Kaidan

by Lupine Infernis

14th Candle

When they were fillies, Rainbow Dash asked why Fluttershy liked the ground so much; it was boring, dirty, and hard.

Fluttershy looked at her, eyes dark, and told her she didn’t like the angels.

Rainbow Dash was confused by the answer but chose not to harp on it. She forgot about it completely not a day after and wouldn’t remember until years and years later, after Twilight got her wings and somepony at the coronation mentioned how she looked positively radiant and angelic.

That off-hoofed remark, innocuous and not even directed at her, snagged the memory and drug it back into the light.

And so, when the coronation party was dying down, Rainbow Dash found herself lying down in the grass with Fluttershy. They were giggling about something stupid, both a little buzzed from the wine, when Rainbow Dash blurted out that same question she asked long ago.

“Say, Flutters, what did you mean when you said you didn’t like the angels?”

Rainbow Dash expected to be asked what she meant since the question was out of the blue and it was about something so far back that surely Fluttershy wouldn’t remember it.

But Fluttershy’s giddy mood evaporated in an instant. “Oh, that,” She was quiet in the few second she spent staring at the sky. “I meant… No, it’s nothing.”

“My flank it’s ‘nothing’. Come on…” Rainbow Dash rolled onto her side and propped her head up with her hoof. “Tell me.”

Fluttershy played with a lock of her hair. “… It happened a long time ago. I was young, so I probably imagined it or something. You know how easily frightened I get.”

“Jeez, just tell me already.”

“Well… my nana was the one that told me about it at first. No one in my family really talked about her since she was old and, um, they said she had trouble remembering faces, but she was always nice to me. Before she passed on, she told me she once saw an angel, but no one believed her. This was all before I met you, by the way.

“A-and, um… some time after that, I was out flying… or learning to, I should say. I went a little further from home than I planned and I felt… at the time I felt this sensation like I was being watched. I looked up and… there it was.”

“The angel?”

“I think so.”

“Wait, you think?”

“I-I can’t remember,” Fluttershy frowned and squeezed her forehooves together. “Thinking back on it, it was probably just a big bird.”

Rainbow Dash ‘huh’ed. “Sooooo, what? Are there actually angels flying around out there? You’d think more ponies would see them.”

“Nana said they only exist if you believe they do.”

“You don’t?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe that’s why?” Fluttershy looked over, thoughtful. “I’m not one hundred percent sure I saw an angel because I can’t recall it properly, so that’s why I haven’t seen anymore? Maybe anything less than absolute belief…”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “No idea. Anyway, you got an idea of what the angel looked like?”

“… Wings.”

“Pretty standard.”

“White feathers. A gown? It was big, or I think it was,” Fluttershy sighed and shook her head. “Really, I don’t recall.”

“Eh, no worries – I was just curious about it ‘cause something reminded me of it,” Rainbow Dash put her forelegs behind her head, aiming to relax, but paused. “Oh, one last thing – did your nana say anything about why it showed itself to her? Did she just believe in it, so…?”

Fluttershy thought for a bit. “I think she said it happened after her mom died and her dad said she became an angel. She was still young, so she didn’t understand death and- oh!” Fluttershy perked up. “N-now I remember! Nana went through a little funnel she made from clouds, pretending it was like a gateway to the land of angels.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyebrows went up. “That’s a kid thing to think, but I guess we’ve seen stranger on our adventures,” Feeling that her curiosity had been sated, Rainbow Dash went back to relaxing. “Mm, thanks for putting up with me.”

“Not at all.”

“Say, I’m just gonna close my eyes for a bit, but that doesn’t mean I’m not listening if you wanna keep talking. I’m awesome at multi-tasking.”

Fluttershy giggled. “Yes, I know you are.”

---

Rainbow Dash nudged the conversation to the back of her head. It stayed there stewing for about a week, then floated to the forefront of her mind when she was lying on a puff of cloud one spectacularly sunny and uneventful Saturday morning.

Having nothing to do, Rainbow Dash’s first instinct was to make a nuisance of herself to her friends, but last time Rarity hit her with a blow dryer, so that had to be put on the benches for now. Her second instinct – make a nuisance of herself to Ponyville – was bumped aside by her talk with Fluttershy.

“Angels, huh?” Rainbow Dash sighed and poked her head over the edge of her cloud. She could see almost all of Ponyville from this height. “Wonder if they get a view like this all the time?”

Boredom stirred her from inaction. Flapping her wings, Rainbow Dash broke down her little bed into smaller puffs and turned her attention to the larger clouds hanging overhead.

“Heh, wonder if they saw my Rainboom all the way up there?”

Perhaps they’d ask for her autograph?

And so, she soared higher.

Higher.

Even higher.

Rainbow Dash passed many clouds and pegasi on the way up, though she had no real plan on what she was going to do. Like with many things, she leapt – well, flew – without thinking ahead.

That was how you had the most fun in life, though.

Rainbow Dash stopped when she found herself so high that Ponyville looked like a dot. She could see the landscape for miles in either direction, but this wasn’t the highest she’d flown before.

Ah, yes – it was five years ago, she had gone so high she could see the oceans. Had to come down quickly after due to how thin the oxygen got, but damn it was worth it.

“Hey, maybe I’m an angel,” Rainbow Dash snickered as she hovered past a cloud. “Just kidding.”

Oh, hang on!

Rainbow Dash grabbed the cloud and started to twist and lengthen it. “A funnel, huh? I can do that.”

In no time, she had her funnel; it wasn’t the best she could do, far from it, but it was good enough. She thought that so long as she was able to go through it, then it’d be fine.

“Long shot, but I got jack-shit to do,” Rainbow Dash looked around. “Jeez, who am I talking to anyway?”

She flew through the funnel without issue, even did a little spin coming out.

Nothing.

“What else did Fluttershy say?” Rainbow Dash went back to the entrance, tapping her chin. “You had to believe in them, or something? Wait, she said her nana was trying to see her mother again. Something like that.”

She hovered at the funnel’s entrance and crossed her forelegs, humming. Anyone seeing her would probably think she’d gone loopy – thank Faust no one normally flew this high.

“I guess…” Rainbow Dash stared through the funnel for a while. “I mean, I was pretty devastated when my nana died. She was awesome and if anyone could be an angel, then…”

Rainbow Dash thought of Prism Flash’s wrinkly, kind face and went through the funnel again. It was a more pleasant feeling than before since she was recalling all those yummy baked goods and warm hugs.

Nana also scolded her a lot, but she did that to everyone – it was hilarious how she made the roughest looking stallion shrink and look sheepish with a stern glare and a nip to the ears.

Rainbow Dash came out the other side, even gave a little spin.

The back of her head started to itch. It felt like someone was watching her. She turned and put her hoof over her eyes to block out the sun-

Oh, it was overcast? When did that happen?

…

Rainbow Dash’s chest grew tight. Her wings seized. She started to fall.

It was hard to comprehend the sheer vastness of what she was seeing. Each of its six wings stretched across the sky for miles, capable of literally sweeping mountain ranges clean.

Rainbow Dash’s jaw trembled as she was struck with an enormous feeling of vulnerability and helplessness.

She could fly along its body length and it would take a day to go tip to tip. The size was beyond her comprehension – it was impossible for something this large to exist in close range to the land.

Its body was vaguely equine, but the limbs had more joints that let them bend in ways that sent chills down her spine. The face bore a yawning, pitch-black maw and half-lidded, milky eyes. On its body was a country-sized smock formed of clouds.

It regarded her with curiosity.

Rainbow Dash’s wings twitched to life and she turned and flew as fast as she could.

‘It was just a bird I was seeing things It was heat stroke The light played tricks on me It was an illusion I’m safe We’re all safe There’s nothing to be afraid of I’m not-

---

“Hey Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash turned around, a bundle of firewood tied to her back. “What’s up?”

Scootaloo paused to take a breath. She’d worked hard this flying lesson, so Rainbow Dash decided to let her rest at camp while she made dinner.

“Sorry, um…” Scootaloo looked up briefly. “So, I notice that you always do this… I dunno. It looks like a chant? A mantra? Anyway, you say a few words before taking off and you always look around like you’re expecting something to happen?”

Rainbow Dash was silent.

“You never used to do that before, I think,” Scootaloo scratched her head, seeming to sense that she’d come across an uncomfortable topic. “Is… everything okay?”

After a while, Rainbow Dash just grinned. “It’s nothing. Just a weird habit.”

“You sure?”

“Totally. There’s nothing in the sky that I can’t take on – griffon, angel, dragon.”

Scootaloo made a face. “Huh? Why would you fight an angel? Aren’t they nice?”

“I’m exaggerating, squirt,” Rainbow Dash laughed, then carried on walking. “Besides, angels aren’t real.”

---

---

“That was a little weird.”

Trixie leaned back and quirked her eyebrow at Starlight. “How so?”

“I get the foreshadowing at the start, but the horror sort of comes out of nowhere, doesn’t it? And it’s only there for a short while. Not saying it was bad, just…”

“Sudden,” Rainbow Dash interjected. “Yeah, I felt the same way.”

Trixie grumbled. “Perhaps Trixie rushed it a little…”

“That being said, I like the idea of totally upending an expectation almost everypony would have about an angel. Like, pretty much all stories about angels are them being super-nice and holy, so hearing that they might not be is pretty unsettling.”

“And the story suggests they seem to be of truly colossal proportions – it would be terrifying to imagine a being simply watching from above, knowing it is capable of destroying an entire ecosystem with a touch,” Twilight shuddered. “I think I get what your story was trying to do, Trixie.”

“Oh…” Trixie cleared her throat. “Th-thank you.”

Pinkie giggled. “Hey, are you blushing?”

“Of course not!”

“You are! How cute!”

“Why, you…! Trixie is gorgeous and stunning – she is not merely ‘cute’.”

Rarity tittered. “Remember only you can make yourself feel embarrassed.”

Applejack nodded. “Words ta live by.”

“Thank you, dear.”

“Wanna come ta th’ next Apple family reunion an’ square dance in overalls?”

“Only if you agree to wear the dress I made that was deemed too frilly by Canterlot of all places.”

“Shucks, you win.”

Author's Note:

You seen how angels are described in biblical texts? There's a reason they say 'Be not Afraid' when they appear

Comments

[Clawfoot]

Of course. How could a mortal mind comprehend the vastness or beauty of angels.

It seems to be a pattern with most stories, fables, and the like. They get toned down, or made more 'appropriate' as time moves on.

[ruthim345]

Very good! I’ve liked all these stories so far.

[Thought Prism]

10502090
Yeah. Honestly, the modern depiction most accurate to the original texts is probably Neon Genesis Evangeleon.

[Lupine Infernis]

10503157
We're all Fanta here

[Ice Justice]

I personally like the pacing, very much brings across the "stumbling into something you never should have" vibes. That something could upheave everything at anytime, with no tells, nothing to prepare you.

[Moosetasm]

Yeah, if most people saw a person in a toga, with cute wings in the back, they prolly wouldn’t be scared.

Three flaming gyroscopic wheels covered in spikes and all-seeing eyes with a fetus glowing brighter than the brightest sunlight while itself being blacker than the darkest pitch…

Yeah, that’s actually scary.