//------------------------------//
// S5 E5: Tanks for the Memories (What If?) 
// Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 4 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

A cold breeze swept past Rainbow Dash, as she and her pet tortoise, Tank, were watching as a group of Pegasi towed the city of Cloudsdale in all its majesty. It wasn't long before the magnificent cloud city was hovering directly over Ponyville.

Rainbow Dash could hardly contain her excitement. This was going to be her first winter with Tank, and she wanted to enjoy every moment of it (last year she had entrusted the care of Tank to a friend and had not seen Tank until Spring, something the athletic Pegasus found odd but didn't question). "Look at that, Tank! Cloudsdale's here! That means Ponyville is next up for winter!" She told her tortoise, hugging him close.

Ponies of all species were rushing about on the ground below, even though the Running of the Leaves had already taken places weeks ago, there were still some that had yet to fall off the trees. Rainbow swooped low, shouting encouragement to the runners. "You're doing awesome, everypony! Keep up the good work!" She flew back up to a cloud to rest, as she said to Tank. "Once we get autumn cleared away, it'll be hello, winter! And this time we're gonna spend it together."

But all of a sudden, Tank unexpectedly let out a yawn. A noticeable snot bubble formed on his nostrils, and he seemed to shiver ever so slightly. Rainbow Dash was quite concerned, she'd never seen Tank act like this before. "Uh, Tank, you feeling okay little buddy?" She asked him. "You're not coming down with something, are you?"

Tank yawned again, the shiver faded and the snot bubble burst, but he still seemed to be tired for some reason. This didn't make Rainbow Dash feel any better, her concerns only grew.

"What's the matter? I know you've gotten plenty of sleep, you can't possibly be tired already," Rainbow commented. "The most exciting time of the year is right around the corner and we're finally gonna spend it together! That's the best part about it, you and me enjoying the best that winter has to offer! Once those ponies bring in the big, fat clouds full of snowflakes, we'll have a ton of snow for our extreme sledding!" She then pointed to a nearby lake. "And over there, we can play horse hockey, with no shoulder or arm pads! Scootaloo says her father's coming home for the holiday and he's looking forward to a re-match for that defeat I served him last year. He just better not expect me to go easy on him because I'm friends with his daughter. If he wants his team to be the best it can be, even a manager like him has to get some hooves on experience on the ice."

Ponies down below started cheering, they were already anticipating the arrival of winter and were working hard to make sure it would come as soon as possible. But none of their energy seemed to inspire Tank, he just yawned and another snot bubble formed on his nostrils, though this time it wasn't as big and he didn't shiver.

"This isn't good, I'd better have Tank looked at by somepony." Rainbow Dash thought, concerned that Tank might be getting sick somehow.

Just then, Twilight flew by. "Hey Rainbow Dash, everything's looking great from up here, wouldn't you agree?" She asked her friend. "It's always lovely when things are running smoothly and on time for a change."

"I guess, but does Tank look okay to you?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight suddenly. "He's been yawning a lot lately, and now there's stuff like these bubbles and shivers."

Twilight looked at Tank, and she could see the tortoise wasn't looking as great as he usual was. But at the same time she couldn't really tell much. She turned to Rainbow Dash and told her. "I can't really say for sure if there's something going on, his behavior is troubling but I don't know much about tortoises and without a book or guide I can't make any qualified statements."

"That's.... not very helpful." Rainbow complained.

Twilight sighed as she looked at her friend. "Look, Fluttershy is the animal expert. Why don't you ask her? If there is something wrong with Tank, she should know how to fix it." She then flew off.

Rainbow Dash sighed in defeat. "Guess Twilight has a point," She said to Tank. "Let's just hope Doctor Fluttershy has whatever you need to start feeling one hundred percent again."



Rainbow wasted no time in bringing Tank to Fluttershy's cottage, and although Fluttershy was a bit surprised to see her friend on such short notice, she was more than willing to help. 

Fluttershy set Tank on a sofa cushion on the floor of her cottage, and pressed a stethoscope up to his chest. She listened carefully to his heart beat, while Rainbow Dash anxiously stood, waiting for news.

At last, Fluttershy removed her stethoscope and looked at Rainbow Dash. "Well, I've got good news, and bad news." She reluctantly confessed, trying to put on the bravest smile she could possibly muster up.

"Okay, so what's the good news?" Rainbow Dash asked, she was pretty sure she didn't want to hear the bad news.

"Tank's not sick, at least not seriously or anything," Fluttershy told Rainbow Dash, her smile growing slightly wider as she hoofed a capsule to her friend. "Just give him a few pills from in here and he should get better, to some extent."

"What do you mean 'to some extent'?" Rainbow Dash asked, which prompted Fluttershy to gulp. "Don't tell me, that's the bad news isn't it?" She nervously questioned.

"Unfortunately, yes." Fluttershy confessed, her smile fading.

"I hate it when I'm right." Rainbow thought, as she reluctantly asked Fluttershy. "So, what is it?"

With another gulp, Fluttershy looked at Tank, then back at Rainbow Dash as she declared. "This cold weather isn't good for him, Tank is getting ready to hibernate."

The very mentioning of the word prompted a look of confusion from Rainbow Dash. "Wait, what are you talking about? Tank's not a bear or some woodland critter. Tortoises don't hibernate!" 

Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh they do, I'm afraid. That's exactly what Tank did last winter, and it's what he'll do this winter as well. He needs to hibernate. It's healthy for him, just like sleeping is healthy for us."

But Rainbow Dash wouldn't listen, she was firmly convinced hibernation meant something else, something far worse! "I'm not an idiot, I know tortoises don't hibernate in the winter!" She thought to herself, snatching up Tank and leaving Fluttershy's cottage. "Fluttershy's just trying to tell me that to cover up for something! She must know Tank's worse than he looks, she must know he's going to die!" Then she boldly promised herself. "Well, I've got news for her! Nothing's taking Tank away from me, no way, no how! Somehow, someway, I'll find a way to keep him warm and alive!"

"Come on, Tank!" Rainbow Dash said, once she was certain she had left Fluttershy's cottage. "Nopony knows you like I do. All you need is some hard work to get the old blood pumping, and that'll warm you up real good," But then she noticed the medication she'd been given by Fluttershy. "But I guess we should go home and make you take your medicine first, and maybe let you curl up by the fireplace for a while."





Rainbow Dash went home and gave Tank some time to rest after taking the medication Fluttershy had prescribed for him. But although Tank did indeed warm up, Rainbow knew she needed some way to keep Tank from losing all that warmth the moment they set hoof and foot outside in the cold. Remembering what her parents had always encouraged her to do as a filly before going out to play in the snow, the athletic Pegasus mare put a hat on Tank's forehead, and hastily tied the blanket she'd let him rest on around his shell. To cover up his little toes, she placed a few small pot holders on them.

"There we go," Rainbow smiled, as she observed how cute Tank looked. "Normally I'd be a bit embarrassed to let anypony see me dress you up like this, but as long as you're warm I'll put up with the...." She struggled not to gag as she added. "'Compliments' to the best of my ability. Now come on, we've got work to do!"

Soon, Rainbow was hard at work pushing some clouds into place to prepare for the first snowfalls. "These things sure are heavy!" She huffed, trying to push the clouds into their proper position. "Boy, I'll bet they're just full of white snowflakes! All the better for our winter fun! We're gonna have such a killer time in the snow, right, Tank?" There was no reply, so Rainbow looked around. "Tank? Tank!" She cried out, before she finally noticed Tank digging around in the dirt.

As luck would have it, Pinkie Pie was nearby and she happened to notice what Tank was doing. She found it irresistably cute. "Aww, look at the cute wittle Tankie, all snuggly-wuggly, getting ready to hibern—" She began, but was cut off as Rainbow Dash swooped down and put a hoof in her mouth!

"Don't you dare say that word!" Rainbow Dash demanded. "I don't need you thinking I'm an idiot too, I know what's really happening!"

"What are you talking about? I don't even know what you're getting so upset about," Pinkie innocently replied. "All I said was cute wittle Tankie, all snuggly-wuggly, getting ready to hibern-"

Rainbow glared at Pinkie quite harshly. "Come on, stop pretending it's something else. If you really think that hiber... – you know, that 'thing' – is so cute, why don't you go do it?! Somewhere far away from here?!" She said, a little too loudly, as all of her friends overheard. "What are you all looking at?!" She demanded. "Pinkie Pie and I are just having a conversation, that's all!" But she refused to lower her voice or change her expression.

Twilight reluctantly trotted forward and said to Rainbow Dash. "Look, Rainbow Dash, we all know how upset you are about what's happening to Tank. We know it upsets you that's going to be hiber-"

"I thought I told you not to say that word?!" Rainbow demanded. "Can you stop pretending and just tell it to me straight?! I know what death is, and I can tell you that Tank is most certainly NOT dying! Not on my watch!"

Twilight shook her head. "We didn't mention anything about death, no one's implying that's the case. You don't understand, hibernation is a natural thing for tortoises."

"No it isn't and you know it!" Rainbow complained. "All of you are trying to make me feel better by pretending Tank's just going to dig a little hole in the ground and go to sleep for the next few months. But you all know he's not doing that, that if he falls asleep like that he'll never wake up again. And I already said I'm not letting that happen! So either help me, or stay out of my way!"

"Now Rainbow Dash, there's hardly any need to take your anger out on your friends," Rarity said with a glare. "If Fluttershy says tortoises hibernate I think I'm very much inclined to believe her. You really can't argue with experience."

"So what if the expert's wrong, just this once?" Rainbow asked. "You think I haven't been wrong before even though I could be an expert on things like weather? And whoever said anything about anger, huh?! I didn't say anything about anger! I'm not upset! And I am not angry! Do I look angry?!" She protested, her face contorting into a glare that could give even Fluttershy's stare a run for its money. Without even waiting for a reply, she turned to Tank and scooped him up. "Come on, Tank! Let's get out of here! We're done for the day!" She then flew off quite rudely.

"Well, that sure went well," Applejack grumbled with a frown. "I swear, Rainbow's a good pony and all but sometimes tryin' to reason with her is like talkin' to a brick wall."

Fluttershy just sighed and hung her head. "It's all my fault, I should've told her about hibernation when Tank did it last winter. I just hope she'll realize her mistake before she does something she'll regret."



 

Rainbow took Tank home and warmed him up again, but it seemed to have little effect on him. This frustrated her to no end, especially as she watched a Pegasus named Sunshower argue with two other Pegasi named Open Skies and Clear Skies about where to move the clouds. "They do this every year," Rainbow thought with a giggle. "You'd think by now they'd have learned," She then sighed. "They're probably expecting me to go out and help sort out the mess they've caused. Well, right now I've got more important things to worry about."

Rainbow Dash turned her attention to Tank, who still looked a bit tired. "Come on, I need you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, not sleepy-eyed and scaly-tailed!" She grumbled. "I'm doing everything I can to keep you warm, okay? The least you could do is make my job a little easier."

Tank yawned, as he tucked his head into his shell to try and stay warm.

Frustrated with her lack of progress, Rainbow Dash groaned. "Tank, please! You can't hiber– you know," She complained, quickly catching herself. "Great, now they've got me doing it! I'm not gonna let you die, no way, no how! Think about how all the primo cool things we're gonna do together this winter. They'll be a lot of fun, I promise you! We're gonna be building snow ponies, starting snowball fights, sipping hot cider by the fire. I could go on."

But Tank snorted to snore, which only made Rainbow Dash even more frustrated and concerned. "Come on, Tank. Don't you wanna do those things with me?!" She pleaded, but her words seemed to have no impact on her pet. She began to pace back and forth in her cloud house, trying to think of a plan. "Think, Rainbow Dash, think!"

Rainbow quickly realized what seemed to be the problem, and why her efforts to warm Tank up weren't working. "Tank's only doing this because it's getting cold out, right?" She thought outloud, looking towards the tortoise. "Well, I'd much rather have him awake in the heat than asleep in the cold... " And that was when she got an idea, a wonderful yet truly awful idea but still an idea all the same! She started rubbing her hooves together as she realized what needed to be done. "I'll just have to stop winter! That should be simple enough."

Looking out at the trio of arguing Pegasi, Rainbow Dash called out to them. "You three are needed elsewhere, I'll take it from here and get everything over to Fluffy Clouds."

"Okay, can do," Sunshower replied, and barked at Open and Clear Skies. "Come on you two, I think the ground crew needs help with the leaves."

Once the trio of Pegasi had left, Rainbow Dash looked all around to be sure that no one was watching. She then quickly and effortlessly busted all the clouds with her kicks. She laughed and chuckled, as she flew back to her cloud house. "Stopping winter is gonna be a breeze!" But in the back of her mind she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "Pegasi usually aren't supposed to tamper with the weather," She recalled. "But they did tell me exceptions can be granted in circumstances where lives are at stake. And if Tank's life is in danger because of the cold weather, I'd say that's just the exception I need." 

Tank yawned a little, as Rainbow Dash came back inside. "Rest easy, Tank," She told him. "Because pretty soon, winter will be gone!"





Unfortunately, despite her best sabotage efforts, Rainbow Dash soon found that she wasn't making any progress in delaying winter, let alone stopping it from coming. In fact, it seemed like her efforts were only accelerating winter's arrival, and the thought of what that would bring only further frustrated her!

Sunshower, now back in charge of the cloud team, was directing the next shipment of snow clouds. And after Rainbow Dash's little cloud busting stint and other sabotage efforts, the Pegasi were taking no chances. An entire group watched over the clouds. "Here comes the next shipment! Move those clouds over!" Sunshower ordered. "Come on, let's move it! One way or another winter is coming."

Rainbow watched from a distance, snarling at her seeming inability to prevent the arrival of winter. "Ugh, I just don't understand it!" She complained to Tank. "Somehow, for every hoof step back, they go three hoof steps forward! Nothing I try is working! What are we gonna do, Tank? Help me out here, buddy."

Tank just yawned again, indicating that he would be of no help to his master. All he knew was that it was getting colder, and that meant he wouldn't have much time left to spend with her.

At last, just when she was ready to give up and admit defeat, Rainbow looked up and saw the very source of her troubles! Right then and there, she knew what she had to do! "Cloudsdale, of course!" She realized! "That's it, Tank! If I can't stop winter here in Ponyville, then maybe I can stop it at the source!"





The next day, Rainbow carefully snuck into the weather factory, taking great care to stay out of sight. At one point, she was forced to duck into a nearby locker, as the whistle blew to signal lunch break for the factory workers. Rainbow hid in the locker, and waited until all the workers had passed. 

Rainbow exited the locker, with her and Tank now in official weather factory uniforms. Tank was on a leash, but despite the journey he was barely awake, and yawning quite a bit. "Looks like we got here just in time! Come on, Tank! We don't have much time!"

Working her way through the factory, Rainbow crept past room after room responsible for various weather events, until at last she stumbled across the room she'd been searching for. Snowflakes were being moved along a conveyor belt attached to a machine, another machine was busy cranking out clouds full of snow, and in the center of the room was a huge water tank filled to the very top.

"Alright, we're in, Tank!" Rainbow Dash happily exclaimed, tying Tank's leash firmly around the door so he wouldn't fly off and get hurt. "Now we just gotta figure out a way to shut it down." In her mind, however, the athletic Pegasus was starting to feel rather guilty. "This goes against everything I ever learned in school," She thought to herself. "Messing with the weather without permission is always a big no no. Guess that means I'll have to shut it down quickly and get out of here before anypony has a chance to see me."

Looking all around the factory, the rainbow maned Pegasus mare examined the different machines and all their nuts and bolts. She occasionally peeked a glance at the door to make sure Tank was still there. If he got loose, Rainbow didn't even want to think about what could happen to him. The weather factory could be quite dangerous, which is why no pets were to be allowed on the factory grounds.

Rainbow frowned, as she turned her attention back to the machines. "Just sabotaging one of these won't be enough, they'll easily be able to repair the damage. And there's no way I can keep sneaking back in here and doing it over and over again, they'll catch me for sure," It was then that her eyes fell upon the huge water tank, which was held in place by a series of well bolted tubes. "Slam dunk!" She exclaimed, as she realized what had to be done. "With no water, they can't make clouds or snow! They can't make winter!" She flew over to the first tube, and began to tug on it in the hopes of loosening the bolts. "I hate to do this to those weather ponies, but desperate times call for desperate measures!" She said to herself, as she started to strain quite heavily.

But then, all of a sudden, the factory lights flickered on, and a spotlight shined down on Rainbow Dash! The Pegasus froze, and looked up! Her eyes fell upon the angry and confused look of Fluffy Clouds, the manager of the weather factory.

"Rainbow Dash? What in Equestria are you doing here?" Fluffy Clouds demanded. "And why did you bring your pet with you? And don't get me started on why you're trying to sabotage the water supply here."

"Uh.... I....I.....I...." Rainbow stuttered, she wanted to say more but for some reason she suddenly found herself tongue tied and unable to speak.

Fluffy Clouds just sighed. "Look, I'm not going to pretend I understand why you would do something like this. What you're attempting to do could have serious consequences for all of Ponyville, not to mention Cloudsdale," He paused, then added. "However, since you haven't actually done anything yet, and all your sabotage efforts from earlier have actually sped up the process for winter's arrival, I can't really punish you with anything besides trespassing on factory grounds and violating the factory's 'No Pets' rule. So, if you leave now, I might consider letting you off with a warning and a slight fee. I suggest you take it, or I'll have you arrested."

Realizing she really didn't have any other options, Rainbow reluctantly flew away from the water tank and picked up Tank. "Come on, Tank. Let's go home," She unhappily said to herself. "At least maybe we can spend your last few days together."





After the incident at the weather factory, no one saw Rainbow Dash for several days. She remained holed up in her cloud house as the weather grew colder and snowier. Any attempts to reach out to her were only replied with a simple, "I'm fine, now go away." followed by a door slam.

Rainbow's friends were starting to grow worried, they knew Tank had yet to hibernate but that didn't make things any easier for them. At last, they decided that they would have no choice but to force Rainbow Dash to accept the reality, and say goodbye to Tank.

To the surprise of everypony, it was Fluttershy who volunteered. "She'll never get past this until she lets it all out," She told them all, before flying off to see Rainbow Dash. Under her breath she added. "This is partially my fault for not telling her the truth about Tank's whereabouts last winter."

It didn't take Fluttershy long to find Rainbow's house, and when she knocked on the door she was surprised to find it open. "Dashie couldn't possibly have been expecting me, could she?" Fluttershy thought, as she made her way inside. She carefully fluttered her way up to her friend's bedroom, and what she saw nearly melted her heart.

Rainbow Dash had curled up on her bed, wearing a dark purple robe with white on the collar and leg areas, as well as a pair of tortoise themed slippers. Tank was clutched firmly in her hooves, a sky blue blanket covered his shell, no doubt an attempt to keep him warm.

Fluttershy cleared her throat, announcing her presence.

Rainbow slowly turned to face her guest. "I know why you're here, you've come here to tell me to get over the fact that Tank's gonna die," She said in an unhappy tone. "But I don't care what you have to say, I'm still not letting that happen, not even if you have to drag me away kicking and screaming."

Fluttershy sighed, she hadn't expected it to be this difficult. "Rainbow Dash, your winter is going to be pet-less." She firmly declared.

Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment, before she started to sob. "I don't want him to go!" She wailed.

Maintaining her serious expression, Fluttershy looked her friend firmly in the eyes as she explained. "But it's not going to be forever, Tank isn't dying. Tortoises really do hibernate, it's necessary for them to survive. In fact, part of the reason why Tank got so sick last winter, is because he didn't hibernate when he was supposed to. So Blossomforth had to spend time getting him back up to health before he could finally hibernate until spring," She paused, then added. "Trying to stop winter is reckless and irresponsible, regardless of what your intentions are. And if you don't let Tank hibernate, then he really will die. Is that what you want?"

Rainbow Dash continued to sob, more because she finally realized how selfish and short sited she had been. She hadn't imagined her actions would've been counter productive.

Fluttershy hopped up on the bed and scooted next to Rainbow Dash, smiling a bit. "Feeling better?" She asked. "If not, I'm here for you. Sometimes it helps to have a shoulder to cry on."

Rainbow's sobs gradually decreased, until finally she could only sniffle. "Thank you, Fluttershy. I needed to hear that, and I needed your advice. I feel like such an idiot now," She said, her voice strained a little from the crying. "I don't know what I'd do without a friend like you."

"It's alright, that's what friends are for," Fluttershy smiled in reply. "You've always been there for me, so I figured it was my turn to return the favor. You ready to say goodbye to Tank now?"

Rainbow reluctantly nodded, as she got down from the bed and looked at her tortoise. Fighting back the tears, she bent down to Tank's level and said softly. "Oh, Tank... I'm sure gonna miss you," To Fluttershy she then asked. "You're sure this hibernation thing is only until winter is over?"

Fluttershy nodded. "It's for the best anyway, he wouldn't have really enjoyed all those high speed winter sports."



 

The very next day, as snow covered the ground and the lakes and rivers were frozen solid, everypony gathered on a nearby hillside to help Rainbow Dash say goodbye to Tank. Each of them had dressed in winter weather attire, Applejack had simply put on a blueish-green winter jacket, Fluttershy had a two toned purple sweater and a set of blue ear muffs in the shape of flowers, Rarity wore her red sewing glasses, a white furry hat and matching white jacket with three purple diamonds stitched onto the front, and a set of fashionable grey boots, Pinkie Pie had a multi-striped puffball hat, a blue layered jacket, and blue boots with white spots, and Twilight had a yellow scarf and matching boots, and a set of ear muffs.

Rainbow Dash came trotting up to the group, dressed in a purple puffball hat, a matching set of purple boots with rainbow colored spots on the heels, and a red scarf with hints of orange and yellow on it. Tank was tucked into her saddle bag.

"You guys ready to say goodbye to Tank?" Rainbow Dash asked. "He's finally ready to hibernate."

Pinkie Pie smiled. "Ooh, you're using the word!" She happily exclaimed! "Just wait, when Tank finishes hibernating, I'm gonna throw him the biggest welcome home party ever! Or wait. Should it be a 'welcome above ground' party? Or perhaps a 'happy wake-up' party? Maybe an 'it's about time!' party would be more appropriate?!"

"And I'll design him a very special suit just for the occasion," Rarity offered. "Whichever one it ends up being."

"I'm glad you're feelin' better, sugarcube," Applejack said, patting Rainbow Dash on the back. "Glad to have with ya with us again."

"Feeling's mutual," Rainbow Dash replied, as she set Tank down on the ground and watched him start to dig into the snow. "So, you really wanna do this hibernating thing, huh?" She asked him, as he started to dig a little hole to curl up in. She already knew the answer.

"Goodbye, Tank." Rarity called.

"Happy winter." Fluttershy encouraged.

"See ya later, little feller." Applejack chimed in.

"Have a good sleep, Tank!" Pinkie beamed.

"Goodbye, Tank! We'll miss you so much!" Twilight added, before Tank completely dug his way in and was covered up by the snow. After a moment of silence, Twilight approached Rainbow and asked. "Well? You ready for some winter fun?"

"Uh, I'm gonna hang here and read to him for a bit," Rainbow sheepishly replied, sitting down next to the snowbank and pulling out a Daring Do book. "That little guy can never get to sleep without a bedtime story."

"You sure you'll be okay?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow nodded. "I'll be along shortly, I promise. Go ahead and enjoy the season."

"Alright, just don't wait too long. And remember, we're all here for you if you need to talk to us." Twilight offered, and went to go join her friends.