//------------------------------// // 2 ~ Arising Problems // Story: Refracted Heart // by Raynbow //------------------------------// A wave of emotions coursed through Rainbow Dash at the sight of Pinkie. The one that stood out both internally and externally was a feeling that had remained hidden throughout the day. It was pure happiness, giddiness even. She was having trouble controlling this particular emotion, and it was beginning to show in her cheeks. A blush was forming. “Okay Dash, okay. You got this. Keep it cool, it’s just like any other time you’ve talked to Pinkie. Come on,” she thought. “Hi Dashie!” Pinkie squealed out in her direction. “Oh, uhh… umm… hi Pinkie, uhh… what’s… what’s up?” Rainbow Dash responded, her tongue fumbling over its own words. “So much for that.” She muttered under her breath. If Pinkie had noticed how incoherent Rainbow Dash’s greeting was, she ignored it completely and replied back in her typical chirpy tone. “Oh nothing, just looking around for my favouritest friends. Like you! You are one of my bestest friends and we should go pranking sometime soon, but maybe not because you seem a bit lost, but you know another thing that gets lost is my words because I don’t know what I’m saying most of the time, but it doesn’t matter because it makes me laugh anyway! What about you Dashie? Do anything interesting today?” Rainbow Dash blinked. She had no idea what just dribbled out of Pinkie’s mouth, but she guessed it was just some of her typical, random hyper-antics. She did however catch the two questions, which she answered with a feeble “Nothing...” a deeper blush and a drop of the head. What in Equestria was making her feel so unusual? It’s not like she hadn’t talked to Pinkie Pie before. Her first thought was that it was her dream that’s doing this to her. She didn’t really know so she dismissed this thought, but she suspected it to be stored deep down, where her memory couldn’t access it. Either way, now wasn’t the time. She pulled herself away from her muddled thoughts and raised her head, answering again in a much stronger tone. “Nothing. It’s been a pretty boring day. How did you find me anyway?” Pinkie grinned cheekily, deciding to not tell the truth as to how and why she found Rainbow Dash. “I dunno Dashie, just luck.” She lied. “Oh, okay then.” A few seconds of silence involving Rainbow Dash pawing at the ground and Pinkie Pie stifling a loose giggle passed. “This is too awkward,” Rainbow Dash thought, “better leave before it gets any worse.” “Well Pinkie, I better get going to the uhh… thing at the place… yeah… Seeya then.” Rainbow Dash said, turning around and trotting away quickly. “Okie dokie lokie, byebye Dashie!” Pinkie responded, leaving the embarrassed mare to run back in the direction in which she came. --- Pinkie Pie walked away slowly, giggling. She was awaiting a sequence of involuntary bodily movements to confirm her suspicions. Twelve seconds later, her tail started twitching, followed by her ears flopping and her nose itching. Pinkie smiled to herself. “Aha! I knew it! A certain rainbow-haired pegasus has unknown feelings about one very special somepony~” she cried out, trying to supress her joyous laughter. “I didn’t really need my Pinkie Sense for that one, but thanks anyway tail, ears and nose! Wait, isn’t my Pinkie Sense what brought me to Dashie? Huh… I can’t remember. Meh.” Pinkie Pie began to bounce back to Ponyville, a huge smile plastered across her face. However, she soon halted abruptly, remembering a deed that had not been done. “Silly me, I almost forgot. Pinkie Pie, would you Pinkie Swear to Pinkie Pie that you won’t tell anypony about Dashie’s feelings?” She said to no one other than herself. “Why Pinkie Pie, I would be delighted to! I Pinkie Pie swear that I, Pinkie Pie, will keep Dashie’s feelings secret. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” “Ooh, goodie! It’s just between us now, Pinkie.” --- Rainbow Dash laid back on a cloud just a few meters away from her place of residence, breathing heavily. She wasn’t at all happy with her previous experience with Pinkie Pie, it had left an air of awkwardness that would now be near impossible to clear for a fair while. She sighed in exasperation. The worst part of it all was that she had no idea of why she acted up in such an embarrassing way. Well, what was past was past. There was absolutely no use in contemplating over different ways she could have handled herself, no use in even thinking about it. With newfound energy, Rainbow Dash hopped off the cloud and continued down the route to her cloud home. It took only three seconds for her to reach it, but when she did, she instantly noticed the flat object that was taped to the front door. Upon closer inspection, the object in question turned out to be a well-sealed envelope. Dash approached the envelope cautiously; unsure of what “surprises” it may hold. It’s not everyday that a pony doesn’t use your letterbox, after all. When nothing fishy seemed to have happened, she removed the tape holding it to her front door and picked the envelope up using her mouth, trotting inside. She walked into the kitchen, set the envelope on the counter and ran her hoof down the fine paper the envelope was made of. This looked like something that was of great importance and high quality. Only one thing came to mind that obtained this quality – Canterlot. It seemed unusual to get a note from Canterlot. She didn’t have any friends there that she would even think of. Was it from the Wonderbolts? Excited, Rainbow Dash turned the envelope over in her hooves, only to find that there was no signature Wonderbolts seal, but a seal that appeared to be a crescent moon. Was it from the princess? What could she possibly want that concerned her? Life around Equestria had been relatively calm since the royal wedding fiasco, as far as she knew. There was only one way to find out. Rainbow Dash retrieved a knife from a draw right next to her and carefully cut the envelope open. It was an easy cut. She flung the knife away and pulled a note out of its thin, papery bed. Without further ado, she unfolded the note and read it. “Dearest Rainbow Dash, Please meet us me in the Ponyville Town Square at nineteen hundred hours sharp. It is of grave importance that I speak to you. Do not distribute this letter out to any of your friends. For now, it must remain just between you and I. Sincerely, The Princess Of The Night Luna” Rainbow Dash re-folded the note and placed it back on the counter, puzzled. For what reason in Equestria would Princess Luna want to see her, of all ponies? And to add to the confusion, why was it private? She couldn’t think of any reasons why, and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to find out. Nonetheless, she decided that she would oblige to Luna’s request. Pushing the note aside, along with her thoughts, Rainbow Dash continued with her daily activities with consisted of sleeping and sleeping. --- Rainbow Dash awoke with a yawn and a long stretch. When her body had loosened up to her liking, she hopped out of bed and got ready to do her morning chores, only to remember that it wasn’t morning at all. She glanced at the clock and almost had a heart attack – it was six fifty-eight. Her eyes widening, she so very quickly brushed her mane and bolted out of her home as quick as possible, not bothering to lock up. She careened down the dusty streets and roads, hoping to Celestia that she wasn’t going to be late. But luck seemed to be on her side, because when she reached Ponyville town square it was exactly seven. Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief as she slowed down at the sight of her princess before her. “Good evening, Rainbow Dash.” Luna said in a placid tone as Rainbow Dash touched down on the ground. Rainbow Dash smiled at the princess respectfully and was about to bow down when she remembered that Luna preferred to be treated as a normal citizen with “benefits”. “Hello Princess,” she said simply, looking up at the sky, “it’s a nice night you’ve brought up.” “Thank you Rainbow. It’s not often that I get complimented on the beautiful night I bring upon.” Luna replied cordially. “No problems. So, what’s on your mind that’s so important?” Luna’s face hardened as she prepared for the incoming shock and questions that would come of what she was about to inform Rainbow Dash of. “Well, you see Rainbow Dash, it’s about your dream-“ Luna started off. “Hey, how do you even know about that? I haven’t told anyone!” Rainbow Dash yelped accusingly. “Hush Rainbow, we don’t want anypony to hear us, now do we? And being a princess has its benefits. But that’s not important right now, and I can tell you that you will agree once I tell you what’s wrong with the dream in question. I’ll get to how I know about it later.” “Alright, but you better have a good reason for it, Princess.” Rainbow Dash replied bluntly. “I can assure you that I do. You see… your dream may become reality.” It was a moment that seemed like an eternity for Rainbow Dash, but in reality, was just a mere second. Her pharynx dried up and her iris’ widened significantly as she contemplated the meaning behind what Luna had just announced. "W...wait...are you saying that it's... it's actually going to happen?" Rainbow Dash choked out, dearly hoping for a more positive response. For at that moment, it felt as if a knife was parked right above her chest, ready to pierce her vulnerable heart. Luna brought her hooves up to her head and rubbed away at it in a slight frustration. "Well, yes and no. This is an extremely complex subject; it's very complicated to get a reasonably good grasp on. But I shall try and make it simple enough for you. You see, what you remember dreaming of is something similar to what's going to happen in future, unless you can prevent it. Your dream contained a message that you need to understand to get an idea of when and where it may occur. It will also reveal a way to prevent it from actually happening. For future reference, we shall call these dreams "Driae", as I can guarantee you shall be experiencing these often from now on in. Driae are where you will find most hidden information. I know this may sound outlandish and could be quite a lot for you to absorb, but it is vital that you succeed. Without the secrets of the Driae, your friend’s life; the Element Of Laughter's; is at stake.” Luna paused so that Rainbow Dash could begin to absorb what she had just heard. Leaving a moment inbetween, she took a deep breath in and continued. “Driae work in a most unusual way. You will never notice the first time they occur, meaning that it will stand as a simple dream to you at first. Upon your second encounter, which I shall help you with, you will be able to see the details you may have missed beforehoof. Also, from what I noticed, there are some "other" emotions you will unveil along the journey. However, it is better that I leave you to find these out for yourself. This is the extent of my current knowledge. Any questions?" Rainbow Dash stared at Luna for a fair amount of time, trying to take it all in. It was a mother load of information to absorb all at once, especially when it concerned the life of one of your best pony friends. Finally, she managed to process the most important piece of information. "So Pinkie isn't going to die?" she asked. Her response was almost instantaneous. "As long as you prevent it, then no, she will not." Rainbow Dash's brain began to kick into an overdrive; every section being used at it’s full capacity. "Okay, so... to protect her, I have to get into my own dreams?" "Yes, that is basically the case." "Uhmm... how?" Luna smiled mischievously, leaning in close to Rainbow Dash. “Don’t tell anypony what you’re about to hear,” Luna said quietly. “Uhh… okay?” Rainbow Dash answered uncertainly. “I have stored away your dream with my collection of other more ‘interesting’ dreams.” “Wait… you can save dreams?” Rainbow Dash asked quizzically. “Well yes, you may not guess, but working the night shift is usually unimaginably eventless and tedious, considering that everypony is asleep in their beds… or other ponies beds.” Luna winked and continued before Rainbow Dash could say anything on the subject. “So most of the time we just conjure up a most advanced spell when any one pony is dreaming so that we can retain it for later use. We don’t look through most of the dreams; although when a night is extra boring we do; but your dream had a rather strong impulse and we couldn’t resist taking a peek.” “We?” “Oh, sorry. I meant to say I. Still trying to adapt to the modern times.” “Oh, okay. So you’re saying that dreams like those,” Rainbow Dash raised her hoof up to her skull and tapped it twice, continuing, “you can sense?” “Mostly, yes. If it has an aura of power, danger and or truthfulness about it, my senses usually pick it up. As said, because yours was important, I stored it straight away.” “But why?” Rainbow Dash asked with a puzzled look on her face. The obvious didn’t seem so obvious to her, after all. “What, did you not think that you might have to look back into the dream? If I had not stored it immediately, the most important feelings and events that your memory erased would be lost forever! Rainbow Dash, it is of upmost importance that you look back into it.” “Okay… so…” Rainbow Dash’s mind was flooding over with a massive amount of questions she wanted to ask, but she tried to ignore them all, instead devoting her brainpower to get a grasp on what she was hearing. But there was just one more question nagging at the back of her mind. She couldn't even think of going without asking it, even though it was a question that probably had no answer. That's why Luna's expression shifted from hard and concentrated to one of a concerning pain as the question passed through Rainbow Dash's lips. "Why would anyone want to hurt Pinkie Pie?"