Equestria Rangers

by Shadowmane PX-41


Chasing a Rainbow

Sunset Shimmer ran down the street, frisking the streets as she dashed by them for Rainbow Dash. After all that had happened, and even with the memory of Mar'Zek still burning itself into her mind with each passing second, Sunset knew that she had to at least try and inspire some sense of confidence. After all, she was the Red Ranger, and she had to set an example for the rest of the group.

"Rainbow Dash? Where are you?" She called out, hoping that in vain, she would hear a response. When none came, she just kept on running, down towards the next stop on her path. "Come on, girl. I know you're braver than this, even with Mar'Zek stuck on your mind..."

Sunset ran for what seemed like minutes on top of minutes, checking high and low for Rainbow Dash and examining each and every little shop, gap, and hole that she could have fit into in an attempt to find her. Even when she got the idea to try and simply call Rainbow on the phone, she got nothing more than a dialtone and an audio cue to leave a message.

"Rainbow Dash!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, her eyebrows coiling into furious slopes as she threw her arms downward.

In the end, Sunset finally made it back to Canterlot High, where she saw a lonesome Rainbow Dash sitting quietly in the middle of the soccer field. Not a single other soul was around her, and all that she did to occupy her time was fiddle with a soccer ball; rolling it in her hands with her eyes more focused on the grass beneath her. Her eyes had tears residing in the lids, but not a single drop hit the ground.

"Rainbow Dash?" Sunset asked, before slowly making her way towards the middle of the field. The sun behind her began to sink as the both of them were blanketed in its' golden rays. "Are you... okay?"

"How does it feel, Sunset? To be the leader of the Power Rangers?" Rainbow looked up from the ball and locked eyes with Sunset. "To know that the world's gonna come crashing down because we're not ready to fight him? To know that, even with the Magic of Friendship, it doesn't mean a thing when fighting Mar'Zek?"

"Rainbow Dash, trust me, I'm as scared as you are about this, but running away from your problems won't fix a thing. You can hide away with the rest of the Rainbooms all you want, but sooner or later, we're all going to have to face the music." Sunset sighed and sat down next to Rainbow.

"And by face the music, you mean get slaughtered and cut into a thousand tiny little pieces by his sword." Rainbow Dash just huffed and crossed her arms. "Sunset, I know that you're trying to cheer me up, but I don't think it's gonna work this time." She just went back to the soccer ball. "Let's face the facts, Sunset. We lost, and we can't beat him. There's nothing you can say that'll prove us otherwise because we're the evidence that we can't win."

"I'm not saying that we can't win, just that we've got no choice but to try and fight back. And if we lose, then we lose." Sunset put a hand on the ball and looked Rainbow in the eyes again. "Hopelessness is just a lie we tell ourselves to think that we can't do better, when in reality, it's all just a lie that limits us from what we could do if we gave it enough time and commitment."

"Honestly, Sunset, this has to be one of your more weak speeches." Rainbow Dash stood back up and turned away from the sun and looked towards Canterlot High again. "But still, if it's your best, then I can't really get mad at you for it. It's funny, really. I thought that I was one of the bravest students at CHS. But after Mar'Zek totally kicked our keisters across the country with that fight, the fact that you're still gonna try and be brave even when you're scared too is pretty awesome, Sunset." She let out another heavy sigh and slumped her arms down. "But for once, awesomeness won't make the cut. We've gotta make do with what we have. And right now, all we've got are ourselves and those crystals. And even then, he thrashed us!"

"True, but we've only just started out, to be fair." Sunset lifted her finger. "Just like when we started out with the Magic of Friendship, all we could do was shoot massive rainbow lasers at things. And now look at us." She rubbed her own geode. "We've got the ability to lift things easily, run at the speed of light, make confetti blow anything up, no matter how big or small, and much more! There's no way that Mar'Zek can beat that, can he?" As she recited his name again, she quickly dropped the act. She curled her arms up and squatted slightly. "Actually... can he? He doesn't know about magic, right?"

"See, Sunset? Even when you're trying to be brave when talking about him, you go straight back to being afraid the second you think about what he can do." Rainbow just turned back, a big frown on her face. "You're a cool girl, and I'm still honoured to have you as a friend and all, and we still are gonna be friends from now until the end of time. But the girls are a train wreck with how they're acting now, and even you and I are big old 'fraidy cats!" Letting off another sigh, Rainbow could only watch as the sun sank beneath the trees. "At the end of the day, we're just human. We're not special. We're not unique. We aren't as different as the rest of the kids at CHS. All we have that makes us special are our magical powers and our crystals."

Both Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash just sat together, neither of them finding the words or momentum to keep the conversation going. They had both said enough and couldn't add anymore to the topic. Instead, they just sat and watched as the sun slid through the leaves and foliage of the nearby batch of trees and deeper towards the ground below. The wind was the only thing that broke the silence around them, as did the leaves that were torn up by it.

"Y'know. You're right, Rainbow Dash." Sunset finally spoke once the sun had properly left the skies. "We are human. And what's so wrong with that?"

"Huh?" Rainbow's ears pricked up.

"What's so wrong with being weak and vulnerable?" Sunset asked, looking down at her fingers as she flexed them. "What's so bad about having a weakness? A limit?"

"The fact that you can have it turned against you?" Rainbow Dash's eyebrow raised as she answered.

"If we have weaknesses, it just goes to show how unique we really are. Nobody's really perfect, deep down. Perfection is all a lie we keep on telling ourselves so that we don't keep trying to push ourselves further. And anyone who proudly proclaims that they don't have any weaknesses or flaws is really lying to themselves; even if they don't know their own yet."

"Sunset? What are you even trying to say?" Rainbow Dash stood up and stepped away slightly. "Have you finally cracked under pressure?"

"No. In fact, I think I'm starting to feel a little bit better about this whole thing. Not entirely, mind you, but it's a start." Sunset stood back up and laid her hands on Rainbow's shoulders. "We're weak. That much is true. But is it really worthy crying over and whining that we can't do anything about it or that all our wins before were for nothing?"

"Well..." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head, looking back down to where her scars and bleeding cuts had once laid.

"Okay, okay. Probably not the best example to use given how we nearly died and everything." Sunset blushed and waved her hands in front of her face. "But the point is that we're still who we are because we're weak. We're not going to be entirely perfect no matter what everyone else says or thinks about us. Even if we're the Perfect Ones like he keeps on saying, we really aren't. We're just a bunch of superheroes chosen by a set of space rocks. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Sunset? Is this a motivational speech or something you'd say at a funeral?" Rainbow's brows remained ever raised. "Right now, I'm having trouble figuring out which one."

"We've lost. And that's good; even if we nearly died outright from it. It just means that we have the potential to get better and better as we go along. And, like he said, we're supposed to get stronger so that we can face him again." Sunset wrapped her arm around Rainbow's back, patting it softly with her palm. "Plus, if we just sit around and mope all day, nothing's ever gonna be done about it, isn't it? The Wolfpack will keep on attacking innocents and destroying the city if we don't step up. So which is better? Sitting around and hiding until they go away, or getting out there and fighting, even if it might seem like a pointless battle?"

"Sunset?" Rainbow Dash reached out for Sunset, thinking that she had finally gone off the deep end.

"Rainbow Dash. I'm not going crazy here. I do honestly think that this is good for us. Not the dying bit; no, no, no, no. But everything else." Despite all the things that had happened, she was smiling. "Yeah, I know that it's gonna be impossible to fight with him still breathing down our necks, but we're gonna have to try and work hard to make sure that we're not scared the next time we do have to cross swords. If we let our fears own us, then what are we?"

"Human?" Rainbow Dash just gave up trying to ask, her mouth hanging semi-open and semi-closed.

"No. We're more than human because of our fears. And fear is a natural part of life. You aren't going to be brave about every single thing here and there." She put her hand on Rainbow's chest, feeling her heart beat softly. "There are going to be things that always terrify us and traumatise us, like Mar'Zek did with his battle. But if we just focus on that and make our lives solely around that, then what are we really achieving?"

"Nothing. And that's just no fun at all." Rainbow shook her head and coiled her hands into fists. "You're right, Sunset. He's the big bad wolf, but we can't just roll over like that. I'll still take up my weapons the next time we have to fight. And even if he's disappointed with us and wants us dead, that's just too bad for him."

"Exactly. That's the push you need, Rainbow Dash." Sunset nodded and looked out towards the road beyond. "And once the other girls realise that they're not perfect, then they'll grow as well. And together, we'll not only get strong enough to fight Mar'Zek, but also brave enough to fight Mar'Zek."

"Yeah. The only question now is when that day's gonna come..." Rainbow pondered, scratching her chin as she tried to look into the future of her as a Power Ranger, and what kind of new powers she would wield. Most of her visions were fuzzy, and didn't even add much except her managing to imagine some shots doing damage to the Wolfpack captain.

"I don't know. And I don't think I ever will know..." Sunset just stared out as well, catching a glimpse of a passing car and some people heading for home. "But for now, we need to get some sleep. We can't just keep on worrying about the future without focusing on the here and now." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She rang Twilight's number and pressed the phone to her ear.

After a few rings, Twilight's voice finally came on the phone. "Sunset! Thank goddess you picked up. Me and Elaris were practically panicking when we saw that you and Rainbow weren't on the ship anymore. Where are you?"

"We're at CHS's sports court," she said. "Me and Rainbow just had a bit of a talk about this whole Ranger business. Y'know, I tried to cheer her up even though deep down I'm probably going to seem like a massive hypocrite the next time we see Mar'Zek."

"Well, whatever you're talking about, I hope that everything all works out for the two of you. And I hope that you get a good night's sleep." Twilight said, accompanied by the sounds of footsteps on the metal floor of Elaris's ship. "It took an awful lot of talking, but we finally managed to get the rest of the girls to leave the ship and head for home. They're gonna try and sleep it off and hopefully start tomorrow refreshed and renewed," the footsteps died down. "You should do the same, Sunset. Rainbow Dash too. Stress does a lot to you."

"Yes. And we can't have the Power Rangers be stressed out; especially when the Wolfpack still lingers." Elaris's voice now came through the phone. "Don't dwell on him, and instead think about yourselves. And how you can grow as Rangers. Or as you earthlings always like to say: 'Goodnight, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite.' Am I right in saying that?"

"Yeah. You're pretty much on the nose, Elaris." Sunset nodded. "And some sleep does sound nice right about now. I'll see you and Twilight tomorrow, okay?"

"Of course. Sleep well, Sunset Shimmer. Give my best to Rainbow Dash." And with that, the phone call ended.

"Come on, Rainbow Dash. We'd better get home for the night." Sunset put her phone away and took Rainbow by the hand before the two of them walked off out of the courtyard and towards their respective houses.

"You think you're right, Sunset?" Rainbow Dash tilted her head to the side. "About the whole human thing?"

"I know that I'm right." Sunset grinned. "It might not look that I'm right and I could be entirely wrong the next time we have to fight. But hey. It's good to have something to believe in when the chips are down, right?"

"Yeah. I guess." Rainbow Dash just blankly nodded, still thinking back on everything. The battle, Sunset's nightmare, and all of the defeatist natures that the rest of the Rainbooms were going through. It all weighed down heavily on her and it made her quick to judge everything that Sunset was saying. For now, only time would tell if she was to be believed for her bravery.