Rainbow Dash Around the World

by MagicS


Pinetree Warren

Agonizingly hot water poured down on Rainbow Dash as she stood in the shower of the decontamination tent. After spending so much time in the cold auditorium the contrasting temperature almost made it unbearable. Normally such hot water probably would’ve just felt really, really good to her after being stuck in a bed for so long. Five days total? She needed the hot water. Hay, she needed way more than a shower to limber up and get back into shape. Hopefully later today she could go flying around a bit.

After the shower, Anathema had her take an anti-biotic and Rainbow Dash was pretty much good to go. She also for the first time got a good look at the two doctors. Doctor Swab was actually a bit older than she expected, his black mane was thinning and he tried to hide it with a comb over that didn’t help much and it was starting to turn white to match his chalky coat. Anathema’s indigo coat reminded Rainbow Dash of Twilight, even though their colors weren’t exactly the same, the two of them even frowned in that same “I’m so annoyed at this right now” way. Doctor Swab had a cotton swab Cutie Mark while Anathema’s was a syringe, something that made Rainbow shudder the moment she saw it.

“You didn’t have any clothes but that might have been because the spores disintegrated them. Do you normally wear anything?” Anathema asked her as they left the tent.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Nope. Do ponies in Pinetree Warren normally wear clothes?”

“Half and half,” Anathema shrugged. “I always wear my coat when outside my home, but a lot of ponies don’t bother with anything. You won’t look out of place.”

“Yeah just gotta lie about being from the Weeping Mountain now,” Rainbow said.

“Deal with it. You don’t find pegasi in these parts except for there,” Anathema replied.

Rainbow Dash wanted to ask her what was making her so crabby, but even she realized how insensitive something like that would be right now. Instead she just put it behind her. “Uh huh. So no pegasi around all the other little towns and places in these forests and mountains?”

“None that we know of at least,” Doctor Swab shrugged. “I’m surprised that Oreville even kept any records of us, we only have vague stories and memories passed down from pony to pony here about them.”

“They were pretty closed off for a while...” Rainbow Dash grimaced. She hadn’t told the full story of what had gone on up there, they didn’t need the extra burden. “But you still know about the Weeping Mountain?”

“Pegasi come through these parts every year or two. It’s not especially uncommon but at the moment none are around,” Anathema said, now putting on her doctor’s coat.

“Oreville was all earth ponies but I guess there are plenty of unicorns here,” Rainbow said as she looked between both of the doctor’s horns.

“You are correct,” Anathema curtly answered.

Doctor Swab laughed nervously at her behavior and smiled at Rainbow Dash. “The town was founded by a group of earth pony and unicorn settlers from the east. It was a while ago but apparently the farmlands had gone bad and they needed to search for a new place to live.”

“Well normally I would say it looks like they found a nice place,” Rainbow Dash said as they walked through the tents and came to the front side of the auditorium where she could look out at most of the rest of the village. “Even reminds me of Ponyville a bit.”

It did. A quaint, small village surrounded by trees, not as much open space in the distance as Ponyville but it still had that lovely small town flavor. The kind of place that Applejack would appreciate and Rarity would wish was a big city, where Pinkie Pie would know everyone’s names and birthdays. Naturally the buildings all were made of wood, either boards or some of them just plain log cabins. They sat spread out through this whole open spot in the forest without anything to bother them. Chimneys gave off puffs of smoke, showing most ponies were inside, and a few dirt roads weaved in and out of the buildings. More paths than roads, really. The big difference between Pinetree Warren and Ponyville right now was the lack of ponies outside. Rainbow Dash only saw one or two. She could picture how this place normally was, with fillies and colts running through the grass and playing around, and happy mares and stallions greeting and talking with each other during the day.

Not quiet and still looking like this.

“It is a lovely place to live if I say so myself,” Doctor Swab said. “Our doctor’s office is over a bit on the east side of the village, my home is next to it. Doctor Anathema lives in her own cabin on the western edge.” He pointed out a home that had a door on the roof and a little balcony up there. “That’s Honey Sight’s home, he’s the one who spotted you earlier.”

“Guess I should thank him sometime,” Rainbow said.

“Do whatever you want, nobody is forcing you,” Anathema shrugged. “Aside from the whole Weeping Mountain business.”

“I get it,” Rainbow shot her a brief glare.

Doctor Swab meanwhile had a childlike enthusiasm as he continued pointing out houses and informing Rainbow Dash of their inhabitants or just dropping tidbits of information about Pinetree Warren. Maybe it was a combination of genuine love for the village, being able to explain and teach things to an outsider for the first time in a while, and wanting to latch onto anything positive he could. Either way not a single building went without some elaboration on his part as the three of them left the “quarantine zone” and its signs and barricades behind.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow as they passed them and she looked back at the auditorium. “Is it really okay for the two of you to leave and come with me?”

“It’s fine. There’s very little to do and Walnut Grove and another nurse of ours named Cough Drop can handle the work for today. Hardly anything changes or happens in that building now,” Doctor Anathema said, her words temporarily bringing down the mood considerably.

“Sooo...” Rainbow Dash decided to change the subject. “You guys got a mayor I should see or something?”

“Mayor?” Doctor Swab raised an eyebrow at her, Anathema as well.

“Uh, yeah? You know, a leader, a governor, the pony who runs the town—a mayor,” Rainbow explained.

Swab rubbed his chin. “Can’t say there’s anyone like that here.”

“You don’t have a leader?” Rainbow was surprised.

“Not really any reason that I can see to have one pony who makes all the decisions or whatnot. We all work and live together here, if something comes up where one pony needs to take charge or is the best for it well sure, otherwise I can’t really think of why we’d need a pony like that. If a building catches fire we all work together to put it out. Gatherers go forage for fruit and vegetables, crafters build, we keep ponies healthy, it all works just fine,” Doctor Swab shrugged.

“Huh, pretty different from Equestria,” Rainbow Dash said.

“It’s probably something that only works in small, close-knit communities like this where everyone knows and trusts each other,” Doctor Anathema said. “And you mean the Weeping Mountain.” She added.

“Yeah, right,” Rainbow snorted. Her stomach then loudly growled and she brought a hoof up to it. “Um, I think I’ve only had water, IV fluid, and medicine for like five days. Before we look at anything else in the village is there anywhere I can get a bite to eat?”

Doctor Anathema blinked and glanced at Doctor Swab briefly before looking back at Rainbow Dash. “Do you like chocolate?”

Rainbow Dash paused. “...keep talking.”


The three ponies stepped inside a small shop (that doubled as a house if the loft on the second story was anything to go by) closer to the eastern side of town, a little bell on the door rang as they walked in to notify the owner. The ground floor of the shop was a chocolatier’s bakery, with a few small (and empty) tables in the front and a display case with chocolates in the back. A bored, middle-aged, stallion was sitting behind the case and he perked up immediately when Rainbow Dash and the doctors entered. He had a wide smile on his face and he waved them right over.

“Anathema! Swab! Great to see you!” He said, his mane and coat both different shades of chocolate brown with his mane being dark and his coat being milk. His eyes then caught sight of Rainbow Dash and he politely nodded to her as well. “And to you, Miss.”

“Still slow?” Doctor Swab asked him.

The owner sighed. “Yeah, ponies just don’t want anything to do with each other if they can avoid it. Doesn’t matter how safe you say it is, after Gauze Strip-”

“No need to bring up bad news again and again,” Anathema cut him off. “We’re here so I’d say this is turning out to be a good day for you. We even have a rare guest.” She said as she looked at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash waved at him. “Sup, I’m Rainbow Dash.”

He waved back. “Hello, I’m Cocoa Bean.” His eyes glanced to the wings at her sides. “Rare indeed, we don’t see too many pegasi around here.”

“So I’ve heard. The Weeping Mountain is soooo boring this time of year though I just felt like going somewhere else,” Rainbow said and smirked at Anathema.

She rolled her eyes while Cocoa Bean smiled.

“Never been there before but I always imagined what it must be like. Wouldn’t mind visiting one day and sharing my chocolate recipes with your friends and family,” he said.

Rainbow coughed. “Uh, yeah, well, they’d probably be super happy about that.”

“How about some food, Cocoa? Can you make something fresh for us?” Doctor Swab asked.

“Of course! I’ll be right back, just hold on one second,” he said and disappeared into the kitchen behind the display case and counter.

“Figured it would be best to end that line of conversation as fast as possible,” Doctor Swab said.

“Good idea,” Rainbow nodded and looked around at the chocolate shop some more. There were some shelves where prepared boxes of chocolates sat, along with pictures of times when the shop was full of ponies and Cocoa Bean was having a good time with them. She looked in the display case and saw chocolate hearts, truffles, bars, chocolate-covered wafers and more. “So I know you guys are the doctors but is chocolate really the best thing to have after all that time I spent in there?”

“Your body needs sugar,” Doctor Anathema said and led the three over to one of the empty tables. “You can have a real meal later, but you’ve gotten the vitamins and minerals you needed while in our care. Now some sugar to get you some fast energy will do you a lot of good.”

Cocoa Bean came out of the kitchen a minute later with three mugs of hot chocolate and a plate each of chocolate bars for them. “Here you go!”

As soon as the smell hit her nose, Rainbow Dash smiled. “Guess I shouldn’t be complaining.”

“Enjoy it and the hospitality while you can,” Doctor Anathema said as she took a sip of the hot chocolate before even waiting for it to cool down. “Most ponies in Pinetree Warren just aren’t very welcoming or sociable lately. Normally I’d like you to get to know more of us but I think a brief hello with just a few is all that you’re going to get.”

Rainbow Dash tried drinking some of the chocolate the same way she did and almost burnt. After wincing she set it back down for the moment. “Not gonna force anyone to come out and say hi to me. I just hope it gets better while I’m here.”

Doctor Anathema stared at her for a moment and Rainbow Dash gave her a confused look back.

“What?”

“Nothing,” the doctor shrugged and went back to her hot chocolate.

“Whatever,” Rainbow Dash ignored the weird way the doctor was acting and blew on her hot chocolate before taking a bite out of the bar. Milk, and tasty. She smiled up at Cocoa Bean. “This is some good stuff, dude.”

“Thank you!” He beamed. “I hardly get the opportunity to have someone new try my chocolate—and lately hardly have anyone eating it at all.”

“Well it’s good stuff,” Rainbow genuinely said.

“There are other places to eat, other ponies who even make similar desserts and snacks in Pinetree Warren, but we came here because Cocoa Bean always gives the best service,” Doctor Swab smiled at the proprietor.

Rainbow Dash knew how important that was. Half of what anyone went to Sugarcube Corner for was the atmosphere and Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. The Cakes would still be successful and making good food regardless of anything else, but she doubted as many ponies in Ponyville would love the place if it was drab and quiet inside.

Cocoa Bean left after they had finished their food and drinks, taking the mugs and plates back into the kitchen to clean. So Rainbow Dash looked over at the two doctors.

“So where am I gonna stay while I’m here?” She asked.

Anathema furrowed her brow. “Stay?”

“Yeah. Stay,” Rainbow Dash frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, forget it. I suppose you should just stay at my cabin. That’s probably the best way to do things,” Anathema said.

“Works for me,” Rainbow shrugged.

“So long as you don’t mind the huge mess her cabin is,” Doctor Swab said, a slight grin on his face.

“I can make room,” Anathema frowned at him. She then glanced at Rainbow Dash. “It’ll be dusk in a few hours, we can stop somewhere on the way to my cabin and get some fruits and vegetables for you. Besides that I don’t see anything to go out of the ways for.”

Rainbow Dash wanted to respond with a snarky “Nice tour” or something to Doctor Anathema but she bit it down. The doctor was probably dealing with a constant, overbearing stress, and Doctor Swab had been nice at least and she didn’t want to be rude to him either. “Alright, not like I need another shower or anything else. How about showing me the way?”

“Then I suppose I will say farewell for today,” Doctor Swab said as he stood up from the table. “It was a pleasure showing you around, Rainbow Dash. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask Doctor Anathema. She can get you in contact with me or show you around Pinetree Warren some more herself.”

“Yes, don’t hesitate,” Doctor Anathema droned in repeat.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” Swab said to her before bowing and walking out of the store.

The ring of the bell momentarily brought Cocoa Bean back out from the kitchen and he looked into the now one pony short store. “Did Swab leave?”

“Yes,” Anathema said. “Don’t worry about anything, he loved the chocolate, he’s probably just looking to get an early night’s sleep for tomorrow. You know how older stallions are.”

“Alright. Good day to you, Anathema, and you too, Rainbow Dash,” Cocoa Bean smiled a last time and went back into the kitchen.

“Thanks for the food!” Rainbow Dash smiled after him.

“Let’s get moving then. Most ponies won’t want someone else to come by asking for food, so we’ll make our next stop a quick one,” Anathema said and stood up.

“If you say so,” Rainbow Dash got up after her.

They left the shop and started to head through the middle of Pinetree Warren in the direction of Anathema’s cabin. On the way, Anathema had them stop at a place that grew and sold their own heads of lettuce and strawberries. She had Rainbow Dash wait outside while she went in and got the food. Saying something about not wanting to startle the ponies inside or overwhelm them with too many visitors at once. It sounded more like an excuse to temporarily get away from her to Rainbow Dash. At least she came out with a wrapped up head of lettuce and a carton of strawberries. She levitated them with her magic as she and Rainbow Dash resumed their walk to the cabin.

“You know I haven’t seen you actually use your magic that much,” Rainbow Dash said to her.

“This is about all I can do with it. Levitating things when I need the rest of my hooves free is the most practical thing about it,” Anathema replied.

“You can’t do any fancy spells? Or teleport? Or make shields or fire lasers?”

“No,” Anathema frowned at her. “What would I need to do any of that for anyways, I’m a doctor. And how many unicorns are capable of such things in the first place?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her neck. “Maybe more where I come from...”

“...there might be another pony out who will want to make your acquaintance.” Anathema said.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at her. “Who?”


“Hello,” the old wizard said as he politely bowed before Rainbow Dash. “I am Ardent Elm of Pinetree Warren.”

“What’s up, I’m Rainbow Dash from Equestria,” Rainbow grinned back at him while Anathema frowned.

He managed a smile back at her, though it was slightly forced. His very light-brown face was almost completely obscured by a flowing white beard and mustache. “It’s nice to see a new and friendly face here.” His eyes drifted to Anathema. “Not much for ponies to smile about lately.”

“Yeah, I’m really sorry to hear about all that,” Rainbow bit her lip.

“Pish-posh,” he waved her off. “What is it that brings you to my home?”

“This place she’s from, Equestria, has a far greater knowledge of magic than we do, and a lot of powerful unicorns supposedly,” Doctor Anathema explained. “I figured you’d like to meet her and talk about it together. Also—I know you don’t talk much with others but could you keep that she’s from Equestria a secret? We’re telling everyone else she’s from the Weeping Mountain.”

“Got a soft spot for ol’ me?” Ardent Elm asked her.

Anathema rolled her eyes. “You have even less contact with the rest of the village than I do. Call it doing you a favor. Maybe for old time’s sake back when you were trying to teach me about magic too.”

“Teach you more than just boring old levitation you mean?”

Yes,” Anathema frowned. “We don’t have all day though for you two to talk, she should get some good sleep.”

“Well to be honest it’s not like I’m an expert on magic or could go into detail on any spells and stuff. I just know the big stuff,” Rainbow Dash said.

“That’s perfectly alright, I’d be happy to hear anything about the magic of another country and what unicorns there can do,” Ardent Elm said. “Just where might this Equestria be, by the way?”

“Far. Like super duper far and pretty much impossible to get to from here. We’re talking the total other side of the world,” Rainbow said, holding her hooves apart for emphasis.

“Seems you’ve been on quite the journey to get here, young lady. I wouldn’t mind hearing about that too at some point,” Ardent Elm said.

“Let’s just keep it to the magic for today,” Anathema said, her patience already wearing thin.

“Guess I should listen to my doctor,” Rainbow Dash smirked at her before cracking her neck and smiling at Ardent Elm. “Alright—so let me tell you about some of the stuff my friend Twilight Sparkle can do...”

By the end of just the brief infodump on Twilight Sparkle, Ardent Elm was staring at Rainbow Dash with his mouth wide open. The old wizard seemed in shock at some of the stuff Rainbow Dash was saying. To be fair, even Twilight would’ve been in shock hearing about what she could do when she was younger and all.

“That is… quite the capability your friend possesses,” Ardent Elm said after a while. “Such powerful raw magic and spells that can affect time and space… makes my work seem rather paltry in comparison.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Rainbow Dash waved her hooves around. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like that or anything. Twilight’s just plain special. Even in Equestria most unicorns don’t really do a whole lot with their magic. They’re like her-” she pointed at Anathema. “I bet you’re still an awesome wizard.”

Ardent Elm laughed. “Thank you for the kind words. Now in my old age I mostly just make semi-magic potions and read though. Hopefully the journal and knowledge I leave behind will be picked up by some enterprising young unicorn.”

“I’ll make sure of that,” Anathema said. “And it’s good to see you in a better mood today than normal.”

“Well, I would think the reason for that is obvious,” Ardent Elm smiled at Rainbow Dash. “Please come back whenever you would like to talk more.”

“You got it,” Rainbow Dash saluted.

“Alright, my cabin is just right nearby now,” Anathema said and pointed ahead. “Let’s hurry up and get over there, by now I’m kind of hungry for dinner too, and you still need something real in you too.”

“I know, I know,” Rainbow said and started walking beside the doctor. She looked over her shoulder and waved at the old wizard. “Bye!”

“Good bye!” Ardent Elm waved back.

When Rainbow Dash made it to Doctor Anathema’s small cabin, it looked like a nice and cozy place to live to her. If Fluttershy didn’t already have her cottage, Rainbow Dash could picture her living in a home like this too. Of course that all changed when they walked up the porch and Anathema opened up the front door. The gigantic mess that filled up her cabin made Rainbow Dash balk. She was often considered a fairly messy pony, but she didn’t let her home ever go to this. There wasn’t a spot on the floor where the actual floor showed through and the only furniture she saw besides the bed were also covered in papers and other stuff. A dragon’s hoard of junk.

So naturally the first thing Rainbow Dash said was: “Nice place you’ve got here.”

“Very funny,” Anathema rolled her eyes. “You may want to float around with your wings while you’re in here, don’t want you stepping on some glass beakers and test tubes that are scattered all around...”

As she said that she took a step forward and-

Crunch

Anathema and Rainbow Dash looked down at the shattered test tube the doctor had just stepped on, half of it concealed by a piece of paper.

“Oops,” the doctor nonchalantly said and lifted up her hoof, a little bit of blood dropping onto the paper as she turned it over and saw a sliver of glass lodged in the bottom of it.

Rainbow Dash winced. “Uh, doesn’t that hurt?”

Anathema just blinked and lit up her horn, pulling the piece of glass out and placing it on the paper, then wadding it all up with the rest of the broken test tube. “No. I have a nerve disorder, I don’t feel pain.”

“Huh. That’s pretty awesome,” Rainbow tilted her head.

“I can assure you it’s not,” Doctor Anathema frowned and started walking through the mess, carrying the paper and glass to a trash bin that was already overflowing. “It’s not exactly a good thing when you’re a six year old filly and you don’t realize that you just broke your leg.” She huffed. “Well—that experience is what got me my Cutie Mark though.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a few stories to tell about that. I got my Cutie Mark from a race I had as a filly, flying faster than I ever had before. Pretty awesome story too,” Rainbow Dash smiled.

“You can tell it after I get a band-aid and we have dinner,” Anathema said.

“Right,” Rainbow rolled her eyes at the moody doctor. “So where am I going to be sleeping in this place anyways?”

Doctor Anathema sighed and lit her horn up once more, shoveling a great amount of junk off of a chair. “I’ll sleep here and you can use my bed. You’re my guest—and my patient—I won’t have it any other way.”

“Well it’s not like I’m going to complain about getting the bed...”

A grin almost tilted up the edges of Anathema’s mouth. “I figured you wouldn’t.”