Evanstallion: Neon Friendship

by Short-tale

Episode 21: The Light and the Truth

Twilight and Pinkie Pie stood in the control room and looked through the window at the three entry plugs simulators. Pinkie placed her hooves on the sill and lowered her head in a sigh. Her normally perky self was unusually subdued. Her hair flopped to the side lifelessly.

“Um Pinkie?” Twilight hesitantly asked. “Did you hear what I said?”

“Of course Twilight I listen to everything you say,” Pinkie said flatly into her own hooves.

“What do you want to do about it?”

Pinkie remained huddled at the sill. “I don’t know. Whatever you think is ok.”

“What I think? Pinkie, I was telling you that Rainbow Dash’s sync rate has dropped considerably. We need to find out why.”

“Well she is worried about Fluttershy being out of action,” sighed Pinkie.

“I took that into inconsideration along with her recent defeat, but it’s still not adding up.”

“I’ll talk to her again.”

“What’s going on?”asked Twilight. “This isn’t you. You’re normally bouncing off the walls to help anypony. Or suggesting a party or something wacky. It helps everypony’s spirits. But lately you have been moping. Even your mane isn’t right. I don’t know what happened because you won’t tell me but we need Rainbow. Right now Fluttershy isn’t allowed near her Eva for a while and Maud isn’t much of a fighter.”

“I can’t tell you,” the pink mare hissed then switched to a softer tone,”not yet. It’s too soon.” Pinkie closed her eyes tight and took a few ragged breaths. Then she began to trot away. “I’ll try talking to her. See if I can cheer her up.”

Twilight thought she heard a small whimper as the party mare left. “What has Cheese done now?” she whispered to herself.

***

Rainbow Dash slammed her hoof into her locker. She had felt the control of the Eva slipping away but couldn’t hold on to it like she normally did.

“Stupid robot! Stupid sync tests!” she shouted. She bucked a nearby wastebasket and sent the contents flying into the hallway.

The refuse landed on a grey cross eyed pegasus mare as she walked by. She tightened her mouth and was about to speak when Pinkie stopped her.

“Rainbow, you should be more careful. You could have hurt somepony with that trash can,” scolded Pinkie.

“Humph,” snorted Rainbow indignantly.

“Listen Rainbow!” Pinkie suddenly shouted.” Just because you’re the only hope for pony kind right now doesn’t give you the right to make other ponies feel bad!”

Rainbow suddenly drew back, ashamed and hurt, at Pinkie’s fury. Pinkie noticed then let all the heat in her out with a large breath.

“Sorry, you didn’t deserve that,” Pinkie admitted. “I guess I haven’t been the bestest friend to everypony lately either. It’s been kinda a rough week.”

“I know,” sighed Rainbow Dash. “Between Fluttershy in the hospital and my stupid Eva not working right I’ve been not feeling right. I’ve been feeling kind of guilty. You see I love Fluttershy and all but after that last Eva battle I started feeling kind of jealous. Fluttershy can connect so easily with these things. It’s like a gift. I just don’t know how to sync harder. I mean how do I even train for that? I mean.. whoa.”

Rainbow glanced over at Pinkie who had been looking at the ground silently weeping.

“Look, I’m sorry about the garbage can,” stammered Rainbow. “I’ll stop kicking them. I ...I promise.”

Pinkie remained completely still.

“Aww geez. I’m not good with this. I’ll get Twilight or um Cheese. I’ll be right back.”

“You won’t find him,” came the soft flat tone from the still figure.

“What do you mean won’t find him? Did he leave again?! After all the talk about being with you. I would think that..”

Pinkie reached over and grabbed Rainbow like a large teddy bear. She squeezed the speedster and began balling. “He’s gone!”

“How could he run off again without telling me?” Rainbow grumbled and tried to fly out of Pinkie’s grasp. She found herself in a tighter hug instead. An upset clinging Pinkie was worse than a python. At least a python knew the damage it was causing.

“He didn’t leave,” moaned Pinkie. “He’s gone!”

“Wait?? You mean gone gone?!”

“The gonest!”

“No way! No way! No way!” repeated a pale Rainbow as she tried to back away from Pinkie. Pinkie just began wailing again and Rainbow couldn’t escape. “But..but.. he was just.. how can he?”

Rainbow collapsed with the caterwauling Pinkie in a heap of disbelief.

“What in the world?!” shouted Twilight as she found the pair crying in the corner of the locker room. “You were supposed to cheer her up, not cry together in a corner.”

Pinkie was a large unconsolable ball of soggy fur and tears.

“Pinkie...says ...Cheese is gone,” gasped Rainbow.

“Ok,” Twilight said in a soft controlled voice. “I’ll just find you some more cheese.”

“Cheese ...Sandwich,” sobbed Rainbow.

“Ok I’ll make you a ..” Comprehension slowly dawned on Twilight as she spun towards the kitchen. “Cheese Sandwich is gone!” She shouted emphasizing each word.

“The...the...gonest,” wailed Rainbow.

“Oh no,” said Twilight, placing her hoof to her mouth. “How did this happen?”

“I don’t know. Pinkie just told me.”

“What happened?” demanded Twilight of the sobbing pink ball.

Pinkie went through a brief series of spasms and finally managed to get out,”Pinkie sense.”

“Are ...are you sure?” implored Twilight in a panic.“I mean he might just have gone out of range or something else? We just don’t know how your Pinkie sense works.”

“I do. And I felt him leave,” explained a dry raspy Pinkie. “He just ‘poof’.”

Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other in disbelief.

“I just don’t understand,” stammered Twilight. She sat next to the two who resumed wailing. Then their necklaces all began to blink.

“An angel? Now?” gasped Twilight looking at the two distraught ponies. “Look it is a sad thing losing a friend like this but I don’t think Cheese would have wanted us to let ponykind down on his account.”

Pinkie wiped a hoof across her eyes. “You’re right. Cheese would have wanted us to be happy and kick some angel butt.”

“Yeah,” said Rainbow with a little uncertainty. “Let’s do it for Cheese.”

The three mares made their way to their respective stations. Rainbow Dash flew towards her Eva. Twilight and Pinkie found Trixie, Bon Bon and Lyra watching the various monitors.

“What’s the situation?” asked Twilight.

“We have an angel in our.. yeaack! What happened to you, Pinkie?!” responded Lyra.

“Nevermind me,” shooed off a determined, red-eyed Pinkie. “What’s going down?”

“Well a new angel has been spotted in orbit,” explained Bon Bon.

“What’s it doing?” asked Twilight.

“As far as Trixie can tell,” answered Trixie,”nothing.”

“Let’s destroy it,” shouted Pinkie enthusiastically.

Trixie, Lyra and Bon Bon looked at each other with concern.

“Ok, I guess we are here to destroy angels,” ventured Trixie.

“Ok, here is the plan,” explained Pinkie. “Maud will grab the big cannon and blast it out of orbit and Rainbow Dash will fly up there and chop what’s left into itty bitty bits with her razor wings.”

“That sounds ... kind of violent,” voiced an unsettled Trixie.

“Um, Pinkie, perhaps we should try a different plan,” suggested Twilight quietly.

“It’s ok, Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash through the loud speaker. “I got this. For Cheese!”

“For Cheese!” echoed Pinkie.

“They must really like cheese,” whispered Lyra to Bon Bon.

Fluttershy wandered into the control room wearing her entry plug suit. She watched through a monitor as Rainbow Dash ran through the Eva preflight.

“Fluttershy, nice to have you in the control room today,” commented Twilight. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better. But you don’t need to wear your plug suit.”

“I thought that if anypony got tired or needed help, I could at least do that,” explained Fluttershy.

“The Princess ordered that you can’t be in your Eva,” reminded Twilight.

“Oh ok,” replied Fluttershy meekly.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy,” said Rainbow. “You rest. Maud and I will take care of this one. Though I doubt Maud will need to do much. Ha ha.”

“I don’t care either way,” replied Maud.

“Eva launch,” screamed Pinkie without her normal fanfare. She wore an expression that would make the toughest angels run for cover.

***

Rainbow watched as the door above her opened. This was her chance. With Fluttershy grounded she could be the hero now. Then Fluttershy would see how awesome a girlfriend she had.

The Eva hit the open air and Rainbow opened its wings. This was the perfect time to use Unit-02. No pony else’s Eva could soar to the heights like hers could. Now was her chance to shine.

A bright beam of light struck the Eva a few feet off the ground. It sheared through the Eva’s nerve pathways and into Rainbow’s mind. Rainbow shrieked in agony. It felt like every nerve in her body was on fire. She couldn’t see. She couldn’t hear. She didn’t even know what happened. The Eva crashed to the ground with its wings curled over its head. The beam continued to shine and Rainbow couldn’t stop it.

The cyan pegasus felt a presence in the light. It was some sort of being. It hummed a tune that she had once heard as a foal. It sounded like ”Ode to Joy ” by Beat Hooven. She could feel the being in her mind. It searched through her memories, her thoughts and secret desires.

“Noooo!” the second filly screamed at the entity. “Leave my mind alone!”

But it wouldn’t leave. It started to sift through memories and thoughts. Private thoughts that Rainbow didn’t want any pony to see. Things she had never even allowed herself to acknowledge.

“No! No! No! Not there! Don’t go in there!” she pleaded.

The white light creature paid no attention to her plight. It hummed its favorite tune and poured through her closet of secrets. It threw at her all the darkest fears it could. She saw Fluttershy getting hurt. Pinkie pie, Twilight and the others dead. No pony coming to rescue her.

“Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!” Rainbow Dash demanded. “I don’t want to see anymore!”

Then the being stopped and looked in a small crevice. Rainbow could feel its glee and malice. It looked at her and smiled. Then it poked a strange bubble. The bubble burst and she became flooded with memories. Memories she hadn’t remembered. She remembered Ponyville. She remembered the parties with friends. The fights for Equestria flashed through her mind. The friendships with Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Applejack, and another white unicorn that she couldn’t quite remember the name of followed. Then she remembered the Wonderbolts and her dreams. She remembered her highly supportive parents.

Underneath it all Rainbow Dash remembered the yellow pegasus that she desperately tried to impress. Her longest friend that she loved so dearly. Her kind friend that had always cheered her on. The one she never had the courage to tell her how she truly had felt.

Then Rainbow began to remember Discord. Discord holding Fluttershy’s hoof. Discord constantly making her friend laugh. Discord never letting her get close enough to finally confess. The wedding. The cake. The yellow pegasus forever out of her reach.

Rainbow Dash was the fastest flyer in Equestria but she couldn’t catch that pegasus now. Images and feelings rifled past in blinding speed. The young couple’s first kiss. The fake enthusiasm. The orange hoof that comforted her. The smell of hay. A disappointed rabbit.

All these thoughts were thrown at the second filly by that being of light. All of them true. That thing was ruining her second chance. But she knew she never really had a chance. Her special somepony was too far out of reach. She just hadn’t been fast enough.

Somewhere Rainbow Dash heard screaming. It was loud. It was shrill and was covered in hurt. It made her ears hurt. It made her heart hurt. Then she realized it was coming out her own mouth. The sound from the cockpit and the screaming Eva rushed into her ears. Warning beeps, whistles and the screaming became a wall of sound that caused Rainbow to barely breath.

***

The control room watched in horror as the light touched Unit-02. They heard the screaming and shouting as the Eva fell.

“Rainbow!” shouted Pinkie.” What’s going on?! Rainbow speak to us?!”

The screaming suddenly shifted to a pitch that didn’t sound possible from pony vocal cords.

“What is happening to her?!” shouted Fluttershy.

“Ummm, Twilight?” Trixie waved at the purple unicorn to get her attention. She pointed to a bank of computer screens. “Those wave thingies are umm squiggling in ways I’ve never seen before.”

“Oh no!” shouted Twilight looking at the monitors. “This is bad! It looks like the angel is attacking her mind directly!”

“How do we stop it?” asked Fluttershy.

“The only way to stop it is at the source,” explained Twilight. “We have to stop the angel.”

“Maud,” commanded Pinkie Pie,”grab the big cannon.”

“Let me go!” insisted frantically Fluttershy. “I’ll save her! I have to!”

“Wait!” hissed Commander Discord. The frantic scene stopped and all of them looked at him. His eyes narrowed at the angel on the screen. “It’s showing her things I don’t want her to see yet. Maud use the lance of Longpegasus. You know where it is.”

“Yes sir,” confirmed Maud.

“The lance of Longpegasus?” gasped Twilight. “Sir, we don’t know what it does. We haven’t had time to study it. It could cause a third impact.”

“Oh don’t fret your little fact-filled, purple, head of yours,” Commander Discord consoled. “I know for a fact that this is more important than some potential life ending threat. Come on, our dear friend Rainbow Dash is in jeopardy. We should use everything in our power to save her.”

“In that case,” piped up Fluttershy,” can I go save her. I mean she is my girlfriend and I have defeated the most angels..”

“Most certainly not,” said Discord’s joyful tone. “I wouldn’t want to place you in harm's way as well.”

Unit-00 re-emerged from the bowels of the headquarters with a 10 story tall double pronged lance. The Eva calmly walked over to the launch pad on three legs while baring the lance in the forth.

“Does she even know how to throw that thing?” asked Lyra critically.

“Of course,” assured Commander Discord. “Two of Maud’s many talents is pinpoint accuracy with thrown objects and duck calls.”

“Really?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Oh Pinkie, I almost never make things up on the spot,” he said, winking to you.

***

Unit-00 rose on her launch pad and surveyed the scene. Unit-02 was lying on the ground, growling with its wings wrapped around its head. The buildings around it were destroyed from the Eva’s thrashing.

Maud calmly looked into the air. A small light in the sky told her where the angel was. Her Eva reared up on her hind legs. She adjusted her body to recalculate for the gravitational pull. Her rear leg shifted back to counter balance the weight. She raised the lance on one hoof then in a flurry of motion threw it into the air. The nearby clouds vaporized in the wake of its passing. The tips of the lance grew hot and glowed in the distance from the air friction.

The burning lance sailed through the stratosphere and through the AT field of the angel. The momentum sent it through the photon based body of the angel and it erupted in a prismatic ring of light.

The lance sailed out of range of Equus and into the range of the moon, Luna. There it floated harmlessly spinning in the effects of both celestial bodies’ gravity.

***

“Well now, that’s that,” concluded Commander Discord. “Acquire our little Rainbow Dash, if you please.”

He turned and strode towards his office with Mud Briar in tow.

“How’s Rainbow Dash?” asked Fluttershy breaking the silence.

“Oh ,um, those squiggly lines are gone. So that is good,” reassured Trixie.

***

Unit-00 trotted over to Unit-02.

“Rainbow Dash, are you able to move?” asked Maud.

“Oh, yeah,” Rainbow responded quietly. Unit-02 slowly uncurled and began to trot slowly to the launch pad.

Fluttershy rushed to Rainbow as she was lifted out of the entry plug.

“Are you ok? I was so worried. I ...”, Fluttershy stopped herself as she caught Rainbow’s expression. She had never seen the cyan mare with such a painful expression in her life.

“Oh ,Umm, Fluttershy, I...I have to go,” Rainbow stammered and trotted off. The pain never left her face.

Fluttershy felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She didn’t know what happened but felt somehow it was her fault. She had heard that she had not been very nice while on the meds they gave her but she had apologized for that. She thought they were past it.

Rainbow took off of the ground and flew down the corridors towards the locker room. Her mind raced with all the information brought to light. The influx caused her to fly faster. She tried to fly past the memories but they stubbornly remained on her tail. Suddenly she found herself in a butterfly net.

“Caught you,” teased Commander Discord.

“Hey! What the..no fair,” Rainbow shouted while scrambling to get out of the net.

“Now, now, play nice little pony,” Discord chastised and he pulled Rainbow and himself into a nearby room. He closed the door and dumped Rainbow out of the net. Rainbow landed with a “thud”. She was up on her hooves in milliseconds.

“Alright buddy, what’s your game?” she demanded fluttering inches from Discord’s face.

“The usual,” Discord said casually looking at the back of his claws. “I’m trying to help Fluttershy of course.”

“How does putting us in a different dimension help Fluttershy?”

“It’s a dreamscape not a new dimension and if you had read Fluttershy’s mangas books you would know exactly where we are.”

“So you're helping her live out some sort of sick fantasy?” demanded Rainbow.

“Sort of. She wasn’t aware of the plan of course. It’s kind of an anniversary present of sorts. But I don’t want you ruining the whole thing. This play is almost over, Dash, and if you care about your ‘girlfriend’ you’ll let it play out.”

“What about the other ponies you hurt?”

“No pony is actually hurt,” the Commander explained.”They’re fine. I don’t hurt my friends. Intentionally.”

“Humph, it doesn’t seem like the kind of ‘gift’ she would appreciate.”

“Remember your Winterzilla gift?” reminded the draconequus. “You thought the same thing then. She still talks about that. You’re lucky I am such a good friend that I didn’t tell her who it was really from.”

Rainbow stepped back from Discord. Her lips ran dry. The Winterzilla was a gift Rainbow had gotten Fluttershy for Hearth’s Warming years ago with Discord’s assistance. The small mammal looked cute enough but turned into a large vicious monster after the sun set. It had gone crazy at their holiday party but Fluttershy was able to calm it. It had made her feel special to be the hero that day. Rainbow took it as one of the high points in her life that she was able to bring that sense of accomplishment to her.

“Alright, alright, I’ll play along,” Rainbow agreed, putting her hooves up in defeat. “What am I supposed to do? It’s going to be hard to keep this from her for long with us together.”

“Well, now is the point where you leave her alone,” explained Commander Discord.

“What?! But we’re.. I finally ..”

“Oh come now, Dash. Do you really think this dream of yours will come true?” said the draconequus menacingly raising an eyebrow.

“But..but.. fine,” the second filly shouted in his face. “But this better be good for her. If this blows up in your face. I’ll be there. This time I won’t hesitate.”

“And ruin your own relationship?”

“She would understand.”

“Humph, well I am insulted you have such little faith in me after all these years,” said Discord sticking his nose in the air. He strode off.

Rainbow watched him go wondering what sort of things lay ahead of her. Her dream was taken from her. There just didn’t seem any way to win. She felt guilty for secretly wanting Discord to spectacularly fail so she could pick up the pieces. It just didn’t feel cool to think that. Now she was supposed to avoid Fluttershy to play his game. She shook her head. The pain of having her memories forcibly returned still lingered. She felt used and ashamed that she never moved on from her crush.

She wished she had her friend to talk to again but she didn’t know where she was anymore. She returned to the locker room. Somehow the problems of this world didn’t matter to her much anymore. There was no way to get the mare. Again. She wondered how many times she would have to pay for her lack of self knowledge.

***

Fluttershy trotted around in confusion. Rainbow flew off so fast and wouldn’t tell her what was wrong. It had taken some time but eventually she had gotten used to having Rainbow Dash as a girlfriend. The cyan pegasus never ducked a challenge and always seemed to bounce back from her defeats. It was unlike the speedster to avoid her without reason. Pinkie seemed to be equally distant. She didn’t understand why her friends were keeping their distance.

A sudden thought struck the worried mare. Did they blame her for Applejack’s leg? She was in the Eva at the time. Did they not know she couldn’t control it? Of course they did. But did they blame her for not being able to stop it? She knew she did.

These new thoughts made Fluttershy decide to return home instead of finding her friends. She lay on her bed listening to her tape of bird sounds. The chirping didn’t bring the comfort it normally did. The sounds of the beautiful birds just brought sadness. She yearned to see the creatures that produced such wonderful music again. But they weren’t around and she was alone. She curled up in the corner of her bed and slipped off to sleep.