Rainbow shot up out of her sleep, cursing at the flashback. Her room was bathed in the warm light of morning. Her room mate, Kiteflyer, was staring out of the window like she always did in the morning. Dash said a goodmorning to her.
“Sunshine.” Kite said simply, giving Rainbow a smile along with it. Kiteflyer gave her that nickname when Rainbow Dash shared her story with her. At first she thought it was demeaning. But Dashie learned to love the nickname once it spread around the building. All of the other patients seemed to look at her with awe, calling, “Sunshine! Sunshine!” It gave her confidence to get through the day.
Dashie nodded at her roomie, her own smile growing. “Yup. I’m up and awake.”
“Rainbow Dash?” a nurse poked her head through the bedroom door. “Oh good, you’re up. Fluttershy is here to see you if you want.”
Dashie followed the nurse down the long hallway of bedrooms, turning right when they passed the front desk. I wonder what she wants? she wondered as they walked down the hallway. I haven’t seen her since. . . Rainbow dropped the thought, not wanting to have another flashback.
At the end of the hallway the nurse opened the door to the sunroom. It wasn’t anything fancy; a table with chairs around it was in the center. Rainbow caught Flutters gaze, looking down quickly. Fluttershy was wearing a white tank top with a light blue skirt that went to the floor. Her bangs were pulled back with small butterfly hair clips. It was the first time Dash had ever seen her entire face. “Dashie. . .” Flutters uttered softly walking forward. “How are you doing? I mean. . . we haven’t talked since the night you flew off.”
“Fluttershy. . .I don’t know what to tell you.” Rainbow closed the space between them, brushing away the stray hairs in front of Flutters face. “All I can say to you is that I’m sorry.”
Fluttershy looked up, meeting Dashie’s gaze. “You should be.” her voice was soft, but that didn’t take away from the edge she put on it. “I know the murder wasn’t your fault. But when you ran off. . .you didn’t leave any sort of message behind. I was so worried about you. We’ve all been.”
“Didn’t Twilight tell you where I was?”
“She didn't tell us anything until last night. She. . .no one trusts anyone anymore. Even the six of us friends don't trust each other.” Fluttershy sat down on a couch farthest away from the door. “Not since. . .”
“Not since I killed Spike?” Rainbow sat next to her, slouching.
Fluttershy nodded. “I mean, we know it wasn’t you. It was the Princess.”
Rainbow let herself roll her eyes. It was me. I killed him with my hands! she dared not say this out loud. She knew Fluttershy was more fragile than ever. “Do they even want to see me? If you must be worried then they must be too.”
“They want to see you more than anything. But Twilight is being really weird about them coming here. I don’t know why.” Flutters played with the bottom of her shirt. “AJ can’t wait for you to come back home. She says she has an extra room waiting for you.”
“At her house?”
“Yes.”
Rainbow hid her shock. “Why would she want me to live with her?”
“You could help at the farm. She says hard work is good for the soul. . .we think it’d be the best thing for you to do.” Fluttershy took Rainbows hand, gently squeezing it. “Don’t think that we want to dictate your life. We want you to be happy again.”
“I know.” Rainbow Dash fell silent; her mind was a war zone at the moment.
“My wonderful subject, have you done what I have asked?” The Queen took me under her enormous light grey wing, kissing my forehead.
“Yes my Queen. I have done what you have wanted.”
“Good. You must understand that any being other than ponies are inferior and don’t desire to live. Our power is great. We must use it to destroy the diseased races. Once this is done Equestria will be on the course of becoming perfect.” Celestia took me to a nearby window. “Look at my world Rainbow Dash. What do you see?”
I strained my eyes to see what the Queen wanted me to see. When I couldn’t find it I hung my head in shame. “I can’t see anything, my Queen.”
Celestia laughed, her pointed teeth glimmering in the morning light. “Then let me tell you what I see. I see a world that has potential to be everything it was meant to be. I see the farmers, the flyers, and the magic doers being the best they can be. But until this world can happen it needs to be cleansed.”
“Cleansed?”
“Yes, my subject.” she turned, folding her wings tightly to her sides. “And you and I will be the ones to do it.”
I looked at my hands, amazed that the Queen had chosen me for this job. “Celestia. . .I am unworthy of such a task.”
“You are worthy Rainbow Dash. But there is one thing you need to do to gain my full trust.” The Queen sat in her throne, her white robes flapping as they fell to the floor; She slouched slightly. Her fingers snapped and within seconds she had a glass of wine in her hands. “I need your element, Rainbow. I need the Element of Loyalty.”
“But my Queen, it’s all the way back in Ponyville. They will capture me and torture me until I give away your position!”
“You will do well, for your life's sake. Now go. I have made my command.” The Queen sipped at her drink. Her dismissal was obvious.
I bowed and then opened the nearest window. My hands trembled as I jumped out, my wings stretching out to catch me.