Rainbow in the Dark

by BaeroRemedy

All Along The Watchtower

Rainbow Dash had been inside of Canterlot Castle only a few times in her life, she had even stayed the night once or twice. However, that didn’t prepare her for the backrooms she now found herself in. Never before had she been this deep in the bowels of the castle, or maybe it had changed from what she knew in her memories.

No matter how lost she may have felt, she kept running. She ran past all of the ponies that walked through the halls. She ran by every door that was slightly ajar, her eyes always straightforward and not diverting. She wove her way through the traffic of the afternoon at the top speed that her hooves allowed.

The sound of pounding hooves came from behind her, no doubt Sombra and his guards. They were all mostly big bulky stallions, and even at fifty percent she was faster than they could ever be at one-hundred. The nimble pegasus made the run through the halls of the castle seem effortless in comparison to the clattering of armor against marble that was constantly behind her.

Rainbow skidded around a corner, her hooves sliding on the slick surface below them until friction finally stopped them. In front of her was a u-shaped staircase that was free of any ponies. Dash sprang up and cleared the first set of steps, her knees nearly buckling as she landed. No time was wasted as she spun on her rear hooves and launched herself down the second set of steps as well, not wasting any time to gather herself or to let her legs truly absorb the impact.

As the polychromatic pegasus made her way through the halls, she began to recognize certain landmarks along her way. This was the ground floor of the castle, the giant double doors that lead to the throne room were unmistakable even in this strange world: an engraving of Canterlot mountain with the sun rising behind it.

Rainbow’s internal compass kicked in with that big hint of where exactly she was and she made a sharp right turn at the door. Usually the throne room had a lot of guards, so best to avoid it for now. Instead, her best bet would be to use the hallway that ran parallel to the long empty chamber. Assistants and ponies all made space as they saw the mare barreling her way down the passage.

There was a side entrance down the hall a bit, it was the same one that they had used for Shining Armor and Cadance’s wedding for all of the bridesmaids. Just as she approached the door, a guard opened it at the perfect time that allowed her to slip through.

To say that being outside again was refreshing would be the understatement of the very weird last twenty-four hours or so. A cool breeze wafted through the mountaintop city, tickling Dash’s feathers and swirling her multicolored mane about her head. For a moment, it washed the panic away.

That was until she saw the giant twenty foot tall statue of King Sombra in the courtyard before her. It depicted the unicorn on his hind legs, his front hooves resting on the hilt of a sword that was dug into the ground. A plaque at the base read ‘Qualis Rex, Talis Grex’, a language that Rainbow Dash didn’t even recognize let alone understand but it was safe to assume it was only bad.

It was only a few seconds that she allowed herself to stop, but it was all she could afford. A few deep breaths later and she set off once again towards the city of Canterlot proper. She had to get out of the city and get to Ponyville. It was her best bet, maybe even find the Elements of Harmony. If this was some sort of altered timeline, then they could set it all right.

The panicked pegasus raced through the palace grounds, the chorus of dozens upon dozens of guards mobilizing coming from all around her. The large open space that dominated most of the palace grounds had not changed save for the statue, and letting her gain speed on a flat empty space was the last thing anypony who was trying to catch her wanted.

The gate that led into the city was wide open and allowed Dash her first look at the world beyond the castle. It was not the Canterlot that she knew. The city in her memories was full of white and golds, greenery and parks abundant with winding roads that were paved over trails from hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

This was not the case now.

The sprawl that laid before Rainbow was completely different. A solitary road stretched out from the entrance to the palace and went on in a straight line for as far as the eye could see. It seemed like every five-hundred feet or so another smaller road split off on either side of the main thoroughfare. From where she stood it looked more like Manehattan than Canterlot, divided into even parcels with buildings made out of alternated white marble and dark crystal.

It didn’t matter how different it looked, she still needed to get out. She still needed to get away from the castle and Sombra and all of the lies he kept trying to tell her. Rainbow sprinted down the main street at top speed, her head on a swivel as she looked for directions towards the train station.

Right

A memory prodded her again, this one not headache-inducing for once. The pegasus took a hard right down the next street, one dominated by throngs of ponies in guard armor. All of them gave her looks of concern and worry as she continued her race through the changed city.

Overhead the sky was quickly changing from a sunny late-summer day to overcast. Pegasi above flitted to and fro as they moved heavy gray storm clouds into position. No sooner than her head told her to take a left did she start to feel droplets of rain hit her head.

As she ran, the rather uniform housing began to feel familiar. Not familiar in the sense that she had been in this exact place before, but familiar like she had seen stuff like it before. It reminded her of the housing provided to Wonderbolts during training camps, just cookie-cutter cheap structures whose occupants could be changed out whenever it was needed.

This had to be some sort of shortcut to the train station, it just had to be. There was no other reason to run through such a heavily militarized area other than a quicker way to her destination. As she weaved through blocks and blocks of cookie cutter houses, all occupied by guards, she couldn’t help but acknowledge that pit reopening in her gut as she got deeper and deeper into the urban maze.

Stop.

Rainbow Dash did as the little voice in her head told her and skidded to a halt. The sky above was dumping water onto the city consistently now, drenching the one-winged pegasus quite thoroughly. The mane plastered to her face was moved to the side to let her get a better look at what exactly she was stopping for.

It was a house, much like every other house she had passed, a box made out some sort of dark colored crystal. A door was placed in the dead middle of the box, with a window on either side. A mailbox sat right in front of the mare with a name stenciled on its side.

‘R. Dash’

“What?” She asked herself, eyes squinting behind the glasses on her muzzle. The heart in her chest stopped it’s rapid thumping for a moment to instead pull her towards the front door. Something deep down was calling this home, but that wasn’t right. This wasn’t the grand cloud house she had built for herself far above the simple homes of Ponyville, this wasn’t where her heart was supposed to lead.

Trepidation slowed her hooves as she walked down the sidewalk towards the door. A hoof reached out to the doorknob, shaking ever so slightly in the deluge of rain. Breath caught in her throat and her body seized up as she turned the knob, causing the door to slowly open inwards.

The interior was dimly lit by whatever light could make it through the thick and heavy clouds above. It looked to be made of the same crystalline structure as the exterior, save for the short brown carpet that coated the floors. The sight did nothing to bring Dash’s breath back, but it did spur her forwards. It was like instinct drawing her in.

The entryway had a room off to it’s immediate right, a kitchen complete with all the basic necessities. There was even a black kettle placed neatly on the front burner of the stove and waiting to be used. A few dishes poked above the rim of the sink, already washed just not put away yet.

Across from the kitchen entrance was a small end table placed against the wall, various trinkets and knick-knacks strewn about it; some loose bits, a pack of gum, a badge of some sort, and a comb. It wasn’t the things on the table that interested her, it was the picture hanging on the wall above it.

A simple black frame housed a color photo of herself. She sat at an angle, looking to the right of the camera with a stern look on her face behind the black-framed glasses. She donned a black uniform with ostentatious gold buttons running up the front, even going slightly up her neck. A hat with a horseshoe, a pair of wings, and a horn insignia rested in one of her hooves and the words ‘Pvt. Dash’ were on a nametag on her chest. A small golden plaque at the bottom of the frame read ‘Graduation 998. Rainbow Dash’.

Dash stared at the picture for an eternity. She looked into the eyes of the mare, challenging the fake Rainbow Dash in the picture to come out and face her. The pony in the frame never moved, much to the chagrin of the real Rainbow.

“I’m not you!” Rainbow shouted at the picture before slamming her hoof right into the glass. Glass shattered around the impact and fell to the table below helplessly, as did tears from Dash’s eyes. “I don’t know you! I’m me! I’m a Wonderbolt and an Element of Harmony and ALL OF MY FRIENDS ARE ALIVE!” She grabbed the picture in her hooves and threw it as hard as she could into the kitchen behind her, panting and shaking as she glared at the broken frame.

“This isn’t my home.” Rainbow reasserted to herself with a mumble. “I don’t live here. I live in Ponyville. I was a weather pony out of flight school… not some guard.” The need to reassert all of that information was growing stronger and stronger the more she stood in the house that didn’t belong to her. “I’m a Wonderbolt. I save the world with my friends. I don’t live in Canterlot. I’m not this Rainbow Dash.” The conviction in her voice began to waver as she repeated the information to herself.

Weary hooves carried the mare deeper into the house. Nothing stood out about the living room, just a simple setup with a couch, a coffee table, and a radio in the corner. Her wing stretched out and brushed the back of the couch, coming back with a thick layer of dust now clinging to her feathers.

The sparse decorations and silence brought a sense of desolation to the space. Unused and lonely, like she spent so little time here. Did this Rainbow Dash really live such an isolated life? Was she so alone that she only went between the kitchen and her bedroom?

Another day of work
Exhausted, sore, drained.
Dark house again, like it always was
Did she even have the energy to eat?

Another round of debilitating pain that came with the flash of memory brought Dash to her knees. The wave of despair that she felt before had only tripled in such a short amount of time. The tears that had been falling before only increased in frequency as she covered her eyes with her hooves.

“You’re being transferred to Canterlot. Ceremonial Division.”
Betrayal. Hurt. Agony.
Pride dented and tossed aside.
“There will be no arguments, Specialist Dash.”

Another flash replaced the loneliness with shame. Context alluded these small snippets, but they brought the full force of the associated feelings with them nonetheless. Dash’s magenta eyes screwed shut as she tapped the temples of her head with her hooves, trying to push the memories away herself.

“The Royal Guard, Dashie?”
Was it so hard to believe?
Dad was supposed to be her biggest fan.
“I’m behind you, but reconsider. I don’t think it’s for you.

“It’s degenerative, I’m afraid.”
A big word to use on a filly.
“Glasses will help, and some magic therapy will slow it down.”
She didn’t want to wear glasses like some egghead!

Scraped knees and the taste of cloud
“C’mon nerd, get up!”
Glasses were tossed away, leaving the world blurry.
“What’s the matter, can’t see without your big dumb glasses?”

They kept coming, a deluge of memories that wouldn’t stop and threatened to drown her. All powerful and pinning Rainbow to the floor from a mix of pain and intense emotional weight. Her mouth opened repeatedly, her lips forming the word ‘stop’ but no sound coming out. She laid on the floor and whimpered as she was assaulted by thoughts and feelings that weren’t hers.

“Fluttershy? Fluttershy!?”
How many hours in the forest?
Too many.
Too many hours in the mud.
Boot camp was brutal, and left her sore.
It would pay off one day.
Her first paycheck from the government.
More money than even her parents made.
Maybe this would make them proud of her.
She was proud, too proud.
Chest puffed out and wings flared as she received her promotion.
This would show that stupid Sergeant.
“Get up, Private.”
She spat out the bitter mud and stood.
“Why did they think sending a filly with glasses was a good idea?”
Anger and a stubborn resolve welled up.

They were all blending together now in a maelstrom of emotions. She couldn’t even tell one apart from another as they washed over her and brought wave after wave of pain. Dash’s brain pushed back against every single one and the emotions that came with them, but her heart embraced them as hers. It was like her body was fighting itself to accept what it already knew, and it was tearing Rainbow apart at the seams.

“Rainbow Dash?” A voice finally not from her head prodded her softly. It gave her brain to focus on something else and it latched onto it instantly. “Rainbow Dash, are you okay?” It was Spitfire again, because of course it was. “Hey, look at me.”

Rainbow was lifted up into a sitting position by the Captain, who was also on her haunches. There was no more passion or fire in her amber eyes, instead they were softened with worry and fear. Dash did her best to wipe her face with her hooves, at least trying to look respectful for the pony she served beside.

Spitfire, much like Rainbow Dash herself, was soaking wet. Her mane was slicked back to stay out of her eyes and she was dripping water onto the carpet below. The rapidly rising and falling of her chest let Dash know that if the rain didn’t have her drenched, then sweat would. How long had she been flying around and looking for Rainbow?

“I just want it to stop. I want it to make sense.” Rainbow blurted out as her head fell to look at the floor. This was just something she needed to say to somepony, anypony. “None of this makes sense, none of it feels real. I-I don’t even know if I’m real anymore.”

Heaps of moments that she didn’t think belonged to her had chipped away at the stubborn notion that this whole world was some sort of trick. If it was an illusion, it was one of impossible quality. There was no way to manufacture everything that she felt with the flashes of the past, and it left her feeling like she didn’t belong rather than the memories.

“You’re real.” Spitfire responded curly and assuredly. A yellow hoof reached out and rested on Rainbow’s cheek, wiping away a tear. “See? I can touch you. You’re real, and you belong here.” The older mare’s other hoof took one of Rainbow’s hooves and placed it against her unarmored chest. “I’m real too, just focus on my heartbeat.”

Rainbow took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes, focusing on her hoof pressed against the other mare’s ribcage. The rhythmic beating of her heart was easy to feel from the prolonged vigorous activity and flying, and probably the worry that drove her.

“Who am I?” The question asked by Spitfire was so simple that it almost seemed to be a trap.

“You’re Spitfire?”

“No, who am I to you? You know this, Dashie.”

That was the first time that Spitfire had addressed her by something other than her full name. The fact that it was such a personal nickname to boot only knocked the wind out of her lungs. Nopony but her parents and Pinkie ever called her ‘Dashie’.

“Dashie, this is Spitfire.”
A filly, older than her.
She looked like fire given form.
“Her mom is… away. She’s going to stay with us for a bit.”

Along with the expected flare of pain, came a drizzle of warmth and familiarity to douse it. For the first time since she awakened in that hell of a dungeon beneath the decrepit castle, she looked at Spitfire as more than just somepony she admired and worked with.

“You’re… family.”

Author's Note:

There must be some kind of way outta here
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief

Comments

[Mr cold ghost]

Poor dashie!

[AFanaticRabbit]

we aren't far in and you already have me crying. Rem why.

[BaeroRemedy]

10926242
This chapter isn’t even that sad!

[Teraunce]

“You’re… family.”

Ow ow ow ow ow...!

[Beware The Carpenter]

Somewhere there’s another Rainbow Dash whose equally confused.

[ZanarNaryon]

Spitfire comforting Rainbow and being there for her sister(?) is super sweet and such a great ending to a gutpunch of a chapter, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah i love this fic!