The sky was a shimmering blue on an early Equestrian morning. Birds were singing in the treetops, the grass swayed in slight wind, and the air was calm with a gentle natural serenity. The leaves fluttered in the light breeze, warm sunlight cast down onto the small creatures beneath it, and a yellow winged anthropomorphic pegasus was frantically dragging a purple winged anthropomorphic unicorn-pegasus hybrid through the sky at incredible speeds.
“This way!” Fluttershy called with a force that was unusually urgent for the normally shy and timid mare. She was flying through the air at an equally unusually high speed with Twilight Sparkle in tow, seemingly leading her towards their friend Rainbow Dash’s cloud house. The trees and landscapes flew by at speeds to rival Dash herself.
Fluttershy had come to Twilight with her current urgency, saying that something was wrong with Dash. The mare hadn’t seen her friend in days. She hadn’t said what was wrong, only that it was a problem the princess had to help with. Before Twilight had been able to weigh in on the situation, Fluttershy had turned to look out a window of the palace, trembled, and grabbed Twilight before she could protest.
Twilight wasn’t used to seeing this much energy coming from Fluttershy. So, whatever was wrong with her must have been extremely important. After zooming over a small lake, Fluttershy’s hand slipped from her own, leaving Twilight to flap her wings frantically to make up for the lost velocity. The loss was so great that Fluttershy had actually arrived at Rainbow Dash’s front door long before Twilight did! She had opened the door and was ushering Twilight inside before she had even landed on the clouds.
“In here!” Fluttershy urged. Her hands trembled in fear as she looked frantically around the door, waving for Twilight to follow.
Heaving as her lungs threatened to constrict her from unwilling exertion, Twilight shook and stepped forward into the cloud building. Still breathing heavily, she looked around at the entrance. Nopony was there. Rainbow Dash lived alone, so that was to be expected. But what wasn’t expected was the state that the living room was in.
All of the furniture had been tossed over, as if something strong was fighting with something else just as strong. There even looked to be a large hole punched in the far wall, though it was hard to tell with everything being made of cloud. Regardless, some massive level of destruction had befallen the normally semi-organized home.
Already Twilight was pondering this. Was this a parasprite infestation? No, she’d taken precautions with spells to prevent that! There didn’t seem to be any magic at work in the house either, or at least nothing that would equate to this level of destruction. The more she looked, it seemed far more like Dash had been fistfighting with somepony else, explaining the punches in the wall and overturned furniture.
Fluttershy kept leading her upstairs and down the hall before she could make a conclusion, straight towards Rainbow Dash’s bedroom. The two arrived at the closed door, with a small hint of light spilling from under it.
“I, I hadn’t heard from Dash for too long,” Fluttershy explained, “So, I came up here to check on her. The house was like this when I got here... and, and then when I went up to her room I saw…I saw…” She was at a loss for words. She didn’t know how to describe what she had seen, which only made Twilight more nervous, “All I knew was that you were the only one in Ponyville who could help Dash!”
Fluttershy put her hand on the doorknob, then looked at Twilight for confirmation. Twilight nodded, despite her hands starting to tremble alongside her friend’s. Her fingers were already starting to curl up into her palms. Nodding her head once more to affirm herself, it was enough for Fluttershy to swing the door open.
Like before, Twilight had been attempting to piece together whatever sort of puzzle Fluttershy had laid out for her. Twilight had always been an analytical thinker, and as such she wanted to try and think of a potential solution before they even reached the bedroom. What she saw inside, however, added a massive observation that threw off any and all her previous reasonings.
Inside, Rainbow Dash instantly came into sight. She was sitting on her bed with her legs curled up tightly towards her body. She was looking down directly at the bed, as if trying to avoid making eye contact with the entire world. The room itself was in an even worse state than the living room. There were multiple dents on the walls, while clothes and shelves were thrown everywhere. It looked like the epicenter of the battle Twilight had theorized had taken place inside of the room.
“What in Celestia?” Twilight gasped as she beheld the state of the room, “Rainbow, what’s going on!?”
“What are you doing?” Rainbow Dash groaned in a low tone in response to Twilight. Her usual scratchy voice was hoarse and dull. She didn’t look up at either of them.
“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said, meekly yet at the same time full of concern. “I.. brought Twilight. She can help you! She can…”
“I told you to leave me alone!” The agitated technicolor-haired mare suddenly shouted, looking up to face Fluttershy, eyes full of anger. They were bloodshot, likely due to some sort of lack of sleep.
Quickly gathering up her nerves,Twilight took a deep breath and held out her hand, slowly approaching her. “Rainbow Dash…” She had no idea what was going on right now, but she could tell something was seriously wrong. It was her job to be the authority figure and the source of inspiration here, “Just calm down. Fluttershy brought me here to help. What’s going on?”
“Go away!” Rainbow Dash shouted again, this time directed at Twilight. She tried to muster up as much anger and intimidation as she could in her fatigued state, “If you don’t go away, I’m going to hurt you!”
“It’s going to be ok,” Twilight assured Rainbow Dash, ever so slowly walking closer. Her friend was clearly under stress. It was like she had read about wild animals; staying calm and moving slowly was the best approach, “I’m sure whatever is wrong, we’ll be able to work through it together…”
“I SAID GO AWAY!” Dash shouted even louder this time. The mare outstretched her fist at Twilight in an attempt to frighten her into backing off.
Yet this was much more than a simple punch. In addition to Rainbow Dash’s fist, something else launched itself at Twilight. It looked like another arm, but it was much larger and bulkier than Rainbow Dash’s own. It looked like it was made of a dark blue metal, with a lighter blue colored glove on. Then again, the fist flew so fast, Twilight had no time to either react or analyze what the thing was.
Since it was much larger than Rainbow Dash’s own arm, this new one made contact with Twilight with the full force of the punch she had intended to be nothing but hot air. The blow hit Twilight square in the chest, knocking her off her feet and launching her back against the opposite wall with a loud crash. Twilight flew back so fast Fluttershy barely saw the streak of purple that shot past her.
With another hole added to the already destroyed bedroom, Twilight laid dazed within the broken cloudwall. Seeing this, Fluttershy gasped and ran to Twilight.
“You see?!” Dash shouted, instantly retracting her arm and holding it close to her body in an attempt to protect the outside word from it. “Something’s inside of me! And it’s hurting everypony! Go away before I hurt you anymore!”
“Twilight!” Fluttershy cried out in concern, kneeling by her side. She intended to to check her friend for injuries and help her to her feet. But Twilight stood up on her own before Fluttershy even got to her.
“Stand back Fluttershy,” Twilight said, breath heavy as she resumed slowly walking towards Rainbow Dash and pushing Fluttershy gently away. “I now know exactly what’s going on. And you were right, I am the only one who can deal with it.” She glared directly at Rainbow Dash.
The mare had shrunken back into her bed, still cradling her arm and looking at the two of them with a slightly crazed expression, “What is wrong with two?! Don’t you get it! Leave! If you don’t, whatever is inside me is going to hurt you guys!”
“Rainbow Dash! I know exactly what that something that’s inside of you is!” Twilight lowered her gaze to Dash’s arm, “And, it’s that there’s nothing inside of you! It’s a magic that’s existed since ancient times. A magic not exclusive to just unicorns. This magic, a manifestation of one’s very soul, a guardian spirit that protects one from danger!” She pointed right at Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash! You have developed a Stand!”
Rainbow Dash flinched and at that exact moment, another entity appeared directly in front of her. It took a humanoid form, a few inches taller than Fluttershy, who was the tallest in the room. Its body had the appearance of being completely mechanical, like it was made from steel plating. Where its knees and elbows should have been were screw-looking joints.The being seemed to lord over the three mares, staring down at them.
To the left side of its chest was a dark blue outline of Rainbow Dash's cutie mark, looking as if it were pinned on like an air force badge. Its ‘eyes’ were made from pilot goggles, with the lenses a shade lighter than the rest of its body. Over its face was an old-fashioned flight mask with tubes attaching to the back of its head. It was completely bald. Sprouting from its back were two fighter-jet like wings with engines on the center and tips. From Dash’s point of view, she could see small divots in its back.
Twilight did not move in inch at the sudden appearance of the new figure, “Fluttershy,” She said, not breaking eye contact with Dash. “I know you don’t know what’s going on. I think it would be best for you to leave. If I can’t calm Rainbow Dash down, there’s no telling what could happen.”
Fluttershy got back up to her feet. Rather than run, however, Fluttershy shook her head and stood firm a few feet behind Twilight. Twilight gave her a hard look, but rather than making an action to remove her, she instead turned back to Dash, “Well then, so be it. Rainbow Dash! That thing in front of you is your Stand! It’s not dangerous unless you make it that way!”
“What are you talking about?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, glaring angrily at Twilight. “You saw how it punched you! It trashed my house! It’s dangerous!”
“It only attacked me because you were scared Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said with conviction. “If you calm down, it won’t sense that you’re in danger and try to defend you.”
“I AM CALM!” Dash growled, clearly not calm. “I’M AS CALM AS I CAN BE WITH THIS THING IN ME AND HURTING MY FRIENDS!” At the same time as the little outburst, the Stand tightened its pose, looking ready to strike the first thing that came near Rainbow Dash.
“This is bad,” Twilight muttered to herself, analyzing the Stand in front of her eyes, “Rainbow Dash is scared and confused. And since doesn’t fully understand how to control her Stand... this could end up with somepony getting hurt.” Twilight looked down at her feet to try and think of a potential solution, but only one seemed to present itself, “I hate to do this, but I’m going to have to subdue her until she calms down. And the only way to fight a Stand, is with another Stand!” Twilight drew her right hand over her chest and held her fingers as if she was holding a pen inside of them.
Just as she assumed this stance, a quill appeared in her hand. At the same time, a cloaked figure appeared in the air behind Twilight. Its cloak covered its entire body and was a dark purple color, the same shade as Twilight’s hair. Its hood was the same shade of purple, save for the section covering its face, which was a dark red with a single slit where one’s eyes. On the back of the cloak was a large depiction of Twilight’s cutie mark. It was nearly twice Twilight’s size, and holding a proportionate quill in its hand, in the same position that Twilight held hers.
A loud gasp came from Rainbow Dash as she went wide eyed. Her Stand stepped back slightly, mimicking her shock. “W-what the heck is that?!” She cried.
“This,” Twilight declared, “Is my Stand: Night Wish! I’m the same as you, Rainbow Dash. Just like your Stand, Night Wish is a manifestation of my own soul. It’ll only attack if I make it attack. Your Stand will do the same. You just need to calm down, and everything will be alright.”
Rainbow Dash stared at strange phantom-like creature that had seemingly appeared at of nowhere. The mare stared at it before she growled, “You know what?” Rainbow Dash said, finally standing up from the bed on shaky legs, “I have no idea what’s going on, or just what you’re talking about Twilight, but it’s really pissing me off!”
As she shouted, her Stand launched another punch at Twilight. It did this without moving from where it was however, so the fist stopped just short of Twilight’s face. Despite this, she felt an enormous gust of wind blown her way. The fist seemed to move almost instantaneously.
“It’s just as I thought,” Twilight murmured again to herself, “She hasn’t slept in days, making her both confused and scared. I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, but this is for your own good.” Twilight brandished her quill and swished it through the air like she was making large strokes on a paper. Night Wish’s quill traced these motions perfectly. As they did so, black ink floated out from under Night Wish’s cloak, forming a large blob in front of Twilight.
“Rainbow Dash! I’m not going to hurt you; I’m just going to restrain you!” She made a sharp slash with her quill and the ink suddenly started flying in a thin stream in the direction she slashed. Twilight’s quill seemed to guide the ink like a conductor’s wand, weaving it elegantly through the medium. Twilight made swift motions with her wrist, causing the ink to loop around Rainbow Dash’s Stand. She started swirling the quill around, circles getting smaller. The ring of ink, in turn got smaller and tightened on the other Stand.
“Now,” Twilight shouted, “SOLIDIFY!” With one more slash from her quill, the ink seemed to lose its liquid properties. Instead, it seemed to become solid. Rainbow Dash’s stand was bound with the ring of solid ink around its waist, squeezing it and holding its arms in place as well. Similarly, Rainbow Dash herself looked like she was bound in the same manner.
“W-wha?” Rainbow Dash started struggling along with her Stand, trying to break whatever was holding her in place, “What the heck is going on?! Why can’t I move?!”
“As I said earlier, Dash, your Stand is a manifestation of your very soul,” Twilight repeated. “Whatever it feels, you feel. Any damage it takes, you take. And likewise, if it’s bound, so are you!” Twilight started moving her quill again, and more ink came from under Night Wish. More rings formed around the Stand and solidified again. Now the entirety of the Stand’s torso was bound, making it near impossible for neither the Stand, nor its master, to move their arms.
The sudden increase in bondage didn’t stop them from trying however. This made Twilight frown deeply, “Stop it Rainbow Dash.” Twilight ordered, crossing her arms. “You need to calm down, and Night Wish’s ink is as strong as well forged steel when it solidifies. You won’t be able to break out of-”
Just as Twilight was about to finish her sentence, she was proven wrong. Rainbow Dash’s Stand moved its arms apart in one fast motion, breaking free of the ink and causing it to shatter into pieces. Twilight gasped and frantically started to swish her quill, liquefying the ink, and gathering it together in a frantic attempt to counter this new development.
In that time, Rainbow Dash charged forward. Her Stand flew forward with her, arm raised to punch Twilight directly. Twilight was attempting to make a solid wall of ink between her and the fist, but she could not outmatch its speed. All Twilight could do was watch the metallic fist fly towards her faster than her eye could fully track.
However, the fist once again stopped just short of Twilight’s face. She had closed her eyes to brace for the impact, but when Twilight opened them, Rainbow Dash had collapsed from exhaustion, finally passing after what seemed like an eternity of staying awake. Her Stand had thankfully disappeared as soon as she passed out.
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and made her own Stand disappear. Night Wish bowed its head and suddenly winked from existence, almost as though it had never been there in the first place. The only evidence of it had ever being there was the quill Twilight held, which likewise disappeared soon after.
“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy shouted in concern, running towards her and bending over to check on her, “Oh, Dash, oh… oh...She’s just passed out,” She said in relief.
“It’s no wonder,” Twilight observed. “I’m sorry Fluttershy, I know that was extremely confusing for you. Using a Stand is no different from normal magic. It expends energy just the same as anything else. In the state, she was in, I’m surprised she could have stayed awake for that long.” Outwardly, she seemed calm and collected. But on the inside, Twilight’s heart was racing a million miles per minute. Had that fight gone on for any longer, there was no telling what state she would have been left in.
“Here, help me pick Dash up,” Twilight moved to take Dash’s right arm, “Let’s get her to the palace so we can keep an eye on her.”
~~~
Twilight and Fluttershy had brought Rainbow Dash back to the palace, where the exhausted mare had spent the rest of the day and night sleeping. Through this, Twilight and Fluttershy stayed by her side and watched her rest, Twilight seemingly studying her sleeping form while Fluttershy attended to her. Fluttershy had wrapped bandages around Dash’s forearms, where the skin had been abraised after using her Stand to break out of Nightwish’s inky trap. After hours of attending and observing, both mares seemed almost entirely exhausted by the time Dash decided to return to the land of the living.
Dash woke up around noon the next day in one of the many unorganized guest rooms that Twilight’s labyrinth of a palace held. Twilight wasn’t in the room, and Fluttershy quickly had Dash eat a large meal to restore her strength. Then, after being nearly forced by both of her friends to take a shower, the three of them met in Twilight’s throne room to discuss what had happened.
The glimmering smooth surface of the expansive Equestrian magical map reflected the confused state that the three seemed to be in. Rainbow Dash sat opposite her friends in her own seat, while Twilight and Fluttershy took opposite seats so as to look her in the eyes as they spoke. Nobody said a word for a few moments, Twilight lost in thought over the situation; Fluttershy too timid to speak up; and Rainbow Dash far too confused to make light of the situation.
Finally, the blue winged pegasus broke the silence, “So let me get this straight,” Rainbow Dash began, “This... Stand thing, it’s, basically just me? Something I can use whenever I want?”
“With enough practice,” Twilight quickly corrected, “But yes, it’s an extension of yourself, like a limb. And only you and other Stand Users would be able to see it. That’s why everything was so confusing for Fluttershy.”
“Uhm, it wasn’t, all that confusing…” Fluttershy whispered, but Dash’s next words drowned her feeble voice out, “You two kinda shouted or muttered everything you were doing…”
“And,” Dash rasped, “What was with the weird way you were talking back there, Twilight?”
It took Twilight a few seconds to realize what Dash was referring to. Her cheeks erupted bright red in response, “W-Well, I was being direct, firm and calm! Just like you handle a nervous patient! O-Or so I’ve heard…”
Dash paused, “Well.. then… AWESOME! ” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her disposition on the subject having changed completely from the previous encounter, “This is pretty cool! I have my own personal fighting ghost! But, uh, why did I get one? Did you have anything to do with it?” She shot an accusing look at Twilight.
“No, no, no!” Twilight immediately defended herself, “I don’t think I could have done that even if I wanted to! From what I’ve researched, Stands are something you’re either born with, or are born with the potential to have one. If it’s the latter, then it would take a lot of training and discipline to bring it out. That was the case with me,” In an instant, she made Night Wish and her quill appear behind her and in her hand, respectively. Just as fast, they both disappeared, “I mean, there are ways of forcing you to develop one if you can, but,” She paused. “No one has shot you or your parents with an arrow lately, have they?”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, what?”
Twilight just shook her head. “Never mind, that’s obviously not the case.” She looked off to the side, lost in thought, “I don’t know what this means, but it can’t be a good sign. Stands aren’t supposed to just appear randomly like this. Plus you developed one without any prior knowledge of what a Stand even is. I’m going to have to look into this.”
“Uh, hey, earth to Twilight!” Rainbow Dash huffed as she sat back, “You’re doing that weird muttering thing again.”
Twilight blinked in surprise and blushed in embarrassment, “Ah, sorry, I’m trying to get over that!” She looked back at Rainbow Dash, “E-Either way, you have your Stand now, and there’s no changing this. So, it’s only proper you give it a name. Something with meaning.”
Rainbow Dash looked down and thought hard. With meaning? She was cool, so, whatever exactly this Stand was, it was only natural that it was as cool as her. So, it needed to be named something cool. She searched her mind for the coolest names she could think of.
Rainbow Dash scowled, pondering this. Just like her. So it had be something awesome, or otherwise, that wouldn't be like her. She was awesome. Then, it struck her. The coolest, most powerful line she had ever read in a Daring Do book. The one line that stuck with her and still sent shivers down her spine every time she read it:
The moon had just crossed the temple’s peak, it’s white tendrils creeping over the hardened stone. Daring shouted in anguish as she dragged herself up another foot, gasping with effort as she knew it was time. The world would end, everything would turn into dust, and all in-
“2 Minutes to Midnight.” Rainbow Dash announced with a confident grin.
Hearing the name, Twilight’s eyes flashed with recognition. She gave Dash a long look before she sighed, “Well… that definitely does seem to fit your stand.”
Rainbow snickered and leaned back in her throne, “Well of course it does, I’m the one who named it!”