Little Changes

by tom117z

24 - The Weight of the Heart

Rainbow Dash shot bolt-upright from her position laid out on the chair at the same time as all the others in the room. A cold sweat was blanketing her body, her breaths were heavier than normal, and a hole had formed in her heart, filling rapidly with a deep sense of dread. Looking around the penthouse suite, she got the impression that she wasn’t the only one.

“Confound all the corners of the cosmos!” Luna swore, her wings flaring out as she stood up with regal fury. “This was unexpected, and I am uncertain as to what just occurred.”

“I’m not sure whether to be intrigued or horrified,” Twilight said, looking around frantically before her eyes settled entirely on the otherworldly Rainbow Dash, who was seemingly enthralled by panic as her native counterpart looked on helplessly. “Actually, never mind. Horrified it is.”

Rainbow’s eyes locked onto Twilight’s, then to Lunas. Her mind was going into a wild haze. It was hard to think straight through the shock of their sudden ejection from the Dream Realm. More than that, she could still see the raw fear in her Twilight’s eyes as her body had started distorting and flickering as orange flares of light filled the distance like a million supernovas.

Rainbow hopped down from her seat, her eyes locking onto Luna. “What happened?!” she asked frantically. Her whole body was shaking as she closed the distance, her ears folding back. “What the hay just happened?! What was that?! What happened to my friends?! What happened to Twilight?! Are they alright?!”

“I do believe they are fine, likely ejected, much as we were,” Luna informed her comfortingly. “And I do not believe that the other version of myself would allow any harm to befall them, so worry not.”

“Yeah, toot your own horn later!” native Rainbow blurted out, much to Luna’s annoyance. “That was like… not awesome! Complete opposite filled with shattering and explosions!”

“On the subject of shattering and explosions…” Twilight muttered. “That didn’t sound good.”

Luna’s features darkened as she glanced out the window. “No, it did not.”

All eyes were diverted with a gentle knock on the door, coming from the room the others had piled into before Luna started her link to the Dream Realm. And then, with a shy little ‘click’, Fluttershy slowly poked her head through.

“Um, sorry but, is something-”

“What has happened!?” Chrysalis demanded to know as she burst in through the door like an avenging knight. “Whoever would harm my child, prepare for annihilation!”

Twilight blanked. “What?”

“Oh, you’re fine! Good!” Chrysalis said with no small amount of relief. “You… I… Damn it, what did you do!?”

“Yer Ma there kinda keeled over for a second, was all kinda… odd,” Applejack said with a frown as she stepped through the doorway.

“More completely and thoroughly terrifying and we thought she’d died or something,” Pinkie Pie said with somewhat less of her usual amount of enthusiasm.

“It was not a sign of my distress, but Twilight’s,” Chrysalis explained. “I felt her connection to the hive be disrupted, if only for a moment. The effect, I admit, left me briefly incapacitated.”

“Oh!” Twilight said with shock, her horn lighting up with a variety of medical spells. “I’m sorry! Did you get seriously hurt? What about the hive!? Did I end our civilization!?”

“Not really, it’s fine, and don’t make me laugh right now,” her mother replied in a deadpan. “But it was rather… uncomfortably familiar. Why was your connection interrupted in such a manner?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, what did happen?!” she demanded, turning back to Luna. It was clear to everypony that she was struggling to keep herself under control. The sporadic twitches in her panicking face were evidence enough of that. “Everything was going fine! What went wrong?!”

“Our rejection from the Dream Realm is yet a mystery,” the Princess of the Night responded, her expression as cool as an evening wind. “As for Twilight’s condition…”

“Well, it was quite the mental assault, getting thrown from your realm like that…” the changeling noted. “It probably caused my connection to fritz for a moment. But I’m fine, really.”

“Well… That is pleasing to hear,” the Queen said, her predatory eyes then moving to glare at Luna. “But I would ‘ask’ that you find out the cause of this as quick as you please!”

“Do not presume I am to procrastinate!” Luna shot back at the Changeling Queen. “Your daughter is safe, as are both Rainbow Dashes. As for the cause… I must depart a moment. I shall be back with great haste, but the rift’s condition must be observed.”

“I can come with-”

“No!” Luna cut Twilight off. “Not until I know what we are dealing with. Remain here, I shan’t be long.”

And then, with a loud POP and a flash of blue light, the Princess was gone.

“Well, I do think that has been enough excitement for one day,” Rarity noted after a moment. “Shall we order room service while we wait?”

“Ah don’t think this is the time for that,” Applejack deadpanned.

As if to emphasize Applejack’s point, Rainbow crumpled to her haunches, her eyes staring down at the floor, wide and unfocused. Her wings twitched on her back while she took a series of deep breaths in a futile effort to calm herself down.

“It would do good for everypony’s nerves!” the white mare defended. “I think we could all use it, don’t you?”

“You have a point, but let’s wait a while, okay? Until we know what’s going on,” Twilight asked her, moving towards Rainbow Dash with Fluttershy.

“Um, Rainbow…?” Fluttershy called out gently. “Um… I… Do you want a hug?”

Rainbow didn’t reply. In truth, she barely even heard the request, much less processed it. Her mind was elsewhere. She couldn’t stop worrying about what had happened. It was probably unhealthy for her, she knew that, but she just couldn’t help it. The whole situation had been eating at her since she had realized where she was, and it seemed like every passing day brought more and more stress and tension to an already painful situation.

She took a shuddering breath and pressed a hoof to her face, screwing her eyes shut. Like a mantra, the words “I just want to go home” began to echo in her mind over and over again. Deep inside of her, a small voice of anxiety asked if they had just lost their chance. Those rifts were orange, and all of those explosions had been orange. Was she trapped here, now? Was that it? The mere thought sent an arctic chill racing down her spine, causing her to shudder involuntarily.

“I… think she needs a hug,” Spike confirmed as he wandered up next to Fluttershy, his claws tapping together in fear. “Yeah. A big one.”

Fluttershy gave him a small nod and, together, they descended onto the pegasus and held her close. The two tried to let her know that it would be fine, that she still had them to support her. That she still had hope.

And Twilight watched on, her heart screaming to join them, but her legs not moving.

“So, Twilight…” the Princess’ native version of the cyan pony spoke out. “What’s up? You look…”

“It’s nothing, Rainbow Dash,” she dismissed quickly. “I’m just… thinking…”

The changeling grimaced. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she support her now of all times? Why couldn’t she get that dream of Rainbow’s from her mind, the sight of a version of herself that matched that old reflection…

And if Rainbow was now stuck here, what would happen then? Could she keep ignoring her changeling nature…? What if…?”

She spotted her mother giving her a knowing look, Twilight’s ears flattening as she slowly started to retreat back from the group. They all looked at her with concern, Fluttershy looking up from the hug with a look of shocked surprise.

“T-Twilight…?”

On hearing the surprised tone in Fluttershy’s voice, Rainbow Dash finally found the strength to open her eyes and look up at Twilight. She locked gazes with the changeling and frowned. For a moment, just a moment, she forced herself to shove down her own fears and sit up a little more. “Hey… are you okay?” she called out, though her own weakened voice made it clear she was not really in a good position to be asking such a question.

Twilight stopped dead, looking like a jackalope had been caught in the lights of an oncoming carriage. A guilty expression descended onto her face, the look of Rainbow Dash’s initial fear back at the hive running through her mind, the exact same looks from those ponies that infiltrator had led in Canterlot…

She looked away, trying to hide her oncoming tears. “I’m sorry…”

There was a flash of lavender magic, and then she was gone.

A heavy silence fell over the room. Rainbow stared at the spot where Twilight had been, a lump forming in her throat. “What… what just happened?” she asked quietly, leaning into Fluttershy’s embrace a little more.

“I am afraid that my daughter has not been entirely upfront with her feelings,” Chrysalis said sadly, sighing as her expression dropped away from the usually seen Queen to one merely that of a concerned mother. “I noticed, earlier when we first arrived in Baltimare. She was evasive, but I could see it.”

“See what?” Fluttershy asked.

“Her scars have never been just physical, Fluttershy,” Chrysalis replied, her eyes affixing themselves to Rainbow’s. “No more than yours are, Rainbow. I’m sure you know, but she hides far more than she lets on. The memory of that day, the betrayal of ponies and the devil who spurred them. The Magic of Friendship guides her, but she also hides behind it.”

Rainbow frowned. “I mean, yeah, that makes sense, but…” she looked down, her brow furrowing. “What does any of that have to do with me? She was only all too happy to try and help me at the start. She was basically bending over backwards for my sake… but now?”

Rainbow closed her eyes as a whole new wave of doubts and anxieties began to eat away at her heart. “Now she’s getting more distant and evasive. It’s like somepony flicked a switch. She went from wanting to help me to being… I dunno. Scared of me? I just… Did I do something wrong again? Is this my fault, too?”

“I would not know, but I do not believe so,” Chrysalis denied. “My daughter’s heart is a large one, but large hearts can often be crushed beneath their own weight. I do not believe she holds any misgivings of you, but perhaps believes you may of her.”

Rainbow’s eyes snapped wide open, a memory from the library bubbling back up to the surface. A small one, seemingly inconsequential compared to everything else going on.

“That was… quite the dream, wasn’t it…?” Twilight scuffed the ground awkwardly. “Do you want to talk about it? It wasn’t about… us, was it?”

Rainbow didn’t say a word. Instead, she simply trotted for the door, dragging her hooves behind her. Twilight watched the pegasus open the door before coming to a stop. Then Rainbow looked down at herself and grimaced. “...Ugh. I need a shower.”

With that, Rainbow departed, leaving the door open behind her.

Just like that, it made sense to her.

‘I am such a freaking moron,’ Rainbow thought for what must have been the trillionth time at this point. She gently brushed Fluttershy and Spike off of her before rising to her hooves. She shook her head to clear away the smog of dread that had been suffocating her and focused on Chrysalis. “I think I know what’s going on… and, yeah, it’s kinda my fault. And that means it’s my responsibility to make it right,” she said slowly, doing her best to keep her voice level and calm.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

Rainbow nodded regretfully. “Yeah… Look, she’s my friend, and I need to go fix my latest mistake, but… she’s your daughter,” she said before drawing herself up to stand tall. One of her hooves wandered up to her ponytail as she continued. “So I’m asking you to let me go after her. I need to make this right, but… I won’t feel right about it without the go-ahead from you.”

Chrysalis hummed for a moment, studying Rainbow Dash in full. She then smirked. “Oh, for me to trust a pony with my daughter’s safety… Your world must have a strange effect on those of my own, for my trust in you must be a sign of insanity.”

“Hey, you mean you wouldn’t trust me?” native Rainbow objected.

“Hah.”

“Hey!”

“My point being…” Chrysalis trailed off. “I respect all you have been through, all your pain has made you. I think my child could learn a thing or two from your own experiences. So if you are willing to share, do so with my consent.”

Rainbow visibly relaxed on hearing that, a grateful smile spreading on her lips. “Thank you. Any idea where she is? Can’t exactly go looking for her if I dunno where she went.”

“A library? You know, a book place? She likes those when she’s sad,” Pinkie suggested.

“Dear, she always likes those,” Rarity pointed out.

“While it is possible, I doubt she would wish to interact with anyone at this moment,” Chrysalis said in doubt. “The source of her insecurity may be that day, but you are its focus, Rainbow Dash. If she wishes to think upon what she believes is the truth, she would go somewhere representing you.”

“A cloud?” native Rainbow suggested.

“No,” Rainbow shut that idea down with a grim frown. Her grip on her ponytail tightened, her hoof coiling around the band that kept her hair bound. After a few seconds, she pulled the band away with a grimace, allowing her mane to fall loose and free over her shoulder. She trotted up to Chrysalis and held it out. “Hang onto this for me, would ya?”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, taking hold of the band in her magic. “Hmph, very well. But I’m afraid you look far less respectable without it.”

Rainbow shrugged. “That’s why I wear it… It’s how I remind myself of my responsibilities. I’m a Princess back home, and I can’t let myself forget that. But right now, I need to just be myself. Just Rainbow Dash. Not some broken royal from a different world.”

There was a moment of silence among the group, all eyes on the pegasus as she stood before them, for the first time since they’d met her, truly as she claimed. Just Rainbow Dash, no royal title, no otherworldly nature, just a friend wanting to help another through her own rough times.

One who remembered that she’s not alone in the world of pain.

Rainbow turned away and approached the nearest window. She glanced back at her other self for a moment before looking outside. It was dark out, no doubt deep in the middle of the night. “...Let Luna know where we are if she gets back first,” she stated before pushing open the window and flaring out her wings. “I’ll be back soon.”

With that, she leapt from the window. She caught the wind on her wings and descended into a steady glide over the streets of Baltimare, her eyes set on where she now knew Twilight to be hiding away.

The place where her life had been irrevocably altered.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t say anything,’ Rainbow thought, pumping her wings for a burst of speed. The wind rushed in her ears and flowed past her face, chasing away her earlier panic and fear in its entirety. ‘But I’m gonna make it right. I promise.’

With that thought, Rainbow gave her wings one last, mighty flap, and vanished into the darkness of the night.

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Another great chapter!

Great Princess Rainbow Dash chapter!

[Viper Pit]

Rainbow may have fucked up

[Kye Belmont]

"Another beauty of a chapter! Now to roll a six sided dice for future vision check for next chapter." Rolls a 1. "... Well, that was climactic." I said sarcastically. "Hope Twilight gets better."

[Lysander Shadowheart]

Magnificent update Tom! I am once more, eager for the next chapter.

[Changeling404]

Yes, feels time! I await egarly for the next part!

[SuperSonicHeroes]

Well, here's hoping Princess Rainbow knows what she is doing and can help Princess Twilight.

[JMP]

I very much enjoy Princess Rainbow, and this chapter is a great example of why. She's...grown up and matured a lot over the course of the Little Flashes series.

[Frazzle2Dazzle]

‘I’m sorry I didn’t say anything,’ Rainbow thought, pumping her wings for a burst of speed. The wind rushed in her ears and flowed past her face, chasing away her earlier panic and fear in its entirety. ‘But I’m gonna make it right. I promise.’

Is it strange that I can hear the priest from ‘The Princess Bride’ saying ‘Twue Wuv’?

[zachary12]

nice work

[tsaukpaetra]

It's not really a screw up, just like Celestia's inattention to Luna wasn't a screw-up. Wait...

[PonyofEntropy]

Nice update. Keep up the good work,

[Sable Dawn]

It is indeed a shame there is not a spell to restore memories, like the one both versions of Twilight used when Discord escaped ( or was that during the switching incident which would make more sense for neither to know it due to the cutie mark switch not occuring during ether of these timelines,on the other hand Celestia probably still would have known of it), on the other hand, I cannot imagine that Celestia had not tried that before even if it required memories of the pony involved.
Ether way I am enjoying the story.