Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria, has been the face of Pegasi for many years. However, when an incident goes from bad to worse, she slowly starts to believe that the curse can easily become a blessing.
Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria, has been the face of Pegasi for many years. However, when an incident goes from bad to worse, she slowly starts to believe that the curse can easily become a blessing. With her friends becoming worried about her erratic behavior and not knowing the truth, how long will she go before being stopped? An even better question, will she be stopped?
A.N. There will be a chapter posted everyday until it ends, enjoy the story everypony!
It's just turning noon. Rainbow Dash has come over to give Twilight some lessons on how to fly, and being the fastest flyer in all of Equestria they both agreed that the lessons could not go wrong. "Ok Twilight, the lessons that I will be giving you are the most intense, demanding lessons that exist. Are you up for the challenge?"
"Shouldn't I at least know the very basics first?" Twilight asks.
Rainbow sighs. "Fine, let's start with the basics. Now, go to the edge of the cliff." Twilight walks over. "Open your wings half way." She does so and waits. "And now." Rainbow pushes her. "Jump!" Twilight struggles to regain control. The wind pushes Twilight's wings fully open, and she glides down to the bottom. Rinbow was already waiting.
"You could have killed me Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yells, scared and mad.
"No you wouldn't have been killed. As long as you had your wings half open, it would have worked. And even if you somehow messed up, I would have saved you. Don't worry Twilight, I won't let anything happen to you." Twilight scowls but knows she is in good hooves. They spend the next few hours practicing.
"Alright, so what's next?" Twilight asks excitedly, ready for a new trick.
"Well, I could show you how to control your falling speed." Twilight nods. "Alright, first you want your wings open slightly so that they make an open cup near your flank. As you're falling, closing them more speeds up your fall, while opening them slows it down. I'll show you." Rainbow walks to the edge once more and makes the cup. She jumps off, slowly opening her wings to slow down. However, a rock falls onto her left wing, popping it out of place. In agony, she tries to open the other one, but that only makes her go into a spiral.
"Rainbow!" Twilight dives after her but losses her from sight. She reaches the bottom, looking around quickly. She lifts rocks with her magic but can't find her.
"Twilight..." A voice calls out. Twilight follows it until she reaches a puddle. It has water in it, but it's a musty red liquid. She follows the small river to a pile of rocks. She pushes them to the side, only to find a Rainbow Dash in pain and barley conscious.
"Rainbow Dash! Ok, ok, stay calm Rainbow, just stay awake and look at me." There is blood everywhere, but she can't find any scratches on her. "Ok, don't move, I'll be right back." Twilight flies off to find help.
Rainbow looks around, dazed and confused. How did this one simple tip go this horribly wrong? Her hoof begins to burn. She raises it, only to see a red mark going across it. She goes to get up, but immediately falls. Her vision starts to double and her ears ring. She sees figures flying down towards her, and just lies back. They talk to her but the ringing is too loud. She goes to grab the shoulder of one of the figures, but she can't tell where the figure is due to her double vision. She rests her hoof on the ground and begins having tunnel vision. She tries to speak, but can't tell if she is saying words or noises. She gives in and looses consciousness.
In the hospital, Twilight paces back and forth in the hall. The other four are worriedly sitting outside of the room. "Twi', shouldn't you stay calm and hope for the best? Assuming the worst never helped anypony." Applejack says, getting dizzy from watching her.
"No! I wanted the lessons and she could die, I'm to blame if the surgery goes wrong, I almost-"
"Twilight darling please, you're not to blame. It was just a fluke darling, the only one to blame is the bad timing." Rarity says. Twilight slows down and sits against the wall, putting her hooves against her head. Rarity leans in, "And besides, I doubt the surgery went wrong, the doctor said the previous tests on the mice went perfect." She whispers to Twilight, keeping Fluttershy from hearing it. Twilight stays silent. The door opens and Nurse Red Heart walks into the hall. They all look at her.
"Ok, do you want the good news or the bad news first?"
"What's the good news?" Twilight quickly asks.
"The surgery went without a hitch. She will need to be in rest for at least three to four days, and then she will be allowed to leave. Everything from her vision to her hearing will be fully recovered." Twilight leans back, letting out a sigh of relief from the news.
"A-and the bad news?" Fluttershy meekly asks.
"Again, the surgery went perfect. A change this big in any life can cause mental twists and turns. If you notice anything, and I mean anything off about her, get her to the closest psychiatrist. The mind will be very confused for the first few months. After that she should be fine. I wish all of you, and her, the best of luck."
They all say a simultaneous thank you to the nurse as she walks away. "She'll be ok! I say this calls for a party!" Pinkie screams, running out of the hospital to gather the supplies.
"I guess we should be going girls, it is awfully late." Rarity says. They look at the clock, it's ten at night. Rarity walks out of the hospital Applejack following, and Fluttershy goes to walk away with them. She notices Twilight who is still holding her head in her hooves.
Fluttershy walks over. "Twilight? Are you ok?" Twilight musters her energy, and holds back any tears.
"I'm fine, just glad it's all over. You should go Fluttershy, your animals probably need you." Fluttershy nods and walks away, seeing that she isn't in the mood for talking.
Twilight sits in the waiting room, gathering her thoughts. "It's closing time Ms. Sparkle, you really need to go home." The nurse says.
"Ok." She slowly gets up, and walks towards the door.
"Is something bothering you?" The nurse asks, worried.
"Well, it's just, I feel like this is all my fault. She was teaching me how to fly when it happened and I, I don't know it's stupid, I'll leave." She walks out the door before the nurse can reply. Heading back to her library, Twilight sees Spike.
"Oh hey Twilight. How'd the surgery go?"
"It went fine." She replies. Spike, confused, just takes it as good news and continues cleaning.
"Oh, Pinkie said to remind you that she is having a party right now." Spike reminds her, yawning in the middle of the statement. Twilight heads to her bedroom, ignoring him. He heads to bed, too tired to notice. Twilight lies down, trying to go to sleep. She eventually realizes she can't and just stares out the window for the rest of the night.
"Ughh." Rainbow Dash opens her eyes, tired and groggy. "H-hello?"
"Rainbow!" A pony hugs her while she is in the bed.
"Um, who is this?" They let go. "Oh, hey Twilight. What happened?"
"Well, you were hit by a rock and passed out. But don't worry, you're perfectly fi-" Fluttershy walks over and puts her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. She tears up and walks to the wall with the others.
"Um, Rainbow, you might want to take a look." Fluttershy hands her a mirror. Rainbow looks in it, shocked and speechless. The doctor who did the surgery walks in.
"You see Ms. Dash, we-"
"What did you do to me!?" She screams, a mess of emotions. "Why do I look like, this!?" In the mirror, a grey, dull Rainbow Dash stares back at the mare. Her mane is compiled of different shades of grey, but her coat is a constant light grey. The only color is in her eyes, which still contain their vibrant Rose color.
"We have been researching a new spell found in the catacombs of the Canterlot castle. It was found in a book by StarSwirl the Bearded, and it says how to heal a pony with an excessive amount of blood loss. We have practiced it on multiple occasions, but you were the first living Pony to have it done to them. Both luckily and thankfully, it worked without almost a single hitch." The doctor finishes.
"Almost?" Rainbow asks.
"Well, according to the spell, it should have saved your mane's color and kept some of the tint on your coat, but you had lost so much blood that we had to sacrifice it all. Thankfully, your eyes had been saved, but it was either the eyes or the back half of the mane. We figured you'd prefer the eyes. But the important thing to focus on here is that you are still with the living. You have the rest of the day to move back to Ponyville, and we were glad we could help." The doctor walks out of the room, overly proud of his work.
"So, I'm like this? Forever?" She looks at the others.
Applejack walks towards her. "Well, unfortunately sugar cube. But like the doc. said, you're alive. It could have ended a lot differently, but you're here with us." She put on a plastered smile.
"And plus Dashie, now you have eyes that could look like they glow in the dark! You're going to be the life of every party!" Pinkie Pie says, hoping her happiness will rub off to Rainbow.
"And the animals will have more of a connection with you, since your bright colors won't be hurting their eyes." Fluttershy says, trying to be encouraging. Rainbow looks at all of them, feeling a bit better about the future. She looks over at Twilight who is facing the wall, quietly crying over guilt.
"Thanks you guys, I appreciate the support." She gets up, a slight smirk on her face. She walks over to Twilight and only taps her back with her wing. "It's not your fault egg head, don't be hard on yourself." She says with a bump of jokes in the sentence. Twilight turns right around and hugs her, crying and saying silent apologies under her loud sobbing. She let's go and Twilight walks away. Rainbow follows her out the door, and flies back to her house.
Once inside, she slams the door shut. "WHY ME?!" She yells to the celling, being as loud as she can. "What did I do to deserve this?! All I did was fly, have ponies jaw dropped form my sonic-Rainboom, and now? All it'll be is a dark cloud made of circles!" She paces back and forth, done yelling. Tank walks over, but slowly backs away from the look in Rainbow's eyes. "You still have your color. Nothing ever happenes to you, but to us ponies? Everything happens to us. Everything!" He backs up and walks back to the bed room.
Perhaps this is just a dream, she thinks to herself. Maybe if I just wake up, I'll be all better. She pinches herself, but nothing. She punches her gut, but only bends over in pain. There's no way this is real, there's not a single pony in Equestria that would rather take another's color and life away, rather than to just let them die. Is there? Do they really exist? No, there's no way. It's all just a big misunderstanding. I'm sure the after affects are only temporary, not permanent. Just here for a week or two and then poof, they're gone.
But what if it is permanent? What if I'm like this forever? I can't go out in public like a statue. How will I ever join the Wonderbolts? Or even fly ever again? I can't let the others be ashamed by the way I look, it's absurd! I have to stop being friends with them, I can't hurt the image of a princess. Or any of the others for that matter. But how? I can't say that I hate you all and go away, can I? What if I don't stop being friends, but stop seeing friends? It would save a lot of issues.
Just as Rainbow was making a twentieth pace, the door opens. She flies behind the couch. "Rainbow? Are you here?" Fluttershy steps into the dark house. "Rainbow Dash? I brought you something." She keeps looking around but doesn't see her. As she goes to leave, she sees Tank. "Oh! Tank, do you know where I can find Rainbow Dash?" He points down. "Oh, good idea. I'll just put these down for her when she gets back, thank you." She then leaves before he can tell her where she is. When the door closes Rainbow walks over to see what she left her.
She unravels the plate and on it are a dozen cookies with a note. She reads it out loud. "Dear Rainbow Dash, we hope you are doing well. We made you these at Sugar Cube Corner, hope you enjoy. Signed, all your friends." She throws the paper. "What?! They don't think that I can handle this? Well I'll show them!" She storms out of her house.
Rainbow Dash flies down to Sugar Cube corner. She walks in, steaming mad. "Alright, where are you Pinkie Pie?!" She walks around the building, opening every door. She finds her in the attic.
"Hey Dashie! I see you're feeling-"
"Enough! I got your guys's present and I am appalled. How dare any of you think that I am incapable of taking care of myself, when I was the one who lived through over-excessive blood loss!" She continues walking foward, face to face with Pinkie, forcing her to back up.
"D-Dashie, please, you're scaring me."
"Oh, I'm scaring you? Why? Are my glow in the dark eyes too much for you to look at?"
"N-no, but-"
"You listen here, party addict. I don't want any more of your nonsense. I don't want to hear your disbelief in me, I don't want to hear your negative ways, I don't even want to see you. Leave, me, alone." She stares at Pinkie for an extra second, then walks away.
"Dumb pink pony, thinking I need a shoulder to cry on. I showed her how run like a bullet, and she thinks I can't-" Rainbow stops her muttering, seeing a pony looking at her. "What are you looking at?!" He runs off. "Punk."
"Howdy there RD, I see you're feeling all better." Applejack says, walking her cart back to her farm.
"Yeah, I'm just dandy. You know, you are one big mare to talk AJ. Saying that you're so honest, then going behind someone's back and lying to their face!"
"Dash, what are you talking about?" Applejack asks, letting go of her cart.
"Oh, nothing, just how you told me that everything would be fine and you know I can handle it, then going and thinking that I am too stupid to help myself."
"RD, I am truly lost, please tell me what you're talking about."
"You don't deserve the things you have! What happened to me is much more than just this, and you can't see that! I have been your friend since I can remember AJ, and I can't believe that you're this cruel to me in my worst times."
"Rainbow, I haven't the slickest idea of what you're talking about, but if I had offended you in any way about anything, then I am sorry." She goes to walk away but stops. "Wait, y'all need something. I can't remember what, but something."
"I don't need any handouts, you lousy excuse of a mare!" Rainbow then flies off, heading to her house. Once there she slams the door and kicks a lamp. Then she rips the sheets off of the mattress and throws them at her front door. "And what about you?!" She stares at Tank who is backing up. "What? Do you think I'm hopeless too? Huh? Well it's not my fault that this happened to me! I didn't want this! I never asked for this! I just wanted to help Twilight and-" she stops herself. "Twilight. This is all her fault. If she hadn't asked, I'd be perfectly fine. Thanks to her, I'll always be like this." Her eyes burn with fire, her mouth imitating nothing but noises. The door opens.
"Rainbow Dash? Are you in here?" Twilight looks at the furniture. "Applejack said that you needed to come with me. We have an appointment somewhere." She keeps looking around the dimly lighten room. She steps foot into the room but ducks seeing a light go near her. She hears a smash and steps back. "Rainbow Dash?!" She yells, scared. She is then pushed off the cloud and towards the ground. She kicks with her back hooves and is released. She glides to the ground.
"You." Rainbow Dash walks at her.
"Dash, I know what you're thinking, but it wasn't my-"
"It was your fault! You owned up to it, and now you'll pay for it!"
"Dash! Get a hold of yourself! You're not like this, you wouldn't hurt a friend."
"Oh, but I would if I needed to. And right now, I think I need to." Rainbow picks up to a trot, then a run. There is a flash of purple, and she falls to the ground.
"Rainbow! Please, don't be mad! It wasn't your or my fault, just bad timing!" Twilight says who had just teleported behind Rainbow Dash. Rainbow just gets up and flies at her. Twilight uses another spell and Rainbow falls to the ground, knocked out. Twilight sits on the ground, staring at the sleeping Rainbow Dash. It all goes quiet.
"Twilight?" Fluttershy walks up to her and sees Rainbow Dash on the ground. "What happened?" Twilight doesn't answer. She just stares at Rainbow. Thinking of how much she has messed up her life. She made her get hurt, albeit by accident, but hurt none the less hurt. Then she took away her color, and made her become like this. Then she knocked her out, completely in self defense. What if she hadn't asked for practice? If she had just dealt with learning how to fly by herself? Would this have happened? Did she really ruin her life? All by herself? "Twilight." Fluttershy says again. She looks up and sees Fluttershy there. The sky is black and the clouds are out. Rainbow Dash is still knocked out.
"Yeah, yeah I'll go." Twilight says.
"No, it's not that, it's just, you've been here for three hours staring at her. Are you ok?"
"I'm fine. Look, I'll bring Dash to my place and I'll bring her to the therapist in the morning. Have a good night." Twilight lifts Dash with levitation and brings her to her home. She puts her into her bed and sleeps on the floor, no blanket or pillow, just the hard wood floor.
Twilight walks through the halls, looking for her room. In this hotel, many rooms look exactly the same. They all have a story behind them. In 210 there was a double murder with an arrest of twelve ponies. In 386, the hotel owner had died in the cabinet after being robbed and assaulted by the twelve ponies from 210.
As she continues walking, the halls begin to change color. Slowly, they change from red to green, orange, blue, purple, and then back to red. She picks up the pace, trotting now down to the other end of the hall. The closer she gets, the more the hallway seems to grow. The walls are changing very fast now and she is full on running.
Disembodied voices begin talking. "Why did you do it? I just wanted to help."
"We didn't deserve this."
"You killed me and yet I'm still alive."
Twilight punches a wall, making a hole in it. He hoof gets stuck and she is pulled into the wall. She begins to fall down this endless hole, fighting off shadows of ponies now. "We didn't want to get hurt."
"We thought you were our friend."
"You went too far, we were only being helpful."
"Please, help us." Twilight punches one of the shadows, screaming and flailing. The shadow slowly turns into Rainbow Dash, still grey.
"I blame you." The hole suddenly becomes a river tidal room, a floor just appearing. Twilight tried to fly and use her horn, but both are gone.
"Help! Help me!" She yells. Rainbow just stares at her.
"You didn't help me. So why should I help you?" She smirks and flies off. Twilight plummets towards the bottom, about to hit the ground.
"Help! Help!"
"Twilight!" Spike yells again. Twilight opens her eyes quickly, flying around the room and knocking down the books. "Twilight! Stop! It was a bad dream!" She stops in mid air, falling towards the bookshelves. A crash and dust later, she is surrounded by books.
"I need to get to the therapist." She says, quickly adjusting herself.
"Don't forget Rainbow Dash!" Spike yells to the door. She flies back.
"Right, thanks." She levitates her, and brings her to the therapist.
Twilight walks out of the Therapist's, happy and clear minded. Rainbow Dash follows her, a bit more depressed than happy, but none the less better. Twilight heads to her home, while Rainbow heads to Sugar Cube corner. "Pinkie?" She asks, feeling horrible.
"In here!" A voice calls. Rainbow walks in the back room to find the pink pony scurrying through old boxes.
"Hey Pinkie. I just wanted to apologize, I don't know what got over me and it was completely uncalled for. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, and I'm sorry." Pinkie turns around, dust covering her face and front hooves.
"Oh, well that's ok Dashie, I forgive you. Want to help me find my old high school photos?" This completely caught Rainbow off guard.
"Sure." They search through dust and old pastries that have gone bad. They find the year book from when they all graduated, though they haven't met Twilight at the time. Pinkie and Applejack graduated with them since they both skipped a grade, and rarity was with Fluttershy and Rainbow. Rainbow is still shocked that both her and Fluttershy passed flyers school, and then went directly from there to grade school and passed with out a hitch.
"Oh, look at this one!" Pinkie points out the high school mare's hoofball final game. It was the championship, and Rainbow was the captain. In their final game, the first three quarters went scoreless. Each team was equally matched, and their coaches were as ruthless as could be. In the last quarter, Rainbow had run past the defense and into the other team's zone, winning the game.
Rainbow sighs. She looks at her old self, how she used to be so agile, so fast on hoof, so brave, so, colorful. She looks at her own hoof now, nothing but grey shows. Everything she is now has completely lost it's color. What if she had looked like this during the last game? Would she still have been able to win it for the team? What if she didn't want to be fast and go for engineering instead? Would the incident have ever even happened? Pinkie sees her near tears and closes the book. Rainbow jumps. "Oh, sorry Pinkie. Kinda got lost in my own thoughts there."
"It's ok. Thanks for helping me find it. Do you want anything while you're here?"
"No, no I'm good, thanks though." They say goodbye and Rainbow walks around Ponyville. Keeping an eye out for color, not that that's an issue of course, but just looking at all of the vivid colors in the world around her. As she walks on, ponies step out of their houses and just stare at her, mouths wide open, watching her walk. Yeah, keep staring, she thinks to herself. I'm sure you're all shocked that I look like this now, but it's not my fault. I could have done more probably. I could have kept my wing straight, could have avoided the water on my way down. But instead I did what I thought was best, was safest. It probably is my own fault, not Twilight's, mine. If I can't save myself from a simple issue, how will I save my friends? Will I even be able to make my sonic rainboom anymore?
"Rainbow Dash! How good it is to see you again." Rarity steps out of her house, just heading out.
"Oh, hey Rarity." She replies, faking a smile.
"How have you been my dear?"
"Fine, I guess I'm getting used to looking like, this." She says, hesitating.
"Wonderful. I'm sorry, but I have somewhere I must go. Have a good day Rainbow Dash." She trots away, hurrying to where ever she's going. Rainbow is glad, she isn't in the mood to talk about cloths or her problems.
Continuing her walk, she begins to feel worse and worse. She really is the only one that looks like this, all grey yet rose eyes, she's like a deformed, old rainbow. A Rose colored rainbow if anything, and this rainbow is ready to disappear. To just walk away and never return, carrying out her life forever as a lone soul who is darker than the night and faster than light. Just as she decides that this would be the best idea, she sees Fluttershy tending to some local ducks and geese. This makes her want to stay, it would hurt Fluttershy the most if she were to leave, them being best friends out of the group. She sees Rainbow looking over and perks up. Rainbow walks over. "Hey Fluttershy."
"Hello Rainbow, how are you?" Fluttershy asks, feeding the last baby duck before sending it off with the rest.
"I'm, well, I..." She trails off. She is near crying, sick of lying. "I'm not fine Fluttershy, I'm not at all! This, all of this, is my fault. I messed up my own life forever, and I shouldn't be complaining. I'm sorry for everything that I've put you all through, I shouldn't have to be an annoyance to you. I'm sorry Fluttershy, I'm so sorry." She flies off, a ray of different shades of grey following her. Fluttershy calls after her, but Rainbow ignores it and keeps going.
She gets to her house, closing and locking the door. She runs up to her bedroom and flops down crying. She looks over and sees Tank backing up, but pulls him towards her. She cries into his shell, holding him close. "Rainbow? Are you home?" Fluttershy asks through the door.
"Go away!" She replies, not wanting to talk to any of her friends.
"Look, Rainbow, I know this is hard, I really do. But you can't blame yourself, no one could have done anything to change what happened."
"Yes we could, and you know that! You all know that! What if I had said no to her, huh? What if I had taken better care during the practice? What if-"
"What if you don't let this go? Then what will you be? You'll be too far gone and worried about how you look, rather than who you are. You need to let this go, and accept that what has already happened, it already happened." There is silence for a good two minutes before the door swings open.
"You're right Fluttershy, you're right. Come on in, I have a lot I'd like to talk about."
"No, Dash, it's not like that." For the past two hours, Fluttershy has been trying to calm Dash down from a self-depriving talk.
"Yes it is. You know it is, this is all because of me. All of the fans I have are going to forget about me, you guys will be ashamed you know me, and Scootaloo will, oh Celestia, Scootaloo." Rainbow breaks down into tears. "I've failed her. She won't get anymore lessons from me, she won't even see me anymore. My little sister..."
"Dash, I, you can't, please don't cry." She just lies into her pillow, soaking it with tears. "Dash, please, it's ok, we are all here for you. And you haven't failed anypony Dash, you just need time that's all."
"I-I know, but I don't see how looking at this like it's nothing helps. Yeah it's on the inside that counts but public insight still matters."
Fluttershy, out of things to say, just sits there and looks at her friend. It's quite a sight to see, the fastest and most respected flyer in all of Equestria breaking down and opening up to you and you alone. It's something Fluttershy won't soon forget.
"Please, just leave Fluttershy. Thanks." Dash asks, sick of looking like a fool in front of her best friend. Fluttershy stands and hugs her before walking out.
Reaching the ground, she sees Twilight waiting anxiously outside of her cottage. "Hello Twilight, can I help you with something?" Fluttershy asks, curious.
"I figured it out! Rainbow is going through the five stages of grief right now, Denial and Isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and then finally will be acceptance! By tommorow, she should be just like her old self again, happy and content with the way she is."
"Oh good, I was worried that she would be like this forever." Fluttershy goes to open the door, but stops. "Twilight? What if she stays like this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's just, I saw her and she is in horrible shape. I've never seen anypony like this before, so I don't know if she will recover."
Twilight thinks for a minute. "Well, if she doesn't, then I guess she could just go back to the therapist. I mean, it seemed to help last time, but I highly doubt she will be stuck at depression. She is a strong, proud mare who will get over this with time to spare."
"Ok, I guess that makes sense. Want to come inside?" Fluttershy asks, opening the door fully now.
"I'm good, thank you though. I heading back to the others to tell them. If you'd like you could help."
Rainbow lies like a rock on her bed, tired and worn out. "I don't care anymore." She says to herself. "It's not like complaining would make a difference. I just need to realize that I'm like this forever. I'm not going to have fans, I'm not going to have Scootaloo anymore, I'm not going to try out for the Wonderbolts anymore, I'm just going to be a regular mare that nopony cares about." The more she thought of this, the more conflicted she becomes.
She continues looking around the room. "And who cares anyway? It's not like I'm dead, I'm just different. Sure I'm not a rainbow of colors anymore, atleast I'm here, right?" She looks at Tank who is sleeping. "You're right, it does affect this. It always does, how you look to other people, it matters. It matters a lot. But why? Why can't I just be me and not care about how I look?" She grabs a book.
Siting in her bed, she looks over some old photos in her own yearbook. "Look how happy they are. Colorful, cheerful, excited, filled with glee, everything I'm not. I used to be just like Pinkie, but now I can't even see anyone without having mouths gaped at me. I wish I wasn't like this, wasn't a nobody. I used to have it all, but now..." She looks at her hooves. She becomes furious.
"Now it's all pointless. Nothing but useless potential! I have the stamina, the patience, the durability, and now it's all for nothing! The worst part is that I could have easily avoided it, the loss of color. But no. Now I'm just a shadow. A shadow that everypony knows, but nopony cares about. I wish I could prove them wrong, that this could show them that I'm something more now, but I can't. It'd be pointless."
She looks at a picture of the prom from flight school. She hated the prom. The only one she had to talk with was Fluttershy, and even then it was terrible. She resented all of them for another year before forgiving them. Especially Soarin, how he betrayed her. Seeing this makes her clouded, her judgment blind. "I shouldn't have to deal with this, my life has been as tough as I'd make it, but this isn't my choice. They deserve this, all of them. I payed my dues, took my toll, and now it all means nothing."
Turning the page, she sees the scientist section. "I should have gone into engineering. It would have been so much easier, less dangerous. Stupid flying, stupid friends telling me to stick with what I'm good at. Doing that tuned me into this monster. They turned me into this monster, they all did this to me. Twilight, she wanted this to happen. She expected me to turn out grey, and now I am. Well congratulations princess of Friendship, you're wish is granted." She recognized a name in the listings of the scientists. Of all ponies, it was Spitfire.
"I'll get you back Sparkle, I'll get back at all of you. I swear it by Celestia's name. I'll need help. Who though, Spitfire? Well, I can't ask her. What if I asked him? No, too risky. I need a Pegasus who can make this, but who?" She sees a name that gives her chills, if she could dispose of him after he helps her, that would be her own revenge. "Here we go. He is just sick and twisted enough to help. Plus I'd be able to get back at him for the prom, sicko. I hope you're ready Twilight, because your world is about to be turned upside down."
Fluttershy walks down the path heading to Sugar Cube corner, enjoying the sunlight and breezes of fall. No one has seen Rainbow Dash for two weeks, they all assume that she went on a vacation, but Fluttershy disagrees with them. Just as she gets to the door, Rainbow flies in front of her, a huge smile showing. "Rainbow!" She hugs her, happy to see her.
"Yeah, I know! Hey, come with me real fast." Rainbow grabs her hoof and flies off, going too fast for Fluttershy to keep up. Once at her house, Rainbow kicks open the door.
"Rainbow, please, you're scaring me." Rainbow ignores Flutteshy and opens a metal door on the floor. "Dash wait, what's going on? Dash!" Rainbow throws Fluttershy down the hole.
Inside, Fluttershy struggles to get out. She tries flying up, but the entire machine is made from metal. She lands on the floor, trying to see anything, though it's too dark. She feels a claw clamp on her back hoof, then the other. She screams in pain, trying to make them let go. Another pair of claws clamp onto her front hooves, she is now standing. A needle pokes her neck then is pushed away by another metal pallet. She goes to sleep.
Rainbow unlocks the cover and opens it up. She flies down with a flashlight and looks at Fluttershy who is now barley conscious. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this, you're my best friend you know." Rainbow says, pressing buttons on a keyboard. Fluttershy tries to talk but can't. "I didn't mean for you to be like this, to be the first victim. But that's life I suppose. Don't worry, you won't die, but it will turn your world around. You'll be in healing for a few hours, and you won't remember any of this. I'm sorry." She leaves. Fluttershy tries to escape, but is too weak. Just as the light begins to fade, another needle pokes her neck. She looks at a mirror in front of her left by Rainbow. The last thing she sees before the light goes away is two Rose colored eyes staring back at her.
Fluttershy wakes up in her bed, more tired than usual when waking up. She gets up and walks to the bathroom. "Good morning Angel, how are-" the bunny backs away. She reaches out her hoof, and stops. In front of her is a grey, lightly colored hoof. She runs to the bathroom, staring in the mirror. She falls, crying from absolute terror and confusion. In the mirror was a grey Pegasus with no color except for her eyes which are now the color of a deep rose. Not knowing what to do, she just sits in the room crying and hoping someone will find her.
"Fluttershy?"
"H-hello?" She replies, stumbling over her words.
"It's me, Applejack, where are ya'?" Fluttershy flies down the stairs, running into her with a hug while sobbing. "Fluttershy?" She looks up and Applejack backs away. "W-what? How? Where, why, when did this happen?"
"I-I don't know, I woke up like this. The last thing I remember is walking to Sugar Cube Corner and then, this happened." Applejack runs and tells the others, though only Twilight follows her back to the cottage.
"I don't get it, what happened to you?" Twilight asks, looking over Fluttershy.
Applejack walks back and forth. "I don't know, but we need to figure this out. If it is some sort of disease then we need a cure, a remedy."
"What's going to happen to me?" Fluttershy asks, still quietly crying.
"Well, as far as Applejack and I know, nothing. Just your color is gone, that's it. But don't worry, we'll keep an eye on you." Twilight walks over to Applejack. "What will happen to her?" She whispers.
"Ah' don't know, hopefully nothing. I think we should go to Zecora's place, she might be able to help."
"Good thinking, but should we bring Fluttershy? I don't think she's capable to go anywhere right now." Twilight loos back at the grey Pegasus who is now snuggling Angel and weeping.
"Then no, let's go ourselves." They say goodbye to Fluttershy and head out.
"So do you really think it's a sickness?" Twilight asks, just passing the forest line.
"I don't know, I hope so because that way it can be cured. Otherwise I have no idea what it could be." They walk past moving bushes and flying shadows, one of which particularly scared them as it looked like a pony.
"Fools." Rainbow says to herself, watching them from a tree. "They have no idea what they're getting into. Why can't she just leave it alone? A disease that can't be cured, leave it at that. No matter, she will be my next victim, and then they will all fear me."
"Zecora?" Applejack asks, walking in with Twilight behind her.
"These ponies come for a remedy, but they don't know that the cure will never be ready." Zecora walks out of her kitchen, greeting them.
Twilight steps forward. "Hello Zecora, I'd like to ask you if you know something about this, sickness, that got to Fluttershy. What happened is-"
"The illness isn't one of bacteria, it is not one of malaria, but it is one of hysteria." Zecora cuts Twilight off.
"Now look here Zebra, I want to know the remedy and I want to know now." Applejack walks towards her, mad.
"A remedy does not exist, but a pony should not be missed. Leave now to find the truth, or stay and eat some soup." Zecora smiles.
"Come on Twi', let's go." Applejack storms out.
"Applejack, don't you think you were a bit harsh?"
"There is a disease going around and I want to know how to fix it before it's too late! Ah' don't have time for pointless games!" Applejack walks ahead of Twilight.
"Fine, but if something goes wrong, it's on your head." She says, catching up.
Rainbow heads back home, leaving the tree. She begins cleaning the machine. "Time to make a princess have a dull part in history."
After spending the afternoon at the medical clinic getting answers, Twilight walks back to her house. At her front door is a grey pegasus with rose eyes. "Fluttershy?"
"Wrong one." Rainbow walks towards her.
"Oh, hi Rainbow. So you saw Fluttershy?"
"Yeah, it's sad. Too convenient though, it must be an illness, just like Applejack said. Want to come over my house? I could use the company."
"Sure." They head to the clouds and Rainbow opens the door. She let's Twilight in first then grabs a lamp and smashes it on her head. Twilight falls over, still conscious. She pushes up and kicks with her front hooves, pushing Rainbow down. "Are you crazy?! You could have hurt... wait. you did it. You're the one that made Fluttershy look like that, it was you wasn't it?!" No answer. She flies towards the door, but Rainbow rushes into her. They smash into a wall, pushing part of the clouds out. Twilight flies into the air and down onto Rainbow's back. There are multiple cracks, but Rainbow gets up and punches Twilight's nose.
Twilight falls, holding her nose. Rainbow pops both of her wings, screaming and tears of pan in the mean time, out of place and pulls her down into the hole in the floor. "You no good lousy princess!" She flies down and hits a red button on the keyboard. She flies out and closes the hatch. Rainbow stumbles and lies on the couch, listening to the clamps and smacking of the metal with the screaming and yelling. She hears the machine pop out the needle, then it goes quiet.
"Rainbow?!" Applejack yells, just below the clouds. Rainbow flies down, an evil stare locked onto Applejack.
"She wasn't meant to go through the fight, just knock out and poof, she's like me and Fluttershy. But now..." A drop of red, thick liquid drops in front of her. Then another and it begins to pour the red liquid.
"What is this? What are you talking about? What's going on?!" Applejack yells.
"I killed her. The princess of friendship is gone, and now Fluttershy and I can make all of you like us. She doesn't want to right now, but she will. She will."
"You killed Twilight?"
"And you're going to look like me and Fluttershy, then we can make them all like us." Applejack stares at the grinning, evil mare. She screams and runs at her. "Here we go." Rainbow flies at her, slamming into her chest. The red rain covers both mares fighting for their lives. Rainbow punches Applejack's neck, making her cough and gag. Applejack gets up and dislocates Rainbow's wing, twisting and turning it. Rainbow flips over using her other wing and punches Applejack in the face repeatedly. Rainbow stops, breathing heavily and on top of Applejack with her hoof in the air. "You shouldn't have tried to be the hero! You are throwing away your life for nothing!"
"Go ahead, kill me, prove that you're a true monster. I thought you were loyalty RD, now you're just a grey shadow." Rainbow stares at her, her face beaten up.
"Don't make me kill you Applejack! I'll do it!"
"Go ahead, I'm ready to die unlike you." Rainbow raises her hoof higher, her eyes shifting and her body shaking. The hoof flies down, a scream of pain following. Only, it wasn't from Applejack, it was from Rainbow Dash. She punches over and over into the gravel, a yell following each punch. Applejack kicks her off and stares at her, Rainbow punching herself in the gut and flying into the ground at full speed.
"You deserve to die you corrupted mare! But I'm only doing what's right, what I thought would help. But you only kill and kill, just care about yourself. You'll never learn, never understand, never listen. I saved us all!" Rainbow flies up to her house and opens the hatch. She flies down and begins pressing buttons. She shakes too much and breaks the keyboard, making the machine malfunction. She pulls out Twilight and brings her to the hospital. All the while, she is yelling at herself and punching herself, thinking of all that she has done. She leaves Twilight at the ER, watches doctors tend to her, and flies over to Fluttershy's. "Fluttershy!" She screams, barging into the house.
"Rainbow?" Fluttershy trots downstairs.
"Fluttershy, I'm so sorry, I didn't know what I was doing. It was never meant to be this way, I swear. Please get your color back, if not for me then yourself, I'm sorry." Rainbow runs into the kitchen.
"Dash!" She runs in after her. Rainbow begins flying around the room, yelling at herself. The oven begins to shake as Rainbow hits mostly anything in her way, and at the speed she is going it's violently shaking back and forth. "Rainbow Dash!" It falls over. Silence fills the air.
"Fluttershy! Rainbow!" Applejack runs in, looking around. She sees a stream of red water coming from the kitchen. "Oh no. Please, no." She walks in and sees both Rainbow and Fluttershy on the ground, the oven on top of them. Applejack pushes it off. "Please, both of you stay with me, come on look at me!"
"Fluttershy, why?" Rainbow asks, both of them on the ground and facing each other. "I deserve to die, not you. You're a good, innocent pony, why would you want to save someone like me?"
"Because, because nobody deserves this. You went a little crazy, but you would have been okay after a while. It's ok now though, now it's all over."
"Fluttershy, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
"No Rainbow, it's ok. Don't worry though, we will both be ok now. Now, we're free."
"Don't talk like this, stay with me!" Applejack yells. Both mares on the floor breathe, and stop moving. "F-Fluttershy? R-Rainbow Dash? Hello? Please, no, please don't do this, please! Open your eyes!" Applejack pushes them, but they don't respond. She falls to her knees, crying into their coats. "T-Twilight, Twilight!" She runs to the hospital, blinking away the tears. She reaches the hospital and pushes past the nurses and doctors. "What room is Twilight in?"
"Room eighteen." The secretary says. Applejack runs to the room and storms in. She slows down and stares at Twilight.
"Hi Applejack."
"T-Twilight, your-"
"Color? I know." Her color is gone. Her coat is grey and her mane has different colors ranging from grey to black in different spots. Her eyes are a vibrant purple, standing out from the rest of her.
"Well, Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, they..."
"Ok, I get it. Well, it's over now, right?"
"It's all over." They look at each other, each in morning silently for their friends. "Twilight, you look different now, obviously, but like a normal RD. You won't, well, do the things she did will you?"
"Well, I can't tell the future, but as long as you and the others are there for me all the time, I doubt I'll do any of those things. I'm not a killer, and I don't expect to be one." They smile at each other and Applejack starts to leave.
"I have to say though Twilight, you really do look different. Almost like a, a purple colored Princess."