//------------------------------// // You Give Some // Story: Appledashery // by Just Essay //------------------------------// "Rainbow...?" Vinyl's words fell on deaf ears. Rainbow Dash remained at the front portion of the Equestrian History Wing. She hovered above the floor, squinting at the diorama before her. Wax pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns stood in a half-circle, sporting spears and axes and polearms. They converged upon a large, serpentine beast "looming" above them. A series of thin, near-invisible wires suspended a draconian monstrosity made up out of patchwork jigsaw pieces—a little bit of scales there, a patch of fur there, and plenty of shiny fuzz in between. Fangs glistened in the red tinted light while a pair of soul-less glass eyes reflected the visages of the mortals attempting—in vain—to fend off his swirling approach. Rainbow's eyes traveled along his slender figure, spotting claws, hooves, and talons. At last, she gazed upon his antlers and sighed. "... ... ...they just couldn't figure out your good side, huh?" All of the sudden, the mare winced. She could have sworn she felt a stab of pain, but as soon as she rubbed her forelimbs together, the sensation was lost... sunk deep beneath the fuzzy surface of her own numb flesh. The mare gulped, sighing as she pivoted about slightly. The traffic in the museum was sparse—expectedly so—with scarcely a few elder ponies and wrinkly tourists wandering the richly furnished domain. Off in the distance, the hallways and cloudstone columns resonated with the laughter and mutterings of her friends. "Lancie... who am I kidding?" Rainbow murmured to the air. Her features sagged—starting with her drooping ears. "I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be anywhere." The mare sighed. "You thought there was something so awesome about me and my loyalty... but in the end I'm just a crazy, aimless... bum." She clenched her jaw shut. "Where in Tartarus have you gone off to?" Another deep exhale. "...and what I wouldn't give to taste of the wind you're sailing on." Silence. The mare touched down, attempting to stand on her hooves. From the way her legs began buckling she already knew she couldn't accomplish the task very easily. So, with a defeated groan, she turned her gaze from the menacing statue and floated off in the direction of merrier, mirthier equines.