//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 - A Map Problem // Story: Under Her Wing // by Tinyweasels //------------------------------// Chapter 17 - A Map Problem At the castle, Rainbow found her friends gathered in the map room. A cluster of tiny cutie marks were hovering over a tiny town in the middle of nowhere—two rows of parallel buildings with a single building on the end. Rarity was quite beside herself, muttering about the summons being the Worst—Timing—Ever. "Well, it looks like we've got a job to do," Rainbow said. "We, but not you, sugar cube. Doctor's orders," AJ reminded her. Rainbow sighed and her shoulders slumped. "Great, the first time the map thingy works and I miss out on all the fun!" "Discord, get yourself in here!" Apple Jewel commanded and moments later he appeared, carrying luggage. "Ladies, are we bound for adven—" he began and was cut off when he transformed, seemingly without intending to, to his pony form. "Whaaat the heck just happened?" he stammered, looking back at his glowing cutie mark. He closed his eyes and concentrated and began growing agitated. "I can't turn back to Discord... I'm stuck as a pony!" Twilight looked him over and smiled smugly, perhaps appreciating seeing Discord at a disadvantage. "I'm guessing that since you chose to accept the duty of an Element of Harmony, you are in pony form until our work there is done, perhaps to discourage you from getting distracted or running off." "B-but now my power is just that of a mere unicorn!" he lamented. "I beg your pardon?" Rarity asked, indignant. Rainbow did what she could to help as the group hastily prepared for the unexpected journey. Soon, they were all at the platform at the train station, waiting. She couldn't help but notice that Discord had an expression of dawning dread on his face, like a soldier about to see battle for the first time. "Relax, dude. You can do this. You got your friends with you. They have your back and you'll have theirs." "How am I supposed to be an Element of Harmony? Or a friend?" he asked, looking up at her, genuine anxiety on his face. She crouched down and put her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "It will come naturally to you, trust me. And remember, you're there in my place so be awesome and when in doubt just ask yourself what I’d do." "I don't know if I can do this, Rainbow," he said in a whisper that only she could hear. She gave him a kindly smile and did something she never thought she'd do—she hugged him. "We're your friends, Discord. You wanted to understand friendship and this is the way." He was startled by the hug, not having received one from anypony but Fluttershy before. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash," he said sheepishly as he saw the others watching and giggling. The train whistle interrupted the scene and after hugs all around, she watched her friends depart for adventure, leaving her behind. A bit frustrated, Rainbow headed to the castle and sat on her throne in the map room, staring at the map, and watched as the group of six cutie marks moved toward their goal. As time passed she paced—she tried to read, but her attention always returned to the map. She got the guitar that she kept stashed at the castle for music emergencies and began playing. "Hey Rainbow," Spike said as he entered the room and stood on his toes to look at the map. "Hey Spike," she replied, looking up briefly from her guitar. "Did you need food or anything? I can get something for you." "No, I'm good," she said quietly. He hopped on his throne and just stared at the map. The only sound was Rainbow's guitar as time passed—she just played the melodies, not feeling up to singing the lyrics while watching the agonizing slowness of the tiny train as it moved with her friends on it. "So this is what it's like for you when we're off on our crazy adventures?" Rainbow asked, looking over to the little dragon. "Yeah, pretty much. Just sitting around and worrying that you guys are all okay," he replied with a strange sadness in his voice. Rainbow got up from her throne and sat on Twilight's throne beside him. She reached down and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, dude, they'll be okay." He turned his head to rest his cheek against her hand. Rainbow smiled, then leaned over and picked Spike up and put him on her lap and wrapped her arms around him. To her surprise he didn't protest. He just nestled in against her and joined her in staring at the map. They sat for a while, lost in their thoughts until the sound of hoofsteps approaching caused them to look up as a large red stallion appeared at the door. “Howdy, Miss Dash. Spike, mind if we join ya for a spell?” Big Mac asked. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were on his back, who both waved. “No problem. The more the merrier,” Rainbow replied, swallowing her anxieties. “Hi Rainbow! Hi Spike!” the girls called happily. Upon seeing the fillies, Spike quickly leaped off Rainbow’s lap and tried to play it cool. “Hey,” he replied, taking his seat on his throne. Rainbow managed a chuckle at Spike's display. "Hi, girls," she replied with a smile. Big Mac crouched down so the girls could leap to the floor. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle rushed over to the map and examined it all the way around, then climbed onto their sister’s thrones and turned their attention to the map. “So it’s like watching a movie, where you don’t really see what’s happening?" Sweetie Belle asked. “Yeah, kinda,” Rainbow replied with a sigh. The fillies stayed as focused for as long as was possible for them, about ten minutes. Shortly Spike gravitated over to where they were and soon the three of them were all sitting side by side on Rarity's throne, talking and giggling. Big Mac sat beside Rainbow's throne and joined her in staring at the map, sighing as he watched. "Ain't right." "What?" Rainbow asked. "It ain't right that she's out there in danger. I should be the one. I'm the oldest. It's my duty to look after the younger ones," he said, staring intently at the map. Rainbow gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "Relax, big guy. AJ and the others can handle whatever problem they find there. She's not a foal anymore. We've handled all kinds of things as the Elements of Harmony." Big Mac turned to look at her with unease in his eyes. "But that was always around here, on our home ground. Now they're far away with nopony around to help them if they're in trouble." "Hey, if they're in real trouble there, I'll get my bat and put the 'harm' in Harmony and start busting some heads!" Big Mac chuckled and smiled. "Yeah, and I'd be right there with you, stompin' them into the ground. But you're right. Gotta trust them that they'll be okay. I still ain't thrilled with Discord bein' there with 'em. I don't trust that snake." "Eh, he's a nutjob, but I think this will be good. A bonding experience. He's actually stuck as a pony and only has unicorn powers during all this. So it'll be interesting to see if he can use his wits where his powers can't do the job." Big Mac laughed now. "I wish I coulda seen that! Walkin' a mile in a pony's horseshoes likely'll do him some good." Silence again descended on Rainbow and Big Mac, while the kids swapped funny stories about Twilight, Rarity and Apple Jewel. The castle staff brought in dinner. There was a sense of tension when they saw the cutie marks reach their destination at the mystery town. Rainbow and Big Mac just sat and waited while the kids cheered when the servants brought them ice cream. Big Mac sat at the edge of the map table, resting his hooves there. Rainbow began playing softly as the others looked on. Needing a pick-me-up, Rainbow began playing Pinkie Pie's smile song. My name is Pinkie Pie And I am here to say... As time grew late, they all sat and stared at the map as silence reigned over the room. In time the three little ones, who once again sat together on Rarity's throne, had drifted off to sleep in an adorable little pile. Rainbow sat and stared at the map, keeping her eyes on it as her eyelids began to droop and eventually close. She was gently awakened later by something and she opened an eye to find it was Big Macintosh putting a blanket on her, dragging it with his teeth. "Hey, thanks dude," she said with a smile and gently leaned her head against his. "My pleasure, Miss Dash," he replied softly, smiling. Rainbow glanced over at the sleeping kids and saw he had put a blanket on them as well. She sat up and returned her attention to the map and stared at it until sleep overtook her again. The next day, after breakfast, Big Macintosh took Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom off to school. With the fillies no longer present, Spike resumed his place on Rainbow's lap. Later Big Mac returned to join them by himself. The day dragged on with agonizing slowness as the three waited and waited. Day turned to night and their friends were still in that strange town in the middle of nowhere. Another night passed and still they were there. Spike slept, curled up on her lap. His sleep the night before had been peaceful, but this time his sleep was fitful and he would often end up clinging tightly to her. "If they're still there at sunset, I'm getting my bat and getting on the next train," Rainbow muttered, looking down at Spike and running a hand over his head. Big Mac nodded in response, staring gravely at the map. "You and me both, Miss Dash." A cheer went up from the three when early afternoon came around and the group of cutie marks began moving back towards Ponyville. "Ugh, finally!" Rainbow groaned. "This should be an interesting story," Spike said in relief. "Thank the Maker," Big Mac said with a relieved smile. As the evening train arrived, Rainbow, Big Mac, Spike and the fillies were waiting at the station. When the ponies got off the train they all looked up with weary smiles. The moment the passenger car door opened, Spike rushed up to Twilight and leaped into her embrace. "Twilight!" he said in great relief and began crying. She sat and hugged him tight. "I'm so glad to be home, Spike," she said softly and shed a few tears of her own. "Rarity!" Sweetie Belle shouted and rushed up and hugged her. The smile on Rarity's face was one of the happiest and most satisfied smiles Rainbow could ever remember seeing. "Sweetie darling! It is so good to be home," she replied as she hugged Sweetie Belle. "So what happened out there, guys?" Rainbow asked anxiously. Twilight looked around hesitantly. "Let's go back to the castle first," she said and the group began walking before Rainbow could reply. Twilight even asked Big Mac to take the fillies back to the farm so they could have privacy, invoking 'super-secret Element of Harmony friendship business' reasons. Once inside the servants spread out a sumptuous meal. Over dinner, Twilight and the others began explaining what had happened. Rainbow listened speechless as they told of stolen cutie marks and a town of forced equality. Pinkie spoke in horror movie terms about the quality of the baked goods, while Discord had surprisingly little to say about anything, mostly just staring off into space. Rainbow could see her friends were shaken and troubled by what they had experienced and more troubled by the fact that this Starlight Glimmer pony had escaped. Her ire was up—she should have been there for her friends! She would have done something to save her friends from the hooves of that monster, but admirably it was apparently Discord who had saved the day. Discord was reluctant to speak at first, but as the tale developed he found his usual stride. "So after the second night, when Starlight Glimmer dragged us out to see if she'd broken us, I realized what I had to do. I threw myself at her hooves, telling her I understood the value of equality. So when she was gloating at Twilight about her victory over one of her friends, I remembered what you said, Rainbow—ask myself what you would do. So I did it. When she wasn't looking I punched her as hard as I could." Rainbow did a fist pump. "Yes!" Discord managed a small laugh. "I was really weak, so she didn't drop, but she was staggered. I jumped on her and we're wrestling around on the ground for a bit, but I wasn't in any state to put up much of a fight. Still, it served its purpose. It revealed her as a hypocrite! In the fight her fake cutie mark was wiped away. When the community saw she wasn't practicing what she preached, there was a revolution and her whole scheme quickly unraveled. She tried to escape with our cutie marks, but our new friends saved the day and got them back for us." Rainbow patted Discord on the back. "Good job, dude. I knew I could count on you." "It was a terrifying, eye opening experience. So did I do my duty? Am I released from my promise?" he asked desperately. Rainbow smiled and nodded, thinking back to a quote from Lord of the Rings. "I hold your oath fulfilled. Be at peace." Discord's rainbow cutie mark began to glow and rose off of him then faded away to reveal his tornado cutie mark. The moment it was gone he transformed back into Discord. He began jumping around and laughing, reveling in having his body back. The others laughed a bit at his antics and once they had shared their thoughts of the events the mood lightened. After a round of tea they all sat in light conversation, surprisingly Discord keeping quiet. "Discord?" Fluttershy asked. "Yes?" he replied, looking down at her. "Are you okay?" "Why do you ask?" "Your paw is shaking." "My paw is shaking?" He asked curiously and looked down to see it quaking. "My paw is shaking. Why is my paw shaking?" he asked in alarm. Rainbow watched as the shaking got worse and his breathing suddenly became more rapid. "What's goin' on?" Apple Jewel asked. "Discord, is this another one o' your fake sickness things?" she asked skeptically. "Is he having a heart attack?" Spike asked in alarm. Discord collapsed to the floor, his breathing loud and fast, his limbs shaking. Rainbow and the others rushed to his side, Twilight issuing orders to the servants nearby. Fluttershy stood and turned to the others, a stern look on her face. "No!," she said loudly, then turned back to Discord and sat beside him and took his paw in her hooves. "What you all need to do is step back, calm down, sit down and be quiet. Discord's having a panic attack." "A-a panic attack?" Discord gasped. Rainbow and the others followed Flutter's orders and moved back. Fluttershy smiled down at him and held his paw tightly. Discord's eyes were wide and his chest was heaving. "Trust me, AJ, I've experienced enough panic to know it when I see it," Fluttershy said, then looked deeply into his eyes, like a kindly version of The Stare. "You're going to be okay, Discord. This is just temporary. You have to ride out the storm. Your friends are all here and we won't let anything happen to you. You just need to know this will pass and you'll soon be yourself again." Rainbow found the whole situation unsettling. Discord was, as far as she understood, one of the most powerful beings in the world and here he was, flat on his back, going to pieces. What surprised her was that Fluttershy was totally calm, talking soothingly to him and holding his claw. "Just breathe with me, Discord. Deep breath, Discord. Now breathe out," she repeated and he began breathing in sync with her. After about ten minutes his breathing was returning to normal and the shaking eventually stopped. Discord put a hand tenderly on Fluttershy's cheek. "You are an angel, Fluttershy," he said with a weak smile. She blushed and smiled at him. "Can you sit up?" He struggled up into a sitting position and turned to look at the others in the room. He drew in a gasp and for a moment there seemed to be panic on his face again. He quickly snatched up Fluttershy and clutched her to his chest with both arms like she was a teddy bear. "Discord?" she asked in concern. "I'm okay," he said softly and looked down at Fluttershy. "I'm thousands of years old and that was the most terrifying experience of my entire life. Dear sweet Fluttershy, you are far stronger and braver than I ever imagined, having to face such things every day." Just then the main door of the room opened and in walked Princess Celestia and Princess Nightmare Moon. "Discord, what's wrong?" Celestia asked and rushed over to him. "This had best not be a ruse, Discord," Nightmare warned. Discord clutched Fluttershy tighter to himself as his breathing started getting more rapid. Fluttershy glared at Twilight. "Twilight, this was the last thing he needed," she grumbled, then turned to the newly arrived princesses. "Princesses, I apologize for this, but you both need to leave the room right now. You're putting him danger of another panic attack.” The princesses were surprised by being abruptly dismissed and they looked to each other. Celestia turned to leave, but Nightmare's pride put up a fight before a gentle touch of Celestia's wing on hers made her relent and they left the room without another word, Twilight following them out of the room. It was close, but Fluttershy was able to talk him through it and his breathing again returned to normal, but he still kept Fluttershy clutched to himself. It took about half an hour until he was finally able to get back on his feet again. He took a few bracing deep breaths just to seemingly test his physical state, but he still held onto Fluttershy tightly; once assured of his stability, he sat back down. "You can let them in," he said softly. "Are you sure, Discord?" she asked, looking up at him. "Yeah. I'm okay," he said wearily. "I'm sure they'll have something to say about all this." Spike went to fetch the princesses while the others got a little closer. "Is this a group hug situation?" Pinkie asked hesitantly. Fluttershy thought for a few moments. "Maybe one at a time." Rainbow watched as the others each took turns, giving him a gentle hug. He grew an extra arm to continue holding Fluttershy so he could return the hugs. As Rainbow observed him still clinging possessively to Fluttershy she realized she could name at least a dozen stallions in Ponyville who'd give their right hind leg to hold Fluttershy like that. When Rainbow finally got her turn, she began to have an unpleasant realization. This was her fault. Discord had taken her place, plus the trauma. That plus her growing admiration for the trickster made hugging him easier. Twilight returned with the princesses—Nightmare stayed back a bit but Celestia came over to Discord, sat beside him and hugged him, which surprised everypony, especially Discord. "How are you feeling, Discord?" Celestia asked with a kindly smile. "I've been better,” Discord said. “My word, that was the worst thing I've ever experienced. I thought Tirek stealing my powers was the worst, but here I didn't even have power over my own body! I was totally helpless. I guess now I really know what all of you feel about me—you had me totally at your mercy and you all protected me," he said with a smile as he looked at the ponies in the room. Twilight gave him a hug. "We're your friends, Discord. As hard as it can be to be so at times." "It was like being buried alive with a boulder on your chest while suffocating. Celestia, what happened to me? What did that witch do to me? I'm an immortal! What if she's permanently damaged me and I have to spend the rest of time afraid that something like that could happen again?" he asked desperately, looking pleadingly at her. She moved a bit closer and unfolded a wing and wrapped it around him. "Discord, from what Twilight told me, I surmise that this was a one-time occurrence. While you were locked into pony form you were in a constant state of stress and anxiety and then there was the brain washing. You were able to cope with a pony's natural defenses but when you returned to your true form those defenses were gone and all the stress you'd been holding in caught up with you. Now back in your true form, your ways of processing stress and anxiety will return to normal." He leaned against Celestia. "I hope so. I have never been so scared. I think that must be what dying feels like." He turned to look down at Fluttershy, whom he still held. Fluttershy made a weary chuckle. "Welcome to my world," she said softly. He gave Fluttershy a gentle hug. "Fluttershy, I admit I thought you the weakest pony, but you're the strongest. To face the day knowing something like that could happen and still having the courage to go out there and be part of the world when you could just hide away and cower in fear." Fluttershy for her part had a big smile on her face, apparently happy he finally understood her. A silence descended on the room and Rainbow cleared her throat. She went over and sat before Discord. She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Dude, I'm sorry,” Rainbow started. “This is all my fault. If I hadn't asked you to cover for me you wouldn't have had this attack." "No. This was my fault. This was all my fault, Rainbow," Discord said softly, his voice trailing off. Then his voice grew more forceful, as if he’d made a decision. "Everything is my fault.” "What do you mean?" Celestia asked. Discord looked to Fluttershy, who was gently poking him. "Discord, this probably isn't the right time," she warned. "No, I need to say it now. Like Celestia said, my normal defenses aren't up yet and when they are it will be a lot harder to say this," Discord said and paused to meet Rainbow's gaze. "Rainbow, it's my fault you were born a human instead of a pony.” There was a collective gasp of surprise from all but Fluttershy and the royal sisters. "What? How?" Rainbow stammered in surprise. Discord took a deep breath and held Fluttershy tightly to his chest. "Nightmare's first escape attempt nearly fifty years ago was my doing.” “Your doing? You mean you wanted her to escape?” “I still had a tiny bit of power,” Discord continued. “I couldn't escape by myself so I conspired with her to help Nightmare Moon escape on the condition she'd return the favor. I gave her the plan to trans-locate to the moon of the human world to escape her prison on our moon, and with my knowledge she burned a portal between our worlds. We thought we had it all figured out, but we didn't count on the protective wards Harmony had in place to keep Nightmare on the moon. They immediately banished her back there the moment she went through the portal." "Sooo, what's all this to do with me?" Rainbow asked hesitantly. "Rainbow, Nightmare Moon wasn't supposed to escape that first time. I knew the way things were supposed to go, but I didn't care. I changed them—I changed everything from that point on. My choice changed events big and small, events beyond counting. Among those things changed was preventing your pony parents from ever meeting. Rainbow, Fullbright Dash was supposed to be your biological father. Your mother, a mare named Firefly." Rainbow stared at first, taking it all in. "So Dad really is my dad, sort of?" "Yes." Rainbow pondered that, then smiled. "That's cool. He didn’t even know I existed but he was still able to find me." Celestia nodded and smiled. "Harmony still needed the Element of Loyalty. Discord had broken the future and Harmony did what it needed in order to bend things back into shape as best as could be done.” Rainbow pondered this, then an unsettling thought occurred to her. She turned to Celestia, her face darker. "So, to become the Element of Loyalty, I needed to be in a certain place at a certain time. All the things that happened to this other Rainbow had to happen to me to make me the same as her?" "In a manner of speaking, yes, Rainbow." Rainbow closed her eyes and she let out a roar of rage that startled all in the room. "You're telling me that it was Harmony that made my parents abandon me in Equestria? Are you telling me that it was Harmony that left me to rot in that orphanage for seven years?" When her eyes opened, they were filled with rage and she shouted at the top of her lungs, "It was seven years in hell in that place! Seven years of feeling like a freak of nature, unwanted by everyone on both sides of the portal!" Celestia was quite startled to be yelled at and Nightmare came to her defense. "Rainbow, Silence! Remember your place," Nightmare said indignantly. That only spurred on Rainbow's rage. She turned suddenly and pointed an accusing finger at Nightmare. "Nightmare, shut the %^&* up! It was your sorry flank that caused all of this!" Nightmare was on her hooves in an instant, the same anger in her eyes. "You dare address me in such a manner?!" Rainbow began closing the space between them. "Yeah, I do dare and what are you gonna do about it?" Nightmare was now literally sputtering in rage. “Foolish foal, you know the power I wield.” Rainbow would not back down. "Come on, Moon-Butt! Throw down and gimme a reason to give you the beating I should have given you the first time we met!” "Rainbow, silence!" Celestia shouted, loud enough to cause the entire castle to reverberate. Rainbow turned her attention back to Celestia. "Did Harmony kill my mom so I could have the same childhood the real Rainbow was supposed to have?" Celestia had no reply. "Answer me, damn it!" Rainbow shouted and when she was met with continued silence she threw her hands up in frustration as she started to leave. "That's it. I'm done. I've had enough of ponies in my life.” Discord gave a pained cry. "Even when I try to do the right thing I still spread chaos. It's all Starlight's fault. I know what I have to do," he growled as he put Fluttershy down. "Discord, please don't hurt her!" Fluttershy pleaded desperately a moment before Discord vanished with a snap of his fingers. With his parting, Fluttershy broke down and began crying. "So we were all manipulated to be here in Ponyville on that day," Twilight said, her voice filled with hurt and uncertainty as she looked to Celestia. "Our own choices in life have no meaning? Are we just marionettes dancing at the end of invisible strings and free will is just an illusion?" The others called out to Rainbow, but she just put up her hand toward them without turning around. "Ponies can talk to the hand," she said. When she left the room she slammed the crystal door with enough force to crack it top to bottom. Rainbow stormed through the dark streets of Ponyville and the few ponies that were out and about knew to stay out of her way as she headed home. Her only companions that night were a guitar and a few bottles of beer. She wasn't really playing any particular tune. She stopped, got up and walked to the picture of herself as a pegaus, took it off the wall and brought it over to her coffee table and propped it up against the stack of well-worn Daring Do books piled there. She resumed playing, feeling a pain in the pit of her being unlike anything she'd ever felt before, tears beginning to run down her cheeks as she played Ronnie James Dio's Rainbow in the Dark. (Rainbow in the dark-Female cover on acoustic guitar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAjvPqak37c) "I'm so sorry, Rainbow," Discord's voice said from somewhere. Rainbow's head snapped up and she looked around, her eyes going to a far corner of the room. "Discord?" A moment later he materialized. "Why are you hanging out in my living room?" she asked, her tone neither angry or surprised. "Sorry Rainbow. I swear I don't normally do this. I just got done dealing with Starlight." "That doesn't answer my question." He turned and began pacing. "I'm really, really sorry about all this, Rainbow. If I could go back and fix it I would, but that would create all kinds of new problems and disruptions to events and there's—" "I forgive you," she said softly as she took a swig from her beer and resumed playing. "But that's—" "Dude, I forgive you," she said, a hint of anger in her voice. "Rainbow—" he started and then ducked as an empty beer bottle whizzed by his head and smashed against the wall. She resumed playing; the tone of her music seemed to reflect her mood, becoming more rapid and angrier. "I really don't want to talk to anypony tonight, Discord. So please leave me alone." "I was hoping maybe there's something I could do to help," he said meekly. The music abruptly stopped. "You just don't get it, Discord. You've taken something from me and there's nothing you could ever say or do to make up for it and there's nothing I could do to you that would make things even, and even if there were some way I could equally hurt you, I wouldn't do it because I wouldn't want you to feel what I'm feeling right now. I'm letting you off the hook.” Rainbow looked over at Discord with weary eyes. “So please just leave me alone.” She turned away and resumed her playing. "I don't understand," he confessed, looking at her with a pained look. She sighed and looked up at him. "Since today is the day for talking plainly, I'll lay it out for you. When you first got free you turned us against each other and against our elements. It must have been hysterical seeing me running around flapping my arms, thinking I was a pegasus. Despite all that you did then, we gave you a second chance. What did you do with that second chance? You spit it back in our faces and joined your buddy Tirek!" She took a moment to calm herself. "When Twilight banished him back to Tartarus, have you ever wondered what stopped her from chaining you up right beside him?" "I- I haven't," he stammered. "She forgave you and trusted you—we all did. Now think about how good it feels to avoid being punished for your mistakes, for getting a second and even a third chance.” "I am grateful," he muttered, a small smile forming. "Good. Now think about how Starlight Glimmer feels right now," she replied softly, not looking up from her guitar. Rainbow's words hit him like a cold hard slap to the face. He stood there in stunned silence as he finally began to understand. "Goodnight, Discord," Rainbow said, not looking up at him. "Rainbow, I—" he started but when she picked up another beer bottle to throw at him he bid a hasty retreat. She played for a little while longer then put her guitar aside before she went outside and stood on her porch, looking to the dark eerie forest in the distance. She'd been playing the blame game until now, but it all came down to being a pawn of Harmony. Time to go to the source of it all. She went inside and grabbed the nearest guitar and headed out the door.