Rainbow in the Dark

by BaeroRemedy

Hey You

“Doesn’t it feel good to be outside, darling?” Rarity looked up from one of the gems she had in her magical grip and flashed a smile at Rainbow Dash. A pair of bright red horn rimmed glasses sat on her muzzle, highlighting just how blue her eyes were as she stared at the mare across from her.

“Yeah, if you can call this ‘outside’.”Dash huffed as she turned towards the window beside her and briefly pulled the drawn curtains to the side. Sunlight streamed through the darkened interior of the private carriage the two were riding in for that brief moment before being suffocated once more by the blackout curtains. “Why can’t you tell me where we’re going again?”

“Because that’s the nature of a surprise, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity gently chided her friend and went back to studying the brilliant ruby she had brought along. “You should be thankful that I could even get Spitfire to agree to this at all. Especially after she and the King said they wanted you kept under wraps until you recovered.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Dash admitted with a deep sigh. She readjusted in her seat, her one intact wing and the stub twitching anxiously. “Thanks for this…I guess I’m just a little impatient.” She chuckled a bit and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof.

“You’re quite welcome, darling.” Rarity replied with the same warm smile she had started the conversation with. “I think you’ll quite like this surprise, though. It will definitely be worth a little patience.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and fell into silence, her head resting against the blacked out window. She could see the city pass them by as the carriage rattled down the street, see the eyes of ponies on the sidewalks staring at them as they went by through the gap in the curtains, no doubt the Royal Guard sigils that adorned the onyx carriage making them curious as to the occupants and the destination. Just like her, they would have to wait and see just where the carriage would end up.

“Hey Rarity.” Dash decided to draw her attention away from the gawking crowd outside and instead focus on the other pony inside. The unicorn once again looked up from the ruby she had been studying. “What’re you going to do with that gem? Use it in a dress?”

“A dress?”

“Yeah, y’know, a fancy dress to wear to a party or something.” The look she received from Rarity was nothing short of total confusion. The mare’s head was tilted to the side and she had one eyebrow cocked. “What?”

“Darling, what do you think I do?”

“Umm…” Dash suddenly had the feeling that she was incredibly wrong about something once again. It was a sensation that was all too common as of late and one she was beginning to loathe with every fiber of her being. “You make clothes, right? Dresses and stuff.”

The laugh that erupted from Rarity was a blow to Dash’s pride. “Not since I was a filly, darling! My goodness, I haven’t thought about designing clothes in…” Rarity mumbled some number beneath her breath. “...years!” There was a beat as the other mare looked at Rainbow Dash and saw the hurt behind her ears. “Oh dear, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh like that.” Rarity scrambled for an apology, her words fast and breathless. “I wasn’t laughing at you, just at the thought of it all. I’m sorry.”

“No no, it’s okay.” Dash shrugged it off and pushed all of the pain off of the surface. It wasn’t okay, but she would deal with those feelings on her own time. “I guess that was just more cobwebs.” More memories of that other world, the world that should be. “So what do you do, then? You don’t just stay in that apartment all day, right?”

“Well of course not.” Rarity lightly scoffed at the idea of being a stay-at-home mare and held the ruby aloft for Dash to get a good look at. “I help source all of the crystals and gems that Equestria needs for its military. Ever since I was a filly I had a knack for finding great deposits of beautiful and useful gems.” Blue tendrils of magic penetrated the ruby, causing the entire thing to illuminate the interior of the carriage in a purple light. “My parents moved to Canterlot when I was a teenager to put me to work for the Royal Crystaller. Since then, well it’s all history now, but I rose through the ranks. I still help with finding large deposits, but I am usually more busy with personal projects for King Sombra.”

“So…you find rocks and stuff and give them to him?”

“Don’t make it sound so droll, Rainbow Dash. They are more than just rocks.” Rarity pulled her magic from the ruby and sat it beside her. “His enchanters and enchantresses tell me what they need, and I find the perfect ‘rock’ for the occasion.”

“What do they use them for?”

“Oh weapons and armor mostly, though I have worked on one of his private train cars before. That was quite fun.” Dash didn’t have any recollection of the other Equestria having such an extensive need for those things. Maybe it was because of Sombra’s Crystal Empire heritage? “I was some sort of seamstress in these…dreams of yours?”

“Something like that…” Dash muttered in response. “You had your own place in Ponyville, but you had shops in Manehattan and Canterlot too. You were probably the most talented pony in the world when it came to fashion.”

“That sounds quite lovely, but I can’t imagine spending all of my time making clothes.” Rarity shook her head, the tight bun of purple hair atop it barely moving with the motion. “Function over fashion, that’s what is important. Creating things that are useful for the Empire and the King is my true calling.” There wasn’t another word uttered before the carriage jolted to a halt and a knock came from one of the drivers up front. “Oh good, we’re here! One moment while I check to make sure everything is ready, darling.”

Rarity was out of the door and had it closed before Dash could even catch a glimpse of the scenery outside. She heard the mare’s hooves against concrete along with the sound of metal armor scraping against the ground. So guards were meeting them here at the very least.

“You can come on out, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity’s melodic tone came from beyond and the door swung open, flooding the interior with pure sunshine.

Dash exited the carriage, blinking a few times to let her eyes readjust to the afternoon sun. They were on a street somewhere in a more commercial section of the city. The two mares were flanked by a small squad of five royal guards, all adorned in the crystalline armor they wore. It looked like that beyond them, this entire side of the street was clear of any other ponies.

Before them was a building with its front door propped open, the light sound of music from a radio pouring out onto the street from within. The sign above the entrance read ‘Barber Shop’ and nothing else. It was the same drab gray box like the stores next to it, nothing special at all.

“You took me to get a manecut?” Dash questioned her friend.

“Well…last night Spitfire and I were talking and she was telling me about a saying you have. ‘Look good, fly good’?” A sheepish smile spread across Rarity’s face as she spoke. “Now that the King has asked you to attend a dinner, I figured a little sprucing up was in order and it would make you feel better and get you ready to fly once more.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and let her head hang for a moment. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes and threatening to spill out. It wasn’t just because of the sentiment either, she appreciated her friend in both of the worlds she occupied caring enough about her to do something like this, but the familiar stabbing pain in the back of her mind was adding to it.

“Do you have to wear the shades, Dash?”

Accusatory, even embarrassed from Spitfire.

“Look good, feel good. Feel good, fly good.”

A motto to live by.

The pain was getting easier to withstand without collapsing now, but that didn’t make it any less painful. With customary speed, she recovered and nodded at her friend. She quickly, and covertly as she could, wiped her eyes and threw on another smile.

“Thanks Rarity, I guess I could do with a cut.” To punctuate her point, she shook her head, causing her mess of a mane to whip around her face. “Flying with all of this won’t be very fun.”

“I can only imagine.” Rarity agreed. “Shall we get inside and get this done?”

With a nod, the two mares made their way inside. The interior was in stark contrast to the exterior; vibrant and full of unique life that the cookie cutter construction lacked. The red and white tile floor was polished to a mirror shine, the walls were decorated with pictures of the ponies in military uniforms with their manes freshly cut, including Spitfire with her mohawk right above the register.

“Ahh, you’re who they closed my shop down for.” An old stallion whose knees seemed to buckle with every step approached the pair. His coat was fully gray and baby blue eyes were magnified by a massive pair of glasses on his face. A horn poked through a stubborn jet black mane that was slicked back with enough gel to gag a horse. “Oh me oh my. Look at that mop, soldier. That’s not regulation is it?”

“Do…I know you?” Rainbow Dash took a step back as the geriatric stallion pushed his face within an inch of her own. Her ears pinned back as he studied her for a few moments then pulled away.

“You should!” He pointed a shaky hoof at the wall where a picture of Rainbow Dash sat. Her mane was shorter than usual in that picture, but recognizable enough as still her style. “That was your first. Been your barber for years, just like all of you featherheads in the guard.” The stallion waited for a moment for her to recognize him. “Oh right, the guards said something about some memory problems. Finally rattled that big empty head of yours a little too much, huh?”

“Uhh…yeah, I guess..” Dash shrugged. “Sorry, but I don’t really remember who you are.”

“Well that’s a shame.” The stallion grunted as he made his way to one of the chairs in front of a mirror. “My name’s Clipper, most ponies just call me The Barber.” Clipper patted the chair and waved to Dash. “C’mon sit down.”

Dash made her way over the chair and hopped up in it. The seat was old and worn, countless hindquarters having flattened whatever cushion had once existed in it to the point of nothingness. The old thing ratcheted up until Dash could see herself in the mirror in front and Clipper behind her.

“Now the rule is you pick a cut during your first time and you get the same thing every time you come back.” Clipper rattled out as his magic grabbed a pair of electric clippers and some scissors from the small shelf in front of her. “Problem is, you don’t know me anymore so that doesn’t feel too fair. So let’s start over…what kinda cut do you want, Rainbow Dash?” As he spoke he draped one of those capes made out of thin but slippery plastic over her body to stop hair from falling onto her.

Dash looked at the mare in the mirror, the sunken tired eyes behind the glasses and the long wild mane that fell over her head in technicolor waves. She studied that mare, but she couldn’t find anything she recognized as her. In her head there were these two competing images of Rainbow Dash. One of them was a proud soldier who fought through adversity every day of her life to get where she was, and the other was a carefree but fiery mare with enough natural talent to beat anyone or anything but lacking the real work ethic to perfect it into anything. One was a sword that hacked through the dense thicket of excuses and obstacles while the other was a dull cudgel who relied purely on talent. Which one was she? Was she either? Both?

Rainbow focused on the mare in front of her, one that had experienced both of these realities. Who knew both of them to be true and false at the same time. A nexus of contradictory experiences converging in one space. No, she wasn’t either of them. She was something new, and she needed to make that known to the world.

“Shave it all off.” Rainbow Dash told Clipper. Her words were weighted with confidence as she was completely sure of herself at this moment. Clipper cocked his head to the side and looked down at her. Before he could ask that question, that dastardly question meant to put doubt into her mind. Before he could ask ‘are you sure?’, she nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

“Shaved it is.” Clipper said as he started up the razor in his grip. The buzzing filled her ears and his magic pushed her head forward so she was looking down to the floor. She felt the cold metal teeth of the machine touch her neck and push upwards as it started to cut down her mane at the base. From the corner of her eyes she could see bright polychromatic chunks of hair fall to the floor below. She could feel the weight of those other versions of her fall away as it was all slowly chipped away. The past was dropped onto the floor, meant only to be swept away and tossed into the garbage. None of that mattered anymore. It wasn’t who she was then, in either world, it was who she was now. She was that nexus of contradictory experiences, and she was going to make this Rainbow Dash something to be proud of because of it.

“When did you get that scar, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity’s voice cut through the noise of the razor, causing it to cut out. Clipper was about halfway done with her mane, having just started cutting it from the front now.

“What scar?” Dash didn’t have a memory from either side of any kind of hit to her head that would’ve left a scar. She raised a hoof and ran it across the shaved and exposed back of her head and felt an indent at the base of her skull that shouldn’t be there. “Can I get a mirror or something?”

She was wordlessly spun around so her back was facing the mirror on the wall. A small hoofheld mirror was brought up in front of her so she could see the back of her own head. Sure enough, right at the base of her skull was an ugly indented scar, like a lightning bolt turned sideways and slapped across the back of her head.

“Looks old.” Clipper commented. Dash would take his word for it as the old stallion probably had seen his fair share of old wounds. “Looks like something you’d see on a body in a grave, though. You’re lucky to have survived that.”

“I don’t think Spitfire ever mentioned you having such a bad accident but we can ask when we get back.” Rarity bit her lip as she craned her head to look in the mirror to get a good look at the scar. “It does look quite bad though…”

“Yeah, let’s just finish up here first.” The scar, and the thought of what caused it, would stay put in the back of her mind until then.

It wasn’t long until Clipper was done with his job. He did a few passes over her head a few times to make sure it was all level. Once he was done, he nodded and pulled the cape off of her and gave it a shake. “Well?” He asked expectantly.

Rainbow Dash looked in the mirror again. She looked at the mare in those fierce magenta eyes and studied her. She looked lighter now, like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Rainbow patterned stubble dotted her head where her mane once was, leaving her to look like a completely different mare than she had ever seen before.

Just what she wanted.

Dash looked to the floor to see the piles of rainbow mane gathered around her seat. To see it all there gathered up and ready to be swept away was a mix of relieving and anxiety inducing. She could feel her chest tighten a little as the enormity of what she had done started to kick in. In all of her lives she had only one style for her mane…but that was the point, right?

“C-can I step outside?” She turned to look at the two ponies behind her. “Sorry, I just need some fresh air right now.” She couldn’t have a breakdown here in front of them, she just couldn’t. She needed to be alone so she could process this.

“Yeah, out back.” Clipper pointed towards a door in the back of the shop. “There’s a little alley out there, good for some alone time.” Before, when they had entered, he had been a little gruff and harsh but now his voice was soft and warm, like a grandparent who knew just what to say.

Rainbow Dash stood up and bolted out of the back door into the warm air beyond. The door slammed behind her and she took deep breaths and closed her eyes. The air was warm and wet back here and it smelled lightly of garbage and standing water. It wasn’t fresh air like she wanted, but it was just enough to bring her back around to reality.

She ran her hoof across her head, the prickly little hairs tickling the appendage as it went. She was rid of all of that mane now, completely and it felt…good. Tears began to fall from her eyes onto the moist concrete below, disrupting the little puddle at her hooves. Her slow and calm breaths didn’t quicken as the tears fell, but they were joined by small sobs and whimpers as she wept.

Her heart broke as she mourned the lives that were, the ones that were sacrificed and left behind for this new one she was given. This was a fresh start. Other ponies still knew her and remembered who she was before, but she didn’t. Not really. That pony they thought they knew was gone now, and only she remained. These were the only tears that would be shed for that Rainbow Dash and the one from that world of should be.

“Oh my Celestia…” A voice came from somewhere else in the alley, light and bubbly. It yanked Dash from her mourning and back into the present moment. She wiped her eyes with a wing and widened her stance as she looked around, ready to fight whoever it was. “Dashie…?”

A pink pony came from behind a small pile of boxes in the corner of the small alley, her mane and coat, both equally pink, matted from a long while without a proper washing. Her bright blue eyes filled with a wild and manic energy that sent a shiver up Dash’s spine.

“Pinkie Pie…?” The name was effortless to say and it fit the pony perfectly.

“Y-you know me…?” The bubbly warmth was sapped from the pony’s voice and was replaced with a cold realization. “You…you remember me?” Pinkie’s eyes, her pupils the size of pinpricks in the darkened alley, advanced towards Rainbow Dash. “How? We’ve never met here. No…no…not here. There. There! You’ve been there! Or seen it! That’s it, right?!” Her voice went from cold to excited to demanding in the span of just a few seconds.

“There? You mean…” No, it was impossible. It had to be, right? Pinkie had always been…weird when it came to knowing things she shouldn’t know or even acknowledging things that don’t exist. She always had that seventh sense, her Pinkie Sense being the sixth, that seemed to connect her to some weirdness. “The other world. The one where we’re friends with Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy. You’ve seen it?”

“SEEN IT?!” Pinkie went from a few feet to a few inches away in the blink of an eye. Her nose pressed right against Rainbow Dash’s, her hot breath that reeked of garbage washing over the one-winged mare. “I’m STILL seeing it! I see it every time I close my eyes!” Pinkie closed her eyes. “Oh HI Twilight! Yeah I have seen Rainbow Dash, she’s right here! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow DaaaaaSSSSH!” Pinkie let out a laugh that morphed into a deep and painful sob as she opened her eyes.

“How?” It was the only word on Rainbow’s tongue as she opened her mouth.

“How? You tell ME how, silly!” Pinkie stepped forward even more until she had Rainbow Dash pinned against the door, a solid earth pony hoof pressing Dash’s one good wing to the door.. “Tell me! Please?”

“I-I don’t know. They’re like memories.” Rainbow sputtered out as she tried to wiggle from the grip of the crazed party pony. “I woke up here with them. I-I don’t know.”

“Are you…are you FROM there?!” Pinkie asked. In an instant, her mane deflated like a sad balloon and rested against the sides of her face like a stiff board. Her overall color palette darkened as her eyes shifted from an eccentric bright blue to ice. “How did you get here? How do I get there?” Rainbow had no answers to give even if she was given the opportunity. “TELL ME!”

There was a banging on the door behind her and cries from both Rarity and Clipper as they tried to push the door open to no avail. Rainbow Dash tried her best to help by slipping away from the mare in front of her, but with the same luck. She was still weak from her months in that dungeon, and even in a state of obvious homelessness Pinkie was stronger than her.

“TELL ME!” Pinkie demanded again, this time her hooves going to the base of Rainbow’s neck. That excitement at being known had completely faded, only being replaced by pure rage. “You don’t understand! I need to go there! I need to! It’s so cold here! It’s so…so…lonely here…I NEED that. I NEED them!”

Those strong earth pony hooves, the hooves that belonged to a seasoned rock farmer, pressed down on Dash’s throat. Dash’s hooves slapped at Pinkie’s as the former’s eyes went wide. Slowly she was being lifted from her hooves against the rough metal door behind her by her throat, Pinkie’s maniacal gaze transfixed upon her.

“WHY AREN’T YOU TELLING ME?!” Pinkie screamed in her face. “You want to keep me here! Just like everypony else! You want to keep me away from there!”

“P-Pinkie…” It was going to be the last word before she lost consciousness, she knew it.

A bolt of magic impacted Pinkie’s side and sent her colliding into the wall beside the two. Rainbow fell onto the cold wet ground in a heap as her chest heaved and she sucked in the gross moist air around her. Two guards were on Pinkie Pie in an instant, their magic pinning her hooves to the ground as one more and Rarity came to help Dash up.

“My goodness, are you okay?” Rarity asked as she looked Rainbow Dash over. “I can’t believe you were attacked by that ruffian. I understand this is not the best part of town, but a homeless scoundrel attacking random ponies? This is ridiculous.”

A sound of metal against flesh drew Dash’s attention to one of the guards kicking Pinkie square in the ribs. She felt an anger brew up deep down in the pit of her stomach, even despite what had just occurred.

“H-hey! Back off of her! She’s…she’s sick, okay?” Rainbow Dash got to her hooves and glared at the guards. “She didn’t mean to hurt me, I know she didn’t. She needs help, not you beating on her.” One of the guards turned to look at her finally and told the other to cut it out.

Rainbow felt no anger towards the pink pony on the ground, because if it weren’t for Rarity and Spitfire that might be her right now.

Author's Note:

Sorry it's been a while.

Comments

[Write Flyer]

to be quite honest, i feel like the only pony really getting anything out of this world compared to the other is Sombra.

[BaeroRemedy]

11100794
I feel like Rarity and Spitfire made out pretty well too.

[Write Flyer]

11100803
True, but that also feels like it would be easy enough for dash to set up if/when she gets back to Equestria prime.

Otherwise this world seems to be objectively worse for all involved except the stallion in charge.

[Mr cold ghost]

Finally caught up. I have to say sombra appears to be the only one getting anything out of this timeline.

[Paradox_Az]

Well... are we dealing with some kind of multiverse like event ? Did reality merged due to some undisclosed spell ? Anyhow, something's definitly not right here. And I do hope we get more info about all of that soonish.

Got on her for protecting Pinkie, tho. Some thing do not change, at least.

[Rawislon03]

I wonder when and where Pinkie Pie turned into… that.
She’s obviously been conscious of this world for a while, long enough to have had others try and dissuade her of what they’d perceive as mental breakage or mania, and to have slipped out of the oversight of whomever attempted to help her.
Rarity either hasn’t experienced the conflicting realities yet, or has and has managed to adopt the memories of this worlds Rarity as a cover.

[Zolgard]

Personal theory about the fatal scar. I think the RD of this world is dead and somehow the original RD's soul is implanted into this incarnation's body. But how, why and who did it is uncertain.

[ZanarNaryon]

Oooooh poor pinkie shes going through it, at least Rainbow can sympathize cause yeah without Spitfire she would absolutely be as unwell as Pinkie right now. Though that is one more point in favor of this world not being right.
Also weird scar, hmmmm no idea what that means but definitely something important. Operating scar maybe? They dont look like that though...

Im a sucker for a good haircut used to symbolize becoming a new person though, the way you write Dashie is amazing