Or Perhaps to Something Wonderful
The following morning was a crisp, clear Autumn day in Ponyville; the sun was up and giving its last bits of warmth out before winter finally came around. A brilliant cornucopia of warm hues on the trees made such a sight that Twilight and Rainbow almost felt bad they were leaving it.
The train they’d boarded about ten minutes ago was chugging along as fast as its coal-burning heart could pace itself. Down along the tracks, a few ponies stopped to watch as its garish pink and yellow frame zoomed by them, leaving the quaint little village in the dust. Next stop: Canterlot.
There weren’t many travelers this time of year, with the seasonal change coming. Most ponies had settled in with their families, ready to carry out whatever traditions their towns celebrated for winter. Twilight and Rainbow were the exception: their express goal was the expansion of their family.
Of course, one member of the pair wasn’t nearly as excited as the other one was. As they’d taken their seats, Dash couldn’t help but feel a little flutter in her chest seeing how excited Twilight was. But that brought a realization with it. They were actually doing this, trying to adopt a foal. Dash wasn’t quite sure how she’d gotten herself into this mess, but she was committed now. Trying to talk her way out of this would break her wife’s heart, she was sure of it.
“Hoo, boy…”
“Is something wrong?”
“Huh?” Rainbow looked over and saw Twilight staring at her with a curious look. “Oh, uh, nah, don’t sweat it. Just nerves, I guess.”
“You mean you’re as nervous as I am?” Twilight asked, scarcely believing it. Her teasing grin was equal parts infuriating and adorable in her wife’s eyes. “The great Rainbow Dash, cowering at the thought of a little foal?”
“Hey, foals aren’t toys, y’know!” she shouted back, trying to justify her anxiety. “I mean, I break a wing, I go get it fixed in the hospital. I break a foal… not so much.” her hoof scratched behind her ear as she spoke. Twilight stifled a laugh and pushed away Dash’s hoof with her own, and scratched right behind the pegasus’ left ear. Dash gasped, and very nearly started to moan; she quickly shut herself up before anypony else in the car heard her. That trick always worked.
“Just relax, Dash. You’ll be the best mom in the world, I’m sure of it.” If the other mare was listening, she wasn’t responding. By now she’d sunk a few inches into her seat, making a contented noise or two in short intervals.
It always worked.
Twilight took that opportunity to lift down the saddlebags she’d packed for the trip, and opened one up. “Of course, if you’re still nervous, I packed a few books to help prepare you.”
Dash hadn’t caught a single word of that, and lazily let her rosy eyes drift down to read the book set before her.
“Foal-Raising: What Every Young Mother Should Know”
There was a sound like a clap of thunder, and Rainbow Dash stood rigid in the aisle. Twilight looked at her, stupefied, and back at the place she’d been sitting a moment before. She hadn’t even felt the pegasus move before it had already happened.
“Okay, I’m not THAT relaxed.” the weatherpony declared, eyes still forced wide by the shock. “Tell ya what, I’m gonna go track down the snack cart. You want anything?”
“Uh, no, I’m fine.” Twilight responded, trying to stifle another laugh. Seeing her wife choke up like this was, admittedly, her favorite part of any given day. Rainbow glared at her for a moment, and trotted off in a huff. She got no end of grief from that mare.
It was a long and silent walk down the train. They’d gotten lucky, and the train was practically empty on this ride. As a small side effect, the snack cart wasn’t quite so dedicated in making its usual rounds, and as she passed through one car after another, Rainbow Dash came to realize that it was likely at the very back of the train. She groaned, and hung her head low as she pressed on.
She may have been the fastest pony in Equestria, but she was also one of the laziest.
Sure enough, on the very last passenger car, the snack cart sat unattended. The pegasus tried calling out to see if any of the train workers were there, but got no reply. She shrugged, and approached the pile of confections. Sure enough, the thing was fit to burst with treats and foods of various makes; sandwiches, leading up to cupcakes, cookies, and a collection of baked goods so dense Rainbow suspected Pinkie Pie lived a double life as a train caterer.
She licked her lips as the tantalizing food called out to her. “I mean… the food’s complimentary, right? So nopony’d mind if I took it all…”
She carefully reached out to grab the cart… and with a sudden jerk it moved away from her. “Huh?” She reached again, and once again the cart darted back. “Hey! Cut it out, food!”
Dash leaped forward to tackle the cart, but this time she caught a glimpse of the culprit. A light teal streak tugged the side of the cart, pulling it right out from under the descending pegasus. Rainbow hit the floor of the train and shook her head to clear the blurriness. As her eyesight refocused, she set her sights on the tricky little snack thief.
Lounging on top of one of the seats, lazily staring out the window, was a pegasus filly stuffing her gums with cart treats. Her frazzled teal mane and bluish-green coat almost seemed to shimmer a bit in the sunlight, and her eyes were half closed, so unfocused and mellow that Rainbow Dash could have sworn Big Macintosh had gone and gotten himself a filly.
“Looks like you’re having some trouble getting your snack.” the filly said, deadpan. Her girlish, almost squeaky little voice hardly fit such a demeanor. Dash flared her nostrils; what kind of upstart brat was this?
“Oh-ho, the only one that’s gonna be in trouble here is you. I’m just trying to get some food for me and the wife, all right?”
“Oooooh…” the filly hissed, like she knew some terrible secret that would make such an action impossible. “That kinda sucks for you, then, because I already claimed this cart. These snacks are mine.”
“Says who?!”
“Says me, since, y’know, I took them. And nopony’s really fast enough to stop me, so…”
Something clicked in Rainbow’s mind. This poor filly had just said the magic word. “You want fast, huh?” Her cyan wings flared up. “I’ll show you fast!”
Right in the middle of the train cart, a rainbow trail flared up and the pegasus catapulted herself at the filly. The poor foal barely had enough time to squeak and flap off to the left, saving the one donut left between her teeth from the snapping jaws of the older mare. The two hung in the air for a moment, staring each other down as the train whistle blared just outside.
“This is your last chance, squirt.” Rainbow told the filly. “Give up the cart, or I’ll take it by force.” She smacked her hooves together to illustrate. Sadly, all the foal did in response was yawn and stretch a bit from boredom.
“Yeah, nice talk and all, but I’ve heard better. Can you back it up?”
A shimmering trail followed the filly as she slid out an open window and up above the train. “Whoa, no you don’t!” Rainbow Dash cried as she flew out after her. But as she got out above the train, she realized the little filly had already gained a considerable distance on her. This would be harder than she’d expected.
Not THAT hard, though. She braced herself and launched full speed along the side of the train. Windows passed by at bullet-like speeds, and for the briefest moment she caught a full view of Twilight Sparkle reading that horrible, horrible book that had nearly been forced upon Rainbow earlier. The pegasus took a brief moment to gag, before refocusing her efforts on the filly.
Up closer to the front of the train, the teal pegasus was looping up and around in every direction, wasting time to see if the other pony would even catch up. Right in the middle of her third circle around the train’s smokestack, a thunderous force crashed up towards her, causing the little filly to shriek and make a few erratic motions before shooting straight up. Rainbow didn’t even need to hesitate, and shot straight up after her.
The train had moved into the mountains now, and fresh flakes of snow were beginning to drop through the frigid air as the two pegasi climbed higher and higher. Dash could feel the pressure building up on her wings; she hadn’t flown this fast in a while. But the strain on her target was clearly greater, and try as the little foal might she couldn’t keep up that speed forever. The time between wing flaps grew greater and greater, until finally the poor things stopped entirely. The teal filly hung still in the air, before finally starting to fall back to Rainbow.
“Yes!” she shouted, pumping a hoof in celebration of her victory; that is, until she realized the awful truth. The little filly, now fully conscious, dove at full speed past Dash and back towards the ground, adjusting her altitude to that of the train and following it into a tunnel. The elder mare could scarcely believe what just happened, and shot after her with a new fury helping to beat her wings.
Rainbow Dash entered the tunnel nearly five seconds after the filly, and her trail was faint enough not to pick up in the darkness. On the other hand, the brilliant rainbow trailing Rainbow’s particular flank was like a vibrant torch. The whole lit up, and she saw carved rock zoom past her at ludicrous speeds, the train perfect in time with her rate of movement below. However, no signs whatsoever of that little thief. She shrugged and started lowering herself down to the side of the train. She intended to catch a sneak peak of Twilight for a moment before heading back inside, but what she got instead was a face-full of donut and a filly mocking her from the other side of the glass.
“And here I thought the other fillies were slow!” she taunted, safe on the opposite side of the glass. Or at least, that was what she had thought. Rainbow Dash’s eye twitched violently as that last insult sank in.
“I’m… not… SLOW!”
A streak of rainbow so intense was conjured, that the little filly needed to take a second to look away and regain her vision. But that second alone was too much, and the door to the train car opened. Rainbow Dash swooped in like a bird of prey, snatching up the little vermin in her hooves and holding her struggling in the air. A loud SMACK resounded as the teal pony’s face hit the window, flattened against the glass. “Gotcha, you little twerp!”
The little filly squirmed around, her body wriggling like a fish as she tried to escape. “Rrgh… let me go!”
“Ah-ah-ah.” Dash told her, a mischievous gleam in her eye. “Not until you say I’m faster than you.”
“Ugh, fine! You’re faster than me!”
“Not just that!” Rainbow added. “I’m the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria! Say it!”
“I may be humble, but I’m no liar!” the filly retorted. Her voice dripped with sarcasm, even in her difficult position. “Everypony knows Rainbow Dash is the fastest!”
“Guh?” Dash released the filly, more by the fact that the sheer shock of what she’d just heard left her legs limp. “Uh… repeat that?”
“I SAID,” the filly told her, descending to the floor of the train car they occupied. “Rainbow Dash is the fastest pony in all of Equestria.”
Dash smacked her hoof to her face, and dragged it away as she landed. “And my rainbow mane, rainbow trail, and rainbow lightning bolt cutie mark tell you… what, exactly?”
The teal filly looked on for a moment, and appeared to be suspicious. But that only lasted a moment. What followed was probably the most mortified expression Rainbow Dash had ever seen on another pony. Her teal cheeks flushed from embarrassment, and in a flash of bright light the filly was gone. Wind swept around the otherwise empty car, and Dash saw that the door had been flung wide open. She considered trailing the little filly again, but a moment later the door slammed, and the foal was back with a legful of donuts.
“Oh jeez, I am SO sorry! Please, take all of these!” Dash grunted as the little filly shoved the bounty into her hooves. “PleasepleasePLEASE, I’m so sorry! Usually it’s just a bunch of stupid tourists riding trains this time of year! I never thought—well, YOU would be on here! I mean, really, you’re THE Rainbow Dash! Oh my gosh, you have no idea how amazing this is!”
The little teal filly zipped around in every direction, dancing in mid-air in glee. “I-I’m Opal Dart, and I am seriously your BIGGEST. FAN. EVER!”
Dash adopted a sly grin as she thought of Scootaloo, back in Ponyville. Come to think of it, this filly wasn’t much older than Scoot, back when they’d first met. “Yeah… I doubt that. Still, you’ve got a lot of speed, squirt. I can see why you’d need a role model as awesome as me to look up to!”
Opal Dart’s eyes lit up like fireworks, and her grin stretched from ear to ear. “You think I’m fast? Really?!”
“Definitely!” Dash told her, scratching the foal’s head with a free hoof. “Keep it up, you might even be as fast—well, almost as fast as me when ya grow up.”
Opal Dart’s eye was twitching this time, and her little frame nearly burst on the spot from the joy of getting that kind of compliment from an idol. “R-really?! Really really?!?”
Dash grinned and nodded. “Really really.” She thought back a moment, and recalled something that Opal had said. “Say, squirt, you were talking about this train like you rode it a lot this time of year.”
“Oh, that!” Opal Dart responded cheerily. “Yeah, I ride it pretty much all the time.”
“That so? Your family go somewhere special for winter?”
“Oh, no. My parents don’t go anywhere. I’m here myself.”
Dash’s eyebrow arched up. What did she just say? “Uh… aren’t you a little young for that, squirt? Where do your parents live?”
The little filly shrugged. “Dunno. I never lived with them; stayed at an orphanage for a while, but that got boring.” She walked over to the nearest window and sat, staring outside. The train was high up in the mountains now, and a serene scene had descended.
As the train chugged along, mile by mile, gray puffs of smoke mingled in their air with falling white snowflakes, and they drifted through an ever-growing white sea of frozen water. The clouds rested below them, now, and stretched out as far as the eye could see. Dash sat beside the foal and looked out with her. The puffy white formations looked so… different all of a sudden. She’d had views far better than this, but something felt different inside this train car. It was, how could she put it? Peaceful? She couldn’t hear the wind whipping up the clouds, or the chattering of weather ponies as they tended to them. It was nothing but calm, and the visceral beauty of the top of the world was there with them.
“I spend my time riding the rails now.” Opal Dart continued. “It’s not so bad, really. The staff lets me eat the food, and I get to go to all sorts of new places, and meet new ponies—like you!”
Dash tore her eyes away from the scene outside of the window and fixed them on the two little blue orbs staring up at her. Opal smiled, as blissfully unaware of her plight as a filly could be. The older pegasus had to stop herself from shedding a tear or two at that, and gave the smile that the little foal wanted. How could anypony live like that? Dash was never on the best terms with her parents, and they didn’t talk a whole lot anymore. But at least they were there. Y’know, if she… needed them for something. It must have been so weird growing up without that.
But Opal seemed okay, didn’t she? On the outside, at least. Dash sighed, and put a hoof around the little filly to hold her close. “No parents, huh? No brothers or sisters? Not even a friend with you?”
“Nah.” Opal told her. Her smile faltered a bit. “I don’t need friends; my dream’s to be a Wonderbolt, like you’re gonna be. Once I’m in there, I’ll have plenty of friends. Until then they’re an obstacle.”
Dash shook her head and smiled. That one sounded a little too similar. “Y’know, I know a mare that was a lot like that when she was your age. No time for friends, right? Too busy working on her next big goal. But she learned the world doesn’t really work like that. Friends aren’t an obstacle, they’re a good thing; ponies that care about you and wanna help you succeed. When she learned that lesson, it helped her save the whole world—twice, actually! And now, she couldn’t be happier with all the awesome friends she’s made.”
“Really?” Opal asked, eyeing Dash with suspicion. “Who’s that?”
Rainbow Dash smiled and tussled the little filly’s mane. “Her name’s Twilight Sparkle; she’s the smartest, kindest, and coolest pony alive; and she’s my wife.”
“She DOES sound pretty cool.” Opal admitted, shrugging a bit. Dash nodded, and looked back out the window. Far off in the distance, the silhouette of Canterlot could be made out under the layer of clouds. A big place; and a lonely one, when you were all alone. As much as the pit in her stomach objected, Rainbow already knew what she had to do.
“So, Canterlot, huh?” she asked the filly. “What brings you out there?”
“Nothing, really.” Opal was more than happy to tell her. “I just drift. Last week I spent in Ponyville, and this week’s Canterlot; the next stop on the list, is all.”
“That so?” Dash asked. “What did you think of Ponyville?”
“It was nice.” Opal said, thinking back to it. Her face drifted into one of lazy contentment as she thought about it. “Nice and warm, even right before winter. Everypony was friendly and inviting. The food was great, too… it was just one of those places that felt like home, y’know? Even when it’s not.”
“Like home, huh?” Dash asked. “Say, Opal, this might be crazy, but I was just thinking… maybe you’d like it to be your home?”
“Huh?” Opal looked back at Dash, confused. “What do you mean?”
“As it happens, Twi and I were heading to Canterlot for a special reason. Being, er, mares and all, we can’t really have foals of our own. So, we were hoping to adopt one. And I figured, since I just met the coolest, fastest little bolt of thunder right here on the train, and since she doesn’t have parents of our own… maybe we could help each other out?”
For the briefest, ever-so-small moment, Rainbow observed with relish the look of unimaginable joy that sparked on the young filly’s face. It was like a full set of fireworks had gone off in her eyes, from all the sparkles. But Opal caught herself, and against all odds retracted into her poker face in the blink of an eye. “…Mmmmmmmaaaaybe…” she said, drawing out their words to make them sound a bit less enthusiastic. “I mean, uh, Ponyville was nice and all, but I’m not so sure it’s my style, y’know? Adventure’s kind of my thing, and that seems to be a bit, er, lacking around there.”
Rainbow’s eyes narrowed, and a devious smirk crossed her lips. “Do I need to remind you who you’re talking to? You think you’ll be missing adventure around somepony as awesome as I am?”
Opal didn’t respond. Dash had her on that one. The older pegasus chuckled and stood up. “Hey, I’m not forcing ya into anything. But I thought it’d be nice, right? Staying in a real bed instead of a hammock… eating real baker’s treats instead of snack cart crap… parents to, uh, y’know, raise you? Love you, and that sort of thing?”
Opal stared back at Dash with wide-set eyes, and her mouth nearly hung open in bewilderment. The good kind, Dash hoped. The cyan pegasus trotted over to the door, and held open the pathway to the next car. “If you don’t want to make your decision yet, maybe you’d like to meet Twilight? I’m sure she’d love to meet you.”
For what felt like the longest time, the two ponies stood there like that. Dash held the door open, and Opal stared at her, expressionless as her mind thought this through. Come on, work, Rainbow’s brain screamed. Work!
Hooves hit the floor, and Opal slowly walked over to Dash’s side, a faint smile on her. “That sounds pretty cool.”
Rainbow Dash smiled down at the little filly. “I’d hoped so. Come on, squirt.”
The pair walked through the door, and back through the train towards Twilight Sparkle’s car. It was always a cold ride through this part of the mountain’s. But when they were with family, nopony seemed to notice.
“…when we got to Canterlot, Twi and I signed all the paperwork and, well, she was ours.”
Rainbow Dash had begun to recount the memories out loud sometime in the middle of her thoughts. Fluttershy had listened on in silence, with baited breath hidden behind a gentle smile as the candle wick burned further and further. Now that she was finished, Rainbow’s mind returned to the present. The dried tears threatened to renew themselves. Those warm memories seemed so far off.
“She’s an awesome pony, Fluttershy. But… but I haven’t seen her in so long.”
Fluttershy smiled and nuzzled her friend as they laid on the floor together. She said in her most gentle voice, “Rainbow, you can’t blame her for that. She’s got a very busy job; being captain of the Wonderbolts is a demanding position.”
“Yeah. It is.” Rainbow told her. Something seemed odd in her voice; all the life, the emotion was draining out of it. “But she knew that when she took on that job. I knew what it would mean, too, and that’s why I never let myself get promoted. So I’d have time for my family. She put her career ahead of us.”
“She would never do that.” Fluttershy assured her. “She just wanted you to be proud of her.”
“Proud?” Rainbow asked, almost offended. “What more did she think she needed to do? I was always proud of her, she was my daughter! She’s the greatest Wonderbolt since… well, me! That’s not easy, but she pulled it off. No reason to cut off ties to everypony just to go an extra mile.”
“Maybe she just wanted something special; an accomplishment she could say was her own? You were the fastest Wonderbolt in history, and the only one able to pull off the Sonic Rainboom, too. The longest-serving captain of the Wonderbolts seems, well, the least she could ask for. Do you think so?”
“She didn’t have to forget about us to do that!” Dash yelled, rising up to her feet. Fluttershy quickly rose with her, her lip quivering as she felt her control of the situation slipping. “We didn’t even find out she’d had twins until their THIRD BIRTHDAY. It’s like she forgot about us as soon as she got what she wanted!”
“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy huffed, shocked at her friends words. “You raised that filly yourself, you know she would never think like that.”
“Even so! She’s left us behind, Fluttershy.” The yellow pegasus faltered a bit, and watched the old mare hang her head. “She’s got a bigger, better life; she doesn’t need us around. She didn’t… she didn’t even attend the funeral.”
Fluttershy shook her head and floated a bit closer to her friend. “That’s not true. I know you’re hurt, but you don’t mean the things you say. I’m certain she thinks of you and of Twilight every day, Rainbow, and she’d spend every moment by your side if she could; you’re her hero. And you should be thinking of her, too; all the wonderful moments you had together, all the memories you’ve shared.”
“Memories!” Rainbow remarked in a bitter tone. “Fluttershy, why would I ever want to think of memories? They’re just insults in the back of your head. Little pictures of things you’ve lost. What’s been taken from you, and what you can never get back.”
The cyan pegasus turned and walked for the door. Fluttershy moved to intercept her again, but halted in midair as she saw the look on the mare’s face. Her eyes were dull, like bricks had replaced her rose-colored irises. Her mouth was clamped tight, and straight as an arrow, no expression one way or the other to be found. A pang of horror hit the pink-maned mare as she realized there was nothing more she could do.
The door back to the outside opened, and Fluttershy turned away. She couldn’t bear to watch as it closed, and she silently drifted back to her couch. As she rested on the cushions, she heard a noise from the stairwell. She looked up to see three of her grandfoals peering out from the darkness, uncertain frowns on all of their faces. She gave a weak smile and beckoned the little ones over, causing the trio to scramble out and surround her in a hug. They were young, maybe four or five years at most, and there was only so much they could do to make their Gran-gran feel better.
“What’s wrong with Auntie Dash?” the youngest, a fiery red unicorn asked. Fluttershy smiled and shook her head at the little one.
“You musn’t worry yourself, Ruby. I tried, but… there’s nothing more we can do to help her. All I can do now is hope that somepony gets through to her...”
She looked out the window, to see the shadow of a pegasus trotting over a hill and out of sight.
“…Before it’s too late.”
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Sad
Stories like this help make life worth living, you know? You've got a knack for conveying such deep emotions...phenomenal work.
I hope Opal comes to talk to Dash.
I'm loving these retrospectives so much. But I know that soon it'll all have to come crashing down and I'll cry a lot
656132
Hey now, Poultron just posted a new rule about role playing. That means no role playing as an imbecile either.
656264
Your username ... subtle Ultima reference?
I like opal. But i'm hoping she had a good reason for skipping the funeral, if not, i would really detest such an ungrateful brat. On another note, you sure have a gift of making people sad. Bravo, i want more!
656387
But seriously, reading this made me think that.
656407 Meh, fine by me. Everyone's got their preferences on what they do or don't like to read. I can see myself about two years ago thinking I'd never touch a story like this... just another way this fandom has screwed with me
656387 My first thought was Homestuck...
656427
*googles "lord english" and "homestuck"*
*waves cane*
Get off my lawn, ya whippersnappers!
*back to the warm glow of a Commodore 64*
656387
It's Homestuck.
EDIT: Looks like you got that already! Silly me, not reading the whole comment thread before replying...
Unlike most I get a bittersweet feeling rather than a sad feeling from this fic (thats a good thing).
Looking forward for the next chapter!
oh and before I forget!
656132
Sorry to be rude but the faster you grow up and stop being so closet minded the better for yourself becuse you will see lesbians out in the real world as well and the real world usually doesn't take as kindly to stupid remarks as the internet does.
656132
Sigh...it kind of saddens me to see this on a fim site, but everyone's entitled to their opinions. I never thought less of anyone for being homosexual...but hey, I'm a liberal Quaker.
658612
Wow, suddenly everyone's bashing me for saying something that's morally right... WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO!?
659875
Thank you! At least I not the only sane person here.
660042
I must have missed the meeting where it was declared "moraly right" to judge people based on sexual preferences.
660055
I never judged the author, I'm judging why young people actually enjoy this stuff.
Poor rainbow
660063 oh...uhh...uh-huh...now I see how poorly my comment was actually worded. I meant to day it saddens me to see somebody judging over a basic social preference on a site of "love and tolerance". I'm with Turai on this one, although calling another viewpoint stupid is uncalled for in my opinion.
What the flying fuck? Did not even attend the funeral of Twi? WHAT A BITCH!!!