Imperfect

by Wheller

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes; she was lying just outside Fluttershy’s doorstep, the yellow Pegasus standing over her looking sadly at her.

“Are you all right Rainbow? You didn’t even make it a metre from my door before collapsing,” she asked.

Rainbow Dash rose to her hooves. “Yeah, I think I’m okay now Fluttershy... I need to find Twilight.”

Fluttershy nodded, “Do you want me to walk with you?”

“No, that’s okay,” Rainbow said, she waved goodbye to Fluttershy and trotted off towards the Ponyville Library, trying to make sense of what had happened to her.

Twilight had called it a “flash-forward,” best Rainbow Dash could figure, it was most likely a dream. Heck, the kangaroo’s tank couldn’t even move right now, much less be able to nearly run her over... but what she was really curious about was what Twilight had said to her last. “Do not talk to the Doctor.” Who exactly was she referring to? The only doctor she knew was Doctor Blacksmith, the pony who had been in charge of her physical therapy for a short time when she was still in the Royal Hospital... She had seen him in her “flash-forward.”

Rainbow Dash was so lost in thought; she barely noticed when she bumped into somepony. Rainbow looked up in shock; standing in front of her was a brown earth pony with a spiky chestnut mane, an hourglass cutie mark on his flank. It was Doctor Blacksmith!

“Well! Rainbow Dash! Good to see you again,” the earth pony doctor said.

“Doctor Blacksmith?” Rainbow Dash asked in surprise, this couldn’t be coincidence.

“Just the Doctor. No need to get fancy,” the Doctor said with a smile.

Now Rainbow Dash was positive that this was who the Flash-Forward Twilight had meant.

“I... I’m not sure I should be talking to you...”

The Doctor smiled at her. “Well that’s part of the reason why I came back. Like it or not, I’m necessary even if Twilight Sparkle doesn’t agree with the things I’m about to do... well have done from my perspective, will do from yours... but anyway, I’m rambling, I say do as you like, what’s the worst that can possibly happen?”

Rainbow blinked at the colt before her, more confused than anything else.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do! Goodbye Rainbow!” the Doctor walked past her, leaving Rainbow standing in the middle of the street looking extremely confused.

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow yelled after him.

“You’ll find out!” the Doctor said. “Oh by the way, the password is “banana” remember that, it’ll be useful.”

Rainbow was completely lost.

...

Rainbow Dash knocked on the door to Twilight Sparkle’s Library; Twilight opened the door and gasped at her friend. “Ohmygosh! Rainbow! Are you okay?”

Rainbow Dash looked at her in confusion, but then remembered the bandage on her head. “Oh yeah! I’m okay, I hit my head earlier, but Fluttershy took care of me. May I come in?”

Twilight nodded, standing back allowing the Pegasus inside.

Rainbow Dash quickly discovered that she had a guest. Sitting in the room was a pitch black unicorn with amber eyes. Rainbow Dash looked at him, he looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash, have you met Nightshadow?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow looked at the unicorn more closely. “I thought I did when I first saw him... but maybe I’m thinking of somepony else... no offence.”

“None taken,” the unicorn said. “I do not recognise you either.”

Nightshadow rose to his hooves, trotting towards them. “I should be getting back to work; I will see you tomorrow, Twilight?” He leaned in and gave Twilight a gentle kiss on her muzzle and departed. Twilight looked as if she had just entered into her own little dream world.

This had thrown Rainbow Dash off, Twilight in the flash-forward has kissed her and said that she had loved her just before Rainbow passed out... if the flash-forward was legitimate, she could only imagine what had lead to those events.

“Equestria to Twilight Sparkle? Come in Twilight Sparkle?” Rainbow Dash said, shaking Twilight from her daze.

“Oh... sorry Rainbow,” Twilight said awkwardly.

“How long has that been going on?” Rainbow Dash asked her.

“Oh... about five months or so,” Twilight said, smiling awkwardly.

Déjà Vu again. Rainbow’s heart began to race, the last time she got Déjà Vu she had flashed-forward soon afterwards. “You’ve been dating someone for five months and nopony has heard about it until right now!?”

Twilight looked extremely embarrassed.

Rainbow Dash suddenly became dizzy; it was starting to happen again.

She did her best to fight it off, but to no avail, she collapsed in front of Twilight, blacking out.

...

Rainbow Dash awoke lying in the High Street. It was night time, and the town wasn’t on fire this time. Rainbow Dash supposed this was an improvement. As it so happened, she was in front of Twilight’s Library.

The last time she’d flashed-forward, Twilight had told her to go to nopony else before her. Well at least it had dropped her in a convenient place.

Rainbow Dash knocked on the door, it opened slightly, and Rainbow Dash began to relive the familiar experience of having a gun shoved in her face.

Rainbow Dash had had a gun pointed at her twice in her life before now, the first two times had been by gryphons... this time however nothing seemed to be holding the weapon.

Twilight poked her head around the door, her horn was glowing, and Rainbow Dash realised that she was the one operating it.

“Oh for crying... Rainbow I’m so sorry. Quickly! Get inside!”

Rainbow accepted the invitation, though she wasn’t exactly sure why. She figured that having a gun pointed at her was not the friendliest way of being greeted.

Once inside, Twilight closed the door, setting the gun back down on the table.

“What’s that all about?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Kangaroo made KH-11 Eight Bore Combat Shotgun... can’t be too careful these days,” Twilight said, she turned around and threw her hooves around the Pegasus, planting a kiss directly on her lips, once again, catching the Pegasus off guard. “Don’t you dare do that to me again! You know it’s not safe to be outside at night anymore.”

“Umm... Twilight, I didn’t know, I have no idea what’s going on right now,” Rainbow Dash said with a frown.

Twilight frowned at the Pegasus. “I dread this every day. Every time I see you I worry, ‘is Rainbow Dash going to know what’s going on today? Is today the day that Rainbow doesn’t love me?’ I’m afraid that one of these days, you’re going to be in a flash-forward where you don’t recognise me at all. Silly, I know, because as you’ve told me before, you didn’t start having them until two years after we met... but what if it happens anyway?”

“Twilight, I have...” Rainbow began; Twilight raised a hoof to silence her.

“We likely don’t have a lot of time, I’ll explain as much as I can. Do you remember when your wings were paralysed? And you tried that experimental treatment to fix them over night?”

Rainbow Dash nodded in affirmation.

“When you first explained it to me, you figured that it was a side effect of the treatment, that you did something that caused something left over to enter circulation in your body,” Twilight said.

“Something like... crashing into a tree?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight nodded. “Clearly, you’re in the early stages of the flash-forwards, they won’t last long to begin with, but the more you have, the longer that you’re going to experience them for.”

“What causes them?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“A number of things, getting Déjà Vu seems to do it most of the time, but really, there are a good number of things that can set them off... It happened once when we were... together,” Twilight said.

Rainbow understood immediately what she was getting at, her wings popped out with the thought entering into her head, causing Twilight to giggle.

“I had almost forgotten about how cute you where about it when we first got together... Oh things were so much simpler then... now, you can’t go out your own door without hiding a weapon on you.”

“What made it like this?” Rainbow Dash asked, Twilight did not get to answer, Rainbow Dash felt a sharp pain in her head, she collapsed on the ground, grunting in pain.

“What’s happening?” She asked.

“You’re leaving!” Twilight exclaimed. “Don’t try and fight it! You just have to let the flashes happen, otherwise you’ll hurt yourself.”

Rainbow Dash looked up at Twilight, not understanding. Twilight got down to the floor, kissing Rainbow’s forehead. “I’m just glad that you’re flashing to somewhere safe.”

Rainbow’s eyes closed, and she blacked out again.

Comments

Okay, now....Nightshadow clearly seems to see the Doctor as a threat to his plans and he's got Twi on board. Also, the Equestria of the near future seems to have joined the rest of their world in believing Heinlein's axiom about an armed society being a polite one. My guess is that Derpy has probably invested in a sturdy double bolt lock and recommended the product to other security-aware ponies.