//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: Rainbow Dash: Darkside // Story: Convergence Series: Journeys // by TheGreatEater //------------------------------// When Rainbow Dash woke up she felt invigorated, but dreaded what she’d walk into next. She saw two other pony’s ahead of her, but couldn’t see who they were exactly since the room distorted all sense of sight as well as color. Steeling herself from what she was about to face next, her body dripping in sweat from the fear and anticipation of what she’d run into made her way to the next room. As she walked into it, the room started to spin and shift shape until Rainbow Dash was standing in the middle of a cloud filled sky. The was setting in the horizon washing the clouds in majestic orange and amethyst hues. Rainbow Dash laid down on the familiar comfort of the cloud beneath her feet. A form sat beside her chuckling darkly. When she looked at the form before her she saw a dark colored Rainbow Dash, this form had a darker colored tone than her normal body. The eyes that looked down upon her were pure yellow and had black pupils. “Laying on your plot like usual hey? Not surprising.” Dark Dash said a malicious glint hidden behind the mirth in her voice. “Who in the Tartarus are you supposed to be?” “Featherbrain, I’m you and you’re me. Although I’m the better version of you.” “Horsefeathers, you may look like me, but no one is better than me.” Chuckling darkly Dark Dash placed a hoof over over Rainbow Dash’s back, “Well unlike you I don’t have others holding me back, keeping me on the ground rather than the skies like I love.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you better start making sense.” Rainbow Dash stated as she removed her self from Dark Dash. Taking an aggressive stance. “You know what I’m saying. Fluttershy, Scootaloo, all those pony’s who call themselves your friend only hold you back. They can’t fly, or in Flutters case refuses to fly. You hate being alone, but you're always pushing ponies away. I don’t have that problem, I know ponies should worship the ground I walk on because I’m the greatest. You on the other hand always try to seek the approval and acceptance of others. You are weak!” Dark Dash jabbed her hoof into Rainbow Dash’s chest accentuating her point as she stated that she was weak. “I’m not weak! I’m Rainbow Dash, and you’re just a figment of my imagination spouting nonsense!” “Don’t try denying it, I know every time your so called ‘friends’ annoyed you when you wanted to train and they distracted you. Every time you wanted to sleep after a hard days work and they call you lazy or wake you up. I know every dark thought that passes through your head that you lock away. You can fly away from your friends, but you can’t fly away from me. I’m your shadow, your dark side, I. Am. You.” Dark Dash laughed at Rainbow Dash as with each word spoken, denial and a look of anger grew upon her face. Turning tail, Rainbow Dash flew away from her doppleganger. As she flew her double matched her move for move. As Rainbow Dash moved for the Sonic Rainboom she felt the closeness of her double causing the cone to grow many times larger than before, as it exploded the outwards the brilliant burst of spectra was many times more beautiful than would normally occur. But this was lost to Rainbow Dash who was had turned to yelling at her double as her attempts at out flying her were proving to be futile. “See Dashie, you can’t outrun yourself. You only saw a few memories showing you that everything that has happened to you is your fault. You are a horrible pony, but why run from that? Why not embrace that you are a total egotistical jerk, a show boat that hordes attention like dragons horde treasure. Cut your ties to everyone but yourself and you’ll be so much happier. After all why let others hold you back when you can be truly free. It’s not like they really care about you, or they’d notice how lonely you were and would help you. Like that pathetic excuse of a pegasus, you took her for what? Two lessons before kicking her to the curb after Twilight screwed you over like a one bit whorse. She’s been bugging you to help her, but at least you wizened up enough to cut her loose.” Rainbow Dash stopped then, crash landing into a cloud. The bile coming out of this side of her sickened her. Not because it wasn’t true, but because she really did think those thoughts. She would shove them into the darker part of her mind and feel horrible about it later. After all as the Element of Loyalty she felt that it was not only her duty but a part of who she was to stand by her friends. Being called out on herself though, seeing how horrible she had been to everypony. It was an eye opener. Here she was stripped of all the things that she suppressed, and worse of all she was glad that she wasn’t Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy when it clicked that all the dark thoughts in her head were coming back to bite her. Seeing what this, her color faded to a dull grey as it hit her how she was supposed to be the embodiment of Loyalty, but had at times been anything but Loyal to her friends. “How can I call myself the Element of Loyalty when I’ve been anything but loyal?” “Seriously? Being the Element of Loyalty doesn’t have anything to do with your so called friends. As long as you are loyal to something that’s all that matters. And all you really need to be loyal to is yourself if you want to be happy. After all the only one who can’t abandon or reject yourself is you. Everypony else is holding you back.” “No!” “What?” “I said no! I won’t leave them hanging ever again. I know those things that you’ve been saying were things that I’ve been thinking and then some, but when I was on that moon I swore I’d make it up to the others. I’ve never really thought about what it means to be the Element of Loyalty, but when I get out of here I’m going to spend time figuring it out.” Dash said hanging her head low with the weight of her revelation. “And what if they can’t forgive you? What then?” Dark Dash asked with an incredulous expression lighting up her face. Looking up at her doppelganger Rainbow Dash sighed before replying, “Then I don’t get forgiven, but I’ll spend every waking moment trying to make up to everypone that I’ve been disloyal to. After all everypony makes mistakes. And it’ll take work but I’ll eventually find away to make it up to other.” “I’m glad that you can finally accept me. I’ll be seeing you Dashie.” Her dark form glew until it was a perfect copy of Rainbow Dash. Just then the illusionary landscape and her doppelganger vanished.