Storm of Secrets

by Wolf Guardian

Prologue: Canterlot Society

SPEED! Rainbow Dash had lived her life for speed, and had never needed it more then she did now. The frenzied cries of thousands of ponies beneath her was blurred out by the roar of the wind as Dash raced through the clouds at breakneck speed. After last weeks injury; three different doctors had told her to take it easy, her wings screamed in agony with every stroke, but she had no choice. She had to fly, EVERYTHING depended on it. Out of the corner of her eye, Dash could see dozens of pegasi hot on her tail, desperate to catch her. One brown pegasi, nearly twice her size, foaming at the mouth from exertion, lunged and grabbed one of her hind legs with both of his front hooves, trying to pull her back into the swelling mass of bodies behind her. Before he knew what was happening, Dash had twisted through a peculiar flip, that sent him spinning into a nearby cloud.

Dash regained her balance before she was knocked off course, but lost precious seconds doing so. Look over her shoulder, Dash saw the whites of the eyes of her closest pursuers; members from the Royal Guard, the weather patrol, and flight crews from across Equestria, all united in one purpose; to catch her.

Sweat poured down her neck as she swerved wildly through a dense mesh of clouds. If she hit a cloud, it would slow her down, if she slowed down they might catch her, if they caught her, her life wouldn't be worth living. Widening her lead over her pursuers, Dash had spotted her goal when a proximity mine, hidden in a cloud, exploded right above her head; drenching her wings with water, slowing her to what felt like a crawl. Dash watched in horror as a great white pegasus from the royal guard caught and then passed her on his way to the package which rested serenely on a pedestal of cloud, just beyond her reach. Despite the desperation of the situation Dash couldn't help but wonder at the beauty of the small package; a Wonderbolt uniform.

The Royal Guard reached the uniform a moment before Dash, clutching it between his massive white hooves, but his ecstasy was short lived. Seizing her life's dream with her front hooves; Dash spun 180 degrees in a heartbeat and kicked the guard with both her hind hooves; convincing him to let go, as she used his ribs to push off and begin her sprint back to the starting line. Taking the uniform had been the easy part, keeping it would be much harder. Dash steeled her eyes on the dozens pegasi heading towards her and prepared to plunge through the middle of them. All of them were strong fliers, all of them wanted the uniform, but only one of them could have it, and Dash wanted it more then any of them. The pegasus who presented the uniform to Spitfire would earn the right to wear it. There was no second place, there were no second chances. If Dash hadn't strained her wing training last week, this would be easy; but her recent injury was making this the hardest trial of her life, but that was the way she wanted it. If fulfilling her dream didn't take every ounce of her skill and courage, she would be disappointed.

With no time to think, Dash shot through the center of the cloud of her jealous rivals. Hooves reached out and grabbed at empty air as she air danced through them like they were the quarry eels of Ghastly Gorge. Shooting out the back of the herd unscathed, Dash opened her final reserves of energy and pushed towards her dream. Gazing ahead of her, Dash could see the finish line, and beyond that, the Wonderbolts, her fillyhood heroes, her idols. But between her and them hovered one last pegasus, who had waited right in front of the starting/finish line since the race began, saving her energy to steal the uniform from whoever got it this far. Each wing beat sent waves of agony through Dash's spine, her breath came in gasps and sweat poured off her back like rain. She looked up at the black mare ahead of her; calm, fresh, ready to pillage the prize the moment Dash got within reach.

The black mare raced towards her, hooves outstretched. Dash panicked as the realized that she wouldn't be able to out maneuver her. The black mare prepared to tackle. Dash's mind raced through every feint and slight of hoof she knew, but none of them could save her, unless... 'Daring Do and the Griffins Goblet'! It had worked for Daring Do to outsmart Ahuitzotl, but could it work in real life? Probably not. Dash rolled the uniform into a ball and threw it as hard as she could into the hooves of the black mare, who fell backwards from the force of the impact, facing the sky as her hooves fondled the precious uniform. The black mare stared for a moment, confused as to why Dash would give her the uniform without a fight; but before she came to her senses, Dash raced past her and snatched the uniform back from her startled, now empty hooves. By the time the black mare realized she no longer had the uniform, Dash was already across the finish line holding the uniform in her mouth.

It took Dash several moments to realize why the crowd was suddenly cheering so loud. They were cheering for her! SHE'D WON!!! She was a Wonderbolt! The Wonderbolts were the most magnificent, swiftest, bravest pegasi in Equestria. Dash had dreamed of joining them since before she could talk and now, her dream was coming true! Rainbow's eyes filled with tears of joy when she saw her five friends from Ponyville were there; cheering for her, sharing her joy, but not even Pinkie Pie cheered as loudly as did Dash when she realized at long last, she was a Wonderbolt. It was the happiest moment of her life.

12 months later

For Rainbow Dash, it had been another long morning working out with the Wonderbolts, and now, after weeks of wing straining practice, they were at last ready for their next performance. GOOD! She finally had a few hours away from those airborne idiots, and wouldn't have to deal with then again until sundown. If she had to put up with any more of their complaining, she felt like she was going to scream.

Her radiant dream of being a Wonderbolt had faded to ash, as she slowly realized what the Wonderbolts were really like. They were stupid, lazy, selfish cowards. Merchandising, and gallivanting for the crowds, were the only things they cared about, and they were the only things they did well. When Rainbow first arrived at the Wonderbolt stables, she could hardly believe she had finally made it; she had to keep pinching herself just to make sure it was real. Now she was sure it was real, and kept wishing that it was just a bad dream she could wake up from.

Rainbow remembered the shock and excitement when, after basic initiation, it became almost instantly clear that, even without the tightly monitored diet and the exercises of the Wonderbolts, she was already the best flier there. The highest wing power any other Wonderbolt could boast was Spitfire’s 16.1; 0.4 of a point less then Rainbow. Dash had tried to ignore her creeping doubts and instead, focused on striving to match a standard of Wonderbolt perfection which existed only in her own mind. She broke record after record, won derby after derby, increased her wing power to an incredible 17.8 (the highest ever recorded in Equestria), and finally, six months ago, challenged Spitfire to a flight duel for leadership of the Wonderbolts. It wasn't much of a challenge. Now that she was leader of the Wonderbolts, her life was over. Every goal had been fulfilled, every obstacle overcome; now there was nothing left to do and nowhere left to go. Nothing except performing repetitive routines for ponies rich enough to see her preform and stupid enough to dream of one day joining the Wonderbolts.

Rainbow still hoped that, one day she might form the Wonderbolts into the team they all pretended to be; but so far her efforts had been met with nothing but a series of abysmal failures. Once, for example, she had tried to get the Wonderbolts to practice their performances during thunderstorms. “There’d be no point” the other Wonderbolts had all insisted, “nopony would come to watch us in a thunderstorm, so why should we waste our time and energy getting a skill we could never use?” They just didn't get it! The idea wasn't because it would be instantly useful, the idea was to do something because it was an adventure, and would force them to become a stronger, more cooperative team. Another time, she had even suggested breaking the Wonderbolts into two competing teams, but if they thought her other ideas were silly, this one they simply took it as a joke. They were all unquestionably fantastically gifted fliers, but most of them were shortchanging themselves to their potential.

They weren’t that brave either. Just four days ago the energy shield that had encompassed Canterlot for the last year had mysteriously vanished. The Wonderbolts immediately jumped to the conclusion that the world was going to end. Rainbow tried to remind them that Canterlot had stood for centuries without an energy shield, but they wouldn't listen. Once they had gotten used to a luxury, it seemed like they forgot how they had ever survived without it. The Wonderbolts lost two days of training, convinced that the sky would fall on them if they went outside, until Dash had virtually dragged them onto the track so they would be ready for their next performance. (Why had she wanted to be their leader again?)

Rainbow was glad she hadn't gotten too deeply involved with any of the Wonder-stallions. When she first arrived at the stables, it was all she could do to keep herself from throwing herself at them. But she was afraid that if she spent the first night in the stables with one of the stallions, none of the Wonderbolts would ever respect her. She had promised herself that for two weeks she wouldn't get involved, which she managed only by spending every free moment training on the track. But by the time her brief trial had passed, she was already beginning to see through the veneers of her new teammates. The thought of being with any of the Wonder-Stallions use to make her heart race, now it made her stomach churn. (Some foalish Wonderbolt fans were even saying the reason she wasn't dating the stallions was because she didn't go that way and Spitfire might have a better shot with her. Some idiots will believe anything!)

In truth, Rainbow was coming to hate almost every part of being a Wonderbolt. But what else could she do? Go back to Ponyville and the weather patrol; finishing a day’s work in ten seconds flat and then spend the rest of the day reading about the adventures of Daring Do, but never have another adventure of her own? Fly aimlessly into the Everfree Forest and wait to get eaten by some wild animal? She wasn't quite that desperate, yet.

Diamond Tiara was graduating middle school that day and had whined and begged her father until he rented the Palace ballroom and gardens for her graduation party. Extravagant entertainment was being brought in from all over Equestria and the Wonderbolts had been hired to perform, with a huge bonus if the routine was an original. Not that performing for less then deserving crowds was anything new to Rainbow this last year, but opting for an 'exclusive party' the guest list was only a handful of close 'close friends' and a few dozen of Canterlot's cultural elite. Apparently 'close friends' did not include Rainbow’s younger sister Scootaloo who happened to be graduating the same class, at the same time, with higher grades then Diamond Tiara. Rainbow had been too busy to visit home in a couple of months. She would have loved to have seen her sister graduate, or for Scootaloo to see her performance with the Wonderbolts, or even see Tank again, whom Scootaloo had adopted when Rainbow joined the Wonderbolts. All this was wishful thinking however as Rainbow couldn't go home because she had to prepare the Wonderbolts to perform for the little brat's party! Frustrating! Oh well, its not like she had much of a choice. The Wonderbolts needed the money too much to turn down paying customers, and Filthy Rich was the only one hiring that week. She'd just have to lead the Wonderbolts in another performance past almost empty seats and viewing boxes and pretend that her family and friends were watching.

The Wonderbolts were all invited to the dance party afterwords, but Rainbow didn’t feel like dancing. A year ago she would have given her front-left hoof to dance with any one of the Wonder-stallions, but now that she could dance with any Wonder-stallion there, she'd rather not dance at all.

Well rehearsals were over and she had a few hours for herself before the sunset performance. She needed somepony to talk to, she needed a friend. Since leaving Ponyville she had been too busy to get to know many ponies well, except the Wonderbolts, so she was grateful that about the same time she joined the Wonderbolts, Rarity had moved to Canterlot to accommodate her rapidly growing clothing and fashion empire. Rainbow quickly unsuited and washed, then left to pay Rarity a visit.

Rarity's new bastion wouldn't have been hard to find even if Rainbow hadn't already known where it was. Rainbow flew to the head of a main street and into the gaping mouth, on the ground floor, of an enormous tower. The ground floor was a store, filled with every sort of dress, hat, scarf and horseshoe imaginable. Colorful ponies of every kind roamed through rack after rack of even more colorful clothes. The high arched ceilings were painted with beautiful ponies enjoying themselves at a variety of indoor and outdoor parties, each wearing the clothes that were sold directly beneath them. The paintings had two purposes: so visiting ponies could see what clothes were in an aisle without having to be there, and to make them feel self-conscious about not buying the clothes of the illustrious party-goers above them. It was amazing how the silent revelers seemed to cast judgmental glances, that followed you wherever you went, while maintaining their visage of happiness and ease. As a result, business was brisk, no matter how high prices shot up. Rainbow watched for a few minutes as a dozen ponies carried away their purchases. She wondered how many of them could actually afford what they were buying, and how long it would be before they were back for more.

Passing the fox-walk, (where new dresses were displayed every night by young filly models, who would be kept for a few weeks at the time before being replaced,) Rainbow came to the stairs. Down she knew would bring her into a subterranean world of manicures, massages, mud baths and hot swim spas, heated by an incinerator fed by the dresses that either weren’t made properly, hadn't sold or had gotten negative reviews by the Canterlot fashion magazines. Rarity was adamant that “nothing but the best” could be sold in her store.

Instead Rainbow went up the stairs to find herself in a lower roofed, densely packed room, filled with rows of dozens of ponies, racing sewing machines to finish their day's quota. One mare stopped sewing for a moment to wipe down her forehead and drink some water, hoping that the supervisor didn't notice, and dock her pay for stopping. The windows were shut to prevent gusts of wind disrupting the work (or maybe to prevent fliers by seeing the way the workers were pushed.) One small unicorn walked around the room, continually casting a cold spell, but the room was still uncomfortably hot. Not many ponies, apart from sewers or staff, came up here unless it was to pick up a custom order. It was easier to buy the dresses on the first floor without seeing where they were made.

Rainbow hurried through the second and third floors, trying not to look into the faces of those ponies who guaranteed her friend's success. Upon reaching the top of the third floor she was immediately recognized by the guard and admitted to the fourth floor which began Rarity's mansion which occupied the top five floors of the tower. (Well technically Rarity only occupied the top three floors, one floor was for the servants and another was specially dedicated to Rarity's cat, Opal, whose domain was now larger then the entire house that she and Rarity used to share and included two servants).

More and more, Rarity was personifying the Element of Generosity in name only. Once there had been a charity auction where Rarity offloaded every original draft she had made for her sewers to follow, and the money was donated to the Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. Aside from that, no gifts came from Rarity's workshops and her staff, upon whom her entire business relied upon, were paid a pittance for their efforts. It was amazingly horrifying how much Canterlot could change somepony in a single year.

By the time Rainbow had reached Rarity's personal workshop on the sixth floor, the sound of sewing machines had faded and had been replaced by harmonious water fountains. Rainbow weaved her way between about twenty pony manikins in various stages of being dressed, that orbited a small but luxurious lounge in the center of the room. Gentle light flowed freely through silver paneled windows and open double doors leading to the balcony encompassing the tower with a 360 degree view of Canterlot and the surrounding countryside. Nevertheless; the sight, sound and smell of the second and third floors remained. Every time Rainbow visited, business had improved which meant more and more sewers had to be crammed into those two floors. Until a few weeks ago things had been OK, but if business kept growing at this rate, Rarity would need to find more space for her sewers fast or else things would really start getting crazy down there.

“Rarity,” she called, “it’s me, Rainbow Dash.” There was no immediate response so Rainbow decided to take a look around. She helped herself to a cup of apple cider and was about to walk out onto the balcony when something caught her eye. Half buried in a bin full of fabric scraps, was a medal for bravery from the Canterlot guard. Rainbow was about to pull it out to get a better look, when she heard Rarity's voice descending down the stairs.

“Hellooo, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow stepped away from the bin and tried to act normal as Rarity came into view. That last few times she had visited, Rarity had been wearing one of her latest dresses that went beyond extravagance; with more feathers and tassels then should have been on ten dresses. Today however, Rarity came dressed simply in her white fur and looked genuinely pleased to see her old friend. Maybe there was something left of the old Rarity after all “Rainbow Dash! Darling! How are you?”

“I'm OK Rarity, it's good to see you.”

“You too Rainbow Dash. Have you come to see the new suits I'm making for the Wonderbolts? They won't be ready for two more weeks, but when they are, they will be simply magnificent!”

“Sound's great for later, but right now I just want to talk.”

“Is this about the shield disappearing?” Rarity said anxiously “I've been asking all the Canterlot guards I know, but none of them have given me a straight answer. Something about the machine that generates the shield needing repairs.” Rarity knew a lot of stallions in the royal guard, but Rainbow would understand if most of them didn't want to talk to her or tell the full truth. Since coming to Canterlot, Rarity had become obsessed with finding 'the perfect stallion to suit the perfect mare', but most of her relationships didn't last for more then a few weeks.

“To be honest I'm not too worried about it. The Wonderbolts and I fly a patrol all around Canterlot each morning as a warm up and I haven't seen any invading army. Really; I just came to talk to an old friend.”

“Oh course, it’s been so long since we've simply chatted like we use to back in Ponyville. Oh how those days seem so long ago now. We've both come so far and done so well since then. To think that two mares from the same small town should hit the jackpot at the same time. Now we’re both living the dream! Queens of Canterlot so to speak! Oh, could life get any better for us?”

“I dunno,” Rainbow was starting to wonder if visiting Rarity was such a good idea, “sometimes I miss the way things were back in Ponyville, when we knew less ponies, but the ponies we did know were our friends.”

“Of course those times were good, but ponies like us can't just go on being noponies forever. Sooner or later we had to move on, move up in the world, and after we've made it this far there's no going back down, only upwards, FOREVER!” Rarity was clearly enjoying the prospect; of living like this for the rest of her life. Rainbow tried to change the topic.

“Speaking of bottom floors, have you visited your workshop lately?”

“Why of course, I'm surprised you would even ask. I pass it every day coming up or going down to the store. I just love keeping my work so close to me. Aren’t the designs they're making fabulous? I spoke with my supervisor today and he thinks he can have production up 30% from last month with our newest sewers. Isn’t it great?”

“Great for business maybe, but don't you think your workers could use a little bit more room to work in? I had a hard time getting up here it was so crowded.”

“You did? Really? Well that's no good, we can't have them obstructing my guests from visiting now can we? Don't worry, I'll have them move the tables to make the alley way a bit wider.”

“I think the sewers would really appreciate it if they had more space. Its crowded down there, and hot. Maybe you should pay more attention to the ponies making the dresses and less attention to the dresses.”

“They don't mind it Dash, they're happy to work down there. If they didn't like it they could leave. Besides the tower is full, where else could I put them?”

“Well, you've given your cat an entire floor to herself, maybe if you moved Opal up to-”

“Oh no, no, no, no. You know how hard Opal finds it to accept change. I mean, she just got settled in to her new bedroom. To yank her out and make her start over again, why, that would border on cruelty, and you know how I feel about animal cruelty. But I'll tell you what I will do, lately I've been wanting to expand a bit anyways, so if business keeps improving, I was going to add four new floors to the top of my tower, maybe five. Construction wouldn't take more then a year and when I move up my servants shall move with me leaving the sewers a free floor. That should make them happy don't you think? Oh and you simply must come and visit me when my new floors are complete. We'll have the biggest housewarming party ever.”

Maybe coming to see Rarity hadn't been such a good idea after all. At least not if she was looking for somepony who would sympathize with hating how shallow and self-centered Canterlot society had turned out to be. Then Rainbow Dash remembered the medal. Turning around as if to admire one of the half finished dresses, she 'accidentally' bumped into the waste bin. “Hey what's this?” she asked in a surprised tone lifting the medal of bravery out from on top of the cloth.

“Oh THAT! That was left by a stallion who used to come by here until a few days ago, and whom I don't care to ever see again.”

Well that was another suitor rejected. Three dozen down, every eligible stallion in Canterlot to go until she found her perfect match “That's too bad Rarity, I'm sure you'll find somepony someday who will be everything you want in a stallion.”

Rarity's voice rang with indifference “Well whoever he is, he had better know better the last heart breaker. I thought I'd finally found the one, he was everything: charming, rich, handsome and then I found he'd spent the day with another mare.”

So she had a legitimate reason for dumping this guy. The last few times, Rainbow was thinking Rarity was holding her stallions to too high of standards, like breaking up with them for not holding a fork 'properly'. “I'm so sorry Rarity” she meant it.

“To think that he would spend his day wading in sewer filth!”

“...You mean he went off with one of your sewing mares?”

“What? Oh no, no, dear, I mean he was into the sewers, where they send all the…well, you know. I know that the plumber was sick and that his daughter, while knowing how to fix the blockage, couldn't handle the big machines by herself; and I know that if the block wasn't fixed right away it would overflow into ponies’ houses; and I know that she had been his friend since foalhood; but how any stallion who called himself a gentlecolt could spend his day off bridal deep in that icky, icky sewage, and then think he could come to MY fashion show after only washing twice with soap, is beyond me! The inconsideration! A crime against fashion doesn’t even come close to what it was! After all the work I put into that show, the least he could have done would have been to take a mud bath at the spa to make sure the smell was truly off. Well, I hope he's very happy with his sewer rats! Any respectable pony wouldn't so much as go near the sewers let alone swim in them, no matter what the reason. Let somepony else do it! Not somepony who thinks he's worthy of dating Canterlot's most prestigious fashion designer!”

On the other hoof, maybe the stallions weren’t the problem, “I don't know what to say Rarity.”

“Oh why is it so hard to find a decent stallion?” Rarity whined as she collapsed onto a couch striking a dramatic hoof to her forehead. “Is there a stallion for me out there, or am I doomed to walk alone as the most regal pony in Canterlot?”

Probably, if this is how she treated her suitors, “Don't give up Rarity. Maybe you just need to look harder.”

“You’re right” Rarity said firmly rising from her couch “after all it really is their loss, I doubt any of the ruffians know what they're missing!”

Obviously, if they did know, they wouldn't keep trying to court her affection. “I'm sure there's a Stallion out there for you somewhere.” It was the only thing Rainbow could think of, not that she really hoped it was true.

“Yes there is, and when I find him I'll grab him and never let him go! We'll be together forever!”

God help him.

“Our wedding will be the wedding of the century! Then we'll have lots and lots of little babies and name them after all my favorite gems, well name them Ruby and Turquoise and Sapphire and Jasper and Chrysolite and …

Maybe this perfect guy has a cabin out in the Everfree Forest where he can hide.

“Topaz and little Pearl …”

If there were going to be all these little Rarity gems running around Canterlot, maybe Rainbow Dash could go join him there.

“… and they'll all take after their mother, and have perfect table manners, and we'll show Canterlot society all they're lacking in family graces, and I'll make them all fabulous little dresses and they will be the models in this new fashion show I'm planning, starring me, their mother, with a dress and matching jewelry that encompasses all of theirs, and we'll win first place, and the Princess will …”

This had to stop, now. “Rarity, don't you think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself?”

“Oh I suppose your right Rainbow Dash, but a girl’s got to dream. What are we without our dreams? Nothing!”

“Listen, I gotta go”

Rarity looked disappointed, but only for a moment. “Of course darling, don't let me keep you, I'm sure you have places you need to be; bye-bye for now.”

Rainbow Dash left Rarity's by the window rather then going back down through the workshops and flew aimlessly around Canterlot. She didn't have somewhere she needed to be, but she did need to get out of there. Anywhere that was away from what her life had become: the shallowness, the the hypocrisy, the self-concern. These had of course all applied to her once, she just hadn’t realized it at the time; but in Canterlot those attitudes were everywhere. It was like being forced to look at your self in a mirror, and Rainbow Dash hated what she saw. Canterlot was even worse then she had ever been. At least she had a real skill to boast about, but Canterlot ponies didn’t seem to care if they had special talents or not, so long as they could make ponies believe they did so they could boast about them.

After a few months Rainbow was fed up with it, and started recoiling from boasting and obsession of appearances because in her eyes it made her seem like all the other mindless ponies of Canterlot. On Rarity however, it had exactly the opposite effect. She nose-dived straight into Canterlot culture and did whatever it took to fit in and 'be like ponies'. Poor Spike, he had waited so long trying to find ways to become more then just friends with Rarity, and then she was the one who ended up becoming dragonish. There had to be somewhere she could go, something she could do. If this guy that Rarity had dropped had spent one day bridle deep in sewer filth, Rainbow Dash felt like she had spent the last six months swimming in it, almost drowning in it. Rainbow use to wonder why, if Canterlot was so great, Princess Celestia spent so much of her time visiting small simple towns like Ponyville. Now she knew.

Comments

[Wolf Guardian]

Considering that most chapters on this website are about 3000 words I've broken down the original chapter 1 into the prologue and chapters 1 & 2; and I broke the original chapter 3 into chapters 4 & 5.

When I deleted the original chapters all the comments that have been made so far were lost.

All the chapters have also been edited since they were last up (especially what is now the prologue)

[the other sans]

Rainbow’s younger sister Scootaloo... wait...
younger sister Scootaloo
younger sister Scootaloo
younger sister Scootaloo
Wow...

[Beware The Carpenter]

986791

This is Wolf Guardian new account; here's what's happened. Since they modified the site in September I haven't been able to log on. I've tried the 'forgot password' tab and that's been useless. I tried mailing knighty twice and then mailed all three moderators with their emails available and got no responses. I've got about five chapters ready to post (plus I've edited everything I already had up) so I've made a new account and re-posted the story. I figured putting everything up at once was a bit much so there's two new chapters up, and the others I'll put up over the last week as I do the final proofread. Sorry for the wait.

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/60626/Storm-of-Secrets-Remastered