Mending a Broken Rainbow- Chapter Nine
Plip.
The first drop of rain struck against Dashie like a knife, reminding her that time was still ticking; that the world did not stop the moment Rainbolt hit the ground at top speed, in a blur of rainbow colors.
KABOOM!
A streak of lightning split the night sky overhead, illuminating the stadium for just long enough for a passing bystander to see the silhouette of a broken-hearted pegasus before she disappeared once again into the shadows of the empty Wonderbolt stadium. The thunderous ear-splitting ‘krak’ of sound was nothing compared to the continuous echo of breaking bones that swam through Dashie’s inner thoughts.
Plip. Plip. Plip.
Like the poor cyan pegasus’ tears the rain drops fell from the sky, each one an icy bite into her flesh. However, she did not move, nor run for shelter. She couldn’t.
Plip plip plip plipplipplip.
She had to stay there- to block the icy embrace from reaching Rainbolt. Beneath her the limp form of Dashie’s other half lay motionless, her feathers twitching in the late night breeze.
“Please…” Dashie whispered coarsely, her voice scratchy and tired from repeated shouts into the night. The loving mare’s shoulders shook violently, matching her legs, threatening to give out at any moment. All strength had fled Dashie’s body, leaving her an empty, lifeless shell as she watched herself- or rather, the other half of her- die. “Please, just get up already.”
KABOOM!
A new wave of tears streaked down her already tear-worn cheeks. Just as her eyes began to slide shut, a glimpse of movement caused them to fire back open. Rainbolt’s wing.
“Rainbolt!” Dashie shouted again with newfound strength. “Rainbolt, please answer!”
Had she imagined it? A muscle spasm due to the cold air? Maybe Dashie really was beginning to lose her mind; who knew how this whole ‘magical separation’ thing worked. Was it not possible that when one half died the other would be forced to suffer similar fate soon after? Dashie’s heart skipped a beat as the body twitched again, this one more violent. Then again. Next time it was one of Rainbolt’s hooves, then another.
Rainbolt’s eyes snapped open, darting left and right as she took in her surroundings.
And then the pain hit the athlete like a fearsome ocean wave hits a fragile sailboat. She screamed louder than the thunder, only causing herself more pain. Dashie stood in horror as she watched the scene unfold.
Rainbolt spun on the ground, attempting to stand but receiving only a flailing of uncoordinated limbs and pain. The more pain assaulted her, the more she struggled, her mind blurred and confused. Never in her life had Dashie seen something so horrifying, thinking of how willingly she would swap places with the crippled cyan pegasus below her. Finally snapping to her senses, Dashie knew that she had to do something to stop Rainbolt from hurting herself further. Only one option came to mind.
Finally granting her weary limbs rest, Dashie allowed herself to fall upon Rainbolt’s body, pinning the other mare to the ground; in Rainbolt’s condition she couldn't fight back.
“Stop!” Dashie shouted over another clash of thunder, and Rainbolt did, her eyes wide in incomprehensible fear. “Oh, thank Celestia you are alive! Please, never scare me like that again!”
“I-” Rainbolt’s body continued to twitch uncontrollably. Her voice shook with it. “I can’t feel my body! Oh, Luna, I’m so cold!”
“Shhhh,” Dashie wrapped her forelegs around Rainbolt’s body, maneuvering as to pull Rainbolt into a protective hug. “You’re alive. That’s all that matters. That’s all that matters.” There was no way to express the sensation of relief that flooded Dashie’s thoughts. “Now c’mon. We have to get you to the castle. No more fighting.”
Rainbolt’s body was beginning to calm down, though Dashie knew it was not because the pain was going away. It was simply going numb. Rainbolt’s eyelids struggled to stay open. “I can’t- I can’t- I can’t- can’t m- move my body. It won’t list-en to me…”
“Then I’ll have to carry you.” Dashie was quick to move, managing to get Rainbolt’s corpse-like body balanced on her back. Dashie’s wings blanketed her clone from the rain as she began hobbling forward, towards the stadium exit.
Rainbolt had once again passed out; only the occasional brush of warm air against Dashie’s back encouraging her to stay steadfast on her journey to the castle. Her legs shook dangerously, like they would snap under the added weight with each step the fragile pegasus took. She ignored the pain in her joints, and the temptation to just give up, lie down, and allow the night’s embrace to claim the two identical souls. It felt like she had been walking forever, but Dashie had barely made it to the stadium exit. Canterlot castle was a shadow in the distance.
Once they got to the castle everything would be alright… right? After all, it’s not like Rainbolt didn’t want to become one again as bad as Dashie did. The Wonderbolt’s display in the stadium only boosted Dashie’s confidence in the idea that Rainbolt wanted her old life back just as much as Dashie did.
‘One foot after the other,’ Dashie told herself over and over again in her mind. ‘One foot after the other.’
. . . . .
“They should be here by now.”
Applejack paced across the marble floor of the castle throne room for the hundredth time, her pace quickening into a trot as her brain suggested rather unpleasant ideas as to Dashie’s tardiness. “What if they got caught in the storm? Or- or what if they were attacked by changelings!”
Twilight sparkle sat patiently beside Princess Celestia’s throne, once again glancing over a thick, leather-bound note book laid out before her. The throne was empty. The throne room’s windows- pane glass snapshots of the great moments in Equestrian history- shoot as the quickly growing storm outside clashed against them.
“They’ll make it,” Twilight spoke in a tone that betrayed her belief of her own words. “Rainbow is like that. She won’t let us down. On the bright side, nothing else can possibly go wrong, right?”
Princess Celestia, Twilight’s mentor and idol, who was supposed to be preforming the spell that would fuse Rainbolt and Dashie into one once again, was absent from the assembly as well. She claimed it to be a last minute emergency, calling both herself and the princess of the night to a distant land to quell a misunderstanding of some sort. Twilight was quite confident that worse timing was impossible.
Twilight focussed in on her notes as her mind raced. The spell was too advanced. It was a long-shot to hope that even with the princess’ combined efforts everything would go as planned, but this- this spell that Twilight had created without a chance to test- was far beyond the lavender unicorn’s own capabilities. She didn’t dare tell that to Applejack, though, as the farm pony paced back and forth continuously. When a strand of hope was all a mare had, Twilight dared not take it from her.
“And if they don’t?” Applejack worried aloud.
“They will.”
A loud knocking erupted from the large double doors at the opposite end of the throne room.
“Speak of the devil,” a pearly grin filled Twilight’s face. “What did I tell you, Applejack? Your excessive worrying was needless afterall.”
Without skipping a beat Celestia’s apprentice wrapped the doors in a purple glow, and pulled them open. Three royal guards entered, and Twilight’s smile faded.
The royal guard, trained to be stone-faced and emotionless, all expressed great sorrow. Their manes had been flattened by rain, and each of them gasped in rapid, heavy succession, regaining their breath. Twilight did not waste any time; she teleported from her spot beside the throne to the entranceway before the three tired soldiers.
“What is it?” she cried. “What has happened? Did you find them?”
Applejack quickly trotted to Twilight’s side to listen in on the conversation.
“We found them,” the middle guard spoke quickly, his brows quirked in agonizing concern. “But…”
“But what!” Applejack blurted out.
“They were both pretty beat up, one of ‘em in critical condition and the other out cold,” the guard on the left spoke. The remaining soldier continued, “They’re on their way now, but in their conditions we can only move them so fast without-“
He never finished his sentence as Applejack darted past, and into the castle hallways at top speed. Twilight was close behind her. AJ didn’t stop for anything, not even for the front entrance doors, instead simply piling through them and into the icy night. She didn’t even notice as the harsh rain began to pelt her back or as her muscles screamed in protest.
The city streets were bare, every sane earth pony, unicorn and pegasus having taken refuge in their homes for the evening. Appleack cried as she ran. She cried heavily, several times having to close her eyes to blink away tears as she ran. One thought dominated her mind, unrelentingly raining against her like the icy nibbles against her body. It was the same notion that had plagued her from the very beginning of this whole epidemic, and it was quite simple.
It was all her fault. It was her fault that Rainbow felt her loyalties contended, and Applejack’s love for her questionable. It was her fault that, somewhere in the city, her closest friend needed her and yet AJ was not by her side.
It wasn’t until Applejack was several blocks deep in unknown Canterlot neighbourhoods that another disturbing realisation dawned upon her. She had no idea where she was going.
“Augh!” the farm pony screamed into the night, slamming her hooves down against the paved street beneath her, before allowing herself to collapse under the harsh beating of the stormy night.
. . . . .
The gentle rattling of the chariot reminded Dashie of the train ride from Ponyville to Canterlot, the night of the Grand Galloping Gala. To this date, it was still one of her favorite memories. That night everything just seemed so perfect, and being there with her friends Rainbow felt like nothing in the world could ever separate them, nor there ever a time in which together they could not overcome any problem! It was perfect. Looking down from her seat in the chariot, and to the unconscious body of her other half, Dashie realized that it was only a dream, and like every other dream, she eventually woke up.
At least they were fortunate enough to have been found by a passing troop of the royal guard.
“Ugh…” Rainbolt stirred. A single eye opened, resting upon Dashie’s face. “Where… Where am I?”
The chariot was large, with more than enough room for both of the Rainbows, as well as the pair of guards that accompanied them. Four more royal soldiers pulled the vehicle through the desolate city. On one side of the thing Dashie rested Rainbolt across the seat and her lap, across from them two statue like stallions watched, unsure of how to assist.
“Shhh,” Dashie placed a hoof across Rainbolt’s muzzle. “Save your energy. We are on our way to the palace, to see Applejack.”
At the mention of the orange mare Rainbolt’s eyes brightened, but dimmed again just as quickly. The Wonderbolt broke eye contact as she spoke. “Why? She already made it clear that she chose you over me. And who needs her, anyways!” Rainbolt coughed. “I was perfectly happy before you two came along again.”
Rainbolt’s façade of uncaring was broken as tears leaked unwillingly from her eyes. Dashie wiped them away, a loving smile filling her face. As great a liar as Rainbolt thought she was, she forgot that she was trying to lie to herself.
“Stubborn, that’s what you are.” Dashie giggled a little as she wiped a stray green strand of hair from Rainbolt’s face.
She couldn’t explain the feeling, but the knowledge that Rainbolt was okay made Dashie uncontrollably happy. Before she knew it, the loving pegasus’ fore hooves were wrapped tightly around Rainbolt’s shoulders. After a faint struggle Rainbolt gave up, and moved into the embrace. Rainbolt hadn’t realized how violently she was shivering until she stopped, now paying attention only to the two heartbeats beating in perfect unison.
“You wouldn’t listen to me,” Dashie whispered into Rainbolt’s ear. “Applejack chose me, yes, but she also chose you.”
“…oh.” Rainbolt’s heart quickened, and to her surprise, Dashie’s matched it. “Wait, what!?”
With a single forceful push Dashie was removed, reluctantly, from the embrace. The two halves stared at each other, one smiling giddily and the other distraught in confusion.
“It’s a long story,” Dashie spoke softly, looking out the window to the silhouette of Canterlot castle in the distance. “However, it looks like we’ve got a ways to go, so… where to begin?”
. . . . .
Applejack lay helplessly in the rain.
Suddenly a flash of bright purple light exploded to the mare’s right, and her gaze followed. There stood Twilight, her mane distraught and her expression quite crazy. In lighter circumstances AJ may have found it hilarious, but now was not the time for laughing or fun. The orange mare’s glare lifted up to the cloudy sky, where, through heavy cloud cover, she could just make out the shine of the moon, nearly to its peak in the night.
They were running out of time fast, and there was nothing Applejack could do.
“Ah’ve screwed up,” Applejack sighed, pushing herself to here hooves and then kicking back and forth in the puddle forming below her. “Haven’t I, Twi?”
“Yes.” Twilight sat.
“Ah’ve made more mistakes then Ah can handle,” Applejack continued. “And… and Ah’m afraid that Ah can’t take care of ‘em in time. Not before midnight. Ah keep thinkin’ it can’t get any worse, and then it does!”
“Absolutely right,” Twilight nodded. “You can’t do this on your own. I’m sure getting lost in Canterlot didn’t help any either.” The lavender unicorn made her way forward, until she sat beside her friend. “But you know what? I think we work better under pressure anyways.”
Applejack stifled a light laugh. Not a happy laugh, or a humorous laugh, no. The kind of laugh that hurts, and that one can only make when giving up hope. It was the kind of laugh one makes when they realize how royally doomed they truly are, but they’ve run out of tears, and it hurts too much to keep crying. It was that kind of laugh, and even then it was a weak one.
“What can Ah do, Twilight”
“Consider your options?” The unicorn placed a hoof across Applejack’s shoulders. “After all, maybe having both Dashie and Rainbolt won’t be so bad, right?”
AJ considered this for a moment. And then she shook her head violently.
“No,” Applejack looked up to meet Twilight’s eyes with a determined stare. “No, I can’t give up! There has to be something- anything that I can do!”
“In that case,” Twilight rose to her hooves. “Have you considered looking just down the road?”
Applejack turned to face down the street, and in the distance was a small light; a lantern fighting through the night, carried by a royal chariot. It was like a small flame had been lit inside of the orange pony’s chest. As her whole body warmed her muscles began to feel good as new, and a new found vigor coursed through her veins. Before she could consider her actions, the orange mare was trotting forward towards the light. Twilight perused, slightly slower.
As they approached the chariot it screeched to a stop.
One of the doors opened, and Dashie emerged into the night air.
“Applejack!” the pegasus squeed, and darted forward with a swift flap of her wings, colliding into her mare-friend. “Oh, is it good to see you! But we have to get to the hospital- Rainbolt isn’t doing so good.”
Before Dashie could continue she was pushed aside by a frantic orange mare, who quickly made her way towards the open door. Her expression grew grim as she peered inside the transport. Twilight, finally catching up, trotted up beside the farm pony.
“How is-“ Twilight gasped as her eyes fell upon Rainbolt. She could do nothing but spare.
If it wasn’t for the beat up pegasus finally opening her mouth to speak, both Applejack and Twilight would have believed her dead.
“Could you quit staring,” Rainbolt chuckled painfully. “You really know how to make a girl feel self-conscious.” Rainbolt struggled to lift herself to her hooves, but quickly failed and fell.
Applejack was quick to jump into the vehicle, and to Rainbolt’s side, propping the crippled pegasus up. “Sugarcube, what have ya done?”
“That,” Dashie trotted up to the open door. “That is a long story. Maybe one best told from the confines of a nice, warm hospital room?”
Applejack could not have agreed more. However, just as she was about to voice her opinion, Twilight Sparkle cut in.
“No.” They all turned towards the lavender unicorn, whose gaze pierced the rain clouds high above in the late night sky. “No, there is no time for that.” She lowered her gaze to meet Applejack’s emerald eyes. “We have to return to the palace- to complete the spell- now, or else we will be too late. Dashie and Rainbolt will be… well… Dashie,” she glanced over to the kind, peaceful pegasus, “and Rainbolt,” then to the Wonderbolt, “for good.”
The sound of rain fall echoed through the empty streets.
“We have to get to the hospital,” Applejack ran one of her fore hooves through Rainbolt’s mane. “Rainbolt, she needs-“
“No!” This time it was the Wonderbolt herself who entered the argument so rudely, followed by a fit of coughing. “No… I’d rather die than be separated from you any longer. We… we have to do this. We have to try.”
“Don’t you worry,” Dashie smiled at her blood-sister. “It isn’t midnight yet.” She turned to the unicorn beside her. “What now, Twilight? What do we have to do?”
“Now…” Twilight’s horn emitted a purple glow that quickly wrapped around the four ponies. “Now we teleport back to the castle, and hope that nothing else goes horribly wrong tonight.”
With a quick flash, they were gone.
The two royal guards, sitting in the carriage, who had witnessed the whole scene, glanced to each other with blank expressions.
“What just…”
“I have no idea.”