//------------------------------// // The Return of Voice Over // Story: The Day My Life Began // by Authora97 //------------------------------// Sugarcube Corner was a mess of activity. Lilac had ended up signing up for the Rainbow Dash Fan Club, so of course she had a front row seat in the speech Rainbow was giving. I had purchased a chocolate cupcake, standing with Twilight and Pinkie. “And then I zoomed into the well. I knew it would be dark and dangerous, but I didn’t let that stop me. Danger’s my middle name. Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash. Thinking back on it, I acted pretty awesomely heroic that day.” “That day.” Spike mumbled, writing it down. “Awesomely heroic that day and awesomely arrogant ever since.” Applejack commented. “Mm-hm.” Twilight, Pinkie, and i agreed. Rainbow came over, wrapping a good over Applejack. “Hey, Applejack. How’d you like to be immortalized as my friend?” “Immorta-what?” Applejack asked. Rainbow grinned at the camera. There was a bright flash. Twilight finally noticed Spike. He was like a dragon version of Mickey. I would love it if he became a dog. “Are you taking notes?” Twilight asked. Spike grinned. “Yup! I’ve been hoof-picked by Rainbow Dash herself, to write her autobiography!” Spike cheered. Twilight rose a brow. “Umm, autobiographies are supposed to be written by the pony they are about.” “Maybe for your normal, run-of-the-mill ponies.” Rainbow boasted. “But I’m far too busy saving lives to stop and write. That’s why I hired Spike as my ghost writer.” Pinkie yelped. “Spike’s a ghost!” A pause. “...anyway. Spike here writes down everything I say. Don’t you, Spike?” Rainbow asked. Spike scribbled it down. “Don’t... you... Spike. Got it!” Rainbow Dash smirked. “This way, I can stay focused on performing those acts of bravery that nopony else has the guts to perform. Yep, it takes guts. But it also takes brains. And sometimes a big lunch and a nap. Being a hero is surely not for everypony, but I’m up to the challenge.” Then, she went back to her crowd. “Get the girls.” Twilight said. “We need to go to the library and talk.” I sat by the kitchen door, watching them all debate over the best course of action. Finally, ten minutes after they gathered, Twilight came up with the idea. “What if another superhero came to Ponyville?” “What good would that do?” Applejack asked. “Oh!” Rarity cheered. “One who could ‘steal Rainbow’s Thunder’ as it were!” “Exactly!” Twilight said. “What superhero?” Pinkie asked. “Cause there are a lot of superheroes out there. I have a lot of their comic books!” “Oh, I could help.” I said. “Gah!” The others suddenly yelled. “Gah!” I cried out. “What?!” “How did you get there?!” Twilight yelled at me, still shocked. My head titled. “I’ve been here the whole time.” Pinkie glared into my eyes. “How did you break in?” “It’s a library.” I reminded. “I just walked in.” Pinkie smiled, her eyes no longer glaring. “Oh! That makes sense.” “What kinda ‘help’?” Applejack asked, bringing up my first statement. “I know a superhero who could help. She’s really good at helping.” I said. “They call her Voice Over, and she’s good at making ponies see what they need to.” “Uh, don’t you think you should go and help?” Snips asked. Rainbow Dash signed another photo. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve got a good ten seconds to spare. Just a couple more.” Spike continued to write on the pad. “The tension is unbearable. Will Rainbow Dash make it on time?” Rainbow signed one more photo. A mare flew by. The mane’s of everypony was stuck up. She paused, as if looking for the danger. With a shake of her head, Rainbow looked in the direction of the flying mare. Her coat was teal blue. Her mane was raven wing black, tied back into a braid. She was wearing a purple and silver suit, that had a silver mask around her yellow eyes. There was also a blue horn on her head. Yet, somehow, she was flying. She winked at Rainbow Dash, flying to the falling hot air balloon. “Holy turnips, that pony came outta nowhere!” “I’ve never seen such bravery in all my life!” Rainbow Dash scoffed. Who did that mare think she was? The mare grabbed Cherry Berry, bringing her back down to earth long before it crashed. Then, she went back up for the balloon. She grabbed it with her magic, covering it with a yellow glow. She brought it down carefully. The crowd left Rainbow Dash, running up to the blue mare. “Wow! You were amazing!” One mare cheered. “That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” A stallion cheered. The mare just smiled. “Well, thank you. I do my best.” “Who are you?” A little filly asked. She smirked, rising an inch off the ground. “My name is Voice Over.” The flying unicorn announced. “You’ll be seeing me again.” She flew off. Mayor Mare came out from the crowd. “That’s right! Ponyville has a new hero. Let’s all cheer for Voice Over!” All of Ponyville cheered. Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Voice Over, huh? Well that mare would do well to stay outta my way! Ponyville’s only got room for one hero, and that hero is me!” What she didn’t see, was Voice Over standing off to the side. A knowing smile on her face. The cart was about to crash! Rainbow cleared her throat. “Never fear, your friendly neighborhood Rainbow-” “Excuse me, uh, do you think you could skip your catchphrase and just hurry up and save us?!” A stallion pointed out. Rainbow rolled her pink eyes. “Ugh, fine! Picky, picky.” She flew to the front of the cart. The force was too strong, and it flung her back. “Whoaaa! Aah!” “Outta the way! Voice Over coming through!” A voice yelled. The blue flying unicorn dashed past Rainbow. She flew to the cliff base, putting her hooves down firmly on the ground. She opened her muzzle. “Ahh!” She sang. Rainbow watched. She could practically see the sound waves from Voice Over’s voice hit the cart. “AHHH!” Voice Over shouted. The waves brought the cart to a stop, long before it reached the mare. The ponies came out, cheering. “Oh, thank you, Voice Over!” A stallion cheered. The unicorn grinned. “Manipulating air waves to act as a cushion by using sound waves? Got that my first day. Using sound is my super power.” Voice Over explained before flying away. “I can’t believe it.” Rainbow muttered, walking away. “Voice Over can manipulate air waves? She wasn’t even using magic!” The pegasus muttered. “Like a pegasus. But she was a unicorn!” Rainbow grunted in annoyance. She ran her hooves through her mane. “Well, she’s gonna learn the hard way that I’m the only hero Ponyville needs.” Voice Over was off to the side. She frowned, shaking her head. “Come on, Dash, remember why you started being a hero.” The unfinished building was falling apart. Rainbow flew over. “Huh? Never fear, your friendly neighbor-Whoa!” She had to save these ponies. That would show Ponyville who the real hero was! Rainbow Danger Dash! The fastest pegasus in Equestria! Not some poser with a weird name. ‘Plus, what kind of name was Voice Over anyway?’ Dash thought. ‘A stupid one, that’s what.’ Rainbow tried to help a construction mare. “Never fear- Uh! I’m coming! Hold on! Whoa!” Dash avoided random building parts. The building was coming down fast! “Look!” A stallion yelled. Rainbow had one thought. ‘Please don’t be Voice Over.’ “Coming through!” ‘Celestia dammit.’ Voice Over flew past Rainbow. She gave a quick survey of the building, then darted off to find other ponies. “Rainbow Dash, I’m going to work on the building, you get as many ponies as you can out of here!” Rainbow didn’t know why, but she listened. Maybe it was Voice Over’s tone, or the chance at glory. Didn’t matter, as long as they thought she was the hero and not Voice Over. Dash grabbed a stallion neat crushed by bricks, and flew him to safety. She grabbed another stallion smd dragged him to safety. Then a mare and another stallion. In a show of arrogance, Dash turned to brag at Voice Over. Her jaw dropped. Voice Over’s horn was glowing bright amber. It was holding any piece of debris that fell, and putting it on the ground. She even started taking some pieces off. It looked like she was playing Jenga by herself, if you thought about it. Once the whole building finally collapsed, she flew over to the construction ponies. “Are you ponies alright?” Voice Over asked. They all smiled and nodded. “Yes! Thank you Voice Over!” “Hey, I was the one that saved you all!” Dash argued. One stallion scoffed. “Yeah, but it was Voice Over that told you to.” Dash glared at the blue unicorn. “Yeah. How did you do that anyway?” Voice Over shrugged. “My super power isn’t just sound waves. Some call it post hypnotic suggestion.” Dash reeled back. “So wait. You hypnotized me?!” “Yes, and no.” Voice Over said. “I simply planted the suggestion inside your head, and then you did it. It’s like when you go into a room, but you forget why.” Dash gaped. “Sorry about your building.” Voice Over said, changing topics. The construction mare came forward. “It’s no trouble! Thank you for keeping it from falling on us!” The flying unicorn shrugged. “Used to do this all the time in my early heroing days. Dang, we liked breaking buildings.” She chuckled. “Hey, do you mind if I take the scrap? I need it for a thing later.” “Sure!” A stallion said. “Anything for the mare that saved our lives!” Voice Over gave a smile, lifting up the broken bits of wood, steel and stuff in her magic. “Well then, I should get going. Stay safe!” With that Voice Over flew away. The construction crew chased after her, cheering praises. Dash ground her teeth. “She can fly, she’s magic, and she can control ponies with her voice?!” She huffed. “Doesn’t matter. I can still beat her. I can still be the town hero!” Voice Over, having escaped the cheering conscription crew, just listened to this with a sad heart. You know in cartoons, when the put a finger/appendage on a crack, and then it get bigger? Rainbow had seen some of those in comic books (the only type of book she even thought about opening) growing up. She didn’t think that actually happened. That is, until she tried fixing the one on the Ponyville Dam. “My game is officially back on. If only somepony were here to pat me on the back.” Dash didn’t notice it get bigger. She looked around, and shrugged. “Eh, guess I’ll have do it myself.” She patted herself on the back. Then the dam burst. “Help!” Rainbow cried out. “Help!” “You rang?” Suddenly, Dash collided with a large log. Dash looked up, seeing Voice Over holding out a log. “You?!” Dash gaped, her face contorted in disgust. “I suppose you want me to thank you.” “No thanks needed.” Voice Over said. “I don’t do this for the thanks.” Then, all of the wreckage from the construction site came up. Voice Over used it all to close off the dam. She also used her magic to seal it all together. “You gotta be kidding me...” Dash muttered, shaking off water. “I don’t do this for favors.” Voice Over went on. Dash turned to her in annoyance. “I don’t do it so ponies like me.” A crowd gathered by the newly repaired dam. They started cheering. Voice Over looked at them, giving a kind smile. “I do this, because if I don’t, who will?” “I did!” Dash argued. “I was the hero of Ponyville long before you were!” “You got cocky.” Voice Over snapped. She sighed. “You know what? I don’t even have time to scold you. I have to get going.” She flew up. Dash flew up after her. “No way!” Dash snapped. “Hold on! Scold me? Why do you need to scold me?” “Because all this fame has gone to your head.” Voice Over snapped, flying off in the direction of Ponyville. Dash growled. Voice Over thought she was so good. That Dash was somehow a bad guy. That Dash was like a little kid, who needed a scolding. Dash was a hero! She would show everypony that the only herk in town was her! “Fine! Laugh all you want, but I’ll be the one laughing when I prove to you all that I’m just as good-no, that I’m a better hero than Voice Over!” Dash flew out of Sugarcube Corner. I sighed. “Teal, you can come out.” “Okay.” A mare walked out from the shadows of Sugarcube Corner. She wore a dark grey hoodie, and dark blue sunglasses. You could see her tail (black and curly) and her cutiemark (a megaphone). Voice Over, or her pony name, Mega Telephone. Teal for short. She smiled at everypony. “Okay. I’ve actually heard worse about me. I feel great right now.” I rolled my eyes, giggling. “Teal, I have known you for your whole life, and I still don’t get half of what you say.” “Rule 10.” Teal responded with. ‘It’s okay if you don’t understand her. Her own sister doesn’t understand her sometimes.’ Twilight came forward. “Are you sure this was a good idea, Raspberry? I mean, Rainbow seemed a bit upset over this.” “Rainbow just needs to remember why she became a hero.” I said. “Most lose sight of it, and become the very thing they hope to avoid.” Teal admitted. “I have seen that a couple of times. The things I heard thanks to my powers, I think Dash might be on the path towards that life.” “How did you get you super powers?” Pinkie asked. Teal blushed. “Pinkie-” Applejack began. “No. It’s okay.” Teal answered. She took off her sunglasses. “It was an accident. I was sailing with my dad, he loved that stuff. I ended up saving a merpony. She granted me a gift. A siren’s gift. My ears worked better, and I had the ability to control ponies with my voice.” “Sorta like a narrator controls the story.” I added. “It’s a voice over.” “Then, Voice Over was born.” Teal cheered, letting her hood down. The two of us chuckled. Pinkie squealed. “Merponies gave you your powers?” “Mh-hmm.” Teal nodded. “Merponies are real?!” “Who told you they weren’t?” Teal countered. I pointed at her with my hood. “I like that question. It’s a good question.” This was it. Dash was going to prove to everypony that she was a better hero. She was going to prove that Voice Over wasn’t the mare everypony thought she was! She arrived at the parade, ready to show up the so called hero. To prove Dash was better. Then, Voice Over ran away. Dash growled. She chased after the flying unicorn. She heard an occasional whistle, seeing multiple Voice Over’s running through the back alleys of Ponyville. “What the hay?” Dash asked. Voice Over whistled again. “Grrr...” Dash growled. She leapt onto the unicorn, pinning her to the ground. Voice Over struggled against her, before relenting. “I got you now!” Dash bragged. “Alright, Missy! Time to see who you really are!” She ripped off the mask. “Who are you?” “Mega Telephone.” She answered. “Everypony calls me Teal.” Voice Over frowned. “Rainbow, why did you do this?” “Do what? Take off your mask?” Dash scoffed. “I know who you are now. I can prove you aren’t a real hero!” “Why did you save that little fully in the well?” Voice Over asked. “Tell the truth.” Rainbow paused. “Because she needed help.” She shook her head. “Wait. Did you use that freak mind power on me again?” “Why did you save that foal?” Voice Over went on. “Because she needed saving, and to get more glory.” Rainbow answered. She growled. “Stop using that on me!” “Why did you save those elderly ponies?” Voice Over asked. “For the glory of being Ponyville’s hero.” Rainbow admitted. Her pink eyes widened. “Why didn’t you save that mare in the hot air balloon crash?” “Because I was so caught up in being a hero, I forgot to actually be a hero.” Rainbow sighed. Voice Over smiled. “Can you get off of me?” Rainbow did. “Was that your freaky power?” “That was you being kind.” Rainbow blinked. She rubbed her mane nervously. “So, why were you in Ponyville anyway?” “An old friend called me. She said her friends needed help.” Voice Over looked behind Rainbow. The blue speedster turned around, seeing Raspberry Stardust come forward. Then, Twilight Sparkle, and Applejack, and Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. Her friends. “We all helped out on this.” Raspberry said. “I came up with the plan.” Rarity squealed. “I made the costume. Fabulous if I do say so myself!” “Thanks for that, by the way.” Teal said. “I needed a new outfit anyway.” Rainbow frowned. “I don’t understand. Why? Don’t you want me to be a hero?” Twilight came up next to Rainbow. “Of course we want you to be a hero.” Applejack came up the other side. “But a real hero doesn’t brag.” Rainbow laughed nervously. “Uh, I guess I did start to brag a little.” “A little?!” “Okay, a lot.” Rainbow corrected. “Celebrating your accomplishments is natural. But...” Twilight dragged off. “...Rubbin’ them in everypony’s face is not.” Applejack finished. Pinkie nodded. “Yeah, the only thing that should be rubbed in anypony’s face is chocolate cake.” She threw a cake at her face, then ate it. “I think we’re getting off topic here.” Applejack deadpanned. Twilight nodded. “What we’re trying to say is.” Raspberry said. “It’s great to be really good at something, but it’s important to act with grace and humility.” Rainbow made an ohh face. “Ohhhh. That makes loads more sense. Yeah. You’re right. And I guess I should’ve also acted with grace and humility when others outshine me. Like Voice Over.” Teal blushed. “Wow. So glad Raspberry got me to come.” “How do you know Raspberry Stardust anyway?” Rainbow asked. Teal and Raspberry exchanged looks. “We went to the same college.” “You went to college?” Twilight asked, looking at Raspberry. “Yeah!” Raspberry cheered. “I went, got my major in investigative thinking, earned a minor in psychology, and graduated.” “Wow.” Twilight blinked, looking at Raspberry in muted shock. “That’s...actually pretty impressive. What college did you go to?” “South Harmon Institute of Technology.” Teal answered. “I was also a founding member.” “You founded a college?” Applejack asked. “Their mascot was a sandwich.” Teal cheered. “I took place in the newspaper, The Rag.” Raspberry said. “I also taught the class ‘Professional TV Watching’.” “Many are injured each year due to Unprofessional TV watching.” Teal joked. “Raspberry is a true professional, I have seen none professionally watch TV as well as her.” Raspberry laughed. Twilight rolled her purple eyes. “Rainbow, it sounds like you should write a letter to the Princess.” Spike showed up, holding up a rolled up letter. “Already got it covered. As your ghost writer, I’ve already penned a letter to the Princess.” Rainbow patted Spike’s back. “That’s nice of you, Spike, but I really wanna write this letter myself.” The dragon frowned. “Aww, come on, I wrote the whole thing already!” Everypony snickered. “Okay, let’s hear it.” Rainbow said. Spike cleared his throat. “Dear Princess Cel- Rainbow gasped. “Look out! It’s a real ghost!” Pinkie Pie and Spike screamed. They ran off. Everypony giggled. An hour later, I was standing with Teal in my living room. Her colors had faded back into my raspberry pink coat, blue and silver mane, and book cutiemark. “Powers learned?” I asked my double. “Duplication and Flight.” Voice Over answered. I nodded. “Ones still needed?” Voice over thought it over. “71.43% of them.” I nodded. “Ready to come back?” Voice Over rolled her amber eyes. “Boy, am I ever.” She vanished in a red cloud. It hovered over towards me, merging us back together. I gasped, shaking my head. “Woah. Forgot what a head rush merging was. Can’t wait to do that again.”