What happens when Rainbow Dash fails at her first race? No sonic rainboom, and no Mane 6. It's up to one of Celestia's secret agents to set things right, or mess it all up.
Rainbow Dash loves nothing more than to win. But what happens when a timeline fault causes her to lose? To defend a friend's honor, and to earn her own, she enters the race of her life... and fails. No sonic rainboom, and no cutie mark. But that all happened a long time ago.
In more recent news, strange things have been happening. Unicorn magic breaks its normal bounds, Earth Ponies are hauling gemstones out of mountains, and Pegasi are fighting an army of dragons. Celestia hasn't left her caste in weeks, the moon is off its normal course, and it's the anniversary of the day Lady Twilight Sparkle went missing, ten years ago.
It's up to Agent 2-20 to investigate these strange happenings, discovering something much deeper in the process.
The sound of the clock ticking away was all I could hear.
I shifted my position in the seat as my haunches began to get sore.
Thirty-two minutes left... I thought.
All my paper work due today was done, and I'd finish the rest when I'll need too. Just thirty-one minutes now until I get out of work.
With my mind free, all my thoughts turn instinctively to the past. I cringe. Why do ponies feel remorse?
I banished all the painful thoughts from my head, and turned my full and undivided attention to the clock on the wall.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Thirty minutes now.
If only I-
"AGENT!" A huge figure with a bright orange coat, yet vibrant blue mane, came close to shattering the door frame as he entered the room.
"Yes captian?" I began as I scrambled back into my chair.
"2-20, I'll need you to investigate a series of chain occurrences that have been happening over the past two days. You must be done in three days for reasons I cannot state, my secretary will provide you with notes, evidence, and equipment to aid you, you shall turn over the case to higher branches if it gets out of hoof, and you shall be done in three days. Clear?" The captain stated all of this very fast.
"Wha- what?" I squinted my eyes at the captain, as if it would focus on his words.
The captain sighed and began again, slower this time. "A series of unusual occurrences have been spotted all over Equestria. I will provide you with the necessary information later, but you must be ready quickly to be done in less than three days." He paused here, as if I needed more time to process it all. "It is our job to investigate these things, but as soon as you identify the problem, we shall turn it over to a different branch. Clear?" The captain paused again, and I nodded. He then dropped to a more casual tone of voice. "While I usually wouldn't award such a case to a mare-"
"What?" I interjected at this point in the conversation. The question was rhetorical - I heard what he said and knew exactly what he meant.
"I mean to say - such a tender filly, at your young age..."
"Captain, I am quite sure I can handle and protect myself perfectly well." It felt like I'd said that a hundred times to him. "I'll take the case files and leave on my mission. To extend, if I prove myself well, you shall stop demeaning me on my gender and age, which out of context is extremely inappropriate for a stallion such as yourself."
"Agent 2-20, I do not have time for this..." the captain said through clenched teeth.
"Fine. But I have one more request..."
The captain sighed. It was obvious that he too couldn't wait for the day to be over.
"If I succeed in this mission, you will give me a promotion."
"Yes, if you succeed I will... think about a promotion."
I smiled, but quickly returned to a solemn scowl. "So, you shall promote me to the next highest branch, if I succeed in this mission within three days. You shall not hinder my progress or call me back in, unless one of your superiors has ordered you to. As soon as I fulfill the mission, I will return and you will promote me." I slid off my chair and headed to the doorway. In a mimicry of the captain's own mannerisms and professionalism - though I lack none myself - I turned to his face as I passed him and spoke: "Clear?"
He gulped, and I spent no effort in veiling my glee as I pranced out of the room with a smile on my face.
How could I - standing there with the wind at my back and the sky at my front, crowds cheering, everything at stake - not feel it?
I could see the two idiots right then. I turned my head to their sniveling faces. By Celestia, I hated them. They called me Rainbow Crash, and I called them... well, I hadn't come up with a name yet, but it sure was gonna be awful.
I focused my attention back on the track. The race was about to start. A gust of wind spurted up from behind me, and I brushed my frizzy, tricolor mane out of my gleaming magenta eyes.
The flag waved.
I took off.
Instinct was all I needed - or so I thought. Maybe if I'd relied on skill, things would have been different.
I whizzed through the first cloud-hoop, easily bypassing my competitors. I let out an internal laugh, and possibly an external one as well. There was nothing in the world I loved more then flying, more than racing.
I zipped through the hoops with ease, feeling the wind dash past me. I had never flown like this before! The speed, the adrenaline, the wind in my mane! I loved it! Like, a lot!
A sharp pain in my left side brought me back from my thoughts.
"Later, Rainbow Crash!" the tan colt with the brown mane jeered as he sped past me.
Ugh! He pushed me! How dare he?
"Hey!"
I quickly put on a burst of speed, catching up with him in seconds.
I was so close... I was almost there...
I stopped in mid-air.
A sharp pain had pierced my stomach, and an invisible force had seemingly knocked me out of my place in the sky, winding me as well.
My eyes instinctively flinched close, and I hovered for a few seconds to regain my composure. However, my eyes were soon opened again by a strange but familiar sound.
The crowd at the finish line was cheering... like, a lot!
Did I do it? Did I pass the finish line? Did I win?
I hesitantly opened my eyes.
What? I hadn't won yet, and I was nowhere near the finish line. Why was everyone cheering...?
My gaze slowly rose to the finish line cloud, where the checkered ribbon that stood there was torn in two.
The two competitors - my two competitors, were standing next to each other at the finish line, cheering for all they were worth.
Had they - dare I say it - won?
Yes. They had. They. Had. Won. They'd won. And I'd lost. I lost...
I lost...
At that point, my mind fractured. If I wasn't a winner, I was nothing. I was no one.
The little blue pegasus' body slowly began to flutter downwards, then started to fall. Only a few ponies noticed, but she didn't care. The rest were up at the finish line congratulating the winners.
Someone screamed as the rainbow filly plummeted through the clouds, already close to the ground and gaining closer by the second.
A pale purple stallion with a similar mane shot through the air in a rush to save her, but she was already crashing through the treetops.
Just because a few colts had decided to be jerks, Rainbow was going to risk the entirety of her honor! And nopony knew how much Rainbow Dash valued her honor more than me.
If things weren't bad enough, I was stuck with waving the starting flag, so I had to watch it all unfold. And so many eyes trained on me as it starts...
The racers took off.
I experienced amazement, for one glorious second. Oh, how they flew! In the short time I was able to watch, the three competitors - including Rainbow - had launched themselves forward. In all my life, I had never seen a pegasus fly with such speed and such grace at one. I had never met a pegasus like Rainbow.
But it was all soon over.
One of the other racers - the one who had made fun of me - nicked me with the tip of his wing. He probably didn't mean to - maybe he did - but as soon as I was hit, the world began to spin.
Of course the world had stayed perfectly put - it was me who was spinning. My wavy pink mane swung round as I twirled in place, yet I was slowly veering off to the edge of the cloud I was stationed on.
One hoof dropped off the edge, and my entire body soon followed.
I felt myself plummeting through the air, still spinning. I fluttered my cream-colored wings, but it did nothing to help. I never could fly right.
I'm going to die. I thought for a fraction of a second.
Yet then I was caught.
At first I though it was clouds tickling my wings and back, but I was far too close to the ground now.
I slowly opened my turquoise eyes to find myself staring up at the sky.
I moved my head to the left, and was met with the face of a butterfly.
A butterfly! Those were the creatures that had broken my fall. Beautiful pink butterflies, slowly lowering me to the ground.
Then there came a roar.
The butterflies zipped off faster than I could think, and I was left stranded on the ground, wriggling to get off my back.
I heard something come crashing through the forest to my left, and I soon saw the source.
A huge, monstrous creature - four times as big as a pony - stood before me. It seemed to be a beast of some sort, yet it was constructed of wood and tree branches. Its eyes glowed an unequestrian green.
A timberwolf. I'd heard of them in stories, but I never thought I'd see one face-to-face!
I had scrambled to my feet and I began to back away. I felt myself becoming dizzy. My vision blurred and became static, and my hearing dulled, as if it was under water. I stumbled on my feet as the monster crept nearer. I was about to faint.
"Please..." I squeaked.
The Wolf cocked its head. Had it... understood?
"D-Did you..." I began, my senses returning to normal, and curiosity replacing my fear.
The Timberwolf crouched into what I could only interpret as a bow. And then it spoke.
"Apologies."
The dizziness returned again. The Wolf just spoke!
"Wh-wha..." I began to stumble, but the wolf crept nearer, still bowing, and placed his enormous paw in the space between my front hooves.
At that exact moment, something happened.
A cutie mark had appeared on my flank - but not an ordinary equestrian cutie mark.
It was a mark of two tree branches, intertwined in a circle around a silhouette of a wolf. It would have been normal, if not for the images where the wolf's eyes should have been.
Two green dots on the wolf's face, as if on a Timberwolf. Two green dots, gleaming - glowing, right on my flank.
The Wolf then looked at me, its glowing green eyes gazing into my aquamarine ones, then spoke with a voice deep with the souls of all the trees of the forests:
So many judgy eyes - but none more critical than the four on either of my sides.
When I left my childhood home, I didn't think I could possibly find anything more boring and more... harder than a farmer's life, but I must have found it.
This hairstyle is all too stuffy, and I've worn it all day. The drink is all too fizzy, yet it's all I've had to drink.
O, the life of the Manehattan upper crust! Such tedious work every day, and only one day I have lived! How dull, how monotonous, how stripe and insipid! How mundane and yet still how volatile the lifestyle of the high-class Manehattanite!
Ugh, now I'm even startin' to talk like them.
Finally - here the waiter comes with some food.
A long day of bein' fancy sure leaves me with an appetite...
What?
It's nothin' but a clover and and a lump of carrot!
As the others of the high-class blabbered on around me, I simply gazed out of the huge glass window, searching for the tiny speck of the town I once called home.
I sighed. No Ponyville in sight. Manehattan is not a city of regrets.
Might as well dig into the dinner.
I tentatively reached my nose towards the food and poked at it.
Smells good, might as well give it a try.
I hesitantly opened my mouth and bit down on the orange lump.
My eyes grew wide.
I have never tasted anything so delicious.
What words, even those of eloquence, can describe tasting a rainbow soaked in delight and sprinkled with sunshine? What divine celestial miracle of the stars and the heavens above might grace my taste buds so? What inspiration to create words and poetry and imagery alike might match or even capture my inspiration to create something so divine, so holy, so unmatchedly stupendous, so delicate yet so sure, so miraculous yet so desirable, so awesome, so incredible, so... so delicious as this?
"Applejack, close your mouth." My aunt Orange snapped from my right.
I readily closed my gaping maw, and swallowed my supper as well as a great half of my questions. Even through, I was still stunned with the absolute beauty of the dish I had just tasted.
"Aunt Orange, how do you make this food?"
Little did I know, yet at that very moment something had appeared on my bright orange flank. A gleaming white chef's hat, shaded with soft grey. A cutie mark. My cutie mark.
The day before yesterday, Father, Mother, Inkie, Limestone, and I had begun to move all the South Field rocks into piles of ten to move to the East Field. We would move them to the East Field tomorrow. Inkie and Limestone would move them, and I would stay in the South Field with Father and Mother to collect more rocks into piles.
What fun we have here.
"Pinkamena!" I hear father call from the doorway. It is time to go inside now. But father, I want to stay and harvest rocks more.
I continue to look for more rocks to push into piles. I find none. How sad. I begin to dig through the ground. I know rocks come from the ground. My pink hoof hits something in the dirt. I dig more around the thing. The thing becomes dislodged from the ground, and I pull it up.
I love the thing.
The thing is a pretty, small, shiny rock. The rock is a very pale blue color, with crystalline edges and sparkly shimmer. How beautiful.
I love this rock.
Something is appearing on my flank. I feel it. I look to see what it is, and I find a strange image.
It is a pretty blue rock, sharp and shining, just like the one in my hooves.
All mysterious and magical fashion-finding spirit quests have to end sometime, right?
My horn, enveloped in its usual blue glow, had been (involuntarily and quite literally) dragging me along through the whole of Equestria all night, and the sun had just risen.
I dearly wished my horn would find my destiny for me soon, or I would miss the play! Then again, with the horrid costumes I'd designed I wouldn't mind missing it anyway.
But there were more pressing matters than the play. My parents would be looking for me by now! And my mane wasn't going to brush itself. Ugh, I felt a twinge of internal pain as my blue gaze shifted to my purple, frizzy, and once-elegant coif.
I was forcefully jolted back to reality when I was slammed into a very hard surface, and my guiding magic immediately halted.
What...? I slowly got back to my feet after being knocked down, and rubbed my aching horn, blue eyes still closed in a minute-long flinch.
Even before I opened my eyes, I knew that my destiny awaited oh so near! Yes, my destiny! It must have be something to do with my love of fashion, and maybe even my cutie mark itself!
I opened my eyes slowly, and they grew wide at the sight in front of me. My destiny! My destiny was... a rock?
What? The sight in front of me was indeed a huge and towering boulder, perched on the edge of the mountain peak my horn had dragged me to. But seriously, a rock?
"A rock? That's my destiny?" I screamed to nopony. "What is your problem, horn? I followed you all the way out here for a rock?" I felt an uncontrollable anger building up inside of me. "Dumb rock!" I screamed, as the blue aura enveloped my horn once again.
I was acting on impulse, if anything at all. Right now I was a creature of anger, and a creature of magic. I channeled all my energy into my horn, and in turn into the rock. I wrapped it in my powerful blue mist, and forcefully thrust it above my head!
Then, with an allmighty scream, I tore it to pieces.
The drab grey rock exploded above my head, shattering into thousands - millions of tiny, glittering shards of pure color!
I stared in wonder, all my anger absent, as the shower of beautiful crystals rained down upon me, some still bursting in fireworks above my head.
I felt a tingling feeling in my flank, and I turned my head to see what it was.
My cutie mark! It was beautiful!
A wonderful, glittering starburst of colors, exploding forever onto the white of my flank.
Agent 2-20 trotted down the metal and cement walled hallways of her institution with her chin held high and eyes politely closed.
Dear Celestia she hated this coat.
To be specific, she hated this heavy black trench coat she had just fetched from her locker in the Personal Storage room, along with the mandatory pair of sunglasses.
2-20 could only imagine the horror she would feel at having to pull the hood down when she emerged onto the streets of Canterlot, just to hide her identity. Why would her identity need hiding?
The young mare took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. She was going to have to follow all the rules if she wanted to make Captain next year. And when that happened, she'd be straight on to CSA President, and then she could change the rules and not have to follow them! This put a smile on her face.
It was a few more minutes before the agent arrived at Silver Moon's desk, right next to the main exit.
To explain Silver Moon in one word: Nice. Silver was incredibly, horribly, miraculously nice to nearly everyone. Some ponies thought this was sweet, some thought it was creepy, and some thought it was suspicious. To Agent 2-20, it was downright annoying.
Silver Moon perked up as soon as she spotted 2-20, (as if she could perk up any more), and immediately squealed: "Hey there, T!"
This instantly put a damper on 2-20's mood. She hated being called T, and if this was reference to her original name, then Silver Moon had broken code on several occasions.
Silver began sifting around in the miscellaneous papers on her desk for... something, as 2-20 had not asked for any specific papers and there was no way Silver could have known in such a short time.
"I need the notes on case 2-88-12."
"I know."
This irked Agent 2-20 even further. She hated the way Silver Moon always knew what you were thinking, as if she could read minds, or the future or something. 2-20 also hated, like... her mane, and how it's so pale, and... her gray fur...
Okay, to cut to the chase, Silver Moon was a small grey unicorn mare with a pale white mane, tinted with blue and cream. Her eyes were quite large, silver, and sometimes appeared to glow in low light, like a cat.
Nopony really knew what Silver's job was. To many, she was a secretary, to the captain she was an assistant, to the agency president she was a model employee, and to Agent 2-20, she was (again) annoying.
"Here it is!" Silver Moon squealed in a way many foals would react to being given a candy bar.
A small manilla folder, scrawled with the numbers: 2-88-12 was plopped onto the desk. It wasn't particularly stuffed, but a lot of the papers were sticking out at odd angles.
"Great... thanks." Agent 2-20 said completely unenthusiastically. She grabbed the papers and trotted off towards the exit.
Silver Moon kept on grinning way too excitedly, only for a terrible scowl to contort her face the moment no pony was looking.
Agent 2-20 neared the exit now, with the case files safely tucked into a pocket of her horrible leather coat, the thought reminding her to pull her hood down as she magically punched in the code to open the interlocking steel doors.
Although she would never admit it, 2-20 felt a bit nervous, and more than a bit scared. It had been a long time since a mission in the field, and although the captain had made it clear it would be of no consequence, she would hate to fail.
I reeeeally want that promotion...
After a few seconds, the metal doors screeched open, and Agent 2-20 was trotting into the streets of Canterlot.
This city is way too shiny... Agent 2-20 thought as she gazed around the city of Manehattan.
2-20 had arrived at the huge metropolis about half an hour ago by train, and she was working her way through the city, desperately trying to find something to report to the captain, so this could be over, or at least so she'd have some information.
To put it simply, the notes for case 2-88-12 were pitiful. The case folder (now stashed in the back pocket of 2-20's hated black jacket) hardly contained any info at all, just random words and the occasional doodle. It even seemed to contain Silver Moon's personal case notes, which - in Agent 2-20's opinion - were even more useless. They didn't even offer any information, just words in silver ink saying things like Pay no mind! ;), Nothing to see here., and This means nothing :), usually next to scribbled-out notes. Dear Celestia, that mare is annoying... 2-20 thought.
To be fair, the horribleness of the case files might have been a blessing. Agent 2-20 was almost certain she'd discover nothing, and this would be a nice vacation for her. Yes, Manehattan was far too shiny, but 2-20 respected the more orderly aspects of it. She was a mare of high Canterlot blood, even though she'd left that life years ago. The fine and classy city called out to her, and 2-20 could not resist. For one, the city was on the coast of Equestria, far from Canterlot, and far from 2-20's painful past and tedious workplace. Also - a bonus to the first perk - the city was far from Celestia. Not to lie, Agent 2-20 adored, respected, and loved her boss, supreme ruler, and goddess. What she hated was having to call her a supreme ruler and goddess. Unlike the citizens of Canterlot, who worshipped the Sun Princess with every fiber of their being, Manehattan was a free city. It was strange that an agent of order and law (or perhaps because she was an agent of order and law) would take a guilty pleasure in the sights of graffiti and small scuffles like Agent 2-20 did. Ah, that was what she loved about Manehattan. Ponies really took things seriously here! In Canterlot, everyone pranced around happily, without a care in the world. But it this city of shininess (seriously like way too shiny) ponies were real! The common crime toughened ponies up, made them smarter, made them better. If you had a deep conversation with a Manhattanite, they would listen, and not just sit there with a stupid grin on their face. If you made a (borderline) offensive joke, ponies would laugh - or at least beat you up. Still better on getting a lecture on friendship, or some manure like that. If you asked a Manehattanite a serious, deep question, they would answer truly and honestly. Or lie to cheat you out of your money. That's what's great about Manehattan. Ponies take what they want.
"Move it, mule!"
"Hey!" Agent 2-20 yelled as she was shoved out of the way by a (very rude) Manehattan stallion, and nearly trampled by a chariot as she tripped onto the road.
“Ay! Buck you!”
“You tryin’ to get yourself killed?”
“On the sidewalk, mule!”
Okay, maybe Manehattan was a bit overrated…
- - - - - ∞ - ∞∞∞ - ∞ - - - - -
Agent 2-20 gazed around the room as she entered the restaurant, nicely quiet for a place so packed with ponies.
The pale pony hesitantly strode through the diner, gazing around the vast room and earning a few strange looks herself with her heavy black coat, dark glasses, and chopped-short, heavily dyed mane.
It was a suitably fancy place, with rich and polished wood lining every surface, ornate gold finishes, and exquisite-looking paintings on each wall, being gazed at by several exquisite-looking ponies.
Just a nice place to rest for a while and sort out my notes... 2-20 thought. Definitely not going to eat anything... The agent's mouth watered as she looked around the diner, especially at the plates packed with delicious-looking food. She immediately whipper her head around and focused her attention on once again surveying the room.
Despite the suffocating layer of fanciness, Agent 2-20 noticed a certain theme to the place. There was a porcelain orange sphere gently placed on every table, several paintings depicting actualist or surrealist orange fruits, and many of the carved wood patterns or gold accessories depicted oranges. This, of course, went perfectly with the sign outside saying "MISSORANGE’SBISTRO AND BAKERY"
Probably should have guessed that earlier…
“Hello dear! What can I get ya?”
Agent 2-20 nearly jumped backwards. The elegant mare had strode up to her side silently, and 2-20, so focused in capturing the details of the fancy restaurant, had let her alertness and spy instincts slide a bit.
“Oh, my! I apologize for startling you, dear. I asked if you would like anything at this moment. My name is Miss Orange, by the way.”
The mare certainly fit the name. Her coat was a rich and vibrant tangerine hue, her mane a creamy orange, and even her eyes, intently staring at the startled agent, were as bright a green as an orange leaf.
“Um, I’d… I’d like a table, please?”
“Oh of course, dear! I’ll get ya one right away, dear.” The orange mare answered in a strange accent, an odd blend of Manehattanite and Appleoosan.
A red and green stallion appeared beside the mare, and led Agent 2-20 to a table.
- - - - - ∞ - ∞∞∞ - ∞ - - - - -
Pure heaven…
Agent 2-20 was lounging in her seat at the Orange Diner, tired and elated from all she had eaten. The agent usually kept on a strict diet to ensure physical perfection, but she just couldn’t resist.
Such amazing cuisine! 2-20 had first ordered a small appetizer of orange sorbet, looking for something small to munch on while reviewing case files, but as soon as the food touched her lips, she wanted more. She’d moved on to another appetizer of orange-carrot sticks, an entré of hay steak with an orange glaze, a dessert of orange cake and orange ice cream, and topped it off with a nice ordinary apple pie. It was all absolutely delicious, no other way to describe it.
“Hello dear! Anything else you need?” Miss Orange once again appeared next to the stuffed agent, always seeming to be at every customer’s side at once.
“Oh, no. That’s all I’ll have for now. I’d, uh, like the check. Um… Please.” Agent 2-20 replied in a stuttering voice, a bit ashamed for letting her guard down like this.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, dear. But it’s been a real pleasure to dine with you!”
Agent 2-20 gazed at the pretty mare’s smiling face, clearly so overjoyed at such a good customer. I suppose it’s all right to let your guard down once in a while…
“The bill’s six hundred bits.”
Any passerby at that particular time, and at that particular place on that particular Manehattan block, would have clearly seen a tall, thin mare with a pale periwinkle coat and dark indigo mane, clothed in a heavy black coat and dark sunglasses, bolt out of the doors of a fancy restaurant, and gallop down the street as if running for her life.
A soft rumble as the wheels roll over tracks. A few little squeaks of the compartments separating. Voices from the cars next to you.
Soft wood, new but weathered. Soft cloth, old but velvety. Cold metal, mechanic and sharp.
Those were the sounds and the scents of a train ride.
Agent 2-20 sighed. She wished she could have something to work on right now, if just to distract her. When the agent was alone with her thoughts, said thoughts sometimes got a little… painful.
I boarded a train the night I ran away…
2-20 winced. She attempted to turn her thoughts to her new life, of her office, the Captain, Silver Moon…
Dark energy sparkling around you like lightning, the feeling of cold claws slashing at your heart.
The cases she investigated, threats she deleted…
Being cradled in the warmth of your mother’s arms, a feeling of belonging, of home. That feeling being ripped away, you thrust into darkness.
Her office, her desk, her mane, her jacket…
A flash of pink, a flowing mane aloft in the starry breeze…
Agent 2-20 winced, but not quite out of pain. There was a deep throbbing feeling in her heart, but it felt… nice. It felt good to relish in the memories of her past life, like sinking into pool of scalding hot water, but realizing it’s only nice and warm.
A soft embrace, gleeful laughing, the feeling of loving eyes watching you…
The Captain yelling in rage, Silver Moon’s piercing eyes and fake smile, another agent pushing her over in the hall, that feeling of insignificance…
Your name…
My name.
She could hear it now.
The first syllable, bursting forth like water from a dam, then flowing like a calm river, and finally evaporating like mist into the starry night sky.
He used to call me that…
The second, like a flame in the shadow, a sparkle in the shade, a brightness in the night, a light in the dark.
That was my grandmother’s name…
Her last name now. Her family name. It had once been her mother’s, but even she had given it up.
And what a name it was. Fireworks bursting into the air, a shower of falling stars, the bright and vibrant shimmer of magic in the night, and the simple twinkle of the sky.
I miss it…
“Well then, why don’t you just run the show by yourself, huh?!?”
The agent was startled into reality once more by the slamming open of the train car door, and a vicious shouting match on the other side.
“Trixie the Great and Powerful would if she hadn’t had her thunder stolen every time we perform together!” A clear, shrill voice yelled from the other side of the door.
“Oh, so I’m the thunder stealer now?!? The last time I checked, you pushed me off the stage just so you could get your precious ‘grand finale’!” The mare on this side of the door called back.
“Trixie did that on purpose so you wouldn’t ruin the entire act!”
“Well, good for Trixie then, ‘cause she’ll get to perform all by herself from now on. Our partnership is finished!”
“Good!”
The door slammed shut again, and the pony on 2-20’s side of it stormed over to the benches and sat down next to the (slightly confused) agent.
She was a thin and elegant mare, nearly as tall as 2-20 herself, and with the righteous and arrogant attitude to show for it. Her coat could have been either clear white or just pale blue, but either way it was groomed to pristinity, gleaming like a clear sky just like her eyes. Despite some of her slightly intriguing features, it was her mane that really was interesting. The luscious locks had been tediously groomed to the utmost degree, and then swept up into a near-ridiculous style, a flowing fountain that showcased her perfect ears, spun itself up to the sky, but still left much mane to swing and swish around as the mare performed. But even the style wasn’t what was must startling. It was the colors. They must’ve been dyed because even in Equestria it couldn’t be natural. The angry mare’s mane was a starburst of every shade of rainbow. From fiery red to luscious purple, her mane was hued with every color imaginable, and it looked amazing.
“Hey.” The mare casually said to Agent 2-20, still staring in wonder at her mane, but now self-consciously turning her attention to some other of the pony’s features.
Examine closely any pony to come into contact with you, no matter how insignificant. You can never know when it means life or death.
Those were the captain's words.
Agent 2-20 had been trained for this, but now closely examining every pony she saw had become nearly instinct.
The mare was wearing a mysterious cape, deep blue spotted with white stars. It was unable to tell if she was a unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony, for either a mane or a cape covered up any place where there might have been a horn or wings. She sat back in her seat casually, but she was fuming with anger. Though she slouched, she held her head high with regality.
“Uh…” said the mare. 2-20 was so focused in examining her as a possible enemy that she didn’t quite notice the pale pony staring at her, a bit uneasily. But why would she be doing that?
“Why are you staring at me…?”
“Oh, uh… Sorry!” So that was why. “Um, I just sometimes get caught up in my thoughts, and I just don’t really realize where my eyes are…” Agent 2-20 stammered embarrassedly.
“Oh, it’s fine! Sorry if I seemed angry, I’m just kinda ticked off about my, uh… business partner.” The pony leaned back further in her seat, messing up her rainbow mane.
“She’s still your business partner? I thought you two split up just now.” Agent 2-20 asked, comforted by her neighbor’s casual attitude.
“Oh, not at all! We have that discussion every other day. We’ve “split up” about a thousand times by now.”
“Oh, I ju-“
“We’re traveling performers. We do magic acts and aviation tricks and stuff like that. But almost every time we perform some place or other, we always end up stealing each other’s thunder. It’s mostly Trixie’s fault, though…”
“Oh. Um, okay...” Agent 2-20 was definitely confused now. How could anyone be this open about their life? Much less to a stranger in a dark coat and sunglasses they just met on a train.
“What’s, uh… what’s your name?” Agent 2-20 asked, a bit nervous.
“Well I suppose you’d like to know after hearing my life story!” The mare laughed. “It’s a hay of a long name anyway. You can just call me Rainbow.”
“Um… thanks. My name’s…” The agent paused nervously. Why was she so scared? She’d taken down villains and wrong-doers with the press of a button, she’d felled armies with the swipe of a hoof. She’d persevered through a hurricane to assassinate a ruthless emperor, and save scores and scores of innocent ponies. She’d braved countless challenges and came out unscathed. So why was she so scared? Now the agent would have to face her worst fear of all – socialization.
“My name’s Agent 2-20.” She said.
Rainbow nodded.
Now there came a period of silence. Neither wanted to talk, or knew what to talk about. They both sat in slight awkwardness and quiet, right next to each other, yet alone with their thoughts.
“You seem sad.”
“What?” Agent 2-20 was shaken out of another one of her thoughtful times, a few minutes after they had both dissolved into silence,
“I said that you seem sad. Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Rainbow asked with her clear blue eyes.
“Oh, just… stuff. I must’ve looked sad, since I was remembering the past. I ran away from home when I was little.”
Agent 2-20 nearly fell off her seat from surprise. Why had she said that? She had hardly ever shared with anyone that she’d ran away from home, not even her co-workers, much less a random civilian. What was it about Rainbow that made you want to share your stories? There must have been something about her open smile, her casual atmosphere, her offhand chuckles, that just made you want to pour out all your secrets. She wasn’t meddling or inquisitive, she was just… friendly.
“Oh, yeah. I ran away from home too.” Rainbow stated in an amazingly offhand manner. “Ran off to join the circus and never came back…”
Agent 2-20 was past the point of being further surprised, but this mare was certainly a record breaker. She’d talked about running away from home, about leaving everything she’d ever loved, with a smile on her face. Fondly recalling the day she fled, and perhaps looking towards the future, of new horizons beyond.
“So, you’re not… sad?” 2-20 asked.
“Of course not. My parents were manure. I had a sweet little sister, though. I haven’t seen her for years, but they say she came looking for me. I like to think I’ll meet her someday. I probably will.”
“So you’re happy with your new life, then?”
“Couldn’t be happier.”
I guess she’ll be ready to forgive her business partner now… Agent 2-20 thought, amused.
The two mares descended into silence once more, but they were soon interrupted…
“What the buck is that?!?” Rainbow exclaimed as a loud crash rattled the entire train.
“No idea…” Agent 2-20 struggled to remain calm as the train screeched to a stop.
Several more loud crashes pounded the train car, until the sealed doors to the compartment burst open, and a figure stepped forth.
It was a tough-looking mare, short but strong. Her coat was an indistinguishable color from the dirt and gravel that clung to it, but her chopped mane was a dark and deep red. There was an angry but solemn look on her face when she stepped into the compartment and spoke aloud her charges:
“Everyone in this train is now the property of the Diane Rock Mine.”
Rainbow muttered as one of the officials roughly fastened a mining belt around her midsection.
“I can’t believe they took away my jacket…” 2-20 muttered as her belt was fasted as well.
“I can’t believe they took my cape!”
Both mares were currently at the entrance to what was apparently the Diane rock mine. It seemed to be a huge place, with ponies bustling everywhere, though most of the expanse was covered by the enormous and severely damaged rocky cliff that hung over the mining facility like a huge approaching stormcloud. There were several buildings, most pumping out smoke from multiple chimneys, clogging up the air with thick dark smog. The air was also clogged with sound. Very much sound. The screech of metal, banging of tools against stone, and the screams of anguished ponies, of grief and despair.
“It seems like a pretty nice place…” Rainbow optimistically squeaked, as one of the mining officials began to whip a small foal, forcing him to pull a huge load of heavy rock.
“Ah. These must be the new recruits.” A stocky mare spoke calmly as she briskly strolled up to Rainbow and the agent.
The strange mare’s mane was chopped short, even shorter than Agent 2-20’s. It was a deep shade of dark red, streaked with dyed strands of darkest black. Her coat was a horrible mess, and Rainbow seemed to be appalled by it. It wasn’t that bad, but it was so stained and clogged by dirt and gravel and dust and age, the original color was nearly unidentifiable. It seemed to be the same shade of red as the pony’s mane, but it could have been anything at all, even the same hue as the dirt and dust that covered it. Of all the pony’s features, her eyes must have been the strangest. Her entire form was coated by grime and oppression, but her eyes shone bright. They were a clear and sparkling shade of bright crystalline blue.
She didn’t say much. The mare scanned the crowd of ponies kidnapped from the train, and simply nodded. She whipped her clipped mane around as she turned away, speaking only a few words as she passed, seemingly to Agent 2-20 in particular.
“My name’s Diane, by the way.”
So this was Diane. She must have been the owner of the mine.
Strange how it didn’t all fit together quite right. The harsh and vicious mining facility, the calm and silent mare, and that serene and crystal name. Diane. It didn’t sound harsh or cold, it sounded sweet.
So why did she choose that name…? Agent 2-20 wondered as Diane disappeared into a huge stone building, blood-red mane swinging behind her, only a shadow of those crystal blue eyes.
“You shall be assigned into four quadrants,” the bulky stallion spoke loudly as he strode up and down the line of ponies. “The Earth Ponies, the Pegasi, the Unicorns, and the others.” The stallion went on in some boring speech, but Agent 2-20 turned her attention away.
How dare they take me here? Do they even know who I am?!? 2-20, Agent 2-20 thought. She was one of Celestia’s secret agents, the most elite of spies, on the most critical of missions! How dare they kidnap her and thrust her into the ranks of coal miners?!?
Agent 2-20 narrowed her eyes and growled slightly, the way she always did when she was angry. The agent turned to Rainbow by her side, to see if she shared the same concerns.
The young mare looked calm and aloof, if a bit concerned. Moreover, Agent 2-20 was even more ticked off to discover that she still didn’t know a single thing about Rainbow. Where did she come from? Who was she really? “It’s a hay of a long name…” That’s what Rainbow had said after 2-20 asked what her name was. Who was this strange mare really? Agent 2-20 turned to examining her more closely, and nearly began fuming with rage at the injustice of it all.
Rainbow’s vast and tangled multicolor mane hid almost her entire head, much less the space where there might have been a horn. Her mining belt hid the space there might have been wings, (though not very well. They must have been very small wings, or else severely injured, to be covered by the small scrap of cloth that was the belt.) and more than that, the belt hid her cutie mark! Everything that was this pony’s very identity was hidden, first by a cape, and now by this belt.
Agent 2-20 gave up her anger and sighed. It wasn’t right to be frustrated at Rainbow like this. Who was she to condemn hiding one’s identity – she, who wore dark shades and a heavy black jacket whenever out in public, she who chopped and dyed her mane and let her coat fade to white, she who joined the ranks of the secretive and the deadly, she who bravely shied away from all affection and interaction, she who fled from her name, her family, and her life, so many years ago…
If 2-20 could manage to be so angry at a mare like Rainbow, then she might as well give up her title as Agent.
2-20’s ears perked and her eyes lit up. Agent! She was an agent who had just been taken hostage on a critical mission!
I have to find a way out…
Bored, angry, angrier, even angrier, sad, sadder, surprised, mischievous… Rainbow thought, closely tracking Agent 2-20’s emotions.
Those shafts don’t look very sturdy… I bet if I could fashion some of these pickaxes into a grappling hook… The cliff looks a bit crumbly but there are nice footholds here… Agent 2-20 thought, brainstorming an escape plan.
“Flash Eagle to Sunset Owl!” Agent 2-20 winced as a harsh voice yelled into her ear from thin air.
“I repeat: Sentry Hawk to Sunset Owl!” 2-20’s annoyed face suddenly shifted to realization. It must be her ear chip! All the agents had received them about a year ago; it was a device carefully fitted into a pony’s ear used for communication between the base and agents in the field.
“I told you not to use the code names! I’m 2-20 and you’re my captain!” Agent 2-20 harshly whispered under her breath.
“Yes, sir! I mean yes, ma’am! I mean… wait, I don’t answer to you!” fumbled the captian. “Sunset Owl, state your whereabouts immediately!”
Agent 2-20 sighed. “We – I am currently being held hostage at a place called the Diane Rock mine. It is located somewhere south-west of the train route from Manehattan to Ponyville, and seems to be some kind of… slave camp… of a sorts…” The words were alien to the agent’s tongue. A slave camp? In Equestria? Equestria was a land of peace and happiness, no discontent or pain to be found anywhere in the entire country, and not in the least at the hooves of its own ponies! In fact, Agent 2-20’s own task force was dedicated to enforcing Equestria’s pristine image, to paint a portrait of paradise over the canvas of poverty at all costs.
“Captain, I believe we have a problem.” Agent 2-20 whispered into her ear chip microphone.
“What is it, Sunset Owl?”
“We seem to have a code… 2-C.” the agent delicately stated, remembering the protocol for this type of infraction, and smiling just a bit.
I love being back in the field…
“Sentry Eagle to Sunset Owl! I repeat: where is the nearest escape route located?”
“I already told you! It’s right next to the bunker!”
“Wait, where’s that?”
“Nevermind! The point is…” Agent 2-20 hurried her speech and lowered her voice so as not to attract the attention of the mine employee drawing closer and closer as he drawled on to the line of ponies about diamonds.
“The point is that it’s close enough for me to make a break for it and not get caught! That is, if I time it right…” Agent 2-20 thought, assessing the vicinity of the mine shaft entrance in question. As she was being led with the other prisoners, she’d spotted its exit – it led away from the mine and was far enough for nopony to catch her.
“And you’re sure you’ll use just the right amount? It has to be enough to distract any guards, as well as show up on our monitors! We have to be able to pinpoint the location as well as get you home safely.” the captain advised.
“Yes, I’m perfectly sure!” 2-20 whispered in an even lower voice, the mine stallion drawing nearer and nearer.
“Alright then. Unleash in three…”
Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up… 2-20 thought.
“Two…”
Pray to Celestia…
“One…”
“NOW!”
Agent 2-20 screamed into the air as she unleashed the perfect storm.
Bolts of bright purple lightning shot out of the mare’s horn, streaming into the sky higher and higher, and descending into a thick lavender mist on the scarred earth. Each molecule of the storm sparkled and sparked, bursting with the very essence of pure magic that it was.
In the confused haze, Agent 2-20 made a run for it. She bolted for the mineshaft opening, unfazed by the shimmering lavender air.
“Wait!” a clear voice cut through the fog, yelling to Agent 2-20 herself.
A figure emerged from the mist a few feet from the agent, stumbling, disoriented from the magical storm.
“Take me with you…” It was Rainbow. Her clear blue eyes called for help with a silent cry, pleading for the help of the surprised unicorn in front of her.
“Wha – Rainbow? You can’t follow me! I have to –“
“There they are!” More voices yelled through the thickening fog, quickly approaching the two mares.
“No, no, no, no, no!” 2-20 lamented the complete ruining of her plan, the voices and hoofsteps still closing in.
“Get them!” a large stallion commanded to the other guards behind him, as he emerged from the mist, galloping up to the two mares as they fled.
“Run!” Rainbow screamed. (Quite redundantly.)
“Gah!” 2-20 yelled in agony as one of the guards forcefully brought a heavy hoof down on the side of the agent’s skull.
Voices… so many voices…
Agent 2-20’s head swam as she fell to the ground. She was strong, but the hit had taken her by surprise and almost knocked her out.
Colors…
A bright white blob surfaced at the edge of her vision, rimmed with polychromal light. The specter threw itself at the siloughettes of the guards, and began to shine with brilliant blue light.
Agent 2-20 blinked. When her eyes opened, the guards were gone.
“Hello?” a voice pierced through the fog, both mental and actual, surrounding the agent.
“Excuse me? Agent two or whatever your name is?”
“Wha…” the mare spoke, head still swimming.
“Snap out of it!”
A hoof was slapped across the face of the disoriented agent, as a unicorn magical spell seemed to wake up her dazy mind.
“Gah! Ugh, sorry!” Agent 2-20 spoke, her head clear once more.
“Great, you’re awake now!” Rainbow said in relief, revealing herself as the pony in question.
“What happened to the guards?” asked the agent, stumbling to her feet again.
“I took care of them. But there’s more on the way! We have to get out of here, and fast!” Rainbow said quickly.
“Rainbow, quiet.” 2-20 commanded. Something was off. She placed her hoof on one ear and spoke. “Captain? Captain, are you-“
A flurry of purple sparks flew out of the agent’s ear chip, resulting in quite a painful experience, and some very bad news.
Ugh, the storm must have messed it up! Thought 2-20. But how? The technology was built to resist the strongest of magical occurrences. Unless… the punch from the guard! The hit must have brought down the defenses on such a small piece of technology, and the chip had gone haywire.
“Agent! Agent two, come on!” Rainbow shoved 2-20 to bring back her attention.
“Ugh… alright, alright…” spoke Agent 2-20, head still throbbing. She’d have to deal with the chip later. “There’s a mineshaft just by here, if we can find it in this fog, it leads to-“
“No! They’ll find us there! We have to use magic to escape!” whispered Rainbow. The two mares could now hear hoofsteps heading towards them in the lavender mist.
“Wha – Rainbow, I was in charge of that magical storm! My reserves are completely drained. For me to survive a spell like that, it must use up-“
“They’re right here!”
“Where?”
“I said here!”
“Where’s ‘here’?”
“Oh no! They’re after us!” Rainbow squealed.
Out of the lavender mist emerged four guards, three stallions and a mare, all very muscular-looking, and all very angry.
“RUN!” screamed Rainbow, galloping away with 2-20 close on her tail.
“Get them!” yelled one of the guards, all four in hot pursuit.
“Well, how in Tartarus - *huff* - are we going to get out of this?” asked Agent 2-20, galloping for her life beside Rainbow.
“Easy.” Rainbow said mysteriously.
“Stop right there!” one of the guards yelled from just a few inches behind the two fleeing mares.
Agent 2-20 closed her eyes. She had nearly given up, and she prayed to Celestia for a miracle to happen.
And then one did.
The agent’s weary and aching hooves felt some weight lift off of them, and then felt themselves lift off the ground.
2-20 was stunned with such a new sensation. There was a strong new mass at her back, and strong wind blew across her face.
A quick glance and Agent 2-20 realized that Rainbow was still at her side, she too flying as the two mares lifted out of the purple-hued magical storm, and climbed higher and higher into the clear blue sky.
