//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Resurrection and Regrets // Story: Rainbow Dash: Rise of the Valkyrie // by PegaVincent //------------------------------// Rise of the Valkyrie Chapter 1 The funeral came and went. Not a single pony could find it within themselves to smile, not even Pinkie Pie, as the Elements of Harmony were no more. That day was sunny, though it was originally scheduled to rain. The Pegasi in charge of the weather wanted the funeral to be bright for their fallen friend, and made rainbows in the skies to commemorate the brave Pegasus. The Wonderbolts had also come down, officially inducting Rainbow Dash into the Wonderbolts’ Hall of Fame, along with many of the other heroes in Equestria’s history. The service ended up being a closed casket, considering there was no body to retrieve for anypony to even consider an open casket. Later that day, the coffin was lowered into her grave, and filled to the top with dirt as ponies said their final goodbyes. “Rainbow Dash....” a tender and mild voice spoke, the image of Celestia appearing within the realm that she met Twilight in once before. “Rainbow Dash, open your eyes....” another voice spoke, this one belonging to Luna. “Ooooh, my head,” Rainbow groaned. “Anypony got something for a headache?” “Rainbow Dash,” Luna said to the mare, “for your bravery, sacrifice, and loyalty to all of Equestria, we bestow upon you a grand gift. Receive it now, and awaken.” As Luna finished her speech, the two sisters touched their horns together, a bright light shining upon the rainbow-maned Pegasus. “You will find yourself stronger than before, but you will need training,” Celestia spoke. “Go now, and embrace yourself as an alicorn.” The blue and white energies of the sisters’ magic swirled around the Element of Loyalty, taking her back to her home in Cloudsdale. Rainbow blinked, finding herself back home, but still with the monumental headache. ‘Eh, I’ll worry about that later,’ she thought as an evil grin crept onto her face, rubbing her hooves in a sinister fashion. ‘Right now, I have some work to do!’ Twilight Sparkle had locked herself in her room again, crying into her pillows. Spike understood how hard it must be for her, as he wanted to cry as well. “Um, Twilight? Maybe we should... go to Rainbow’s house and... you know,” he began to ask, and Twilight sniffled, blowing her nose as she came out of the pillows. “I... I don’t know Spike,” the lavender alicorn said. “It’s honestly too soon.” “O-Oh, right,” the dragon said nervously. “Sorry.” Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and from the sound of it, it had come from the castle library. Twilight sniffled, and went downstairs sluggishly after unlocking the door. “Okay, whoever’s there, please go home,” she said, going into the library. “We’re closed.” There was no answer, only the sight of a pile of books sitting in front of a shelf. Twilight sighed, and began to put the books back up on the shelves with her magic. “Gotcha!!” Rainbow shouted, as she flew out of the pile and into Twilight’s face. “AAAAH!!!” the lavender alicorn screamed, falling onto her back. “RAINBOW DASH, THAT WAS COMPLETE--- Wait, Rainbow Dash?!” she yelped, yanking the other mare down to her level with her aura, poking her with purple hooves here and there. “Hey, Twilight!” Rainbow snipped, smacking the hoof away. “I know Pinkie has some boundary issues, but this is just ridiculous!” “Can you open and close your wings for me?” Twilight asked softly. The rainbow-maned pony quirked a brow, but did so regardless. “Hooray, I have wings,” Rainbow snarked in a deadpan. “This is..... unbelievable,” Twilight said, tears in her eyes as she tightly hugged Rainbow, beginning to cry loudly. “Twilight, is everything all- HOLY CELESTIA!!” Spike yelped, gaping at the light-blue mare. “Okay, what the hay is going on?!” Rainbow demanded. “You’re all acting like I died or something!!” “You did die!!” Twilight sobbed out. “You died destroying that meteorite! We... we never found your body, so we buried an empty casket....” Rainbow blinked, then busted up laughing. This naturally caused Twilight to feel particularly angry that her friend is just laughing death off like it was one big joke, and the next thing she knew, a purple hoof was very harshly crossing paths with a light blue face complete with a loud ‘SMACK!!’ “Rainbow Dash, I can’t believe you!!” Twilight screamed, tears pouring from her eyes as she ran back to her room, slamming and locking her door tight. “Jeez, what’s her deal?” Rainbow asked in confusion while she rubbed her cheek. “I wasn’t out for that long. No need to get so worked up about it.” “If that’s what you think,” Spike growled, glaring at the slapped mare, “then I suggest you walk to Rarity’s place. And that means no flying, either.” “Uh, okay, whatever you say, Spike,” Rainbow said as the dragon walked off. She shrugged, but began trotting out of the castle towards the Carousel Boutique. As she passed through town, ponies stopped and stared at her, wondering if it really was Rainbow Dash, the legendary meteor-smashing hero. The mare began to feel slightly uncomfortable noticing all the stares coming her direction, as if she had risen from the dead, like a zombie. ‘Okay, granted, being a zombie would be pretty awesome,’ Rainbow thought as she neared the Boutique, ‘but I’d have to be dead first, and that hasn’t happened. So what’s everypony’s deal?’ She then knocked on the door to the boutique. Inside, the fashionista was busier than usual, trying to keep herself constantly busy with all sorts of designs and such to avoid thinking about her dearly departed friend. However, that was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Rarity, can I come in?” Rainbow asked on the other side of the door. “Of all the...” Rarity grumbled, dropping the equipment she was using and threw her door open, a stern look on her face. “I do not want any more of you Rainbow Dash imposters on my doorstep, thank you! Neither business mares nor stallions. I’m just a unicorn trying to move on!!” The fashionista slammed the door in Rainbow’s face straight away. “What the?” the rainbow-maned pony said, shocked at her friend’s behavior. “Move on from what?! Everypony is treating me like I’m dead! What the hay is going on here?!” Rarity groaned once again. She opened the door, stepping in front of her home. The fashionista did not have her usual beauty-enhancing elements on her: no makeup, no fake lashes, and even her hair seemed a bit unkempt. “Allow me to put it in a way that even a business pony like you can understand,” she said. Clearing her throat, she proceeded to yell, “LEAVE MY PROPERTY THIS INSTANT BEFORE I AM TO USE FORCE!!” Rainbow flinched at the alabaster mare’s loud voice, and looked behind her to see if she could find this ‘business pony’ that Rarity was supposedly talking to. When she found no such pony, Rainbow turned back to her friend. “Is this payback for the sewing machine cake?” she asked, genuinely curious. However, this caused Rarity to growl in further irritation. “Very well, I warned you!” she said, and pulled a toy mouse from under a rock with her magic. The mare then tossed the mouse on top of Rainbow’s mane, much to her confusion. Rarity then turned her head towards the open door. “Oh, Opal darling! I do believe I have located your little mouse~!” Rainbow’s confusion was satisfied when she heard the unmistakable growl of Rarity’s cat. She screamed out of fear and immediately flew off, leaving behind a rainbow contrail as the toy mouse fell to the ground with a squeak. Opal then leaped out of the building and pounced on the toy, growling playfully. “Alright, Opal,” Rarity said, returning to the confines of her home, “come play inside now.” “Geez, what made Rarity think I was just some business pony?” she asked herself as she sat on a cloud above the boutique, watching as the fluffy white cat bounced back inside the home with her toy in her mouth as the door once again closed. “Ugh, maybe a drink will help me think this through.” She flew over to Sweet Apple Acres to get some cider. Applejack was fast asleep at her cider stand from yet another sleepless night preparing for Cider Season, as ponies were all lined up to get their mugs of cider. Rainbow, of course, was not happy about seeing the large line. “Ugh, not again!!” she griped. “I betcha anything she bought twenty mugs as usual, then they run out before I even get close, and I can’t get my hooves on any of it!” Rainbow shook her head, and landed at the end of the line, which was moving much more slowly due to how sleepy Applejack was. It was some time later when the rainbow-maned pony finally made it to the front of the line. “Nuhh, howdy partner,” Applejack said, yawning loudly. “Care fer cider?” Rainbow blinked, then smiled and happily slapped a bit onto the counter. “You bet!! I’ve been waiting for this forever!” she said with high levels of glee. She then noticed how the country mare looked. “Hey, AJ, you don’t look too good.” “Ah’m fine. Th’ marshmallows are dancin’, and that there rock says hello,” Applejack said, smiling and waving tiredly at the rock. “Good mornin’ to ya too, Mr. Geode!” “Applejack, you look like you need sleep,” Rainbow said. “Why aren’t you in bed, catching some z’s?” “Nah, Ah’m good,” Applejack said. “The bed ran away, and Ah can’t seem to find the moon anymore. Say, that’s a mighty fine horn ya got there, Rainbow Dash. Oh, also, a bit of advice. Ah’d stay away from Rarity if Ah was you. She ain’t takin’ too kindly to folks no more. She’ll sic that cat on ya faster than y’all could clear th’ skies.” “Little late for that,” Rainbow grumbled, then something clicked as Applejack poured a mug of cider for her. “Wait a sec, how did you manage to keep enough cider for me anyhow? Don’t you usually run out because Pinkie buys practically a whole barrel’s worth of mugs?” “Nah, she moved back home after yer funeral,” Applejack replied, scooting the mug over to the mare. Rainbow growled a bit from hearing yet another pony treating her like she was dead. “Go get some sleep, AJ,” she demanded, taking the mug. “You seriously need it.” “Yeah, I know I do,” Applejack muttered sadly as Rainbow took to the skies with her mug in hoof. The rainbow-maned pony found a cloud to sit on to stew while she drank her cider. “Ok, seriously, what the heck is going on?” she muttered, taking a sip. “First, I try to prank Twilight, only to get nailed in the face. Spike tells me to find out by going to Rarity’s, and I get everypony staring at me like I’m some freaking ghost or something! Then Rarity looks at me like I’m some suit after my own name, and launches her stinkin’ cat on me! And what was Applejack talking about, ‘mighty nice horn’? Whatever, she’s tired, and probably was imagining it. But what the heck is up with Pinkie leaving? And to top it all off, I’ve had this killer headache all day long! Ugh, I guess the only thing left to do is see if Fluttershy can be somewhat reasonable.” Rainbow drained the rest of her cider, tossing the mug over the cloud. It vanished in a light-blue flash, but the mare wasn’t paying attention as she took off from the cloud and flew down to her best friend’s cottage, knocking on the door. It opened up, and Discord’s familiar head popped out. “Yees? What do you—oh,” the draconequus began, cutting himself off at Rainbow’s sight. “Well, this certainly is an event all wrapped up in its very own muffin basket! Why, Rainbow Dash, you look, well.... royally uncomfortable, to put it mildly. Is there anything I can do for you, madam?” “Cut the chit-chat, Discord!” Rainbow snapped. “I’m really not in the mood right now for your shenanigans. Where’s Fluttershy?” “Fluttershy.... Oh, yes!” Discord said, a light bulb appearing over his head. “She’s at the graveyard at the moment. Poor, poor Fluttershy. What a terrible time we all are going through since that meteorite nearly killed us all. But you, oh so brave Rainbow Dash, saaaaved us all~! Oh, if I may ask, what do you remember right after the meteorite?” “Oh, geez,” Rainbow griped, rolling her eyes. “I remember re-entering the planet’s atmosphere at speeds I can hardly imagine, but then nothing until this morning.” “Really?” Discord asked curiously. “Nothing in between? Nothing of significant detail, like, say, a dream?” “I don’t have time for this!!” the mare yelled, causing Discord to flinch. “All day long, every single pony has either looked at me or treated me like I’m not supposed to be alive! Just tell me where she is so I can talk to her!!” “Alright, alright, cool your jets!” he said, throwing his hands into the air. “A fuzzy friend of Fluttershy’s had passed away today, and she went to go bury the poor thing at the pet cemetery. She’s probably fallen fast asleep at a nearby statue of a famous Pegasus by now. Oh, and do take this muffin basket! I baked her favorite, Lemon Poppy Seed! And I did it the natural way, no magic involved. I do so hope she likes them. Ta-taaaa~!” Rainbow Dash took the muffin basket in her mouth as the draconequus closed the door to the cottage. She turned and flew off to the graveyard, landing at its entrance. As much as she wanted to see Fluttershy right away, she also wanted to respect those that passed away and were buried here by not flying by them and potentially landing on somepony’s grave. She pushed the gate open, and a slight squeak came from it. The Pegasus trotted in, looking for a marble statue. She found the statue, with the familiar form of a butter yellow Pegasus sleeping next to it, the fur on her face slightly matted, most likely from the tears she shed. Rainbow set the basket next to her, and went to wake her up when the plaque on the statue caught her eye. Looking at it, she could see that it read: Rainbow Dash The glorious Pegasus who loyally defended her friends, family, and many more from the meteorite at the cost of her own life. She will always be honored and remembered by many. Her sacrifice will ring through history. As of now, her image stands in the Wonderbolts Hall of Fame with the greatest Wonderbolts in Equestrian history, and has been awarded the Rainbow Bolt, a new badge of honor created for her countless acts of bravery, justice, and moral guidance. May she rest in peace. “What? Rest in...?” Rainbow gasped, then looked up at the statue itself. It was a marble carving of the Pegasus herself, a smirk on the statue’s face as its wings were flared wide open. “Wha... No, it can’t be true.... I’m not dead.... I didn’t die!!” she gasped, fear beginning to grip her. The Pegasus tore out of the graveyard, and ran as fast as her hooves could carry her all the way back to the cottage, and began to pound on the door. “Discord!! Open up!!” “Why, hellooo, Rainbow~” Discord said, the door opening immediately. “So, did you find Fluttershy? Or is there something else that’s bothering you, writhing inside you like a little wor--” “Shut up!!” Rainbow shouted, as tears had begun to form in her eyes. “Where did I land?! Get me to where I landed right now!!” “Alright, no need to be snappy!” Discord growled a bit, snapping his talons and the two vanished. They reappeared inside the Everfree forest, and Rainbow began looking around. “The Everfree, huh?” she said, sniffling a bit. “I imagine that I made quite the impact, didn’t I?” “Oh, indeed,” Discord said, and pointed to the right. “Look, it’s right over here.” “Sweet Celestia,” Rainbow gasped, and looked to the right, finding a large crater measured at least a quarter mile radius. There were ponies working to preserve the impact made by the mare. “Heh, better me than that space rock, am I right?” “Yes, that is true,” Discord agreed, seeing new tears forming on her matted face. “If that rock had hit, the entire planet would be nothing but shambles. To be honest, I find it rather funny that you’re alive. Usually that sort of thing is considered forbidden, ix-nayed, taboo, etcetera. But, I guess when your body burns up on re-entry, there’s pretty much no harm in resurrection. You see, that crater is pretty much made up of the magic that allowed you into space in the first place. Your remains indeed landed there, but alas, they were just a pile of ash, including the bones!” “Care to explain the bolt sha --- actually, nevermind,” Rainbow said, answering her own question. “Yes, well, I assume Twilight would be more than happy to teach you,” Discord said with a devious smirk as Rainbow pressed her ears firmly against her skull. “Yeah, right after I apolo--- Hey, what would Twilight have to teach me?!” she asked with a bit of snip in her voice. “Why, this of course!” Discord said, flicking Rainbow’s forehead, though to her it felt a little off. “OW!! Not cool, Discord!!” Rainbow yelled, glaring at him. ‘Great, now my headache is even worse than..... wait a second,’ she thought, and then ran over to a nearby river. She looked down, seeing a light-blue horn sticking out of her rainbow mane. “Is this for real?” “Indeed it is,” Discord answered. “What you’re currently experiencing is simply magic wishing to be released. No medicine is going to make that headache go away, that’s for sure. When you died, Celly and Lulu felt it would be greatly beneficial to not only you, but to Equus as well that you returned to life as an alicorn. What your title actually is, has yet to be determined. But yes, you’re no longer dead, and soon everypony will SMILE again~! Or, well, most ponies will smile.” Rainbow bolted upright, taking in all this information and adding it to how everypony reacted to her after she woke up this morning. Her eyes bugged out after realizing one of the first things that happened and bolted out of the forest, heading straight to Twilight’s castle. “You’re welcome!!” Discord called to the mare, grumbling afterwards. “Honestly, I do all the work around here, and do I get any thanks? Oh-hoho, nooooo!” As Discord teleported back to the cottage, Rainbow ran up to the doors of the castle and banged heavily on them. One of the large golden doors opened, revealing Spike. “Oh, hey,” the dragon said, a bit nervous. “She’s, uh, still in her room.” Rainbow didn’t bother answering, running past the dragon and straight to Twilight’s room. “You’re welcome,” Spike said, crossing his arms and walking off in a huff. “Seriously, do I get any thanks around here?” The light-blue alicorn reached Twilight’s door, also banging heavily on it, praying that she would be forgiving. The lavender alicorn groaned, getting up from her bed after having cried herself to sleep. “Spiiiike, that’s a little too loud,” she said groggily, opening the door with her magic, only to have a light-blue blur slam into her in a big hug. “Whoa, I’m up!” Twilight yelped, and noticed that it was an alicorn Rainbow Dash that was hugging her tightly. She smiled and hugged her back. “It’s alright, Rainbow. I forgive you.” “I died, Twilight,” Rainbow said softly. “I actually freaking died.” “Yes, you did,” Twilight said. “But you’re back now, and everypony is going to be so---” “Twilight, you are not going to be-LIEVE what happened today!” Rarity shouted as the doors burst open. “I was making a beautiful new dress for next year’s line, when this pony posing as our beloved and fallen friend Rainbow Dash tried to coerce me into their business sales! I gave them a warning, but they still insisted! With the warning out of the way, I—AAAH!! THERE SHE IS!! THERE’S THE IMPOSTER!!” Rarity pointed an accusatory hoof at Rainbow Dash, but that only caused Twilight to laugh. “What?” the fashionista said, astonished. “What are you laughing about, Twilight? This pony tried to----” “Talk to you, Rarity,” Twilight interrupted. “She wanted to talk to you because Spike sent her to you after our, um, little problem we had here earlier.” Rarity blinked, but shook her head. “Darling, if you think for one second that you believe this pony is Rainbow Dash, then there may be something wrong with you,” Rarity said. “Perhaps we should get you to a doctor?” “Oh, then I guess it’s acceptable for mares to launch their cats on ponies’ heads?” Twilight shot back. “Seriously, Rares, not cool,” Rainbow huffed, crossing her forelegs and sniffling a bit. Rarity blinked, then her eyes widened. “R-Rainbow Da--- Oh, my goodness!” she said apologetically. “I am so sorry, darling!! I didn’t possibly think that it was you and—Oh. My. Celestia. Twilight, did you, um, happen to notice something?” “Uhhh, notice what?” Twilight asked, and Rarity groaned, slapping her forehead with a hoof. “Really?!” Rainbow screeched at Twilight. “Applejack and Discord were the only two to notice this big honking horn on my head?!” “I,... weeell.... it, uh.... I have no excuse,” Twilight admitted, blushing with embarrassment. “I guess that the fact I’ve always seen you as a Pegasus made the horn invisible in my mind. Wait, a se---OH, MY CELESTIA, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS~?!” “I can do magic?” Rainbow said knowingly. “Discord said you can teach me.” “I knooow~!!” Twilight said giddily, jumping for joy around Rainbow Dash much like Pinkie would. Seeing Twilight hop like this lit a serious light bulb in the mare’s head. “Oh, my gosh, Twilight, where’s Pinkie?!” Rainbow shouted. “Pinkie?” Twilight said, landing on the floor. “Oh, um, she moved back to the Rock Farm after the funeral.” Rainbow Dash grinned a happy, sinister grin. “Who wants to throw her the ultimate surprise party?” she asked, making Twilight’s eyes sparkle. “You got it, Rainbow!” she said happily, then turned to the dragon. “Spike, I want you to send these invitations to everypony in Ponyville and the Rock Farm. I know it won’t be as good as any of Pinkie’s parties, but let’s do our best and put our heart in it! Rarity, I need you to get Fluttershy and tell Discord to make sure that Applejack gets some rest until an hour before the party, and have the rest of her family take over handling Cider Season. He is to report here so that he can join Fluttershy for baking. When you get back, Rarity, you will be handling the decorations. Rainbow Dash, considering your unique situation, I’m going to have to teach you the basic levitation spell and some beginner’s techniques before Pinkie gets here. When this is over, she’ll have the biggest smile we’ve ever seen!” Ready, girls?!” “Ready!!!” the others shouted together. “Excellent, Operation Smile Smile Smile is now underway!” Twilight said, and the others let out a cheer before beginning their assigned tasks.