Rainbow’s Tale
By Clockwise Gear
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“mmrh…”
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“…Spike?”
“zzzzzzzzz”
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Twilight Sparkle finally opened her eyes. Who could that be at this hour? Opening her door, she was doubly surprised to see Rainbow Dash standing at her doorstep. Not only because the pegasus was standing instead of floating, as was her normal, but the blue mare looked as though she had just been hit by a small tornado. “R-Rainbow Dash? What’s wrong? I haven’t seen you all week!”
Rainbow Dash chuckled halfheartedly. “Heh heh. You know how it is, pulling overtime to cover for the rest of the team after that accident on Tuesday… but anyways, that’s not why I’m here.”
“I should hope not; there’s nothing I can do to help with weather. But you look like you haven’t slept a wink!”
The pegasus pushed past Twilight and started pacing in a nervous circle around the table in the middle of the library. “That’s the thing. I… I can’t get to sleep.”
The unicorn raised an eyebrow. “You woke me up because you were having trouble sleeping.”
Rainbow Dash shot Twilight a panicked look. “Not just tonight. It was last night, and the night before that, and the night before that, and- well, you get the idea. Each night I try to go to sleep, but I can’t. It’s like when I’m just about to fall asleep, there’s this sort of scratchy feeling in the back of my head. Not like a regular itch, either. It feels like there’s something inside my head, scratching at my skull.”
Twilight was noticeably unnerved by this. “Uh, well… huh. That’s not a problem I’ve ever encountered in my studies before. It sounds to me like you should be talking to Doctor Cardio about this.”
“Nuh-uh. No way am I staying cooped up in the hospital again.”
“What about Nurse Redheart?”
“Are you kidding? She’d just tell me to go to Doctor Cardio!”
Twilight sighed. “Well, I’m no doctor, but I know I have a few medical spellbooks around here for simple diagnoses.” She gestured to a small side table with one hoof while magicing a book from a nearby shelf. “Hop on up.”
Dash jumped up as requested. “Okay, so now what?”
Twilight was concentrating on reading the book. “In just a second, we’ll see.” Having finished preparations, the unicorn floated the book back to its place on the shelf, closed her eyes, and concentrated. A pale blue beam shot from the tip of her glowing horn. When it reached Rainbow Dash, it widened into a plane of light that slowly swept back and forth across the pegasus’ body a few times before vanishing.
“So what’s the diagnosis, doc?” Rainbow Dash chuckled weakly.
Twilight opened her eyes, a frown on her face. “I’m not sure. According to the spell, there’s nothing wrong with you, at least not physically.”
Dash raised an eyebrow. “‘Not physically?’ So what, I’m going crazy, is that what you’re saying?”
The unicorn shook her head furiously. “No, not at all. It’s just that when the spell was scanning your head, it returned some weird results that neither the spell nor I could explain. It’s like there’s some sort of thaumaticurgical obstruction embedded in your brain, but there’s no way for that to be possible without causing some serious damage to both your physical and mental well-being.”
“Thaumawhat?”
“Thaumaturgical. It means that some sort of magic is ahoof, but I have no idea what it could be. Theoretically it’s possible to seal off a portion of a pony’s mind, but I have no idea who could have that kind of power.” There was a long pause. “I have an idea of how to help you, but I don’t know if you’ll like it.”
Dash jumped off the table and advanced toward her friend until their noses were touching. “Anything Twilight, anything to let me sleep!”
The librarian backed away slightly and took a deep breath. “We need to go see Zecora.”
“WHAT? This late at night? Do you have any idea how dangerous the Everfree forest is at night?”
“I do. But other than the Princesses, who I doubt would want to be bothered with such a trivial matter, no offense-“
“None taken.”
“Zecora is the only one other than Doctor Cardio or Nurse Redheart who I can think of who could help us. Besides, she tends to look at things in a different way than you or I. Having a second opinion would help immensely.”
Rainbow dash sat down and crossed her forelegs. “I don’t like this, Twilight.”
“I know, but it’s the only option we have right now.”
The pegasus sighed. “Fine. Let’s go.”
////==Zecora’s hut==////
Luckily the two ponies were able to make it to their destination without incident.
Twilight hesitantly knocked on Zecora’s door.
There was some muttering in an unknown language, then:
“Who dares disturb me at this hour?
Cease your knocking; it makes me dour!”
“It’s us, Zecora. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.”
The door opened, revealing Zecora’s beadheaded form, her usual Mohawk drooping down one side of the zebra’s face.
“Rainbow Dash and her friend Twilight?
What do you need this late at night?”
“It’s… complicated. Can we come in?”
Zecora stepped back, opening the door as she did, allowing the ponies entrance. The zebra led Twilight and Rainbow Dash to the cauldron that sat in the middle of her home (currently empty), and gestured for her guests to sit.
“What is the matter, young Twilight,
that you must come so late at night?”
Twilight explained Rainbow’s problem to the herbalist.
Zecora was silent for a bit.
“As you say, I think I see.
I have just the remedy.
There is but one caveat
To my simple herbal plot.
What we do cannot be undone.
Add to that it will not be fun.
Are you sure you wish to remember
What memories you had unrendered?”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Say what now?”
“Your problem is of memory.
A piece is missing, voluntarily.”
“’Voluntarily?’ You mean Rainbow Dash did this to herself?”
Zecora nodded.
“Something recent must have stirred
The memories you wished deterred.”
“Hrm… now that you say that, I think I remember that after our trip to Cloudsdale is when I started having sleeping problems.”
Twilight’s face was one of concern. “Rainbow, why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
“I didn’t think it was a big deal at the time, okay? Besides, I was taking enough naps that I was making up for it.”
“Well, from what Zecora’s saying, this sounds pretty serious. Are you sure you want to do this? Whatever this is?”
“Twilight, I am about to drop from exhaustion. If it weren’t for the fact that I wouldn’t stay asleep for long, I’d let myself.” Rainbow Dash turned to Zecora. “Do it.”
The zebra nodded, and began fetching various plants from around her hut, throwing them into the cauldron, which Twilight heated. Soon, a sharp smell filled the air, similar to the one you get after rain. Without warning, Zecora reached over and pulled out one of Rainbow’s hairs, and added it to the brew, which turned a brilliant blue matching the pegasus’ coat.
“Ow! Watch it!”
If Zecora heard, she didn’t respond, simply pulling out a bowl from a cupboard and filling it, placing it in front of Dash.
“This looks… kinda funky. But what the hay, I got nothing to lose, right?” She dipped her head and grasped the edge of the bowl in her teeth, tipping her head back to drink the potion in one fell swoop. Before she could put the bowl down, her eyes went wide and her legs buckled, causing her to fall to the floor.
“While the potion works in her head,
We should move her to a bed.”
Shaking off the shock of seeing one of her best friends collapse, Twilight levitated Dash over to Zecora’s bed. “Will she be all right? What’s happening?”
Zecora looked sad.
“She is reliving what she’s lost
to overcome her mental block.
She may be like this for some time.
Or maybe not; her mind isn’t mine.
Once she’s recovered, she will reclaim
What she has lost, and be whole again.
While she heals, I suggest you rest.
You look like you’ve been put to the test.”
Twilight nodded. “Will you watch her for me?”
Zecora smiled.
“Of course my friend, what else would I do?
You would do the same, if I were you.”
Twilight trotted slowly over to an empty spot on the floor and conjured some blankets, which she wrapped herself in. Soon, the specter of sleep claimed her, and the world was black.
////==The next morning==////
The sunlight streaming through the window woke Twilight. She yawned and stretched, but the unfamiliarity of her surroundings made her pause before recollections of the previous night came rushing back. “Rainbow Dash!” Twilight darted over to where her friend should have been sleeping. Instead of a multichromatic pegasus, a zebra slept in her place. “Zecora! Where’s Rainbow Dash?”
The herbalist blinked the sleep from her eyes.
“Your friend woke up early this morning.
She flew off quickly without warning.”
“Where did she go?”
“To her house, would be my first guess.
Her mind seemed to be quite the mess.
By which I mean she seemed quite worried.
You might catch her, if you hurried.”
“Thank you Zecora. I owe you.” With that, Twilight disappeared in a flash of magic.
////==Rainbow Dash’s house (groundside)==////
She reappeared almost instantly below a familiar cloud formation. “Rainbow Dash? Are you up there?”
“Go away!” Though her voice carried easily through the walls of her house, Rainbow herself didn’t appear.
“Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not. Now leave me alone!”
“But I’m worried. What happened that made you run off in such a hurry?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m a freak, Twilight. A freak!”
“What?” Twilight cast the same spell she had used when previously visiting Cloudsdale and teleported up to her friend’s house. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t want to talk about it! Now leave me alone!”
“No! I am not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong!”
Silence.
“Rainbow Dash?”
No response.
Twilight gently pushed the front door, finding it unlocked. As soon as she stepped inside, she could tell that something was very wrong. The trophy case that was her friend’s pride and joy was knocked to the floor, the various awards scattered everywhere. Despite the sunlight outside, the room seemed dim. Twilight called her friend’s name once more, but again there was no response.
The unicorn cautiously continued up the stairs to Rainbow Dash’s bedroom. The door was closed, but she could hear pained sounds from behind it. She knocked. “Rainbow? Are you okay in there? We need to talk!”
The sounds stopped.
Sensing that her friend was listening, Twilight pressed on. “I don’t know what you had to forget, but it’s obviously bothering you and I want to help. Would you please open your door so we can talk?”
“NO! Now buck off!”
Twilight knew for sure something was wrong. She backed up a few steps and bucked open the door. What she saw nearly floored her.
Rainbow Dash was a wreck. Her mane was frayed and her coat was knotted in several places. There were dark bags under her eyes, but what really caused Twilight to worry was the series of small cuts that surrounded her friend’s cutie mark and the fact that she had a paring knife in her mouth. As soon as Twilight saw this last detail, she rushed into the room and tackled her friend to the ground, knocking the small knife into the corner of the room.
“What the hay, Twilight!?”
“What the hay!? WHAT THE HAY!? You tell me! What in the name of the celestial sisters were you doing?”
Anger flared in Dash’s eyes. “I don’t deserve this cutie mark, Twilight! Don’t you get it? I’m a FAKE! A bucking COPY!”
“Rainbow, what are you…?”
The anger suddenly died in the pegasus’ eyes, leaving a look of deep sorrow. Her ears drooped. “You wouldn’t understand.”
Twilight stared her obviously-troubled friend in the face, determination written all over hers. “Rainbow, I’m your friend. It’s my job to understand.”
Dash snorted derisively. “Maybe, but that doesn’t mean you can just come barging into my house and shove me to the floor.”
Twilight was incredulous. “I’m pretty sure I can if I see one of my best friends trying to mutilate herself!”
Rainbow suddenly flipped herself up, throwing her friend off. “Look, like I said: you wouldn’t understand.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Try me.”
“Fine! But don’t blame me when you chicken out halfway through; this won’t be pretty.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow.
Rainbow Dash plopped down on her bed and took a calming breath. “It all started forty years ago, during the Great Drought of 961.”
“Forty… Rainbow, are you”
She held up a hoof, silencing the unicorn’s protests. “I’ll get to it. So, as I was saying, Great Drought of 961. Cloudsdale was going through a rough patch due to somepony messing up our weather production equipment…”
////==Cloudsdale, forty years ago==////
Rainbow Dash sighed as she made her way to the production room. With only half of the cloud machines working, it had been tough for the Weather Center to get rain to all of Equestria. As a result, water was being rationed, and tempers were high. It was due to this that she had found herself in Oncoming Storm’s crosshairs. The boss had given her an earful, to be sure, but nothing he had said was anything new to the multichromatic pegasus.
She puffed, blowing her mane out of her eyes. Whatever. All it meant was that ponies like her had to pretend that nothing was wrong, despite the obvious lack of rain.
Rainbow was too lost in thought to notice the form walking towards her. “Oof!”
A pointed yellow beak looked down at the pony. “Hey! Watch where you’re going, cloudbrain!”
And there it was, the other reason everypony in Cloudsdale was on edge. Officially, the malfunctioning equipment was being blamed on a catastrophic mechanical failure, but everypony knew the politicians were blaming the gryphons. While they had their little investigation, everypony else was expected to play nice with their often-violent neighbors. Something about trying to rebuild relations or some horseapples like that.
Rainbow glared back up at the gryphon. She had been having a pretty bad day, and this featherbrain just took the last straw. “I was watching! It’s not my fault you can’t see anything past that big lump of ugly you call a beak!”
“What did you say?”
“You heard me! Maybe you should get some mirrors hung on the side of your face so you can see where you’re going! Oh wait, that’s right, you spend so much time pointing that beak of yours in the air you wouldn’t be able to see in front of you if you wanted to!”
“Oh that. Is. It. You are going down.”
With a screech, the gryphon lunged, but Rainbow was too fast. She was already in the air, causing her opponent to go barreling into a pillar. As her opponent screeched at the sky, the pegasus flew off, chuckling to herself. Sure, she might get in trouble for her little trick, but she didn’t care. Taking the stuck-up gryphon down a peg would have been worth it.
Besides, being a weather pegasus may have been her job, but it wasn’t her calling. Her flanks were proof of that. That said, Cloudsdale was the weather center for all of Equestria. If she lost her job, there wasn’t really anywhere else she could go. She had heard rumors of some pegasi leaving Equestria to form their own “free state,” but her heart wouldn’t allow it. Maybe I can find a job cloud kicking in some small town. I hear Ponyville is nice. She shook her head. Nah, they’re not going to fire me over something as small as this. Besides, that buzzard had it coming. Still, better make myself scarce, just in case. Her worries rationalized away, Dash sped off to her home near the outskirts of the city.
////==That night==////
A cool evening breeze blew through Rainbow Dash’s mansion, rousing her from her sleep. Hrmf. Windscreen needs recharging. She rolled off the lump of cloud she used as a bed, still half-asleep. Walking to the balcony, she shook herself fully awake and jumped off, flying to the very top of her cloud home where she alighted on a small cloud. Her landing pad was crisscrossed with dimly-glowing lines of rainbow, telltale signs of pegasus ritual magic.
Dash flared her wings, feeling the air currents flowing through her feathers. She closed her eyes and concentrated, attuning herself to the ever-changing breeze. A moment later, she could feel her wings thrumming with power. She flapped into a low hover above the cloud and began to trace over the lines on the cloud with her dragging hooves. When she had finished, the rainbow lines were once again glowing brightly, and the wind had ceased. Satisfied, Rainbow returned to bed.
////====////
A faint sound woke Rainbow Dash once more. She cracked open an eye, but shut it almost immediately against the early morning sun. Her eyes opened again when she heard another sound, a twin of the first. Somepony paying me a visit? That’s a first. She stretched herself out and flew down to the main level to greet her unexpected guests. “Hey, what’s“ the rest of her sentence died in her throat as she beheld her guests’ appearances.
A pair of tall, muscular pegasi stallions stood on her doorstep, wearing the grey and blue uniforms of the Cloudsdale Police.
Rainbow had a sinking feeling that she knew why they were there.
One of them stepped forward. “Rainbow Dash?”
“The one and only!” She mentally facehoofed. Stupid stupid stupid dumb.
“We have a warrant for your arrest.” The other officer pulled a small scroll from his saddlebag and unfurled it. “We’ll need you to come with us.”
Dash could feel her knees shaking. Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh. What did I do? The events of the previous day came rushing back to her. Oh feathers. “I don’t suppose I can convince you guys that I’m not home, can I?”
The officers’ flat looks gave her all the answer she needed.
“Right.” She lowered her head in defeat and followed the stallions as they led the way to their chariot, where her wings were cuffed together and her legs bound to the floor. In minutes, they were off, flying above the ”streets” of the cloud city.
It didn’t take Rainbow Dash long to see that they weren’t headed in the direction she expected. “Hey, uh, guys? Isn’t the police station the other way?”
Her escort was silent, and remained that way until the chariot neared a familiar cloud structure.
“The Weather Center? What are we doing here?”
Once again, she received no answer as the pegasi flew higher, alighting on a small landing cloud that was almost too small for the chariot. The police ponies unhitched themselves and released the restraints on Rainbow’s hooves. Her wings remained bound as the stallions escorted her to a large door that looked like it was made from thunderclouds.
At their approach, the door opened, and Rainbow Dash gasped.
The room inside was a rather large box, easily fifty hooves to a side. Despite the room’s size, it was sparsely furnished: a wooden podium, set on the edge of a large spell circle, was the only furniture visible.
Her captors gave her a rough shove, sending her stumbling into the spell circle. When she hit the middle, the floor shifted slightly and her hooves sank, once more immobilizing her.
At the far side of the room, a part of the wall slid aside and a pegasus wearing a judge’s robe entered and positioned himself behind the podium. He pulled out a stack of papers and shuffled them ominously. “Let the records show that Court has convened on this day, the 25th of Apricot, year 962 of the New Celestial Calendar.” As the judge spoke, writing appeared on the paper before him. “Rainbow Dash, you have been brought before the Court on charges of harassment of a foreign dignitary, assault on a foreign dignitary, and indirect incitement of armed conflict between the Gryphon Empire and the Nation of Equestria. What say you to this?”
The weatherpony was incredulous. “What are you talking about? I never- AGH!” She was cut off by a sudden burst of pain shooting up her side.
“Let the records show that the accused attempted to lie while under the Seal of Feathefall the True.”
Rainbow Dash’s mind raced, trying to figure out what the judge was talking about. ”Foreign dignitary? Who in the hay could… wait. That jerk at the Weather Center? Oh, you have got to be kidding me. I guess that takes care of the first two charges, but… “Okay, so I didn’t know that guy was a diplomat. How does that relate to ‘incitement of armed conflict?’”
The judge stared at her for longer than was comfortable. “After you assaulted him, Commandant Sharpbeak returned to the Gryphon Empire with an inflated account of your attack, which was summarily delivered to Queen Swiftalon. Unfortunately, the Queen also happens to be the Commandant’s mother.”
Rainbow groaned and hung her head.
“I think you can see where this went. We received formal declaration of war from the Empire mere hours ago.”
“Okay, so I messed up.”
A glare from all present.
“Okay, so I messed up big time. What do you want me to do? I’m not a soldier, and I doubt a simple apology would fix this.”
The judge nodded. “You are quite right. Let the records show that the accused has confessed to the charges set against her, and her predetermined sentence will be carried out.” The judicial pegasus slammed his forehoof on the podium, releasing Rainbow Dash from the seal. Before she could do anything, the two officers had grabbed her. “Take her to the Processing Chamber.”
////==Rainbow Dash’s house (present day, cloudside)==////
Rainbow’s eyes widened. “And that’s when the torture began. Of course, I didn’t know at the time that it was essential to winning the war, but it felt like torture. For the next twenty years, once a day, every day, they would take me to this… place. Had a huge spell circle. They’d shove me into it and-“ she closed her eyes, shuddering.
Twilight put a comforting hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “I-it’s okay, Rainbow. You don’t have to finish the story.”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No. I need to tell somepony.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “The circle… it was created to copy ponies. And every day, they’d take that copy… and kill it.”
Twilight reared back in shock.
“And… and I felt it, Twilight. I felt each and every death. I died over and over. Do you have any idea what that feels like? To feel your life draining away, only to realize that it isn’t your life that is draining?”
“Wha… but… why didn’t the Princess do anything?”
Rainbow gave a humorless laugh. “Who do you think decided my punishment? They used the life force, my life force, to power the weapons they used against the gryphons.”
“She… she what?”
Another dry chuckle. “Yeah. Try finding that in your history books.”
“But then if you were… how are you…?”
“Once the gryphons had surrendered, there wasn’t any need for my copies, but I… the spell they used was unrefined. It… it did irreparable damage to both my body and spirit. By the end of the war, I was a shell of the pony I used to be. So Celestia decided to create one last copy. An imperfect copy. One that would begin life as a filly. All knowledge of her past life was blocked from her mind, and she… I… was sent to the Cloudsdale Orphanage to begin anew. So now you know. I’m not the real Rainbow Dash.”
Tears were threatening to escape both mare’s eyes. “Oh, Rainbow…” Twilight grabbed her friend and held her in the tightest hug she could manage. “Don’t you get it? It doesn’t matter. You’re still one of my best friends, no matter what.”
“I…. I’m sorry I made you worry like that, Twilight.”
The unicorn smiled. “It’s okay. I’ll always be here for you, Rainbow. As will Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy. We’ll always be here.”
Disentangling herself from her friend, Rainbow Dash wiped her eyes. “Thank you. Now, you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone. Pinkie Pie Promise.”
Despite the atmosphere of the moment, Twilight chuckled. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my- OW!” She rubbed her eye. “You know, this would make a great friendship report.”
Rainbow rubbed her chin “Mind if I write it this time? There are some things I need to say to the Princess.”
Twilight nodded. “Go right ahead.”
////====////
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I learned an extremely important lesson: that your friends will always love you for who you really are, no matter what.
Your Subject,
Rainbow Dash.
P.S.: I remember.