Rainbow After The Storm
by milesprower06
Chapter 9
Fears and Flames
CLOUDSDALE
ONE YEAR AGO
“So let me see if I'm understanding you correctly,” Firefly began, her husband sitting with her at the dining table. “You spend the last two years looking for your daughter, and now that we finally know where she is, you're hesitating to go see her? Because you're afraid she's still angry?”
Stormcloud knew it was an odd position.
“She got a job not even a week after running away. What does that say to you? To me, that says she had no intention of returning home. And then she hid the flier I had sent with all the forecasts. So not only did she not want to come back, but she didn't want us to know she was down there, either.”
Clearly, Firefly was the more impatient of the two, but Stormcloud had come to her with this, even after their falling out more than a year ago.
“We have to go see her eventually. So how will you know when she's not going to be angry anymore?”
Stormcloud couldn't answer that. And he certainly didn't want to stretch his wife's patience anymore than he had to, as they were just starting to reconcile after what had happened.
“I...I don't know. Still, I really don't feel that this is the right time. If she's still angry, she doesn't need the added stress of dealing with us right now. She's just been promoted to this new job, and the Summer Sun Celebration is in two days.”
Stormcloud was unsure if his wife was satisfied with that reasoning.
“Sweetheart, don't worry. She's Ponyville's weather director. I don't think she's going anywhere.”
SUGARCUBE CORNER
ONE YEAR LATER
Pinkamena expertly maneuvered on three hooves, the fourth clutching the knife, ready to strike at any time.
“Why did I ever consider you to be my friends? All I ever wanted to do is keep you all close to me forever, and to let all the ponies of Ponyville know the friendship I knew with my friends. But now I know the truth.”
Pinkamena slowly stepped towards the group of three ponies and ghost. Applejack was conflicted; unsure if they should split up to divide her attention, or to stick close to Rainbow, ready to defend her if Pinkamena made a move against her. The workhorse looked over at Pinkamena's last victim. She stood as determined as the rest of them. Ready to dodge whatever attack came her way.
“The truth is you were never my friends! You abandoned me on my birthday. You tried to put an end to my parties. And even now, when I forgave you, here you are, in league with Saddie Pie, trying to put an end to me for good!”
“You're a sick twisted monster! Unworthy of forgiveness, and unworthy of friends!” Pinkie screamed back, and that was the breaking point. With a shriek, Pinkamena charged. She collided into Pinkie's spirit, ready to drive the knife deep. Rainbow countered with a swift buck to her side, and dodged the retaliatory swipe from the knife. Seeing Rainbow get attacked, Applejack now attacked from the other side, and when Pinkamena swung at her, she was unable to get out of the way entirely, and the tip of the knife went red as it's very tip came in contact with Applejack's right cheek.
AJ barely flinched; her determination far greater than any glancing slash from the knife. Pinkie, seeing what happened to her, went into a rage. Screaming, she rammed her whole body into Pinkamena in a charge, slamming her into the left wall, causing her to drop the knife.
“You won't hurt anypony ever again!!!” she shrieked, trying her best to pin the Cupcake Killer against the wall. “AJ, Rainbow, go! Get the journal! Burn it!!!”
At Pinkie's insistence, AJ and Rainbow made for the hall again, the Necklace of Laughter allowing them to pass through.
“Wh-what's going on?” Twilight asked, the other three obviously hearing the commotion on the other side.
“Pinkie's journal. We need to burn it. Spike has the most intense flames around. Get him.” Rainbow said hurriedly, as they continued running from the basement.
“But the journal's back at the house! How can we cover that much ground as fast as we need to?” AJ asked.
“You can't but I can. With enough concentration, I should be able to teleport to Sweet Apple Acres and back. You go get Spike!” Twilight said, as they ran up the stairs.
Back in the storage room, Pinkamena struggled for the upper hoof again. With a vicious headbutt, Pinkie's hold on her evil demented half diminished, and Pinkamena took the opportunity. She slid out from Pinkie's grasp, and with all her might, grabbed Pinkie's head and slammed it into the cobblestone wall. Pinkie screamed, and collapsed to the floor, severely dazed.
“Sorry, Saddie Pie, but the parties must go on.”
Pinkamena picked up the knife, put the handle between her teeth, and gave chase.
CLOUDSDALE WEATHER FACTORY
SIX MONTHS AGO
Stormcloud sat in the break room of the Weather Factory, after making his rounds. He was glad that his friendships with his co-workers hadn't really changed since his promotion. But still, in six months, he still hadn't gotten up the courage to go see his daughter. Cloud Chaser had been performing his job in the factory superbly, and he had been right; under Rainbow, Ponyville was continuing it's near-flawless weather record, save for a small mistake; they had missed a rainstorm a few days ago, so they were currently making a much bigger thunderstorm to make up for it.
“Hey there, Stormcloud. How's the new job treatin' ya?” the familiar voice of his longtime coworker and friend, Cloudkicker, greeted.
“Afternoon, friend. The job's been pretty good.”
“Firefly tells me you found Rainbow Dash by pure coincidence. How's the kid doin', by the way?”
Stormcloud cleared his throat.
“We, uh...we haven't gone down to see her, yet.” he admitted.
“Am I hearing this right?”
“She hasn't tried to get in touch with us at all. She stayed with Fluttershy for the first few months after getting a job, then started buying small amounts of Building Cloud to make a place of her own. Purely by chance, she got the flier I sent out instead of the then-director, and she hid it away. I...I don't know, but to me, that says she doesn't want anything to do with us anymore.”
“And what does Firefly think of all this?” Cloudkicker asked.
“You didn't ask her? Didn't you just talk with her?”
“You're my friend, Stormcloud. I'd rather hear it coming from you. I know this whole mess caused you two to separate for a year. I just hope you're not going to repeat that mistake.”
Stormcloud considered this.
“I know she's trying to be patient with me. I want to see Rainbow again too, it's just that...I don't think I could handle it.”
“What?”
“Her rejecting me if she's still angry. I don't know if I could deal with that.”
Stormcloud noticed Cloudkicker's eyes glance for a moment to the wall behind him, next to the door that lead back out to the factory.
“Maybe there's a way for you two to see her without approaching her directly.” he told his friend, motioning in the direction of the wall.
Stormcloud turned to see what Cloudkicker was getting at. There was an event poster on the wall next to the door. He got up to get a closer look, with Cloudkicker behind him. The poster read:
BEST YOUNG FLIER COMPETITION!
Come and compete against the best of Cloudsdale's youngest fliers, and have your routine judged by this year's special panel of judges: Her Royal Highness Princess Celestia and the Wonderbolts!
Entry fee: 20 bits.
“You always told me Rainbow was obsessed with the Wonderbolts. If she's still infatuated with the group, you think she'd honestly miss a chance to show off for them? When that contest comes around, you and Firefly take the day off and go see her perform.”
Stormcloud smiled. “Thanks, Cloudkicker. That's a great idea.”
When he went home that night and told Firefly the idea, she was thrilled that her husband was beginning to compromise on his concerns. So three months later, they found themselves at the Cloudiseum for the Best Young Flier Competition, getting some of the highest up seats available.
To keep the cheering and competition fair, the contestant's names weren't listed in the program. It merely stated how many contestants there were, of which there appeared to be 15.
“Do you think she's here?” Stormcloud asked, not having any idea because of the omission of names in the program.
“I hope so. When she was younger she wanted to skip school for every single Wonderbolts show.” Firefly said, skimming through the program.
“Fillies and gentlecolts, please rise and join me in welcoming our beloved Princess Celestia!” the announcer began over the stadium's amplifier system. Out of the sky, descended Equestia's loved ruler, escorted by two of her Royal Guards, and she came to a gentle landing on the VIP Balcony.
“Please welcome our celebrity judges for the Best Young Fliers Competition, the Wonderbolts!”
At that, the stunt flying group flew overhead in formation, six members, who then pulled up in a steep arc, performed a quick tight circle line turn, and then exploded outward in a six-point firework explosion, to the cheers of the crowd. Three members broke off as the other three took their places on their own viewing platform, next to the Princess'.
“And now let's find out who will take the prize as this year's Best Young Flier!”
Contestant number 1 came out from behind the curtain. A tan-colored filly. At first they came in order; one, two, and then three. But then instead of Contestant 4, Contestant 7 came out and performed his routine, which had a heavy focus on barrel rolls. In order or not, one by one, they all came out and performed, and still, no Rainbow. They were beginning to lose hope.
“And now, for our final competitor of the day, Contestant #15! Uh, and apparently Contestant #4.”
There she was! Firefly quickly pointed their daughter out to her husband. Time seemed to slow as they laid eyes on their daughter for the first time in three years. She had grown. She looked a bit nervous as she moved to her starting position.
Then, to their surprise, came another one of the contestants. This one, was not a Pegasus, to be sure. From this distance Stormcloud could've sworn it was a Unicorn with butterfly wings, and one of the most outrageous outfits he'd ever seen.
“Who...is that?”
Firefly was equally perplexed at the pony's choice of outfit.
“That must be the Weather Factory tourist everyone was talking about today. They're performing at the same time?” she asked.
It appeared so. The two contestants conversed briefly before the Unicorn flew up and began doing some kind of formal dance step in midair, as a string piece of music began to play. At first, Rainbow didn't move, but then she made a dash for the line of cloud pillars that had been set up for her performance. She expertly slalomed her way through them, but Stormcloud noticed something a bit off.
“Careful, Rainbow, careful...” and then he winced, as Rainbow collided with her sixth pillar and went veering off to the left, face first into the side of the stadium.
Three ponies above her laughed. She appeared briefly dazed, but unhurt. Up above, the unicorn's dance routine continued, evolving into rapid spins. Rainbow got her bearings and flew quickly up out of the stadium, up to four close clouds, and began zooming around them. The clouds began spinning rapidly by Rainbow's momentum, and she moved from one to the next, keeping them spinning like tornadoes.
And then, another mishap. Rainbow took a small piece of cloud to the face, sending her flipping off course, and the whirling cloud came quickly down towards the Cloudiseum. In fact, it looked like it would...no, of all places...
Yep. Princess Celestia and her guards up on their balcony had to momentarily duck to avoid being hit by the cloud before it vanished from the impact. Stormcloud groaned. This was not her day.
The unicorn down in the stadium continued spinning, and then began to ascend up, followed by Rainbow, who quickly overtook her co-performer. The unicorn got between the current position of the sun and the stadium, and spread her wings full, covering the crowd with a brilliant spectrum of colors.
“Look upon me, Equestria. For I, am, Rarity!” she claimed.
“Certainly not modest...” Firefly mumbled to her husband.
Several members of the crowd looked in awe at the spectacle.
And then, in a flash of flame, the unicorn's wings evaporated, and she began plummeting down with a scream. The crowd gasped as she fell through the center of the Cloudiseum, continuing rapidly toward the ground.
The Wonderbolt trio was quick to spring into action, quickly taking off and going into a steep dive in an attempt to rescue the helpless, wingless Unicorn. When they closed in on her, they failed to take her flailing legs into account, and all three of them were hit.
Rainbow, still ascending above the stadium, noticed what was going on. She began her own dive.
“Hold on, Rarity. I'm comin'!” he heard her scream as she too, flew down through the center of the stadium.
Stormcloud, Firefly, and the rest of the crowd looked on in horror, as the five ponies quickly plummeted towards the earth.
And then, he noticed something. A mach cone had begun to form around Rainbow. Was...was she really going that fast? How could she hope to pull up in time?
She continued to gain speed, and in an instant, brilliant flash of light, she broke the sound barrier, a circle of rainbow expanding out from where she had done so, as she continued towards the four falling ponies.
A Sonic Rainboom!
Stormcloud saw Rainbow catch the Wonderbolts and the unicorn and pull up at an unnatural 90-degree angle, barely avoiding the ground. She quickly ascended, a rainbow forming in her wake. She arced over the Cloudiseum, a brilliant rainbow now looming over the center, and she came up underneath the center and slowed to a hover as she came up onto the stage again. The contestants who already performed quickly flew in to help relieve Rainbow of her load of four ponies.
When her feet touched the stage, the crowd went absolutely wild. Somepony also had the mind to set off the confetti cannons as well.
Stormcloud and Firefly were absolutely stunned. The overwhelming volume of the crowd continued as a weather balloon was brought in to place the Unicorn safely in. Four other ponies came to talk to Rainbow and the Unicorn, and Stormcloud recognized one as Cloudkicker's daughter, Fluttershy. The three Wonderbolts came to thank Rainbow for her heroic actions, and then Princess Celestia also came down to the group. After a short conversation, the princess got out the tiara for the Best Young Flier.
“For her incredible act of bravery, and her spectacular Sonic Rainboom, I'm presenting the grand prize for Best Young Flier, to this year's winner, Miss Rainbow Dash!”
Princess Celestia placed the gold winged tiara on Rainbow's head, and the crowd cheered again, as three of her friends hoisted her up and paraded her around the stage. Stormcloud turned to his wife.
“You can go see her if you like, hun.” Stormcloud said, letting her know it would be perfectly alright if she wanted to go down to talk with her without him. She spread her wings, and was about to take off.
And Stormcloud was very surprised when she hesitated. As if her hooves were stuck to the cloud they were sitting on.
“What...what do I say? How do I say it...?” Firefly asked herself and her husband. It stunned her when she realized she had unknowingly been just as hesitant as Stormcloud had.
She wasn't sure how long she stayed there, standing, unwilling to move. But she saw her daughter take off from the stage, towards her grand prize, a day with the Wonderbolts. She had waited too long. Tears streamed down Firefly's face.
“There will be another time,” Stormcloud assured her, putting a wing around her.
Together, they left the Cloudiseum, and flew home.
TWO MONTHS LATER
Stormcloud came in the house after a day at the factory. Today had been, odd, to say the least.
“Hey hun. You home yet? The weirdest thing happened today. The moving team brought up a whole bunch of Premium Building Cloud up today. They said it-”
Firefly rushed into the foyer, in a panic, with a newspaper.
“Are you alright?”
“I'm done, Stormcloud. I'm done waiting. Are you?” she said frantically, showing him the front page of the paper.
PONYVILLE SERIAL KILLER DEAD!
Disappearances in Ponyville solved.
Latest victim Rainbow Dash listed in Critical Condition at Ponyville Urgent Care.
Stormcloud dropped the paper.
“Are you ready? Or do we have to lose her all over again?” Firefly asked, tears pricking her eyes.
“Come on, let's go!”
The two Pegasi bolted down from Cloudsale down towards Equestria's central valleys at the fastest speed they had ever flown, as the sun began to dip below the hills.
PONYVILLE URGENT CARE
10 MINUTES LATER
Rainbow lay motionless in the hospital bed. The way she felt right now, she may as well have been dead.
It had been just under 24 hours since Applejack had rescued her from the basement of Sugarcube Corner. Her mind was still in a state of shock. She still hoped against hope that she would go to sleep, and wake up the next morning, and her wings would be there, good as new.
Why had Pinkie done this? That question lingered and burned in her mind. Her friends were the most important thing to her in her life.
Applejack and the others had left only after the staff's repeated insistence. AJ was sleeping out in the waiting room, and the others had gone home for the night.
Rainbow glanced up at the clock on the wall. 9 PM. And right on schedule, one of the nurses came in to check on her before lights out.
“How are ya doing, Miss Rainbow?”
Rainbow didn't answer. She still felt dead on the inside; unsure how she could possibly go on. The nurse checked her heart, and her blood pressure, and made sure her bandages were in good condition as well.
“Miss Dash, we checked your file with the Weather Patrol, and we noticed you don't have any Immediate Family or emergency contacts listed. Before I go, I'd just like to know if there's anypony we can contact for you, let them know you're here.”
“No, thank you.” Rainbow replied sullenly.
“There's no one? No family?”
“I didn't say that. I said there's no one you can contact. They're the last ponies I want to see right now.” Rainbow declared, anger beginning to rise in her voice.
“Miss Rainbow, last night's events were the front page story of every newspaper in Equestria. Chances are they're going to find out where you are.”
“And if that happens, you keep them out of here, you understand me? I do not want to see them.”
“If they show up, they're probably very worried about you.”
“I don't care. If it takes something like this to make them come see me, then I don't want to see them in the first place. I won't let them see me like this.”
This nurse said nothing more. She subtly shook her head, and shut off the light.
“Have a good night, Miss Rainbow.”
PONYVILLE
10 MINUTES LATER
Stormcloud hit the ground so fast that he actually lost his balance and skidded for a few feet. Firefly landed a bit more gracefully, but was also in a hurry. They asked the closest pony where the Urgent Care Center was, and were pointed to the center of town. Once they spotted the lit medical cross sign, they raced for it at a full gallop.
They almost came crashing through the front doors and into the lobby, startling the desk attendant, a nurse on her current shift.
“Can I help you?” she asked them. Stormcloud approached the desk.
“Yes. May we see Rainbow Dash please?”
“I'm sorry. Visiting hours are over, sir.”
“Please make an exception. We're her parents.” Firefly added, coming up next to her husband.
The nurse's expression suddenly changed to an awkward sorrowful look.
“I'm...I'm sorry sir. But even during visiting hours, she's given specific instructions to not let any immediate family in to see her.”
This was the knife to Stormcloud's heart, and the nurse could tell, too. He stood there, shocked and hurt, for several silent seconds.
“Please. That's my daughter in there. Tell me what's happened to her, and let me see her, please!” he asked. He had a mind to keep his voice down so as to not disturb the sleeping farm pony in the chairs a few feet away.
The nurse sorted through a few clipboards. “I can't let you in there, but I can tell you her condition, if you feel you're truly prepared to hear it.”
Stormcloud said nothing, afraid of what they were going to hear. The nurse skimmed the clipboard, and then looked up at the duo.
“She's lost both of her wings.”
Firefly gasped, and fell into her husband, sobbing.
“She was at death's door when she was brought here. They got her here just in time.”
Both Pegasi in the waiting room were weak at the knees.
“No, oh Celestia, please, not my Rainbow...” Firefly wept into Stormcloud's coat. He put a hoof around her to try and comfort her.
“Please. We haven't spoken to her in three years. I'm begging you...please let us see her.”
The nurse's expression was honestly sympathetic, but she didn't relent.
“I sympathize with you, I really do. But I'm afraid we have to follow patient orders.”
Stormcloud said nothing else. Fighting his hardest to not collapse there in the lobby, his wing around his wife, he slowly turned, and they walked out of the lobby into the Ponyville night, the doors sliding closed behind them. For the longest time, they just stood there, out in the open. He tried his best to comfort his wife.
“Wh...what...what do we do now...?” Firefly sobbed.
Stormcloud embraced his wife, unsure how to feel or think at the moment.
His worst fears had been realized. Even Rainbow's brush with death hadn't removed her grudge.
“I don't know. I...I just don't know.”
SUGARCUBE CORNER
ONE MONTH LATER
The five ponies came rushing out of Sugarcube Corner out into the Ponyville midnight.
“Where's the journal? I'll go get it.” Twilight said.
“In Applejack's room in my saddlebag. Last room down the hall.” Rainbow answered.
Twilight nodded. “Somepony go get Spike. Make sure he's ready when I get back. This'll only take a second.”
Twilight's horn glowed brilliantly, and with a flash, she vanished. AJ ran down the marketplace to the library. “Spike! Important dragon job for you!” she yelled. Spike came running, and they rushed back to the collapsed, shambled fountain.
And then the ground began to rumble again.
Twilight re-appeared with a purple flash, Pinkie's bloodstained journal in her horn's grasp. She tossed it into the fountain.
“Spike, burn that, now!!!” Twilight told him urgently. Spike ran up to the fountain.
“Dashie, time for baking!!!” came the sinister voice of Pinkamena from the doorway of Sugarcube Corner.
“Rainbow look out!!!” Rarity screamed.
Rainbow turned, just in time to see the knife, spinning end on end, coming at her with a whirling sound.
Before she could even react, there was a dull 'thunk!', as the thrown knife found its mark.
Deep in Rainbow's chest. Her eyes went wide, and she found herself unable to scream or breathe.
“Rainbow!!!” Applejack shrieked.
“Spike, now! Now!!!” Twilight yelled.
With a furious intake of breath, Spike let loose a stream of green flame on the book resting on the rubble. Smoke erupted as it incinerated almost instantly. Pinkamena screamed as she grabbed onto Sugarcube Corner's doorframe as her body began to smolder and crackle. Spike immediately followed up with a second blast of flame.
Rainbow collapsed to the ground as Applejack ran up to her, removed the knife, and immediately, fear gripped her heart. Rainbow's left lung had been punctured.
With one last scream of defiance, Pinkamena Diane Pie disintegrated into nothing.
“Rainbow! Rainbow! Somepony get a doctor!!!” Applejack screamed as she held the silent, dying Pegasus in her hooves. Blood began to bubble up from her throat, and Rainbow could do nothing but look in silent pain, up into her lover's eyes.
“Just hang on, Sugarcube, we're getting help, ya hear? Help is on the way.”
The Element of Honesty found it difficult not to choke on the lie as Rainbow slowly drowned internally in her own blood, unable to speak or breathe due to her fatal wound. Her body convulsed once, her eyes closed, and she went still.
“No...no no no...please no!” Applejack pleaded, crying into Rainbow's mane.
Spike and the others slowly gathered, tears rolling down their faces. It had happened impossibly fast.
Then, after several seconds, they noticed the Necklace of Laughter on the ground next to AJ and Rainbow begin to glow, it's gem becoming brilliant and shimmering again. This was joined by another source of light, over by the fountain.
Up from the smoldering ashes of the journal, rose the glowing white silhouette of a pony. As the seconds passed, it was joined by a dozen other glowing spirits rising up from the fountain rubble.
These ponies of pure white light had no eyes, mouths, or other features, but the spirit that had risen from the journal's ashes was unmistakably Pinkie, and they recognized the others as the victims of Pinkamena. Silent, the shimmering glowing spirits began to form a circle around the group of ponies, as Pinkie slowly made her way over to AJ and the lifeless Rainbow.
At this distance, AJ could just begin to see Pinkie's sorrowful eyes through the light. She knelt down to the duo, and the Necklace of Laughter floated up from the ground and fastened itself around the spirit's neck.
“She did more for me than I'll ever be able to repay. She tried to help me when everypony else ignored me. She forgave me when everypony else condemned me. There truly is nopony more worthy of the Element of Loyalty.”
Pinkie leaned down, centimeters from Rainbow's face, as the Necklace of Loyalty and the others began to glow brightly.
“I want you to keep my Necklace, Rainbow. Keep it until you find somepony else who laughs their troubles away.”
With that, Pinkie slipped her arms under Rainbow, and embraced her, and her glowing white body exploded in a brilliant flash of light, followed by the other ghosts present. Applejack and the others tried to shield their eyes, to no avail. The light was too bright. It lasted around ten seconds, and then, the light faded, returning Ponyville to the early morning black.
Applejack and the others opened their eyes. The spirits were gone. They noticed the Necklace of Laughter on the ground next to the motionless Rainbow, and were unable to speak at what they saw.