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Chapter 11,931 words
Chapter 23,131 words

Chapter 2

Rainbow Dash: three years old

Bright sunlight shone through the window on the fourth floor of Thunder Mansion, illuminating the small room. A blue pegasus cast shadows across the room as she paced back and forth. This filly, Rainbow Dash, stopped her frivolous pacing with a quiet huff and walked over to the vent in her floor. She dropped her little body to the ground and placed one ear to the cold vent. She listened intently, trying to hear the voices from downstairs drift up to her room. She sighed and gave up a moment later, after hearing nothing.

This was her routine every morning. Rainbow had trained herself to wake up about ten minutes before she was usually let out of her room. The filly would pace and occasionally listen through her vent for the voice she longed to hear. He father's. She had never really met her father. She had seen him from a distance at the dinner parties her parents often threw, or she sometimes passed him in the hallways while she was being escorted by her mother. Thunder Mansion was huge, and it's four occupants would often walk through the entire house without passing each other. Except for Rainbow. She was kept locked in her room until her father left for work in the mornings, then, Rainbow's mother or sister would let her out for the day. Thunder often got home after dinnertime, and when he did, Rainbow would be locked in her room once again. She didn't really mind the routine, it was familiar to her. She knew how to entertain herself in this small room. She spent most of her time looking out her window and dreaming about flying through the sky someday.

The filly eventually gave up on her pacing and listening and sat on the wide windowsill next to her window, looking out at the orange and pink sunrise.

The sound of locks being turned grabbed her attention and she turned her head in time to see her mother, Mirage, open the white door.

"Rise and shine 'Bow! The sun wants to say hello to you!" the pale yellow mare smiled brightly at her youngest daughter.

"Good morning Momma!" Rainbow said as she hopped off the window sill and ran over to Mirage. "What are we doin' today?"

Mirage wrapped a hoof around the filly's neck and led her into the wide hallway. "Well, I was hoping we could start off the day with a little flying lesson," she said with a glance down at her daughter. She suppressed a chuckle at the wide-eyed expression on Dash's face. "But, I'm not so sure you can handle the challenge. I wanted you to try and stay in the air for twenty seconds today, but I don't think you're ready." Mirage gave an overly dramatic sigh and removed her hoof from Rainbow's withers. "Oh well, I guess we will just have to skip the flying lesson today since you can't handle it." Mirage began walking farther down the hall, away from Rainbow.

Without missing a beat, Dash sprang into action, trotting after her mother and talking quickly. "I can handle it!" she said. "I could fly for twenty seconds in my SLEEP."

"Well... I don't know." Mirage said with a smirk. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely! I'll prove that I can be as good a flyer as you!" Rainbow insisted, he voice cracking.

"Well, I hope your bite is worse than your bark, 'Bow," Mirage said with a wink.

The two mares reached the bottom of the spiral staircase and stepped through a large, clear door that led to a backyard made of white cumulus clouds. Mirage turned to her daughter and spoke seriously, "Okay, Rainbow. I honestly think we can get up to twenty seconds today. I believe you're ready. What do you think?"

"Don't worry, Mom! I promise I can handle it!" Rainbow squeaked.

Mirage sighed, "Alright, time to warm up. 50 wing-ups. GO!"

Rainbow Dash spent the next hour pushing the limits on her flying. She followed her Mother's every direction and command, from 1,000 wing-ups to gliding. Eventually, the time came to see how long she could stay in the air.

"Okay Dash, lets start the timer." Mirage pressed reset on her small, silver pocketwatch as Rainbow prepared for takeoff. "Ready. Set. Go!"

Rainbow Dash took to the skies with a flap of her wings. She got about 15 feet in the air before staying in place. Her head was swimming from the altitude, and her blood ran with adrenaline. She could hear her heart pounding in her chest.

"5 seconds," Mirage shouted.

Rainbow closed her eyes and listened to the beating of her heart.

"10 seconds."

She took in a deep breath.

"15 seconds."

She released the breath.

"20 seconds."

Breathe in.

"25 seconds."

Breathe out. Rainbow Dash dropped to the clouds quickly, trying to slow the pounding in her chest. Mirage ran up to her and wrapped her in a hug as Rainbow tried to ignore to pain in her wings. "Oh, Rainbow! I am so proud of you! You did it!" Mirage smiled.

Rainbow chuckled breathlessly and pulled out of the hug. "Yeah. I guess I did."

"Come on, it's nearly noon, you must be starving." Mirage turned and walked inside the cloud mansion, Rainbow Dash followed close behind, donning an enormous smile.

Rainbow Dash lie on the floor of her living room, dragging multicolored crayons across a blank white sheet. Her mother entered the spacious room and looked down at her daughter's drawing. "What are you coloring 'Bow?" she asked with a smile.

Rainbow looked up at her mother and made huge gestures as she explained. "I'm drawin' me, you, and Spectrum! See that yellow pony? That's you. And that gray one is Spectrum. I tried to make her white, but it wouldn't show up, so I made her gray. This blue one over here," she pointed to a small stick-pegasus in the corner. "That's me. I'm flying."

Mirage gave her a small smile. "It's beautiful Rainbow." She turned and walked back into the kitchen, calling behind her, "Just remember to throw it away before your father gets home."

"I will!" she shouted, her voice cracking.

Rainbow rested her muzzle on her hoof and hummed a quiet tune as she added more colors and symbols to her drawing. She only looked up when she heard the front door open and close. Rainbow gasped and hurriedly put away her crayons and shoved them behind a tall, ornate china cabinet for safe keeping. She grabbed her paper and thrust it into a white garbage can as she raced to the door.

"Spectrum!" Rainbow squealed as she caught sight of her elder sister hanging up her saddlebags as she returned from Flight School.

"Hey there, 'Bow!" Spectrum said as she picked up her sister and brought her into a tight hug. "Did you have fun with Mother today?" She asked, setting Rainbow Dash down.

"Oh, yeah!" she replied, nodding vigorously. "During my flying lesson, I stayed in the air for 25 whole seconds! After that, Mom let me eat carrots for lunch. Oh, and then, I imagined there were squares on the floor and I practiced that hopscotch game you told me about. And right before you got here, I colored a picture!"

"Goodness! It sounds like you had an eventful day." Spectrum smiled at her little sister before walking toward the stairs.

"Wait! Sis! Can we practice reading before Father gets home?"

Spectrum Breeze looked at her sister with an unreadable expression. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Ask Mother."

Rainbow Dash sprinted into the kitchen where her mother was working on a new recipe and put on an innocent smile. "Hey Momma, can I practice my reading with Spectrum?"

Mirage put down the flour she was pouring and faced her youngest daughter. "I don't really thing you need to, you're so good at it already," Mirage smiled and returned to her baking.

"But Mother, I want to do it," she whined.

Mirage sighed and looked her daughter in the eyes. A moment of silence passed until Mirage broke it. "Alright. Just keep track of time so you can get back in your room before your father gets home."

Rainbow Dash buzzed her wings before galloping back into the living room. "Thank you Mother!" She faced her sister for a moment and said, "She said yes!"

Rainbow walked to the couch as Spectrum went upstairs to retrieve a book. Rainbow rested her forelegs atop the couch and lifted her small body up to the cushions. She struggled at first, but eventually landed among the pillows with a muffled thump. She lay her head on her forelegs as she waited for her sister. She soon grew bored and began fluffing a pillow. She then took her hoof and smashed the pillow down before re-fluffing it. This took on a hypnotic aspect as Rainbow waited for Spectrum. Fluff, smash, fluff, smash, fluff, smash, fluff, smash, flu-

"Rainbow!"

Rainbow Dash looked up to see her sister glaring at her. "Sorry," she smiled sheepishly.

Spectrum Breeze climbed atop the couch so she was facing her sister.

"What book are we gonna read?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Spectrum held up the thin picture book and smiled, "This book is called The King and Queen of Cloudsdale."

Dash stared at it in wonder. "Oh, we've never read that one before." She snatched the book and opened up to the first page. Rainbow opened her mouth to read before looking up to her sister for encouragement. After seeing Spectrum's nod, she began. "Once u-upon a time, there was a King an' a Queen. They lived in a big ca-castle. They ruled over Cloudsdale. They were alw-ways good to the ponies in Cloudsdale. One day they-" Rainbow stopped short as the sound of a closing door resounded through the mansion.

Spectrum gasped and jumped from the couch, running to the doorway. Mirage galloped from the kitchen, joining Spectrum. Rainbow Dash stretched her neck over the side of the couch and peered at where her mother and sister had gone. Rainbow gasped as she caught sight of a large pony with a grey mane. Her ears perked up as she listened to the muffled voices. She could make out her mother's voice, but she could not tell what she was saying. Rainbow then heard the deep rumble that she had heard so few times in her life. Her father! It was her father's voice. Rainbow leaned over to get a better view of her dad, but her line of sight was blocked by her mother. Rainbow Dash sat back down with a sigh and returned her gaze to her book.

Rainbow Dash was skimming over the words when an idea struck her. The book! she thought. I'll show Father how good I can read. Then he'll be proud of me like he's always proud of Spectrum! Rainbow grabbed the book and bounded onto the floor. Rainbow rounded the corner at full speed, but slowed when she caught sight of her family. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her mother mouthing the word "No" and trying to get her attention. Rainbow Dash ignored her mother's pleas and kept her gaze locked on her father as she slowly approached.

After what seemed like ages, Rainbow Dash stood still next to Cold Thunder and spoke. "Father?"

Everything in the room stood still, seemingly holding it's breath. The enormous mansion was eerily silent as Thunder peered down at his youngest daughter.

Rainbow gulped. It's now or never she thought. She opened the book with agonizing slowness and began to read, "Once upon a time, there w-was a King and a Queen."

"What are you doing?" Cold Thunder snapped. The floors and walls seemed to shake at the sound of his voice.

Rainbow Dash stuttered her answer, her voice cracking as it betrayed her nervousness. "I-I was. Um. I was just. I w-wanted to show, um, to show you how good I can r-read. I thought. Um. That maybe you-"

"You thought this pathetic attempt at reading would make me proud of you." It was less of a statement and more of an accusation. Thunder snatched the book from his daughter's hooves and hurled it across the room. It hit the wall with a loud thump.

"How could you ever think I would be proud of you? You will never make me proud."

Cold Thunder turned to leave, but Rainbow Dash was persistent. "But, Father. I-"

"Enough!" he yelled. Thunder whirled around and faced his daughter. He took his hoof and smacked Rainbow across the face. It took a moment for her to realize what had happened. Rainbow Dash had subconsciously closed her eyes on impact and upon opening them she found herself on the floor, her head spinning. Once her eyes refocused she tried to get up, but found herself stopped by a dark blue hoof, which was weighing down on her chest. Rainbow turned her head to see that her mother had disappeared and her elder sister was sitting on the staircase, peering through the bars at the unfolding events. The look on Spectrum's face was a mixture of fear, anger, and pure sadness. Rainbow Dash had never seen her sister look so vulnerable, and that was what scared her the most.

Rainbow looked up into a pair of yellow eyes and noticed that Thunder was not even trying to mask his feelings. Emotions flashed through his eyes, one after another. Anger, disappointment, sadness. These scared her, but the worst one of all, was the look of someone who had been deeply betrayed. As these things happened, Rainbow didn't have much time to ponder why her father was feeling this, but this would not be the last time that she would wonder who had betrayed Cold Thunder and why it drove him to such drastic measures.

"You ignorant, sorry excuse for a pegasus. I wish you had never been born," he growled as his hoof dug deeper into Rainbow's lungs. She suddenly found it hard to breathe and could no longer understand what her father was yelling. Her ears felt like they were full of cotton and her vision was black around the edges. Rainbow Dash watched Thunder's mouth move, but she heard nothing but wretched silence. She watched as her delivered blows to her face and torso and watched blood streaming from open wounds, but she felt nothing. All the while, the blackness edged closer until it covered Rainbow's vision and pulled her under.

Rainbow blinked a few times and set her sights upon an empty room. She still lie on the floor, but her family had seemingly vanished. The floors and furniture were bathed in moonlight that streamed through the windows, but endless, dark shadows lingered in corners. She looked towards the stairs to see that her sister was no longer watching over her with that haunting expression.

Somehow, Rainbow Dash found the strength to stand and began to make her way upstairs, the only thing she felt was a dull ache in her left hind leg, but did her best to ignore it. After walking for what seemed like forever, she entered her room, not bothering with the myriad of locks on her door. Rainbow looked at herself in the mirror briefly, taking in her torn and frazzled mane and the cuts that seemed to cover her body. Even in the dark, she could see bruises forming on her face and legs. Rainbow turned away quickly, and sat down awkwardly on her bed. She sat there, staring into space for what could have been minutes, hours, or even days, all she could comprehend was the overwhelming feeling of numbness that enveloped her.

Barely thinking, Rainbow got up and reached under her mattress, searching until she grasped a small scroll. Sitting down on her little chair by the window, she unraveled the parchment and began to read the words that were scrawled in her own childish writing:

THINGS I KNOW ABOUT MY FATHER

1.) His fur is dark blue

2.) He is really rich

3.) His mane is gray

4.) He owns the Weather Factory

5.) He has lots of friends

6.) His eyes are yellow

7.) His cutie mark is a gray cloud, a black cloud, and a dark blue cloud

8.) He likes to throw parties

9.) He likes to drink

10.) Even though he has never said it, he loves me

Rainbow Dash looked at the list for a moment before ripping it down the middle. She proceed to rip the flimsy paper over and over again until it was nothing but shreds the size of a coin. She used all her strength and lifted up the window, letting in the cool night air. She looked out at the regal Cloudsdale houses and down at the empty street below. In one swift movement, Rainbow put her hooves out the window and let go of the shredded paper, watching it's pieces get taken far away by the wind.

Rainbow Dash had no idea how long she had been laying in her bed. She only knew that the outside world had remained as dark as before and the silence in the mansion had never been broken. She had long ago let her mind wander to distant places, and was only brought back to reality at the sound of her door being slowly opened. Rainbow didn't move, not even as hoofsteps continued across her room, or as somepony lay down in her bed, facing her back. A pair of white hooves wrapped around the little blue pegasus and pulled her close. Rainbow could smell rosemary and rainwater, the scent of her big sister. She relaxed and sank deeper into Spectrum's embrace, not even realizing that she was already crying.

Author's Note:

Hey, it's me again! Looks like Chapter 2 is finally out. Woot! Sorry for the delay, I was really busy with school and final exams and I just recently started writing again. Hopefully I'll be able to start writing on a more regular basis now. Probably not, but I can dream. Also, looks like I have no editor for this chapter, so I apologize for mistakes. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it and I can't wait to hear back!

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