//------------------------------// // Clarity // Story: Color Schemes // by distortedtruth92 //------------------------------// “……ugh…” Rainbow Dash had just woken up. Although one might argue that she was never asleep in the first place. You see, her dear friend Rest had betrayed her the night previous, causing her to toss and turn with visions of violet and blue. Needless to say, she was not impressed. “AAAHHH!!” THUD! Nor was she particularly impressed by the tortoise hovering two inches from her face. She was actually startled by this. Clouds are painful if you're not prepared to land on them. “Ouch! Hey, what's the big idea, Tank?!” Rainbow said from her place on the ground. “Mraw!” said the airborne reptilian companion. This was followed by a few nods in the direction of his shell. It took her a few moments, but Rainbow finally got the message. “Oh! I forgot to take that thing off you! I'm sorry, big guy!” Without a second of hesitation, she scooped up her pet and make for the first floor. She took off the device, set him down, and fed and watered him while she was there. “There! Anything else you need?” “Grraww rar!” “Huh? Waddya mean, ‘acting funny?’” Dash said. “I'm not acting funny! …Am I?” A slow nod was her response. Rainbow sighed. “I don't know what's wrong with me, Tank. It's… kinda scaring me…” As she said that she started to taste something bitter, and realized she hadn't even brushed her teeth yet. “Woah, that's nasty!” With a new objective in mind, the cyan pegasus flew upstairs to freshen up for the day. While brushing her teeth, she started inspecting the rest of herself, and found that the cleansing effects of Sunday's shower had not carried over to Monday. She then made her way over to the area she used for showering. She hit the raincloud filled with lukewarm water above her head, and allowed the water to pass through her coat at a steady pace. She lathered herself up, rinsed off, and reached for the shampoo bottle she bought yesterday to replace the one she used up. She ran her hooves through her mane and tail, rinsed the bubbles off, and repeated. When she was done, though, she found the bottle was half-empty. “Huh, must not have filled it right, or something,” Rainbow said. She then finished her shower and commenced with brushing her mane. Afterwards, she flew back downstairs, had some breakfast, and made her way into town to try and make something out of what was left of her day. ~~~ Sweet Apple Acres was known for two things; its products, and its residents. One such resident was out in the fields, tending to her trees. The sunlight caught the sweat on her brow and glistened until her hat shaded it once more. She finished bucking a certain stubborn tree that refused to lend its bounty, and sat down in its shade. “Wooo-wee! Half the East Field done, and it's only nine o'clock!” Applejack said. “Pretty good start! Wish it weren't so hot, though. What Ah wouldn't do for a couple o’ clouds ta shade me while Ah work…” As if in answer to her request, a shadow crossed over the ground in front of her. Applejack got up from her spot on the ground and looked out to see what it was. When she saw a prismatic contrail, she decided to call out to it. “Hey, Dash, how's it going?!” The blue blur in the sky heard her, and settled down in front of her friend. “Hey, A.J. What's up?” she asked. “You were. What brings ya over here so early? You're usually sleepin' right about now,” the orange cowpony noted. “Didn't feel like sleeping. Too much on my mind,” Dash said distractedly. Or just too much of one thing on my mind, she thought bitterly. “That's a first,” her friend said with a snicker, “whatcha thinkin' 'bout?” “Well, I, uh, I've been having, er, weird feelings, um, lately for a, uh, certain somepony…” she stuttered stupendously. Applejack stopped snickering. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth opened a little. “Uh, come again, partner?” “It's weird, like, I've never felt this way before. It's… weird.” “…What kinda feelings?” Rainbow wracked her brain for something to compare it to, and gave the best example she could think of. “It's like when I'm in a race. My heart is racing, my chest is pounding, my vision is blurry, but unlike in a race, I can't focus on anything! … You wouldn't happen to know what's going on, would you?” On Applejack’s face was plastered an expression of extreme confusion. For the life of her, she just couldn't wrap her head around the situation presented to her. She would have asked, but if her parents taught her anything, it was when and where to bring up certain topics, and this was neither the time, nor the place. So, having no answer for her increasingly-anxious friend, she did the first thing that came into her mind; re-direct the pegasus away from her. “Say, sugarcube, Ah ain't too grand at this business, why don't y'all talk ta someone with a bit more knowledge about the subject?” “Knowledge?” That one word stuck out to her. It made her think of a certain egghead by the name of-“TWILIGHT!!” …I was about to say that…“If anypony can help me, it's her! After all, she is closer to, uh… someone, than anyone else! Thanks, A.J.!” Without warning, Rainbow Dash latched onto her earth pony friend and started relentlessly hugging her. This was both uncomfortable for her and embarrassing. Had Rainbow been looking, she would have seen Applejack blushing profusely. “Uh, you're welcome?” And with that, the farmer was dropped, and the speedster went off, back to where it all began, leaving the former quite flustered. “What just happened?” ~~~ There is a certain mare in Ponyville that lives in a tree. She loves reading, books in general, and lately, has grown to love her friends more than anything. She would spend time with them whenever the schedules she made for herself would allow, and was glad to help whenever she could. But now, it was time to reorganize the shelves. Again. Now, you might be asking, ‘why would she need to organize her books again?’ Well, I'll tell you. She loves organization. While some ponies may say this was an obsession of hers, to Twilight Sparkle it was a way of life, a path that could not be chosen, rather, a path that chose whoever was foolhardy enough to dare to walk it. A path that, once you stumbled onto it, would change your life forever. A path that- “Twilight! You're staring into space again! I'll help you, but I'm not doing this by myself this time,” shouted an irritated dragon. Twilight sheepishly began shelving the books she was levitating two at a time, and kept her head down until she ran out. “Okay, I think we need a break. BOTH of us.” “I'll say,” Spike said, and he went into the kitchen to prepare lunch, even though it was a bit early. Twilight took this time to settle down in her favorite chair and pull out a single book to read while she waited. “Finally, a moment's peace! What I need right now is quiet and rest…” Aaaaannd, cue the noise. CRASH! BANG! With a blast from a blur, the doors to the library flew open, revealing the one who dared interrupt Twilight's peaceful morning. “TWILIGHT! You home?!” Rainbow Dash called out into the open space of the library's main room. She whipped her head around until her eyes caught sight of the pony she sought for. “Hey, Twi, what's up?” she called out to her friend. “Oh, you know, the clouds, the price of cherries, the volume levels in the room since you entered,” she said with a glare. “Sorry,” Dash said, “but this is important! Something's happening to me and I don't know what to do!” This got Twilight's interest. “What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash looked around, then spoke. “Is Spike here? I don't want him to hear this.” “He's making lunch, he probably can't hear us. Why? Is it something private?” Rainbow Dash contemplated what to say, and came up with an answer. “Yeah, I don't really feel like telling too many ponies about it just yet.” “What's the matter?” Twilight asked, “Are you sick?” “No, it's just, I've been feeling weird lately. Like, I can't explain it. I thought maybe you could help?” Twilight was fully enveloped by the conversation. Nothing else mattered. She was fascinated by the thought of helping her friend with a problem that neither of them knew about fully, it might make a good friendship report! “Okay, I'll help. Now tell me your symptoms. That'll help me diagnose the ailment,” she said to her friend. “Well, I don't feel sick, not really, it's just a weird feeling I've been having since yesterday,” Rainbow explained. “Mm-hm. Go on,” Twilight said as she caused a clipboard and quill to appear out of thin air. “Well, I can't focus, for one.” “Mm-hm.” “I can't breathe right.” “Yes…” “I get all hot, and sweaty, and nervous for no reason! It's like my body doesn't want to do what I tell it to! My chest gets tight, my heart beats faster, I can't think, I can't sleep, what's wrong with me?!” Twilight looked up from her notes, a puzzled look on her face. “Well, Dash, I don't know. This doesn't sound like any illness I've ever seen. Although, if you were to take this information and look at it just right, one could say that you're…” Now Rainbow was puzzled. Her friend had stopped dead in the middle of her sentence and was just staring at her. Then a knowing grin started to appear, which turned into a full-blown Pinkie-style smile as her friend got ever closer to her. “Well? Do you know what's wrong? Twilight, what are you doing? What's with the smile? Tell me!” Looking at her friend with a devious smirk, Twilight answered her friend. “You're… in… LOVE!!” The shouted answer was just shocking enough that Rainbow fell on her hindquarters, and gave Twilight the perfect opportunity to begin her barrage of rapidly-asked questions. “Oh my gosh, this is so exciting, one of my friends has a CRUSH! I can't believe it! Of all my friends, I never expected YOU to fall in love first! This'll make the perfect friendship report, because I can TOTALLY help! You have to tell me EVERYTHING!! When did this happen? Who is it? What's her name?!” Rainbow couldn't understand half of what her friend said, but she understood two things: that her friend was going at speeds that would rival another friend of theirs, and that she referred to her so-called crush a she. Now, while many questions were going through her head, the blue pegasus had one that needed answering first. “Did you say HER name?” Twilight blinked from her position above her friend. “Yeah, why?” “Oh, no reason,” Dash explained to the oblivious unicorn, “except I'm STRAIGHT.” Whatever smile Twilight Sparkle had previously possessed was a thing of the past. In its place could be found a look of absolute horror as Rainbow's words sunk in. “Uh, what I meant was-” “Twilight, who told you I liked mares?” Seeing no way out, Twilight let her friend get up so that they were both eye-to-eye, and told the truth. “Well, nopony told me, exactly, I mean, we all just assumed-” “WE ALL?” Twilight cringed at the tone used, and at the realization of what she just said, and tried to explain herself. “Well, none of us have ever seen you with a stallion, not in a romantic way, that is, and you don't exactly act like most mares, so-” “So WHAT?! That automatically makes me a lesbian?!” Twilight had the feeling this wouldn't be the last time she was cut off as she shrunk into herself further to perhaps avoid her friend's wrath. It didn't work. “I'm sorry, Rainbow, I'm really, REALLY sorry! But, you know, you could have said something, maybe this could have been avoided-” “Who else?” Twilight was taken aback. She hadn't been expecting that question. “What do you mean, ‘who else?’” “I MEAN,” Dash started, “who among our friends think I'm a lesbian, besides YOU?” A hoof was pointed accusingly towards a certain unicorn for emphasis. “I kinda want to know who I need to have a talk with.” The look on the pegasus mare's face was a deadly serious, and she expected an answer, one Twilight was hesitant to give. “Well… I think… Applejack…” Whatever else she said was mumbled. Rainbow was not amused. “What about Applejack? What did you say! Tell me!” It was a command, Twilight noticed, but she was still hesitant to respond. Nevertheless, she decided it was best to get it over with. “Well, I think Applejack, kinda, sorta, maybe… … … … thinks you have a crush on her.” As soon as the words were spoken, the lavender unicorn began erecting a magical shield to protect herself from any physical and/or verbal assault her companion might unleash on her. It didn't come. Twilight opened her eyes, which had somehow become shut tight on their own, and saw a look of understanding on Dash's face. Seeing she was no longer in danger, she put down the shield in time to hear Rainbow say, “Huh. Well, that explains why she was acting funny, anyway.” Both mares stared at each other and, after a few moments, simultaneously busted out laughing. The sheer ridiculousness of their conversation had finally caught up to them, and they couldn't help themselves. After a minute or two, Rainbow settled herself enough to say, “Hey, I'm sorry for blowing up on you earlier. I may have been justified, but I still could have been civiler.” “More civil,” Twilight corrected, “and I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't assume anything about my friends, and you're no exception. Forgive me?” “Of course, but only if you forgive me,” Rainbow said. “Of course I do, and thanks, Dash.” Both mares then embraced in a heartfelt hug, releasing all the tension that had built up. Disaster averted, Twilight Sparkle allowed herself a few moments to calm herself down before Dash started asking questions again, and she did, starting with: “What makes you think I'm in love?” Now it was Twilight's turn to be confused. “Huh? What do you mean by that?” “Well, that whole thing we had back there was because you said I had a crush… Do you think that's really the problem I have?” “Well, Dash,” Twilight started, “I've read enough books on pony psychology, and even a few romance novels when I'm bored, to know the signs. And YOU,” she said, pointing at her fellow pony with a smug look, “my little Dashie, have got it bad!” Rainbow mulled this over in her mind, thinking about what she knew about love herself. In the end, it made sense, but if that were so, that meant she was in love with the one she couldn't get out of her head, which was… ‘SPIKE?!’ As a look of terror and confusion passed over the pegasus' face, Twilight herself became confused. She also noted that this trend of being confused was growing at an alarming rate. She sought to nip this trend in the bud, so to speak, and she knew the only way to do that was to ask questions. So she opened her mouth and that's when Spike came in, covered in dirt and dust, a bruise on his tail, carrying two sopping wet, slightly scorched sandwiches. “Don't ask,” he said as the two others in the room gazed at him. He then noticed that someone was there that previously wasn't. “Oh hey R.D., back again, huh? Whatcha doin'?” The feelings that Rainbow had managed to avoid while talking to Twilight came back in full-force, and she knew she had to get out of there. “Uh, I'll talk with you later, Twi, see ya!” And with that, she hastily exited the library through the door she entered by, leaving behind a confused purple dragon and a slightly-less confused purple pony. “What was that all about? What did she need, Twi?” “Oh, just girl talk,” Twilight explained, oblivious to the situation. “You'll understand when you're older. Now about our lunch…” she said looking at the plates of ruined food. “Heh, there's a funny story about that…” ~~~ As Rainbow made her way home, she found herself passing over Sweet Apple Acres like she had done earlier that day. On the dirt path that cut through the trees, she saw an orange blob. She decided to swoop down closer to it. Said blob looked up to her comrade and tensed up a little. She, however, decided to be friendly and greet her. “Afternoon, Dash! How's it-” “It's not you. It never was,” Rainbow said as she flew by. Feeling every muscle in her body loosen at once, Applejack took in a deep breath, and- “DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!” -held her sigh of relief until her friend was out of earshot. ~~~ When she got back home, many thoughts were going through Dash's head. On one hoof, she may or may not have been in love with one of her closest friends. On the other hoof, that's all he was, a friend! Right? “Reeaarraw!” came the slow, scratchy sound of her pet from his place in the living room. She trotted over to him and attached the flying apparatus so he could follow her to her room. She sat down on her bed and groaned with her face in her hooves. She chanced a glance upwards to see her pet hovering in from of her. “Oh, Tank, what's happening?” A blank stare was her reply. “I just got back from Twilight's, and she told me I'm in love with Spike! That's impossible, right? I mean he's a nice guy, but love is a strong word!” Tank continued staring at her, his expression unreadable. “I mean, okay, sure, he's funny, and cool, and smart, I guess, he lives in a library, for crying out loud! And he can be helpful, and caring, and brave, and… strong, and… cute… so cute! …” Rainbow Dash soon came to the shocking realization that she had been saying things that she had not meant to say. She dwelled on these words and the more she dwelled, the more dumbfounded her expression became. Eventually, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense, and all of this dwelling and thinking led to one single thought that became spoken word, and there was no denying its authenticity. “I'm… in love… with… Spike?” Rainbow looked to her pet, who simply looked at her, smiled, and nodded. And with increasing confidence, Rainbow Dash began again. “I'm in love with Spike.” This led to shouting, and then proclaiming. “I'm in love with Spike!” And as she proclaimed, she shot up into the air and threw her hooves in every direction imaginable out of sheer joy. “I'M IN LOVE WITH SPIKE!!” And then that nasty little thing called ‘awareness’ settled in, and her voice, as well as her demeanor, changed into something dark and foreboding, as if she had just done the unspeakable. As she plummeted back onto her bed, she whispered, “I'm in love with Spike.” But, soon enough, the cheer was back. “Aww, who cares? I can love whoever I want! I'm Rainbow flippin' Dash! And if anypony has an issue, they can talk to me!” But then surety left her as quickly as it came, and was replaced by dread as new thoughts entered her mind. “What if he doesn't feel the same way? What if he rejects me? What if he doesn't? What'll he say? What'll I say?! What do I do?!” Unbeknownst to our fine feathered protagonist, throughout this bout of uncertainty, Tank was being shaken about quite mercilessly. When she came to her senses, she released him and apologized, but his eyes were still rolling in his head. While Tank recovered, the cyan mare got an idea. A wonderful idea. An idea involving herself and her newfound love interest. “Hey, I know! I'll make sure he loves me!” “M-mmerrra-aahh?” Tank shakily asked. “How, you ask? Simple. If he doesn't love me, I'll make him feel the same way with an awesome plan I just came up with! It's foal-proof!” Tank was confused, but decided to humor his master with a nod, but that motion made him sick to his stomach, so he opted to stay still. With determination in her eye, Rainbow Dash leapt into the air, and with conviction and power in her voice, she stated, “Spike, guard your heart, cuz by the end of the week, it'll be mine!” ~~~ Somewhere in the deep, dank pits of Tartarus, an old, withered, grumpy stallion awoke from his slumber, and with a few waves of his hooves, he changed the fates based on a word, to where any outcome of the following chapters would end in mayhem and disaster, before settling down until next he was called upon. And as Murphy began dozing off once more, he uttered a single phrase. “Oh, this'll be fun.” And truer words were never spoken. End Act II