Chapter 7: Return of the Rainboom
Starting Line, Cloudsdale, Equestria, Gaia, Summer, 988 C.E.
The Doctor groaned as he directed the TARDIS back to Twilight, Derpy, and Rainbow Dash's reality. The trip wasn't as bumpy as the previous one but it still had its rocky moments.
"Hold on! We're landing!" said the Doctor as the TARDIS came to a rough halt. Twilight fell to the ground while Derpy and Rainbow managed to keep their balance.
"You alright, egghead?" Rainbow teased as she helped Twilight up.
"I've been better," Twilight replied.
"So are we back?" Derpy asked.
"We're definitely back in your reality. As in what time we're in...I'm not sure," the Doctor replied.
"Well that's reassuring," said Twilight with a snarky tone. The four ponies approached the doors. The Doctor opened them and gave a confused look.
"Interesting. It's all white and fluffy outside."
"White and fluffy?" Derpy asked as the Doctor began walking forward. The three mares turned to each other and then turned back to the Doctor.
"DON'T GO OUT!" they all shouted.
"Why?" the Doctor asked. The mares looked to see that the Doctor was standing normally on the other side of the doors. The three mares exited the TARDIS to find themselves standing on a cloud.
"How are you doing that?" Twilight asked. She then looked down at her own hooves and asked, "How am I doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Standing on a cloud! Only pegasi can stand on clouds! Earth ponies and unicorns would normally fall right through!" Rainbow replied.
"So we're on a cloud? Huh. That's interesting."
"Maybe it's the TARDIS. That ship seems to have weird effects on us," said Derpy.
"That's true. Did I tell you that, once you've been inside the TARDIS, you can understand any language spoken to you and anypony who speaks a foreign language will understand you perfectly?"
"No. You forgot to mention that particular detail," Twilight replied.
"Well you know now and that's what matters!"
"So where are we anyway?"
"This kind of looks familiar," said Derpy.
"Yeah. It does," Rainbow added. The two mares looked off in the distance and realized that a series of buildings constructed from clouds were sitting off in the distance. "Cloudsdale!"
"What?" the Doctor asked.
"Cloudsdale! It's my hometown!"
"Did you grow up here too, Derpy?" Twilight asked.
"Nah. I've only visited this place. I grew up in the country," Derpy replied. The Doctor could tell that there was more to the story than that but he decided that that was a story for another day. "So what's the year? Are we back in 1021? Are we in 1002?"
"I'm not sure."
Suddenly, a series of shouts began emanating from a little ways off.
"I wonder what's going on," said Rainbow as she followed the voices. The Doctor, Twilight, and Derpy followed her. The came to halt a few feet away from a small cloud playground. Rainbow's eyes grew wide. Standing a few yards away was a 5-year-old version of herself defending a 5-year-old Fluttershy from a trio of bullies.
"We're definitely not in 1021 or 1002," said Twilight.
"When are we then?" asked the Doctor.
"This...this is the day I got my cutie mark. We're in 988," Rainbow replied.
"Quite a ways off from where our friends our," said Derpy with a smile. The young Rainbow flew off with the bullies and Fluttershy.
"Where are you going?" the Doctor asked.
"We're off to go have a race. The race in which I performed the Sonic Rainboom for the first time!" Rainbow replied.
"We better head back to the TARDIS."
"Why?" Twilight asked.
"I can feel that this is a pivotal moment in time. We best not mess with it."
"Good idea. Let's go," said Derpy. The four ponies began making their way back to the TARDIS. They were almost there when they noticed something odd: an area of air that was rippling like a pond. "Doctor, is that a-"
"A dimensional rift? Yes," the Doctor replied.
"What's with those things?! They keep popping up all over the place!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I don't know. I'm just as clueless about them as I was back on the Queen Philippine."
That's when two figures popped out of the rift. The rift disappeared a few seconds later. One of the figures was a 19-year-old Fluttershy, the present one, and the other figure was a Rainbow Dash covered in blood and leftover griffin feathers.
"Fluttershy!" Rainbow exclaimed. Fluttershy saw Rainbow and ran towards her.
"You're okay! Me and the others were so worried!" she exclaimed. Everypony then turned their attention back towards the killer Rainbow Dash.
"You!" snarled the dark Rainbow.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Twilight sighed. Dark Rainbow lunged at them. Rainbow flung herself at her dark double. The two Rainbows collided and began flying up into the air.
"I've had it up to here with you!" Rainbow snapped.
"The feeling is mutual!" Dark Rainbow replied as she bit down on Rainbow's neck. The Doctor looked back just in time to see the younger Rainbow Dash and the bullies taking off, as well as the young Fluttershy falling towards the ground far below.
"I hate to be the bringer of more bad news but, Fluttershy, your younger self is falling!" the Doctor exclaimed.
Fluttershy looked over the cloud edge and, upon putting all of the pieces together, smiled.
"Don't worry, Doctor. The butterflies will save me," she said.
"The butterflies?"
"I'll tell you later."
A sickening crack rang throughout the air. Rainbow had just unintentionally broken one of Dark Rainbow's wings.
"You'll pay for that!" Dark Rainbow snarled as she attempted to choke Rainbow. Derpy and Fluttershy flew up to try and help Rainbow. Derpy grabbed onto Dark Rainbow's good wing and began pulling her away. "Get off of me!"
Suddenly, a massive explosion ripped through the air as a shower of rainbow colors expanded through the sky. The shock wave sent the four pegasi tumbling back to the cloud's surface. Both the Doctor and Twilight noticed that the rainbow explosion had caused the dimensional rift to open temporarily.
"I got this!" Twilight said as she ran forward. Dark Rainbow was beginning to press the air out of Rainbow's lungs. "Hey!" Dark Rainbow turned towards Twilight. "I think it's time that you went home!"
A blast of purple magic shot out of Twilight's horn and smashed into Dark Rainbow. Dark Rainbow screamed with pain as she flew back and through the dimensional rift. The rift closed a few seconds later.
"Thanks...Twilight," Rainbow breathed.
"It was no problem!"
"So where has she gone now?" Derpy asked.
"My guess is that she's either gone back to her reality or to another point in time in this reality," the Doctor replied.
"Let's hope for the former," said Twilight.
"Good idea," said Fluttershy. The five ponies looked up to see the 5-year-old Rainbow Dash racing through the sky with a rainbow trail behind her. Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy couldn't help but smile.
"I guess that this is a special day for all three of you," said the Doctor.
"It is," said Rainbow.
"Not only us. It's a special day for Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity too!" said Twilight.
"We better get back to 1021! Dark Rainbow stabbed Rarity, injured Applejack, and stabbed one of future Rainbow Dash's wings!" said Fluttershy.
"WHAT?!" asked Twilight, Derpy, and Rainbow together.
"Then let's not waste any time and get back to 1021 already!" said the Doctor as he walked through the TARDIS doors. The four mares followed quickly, making sure to shut the doors behind them. 5-year-old Rainbow Dash continued the fly through the sky as the TARDIS slowly disappeared.
The Rainbow Factory, Cloudsdale, Equestria, Gaia, Summer, 1002 C.E.
Rainbow Dash the killer groaned with pain as she tumbled out of the dimensional rift. She saw that she was back inside of her office.
"Damn that other Rainbow Dash! I'll get her and her friends one day! There's more blood to be spilt!" she snapped. Suddenly, the door to the office flung open. Rainbow's heart stopped as she saw Princess Luna walking towards her. She was followed by a group of Canterlot guards, who had Dr. Atmosphere and Spitfire chained up.
"Rainbow Dash! You are under arrest for the murders of countless young pegasi!" she announced. Rainbow could hardly resist arrest due to her injuries.
As the guards dragged Rainbow away, all she could say was, "She's gonna pay. She's gonna pay. She's gonna pay."