//------------------------------// // I - Ephemeral Visions // Story: RQ2: Rising Storm // by Zetriax //------------------------------// Chapter 1- Ephemeral Visions “Rainbow, it’s time for you to go,” he said, walking up behind her. Rainbow Dash turned to look once more into his beautiful green eyes. She wished they could be together forever, but fate was determined to keep them apart. Rainbow knew this was probably the last time she would ever see him again. She tried to fight it but tears began to form in her eyes. Rainbow shook her head. “I can’t,” she said, her voice shaking. “I want to stay here with you!” She flung herself at him and hugged him tightly. “I know, I know,” he said, stroking her mane. “But there’s no choice. You have to go and restore the timeline.” “Maybe you can come back with me?” Rainbow suggested, backing up to look into his face. “You know as well as I do that that can’t happen.” He gazed deep into her eyes as he wiped a tear from her cheek. “I love you. Just carry that in your heart always. Maybe that bond will keep me alive in the Void and we’ll meet again one day.” Then Rainbow woke up, her emotions swirling inside her like a hurricane, out of control. But she didn’t know why. She knew it was only a dream. But she had been having dreams like it for a year now, ever since Pinkie claimed to have found her outside, lying in the grass near the Everfree Forest. She still couldn’t recall why she had been there. It would remain a mystery. Rainbow sighed and rose from her fluffy bed of clouds. She quickly added her most recent dream to the journal on her nightstand. It was nearly full. Not surprising since she had one of these dreams every few nights. She had decided on keeping the journal when she noticed the pattern of the dreams. They were all extremely vivid and he was in every one of them. He, the unicorn with the pitch black coat and fiery red mane, haunted her dreams. She felt a special connection with him, yet Rainbow wasn’t sure if he even existed. But he seemed so real. The comforting tone of his voice, those brilliant emerald eyes, they all bespoke power and kindness all at once. Yet his name was lost in the fragments of her dreams. The cyan pegasus stretched and shuffled out of her room and downstairs. Figuring that a quick shower was in order, she went to the bathroom and turned the shower knob to full heat. Rainbow let the searing water wash away all thoughts of the mysterious unicorn stallion and any other thoughts in general. All that mattered was the liquid heat flowing down her multicolored mane, through her fur and feathers, and out of sight down the drain. The steam allowed her to breathe in some of the cleanliness, allowing her to feel altogether refreshed. After soaping up and rinsing down, she just soaked in the warmth of the water. When she decided it was time, she got out and shook herself dry, not even bothering with a towel. Then she made her way to the kitchen, and yelped in surprise to find the room already had an occupant. “Soarin! You scared me to death! I thought I told you to knock before letting yourself in,” Rainbow admonished, going to sit beside him at the table. A bowl of assorted fruits and vegetables were sitting appetizingly before her. She decided to eat a carrot and looked into Soarin’s green eyes, demanding an explanation. “What?” the pale blue pegasus shrugged. “I thought I would be welcome in my own girlfriend’s house.” “Yes, but I specifically told you to knock. What if I hadn’t cleaned up last night? You would’ve walked in and seen how terribly messy I am.” “We’ve been going out for eight months now. I don’t think I would be driven off by a simple messy house. And, not just that, you’ve seen my house when it hasn’t been at the peak of its glory,” Soarin said. Rainbow sighed with mock exasperation. “I know, but you’re a guy. You’re allowed to be all messy. It’s cute… unless it stinks and it’s been that way over a week. Now mares are expected to be clean and organized and pretty twenty-four-seven.” “Um, I don’t know if you realize it, but I wasn’t attracted to you because of your femininity. I don’t exactly think you should be held by those standards.” Rainbow Dash crunched down on her carrot. “Are you saying I’m not pretty?” Soarin’s eyes flew wide as he stuttered, “N-no, that’s not what I’m saying at all!” Rainbow laughed and gave him an affectionate shove. “Haha! I was just teasing. But I’m serious about knocking, though. Just try to be considerate.” “Alright, alright,” Soarin agreed, allowing the panic to leave his expression. “So, did you hear about the upcoming race?” “Which one?” Rainbow asked, taking another bite of the carrot. “The Gyrfalcon Cup. It’s being held at the Crystal Empire’s stadium. The Wonderbolts are going there in a couple days.” “Ooh, sounds intense. I’m totally there!” Rainbow said. She could use the break from work anyways. She’d been filling in for pegasi who’d been falling ill with some sort of fever the past few weeks, and the doubled efforts were wearing her out. “Sweet! Glad to hear it. Anyways, I gotta head off to practice.  Got a lot of training to do! You’re welcome to come if you want.” Soarin said. “Nah, I have to go to my own job. I’ll meet up with you this afternoon, though. Seven sound good?” Rainbow asked. “Sounds like a plan.” Soarin gave her a hug and a quick kiss before leaving. Rainbow thoroughly enjoyed his company. He filled a hole in her heart she hadn’t realized she had. In fact, she was fairly certain it had never even existed before that mysterious night one year prior. Regardless, the problem was resolved. She had somepony to be proud of as much as herself. Shoving the final, leafy bits of the carrot into her mouth, she got up from the table and made to exit her home. Hard work lay ahead of her, but it was still bound to be a good day. Rainbow Dash yawned and stretched her wings wide as she clocked in her hours at the weather facility. She had been busting clouds over Manehattan all day and was well worn with the effort of having to fly so far just to do her job. What was her manager thinking, sending her halfway across Equestria? Surely he knew that he was wearing her thin with the extra work. At least her paycheck would be quite handsome. She could pay off her bills, buy the ticket to Soarin’s race, and still have plenty left over. However, she was content to just glide home, collapse into her bed, and snore away the hours until her date with Soarin. At least, she would’ve if she hadn’t noticed the shady-looking pegasus staring directly at her from across the lobby. He instantly shifted his gaze from her as soon as their eyes met, but he already had Rainbow’s attention. Dash made to cross the lobby and interrogate the dark-violet pegasus at an average walking pace, as not to alarm him. Despite this, he noticed and walked off in the opposite direction at a brisk trot, obviously trying to evade her. Rainbow put on a little more speed as she pursued him, curious to discover his intentions. Something told her he was someone who had something to hide. Suddenly, he veered to the left, down a hallway marked, ‘Employees Only’. A couple bystanders cast suspicious glances at him as passed through the door, but nopony made an attempt to stop him, probably thrown off by his sense of mission. Rainbow followed after him quickly, careful not to break into a full run. She stalked him through the white halls, slowly gaining on him. He cast a glance backwards every once in a while and put on an extra burst of speed. It was the most agonizingly slow chase the cyan pegasus had ever been in. The violet pegasus turned down another hallway, this one empty. Rainbow followed, and burst into a run, not having to worry about running into anypony now. Her prey had also broken into a dash when he rounded the corner, his dark-gold tail flagging behind him. Rainbow was nearly upon him when he launched himself through an open door. She overshot her target and had to backtrack to find the door he went through. It was a utility closet. What a fool! “I’ve got you now!” she growled and swung open the door to find nothing. Only a single dark-purple feather bespoke of his presence in the room. She suddenly had an eerie feeling that the pegasus was much more than the shady character she had originally thought he was. Rainbow had slept hardly an hour before she awoke to the knocking downstairs. Was it time for her date already? She wished she could stay in bed for at least another few hours, but she willed herself to get up and apply a little maintenance to her less than tidy mane. As she meandered down the staircase, she fluffed out her wings, pausing briefly to rearrange a few misaligned feathers. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find Soarin looking a little downcast. She let him in and he collapsed on the couch. “What’s wrong?” Rainbow asked, sitting next to him. Soarin looked up into her eyes; his face creased with worry. “Spitfire is sick with the fever and I’m worried. She didn’t show up to practice today. She never misses practice,” he said. Rainbow had the tiniest twinge of jealousy, but quickly suppressed it. His friend, and her role model, was desperately ill. Rainbow strove to be as strong and resilient as Spitfire. The fact that this sickness has even brought her low was a testament to the seriousness of the disease. But what was it, and how was she to prevent it? “Oh. That’s horrible. Do you know if she’s going to be okay?” the cyan pegasus asked earnestly. Soarin shrugged. “I’ve no idea. I visited her today in the hospital, but the doctors knew about as much as I did about her condition. All I found out was that it’s a noncontagious, unidentified illness that occurs seemingly out of nowhere and seems to only be inflicting pegasi.” “That’s scary,” Rainbow muttered. The idea of such an overwhelming disease sounded petrifying. If Soarin were to get it, she would be devastated. If it truly was pegasus-strict, it left her wondering, why would something so foreign suddenly appear as if out of thin air? “It is. And I’m worried about you, too. I don’t want you to get sick,” Soarin muttered. Rainbow Dash sidled a closer and wrapped her hooves around him. “You know me. I won’t let anything get to me.” “I pray that you’re right,” Soarin said, returning the hug. They shared a brief kiss and looked deep into each other’s eyes. Soarin was obviously feeling a little better, regardless of the heaviness that still seemed to shroud him. The sunset shone through the window behind Soarin, giving his mane a reddish flare, and creating a dark silhouette. And those eyes. Those luminescent green eyes… they were just like his.