Prologue
"What makes a pony a pony?"
The wind blew Rainbow’s colorful mane about her head.
"What do you mean?"
"You know, what makes a pony who she is?"
Pinkie Pie scrunched up her forehead. "What kind of question is that? You feeling ok Dashie?"
"Yeah, heh. Pretty stupid question, huh? Yeah I'm ok, never mind."
"Okey dokey lokey!" and off Pinkie Pie bounced.
Rainbow sat, tail wrapped around her legs. She cocked her head, watching Pinkie bound off. What is it, there has to be something. Color? Mane? Tail? Voice? Personality? What happens if a pony loses something that makes her...her?
Again the wind blew. It ruffled Rainbow’s coat, she shivered, even in the hot midday heat. It felt like rain.
She bit her lip. Looking down, she dug at her tail with a careful hoof. The soft hairs parted. Her watery eyes gazed down at grey fibers. "What's happening to me?" she whispered to herself.
A quiet knock echoed through the house. Silence. Again a quiet knock. "Tom, is that you?" dreary with sleep Rarity rolled over in bed. Again the knocking echoed, louder this time. Rarity opened her eyes. "Oh my goodness, who could that be?"
Clad in her bathrobe she trotted to the door and peeked out her window. A dark hooded pony sat at the doorstep. Rarity cautiously opened the door just a crack.
"Can I help you?" she inquired.
"Rarity, it’s me, Rainbow Dash. I have a...uh...fashion emergency."
Rarity, still groggy, was taken aback. "This is rather suspicious" she thought to herself.
"Oh Rainbow can't it wait until morning?"
Rainbow flipped her hood back. In the dark Rarity could hardly make out her expression. "No. It can't."
"Alright come on in and tell me what's troubling you."
Rainbow trotted through the door. Once inside she turned and locked it. She looked carefully out the window, as though watching for anyone who may have been following her. After several seconds she stepped away from the door and sat.
"OK. Turn the lights on."
Rarity flipped the light switch. She turned to Rainbow. "Oh my stars...Rainbow what happened?"
Rainbow Dash hung her head. Her mane fell beside her face. With glassy eyes she examined it. The red stripe in her mane had turned a pale grey. The colors around it were light and fading.
"I don't know what's going on. I don't do anything with my mane. It’s just always been colored the way it is. Just a few days ago I noticed a few grey hairs, and now..." she swept her tail out from under her cloak around her hooves. It was completely grey; the shades of color had faded almost entirely.
"Rarity, what's happening to me!?"
Rarity was still in shock. Her mouth hung open. She shook her head. "Come now. Let's make some tea and we'll talk about this."
A few moments later Rainbow was laying on her belly sipping from a cup of tea while Rarity combed through her mane. Rainbow squirmed. She wasn't used to anypony messing with her mane.
"I'm sorry Rainbow but I just don't have any answers for you. Your mane is perfectly healthy. It's almost as though you've just lost your pigment. Usually it happens slowly, to older ponies."
"Ugh. So how do I get it back?"
"Well. We can dye it. It would be quite the challenge but I do believe I could do it. It wouldn't be..." Rainbow cut her off.
"Whoa whoa. No way. I'm Rainbow Dash. I don't need hair dye to look awesome. There has to be some way to get my color back."
"Oh Rainbow Dash, its nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes ponies just lose their color. It happens. No one needs to know. We can be discrete."
"No. You don't understand. My name is Rainbow Dash. Not Grey Dash. How am I supposed to make sonic rainbooms like this? Ponies look up to me. They put faith in me. I can't change!"
"Good heavens Rainbow, you're still you."
"No!" Rarity jumped. Rainbow was furious. "I'm Rainbow Dash. I can't change, and I won't!" With that she started putting her cloak back on.
"Rainbow where are you going?" Rarity was getting flustered as she changed out of her bathrobe.
"To find answers, and maybe something more."
"Well I'm going with you!" Rarity had hardly finished her sentence when the door slammed behind Rainbow.
The cold morning air filled Rainbow's nostrils. The dew collected on her hooves. The sky was a faint grey. The sun was somewhere just over the horizon. It smelled like rain.
Pegasus ponies must be brewing up a storm for today Rainbow thought as she trotted through the dim light. She looked down at her mane again.
I hope Twilight has some answers. I don't know what I'm going to do. She took a deep breath, stifled her fears, and headed for the library.
A single light was on at the library. She must already be up Rainbow thought. After a couple knocks Twilight was at the door. She opened it a crack and peeked out. Rainbow pulled back her hood. "Is that you Rainbow? What are you doing up so early?"
"Twilight, I need your help."
Twilight pushed her door open and stepped aside. She smiled. "Of course, come on in!" A clippity-clop drew closer as Rainbow stepped inside. They turned to see Rarity running after them. She was nearly out of breath when she reached the library. Twilight was starting to get a little concerned. Rarity stepped through the door. Twilight shut it and turned.
She tried to hide her surprise. "Rainbow...what happened?"
Rainbow had dropped her cloak. Her mane and tail were completely grey now, and her cool blue coat had started to spot. The look of determination she had leaving Rarity's had melted into something more pathetic.
"I don't know what's happening to me. I've just started losing all my color, out of nowhere. Rarity says its normal, but I don't think so. There has to be a way to fix it. Have you ever read about this before?"
"No I haven't, there aren't many books on you pegasi. What about dying..." Rarity cleared her throat, cutting Twilight off. She shook her head.
Rainbow was getting frantic. "Don't you have a spell or something, come on Twilight, you're my best shot."
"I know a few coloration spells, but I've never used them on a pony before. Here, sit still and I'll try one."
Rainbow shut her eyes, sat back on her haunches, and waited. Her thoughts were going in all directions. After years of dangerous stunts, dragons, and disasters, she was feeling something for the first time in her pony life. Fear. She shook her head. Not going to think anymore about it, got to focus.
"Stay still Rainbow, I don't want to mess this up." Twilight lowered her head, her horn began to glow. She examined Rainbow closely, picking out each and every hair in her mane, carefully planning where to put what. After several minutes she was ready. She shut her eyes, envisioning what she had planned. A beam of light shot forth from her horn. She stumbled a bit, but kept her focus on Rainbow. Slowly the light split into each color of the rainbow.
Rainbow breathed deep, the light was warm. A glimmer of hope.
Twilight gritted her teeth. She released the spell. With a loud bang it broke upon Rainbow. The lights of the library flickered. Rainbow was engulfed in a cloud of dust. Twilight, flat on her back, lifted her head. Their eyes searched the cloud. The dust began to settle.
Rainbow looked down at her hooves. Every color of the rainbow was laid out on the floor before her. She placed a grey hoof on the red streak.
"I'm sorry Rainbow, I guess it didn't work after all. Somehow you resisted the spell." Twilight was as confused as she was upset at her failure.
Rarity sat back and looked glassy eyed at Rainbow. "I'm so sorry darling, I don't know what to say."
Rainbow was quiet for a moment. No one spoke. Spike rustled in his bed upstairs. The wind kicked up, whistling around the tall tree. Rarity's eyes were drooping.
"Why don't you go home Rarity, you look exhausted, I'll look after RD."
"Oh no, I'm not going anywhere" she said.
In a defeated tone, without looking away from the colors strewn out on the floor, Rainbow said "No Rarity, go ahead home. Please."
Rarity paused for a moment, watching her grey and blue friend. She got up and walked past, nuzzling Rainbow for moment. "If you need anything, I'm here for you." With that she was gone and Rainbow and Twilight were alone in the quiet library. A dull light was coming in through the windows. It was nearly sunrise.
Twilight was at a loss. She rolled over and started looking through her shelves. Rainbow was a statue in the middle of the room. Twilight knew that talking wasn’t going to do any good, so she decided to do the one thing she was good at. She pulled a book from the shelf and laid down. Clearing her throat she began to read.
"Daring Do and the Temple of Darkness. Chapter one." She turned the page. "Wind cut through Daring Do's hair as she soared through the sky. The high desert sun beat down on ponies and cacti alike. Still, it wasn't strong enough to sap Daring Do's determination to find the Temple of Darkness. She had read about it so many times, and yet..." Twilight stopped suddenly in surprise.
She felt something warm on her back. She turned to see her grey friend getting comfortable. Her eyes were shut, her front legs stretched out over Twilight's back. Rainbow laid her head down on Twilight's soft coat, and became still. Twilight smiled meekly to herself. She turned back to her book and kept reading.
The sun started to come up as shafts of light cut through the library and began to climb the walls. Thunder rolled in the distance. Wind blew hard against the tree house. Ponies were starting to wake and bustle about their days. Rarity drooled in bed, trying to make up for lost beauty sleep.
Twilight finished another chapter. She turned to see Rainbow snoozing comfortably on her back. Poor girl must be exhausted, up all night dealing with this. Not wanting to disturb her, Twilight shut Daring Do and the Temple of Darkness and laid down for a nap herself. She began to doze off, hoping above all else, that when they woke up, their problems would be gone.
"Gyah!!"
Twilight awoke with a start, a blank look on her face, she felt cold. She felt dizzy.
"Oh my gosh, Twilight. I'm so sorry."
Twilight heard Rainbow's hooves clip and clop back away from her. She shook her head, grogginess finally starting to clear.
"What's the matter Rainbow Dash?" she mumbled, standing up. She shook with stiffness and yawned. She turned around. She gasped. She didn't even recognize the mare in front of her. Rainbow had entirely lost her color. Head to hoof, she was grey. Her expression was unsure. Her eyes watered. She was speechless. She was afraid. She was a shadow of the pony she had once been. In a single night, Rainbow Dash had been completely lost.
"Why did you apologize?" Twilight asked. Rainbow lifted a hoof and gestured towards Twilight's back. She twisted her head around. Her purple coat was interrupted by a large grey spot. Where Rainbow had laid, Twilight no longer had her color. She panicked for a moment, her expression broke.
"Twilight I'm so sorry." Rainbow was starting to lose her grip. Twilight frantically tried to keep things together.
"No Rainbow, uh, its ok, really, I'm not upset. Everything is going..." the entire tree shook as Rainbow stamped her hoof on the wooden floor.
"NO!!" she yelled. "I'm not myself anymore. I'm a danger to everyone around me. It isn't OK, and it's not going to be!"
"Rainbow, please, I understand that you're..." this time Rainbow interrupted by turning and rushing out the door. Head down, eyes full of tears, she was gone. The open door swung wildly in the wind. A crack of thunder rolled in, shaking Twilight to the hooves. Spike stumbled down the stairs, hardly awake.
"Twilight, what's going on? I heard yelling." Twilight fought back tears.
"Spike...I need you to take a letter."
"Now?"
"Right. Now."
“Why?”
Twilight looked out the window at the storm. “Just in case.”
The wind blew with a fury. Rainbow's mane whipped all around her. The storm drew lines in the grass as gusts bent trees and tore leaves from branches. The sky was a dark grey, the clouds were billowing in. The air was cold and moist. Rainbow could hardly see for all she was crying. She had never felt so afraid before. She stopped on a hillside just outside of Ponyville. Mane in front her face she pondered for a moment. She searched her thoughts for that one place she would be safe. She remembered.
Crouching low she leapt, shooting up into the sky, towards Cloudsdale. She weaved and bobbed in the wind. She couldn't stop thinking about Twilight, what had happened. She felt cheated, she felt defeated. It was as though Equestria had it out for her. She was cornered by her own insecurities and her own faults. A flash. A loud crack of thunder filled the sky and shook Rainbow to her very bones. She took comfort in the tumult of the storm, the only fury that matched that of her own pounding heart.
She reached the highest point in Cloudsdale, the tallest tower. She landed, her knees shook, and she collapsed. She had never cried much before, she never let herself. She never had much reason to. On top of that tower, she shook and shuddered. She felt every inch of her despair and the depth of her loneliness.
And then, it began to rain. Cool, soft rain fell gently from the sky. It floated and drifted about in the wind. Rainbow opened a red eye, looking up into the face of the oncoming storm. The cool rain felt good. She opened both eyes. It began raining harder. The cold drops cleared away her hot tears. One hoof in front of the other, she stood up, shaking. She sniffled, wiping her nose with her hoof. She looked up at the storm, feeling almost nothing. The wind began to gust. It pulled her mane, drawing it out beside her face. It ruffled her wings, pulling out lose feathers that shot by into the wake of the storm. Rainbow took a deep breath and opened her wings wide, and with that, the storm pulled her into its belly.
She kept her wings level, the draft of the storm carried her far out into the sky, away from Cloudsdale. A blinding flash of lightning cracked through the sky and thunder rolled loudly. Rainbow felt calm, she was adrift in a furious sea, but her empty heart remained steadfast. The cool draft slowed and Rainbow began to drift downward out of the clouds. She slide out from underneath the storm and caught a gust of wind and let it carry her. Looking down, she saw she was flying over Ponyville. For a moment she panicked. What if they see me? she thought.
She realized, against the grey stormclouds, she was invisible. No one could see her. She was alone, but she was safe. She took comfort in her melancholy thoughts. Again she looked down. Twilight was dashing across the field between the library and the boutique. Rainbow couldn't see her expression. Why did I have to hurt the one pony who really helped me? She puts up with me all the time, and all I do is cause more trouble. She thought back to all the times Twilight's words saved her from digging an even deeper hole. She was grateful for friends, but maybe they weren't for her.
She looked towards the boutique. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom were hopping around in a muddle puddle. They were laughing and screaming in the storm. Rainbow managed a small smile. Rarity poked her head out of a window and yelled "you three get in here right now! It's storming out, come in where it's safe...and dry…and clean."
"Coming!!" the three fillies cried back. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom dashed inside. Scootaloo paused for a moment. She looked up into the grey sky. Rainbow felt as though she was looking right at her. She saw a gust of wind billow up across the field, making waves in the grass. Scootaloo crouched, and waited. She opened her tiny wings as the gust of wind passed by. For a moment it lifted her into the air, she began to beat her wings. Too hard, not enough rhythm Rainbow thought. Scootaloo slowed her wings just a tad, she almost had it. After a few moments and a few feet she tumbled head over hooves into the grass. She shook her head and stood up, looking determined as ever.
"Scootaloo, get inside, its storming out!" Twilight cried as she galloped by.
"Oh alright," Scootaloo scampered towards the door. She stopped, and searched the sky one last time before ducking into the boutique.
Through the window of the boutique Rainbow saw Twilight frantically explaining to Rarity what had happened. They both look confused and frightened. Another thunderclap. They really love me, don't they. Rainbow felt something swell inside her. They all do. Scootaloo was searching the sky for her, for Rainbow Dash. Twilight and Rarity were concerned for Rainbow Dash, their friend. Ponies counted on her. She might not be as popular as Rarity or as important as Twilight, or as determined as Scootaloo, but she was Rainbow Dash. She was important to them. She was their friend.
So that's it, huh? She wasn't even thinking about flying anymore, she was just drifting on the clouds. Another thunderclap. There's nothing I can do about what color my mane is. I can't change it. The important thing is, there are ponies who are counting on me. I'm sure I don't even know some of them yet, all friends have connections even before they meet. All I can do, is the best I can, with what I've got. She didn't smile, she didn't even really feel better, but she knew, that someday she might, and that was good enough for her.
She couldn't leave her friends. They needed her as much as she needed them. She perked up. I should probably head back and apologize. A sudden draft caught her, her breath caught in her chest. It drew her up, up, up through the clouds. She began to feel a pang of worry. She had never flown this high before. The rain drops slowed and then stopped for a moment, hanging in the air before her. Slowly they began to fall again. Suddenly she broke through the clouds. The draft had carried her above the storm. She squinted as the sun shone brightly, shooting rays between wisps of clouds. The storm rumbled and grumbled beneath her. The blue sky stretched out for miles above her. The air was cold and fresh. She took a deep breath. She felt free.
I guess I have more than one thing to live for she thought. And with that she pulled her wings tight against her coat, and began a dive back into the storm. The rush, the freedom, the wind, the rain, the thunder, the love, the pain, the fear, the friends, the clouds, the rainbows, the colors, it all mixed in Rainbow's heart. She felt something new, a sense of purpose.
Rain began to pelt her face as she plummeted faster and faster through the clouds.
Maybe it isn't color, mane, tail, voice, or personality that defines a pony. Maybe it's just what you do with what's given to you. Yeah, that's it. She felt hope. She made a promise to herself to never waste what was given to her. She wasn't letting anypony down, not without trying her hardest first. Her courage was coming back. She knew she could do it.
Thunder clapped again. A wind gust slammed into her from an odd angle. She spun out of control. For a few moments all she could do was watch the world spin. Then she saw it coming. There was nothing she could do. The tower. Cloudsdale. She was home. With teeth gritted and head tucked in she crashed through the roof of the tower. She plummeted, falling alongside bits of shingle and raindrops, head up, looking back at the storm that had carried her so far. As quickly as she had punched through the roof, she crashed down into a pool at the base of the tower. It was just deep enough. She drifted to the bottom and floated back up.
She swam to the shallower edge of the pool and stood up. She was surrounded by gasping pegasus ponies. She sat. Breathed deep. Her mane, dripping wet, fell beside her face. Red, oragnge, yellow, green, blue and purple. All the colors were there. She smiled. Whatever happened from that day forward, she wasn't afraid anymore. She knew who she was. She knew what she wanted to do.
She stood up in the pool dripping with all the colors of the Rainbow. She was in the hall where rainbows were made, standing in a basin where the colors were mixing. Rain drops fell into the pool of colors. It sounded softly on the bits of driftwood floating about. She looked out at the staring crowd of pegasus with burning eyes.
"Hey everypony! The name's Rainbow Dash, and I'm back."
Epilogue
The storm had left its mark on Ponyville. Ditches were cleaned out, grass laid flat from the weight of the water and the wind. Branches and trees laid everywhere. It seemed that the weather ponies had gotten in a little over their heads trying to whip up a storm. Ponies everywhere were patching up homes and buildings, raking up leaves, and playing in the mud.
Rainbow was resting against a tree, watching the clouds pass by. Pinkie Pie came hopping up.
"Oh hi Dashie" she smiled. "Did you see that storm last night!?"
"Yeah I saw it, pretty crazy huh?"
"Oh man, it was all *BANG* and *CRACKLE* and the rain was so heavy I couldn't even see out the window! Gummy and I watched the whole thing!"
Rainbow just smiled.
"So, have any more weird questions for me today?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"No, not today. Thanks anyway."
"Okey dokey lokey!" and off she hopped.
Not many ponies knew about what had happened. The most anypony heard was that there was a terrible storm and a pony fell from the sky. Twilight and Rarity agreed not to discuss it with anypony else. Twilight had Spike burn the letter she wrote. She was going to warn the princess that something was wrong, but the magic of friendship worked things out on its own.
It took several weeks, but Twilight's coat grew back in. She told everypony it was just a "magic accident". Rainbow never figured out what had happened to her. For whatever reason, it happened, and she had learned a lot about herself. She faced a new fear, and felt all the better for it. Her thoughts were interrupted…
"Hey Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo came running. "Did you see the storm last night!?"
"Hey Scoots, yeah I did."
"I almost flew! I swear! I got off the ground, and was in the air and everything!" Her face beamed.
"Let me guess, you were flapping your wings too hard again and lost your balance?"
"Uh yeah, how'd you know?"
"Just a guess. Want to go practice some wing balance? You need to get those things under control if you're ever going to fly."
"Sure!"
Rainbow smiled. Standing up, her mane fell beside her face.
