//------------------------------// // When in Need // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash slept well that night. Much better than the previous few. It helped that instead of just an IV drip and some water she had some real food in her stomach when she finally conked out on Doctor Anathema’s bed. Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure how long she had been out for, or how loudly she might have snored while she was asleep, but she woke up sometime in the morning when she could hear birds chirping outside and feel the sun coming in from the window. She grumbled about on top of the bed and opened her eyes after a moment—spotting the destroyed remains of an alarm clock on the nightstand next to her. “What time is it?” She asked, finally rubbing her eyes and sitting up before looking about the cabin. She didn’t see Anathema anywhere. The chair was empty, the bathroom door was open and she wasn’t in there, or standing by the small kitchen. Rainbow Dash was alone in the cabin. She looked back at the nightstand to see if there was a note left there or anything but it was empty sans the pieces of alarm clock. “She have to go to work in a hurry or something?” Rainbow wondered aloud. She wouldn’t exactly blame Anathema if that was the case, that auditorium of sick ponies wasn’t getting any better and it clearly weighed heavily on the doctor’s mind. As much as she said there wasn’t much for them to do with the ponies, Anathema obviously cared deeply for the infected. Rainbow Dash rolled out of bed—her hooves hitting the myriad of papers and journals strewn about around it. She rolled her eyes and flapped her wings to instead start to gently float above it all. There wasn’t anything different about the cabin or anything she hadn’t noticed the previous day, but she wanted to wash her face in that bathroom sink this morning. It would help wake her up completely and make her feel less grimy. She remembered only talking to Anathema a bit last evening before the doctor said they should get to sleep, even when it was just about random stuff and Rainbow Dash trying to get more casual conversation out of her, Anathema didn’t seem to care much for it. The stream of water from the faucet came out hot and Rainbow Dash splashed some into her face before grabbing a towel and drying herself off. “Maybe I can still catch up to her before she gets to the auditorium? Dunno when she left,” Rainbow said as she rubbed the top of her head. Her stomach though was still asking for more food, even after what she had had yesterday, so first she flew over to the kitchen counter. Half of the lettuce and strawberries were still left so Rainbow Dash could at least have a good breakfast. They should’ve taken one of those packages of chocolates from Cocoa Bean though… “Whatever,” she shrugged and plopped two strawberries right out of their carton and into her mouth. They were still just as tasty as yesterday and she savored the sweetness before swallowing them down and tearing off a leaf of lettuce. Rainbow Dash nibbled on that for a second as she absent-mindedly floated. She felt for this whole village, for Anathema and especially the sick ponies, but even after being sick herself she still felt detached from everything and she didn’t know why. Maybe she was still feeling weird after her mistakes in Oreville, but normally she would’ve done something like try to rally or cheer up the ponies of Pinetree Warren by now, right? Or been way, way, more aggressive when it came to what the doctors were doing and trying to help them out. Instead she had let herself just be a patient. She didn’t know how to act. Maybe it didn’t have to do with Oreville but how powerless she felt when the spores were attacking her after she flew through that cloud. How there wasn’t a villain here to face but a problem caused by a “thing” that she didn’t know how to face. Rainbow Dash frowned and ignored that for now, she could talk to Anathema soon this morning after eating. The doctor probably hadn’t woken up that much earlier before her and Rainbow Dash could fly right on the path to the auditorium and find her. She scarfed down the rest of the lettuce and strawberries and washed it down with some water from the sink. Good enough to drink. She stretched her limbs and gave her body a little shake right after that and went for the front door. “If you’re still out there I’m going to find you. You can’t just ditch me like that,” Rainbow Dash said and opened up the door, flying out over the ground. There weren’t many buildings out in this part of Pinetree Warren so she only needed to stay a little bit above roof level. Going on the way to the auditorium she passed right above Ardent Elm’s home but she didn’t see him outside. Must’ve still been asleep or doing something indoors. She really wanted to talk with him again—this time she could tell him about the kinds of stuff Starlight could do. A glance to her right and she was able to look out across most of the rest of Pinetree Warren. Occasionally she saw a pony moving around outside, or a window get opened, or a pony watering their flowers on their balcony. But for the most part the village seemed more dead than alive. Ponyville at this hour would be practically bustling in comparison. She knew why it was like this though as she looked straight north and saw the green haze in the distance. Just a little way into the forest that green smoke, or fog, or whatever you wanted to call it started to rise up, making those little clouds of death above the trees. Rainbow Dash shuddered as she looked at it. There was something just oppressive and sickening about it being right there, in full view, and yet the ponies were still right here in town. Stubbornness? Bravery? Foolishness? Rainbow could call it, and respect, all three. It just made her worry for these ponies. Forget about her immunity, most ponies just weren’t made to handle the tough things she could. She knew that well enough from how many times she had seen the ponies of Ponyville screaming and running around in terror. She just… didn’t want all the ponies here to die pointlessly. Rainbow Dash blew a breath of air out her nose and took her eyes off the green haze in the forest, looking back down at the ground to try and spot Anathema. She ended up seeing her quickly, the doctor was close to the quarantine zone around the auditorium and about to start walking past the first few ropes and barricades. Rainbow Dash grinned and swooped down, preparing to surprise her. She intentionally flew directly over Anathema so her shadow went right over the doctor and caused her to glance up and then landed on the ground right in front of her. “I woke up and you were missing, figured I’d come find you,” Rainbow Dash smirked at her. “Well there’s only one other place I’d be,” Anathema blinked. “Uh...yeah. So why didn’t you wake me up?” Rainbow asked. “Why would I? You don’t have anything to be awake for, better to just let you get as much rest as possible,” Anathema replied and walked right around and past Rainbow Dash, towards the tents and front door of the auditorium. “Could’ve left a note or something!” Rainbow Dash frowned as she went by. “You figured things out without one, didn’t you?” Anathema didn’t look back. Rainbow Dash grit her teeth and yelled at the doctor. “What’s your deal?! I know you’re stressed, I know you’ve got a lot on your mind, and you’ve totally got the right to be upset. But why are you upset at me? You’re not just a little angry. You’re angry at me, I can tell. Or you’re angry about me. But it’s definitely something to do with me and not just this plague that’s bothering you.” Doctor Anathema stood stalwartly halfway between Rainbow Dash and the auditorium. She took a deep breath and without turning to face Rainbow Dash, spoke: “Why are you still here?” “Huh?” Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “Why are you still here?” Anathema finally looked over her shoulder at the pegasus. “You’re on an adventure, right? So why didn’t you leave Pinetree Warren the moment you could? Why didn’t you even act like you wanted to leave?” “Well… I just… I-I don’t get what you mean! What’s the problem with me not leaving?” Rainbow Dash frowned in consternation. “When I first saw you, I saw a pony in need. A pony who was on the brink of death who I needed to save. It didn’t take long before we saw that you were overcoming the disease on your own and things changed. I started to see a pony who could help us. Save us. I did the one thing I shouldn’t have done—the thing I tell my coworkers not to do. I got hopeful,” Anathema’s lip quivered and moisture gathered around her eyes. “I got hopeful that the key to stopping this disease—this plague, had finally come to us. And no one else would have to suffer, no one else would have to die. But in the end nothing has changed. We didn’t learn anything and those ponies in there are still just slowly dying and there’s NOTHING I CAN DO!” She shouted at Rainbow Dash. “And here you are, some carefree pony not even from around here, who healed all on her own while my friends and fellow villagers die. And because I’m a doctor and take care of all my patients, I’m obligated to do everything I can to make your stay comfortable. Like giving you my cabin and making sure you’re getting good food even if I can’t stand being around you. So why are you still here? This isn’t your village, you’re healthy, go fly off and find a new adventure or something.” This isn’t your city, Rainbow Dash. The words of Barnaby cut right through Rainbow’s mind, just as Anathema’s were. “I’m...” Rainbow Dash bit her lip, sadly looking down at the ground. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about that… I was thinking about how you were feeling, or trying to, but I guess I still missed it.” Anathema shrugged and wiped her eyes. “None of it is your fault even. I only have myself to blame, that’s why I didn’t want to say any of this, I shouldn’t be so resentful to you. It’s wrong and it just makes me feel guilty because I should know better.” The two of them stood silently there for a moment longer before Anathema spoke up again. “Why are you still here though? Pinetree Warren is just a small village that would have nothing to see or do in it on a normal day. From what you told us I don’t understand why you haven’t left yet.” “Because...” Rainbow Dash ground her teeth, trying to find the right words herself. “You need help. That’s… that’s it really. Not just you, but everyone here. It doesn’t matter if I can’t just punch the problem away like I normally like to. Pinetree Warren still needs my help. And… I don’t know why I beat the disease either, but there has to be some reason I did, right? Something that could help you. I had to have come here for a reason and not just because it was a stop on the road.” “Helping ponies at the cost of yourself. Maybe in another world you became a doctor,” Anathema laughed slightly. Rainbow Dash grinned. “Hey… it was almost a smirk last night but now I got you to laugh too. Also, you might as well stamp that thought right out, I’m not enough of an egghead to be a doctor.” “You’re too scared of needles as well,” Anathema grinned back at her. “Well you can’t even feel pain so that’s totally not fair!” Rainbow folded her hooves in front of her chest and looked away. “Don’t be such a big baby. I’m astonished that after some of the stories you told us that you’re still afraid of something like needles,” Anathema rolled her eyes. “When you saw my Cutie Mark, did it make you jump?” Rainbow Dash flinched. “N-No...” Anathema’s smirk widened. “Liar.” “Look, whatever, let’s drop that subject. It’s true what you said though, I may be looking for fun and awesome adventurey stuff, but that doesn’t mean I won’t stop what I’m doing to help ponies in need. Cause that would be the exact opposite of awesome, get me?” Rainbow said. “Yes, I get you,” Doctor Anathema nodded. “Sooo… can we be friends now?” Rainbow asked, an eyebrow raised at the doctor. “I guarantee you it’s a lot more fun than being angry whenever you see me.” Anathema snorted. “My mood isn’t going to swing so suddenly… I’m not going to suddenly be happy and full of smiles while all my patients are still sick and in pain. But that being said, yes, we can be friends. Or attempt to at least.” “Good enough for me,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Right,” Anathema sighed and looked at the auditorium. “If you’ll excuse me though I do have work to do today. You can make yourself at home in my cabin, or talk to Ardent Elm, or eat at Cocoa Bean’s or do whatever else you want I suppose. Within reason. Obviously most ponies here won’t be too inviting, and I’d still like you to use the story of you coming from the Weeping Mountain.” “I’m not going to be a freeloader,” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I’m here to help and I mean it. So let me come in there and help you take care of those ponies. You know it’s safe for me at least.” Anathema paused and frowned, a worried expression came over her face. “I… do you really want to? For sure? You already spent two days awake just stuck in there, you know what it’s like. Do you really want to see all of the villagers like that? Get them water to drink? Try talking to them? There’s nothing glamorous about this, Rainbow Dash.” “If that’s the only thing I can do to help, then yeah. Unless that green stuff turns into a monster that I can beat up—that’d be cool. But uh, that’s probably not happening. So whatever I can help with in there, or whatever errands you need me to run, I’m all for it!” She clapped a hoof to her chest. “And… if there are any other experiments or tests you can think of to run on me that might help you guys learn something, I’d be okay with letting you run them too. Within reason and all that.” “Thank you...” Doctor Anathema smiled warmly at her. “Let’s head in to work then, I’ll have some things to go over with you.” “You got it,” Rainbow grinned and hopped right beside her. The two mares walked up to the front doors of the auditorium and opened them together.