything to her? I saved her back and she turns her own on me? This isn’t fair! I’ll find a way to make her pay! Rainbow Dash didn’t realize she spoke that last line out loud and saw a random twitch of joy in her father’s face but then it disappeared.
“Hey, Rainbow, is it ok if I do a few tests on you? I have a little theory of mine that formulated when I heard about your Sonic Rainboom. Did you know that you were on the radio? One of mom’s reporters interviewed you for a few seconds before you started talking about your friend.” Her father said.
“Tests? Like what kinda tests?”
Her father replied, “Just a blood test and we need to take a strand of the six different colors of your mane.”
“Eeew! I hate blood. And tests.. But sure….”
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Fluttersnake had finally arrived at Cloudsdale. He landed towards the edge of Cloudsdale as to not be seen and had sneaked his way over to the prison. After circling around the prison out of view of cameras and guards, he noticed that there was hardly any possible way of criminals escaping. He had to get inside and find out what’s going on. He had a decent amount of gadgets at his disposal; he had a tranquilizer gun that was silenced, just in case he needed it; he had his butterfly call which summons thousands of butterflies to his location, makes for good ways of distracting and escaping; a small pair of binoculars with up to 20x zoom; some rations; and plastic explosives that can detonate with a button. He started to make his way to the prison, sneaking around guards that were patrolling the area fairly easily. There’s no way I can just use the front door….. I need to find some other way in. Fluttersnake thought, as he was hiding under a lifted up stack of crates.
He went to the back of the building where there was an unguarded ladder to the ceiling. He climbed up and found a chimney. It wasn’t being used so why not use it? He carefully climbed down until he reached an extra cooking room that looked untouched in years. I should’ve chosen a better chimney, but I only fit in that one… There’s no food in here! Fluttersnake cautiously stepped into the hallway outside of the old kitchen. There were no guards patrolling. He had to get to the floor with the criminal cells to try to find out if they know how ponies have been escaping. He found a map of the building in a side room on the wall and took it with looking for the stairs. It was night, so most of the floors went unpatrolled, and a lot of the lights were shut off. He managed to make his way to a staircase that would take him to a side of the main cells that would be less protected. As he came down, he noticed the hallway to the back entrance of the cells had its lights on. Guards are patrolling here.
There were two hallways in front of him. He looked into the left hallway and saw two guards watching the door to the cells. They stood about a fourth of the way into the hallway facing each other and towards the door. He probably could make some noise to distract one and go around to the other side and tranquilize the other. He crawled into the unguarded hallway so the guard opposite of the guard he’s sneaking behind doesn’t see him. Fluttersnake places some plastic explosive on the outside wall in the hallway and sneaks back upstairs to the stairway behind the other guard. He readies his gun and button and sets off the explosive. KABOOM!!! Both guards hear it and both go to the explosion. Fluttersnake quickly tranquilizes the closer guard, drawing the other guard to this new distraction. The guard had already turned the corner, but is tranquilized immediately after he comes back around it.
That was easy… But I better hurry now… Fluttersnake thinks and he cautiously opens the door. Suprisingly all the criminals are asleep, or close enough not to make any noise about Fluttersnake entering. The room was lit by moonlight from small windows on the ceiling. Fluttersnake trots up to one criminal that is calmly sitting there wide awake.
“Hey, do you know how criminals are disappearing from here?” He asks the older looking pony in the cell.
“Criminals? You can hardly call any of us criminals anymore… Mostly why we’re here is cause of minor things like forgetting to move a raincloud across town, or being sick on days that Princess Celestia comes around, or silly things like that. If I were you, I’d get out of here as soon as you get the chance.” Says the older pony.
“What? How did this start happening? Wow, eight years is a long time… Do you know whats going on here? I was sent by E.Q.U.I.N.E.”
The old pony sat and stared at him for a good long time that seemed like hours but only really was a few seconds. “You need to leave; they’ll be taking some of us soon. All you need to know is what we are allowed to know, this place is hell, and it’s best ya’ get out when you can.” And with that, there was a noise of some ponies talking outside the cell room and about to come in.
“Hide if you value your life kid.” The old pony said in a fierce whisper.
Fluttersnake found an empty, open cell and hid under the bed hoping that the ponies coming in aren’t putting someone in it. The group of ponies came into the room. There were four of them and they all wore strange hooded cloaks. Two of them had their hoods up while the other two were wearing strange masks on their faces. The bigger of the hooded ponies looked like the leader. He approached the older pony that Fluttersnake was talking to.
“Are you ready to help clean the world you lowly mule?” The voice was a soothing one, but menacing, almost making somepony insane by just hearing it talk.
“I don’t understand… Why did you keep me here for so long? You killed my greatest love, what more do you want?” The old pony sorrowfully questioned.
“Because your family is gone, you have nothing left, and now you will serve the world. Soon, you will join with the sky and clouds. You will be with your family soon.” The hooded pony said laughing as the masked ponies took the old pony from his cell.
“You will regret this Thunderstar! I mean it!” Yelled the old man as the two masked ponies took him out of the room. The two hooded ones remained and looked around from where they stood. Fluttersnake noticed that there really were no other ponies in any of the cells. Just the old pony was in here. Who was that older pony anyways? It was too dark in here to see what color he or his mane was, and the cloaked ponies didn’t turn on any lights. The room was lit by moonlight from small windows on the ceiling. Thunderstar then turned almost in the direction of Fluttersnake’s hiding spot and spoke to the other hooded pony.
“I believe we are beginning to run out of weather resources… And ideas on how to get new ones…”
Now the smaller hooded pony finally spoke, “We could always use the girl…”
“Yes, I will look at that idea, actually, I have something better to show you” Thunderstar replied.
With that mark, the two ponies left the room heading the direction of the first two. Fluttersnake then got up from his hiding spot and sneaked over to the door the other ponies left from. He entered the hallway and checked it for guards. The hallway was clear and he headed the direction of the hooded ponies voices. The group stopped in an interrogation or meeting room, Fluttersnake wasn’t sure from the little window that led inside. He saw the old man strapped to a chair and was being tortured in the room. In the rooms light, Fluttersnake noticed that the old pony had a bright golden coat and a fading dark blue mane. Those colors… So familiar... But it can’t be… no.. it-it isn’t! But I have to save him either way! Fluttersnake grabbed his butterfly call and blew into it. It made a soft, cute little hum as he blew into it. He knew he had at least 10 seconds until they arrive at the spot he blew it, so he carefully as not to be seen placed explosives on the window, readied his gun and prepared.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!! The window exploded in a loud boom and one of the shards of glass stuck into a masked pony in the room. He screamed as it hit him in the neck and blood started squirting out of the wound. Immediately a swarm of butterflies flew in through the broken window and startled the other ponies in the room. Fluttersnake readied his gun as the door opened with the masked ponies looking around trying to find out what is going on. Fluttersnake took advantage of their confusion and tranquilized both of them. They fell to the ground immediately and Fluttersnake ran into the room. He was too late, it was empty aside from the butterflies. He looked around and found a hole straight through the ceiling to the sky. He cautiously flew up and out and saw the two hooded ponies carrying the old pony towards a carriage on the roof. He started to sneak up to them but they were already getting on the carriage.
“I knew someone was following us.” Thunderstar said as he slowly turned to Fluttersnake, who had the tranquilizer aimed at him.
“What is going on here!? Why are you taking the ponies from here? With all these ridiculous charges placed on them?”
“Oh, silly colt, you already have seen too much, I might have to kill you. Hahahahaha!” The hooded pony cackled. Fluttersnake stepped back and fired a shot at the dark pony in front of him. In the blink of an eye, the pony disappeared before being hit and suddenly Fluttersnake got punched in the back of the head. He fell forward but quickly recovered.
“How in the hell did you do that!” Fluttersnake exclaimed.
“Hahahaha! Careful who you play with colt! I’m just getting started!” Thunderstar launched forward with a hoof-punch. Fluttersnake narrowly dodged it rolling to the side. Shit this guy’s fast..I don’t know if I can take him here…. Another punch, another narrow dodge.
“You getting tired? Or scared? If you’re scared, this is just nothing! I’ll show you fear!” Immediately after speaking, Thunderstar flew into the air extremely fast and dive-bombed towards Fluttersnake. Fluttersnake jumped out of the way early enough, but when Thunderstar hit the ground, a huge boom of thunder was created which dazed Fluttersnake for a little while. Thunderstar used this time to grab Fluttersnake and flew over one of the chimneys.
“Enjoy getting yourself out of this little colt!” Thunderstar dropped Fluttersnake down one of the many chimneys on the roof, his maniacal laughter echoing through as Fluttersnake fell.