My Little Dashie: The Return

by Brony MACH

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Ponyville, and a gentle spring breeze blew through the air. Twilight had left her library in order to run some errands, and unbeknownst to the unicorn a carefully planned surprise lay in wait for her return.

The sound of stifled laughter emerged from a group of bushes. “Hehe, this is going to be the best prank ever!”

“I can’t wait to see her reaction! I hope this works,” replied another hushed voice.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be- shhhhhh! Here she comes….”

Twilight had just turned the corner and was heading back to her library. Her saddlebags were full of parchment paper and quill pens, the staple of her intellectual diet. She quietly hummed a tune to herself as she drew the library key from her bag and turned it in the lock with an audible click. Suppressed laughter emanated from behind her. Twilight glanced backward, looking for the source of the strange noise. With one eyebrow raised, she turned back to the unlocked library door, and swung it open.

BREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

“Augh!” screamed Twilight as she leaped backward in surprise, her saddlebags falling from her body. The contents of her bags lay in disarray on the library porch, a chaotic mix of parchment paper, quills, and bottles of ink. In front of her, the door to the library stood ajar. A string, tied to the inside doorknob, ran upward to the center of the doorpost where it was securely attached to what seemed to be the source of Twilight’s surprise.

“BWAHAHAHA!” Laughter erupted from the bushes behind Twilight as the two ponies emerged from their hiding place. Twilight pulled a cheap air horn down from her doorframe and turned around to address the two perpetrators.

“Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, Ponyville’s two greatest pranksters, eh?” Twilight said with a half sarcastic, half annoyed tone.

“You…HAHA…you should have seen the look on your face!” said Rainbow Dash between giggles.

“I’ve never seen anypony jump that high before! That was so funny!” said Pinkie Pie with a smile.

The unicorn cast a death glare at her friends. Both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie continued to giggle with each other until they saw the scorn in their friend's eyes. Twilight motioned toward the mess of supplies on the ground and let out an angry huff. The smiles disappeared from her friend's faces as they both looked down in embarrassment. Twilight took her studies very seriously and did not enjoy interruptions in her carefully planned schedule; more importantly, she despised any and all forms of disorganization.

"We're sorry, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash.

"We didn't mean to make you drop everything. We'll help you clean up right now," added Pinkie Pie with a sad look on her face.

Twilight levitated the air horn toward in front of the two pranksters who continued to stare at the ground. "Oh yes, you're going to be very, very sorry," began Twilight. "Sorry when I prank both of you back when you least expect it!

A smile creeped onto the unicorn's face as she firmly pressed the air horn’s red button.

BRREEEEEEE!!!

"AUGH!" cried both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie as they looked up in surprise. Twilight began to chuckle at her friends, who also began to lighten up as well. The three ponies laughed in unison under the springtime sun. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle giggled and guffawed until their sides began to ache. After a couple minutes, Twilight finally addressed her two friends.

“Well, I must resume my studies,” she said as she used her magic to quickly gather her fallen supplies. “What are you two up to today?”

“Oh, oh, guess what? We have a huge gigantic order to fill back at Sugarcube corner. Mrs. Cake says somepony ordered 200 cupcakes for a party Monday afternoon. 200 CUPCAKES! GAH! I’M SO EXCITED!!!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she jumped up and down.

Rainbow Dash turned to her ecstatic friend, “200 cupcakes? That’s a bit much for a party.”

“Too much? You can never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever have too many cupcakes at a party!” said Pinkie Pie as she shook her head vigorously. “Oh, I almost forgot! Mrs. Cake needs me to pick up some baking supplies. I’d better be off! Bye Twilight! Bye Dashie.”

As Pinkie Pie hopped gleefully away toward Sugarcube corner, Rainbow Dash turned her head toward her unicorn friend. Suddenly, the pegasus jerked her head to the side and gasped softly, as if she was experiencing discomfort.

Twilight turned to her friend, who was trying to shake the feeling from her head. "Are you ok, Rainbow Dash?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. It's just those headaches again. I'll be fine soon, though." replied Rainbow Dash."Don't worry, it's gone now."

"Alright. Just remember if you need anything, don't hesitate to drop by." said Twilight, "What do you have planned for today?"

“I've got a busy afternoon, actually. The weather team is bringing in some spring showers and I have to make sure all the clouds are in place.” she said.

“Oh, how nice. I’m sure the Apple family will appreciate the rain,” replied Twilight.

Rainbow Dash looked up at the sky where a few pegasi were already convening. “Looks like they’re getting started already. I’ll catch you later Twilight,” she said.

“Be careful now. Remember what happened last time?” replied Twilight as her blue pegasus friend took off toward the skies.

“Yeah, yeah. I know, I’ll try my hardest not to get struck by lightning again, haha,” shouted Rainbow Dash as she joined the waiting weather team.

The unicorn watched her friend fly away into the distance. Twilight then entered her library and quietly closed the door behind her. She placed her saddlebags next to her writing stand and breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a week since Rainbow Dash was released from the Canterlot infirmary, and now she was back to her old rambunctious self.

The recovery period for Twilight's friend had been tough to say the least. Even after the memory spell completed its work, Rainbow Dash was forced to stay in the infirmary for five days. She battled intermittent disorientation and amnesia, as well as random blackouts. Worst all were the headaches. They came without warning and without mercy. During Rainbow Dash's stay in the infirmary, they would torture her for hours on end, even to the point of sleeplessness. Twilight told the pegasus that the headaches were simply an aftershock of the lightning bolt accident, but of course only Twilight knew the real reason for Rainbow Dash's pain. It seemed that Twilight underestimated the side effects of this particular memory spell.

Still, Twilight envied Rainbow Dash in a sense. She didn’t have to remember the panic surrounding her disappearance, or the pain Twilight endured by separating her from her ‘father’. Rainbow Dash would be able to live a care-free life, unaware of the experiences that her friends had gone through to save her. Twilight remembered the frantic search in the Canterlot archives for an inter-dimensional transport spell, which was found buried deep in the post-Lunar repository. She remembered Celestia calling the five other guardians of the Elements for the most important mission of their lives. She remembered they joy of discovering her friend after days of searching, and the shock of realizing what Rainbow Dash had gone through after the accident. Twilight would especially not forget the feeling of absolute sadness and agony as father and daughter were separated, never to see each other again. It was a feeling that would burn into her consciousness and eat at her every time she saw that blue pegasus.

Twilight then turned her thoughts to the events after Rainbow Dash’s return to Equestria. She remembered casting the spell that killed the Rainbow Dash of the human world. When she explored the mind of her friend, Twilight was forced to examine every memory that she erased from Rainbow Dash’s mind. She saw every detail of the pegasus' life in the human world. Twilight couldn't help but feel that she knew the “human” Rainbow Dash. And Twilight couldn't help but feel that she was murdering her with own bare hooves.

Princess Celestia had left her no other options; such powerful memories could threaten to destroy Rainbow Dash's mind. The memory spell was needed not only to keep Equestria and the human world separate, but also protect Rainbow Dash from her own experiences. Still, she wondered if it was it the right thing to do.

Twilight snapped back to reality. Her particular course of study required utmost concentration. Twilight wandered toward a small bookshelf near the back of her library. Here, she kept her most treasured pieces of literature. Her eyes gazed over How to Raise a Baby Dragon, moving over The Elements of Harmony and Heavenly Constellations: a Pony’s Guide to the Night Skies. She then called upon her magic, pushing the books on the middle shelf away from the center, creating an opening. From within, she retrieved an old worn cardboard box from the back of the bookshelf and placed it on the table.

Princess Celestia designated Twilight as the caretaker of the box. “As long as I’m watching over it, I might as well study it,” the unicorn thought to herself. Studying was, in fact, what she did best.

Comments

[Nyn77]

Pretty good story, no mistakes as far as I see. Atleast a like, probably a fav once I get to read more of the story :3