• Published 13th May 2012
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Austraeoh - Imploding Colon

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Pendant

“Nnnngh—Gaah!” Rainbow Dash's eyes flew wide open, and they weren't hers.

Gold Petals gasped. In the light of a dim candle, she pressed the pegasus until she was lying back down on her cot. “Calm down! You were out for—like—ten hours—”

“Scrkk... Burning... It burns...” Rainbow Dash gnashed her teeth and thrashed about the tiny wooden room. “Nngh... What's... What's wrong with my—” She flung her hoof up to her throat. She gasped. Her neck was bare. “Where?! Where is it?!”

“You looked so uncomfortable in your sleep. I took the liberty of removing the pendant—”

“Are you friggin' crazy?!” Rainbow Dash sat up, snarling like a beast. “Where is it?! What did you do with it?!”

“I-I—”

“Tell me!”

Gold Petals pointed nervously. “It's right there on the end table—”

Rainbow Dash lunged for it. She knocked a stool and a stack of bandages over in her effort. Panting heavily, she grabbed the golden neckpiece and flung it over her head, fumbling to clasp it in the back.

“Here, allow me—” Gold reached.

“I got it!” Rainbow snapped. Seething, she concentrated and finally fitted the item on. Once she felt its familiar weight, she let out a huge breath of relief and slumped back against the nearby wall. She sweated, trying to calm herself down as the liquid seconds dripped by.

Gold Petals fidgeted, fighting back a slew of shivers. Biting her lip, she bravely murmured, “Your eyes. They were... different, just a moment ago.”

“I don't know what you're talking about...”

“They were red, but a different kind of red. And the whites had turned yellow—”

“You saw nothing.”

“But—”

“You didn't see anything!” Rainbow Dash snarled. “I know I kid about a lot of stuff, but I sure as heck ain't kidding about this!”

The tiny room echoed slightly with that outburst. Soon everything quieted until all Rainbow could hear was the panting sound of her own voice. With a groan, she sat up and ran a hoof through her mane hair, pausing to revel in the flat feel of her brow.

“Look, I'm sorry. You've obviously done a lot to take care of me since—Owww...” She winced slightly as she ran a hoof over a series of bandages plastered to her spine. “Ahem. So, like, thank you and all. But there's something you must know in case I'm crazy enough to hang out in this shindig any longer.” She gulped and stared Gold Petals directly in the face, all the while tugging on the edges of her ruby-studded pendant. “This must never... EVER be taken off of me. You got it? I don't care how many crazy frickin' bats from nightmareville decide to stab me, this thing stays on my neck at all times. Do you understand?”

Gold Petals hung her head.

Rainbow Dash stared at her. For a moment, she thought she saw a flash of lavender color in the corner of her eyes. So she clenched them shut, seethed, and reopened them... satisfied to see everything returning back to its dismal, Windthrow normality.

“Seriously. Thanks for everything. It's just that... well... I can be in a worse state than being gnawed at by flying suitcases. And, for that matter, I—” She paused in the middle of her awkward speech, her ears twitching. “What... What's all the commotion about?”

Gold Petals gazed out the tiny shack's door. Several ponies were hurriedly martching past the frame, collectively heading towards the loud and crowded center of town.

“Well?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Patron god of crossdressers got your tongue?”

“Mmmm...” Gold Petals meekly stirred before saying, “It's Sladesteed.”

“What about him?”

“You've been out a long time, and he's called together an emergency meeting.”

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