Rainbow Dash awoke in a small room. It wasn’t dark, in fact, the room was brightly lit. Sunlight streamed through the two small windows, making Rainbow squint as she opened her eyes. The sunbeams spread through the room, casting light upon the dust particles that drifted lazily in the air. Despite the abundance of light, the room seemed oddly dull, as if the colors were muted.
Rainbow flapped her wings as she stood up, kicking up a storm of dust off the dirt floor. Coughing, the weary pegasus looked around.
The room was empty, the two small windows barred, yet things seemed off. Was this another dream?
Then she heard it, an ominous sound. Not the heartbeat, or the voice, or any of the other things that had plagued her mind in her other dreams. It was a new sound. Low at first, slowly becoming audible.
A tch tch tch.
“What? Who’s there?” Rainbow asked in vain, but of course, there was no answer. The sound didn’t grow any louder, but it did seem to move. Rainbow’s ears unconsciously perked as they followed the sound as it seemed to drift across the room.
Then Rainbow realized, whatever the source of the sound was; it was in the walls.
But why? What was this place? Why did it feel so familiar?
Rainbow thought to herself as she began to frantically pace back and forth. “No,” she said to herself, trying to ignore the sound, “I can’t let it distract me. I won’t let it distract me. I- I’ve got to find a way out of here!”
Looking up, she saw the wooden roof of the room. It looked brittle, a thing that Rainbow and her flying could easily smash right through.
Stretching her legs, Rainbow Dash prepared to fly. This was just a dream, and she wouldn’t be held back like this. Not again.
She began to flap her wings. The dusty floor swirled up and around her body, but Rainbow ignored it. She was a pegasus, a flier, and she would fly free of this place. And so, she blinked the dust out of her eyes and took off.
A feeling of exhilaration filled Rainbow’s chest as she rose off of the ground. A feeling that only lasted a second as the pegasus face planted right into the ground.
As the weight of the situation crashed on her shoulders, Rainbow peeled her face off the ground, spitting the dirt out of her mouth. “What- what happened?” she asked to no one in particular.
She flapped her wings, all their energy was gone, their feathers limply twitching in the dusty air. She twisted her head around to see what was wrong, but then she noticed it.
“No no no, not this.” Rainbow Dash realized what was happening, where she was, as the blunt force of this realization hit her to the ground. Her cutie mark, the symbol of a cloud accompanied with a rainbow-colored lightning bolt, was gone replaced with the dull visage of an equal sign. She was back in Starlight’s village, before the unicorn reformed, trapped in the town’s psychotic propaganda chamber meant to strip a pony away of their individuality.
Rainbow had never wanted to go back here, but yet.
“It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream,” Rainbow repeated to herself. Was it a dream? It certainly felt real to Rainbow. She felt the heat of the dull prison. She felt the dust drifting into her mouth, choking her throat with a dusty dryness. She felt the soul-crushing emptiness where her cutie mark should have been.
Rainbow blinked away her dust-ridden tears. She didn’t want to re-experience this. She had never wanted to think about this place again. But now she was stuck there. Why? She didn’t know.
All through the while, the tch tch sound hadn’t ceased. It wasn’t loud, but it was draining. It slowly chipped away at Rainbow’s mind. The pegasus almost laughed at it. She had already been stripped of her talent, her purpose, why not her mind as well?
So Rainbow gave up. She flattened her body on the ground, letting the dust consume her. Letting the sound destroy what was left of her.
And she remained still until a shrill screech split her mind and ripped apart the darkness.
The blair of the train whistle jerked Rainbow out of her slumber, making her jump up with a loud yelp. Looking around, she saw that it was just a dream. Rainbow was still in the train car, still in her seat. The car rumbled slightly, a sign that the Canterlot express was well on its way to its destination, Canterlot.
Rainbow had quickly prepared for a quick day trip to Canterlot for her visit to Twilight, getting tickets for a midnight express straight to the city. Twilight herself didn’t know about it, rather, the whole thing was spontaneous. Rainbow was sure Starlight was the only pony who knew about this, unless she told Twilight about their conversation beforehand.
Ignoring the curious glances of the other passengers, Rainbow rubbed her eyes and turned to the window. She could see the Canterlot royal castle, sticking out from the mountainside, the ornate spires silhouetted against the auburn sky.
This sight quickly vanished as the train entered a tunnel, casting the car in darkness. Rainbow continued staring out the window, looking at her reflection in the glass. The bags under her eyes were still there, sleeping on the train ride had done her no favors.
She had left home, but the dreams still followed. But, the dream she had was different from the rest. There weren't any iris grubs this time, it instead seemed to be based on her experiences with Starlight in the past. Maybe it was just brought up by her recollections in the Castle of Friendship?
But what about that noise?
She shook her head, it wasn’t important. Just another dream. Like all the rest.
As Rainbow Dash trotted through Canterlot, she almost felt like her usual self. Her wings felt renewed, her body spry, and she couldn’t help but smirk to herself as she attracted the eyes of onlookers. She even stopped to give autographs to a particularly enthralled group of foals in wonderbolt attire. Yes, she was Rainbow Dash, famous wonderbolt and hero of Equestria.
Canterlot as a city was usually too highbrow for the tastes of Rainbow, but the place seemed to have changed ever-so-slightly since the last time she visited. The upper class ponies in the street seemed to be less uptight, paying heed to others rather than sticking up their snouts, though Rainbow wasn’t sure if it was in general or just because of her celebrity status.
The royal castle, which Rainbow had been to only a few days prior for Twilight’s first sunrise, was abuzz with activity. Instead of stoic and formal, the castle resembled an ant hill. Worker ponies milled about, adjusting banners, affixing emblems, making all the necessary adjustments for the new princess of Equestria. Some parts were even still being rebuilt from the magical battle weeks earlier.
Rainbow trotted up to the castle gate with an air of confidence, attracting the attention of the two royal guards who stood at attention. The pegasus guard on the right silently turned his head to Rainbow.
“Yeah, you can open the gate,” Rainbow announced cooly to the guards, “I’ve come here to see Twilight.”
The right guard didn’t blink, “Did you set an appointment?”
Caught off-guard, Rainbow chuckled, “Look at me, do I look like I need an appointment?”
The left guard cleared his throat, “Um, yes, everypony who wants to visit Princess Sparkle needs to set an appointment.”
“I don’t need to do that,” Rainbow snapped back, “I’ve helped save Equestria a whole bunch of times! I probably outrank you both!”
The left guard held up a hoof defensively, “You still need an appointment ma'am. It's not you, it's just the castle is very busy. The princess is swamped at the moment.”
Rainbow felt her cheeks fluster as her anger bubbled out, “I don’t care! I’m Twilight’s friend! I’m going in whether you allow me or not!”
The pegasus stomped forward, only to be stopped by the armored hoof of the right guard, “I’m sorry, but if you’re going to cause a scene, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Meanwhile…
Spike tramped his way across the castle grounds. Balanced in his claws was a large stack of papers, an article typical since he moved back to Canterlot. Right now, the little purple dragon was on his way to deliver various forms and scrolls to their various recipients, mainly Twilight. Spike gave a guard a nod as he turned to the castle entrance, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
Turning around a peering from behind the papers, Spike saw the sight of Rainbow Dash. She was behind the castle gate, yelling as she attempted to fly over the fence. The two guards at the gate vainly tried to hold the pegasus back.
Dropping the stack, Spike ran up to the gate. “Whoa whoa whoa! What's going on here?”
“Spike!” Rainbow exclaimed upon seeing her friend. She dropped down and ran up to the fence, though she was held back by the guards. “I’m so happy to see you! Why don’t you tell these bozos that I’m allowed in the castle and they don’t have to treat me like a criminal!”
“We’re merely preventing you from entering,” the right guard retorted, “No appointment, no entrance.”
“Relax guys,” Spike responded, “Rainbow’s allowed to enter, she doesn’t need an appointment.” In response, the guards let go of Rainbow, who immediately shoved her way through the gate.
“Don’t get angry sir,” the left guard said nervously, “We were just following protocol and all. We didn’t know about her status on the list or anything.”
Spike waved him off, “It’s fine, I can take Rainbow Dash from here.” He waved to Rainbow, and the two left the gate to the castle.
“Sorry about all that,” Spike apologized as Rainbow trotted up to him, “Normally you’d be allowed in, but the new castle entry list hasn’t been formalized yet, so at the moment we’re stuck with appointments only.”
“Oh,” Rainbow said, “I didn’t realize you guys were so busy.”
“That's just the start of it!” Spike answered, stopping to pick up the stack of papers, “Twilight being a princess and all means there’s literal mountains of paperwork! We have treaties to check, forms to sign, and laws to adjust after the previous one thousand plus reign of Celestia.”
“Well, I hope you can still make time for a little visit from me,” Rainbow admitted. She rubbed the back of her head, “I mean, if you're busy, I can just leave.”
“Of course we can make time! What do you need?”
“I just want to talk to Twilight about, something.”
The throne room of Canterlot castle was abuzz with activity, mostly in part due to the entourage of changeling representatives that had gathered for their scheduled meeting with the princess. As the newly crowned princess, Twilight wanted to make sure the alliances she had established with the other races of Equestria remained firm and chartered, and that included the newest kingdom of the changelings.
Twilight Sparkle was talking to the leader of the changelings, Thorax, when the two large doors at the end of the hall opened, and in walked Spike, carrying the stack of papers she had requested. Tailing behind the dragon was a surprise guest, Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow expressed mild surprise at the room full of changelings, but quickly refocused on the throne. She watched as Twilight used her magic and plucked a paper off the top of the stack and quickly read it over. The alicorn then stamped the form, and exchanged a conversation with Thorax, who appeared to nod in approval.
Within a minute, the changelings had filed out, leaving Rainbow standing in the suddenly empty throne room, alone with Twilight and Spike.
The princess gave a loud sigh as she leaned back in the throne and wiped her brow. “Hey Rainbow,” she said, “I didn’t know you would be coming in today. I would have prepared something if I had known, but it's been super busy around here.”
“I noticed,” Rainbow replied nonchalantly, “But no probs! I promise I won’t take up any more of your time than what's needed!”
“Thanks Rainbow, but I can spare any amount of time you need. So, why did you come over here anyway?”
Rainbow’s expression darkened, her attitude suddenly glum, “Yeah, I wanted to talk about, well, really just tell you about something.”
Twilight leaned forward, “What is it?”
“Well Twi,” Rainbow sighed, almost embarrassed, “I’ve been having these dreams at night. Nightmares really. I already talked to Starlight about it, and she thinks it's because I miss you. So I just thought I’d come over and talk to you, I guess.”
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight began, “I’m glad you decided to tell me about this. I wouldn’t want any friend of mine to lose sleep over me.”
“I’m just not sure what to do about it, I guess I’m just having trouble adjusting to all the changes recently.”
“I can see why you would feel that way,” Twilight said reassuringly, “Things changed so quickly, but I didn’t it would give you nightmares,” She paused for a moment to think, “Wait, I think I have something for you.” Twilight stood and walked behind the throne. Rainbow tilted her head as she heard the alicorn rummage for something. “Here we go!” Twilight announced as she trotted out from behind the throne, magically hovering a silver mirror. “This enchanted mirror should allow you to contact me anywhere at any time you want. With this, if you miss me, you can just talk to me. Think of it as a more in-pony version of Spike’s letters.”
“Thanks Twilight,” Rainbow said as she grabbed the mirror, “This should help.” She smiled at her friend, “I guess I won’t be so- homesick? Whatever the word is. Anyways, I won’t take up any more of your time, you are a busy princess after all.” She turned, then suddenly paused, “Wait, I have something else to ask.”
“Anything.”
Rainbow turned and cleared her throat, “So Twilight, do you remember that whole rainbow plague thing?”
“You mean that whole zombie thing with those gross bug things?” Spike yecked, “How could I forget it?”
Twilight smirked at the dragon then turned back to Rainbow, “Yes, I remember it too, why are you asking?”
“Well, since you're a princess, I was wondering if you have any, like, secret files on it. Like stuff on the iris grubs or something like that.”
Twilight tapped a hoof on her chin, “Well now that you mention it.”
Rainbow followed Twilight and Spike down a stone staircase underneath Canterlot castle. Twilight in fact did have information on the rainbow plague. Rainbow intended to use this information, though she didn’t want to admit it, to hopefully find out the actual cause of her night terrors. She hated lying to Twilight like that, even though her statements did have some basis of truth, but Rainbow had a deep, guttural feeling about it. She just felt like she had to keep her feelings to herself, she didn’t know why.
Rainbow blinked; she had blanked out again. She looked forward through the strawberry pink light of Twilight’s horn. She gulped, “So where are we going?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” Twilight softly laughed to herself, “Well anyways, when I became princess, I gained access to the secret restricted section of the Canterlot archives. That's where all the stuff from the greatest threats to Equestria are stored. And only the princess had access to it. And now that I’m the princess, I have access to it myself!”
“We’ve only been down here once,” stated Spike.
“And it's fascinating!”
Spike shuddered, “I’d say it's more creepy.”
“Creepy, cool, whatever’s down here, I can handle it,” Rainbow firmly stated.
She wasn’t actually sure if she could handle the restricted section. But the main room at the bottom of the staircase seemed easy enough to handle.
The trio entered into a large stone hallway. Arches at each side led into side passages. These side passages each had wooden shelves with scrolls, biological samples, and various other oddities. Rainbow took a quick look into each side passage as they walked down the hall.
Each passage seemed to be for an individual Equestria-ending event. One had bottles of what appeared to be thousand-year-old samples of contained chaos magic. Another had pressed samples of plunderseed vines. Disturbingly, one shelf seemed to contain the shattered petrified remains of the Storm King.
Eventually, Twilight stopped, folding out a wing to stop the others. “Here it is! The section on the rainbow plague! Spike, you stay here and keep watch.”
The dragon saluted and placed himself at the side of the archway. “Okay, here we go,” Rainbow whispered to herself as she and Twilight turned and entered the side passage.
Rainbow let out a large breath of air as she began to examine the shelves. Illegible scrolls, diagrams of iris grubs, sketches of infected ponies. She stopped and shuddered as she noticed a jar full of the luminescent rainbow goo. Looking around, Rainbow saw that there were dozens, if not hundreds of individual jars, bathing the dark passage with a faint, multicolored light.
The goo made memories flash through the pegasus’s mind. Memories of fighting off her infected friends. The infected Fluttershy tied to a chair, snarling like a rabid dog. Twilight looking at her with those blank, white eyes, talking in a voice that wasn’t hers.
Rainbow breathed again; she could handle this. She needed to handle this. Find out the answer. She rubbed her throat and clenched her eyes shut, turning away from the goo and walking further down, following Twilight.
In the darkness, Twilight unfortunately was unable to see Rainbow’s state. Her sweat that had begun to drip from her forehead, her wings that had clenched together, frozen in place. Instead, Twilight began to say, “So Rainbow, in the time since the rainbow plague, I’ve had time to reflect upon it. At the time, we had no idea how you stopped the queens and plague but based on my recent realizations on the elements and how we’re each embodiment of a specific element, I’ve come to the conclusion that when you flew into the stomach of the queen, you were somehow able to activate your element inside. Isn’t that interesting?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow answered, shaking out her mane, “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
“So why do you want to learn about the plague?” Twilight asked, looking back at Rainbow.
“Oh, you know, given how I was the one who awesomely saved the day that time, with the help of my friends of course, I was curious how it happened.”
“Well, if you're looking for that,” Twilight paused as she hooved through a shelf of books, “This should do the trick.” She magically pulled out a large book, “It includes notes and experiences from all across Equestria by some of the greatest biologists of ponykind, including yours truly of course.”
“Thanks,” Rainbow said as she took the book. She looked at the cover, it read: The Iris Infestation: Recollections of the Rainbow Plague. She placed it with the enchanted mirror.
“Over here Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called from further down the passage.
“What is it?” Rainbow yelled in response. She hurried down the passage, stopping at the end besides Twilight.
“I thought you might be interested in this,” she motioned a hoof up. Rainbow’s hooves began to shake as she noticed what Twilight was talking about. Hanging from the ceiling at the top of the chamber, a large black shape loomed in the darkness.
“It's the pinnacle of the collection, the preserved remnants of an iris grub queen!” Twilight announced almost with a sense of pride, “In fact, it's the very queen you flew into yourself Rainbow!”
Rainbow didn’t answer, she didn’t even want to look up. The queen, that thing was right there. She could hear her breaths getting quicker and raspier, as she looked down at the ground. The queen was dead, she was gone. But that thing and its voice had haunted Rainbow’s dreams.
Rainbow clutched her head as everything around her became blurrier. The dark shape of the queen overhead seemed to grow bigger, enveloped her. Rainbow could almost hear the heartbeat of the queen thump in her ears.
“Rainbow?”
Rainbow shook head, snapping back into reality. She looked over to see Twilight staring at her with a look of concern.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine!” Rainbow snapped. She sounded angry though she really wasn’t. Twilight stepped back, surprised by Rainbow’s sudden burst of anger.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I didn’t know that you-”
“It’s nothing,” Rainbow interrupted, “I just, I just need to go.”
Twilight held out a hoof to comfort her friend, but Rainbow just pushed it away. “Really Twilight, I don’t need comforting or anything!” She said, now sounding remorseful, “I should just stop wasting your time.”
Twilight didn’t answer. Twilight didn’t get to answer before Rainbow spoke up again. “I’m just going to go,” she sighed, “Thanks for the gifts Twilight.” And without another word Rainbow Dash turned tail and left.