//------------------------------//
// Anxieties 
// Story: Rainbow's Quest 
// by Zetriax 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 22- Anxieties
The yellow stallion was gazing at Rainbow, his red eyes burning into her magenta ones. A helm covered his bright green mane, and the golden watch hung around his neck. It was as if he were mocking her.
There was no room around them; simply darkness. Chrono stepped closer to Rainbow until their snouts nearly touched. Rainbow simply stood there, gazing right into his eyes. However, where she would’ve normally seen a soul, all she could see was an empty void.
“There is so very much you don’t know about me,” he said. Rainbow said nothing.
“Why do you meddle in the affairs of those you do not even understand? I am just like any other pony; well, almost.” Chrono walked around the blue pegasus as he spoke. “We all have our differences, but some of us don’t really belong here.” He came back into her sightline and stared once more into her eyes. “Like you,” he finished.
Rainbow had nothing to say. She knew she didn’t belong in this time. But, if Chrono knew, why didn’t he just let her go back? Why did he want to end the world? “Why not just give me the Fate Stone and let me leave then? If I don’t belong, why are you so intent on keeping me here?”
The yellow unicorn smirked. “I need you to stay in order to summon Ragnarok. Then we will belong, all of us.”
“You don’t make any sense! How will ending the world make anypony belong anywhere?” Rainbow shouted.
“You understand so little,” he said, laughing quietly to himself. Chrono turned and walked away into the shadows, leaving Rainbow alone in utter darkness.
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“Rainbow? Rainbow!”
The sound of Shadow Flare’s voice roused Rainbow from her sleep. The door was open, spilling fresh sunlight into the corridor. Shadow kneeled next to her. “Are you alright? What happened?”
How many times had she met Shadow in this panicked manner now? Twice? Three times? It didn’t matter. She wasn’t sure if she had it in her to keep up with this constant sense of urgency. Couldn’t she have at least one more normal night? Rainbow sighed and stood up.
At first, she was shocked to find her legs streaked with deep red. Then she realized it was only sunlight streaming through one of the many stained-glass windows surrounding the chamber. Rainbow looked up at the window. The design upon it was one that rather intrigued her. She knew the windows were magic; that they shifted designs, often showing various prophecies and revelations. However, this design made no sense. It showed a picture of Rainbow Dash in three places: one with herself, her silver stopwatch around her neck; her as Dash, black with tattered wings and red irises; and one of her with a white mane and tail, yet still young. Even her rainbow colored cutie mark was white. She knew the first two Rainbow Dashes were herself and Dash, but who was the third incarnation? Rainbow wasn’t even sure if she wanted to find out.
“Rainbow?” Shadow asked. Rainbow realized she still hadn’t responded to his earlier question.
“I’m fine,” she answered without looking away from the stained-glass window. Rainbow could feel the concern coming off of him in waves, yet he didn’t give voice to his worries. She finally pried her eyes from the image, replacing it with his iridescent green eyes. “I’m fine,” she repeated. “I just went for a midnight walk and got locked in here.” She decided she would mention Dash to the queen later. Mentioning Dash to Shadow now would only double his worries. What he needed was some peace of mind for a while.
A smile spread across his visage. “How’d you manage to do that?” he asked, jokingly.
“Guess I locked it by accident.” Rainbow didn’t like lying. Especially to somepony she was so close to. But if it brought him peace, then it would be worth it, wouldn’t it? She would deal with it later.
“Come on. Let’s go. Twilight, Scootaloo, and I have been searching for you all morning. Even Jade helped in the search,” he said. The black unicorn led her out of the chamber.
When they reached the throne room, Rainbow was immediately worried over. Her friends hugged her and thanked Celestia that she was alright. She was sick of this kind of attention. Rainbow was a strong pegasus, the fastest flier in Equestria, and even managed to keep herself alive against all odds. If she was going to get attention, she wanted it because of her strengths, not her weaknesses. She was thankful when a yellow pegasus with a flame-colored mane erupted into the room, wrenching the attention from Rainbow in a split-second.
It was Spitfire, the commander of the Wonderbolts. She hovered in the air, panting heavily before gaining enough strength to breathe. “Something… is attacking… Ponyville.” She took a minute to let her breath catch up. “No, not something. Many somethings. They are abducting ponies left and right! We need your help!”
“What are they?” Twilight asked, alarm evident in her voice.
“Shadowy creatures. They have clocks in their chests and blue eyes; the stuff of nightmares,” Spitfire sunk to the ground in exhaustion. Rainbow caught her eye.
“Hey,” said the yellow pegasus, “Rainbow Dash? Why haven’t you been showing up for flight practice? It’s almost been a week now. Miss too many more sessions and we’ll be forced to kick you off the Wonderbolts. It’d be a shame, too. All those years down the drain…” Spitfire lapsed into silence, and she fell asleep.
“Shadow Flare,” Queen Twilight summoned her student. “You, Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo go to Ponyville immediately. I trust you’ll come up with something to at least hold off the attacks of the Fallen. Jade will stay here with me.”
“What?” Rainbow interjected as an unexpected wave of anger swept over her. “Are you seriously about to pin the responsibility of Ponyville on us? What changed in you between yesterday and today? What kind of queen does that?” Too much responsibility had been placed on Rainbow’s shoulders. She didn’t need any more. Any more pressure would break her.
“That’s not why I’m sending you,” said Twilight. “I am sending you because there’s nopony else to turn to. You have figured out so much since you arrived eight days ago. If you three can’t figure something out, nopony can. I mean, what all can one queen do? You know more about the Fallen than even I do. That’s why you should go. I’ll prepare a backup spell in case you fail, but it may be too late by then. And not just that, the spell may cost me more than a few hours of unconsciousness. A spell of the magnitude to cover an entire city with concentrated light? It would be the final thing I do. So please, do what you can. The spell will take two days to prepare. Shadow Flare, do you remember the spell I taught you this morning to teleport items over long distances?” He acknowledged her with a brisk nod. “If you succeed before midday, the day after tomorrow, send a letter.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Shadow said.
“Alright, then. You should get going as soon as possible,” Twilight dismissed them.
“Can I see them off?” Jade asked the lavender alicorn. Twilight nodded her assent.
Waiting outside the castle was a large chariot, piloted by two armored pegasi. Shadow hopped into the chariot without hesitation, followed by Scootaloo then Jade.
Rainbow pulled her off the chariot by her tail. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Jade, you know you can’t come along. It’s too dangerous. You know better than most what they’re capable of.”
“Why can’t I come?” Jade complained, “Ponyville is my home! I’ve lived there for seven years! And my mama could be in trouble there! I want to help!”
Rainbow didn’t see why she shouldn’t deserve to come if she truly wanted to. She glanced at the others to see if either of them had any objections. Taking the silence as an okay, she nudged the pink-maned filly forward.
“Climb aboard,” she said, “Just don’t let Twilight find out, and we should be fine.”
Rainbow Dash climbed on after Jade and the chariot took off. They were headed back to Ponyville to fight off a horde of monsters. And they were there because of Rainbow. She sighed. Almost everything that had gone wrong could be traced one way or another back to her. She wanted to block it all out. That’s when Rainbow realized she had just caused another problem. She had forgotten to tell Twilight about the stolen Element of Harmony.