//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12: Comfort and Resolve 
// Story: Vexes of the Multiverse 
// by Crowborn 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 12: Comfort and Resolve


It took about an hour and a half before she finally found Rainbow Dash. The mansion was very large and confusing even to her, so she couldn't help but get lost a couple of times.

She found Rainbow Dash crying in one of the many bedroom.s that the mansion had to offer.

"Rainbow Dash..." Twilight called. The cyan pegasus stiffened upon hearing her own name. 
Twilight continued, "Look...I'm sorry...I should have been more honest with you."

Rainbow Dash wiped her eyes with a hoof. "I-It...It's okay. I'm not really mad at you....I mean, I am a little, but..."

Twilight could see that her friend was trying to regain her composure, though she was still struggling with it.
"Then what's wrong? You can tell me anything, you know. We may be from different worlds, but I still think of you as my friend..." Twilight said gently, slowly putting a hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. She did not refuse it.

It was few more seconds before Rainbow Dash gave her reply, "It's just...When he was showing us those...images, and he showed that version of Pinkie Pie...that look in her eye....it was the same one my Pinkie Pie gave me when she--" Rainbow Dash began sobbing once more.

Twilight gave her a comforting hug. And, after a few minutes of quiet sobbing, Rainbow Dash continued.

"And then, when he showed Rarity...using that boulder t-to....And then, when he showed AppleJack being dragged away and tortured, I couldn't stop the memories of what Pinkie Pie did to me and the memory of her taking away my wings..." She broke into a sob once more. It was another few moments before she finally spoke again, "A-And when he showed Fluttershy....why would she do that? I don't understand!"

Twilight's stomach knotted once more at the mention of Fluttershy, that seen hadn't sat well with her either. 

Twilight hugged Rainbow Dash again, tighter this time, but not too tight. "I don't know....but...don't worry...that wasn't your Fluttershy or mine, okay? I know neither of them would ever do something like that, okay? It's going to be alright..."

Rainbow Dash continued to sob, but Twilight noticed her body relax a bit more than had been previously.

The sobbing pegasus then continued on, "And then that other me....how could I do something like that? I would never do something like that..." 

Twilight began to stroke her friend's mane, trying to comfort her as much as she could. "Shhh...That wasn't you, Dash. It was just an alternate reality, that Rainbow Dash is nothing like you. And I know you could never harm anypony like that...Shhh...it is going to be alright."

Rainbow Dash's sobbing began to die down. There was a long silence between them until Rainbow Dash whispered, "I'm sorry for what I said to you back there.... It's just...when I saw you up there, killing that other bug-pony, everything just hit me at once, ya know? I started to miss my world's Twilight, and AppleJack, Fluttershy, and R-Rarity... I even missed Pinkie Pie, before she.... You know..."

Twilight blinked back a few tears of her own. "Look...I'm sorry...it was wrong of me to take you from your world like that...I don't regret saving you, not even for a second. But, Verse was right, I should have just dropped you off at the hospital i instead of getting you mixed up in this Multiverse shenanigans. I...I just couldn't bare to see you suffer like that and..." Twilight swallowed as she did her best to fight back the tears.
"But, I-I'll ask Verse to send you back, if that is what you want..."

Rainbow Dash frowned before pulling away. She seemed to give it a long thought before she spoke. "While I do really want to go home, I don't want to just leave you here all alone with that jerk. Maybe you can come with me to my world! I am sure my Twilight and the others will accept you no problem! A-And we can talk to Celestia's about getting me new wings and--"

Twilight shook her head, "I can't do that, Rainbow Dash. I have my own world too. I have friends and loved ones there as well. And my hive, they won't survive long without me. And Verse won't send me back until I have helped him finish this 'key' business. I'm sorry..." 

"But..." Rainbow Dash tried to protest, but she lowered her head in defeat. She then closed her eyes, and to Twilight's surprise a look of determination appeared on her face. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and stared straight into Twilight's eyes. "Then I am staying here with you," the pegasus said fiercely.

"What?! But--" cried Twilight. However, Rainbow Dash quickly cut her off.

"No. This is my choice. I want to stay with you until this whole 'Multiverse adventure' thing is over. Also, you promised to be there with me when I get my new wings, so I can't have you go getting lost in the Multiverse without me. Plus I don't trust this 'Verse' guy. He seems like a real jerk."

Twilight chuckled and then hugged her friend once more. "Are you sure? It is likely we will see some pretty bad worlds out there. And, I am not sure if these other keys will be as nice as I am. It is likely we will meet another bad Pinkie or an evil version of you...are you really sure about this?"

Rainbow Dash's look of determination did not waver. "I am sure. Besides, someone has to watch your back, might as well be me!" She smiled, then gave a nervous chuckle, "Just don't tell anyone I was crying, okay?"

Twilight chuckled, "Okay, I promise."

They hugged once more before finally pulling away. 

"Now, I am feeling a bit hungry. Let's go see if we can find the mainhall again..."
Twilight said. She wasn't really that hungry, having been filled up by the love energy Rainbow Dash had been emitting. However, she figured food would help lighten up the mood.

Rainbow Dash chuckled, "Yeah...I guess I am still a little hungry. But this mansion is just so huge, I hope we don't get lost again..."

Twilight smirked, "I don't know, I have a good feeling about this way." She said, taking the lead down one of the hallways.

It took them another forty-five minutes before they finally found the main hall again. 

The room looked exactly as they had left it, except the food they had eaten before seemed to have replenished itself. 

Twilight pulled out a chair for her friend, and took a seat next to her. Blueberry muffins and heyburgers filled their plates, and their cups filled up with apple cider as if by magic. 

The two ate a little bit, bit for the most part, they just talked and enjoyed the moment. 

Off in the distance, unbeknownst to either of the girls, Verse watched them curiously. Interesting. The Multiverse never ceases to surprise me. However, I must continue my search for the other keys. I have waited far too long to let them slip away from now.... he thought to himself, before turning and walking back towards his Study...