In the land of Equestria, even six friendly ponies have their own secrets they can't share...
Everypony has a secret, every single one. Even six normal ponies living in the average town of Ponyville. No matter how friendly a pony is on the outside, they have something on the inside that makes them special. The feelings of revenge, sudden regret, being useless, emotions boiling over, loneliness, and curiosity can really be a burden. Despite that the friends won't tell their own pals about it, they all can show empathy to one another; because they all have secrets themselves.
Fluttershy watched as Twilight carefully arranged a photo of her two long-dead parents on the shelf of her own new dresser. She had moved to her new house only a few hours ago, and Twilight decided to volunteer out of kindness... or the fact that she had been the only one to accept Fluttershy’s request. Fluttershy only had clunky hooves and a clumsy mouth, she would also get scared at the slightest thud of a picture hitting the shiny wooden floor, while Twilight had her magical horn which glowed powerfully each time she gracefully set a frame or itty-bitty cup down.
Fluttershy had asked Rarity before Twilight to help her move in, as she had guessed that Twilight would be too busy as she always was. Rarity had quickly shut the door, however, only saying a vague, “Oh, no no, Fluttershy, darling! I’m much too busy to be prancing around helping a pony with working hooves move tiny things around! I have to draw all the dress sketches for when you come over later!” Fluttershy had been sad and a little crestfallen but quickly moved on to the next pony with a tiny frown.
She then asked Applejack, who also declined the offer as quick as a whip. “I’m sorry, Sugar cube!” Applejack had replied, her face tensing a tad. “It’s zap apple season, and you know them apples! Always, heh, zappin’ ‘way much too fast! Though, you could help me with ‘em! Come over when y’all are good an’ ready, Hun!” Applejack had slammed the door, causing a breeze that had blown Fluttershy back a little, her frail wings catching the wind.
With much reluctance, Fluttershy walked to where Rainbow Dash’s house was generally positioned. She was now down to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Twilight would be last, not only because she was typically busy, but also because even Fluttershy couldn’t stand her “nerd outs”.
The little pony had decided to go to Rainbow Dash, not wanting to get the terribly loud Pinkie Pie when she could have collected the high-flying mare.
Rainbow Dash had immediately screamed a short, “What?!” and whipped the door open before Fluttershy could even begin to withdraw her hoof from the door. Rainbow Dash seemed to look a little rueful that she had screamed at the helpless Fluttershy, but quickly snapped back to her regular, easily irritated self.
Fluttershy explained at the loudest tone she could, which was just above the sound of a light breeze blowing through the spring trees.
The second after Fluttershy stopped talking, Rainbow Dash was back on her hooves. “Nope! I’ve gotta train and get ready to become one of the Wonderbolts! Unless, of course, you wanna watch me in the afternoon?” Rainbow Dash had smiled sincerely, a little slyness also surfacing through the genuine mouth, but she shut the door after Fluttershy hesitated and began to nod her head.
Pinkie Pie had immediately opened the door, poking her head out and smiling, her naturally candy coated lips only hairs from Fluttershy’s ear. Fluttershy had stumbled back a little, acknowledging that Pinkie Pie wasn’t going to move back and was about to scream into her delicate ear after the pink pony opened her mouth.
“What’cha need, Flutty? You wanna have a party?”
Fluttershy had coaxed a small, “No.”
Pinkie Pie had still continued, asking her over and over again a million questions in several different ways within record time.
Knowing she would get nowhere any time fast, the winged mare had sighed then walked away, allowing Pinkie Pie to keep yelling random questions after her.
Fluttershy then asked Twilight, who had, surprisingly, accepted the offer and then came over quickly.
“You know, Fluttershy...” Twilight interrupted Fluttershy’s constant stream of saddening thoughts and memories, talking in her usual smart pitch and tone. “I have always wondered why you are so shy. I mean, I’ve met plenty of shy ponies, but none more shy than you! It saddens me that you’re even shy to your friends...” Twilight continued to levitate a tiny tea cup, one of the final items of the batch, but her pitch had slowed and saddened.
“I know what you mean but... we’re all different... you know?” Fluttershy spoke quietly, wanting to kick herself in the rear end for not being able to speak louder. Fluttershy knew why, or at least a little bit, but she never told others why she was so shy... unless they were going to die for it, but that was just an over exaggeration; why would Fluttershy kill any living creature?
“I know...” Twilight sighed, lifting the final picture of Fluttershy as a small filly and her proud, winged mother and father framing the sides. It was a picture that held Fluttershy’s true aura, which was cheery and flashy, at least, next to her family members. Fluttershy looked odd, standing next to the picture that was the exact opposite of her current self. She never was like how she was back then, not quite.
“Whelp... all done! You don’t have to thank me for the help, by the way, I am glad to!” Twilight smiled her cute, tamed grin.
“Bye, Twilight...” Fluttershy tried smiling, too, but the smile never reached her eyes, leaving the two blue pools looking empty and hollow.
Twilight gracefully marched her way to the door, opening it with her horn to not have any trouble. “See you, Fluttershy... and if you can tell me why you’re so shy, please do so. I’ll really listen,” Twilight said genuinely, smiling a little to comfort Fluttershy.
She fluttered her little right wing to wave, and after Twilight left, sighed a little.
A single tear dropped from Fluttershy’s little eyes. “I can’t though, Twilight... I feel so alone...” she quickly got back up, looking around the empty house. Not even her little bunnies or birdies knew Fluttershy’s secret.
The young mare then went outside, looking to the bright morning sun. Fluttershy didn’t like talking when there wasn’t a pony around her. Her animals counted as normal ponies to Fluttershy, and she always liked to sing them a lullaby or chat with them, which was usually her talking and the animals reacting with little giggles or cute grins. Sometimes Fluttershy even gossiped with them by telling them little stories. Fluttershy would also read somewhat inappropriate magazines to her “terrible” female bunnies or chattering squirrels and birds that would soon go off to tell their friends before night.
Fluttershy strolled off to collect the little rabbits and birds from her old house, singing a little in between the trips back and forth. The sun had gone down after Fluttershy had gotten all the animals back.
Finally, Fluttershy settled into her home for a while, looking to the sun that had barely just started to reach the center of the sky. Fluttershy was one of the first ponies to get up, but the other ponies were pretty quick at rushing up out of their beds too. Fluttershy’s friends also were one of the first of the herd to get up; Rarity for her silky dresses and designs that needed to be attended to or she would “lose her touch”-- as she called it; Applejack, especially on zap apple season for obvious zappy reasons; Rainbow Dash for her all-day training; Pinkie Pie for her yummy desserts and cakes; and Twilight for her sweet Princess Celestia and her books that she always read and never seemed to run out of.
Eventually, the winged pony was done chatting with her animals, which was mostly gossip today because her pretty bunnies needed some information from Ponyville. Fluttershy was finally done reading the new magazines that had just come in-- which was all over Equestria’s Next Top Pony, Moonbeam, who was as pretty and as pale as the moon’s light with her deep blue mane as dark as the sea-- and got up to go outside for today’s rounds.
The sun was only a little past its center point as Fluttershy set out to Ponyville, which was half a mile away since she had moved.
An odd male pony with an hourglass for a cutie mark nodded towards her, saying nothing. Word from her friends was that his nickname was “Doctor Whooves” from some odd source that everyone but Fluttershy knew about. She tipped her head a little, her lopsided pink mane falling a little to the front as she did so.
Fluttershy stomped her hooves gracefully as she went to Rarity’s pretty house that was more like a mansion. Rarity had told her that she needed to come to her house on Saturday-- which was today-- or Rarity herself would die.
“Oh, lovely! My little Fluttershy has finally arrived for my latest new dresses!” Rarity greeted Fluttershy with a smile, looking over to a table way on the left side of the room to begin to levitate a few papers.
“No problem... Rarity...” Fluttershy tried to sound warm but sounded quiet and shy, as always.
Rarity practically skipped over to Fluttershy, levitating the papers until they were just a few inches from Fluttershy’s face. “Darling, now, which is better?” Rarity was just nudging Fluttershy to look at the papers, not expecting an immediate answer.
Fluttershy looked to the one on her own left. The left held the colored image of an elegant-looking dress. The dress was slender and would obviously hold to any mare’s shape, which would hopefully be slender and tiny or the look wouldn’t work. The dress was simple, too, sea blue flowers were wrung across the bottom of the long dress, and another ring of the blue flowers ran near the middle of the waist and again towards the top of the dress, near the neck. The forelegs of the dress ran down near to the end of where the pony’s forelegs could go. The back legs of the pony would be hidden by the, still slender, end of the dress that would probably flow to the floor gracefully.
The right was a more festive dress, colorful and fluffy. The tail of the dress was orange and purple, the hind legs of the pony would be hidden by the semi-short dress that might spill out onto the floor in a pile of color and fun. The chest piece wasn’t like the left, and could fit almost any pony except for an extraordinarily tubby one. The neck piece stopped short of the neck and had a cut that was shaped like a v-necked shirt. It was definitely a party one, and Fluttershy could see it fitting with Pinkie Pie’s festivity and fun for a good bit of her parties.
Fluttershy looked up to Rarity, letting Rarity know that she was done examining the papers without words.
“Now that you’re all done, Darling, I would adore if you could just tell which is your favorite,” Rarity’s words were as slick as butter, and not at all irritated by impatience.
“Well...” Fluttershy hiccuped. “I would wear the... the white one... on your right...”
“Wonderful choice for yourself, Darling! I adore that one! Very well for weddings and the extra quiet mare that you are! Pinkie Pie would love the orange and purple one, do you agree?” Rarity’s eyes sparkled on Fluttershy.
“Exactly as I thought... Rarity...” Fluttershy’s words were as quiet and cut as a dead hare caught in a bear trap.
“I knew so! I am so giddy for the next party that Pinkie Pie will throw! Now all of us six have outfits!” Rarity was practically bucking with joy.
“Good...” Fluttershy tried to cover her words with joy, as well, but still sounded quiet and upset.
“Now that all that has been settled, you can go, you helpful little horse!” Rarity put one delicate hoof up towards the door and opened the knob with magic after she put the papers down quietly.
Fluttershy nodded and then tripped a little as she set for the door. She wasn’t very helpful, the shy pony thought to herself. The unhappy little mare still continued to Applejack’s ranch. Even though she wasn’t a very good helping hand with kicking trees, the busy earth pony could always use a little help getting the apples hanging on the top of the trees. Fluttershy did not typically enjoy flying, but she liked how she could talk to the birds and get to them easily. She was also glad she had the ability to fly just because she could be of help with her wings.
Applejack’s place wasn’t that far, and Fluttershy got there with the sun only slightly more towards its hiding point than last time. Applejack was already bucking down zap apples that were round and ripe.
“Oh, Fluttershy! It’s nice to see a pony ‘round here that’ll actually help another pony work!” Applejack continued to kick a tree as the zap apples fell into the buckets and baskets below. “Y’all missed the storm and rainbow though, an’ this time it was great!”
“Nice to see you too... Applejack...” Fluttershy went up to Applejack, stopping a few feet from the hard working horse. “Which... um... tree should I help with?” Fluttershy looked to Applejack with her eyes twinkling timidly.
“Well... I’d like ‘ya to be doin’ maybe... that tree over there!” Applejack lifted a hoof towards a tree that had its low bearing apples knocked to baskets below it. “Then go ahead an’ get all the other trees with apples only on top!” she directed happily.
“Got it... glad to help, Applejack...” Fluttershy went over to the tree she was instructed to and then readied her wings. She opened them and flapped until she was level with the top. Fluttershy didn’t know exactly how to get the top apples, but decided to pick them hurriedly, as zap apples didn’t have very strong stems to the branches.
The timid little mare had picked most of the tree within three minutes. They all plopped to the basket below, and Fluttershy inspected one apple she had plucked and saw no bruises; zap apples were very sturdy on the skin, though, which is why most enjoyed it as juices or jam instead of freshly picked, Fluttershy guessed.
Fluttershy continued to pluck zap apples quickly, checking all trees before hand so then she didn’t pick a tree naked when Applejack could have kicked the tree free of apples quicker.
Applejack was able to kick most trees free of zap apples and go at a faster speed than Fluttershy.
At some point, Fluttershy’s wings got so tired and weak that she almost plopped to the ground, so the little pony decided to land and stretch her wings. Instantly, Fluttershy came face-to-face with that old pony that said “Eeyup!” and nothing else. It was Big Mac.
“Oh... sorry Big Mac... you... you okay?” Fluttershy’s cheeks blazed but Big Mac’s eyes continued to stare at her tranquilly and happily.
“Eeyup!” Big Mac said dumbly.
Fluttershy always wondered if Big Mac could say anything else. Her bunnies shared her concern that the dumb pony could be mentally retarded or just mentally challenged. She looked to him with blue eyes. The animal-helper also wondered why everypony seemed to always ask a question that could only be answered with “Eeyup!”. She wanted to take the leap and ask him a question that could only be answered with a no or an entire sentence.
“What does... ‘Eeyup’ mean..? And... uh... why do you always say only... that?” Fluttershy stuttered.
Applejack went over to Fluttershy, catching her talking to Big Mac. The hat on the pony tipped slightly in the wind as she sneered. Applejack was most likely one of the only ponies to have heard Big Mac saying anything besides the one word.
“Don’t strain Big Mac. It hurts his brain. I’ll answer for ‘em...” Applejack paused for effect. “He can, duh! He jus’ likes to say only that, though,” Applejack interrupted the pony that seemed to be embarrassed that he was actually going to say an entire sentence.
Fluttershy didn’t laugh at the kindly joke, but only said a small, “Oh...”
Applejack’s smile faded a little, thinking that Fluttershy thought she was being rude or even mean. “It’s fine, Sugar cube, it’s jus’ a joke,” Applejack said, trying to comfort the pony.
“No... it’s funny...” Fluttershy replied. “Just watch me...” Fluttershy tried to smile but didn’t get the emotion to her eyes, which told Applejack that the poor pony was forcing the smile.
“Yeah... I see! Nothin’ to worry ‘bout!” Applejack lied, deciding that it would be one of the only times she would... she’d work it off later. Applejack was one of the most concerned for Fluttershy, particularly because she always defended the helpless little pony from Rainbow Dash, who was a pony that seemed to be the one that always forced Fluttershy to do things.
Fluttershy finished the smile and then continued her usual emotion. “Anything else I can... do..?”
“You’re as done as a fiddle!” Applejack nodded happily to where the rest of Ponyville lay.
Fluttershy’s wings finally went limp again, and the delicate mare continued to stroll into Ponyville.
Rainbow Dash was next on Fluttershy’s list. The rainbow-colored pony had requested Fluttershy to watch her performance. Fluttershy remembered the time when she went to the Best Young Flyer Competition to see Rainbow Dash’s performance. Fluttershy sighed as she continued to walk to the meadow the mare had instructed Fluttershy to go to; it was one of the only times she had ever been truly happy besides when her parents had still been alive.
Maybe the flying pony wasn’t so bad for Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash usually seemed to bring out the fun and life in the shy horse if she wanted to.
The meadow was nice, just like Fluttershy had last seen it. The weather was beautiful, as it typically was. A cool breeze was blowing that matched perfectly with the warm rays of the sun on Fluttershy’s body. The breeze itself was not too strong, and blew the pink hair of Fluttershy’s tail and mane just enough for Rainbow Dash to smile as she saw the mare enter her line of sight.
The flashy blue pony landed once Fluttershy drew close enough, landing gracefully so then it was added to the strength of the wind and made Fluttershy have to close her blue eyes.
“Glad you could show up!” Rainbow Dash greeted Fluttershy, smiling white teeth. “So, you know that sonic rainboom that I did at that one competition a while ago?” Fluttershy nodded a little. “‘Course you do! Anyways, I was thinking that I could do that... but, instead, I’ll fly so close to the ground that I’ll nearly hit it! Then I’ll swoop back up where they can’t see and... well... I haven’t thought of the rest-- but it’s a great idea, right?!” Rainbow Dash smiled to Fluttershy expectantly.
“Well... what if it goes... you know... wrong..?” Fluttershy questioned the suddenly saddened pony.
“Why would it go wrong?! I mean... I haven’t asked ‘the egghead’,” Rainbow Dash said somewhat mockingly, “yet... but I’m sure there’s only like... a twenty percent chance that I’ll crash and die!” the pony said, smiling a little bit creepy.
Fluttershy sighed, defeated. “If you were to get hurt, Rainbow Dash... I don’t know what I would do...”
“I’ll be fine! Don’t get your hooves tied!” Rainbow Dash spread her wings. “I better hear you cheering when I pull this off!”
Rainbow Dash flew so high that she became a matter of specks in the sky. Fluttershy could only tell it was Rainbow Dash because of the light blue color and the rainbow tail that blew elegantly behind.
Up in the sky, Rainbow Dash turned and began to feel the air whiz around her so fast that she swore she should have burst into flames by now. Relief flew through the pony as she blasted through the sound barrier and a cone forced its way around and after her. She saw Fluttershy, still not cheering, as she pushed tears out of her stinging eyes.
Then the rainboom came. Rainbow Dash was going so fast. She felt her stomach turning as she pulled up.
It all happened like it was a movie for Fluttershy, though. Rainbow Dash tried to turn up but was forced down by the speed she had already gained. Fluttershy saw that she didn’t dig into the ground like some goofy cartoon shows she watched, but hit the ground with such speed that the blood splattered on Fluttershy’s delicate wings, and even her tail that was tucked neatly behind her, opposite of Rainbow Dash.
Searing pain blasted through Rainbow Dash. It seemed to be burning through her mane and tail. Her organs felt as though they had exploded. She had heard a cracking sound from many places, especially her skull as she hit the ground. As quickly as she had felt the pain, it was gone. The world went black. All that was left was Fluttershy’s scream as Rainbow Dash’s own blood hit her like paint splattered by a little colt’s hoof on a canvas.
Fluttershy yelled, screamed, and cried out as loud as she ever had in her entire life. It was as though something had exploded inside of her. Something was now being forced out of her and put into that specific scream.
She instantly had the thought of when one of her little birds had fallen out of its mother’s nest. She had whimpered at the blood but known there was nothing she could do. Fluttershy had had a funeral for the little bird. Her name had been Tera. Rainbow Dash was not like Tera. Her bones were built like steel after crashing from many flights when she was younger. Rainbow Dash was breathing very heavy, but was breathing, nonetheless.
Fluttershy probed Rainbow Dash with her forehoof, but instantly saw that she was going to get nowhere with gentle probs and tearful sobs, as her mother had metaphorically told her, which was literal now.
The worried, rushed horse ran as fast as she could to Ponyville. She went straight to the hospital for ponies and went to the first pony she saw. The mare at the front desk.
Fluttershy didn’t care about how she looked now. Whether or not she looked crazy or dumb didn’t matter. The amount of shy in Fluttershy was momentarily gone. She was fully determined now. “Please help me! M-my friend crashed and... and she is nearly dead!” Fluttershy continued to blurt facts and things that she knew. The red pony instantly rushed to a nurse who alerted others. They rushed out after Fluttershy, who led them to where Rainbow Dash had crashed.
The nurses and doctors loaded the pony onto a cart that they had brought. Rushing after them, back to the hospital, Fluttershy was very curious and worried. It was like Fluttershy was drunk or something. All of the shyness built up in her system was gone and was replaced with worry for her dear friend.
A nurse who could not possibly help pull the cart looked to Fluttershy, obviously willing to help and tell all she could identify about the poor pony in pain.
“Can she hear me right now? Can she feel anything?” Fluttershy asked questions at the rate of Pinkie Pie.
“She can’t hear you, and I don’t believe she can feel any pain. Imagine it as though she is dreaming, Dear,” the nurse answered the questions, answering others that Fluttershy continued to ask.
Fluttershy was by Rainbow Dash’s side as they lifted her into a contraption with wheels that was much like a cart, but smaller and easier to push. She suddenly wished that she could have learned more about pony care. Maybe she could have helped Rainbow Dash before everything happened. What if Rainbow Dash ended up dieing after all this? What if Fluttershy could have saved Rainbow Dash if she had known how to help her? Fluttershy had no idea what would happen, but stayed close to Rainbow Dash as the cart-like vehicle was wheeled to a room with the sign that said “Emergency Room”.
They lifted Rainbow Dash from the cart-like thing and then carefully dropped her onto a bed. They looked over Rainbow Dash and moved the pony’s bones. They took a machine and then pulled it back and forth over her body several times. Fluttershy didn’t know what any of this was. It was like she was a little filly, not understanding what two times two was.
A doctor looked to Fluttershy and frowned. “I’m very sorry for all this. I feel terrible for you. You’re friends are coming over, though, Hun. You should go into the hallway and wait for your friends. We’ll have to be doing pretty bloody surgeries on your friend here.”
Fluttershy went into the hallway and shut the door. She folded her legs underneath her as she sat on a few soft pillows and bean bags. She nearly dozed off but was kept awake by the memories of the simple sound of Rainbow Dash’s cracking bones and her loud scream that followed shortly after and ended abruptly.
Rarity’s voice called Fluttershy from her thoughts. “Darling! It must be terrible to have been with Rainbow Dash when she crashed!” Rarity sat with Fluttershy, pushing a fleck of hair with her delicate magic.
Fluttershy didn’t say anything. She leaned into Rarity and began to tear up. Rarity reassured her that it was alright and that Rainbow Dash would be fine, too. “Don’t tell me lies...” Fluttershy sniffled. “You know that she won’t be fine... She’ll never be the same...” Fluttershy whispered to Rarity.
Applejack came through the hallway door that led to the hospital’s entrance shortly after. She was also with Pinkie Pie and Twilight. Applejack had a sad face. Pinkie Pie’s spunky nature was now diminished to a scarring frown on her face, her hair flattened until it was straight. Twilight was sad, and the sparkles in her eyes were now destroyed. Though, Spike was nowhere to be seen.
“We came as soon as we heard, Sugar cube! My eyes are about as red as apples from so much cryin’!” Applejack approached, her eyes in fact red as Fluttershy was able to look from up close.
It saddened Fluttershy terribly at just how much Pinkie Pie’s frown was stuck to her face so much and so deep. “I never thought this could have happened...” Pinkie Pie muttered. The first syllable was like a knife to Fluttershy’s heart, the following all the same. The normally happy, fun pony was now so sad that all words were tainted with something like defeat.
“I’m so sorry for you, Fluttershy...” Twilight whispered, barely able to speak.
Fluttershy and the rest waited in near silence. They exchanged whispers and questions, most without answers because they could not be told; only the future would answer those types of questions.
The thing that Fluttershy remembered most was when Rainbow Dash had broken her wing several months back--maybe even a year back. Fluttershy hadn’t been there when she had crashed, but she remembered that Rainbow Dash hadn’t been in any real serious pain. She had just broken her little wing. Fluttershy almost giggled when she remembered that the fast-paced pony didn’t want to become another “egghead” and wouldn’t read that book. The best part of that injury was when Rainbow Dash almost got in trouble for stealing a slipper--or whatever--and then admitted her love for books.
Compared to then, this was a nightmare... and that was a dream imaged from Heaven... because now, Rainbow Dash might... actually... die.
Rainbow Dash was running through a pile of leaves. She was running, the sky, with many rainbows following her and her parents flying alongside her. Rainbow Dash was as happy as she could be. The rainbows caught up to her and then created a path ahead of her. The little filly Rainbow Dash ran to the end of this rainbow. Suddenly, she felt so alone. Her parents had vanished, rainbows left in their images that were as hard as stone when the little pony hoof reached out to feel. Rainbow Dash stopped running. She walked down the rainbow.
She finally reached the end. The rainbow behind her exploded into a million drops of scarlet blood. The blood fell all over the blue pony. Suddenly, the filly Rainbow Dash saw that she didn’t have her rainbow. All of the sudden, a red stripe grew on the pony’s mane and tail.
Then Rainbow Dash knew how this dream was going to go. Her mother had always told her that a pony dreamed of them earning their stripes... directly before they died. To Rainbow Dash’s horrible luck, she had six colors on her mane and tail. Despite knowing that she couldn’t wake from the dream, she tried to rouse from the nightmare.
The dream washed before her eyes, and her tiny pupils dilated as they woke. She was only half-awake. Someone in the gray room yelled. Rainbow Dash saw her body... that was ripped open with many doctors probing her leg bones and wings with tools that she had never seen. The surprise and sudden bursts of pain knocked Rainbow Dash straight into the dream again.
Her red stripe was still there. It was on the bottom of her light blue tail, and was also on the top of her spiky mane. She suddenly realized that she was older, no longer a small filly but only a larger version, not quite a teen but not a little girl anymore.
Rainbow Dash could not control her feelings and suddenly felt so happy again. Her friends surrounded her, about her age, too. Her friends let Rainbow Dash go ahead a little. They formed a circle around her.
Rarity’s purple mane flung around as she turned and faced the tail of Applejack.
Applejack was smiling as her nose faced towards where Pinkie Pie was. The little orange horse still had a straw hat on her head, which was adorably big for her little head and golden mane.
Pinkie Pie was smiling and laughing, bouncing, her mane as poofy as ever.
Twilight was in front of Pinkie Pie, and was one pony away from completing the circle, the little filly was smiling happily, too. Much less serious than she usually was now. Twilight wasn’t supposed to be in Ponyville as a filly; she had gone to Ponyville as an adult. Rainbow Dash’s dream decided to put the purple filly in, anyway, and depicted her as what Rainbow Dash would have guessed Twilight would have actually looked like as a filly.
Fluttershy completed the circle and was all the way behind Rarity. She was so happy. If Rainbow Dash could have cried in that dream, she would have. Fluttershy was laughing, smiling, and giggling all at once. Rainbow Dash’s tears would have been from happiness. Fluttershy never looked happy like she did then. Rainbow Dash wished, suddenly, that she could know why the shy pony was so shy. After a while, Fluttershy stopped smiling and looking so carefree with her friends. As a filly, Fluttershy only laughed around her friends, no one else but a few other ponies, too. Now, Fluttershy never smiled too big as she used to to anyone-- or, at least, anyone that Rainbow Dash saw. Not even her friends. It was as though Fluttershy had shut something off in her heart and then piled it up with stone. Rainbow Dash wanted to see the real Fluttershy explain to her why she always seemed so glum. Just a sentence before Rainbow Dash was to die...
Finally, Rainbow Dash was directly in the center.
Her friends began to walk forward, walking at the same rhythm as the pony in front of them and after them. They began to run. They began to go so fast that Rainbow Dash couldn’t tell one pony from another.
Then, surprising the child pony so much, they burst into flames. The fire came closer and closer to Rainbow Dash. The fire devoured her. The pony felt her eyes sizzle and burn as the fire spread. Her wings felt helpless as they fluttered and tried to beat out the fire. The fire seemed to go straight down her esophagus and into her stomach. Like the acid in her stomach was gasoline, the fire lit it. Her organs felt like they were melting. Then, all at once, the fire stopped, and the pain did too.
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes through odd tears of pain. An orange stripe grew near that of the red one on her mane and above the other red one on her tail. If that was orange, Rainbow Dash couldn’t imagine what yellow would be.
To her worst fears, the Wonderbolts appeared above her. They flew down and took her hoof. Rainbow Dash was now a only a few months to being a teen. They flew with her into the sky. The sun was so full and bright. Then Rainbow Dash knew what was going to happen. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t lose the grip of the Wonderbolts. When they looked to her, their smiles were now mutated mouths with no teeth. Their faces were slowly deteriorating. The usual blue of their faces were now black and looked sticky and gooey. Like something out of a nightmare-- which this humongous dream was in a nutshell.
The sun scorched the hairs on Rainbow Dash’s mane. It felt like a thousand needles penetrating her skin and face. Into her eyes, the burn went. Down her throat, the fire spread. It was so much like what the orange stripe had presented. This time, though, it felt thousands of times worse.
Her wings burnt like paper did to an open flame. She fell towards the ground. The Wonderbolts in front of her flew straight into the sun and sizzled up. Piles of ash and a gooey substance fell to the ground unrealistically as Rainbow Dash finally hit the ground hard. Her ribs cracked and her spine shattered. Though, a second later, her bones were reformed and in perfect alignment. She was fine and felt no pain again.
A yellow stripe appeared next to the orange stripe on her mane, and another yellow one on her tail above the orange one. Half of the way done. What could green possibly be?
She was now a teen pony. This was when her fascination for the Wonderbolts grew like a large bump on her head.
When she was a small filly, she had lived up in the clouds with Fluttershy. The ponies up there were meaner and “cooler” than the ponies that lived in Ponyville. They made fun of Fluttershy for the fact that she didn’t have the skills with her wings that they did. Rainbow Dash stuck up for Fluttershy.
There they were. Some of the “cool” ponies from the clouds. About her age, they were.
Light Breeze, Yellow Ray, and Ringing Bell were all right in front of her, flapping their large wings.
Light Breeze had always been one of the best fliers when Rainbow Dash had lived in the clouds. He was able to fly with so much stamina that he could be considered better at flying than Rainbow Dash. Light Breeze was not the fastest flier, hence his name, but could fly for hours at once. The pony was also green all over, just like grass.
Yellow Ray was as yellow as the sun. He had a green mane and tail, too. He was also a good flier. He was only a tad slower than Rainbow Dash, who had been tied for fastest flier when she had lived up in the clouds. Yellow Ray loved the sun, too, which was the reason for his name, adding to his golden hair.
Ringing Bell always had a bell tied to her tail. When the entirely green pony flew, the bell would ring fiercely. She wasn’t the fastest or wasn’t able to fly for long, but the bell sounded just like Ringing Bell, beautiful, graceful, and pretty overall.
Then Rainbow Dash knew what was going to happen. The ponies that she disliked the most out of everypony in Equestria were going to deliver her green stripe. This was going to hurt, then.
The three ponies laughed harshly as they took the teen Rainbow Dash by her hoof. Rainbow Dash fought their grasp but was unable to shake Ringing Bell’s hard grip and Light Breeze’s hoof. Yellow Ray flashed in front of Rainbow Dash and his friends. They laughed as the pegasus flew quickly in front of their gaze.
Ringing Bell grasped Rainbow Dash’s left wing and nodded to Light Breeze, who, a second later, did the same with a cold hoof. Then, they nodded three times.
Pain as white as snow ripped through Rainbow Dash’s body as the helpless pony saw them rip her wings off her body. They giggled at the blood that splattered to the ground that was so far away. They took Rainbow Dash’s hoof again as the pony screamed when she saw the blood and useless wings hit the ground. The poor pegasus screamed as the pain continued to zap through where her wings used to be and then sparked through the rest of her body.
Ringing Bell swung the bloody pony back and forth three times. Then she threw her into the air, Light Breeze doing the same at the exact time. Rainbow Dash was now falling so fast. To her relief, a pony caught her. To her fear, it was Yellow Ray. The yellow pony brought her up to the sun. Instead of dieing from the heat or spontaneous combustion, Rainbow Dash screamed as Yellow Ray took hold of her waist with one of his forelegs and then dove towards the ground.
The sonic rainboom came quickly, but this time, Yellow Ray turned up sharply. The yellow pony dropped Rainbow Dash and let her barrel to the ground, a rainbow following her and forming in front of her. All she could hear was the raging bell of Ringing Bell.
“Whoops! Sorry!” Yellow Ray screamed in his sharp tone, laughing crudely.
Just like when Rainbow Dash had been practicing in front of Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash crashed to the ground.
A green strip flashed upon Rainbow Dash’s tail and mane. Two more, just two more stripes and she would--... she would die...
Shaking Rainbow Dash of her thoughts, a turtle suddenly appeared before her. It was Tank, the tortoise. The flying contraption Rainbow Dash had given him wasn’t with him. Instead, it was just the little animal. He snapped at Rainbow Dash’s back leg, the one he was nearest to. Blood already whipped out of the tiny bite he had left. Apparently tortoises had teeth in Rainbow Dash’s dream, and pretty sharp ones, too.
Tank climbed underneath of the now older Rainbow Dash who was nearly an adult. Rainbow Dash tried to get off of the mean version of her beloved pet, but the animal quickly snapped at her leg. It began to bleed and hurt so much.
After a long while, Tank got to a pond. Tank looked up to Rainbow Dash with surprising red eyes. The tortoise went into the pond, bringing Rainbow Dash, who did not want this at all. The rainbow pony squirmed on the green shell of the animal, but knew she would just get bitten again.
Finally, after Tank was in the center of the pond, he dove underneath the surface.
Rainbow Dash was met by a mouthful of water as she breathed in, not knowing she would be dragged down. She screamed under the surface, sealing her fate of holding her breath and the possibility that she could have a single percent of surviving this.
After a couple seconds, Rainbow Dash decided that she didn’t have a chance of living and allowed herself to breathe in, allowing herself to die faster. She instantly knew she shouldn’t have done that a second later. Like what the orange and yellow stripe presented, it felt like a fire burning down her throat slowly, despite it being water and not fire.
She coughed and struggled on the back of Tank. The tortoise bit her legs rapidly the second she began to swim towards the surface, making an inky surrounding of blood fill the space around them. Rainbow Dash began to struggle with her breathe, and, again, breathed in. She breathed in some of her own blood and a whole lot of water. The water was salty and the blood tasted like iron or metal.
Tank brought her to the surface after a few minutes. Despite breathing in so much water and at least a pint of blood, the pegasus pony was still conscious, unlike how she would be if this weren’t a dream.
Her pet threw Rainbow Dash back onto land. The sand that nestled into her new scars was replaced with grass. The little pony was too busy tearing up and closing her eyes to see that the scenery had changed beneath her. She only felt the change.
The scars on her body were refilled with blood and then piled over with the same flesh and skin as before. They looked like she had never been bit by a turtle before; brand new, flawless, and fresh muscle, flesh, and skin to be torn by the next challenge she was to meet.
She got up and saw a light blue stripe on her mane and tail appear. She was beginning to hate this dream and all of her opposing colors. Why did Rainbow Dash have to have six colors? Why did she have to have so many challenges to face to earn her stripes? Why couldn’t she be like Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, or Fluttershy, with only one color? She would even be fine with three colors, like Twilight.
Here was purple. She had no idea what this could possibly be. What else could this challenge throw at her? She had lost her beloved parents, her best friends, her idols, she had been forced to remember her enemies from long ago, and had lost her favorite pet. What else could she lose or be forced to remember?
Princess Celestia appeared before her. “Your final conclusion will be revealed later, Rainbow Dash. For now, however, you must wake,” her voice was as sweet and as sticky as honey. The pegasus opened her mouth to ask a question, but was interrupted by Princess Celestia. “No questions. You’ll figure out later. You must wake, though.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes opened slowly. She saw nothing but a blur at first. Someone yelled in the room again, like last time. Someone looked into her eye and put a light to her pupil, making it dilate.
She instantly coughed and felt pain. Her sleepiness had blocked the feeling for a moment, but it was still as hot as a stove. The first thing that popped into her mind when she finally gained actual consciousness surprised her.
“Fluttershy...” Rainbowdash whispered so quietly that many doctors and nurses looked to her.
“What did you say?” A doctor questioned her. He was a gray pony with a blond mane. He, like most ponies here, was a unicorn.
Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “Fluttershy...” she repeated, still quiet. They heard her this time, and knew she was awake.
The rainbow pony finally had the nerve to look down to her body. It was finished now. Her legs were no longer opened and her wings no longer torn. The cover they had put down on top of Rainbow Dash for the surgery was now removed. She was lying in a pure white bed. The covers were pale blue on top and white on the bottom. She felt comfy and wanted to sleep, but knew that would probably lead to another terrible dream.
She tried to move her right hind leg but felt immense pain once doing so. Her breath was blown through her clenched teeth as she fought back screaming or yelling.
A nurse looked to her. She was a unicorn, of course. She was a dark blue with a lighter mane. “Don’t move the leg, Honey. Were gonna get it on a cast in a few.” She smiled genuinely to the poor pony in pain. “You have any requests, Dear?”
Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. She wasn’t hungry, wasn’t thirsty, and was fine with the temperature and all. Then she remembered, wanting to hit herself for being such an idiot and forgetting for about half a second. “Fluttershy... M-my friends...” Rainbow Dash said weakly.
“Well... I’m sure they can say hello... but I don’t want you to yell or anything, okay? Don’t try to move or put too much strain on your body.” Rainbow Dash nodded.
First to enter was a pony that saddened Rainbow Dash so much. Her smile was now a wilted frown implanted onto her face. Her mane and tail were no longer curly and puffy, but were straight and looked as though the rain had smoothed it down a million times. Her lip quivered and her eyes were a little red.
“Pinkie Pie... I’m... I’m okay!” Rainbow Dash said as loud as she could.
Pinkie Pie smiled a little but continued to still look sad. She knew that the athletic pegasus pony would never be the same. She sat on the couch that was right next to Rainbow Dash’s left side.
Following close behind the pink pony were Applejack and Rarity. Applejack looked teary. Her eyes were red and her hat and head were dipped towards the floor. She nodded towards Rainbow Dash and then sat to the left of Pinkie Pie.
Rarity was nothing like her normal self. The eyeshadow that she always wore was now almost smeared. Her eyes were tinted pink, too. Her hair was not well cared for, unlike usual, and had a few clumps of mane and tail that were somewhat ratty. She smiled towards the pony and used her magical horn to wipe a tear off of Rainbow Dash’s cheek. Rainbow Dash nodded and said a small thank you.
Twilight was next. She was fine besides her dead-looking eyes and frown. Her ears were turned down, but instantly straightened as she entered the room. She smiled a little as she sat to the left of Rarity on the couch.
The rainbow pony had this odd feeling inside of her. She was worried that Fluttershy wouldn’t be there. She wanted to see that pony smile. She wanted to see that pony laugh or giggle to the rest of her friends.
Fluttershy finally appeared through the door. She didn’t smile and her face was stuck in a frown, but a deeper one instead of her usual one. Like the rest, Fluttershy smiled towards Rainbow Dash, but, typically, the smile did not reach her eyes. It was another forced smile. It brought tears to Rainbow Dash’s eyes.
“Rainbow Dash, Darling, are you okay?” Rarity asked gently.
Rainbow Dash readied her throat. “I-I’m fine... just can’t move any of my limbs...” She answered with a scratchy voice, knowing that that wasn’t the whole answer that Rarity had asked for.
“Err... may I ask wha’ happened, exactly?” Applejack asked politely as she could manage.
Rainbow Dash nodded, quickly noting that her neck didn’t hurt when she did so. “Fluttershy and me were out in this meadow... and well... I was trying to pull off this stunt that ended with me pulling up, stopping me from crashing to the ground... and... I... sort of failed...” Rainbow Dash smiled a little bit. “If you know what I mean...”
Rarity opened her mouth to speak. “Yes, quite. You aren’t willing to accept the fact that you failed, Darling,” Rarity bit her cheek as she said so.
Rainbow Dash began to giggle a little bit. So did the other ponies. The rainbow pony saw Fluttershy laugh a little too. If Rainbow Dash was going to die, it would all be fine now. She had seen the shy little pony smile and laugh which didn’t happen very often, even it was a soft one, at least it was something. That giggle wasn’t enough for Rainbow Dash, though. She wanted that mare to actually smile.
“Y’all remember when Rainbow Dash busted ‘er wing? That seems like so long ‘go...” Applejack spoke quietly.
Twilight nodded. “Yeah...” Others agreed politely with the white horse.
Pinkie Pie continued to frown, her hair still in a sleek, flat style. She had been the only pony not to laugh at Rarity’s joke.
The little candy-like pink pony stared at the floor. “Uh-huh... just a little... stirred up...” Pinkie Pie didn’t smile or even blow a breath of relief as she finished her words. She wouldn’t stop staring at the polished wooden floor, looking back to the reflection of her sad frown.
Rainbow Dash nodded a little.
Twilight looked around. “So... you okay, Rainbow Dash?”
She looked to Twilight, a little surprised. “Yeah, of course! It’s just that... I can’t move... almost anything... in my body...” Rainbow Dash laughed a little at her silly-sounding reply. She hadn’t noticed just how bad and weak she was.
The rest laughed at her comment, too. Pinkie Pie didn’t, though. Her pout lifted a little but remained sewed to her face.
Rarity looked ahead, placing her head back to its regular position after tilting it back slightly in laughter. “Now... don’t mind me, Darling... but... could you tell me what you will be doing in this exasperatingly boring solitude?”
“I-I don’t know... maybe I’ll read some books... they have become twenty percent cooler since my last incident.” Rainbow Dash smiled, remembering good old times.
The rest of them laughed, too, all but a pink pony. Rainbow Dash liked this moment. They were all together and almost all having fun. It was like one of Pinkie Pie’s parties, splendid, great, and with many fond memories that would last, despite the hostess herself being sad.
“I’m really glad to have you guys as friends, you know,” Rainbow Dash spoke. “Even though we are terribly different, we fit like puzzle pieces.”
They all agreed and smiled, except for Pinkie Pie, again. She was, as bad as it sounded, being a buzzkill.
Rarity looked around. “This was unlike how I would have expected. Since we have this time together, may I say something?” About everyone nodded. “Well... I have new dresses for every one of us.”
Applejack looked around, a fond smile on her face. “So we’re usin’ this time as a meetin’?” Rarity nodded, doing so just enough so then her precious mane didn’t fall out of place by a hair. “Whelp...” Applejack blew a small sigh. “Gotta say that this year’s zap apple jam’s gonna be the best. I think y’all will agree when you get a lick a’ that jam,” Applejack said humbly. “Not’ta sound overly confident about it, I mean.”
Most of the ponies’ mouths were practically dripping with droll of the amazing-tasting rainbows. Pinkie Pie was still looking to the ground, but the others noticed a little saliva dropping to the ground. Rarity cringed, but didn’t say anything about the dumb and completely rude manner.
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth. “I think you guys can understand why I don’t have any plans at the moment and probably won’t for a while...” Rainbow Dash laughed a little at the occasion she was in, lightening up.
Pinkie Pie looked up to expectant faces. She blew a breath. “I... I can’t really have a... a party... anymore...” Pinkie Pie was acting so emotional. A tear dropped from her eye.
“Pinkie Pie... cryin’ over spilled milk won’t solve nothin’... an’ you know it,” Applejack said, nuzzling the pink party pony comfortingly.
Pinkie Pie waved to Twilight who was two ponies away on the couch.
“So... I don’t exactly have anything planned... though, I would like to ask you some questions, Rainbow Dash! I-if that is... is acceptable?” Twilight smiled a little bit like a child, her shimmering purple irises widening.
Rainbow Dash replied a small yes.
Twilight looked around a bit. “Well... not to sound insensitive or cruel, but... did you have a near-death experience? If so, what was this like?”
Rainbow Dash didn’t overreact, luckily. “I guess I did... and it was like a nightmare... I was unconscious and couldn’t... exactly... wake up. I dreamed of me having my rainbow stripes on my mane and tail earned to me by being put through stages of pain and suffering...”
Twilight frowned after Rainbow Dash stopped for a moment. “You don’t have to detail it after that... I have the basics now... maybe I should write this to Princess Celestia... This isn’t about friendship... is it?”
A certain rainbow pony laughed with the rest of the mares in the room. “No, it isn’t, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash responded with a little laughter. “Though, I can go into detail. You see... the first stripe-- the red one was me and my parents running on a rainbow... the rainbow eventually splattered into a long strain of blood afterwards... and a red stripe appeared...” Rainbow Dash blew a breath.
Twilight quietly assembled a clipboard and pen to her lap with her magic.
Rainbow Dash continued with somewhat semi-detail in her stories. The ponies seemed to feel her pain in her nightmare and sometimes breathed heavy breathes or whistled painful ones through their teeth.
Rainbow Dash was done. Twilight had noted it all.
Suddenly, though, something happened.
Twilight’s head fell to her forelegs and Rainbow Dash instantly lost consciousness in her place in the bed. They both lay very still as their friends tried to wake them.
Rainbow Dash was back in her nightmare. She was still in a grassy meadow, exactly like the scene that she had fallen and broken many bones in her body a while ago when Fluttershy had agreed to come along with her.
“You’ve nearly proven yourself for the gate of Pony Heaven, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight’s voice rang out like an angel’s. “The last stripe must be earned by you accepting this. You must say that you are willing to die.”
“W-wait... why are you saying this? Why you, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked, not decisive enough to quickly say a simple answer.
“The entire reason you are here is basically because of me. Would you really be friends with Fluttershy or anypony else if Celestia hadn’t sent me here?” Twilight said, her eyes sparkling like they never had before. Rainbow Dash shook her head, thinking. “Now... are you willing to enter the gates of heaven, Rainbow Dash?”
“N... no...” Rainbow Dash said, unsure.
Twilight almost seemed to pout. This was still a nightmare, no matter what. “Wait... did you know that there’s cupcakes up here?! A whole ton of cupcakes! More than Pinkie Pie could ever make or wish for!” Twilight was almost begging.
Rainbow Dash thought. She had plenty of time. It wasn’t like Twilight was giving her a time limit.
If she went to the gates of heaven, she would be forever happy. She would be with her parents, with some ponies she had known and loved that had died. Every day would be filled with happiness, flying, laughter, and cheering.
Although, if she were to stay on the planet, she would... she would still have her friends. She would still have a chance with the Wonderbolts. She would still have Tank. She would be happy, but with her friends. She might have to live with some mean ponies, some enemies, some mistakes, accidents, and embarrassments.
She knew her decision, as it was quite obvious when she thought it over. She was now glad she had so many colors. Without those five stripes, maybe she would have said something else. Perhaps Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, or even Twilight would have said otherwise because they didn’t have as many stripes; didn’t have as much time to think.
“No. I will not go to heaven.”
Twilight’s mouth dropped. “B-but there’s... there’s so many cupcakes and... you’re family members will be there like you remembered the-”
“I do not want to hear it, Twilight!” Rainbowdash’s nostrils flared with confidence. “Read my lips, now, Dearie. I... will... not... go...”
Twilight was still ready to defend. “A-are you sure-”
“I have never been more sure in my life! Twilight, listen! No.”
The purple pony’s face straightened, suddenly very serious. “Okay then, Rainbow Dash... You will have to wake to the real world now.”
Both ponies woke immediately to their friends looking to them worriedly. Rainbow Dash saw Fluttershy’s face smudged up to hers, nearly touching her mouth as though she had been ready to give mouth-to-mouth. It was odd yet hilarious at the same time. It showed Rainbow Dash that Fluttershy cared. Fluttershy suddenly looked as though she were going to throw up or had a bad fever all at once.
Rarity looked into Twilight’s freshly opening eyes, seeing if there was still life. There was, to the unicorn’s luck.
“What in the world?! Darling... Darling, get up!”
Twilight’s pupils finally dilated, showing life and consciousness. “Wha... what...” she murmured, almost sleepily.
Rarity looked to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who had decided to go over to Rainbow Dash as soon as she had fallen. The mare looked up to the patient pony that was Applejack. She had been laying next to Twilight the entire time that the purple pony seemed as though she was not breathing. They thought she had died. So did Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie with their pony.
Rarity blew a breath of small relief. “I would never want to have a funeral at this time... not two either...” she said with a hint of obvious sarcasm.
She looked to Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash’s general direction. Fluttershy’s small giggle bounced against the walls as Pinkie Pie smiled and laughed her adorably cute laugh that sounded only slightly insane. Rainbow Dash burst into laughter too, obviously realizing that she shouldn’t overreact to the situation or it would scar Fluttershy, as the rest of the group had noticed.
Rarity cleared her throat. “Now... you’re alright... right, Darling?” Rarity smiled a little, but still looked worried.
Twilight sat up, leaning on the couch that five of the six friends had been laying on moments ago. “Ye... yeah... f-fine... just l- a little...” Twilight’s face looked sleepy, and her head lolled a little. She suddenly jerked back up. “I’m just a little shaken up!” the unicorn replied quickly.
Pinkie Pie’s voice was suddenly fast and high pitched again, no longer mopey, probably from the giggling and laughter from the group. “You know what I always find funny? The fact that the word ‘fun’ is in the word ‘funeral’! I mean, am I supposed to have a party there or something?!”
That pink pony was most definitely back to her normal self.
“You sure do sound tired. You okay, Hun?” Applejack asked after Rainbow Dash’s group of ponies quieted down there laughter.
Twilight hiccuped a little, strangely. “I was in R... Rainbow Dash’s dream... I think... and... and I think I told her that she had a choice...” Twilight announced a little gravely, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie suddenly snapping their attention to her. “A choice of whether or not she wanted to... um... to die and go to heaven...” she said a bit roughly and her words a little cut.
Rarity nodded, feeling sympathy as the pony spoke, having a small thought of instant shock at her words.
Rainbow Dash nodded to the curious, unsure Pinkie Pie.
A doctor opened the door a little, suddenly. He cleared his throat. “I am sorry to interrupt everypony, but... Rainbow Dash needs her rest, as you can expect, so you all need to leave so she can get better faster.” He stepped back into the hallway, walking away as he expected them to leave.
Rarity looked to Twilight who had already left for the door, waving a hoof at her thankfully. Everyone quickly filed out of the room besides Rarity, Fluttershy, and, of course, Rainbow Dash. Rarity left the room. She quickly remembered that she had forgot to say goodbye, and Rarity quickly turned back to the closed door. It was always very rude to not say a good goodbye or simply wave! Especially at a pony in pain! How could Rarity have forgotten her manners in the mix of things?
She opened the door a peak but quickly saw Rainbow Dash having a conversation with Fluttershy. Even though she wasn’t a huge stalker or peeker pony, Rarity didn’t interrupt them and listened to their words.
“See you later, Fluttershy. I really am thankful that you were there to get me to the hospital.”
Fluttershy nodded a little as she uncrossed her legs and jumped off the hospital bed. “It was no problem... You would have done it if I... crashed, I guess...” Fluttershy smiled shyly, still.
They continued to talk until Rainbow Dash waved to Fluttershy.
One specific part interested Rarity.
Rainbow Dash’s voice leaked out into the hall. “Can you help me?”
Fluttershy paused. “With what?”
The other voice turned into a whisper. Some parts were spoken loud enough for Rarity to hear, “Understand...” the voice cut off. “Better...” Hm... What a cryptic message Rarity probably wouldn’t decipher later.
Rarity quickly walked into a closet that connected to the hallway she was in, closing the door. She heard Fluttershy’s hooves until they were a little down the hall. She decided to poke her head out then.
She decided she wouldn’t say goodbye after all. She had important business to attend to, anyway. She would probably say sorry later, though, so it was fine.
Rarity marched down the hall and into the first room that a pony would come into if they took the main entrance. Many sick and injured ponies dotted the chairs up against the glass that exposed Ponyville’s center. There was a pony with a broken hoof, his face buried in pain. Another looked very green, his nose snotty and disgusting; Rarity nearly gagged from it. A third looked confused, her eyes crossed and her tongue sticking out. She was very small and childish; her parents still with her on both sides. The father spoke to her with soft words. The mother looked to Rarity for a second, avoiding eye contact out of obvious embarrassment, annoyance, and pure anger.
The unicorn finally got outside after looking at many other ponies over quickly. She was out the doors and heading home. She had to get the drawing so then she could go to Pinkie Pie’s to check up on whether or not the pony liked her sketch for her dress.
She went home and quickly collected the sketch, saying a quick hello to her little kitty who had poked her head up for a second as Rarity did so, setting its head down the second she stopped talking to sleep again.
Rarity turned around and was met by the bulging blue eyes of a pink earth pony.
“My dear... you nearly gave me a heart attack...” Rarity said after gasping and nearly screaming.
Pinkie Pie looked so happy at Rarity’s relieved smile. “I’m so~ sorry!” Pinkie Pie yelled, swooping her tone down to up on the “so”. “It’s just that-- I’m so~ excited for the party-- the dresses, the food, and-- oh, oh-- the fun we’ll have!” Pinkie Pie was almost squealing in excitement.
A little winged mare strolled into Rarity’s house through the front entrance, almost pushing herself towards the ground because of her wilting ears at Pinkie Pie’s loud voice.
“Flutty!” Pinkie Pie turned, gasping. “I’m sorry that you have to wait just to help me! We’ll bake muffins, pies, and cakes-- especially cupcakes!” Pinkie Pie turned back to Rarity. “But~ I’d absolutely love~ to see those drawings of dresses you made!”
Rarity levitated the sketches, showing them to Pinkie Pie who smiled all the same as she looked the pictures up and down.
Pinkie Pie was positively buzzing with excitement.
“Well..?” Rarity questioned lightly.
The pink pony nodded. “I love it, Rarity! The dress itself looks fun!”
Rarity was now giddy by Pinkie Pie’s praise. “I am so happy you think it is good! Now, you two may leave, I have plenty of work to attend to!” The unicorn watched as Pinkie Pie turned with Fluttershy close behind. “Best of luck to the both of you!” Rarity called after them as they left.
Rarity didn’t have plenty of work to do. She had nothing to do. All the dresses were finished, down to the last touch of silk. She just looked around, feeling useless. What was a pony supposed to do when a pony had nothing to do? Go over to a friend’s house, perhaps? Well... Fluttershy was with Pinkie Pie, too busy for her. Twilight was probably too busy, too. Rainbow Dash was... well... most likely in pain. Finally, Applejack had zap apple picking to do, which Rarity hoped she would never have to help with in her life.
Maybe she could create a new dress design? Rarity felt so stupid and bored.
“My dear Celestia...” Rarity shook her head then sighed. “Have I been meaning to do something?” Finally, Rarity just decided to go outside.
She lied down on a tree, wrapping her hooves lazily around her waist. She looked towards the sky. All the white, puffy clouds lie there, looking as bored and hopeless as Rarity. She stared at the ground. To Rarity, each blade of green grass was the same.
Looking towards the one closest to her, she stared at it intently. A single drop of fresh dew began to slide down the little thing. The sun reflected on it, and Rarity swore she could see her own image inside of it. She was as sad and bored as she imagined she looked in the drop of water. Tiny drops of water slid down something’s face in the image. Rarity didn’t want to look up, but decided to do so anyway.
“Applejack?”
The orange pony was looking at Rarity, and probably had been for a while. Her little freckles were covered in salty droplets that slid down her face silently. Applejack fell to the green ground, folding her legs beneath her. “I don’t mean to startle ya’ll or nothing...”
Rarity shook her head. “You aren’t at all, Dear...”
Applejack looked up to Rarity’s shaking head then quickly looked down again, her little brown hat tilting down slightly. “My ma and pa are comin’ sometime this month...”
The white unicorn looked to her. “What’s wrong with that? You should be excited...” Rarity spoke softly.
“As ya’ll prob’ly know, I was adopted by my gran’ma after my parents gave me up,” Applejack said, pausing. “Now... they’re comin’ over to the apple farm.” Applejack looked towards the ground again. “The real problem is that this is... so sudden... so emotional to me, Applebloom, and even Bigmac.”
Rarity looked up, towards the sky. “Yes. I understand your occurence. I was not adopted, but I think I can sympathise with you.”
Applejack looked towards Rarity again. “That’s the reason I came to ya’ll at this time. You are prob’ly the most understandin’ of the group when I think of it.”
Rarity almost blushed but ducked her head down to avoid eye contact, trying to appear modest to the complement.
The orange pony looked away from Rarity, letting her almost embarrassing moment slide. “Though... there’s another reason I came over... I, uh...” Applejack rubbed the back of her neck slightly. “I need someone to... well... sorta...” Applejack paused, spitting out her next words in one quick breath. “Help out with the farm.”
It took a second for Rarity to process the garbled sentence, but as soon as she did, she was a bit frustrated and confused. “Me? Why... Applejack, you know there are more... ‘outdoorsy’ ponies here, right?” Rarity tried to smile to get herself out of the situation somehow.
“I guess I can... if ya’ll really don’t wanna...” Applejack looked sort of bummed out.
Rarity thought for a second. She did have nothing to do. She did want to be at least a bit helpful to most ponies. She sighed, unsure of what to do. It was possible that she was only overthinking it when she thought of a farm as being full of dirt, muck, and a bunch of unsanitary hooves. It was an apple farm... so there probably wasn’t much dirt there, right?
“Eh... well... I’ll...” Rarity still thought, then looked up to Applejack’s sparkling, pleading green eyes. She sighed again. “I’ll do it,” she said, almost bummed out.
Applejack looked to her. “Thanks so much!” she said excitedly, despite understanding that Rarity probably didn’t want to.
The orange mare glanced around and then finally sighed.
Rarity found out quickly that the orange earth pony sitting besides her had no words, and stared ahead of her. Blades of grass continued until the mountains that stopped Rarity’s magnificent view. She looked towards the singular patch of grass she had been staring at before. The little dew on the specific blade had long before slid down, off the little thing and onto the ground with smaller, more even green that Rarity was very careful to cut.
She looked up and, yet again, there was another pony stood before her. A mail pony looked down to her position. He was green all over, almost identical to the grass that was set below him. His eyes were a delicate blue and his mane and tail shining a lighter shade of green. His cutie mark was a simple, little sliver of mail. Jobs could be associated to cutie marks specifically, they were unnatural, as Rarity could recall, but they could occur.
The winged male pegasus looked to Rarity as she made eye contact. “Good day, miss,” his charming voice called, with a hint of an odd accent. “Got some mail for you.” He handed it to her with his hoof. “A pony gave that to me, no mailbox in order. They looked very busy, too, so you should read it soon, I suppose.” With that, the pony went away, his wings fluttering a little to gain him speed.
Applejack had noticed the entire ordeal, and was now looking to Rarity with some expectancy. “Not’ta be nosy or nothin’, but you mind me tellin’ what that’s basically ‘bout after y’all ‘er done?”
Rarity looked at the note slowly. “No problem, darling. It’s probably nothing special.” The unicorn doubted her own words as she looked at the little shiny gold clip on the front of the letter. She opened it slowly with her horn, pulling a piece of paper out.
The ink was completely black, the writing nice and neat.
Dear Ms. Rarity, the letter began. We are unfortunate to tell you so suddenly that you must leave to the realm of Hearth with a pony you may be with familiar with, Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia would like to have someone accompany her student to this dangerous place. The reasons for this, however, will be withheld from both you and Ms. Sparkle for various reasons. Suddenly, the words on the little letter became much more curly and a bit sloppy. No, it will not be another party or anything. The words changed back to their normal arrangement. Celestia is telling the truth; it will not be yet another surprise party. Ms. Sparkle will get the same basic letter as you, Ms. Rarity, as to make it simpler and easier for the both of you to travel.
She looked back to Applejack. “I--uh--well--you see...” Rarity quickly mumbled to hide her words, “I’m going to a different world--realm.”
Applejack swished her tail back and forth as though this was a game. “Was’ tha’, Hun? Say it again.”
The unicorn sighed, the purple curls in her hair bouncing slightly. “I am going to a different world or realm. I am going to Hearth, Applejack. I can not accompany you in the picking of apples.”
The pony’s hat slid off her head a little as she laughed. “No, really, what is it?”
“I’m telling the truth, Applejack. I’m going to Hearth with Twilight.”
Rarity stood up. “I’m sorry to tell you that so abruptly, Applejack. I... No, may I go now? You can tag along.”
The pony stood. “Nah, it’s all fine and dandy. I guess there’s not gonna be much zap apple jam after all... That’s fine, though, what remains’ll be delicious.” Her little hat swayed as Applejack went back to the Apple Family Farm.
Her eyes glinted in the sun as Rarity hoped with all her heart that she had had at least a teeny effect on Applejack.
She turned around and headed to Twilight’s home. Her tail swished as she passed through the central point of Ponyville, where there were some markets set up. She even saw Granny Smith picking out some little apples and such, who she immediately waved to. Granny Smith came over to her and gave her an apple, saying it was free of charge to anypony that was a friend of her family. Rarity finished the apple off while speaking to another pony she knew, her being just an average pony.
Rarity’s knees buckled as she emitted sound with magic on Twilight’s door. She fell to the ground as the world ahead of her swerved and swirled.
She bit her lip as she heard the unicorn’s hooves from inside, trying not to let anything in her mind slip out as words. As soon as Rarity closed her eyes at so much pain coming over her like waves, she saw a pony in the darkness of her mind. The little flash of a pony showed was only a single second, but Rarity saw every tiny detail. Her mane and tail were straightened flat, sucked of all color and drowned in gray. The coat of the mare was entirely gray overall, no speck of color on the frowning pony. Her face was so deeply marked with the lines of a set frown that had been worn for much time, the eyes of the pony stained a deep black with everything else in the image that was almost black and white. The mare’s eyes seemed hollow, but the little irises laying inside told Rarity they were still there. It seemed like the pony had been crying for so long, so, so long. She couldn’t identify the pony without any color in the eyes, coat, mane or tail, and since the cutie mark seemed to be blurred out and smothered into the rest of the gray coat. The saddest thing was what was in the pony’s hoof... a knife that was marked with blood.
She was still on the floor as Twilight reached the door after exactly ten seconds, which seemed like an eternity for Rarity.
“Hello?” Twilight almost tripped on Rarity, who was too low to the ground for Twilight to see. “Oh my gosh! Rarity, are you okay?!”
Rarity’s eyes continued to droop and her teeth clenched as more images of the mare drained of color continued to haunt her in her mind. She finally opened her eyes, looking at the ground and then at the green grass that was to the left of Twilight’s house. The gray pony was there, too, standing there with teary eyes and a knife, always switching poses and positions like in a picture album. Suddenly, the horse came forward slowly, as though this was a movie playing before Rarity. She looked to Rarity with her eyes swept with tears. The pony’s voice sounded so sad as she spoke, “I don’t want to... I can’t, can I? W-why... why am I so weak? So defenceless? So vulnerable? So... so, so terribly confused..?”
The world around Rarity started to clip and rotate, turning suddenly. Her eyes were playing tricks on her, that was all... It wasn’t, Rarity wasn’t buying her own words. The pony in front of Rarity got closer and closer, until she was a single width of a fine hair from her ear.
“Help... me...”
As though her brain had shut down, the world went black. Unlike what she had heard before from people who had lost consciousness, though, the drape of blackness turned red. As red as fresh blood that had just been drawn. Rarity’s eyes suddenly flashed open, seemingly without her control. Everything was so wrong. The corners of her eyes were blinded by blood, new streams of the stuff dripping into the tops. Her ears were ringing like a bell was being struck next to them eternally. All she could smell was something metallic and terribly strong. Her mouth identified the smell as soon as she could taste the iron in the blood that seemed to cover Rarity.
The tip of a purple horn came into focus through the separating of sticky blood drops on Rarity’s left side. Instantly, everything cleared up. As though they had suddenly evaporated or disappeared into thin air, the little droplets of red that speckled her vision left and cleared out. All the odors, tastes, and the ringing in her ears were gone. They were now replaced by the smell of books from the library, her own saliva in her mouth was the only thing she tasted, and she heard Twilight’s slick voice along with the chirping of birds perched on trees near Twilight’s house.
The unicorn’s voice slowly got louder in Rarity’s ears, “...rity... Rarity..! Rarity! Rarity, do something!”
Rarity still felt too weak to get up, but cleared her throat and opened her mouth after humming for a second or two to see if she could still use her vocal chords. “I-I... I’m... I’m okay... I think...” she spoke weakly.
To clear her mind, Rarity shook her head. “I don’t know...”
She was pulled to her hooves by Twilight quickly, being basically dragged into the main room of the unicorn’s house.
Finding a seat almost immediately, Rarity plopped down in a small living room chair. Twilight went out of the room for a short while, returning with a little notebook and a quill feather to dab into the small jar of ink she had brought. After sitting in the chair that was across from Rarity, the purple pony began to levitate the feather and dipped it in the ink, quickly looking back to her.
“Sorry for the fancy-looking stuff and everything,” Twilight said politely. “I’m just gonna take a few notes of your stance and all that. You seemed to be in a very... I’m trying not to sound mean or arrogant... Let’s say... a unique type of... ‘pain’?” Rarity shook her head as Twilight glanced up at her, smiling as she almost begged Rarity for a more accurate description.
Rarity sat herself into a more comfortable position, lying her head down on the arm of the seat as Twilight began to write a bit on the paper.
“Plausible Cause...” Twilight whispered to herself as she finished connecting the quill to the sheet. The purple pony in front of Rarity cleared her throat, then looked to her with relaxed yet expectant eyes. “Okay. Now... I think I’ll start off with... Hm...” Twilight seemed to scratch her chin in thought with her right hoof. “What happened before you came to my house and... ‘freaked out’?” She paused again. “Yeah... freaked out.”
Rarity thought back as Twilight already began to levitate a book from a random shelf, bringing it over to her own chair. She had made a dress for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie... Gone to the hospital for a certain reason... Been told some stuff from Applejack... Got a letter then told some stuff to Applejack... Went to the market... Came into Twilight’s house after flipping out... Nothing really seemed too suspicious to her.
She lifted her head up to Twilight, who seemed to be in a small little world of her own as she continued to read a book with one pony on the cover, the colt having one side of his face full and bright while the other was dark and angry. She began to emit sound but was immediately shut off by Twilight’s sudden gasp, quickly followed by the book, quill, paper, and jar dropped to the ground from being disconnected to her magic or from being hit by her thrashing hooves.
Twilight began to giggle embarrassedly. “Oh my gosh... Rarity... you made me seem like a big chicken!” She began to climb off the chair and levitate the stuff onto various tables while staring at the small streak created from the ink jar on the wooden floor.
Rarity looked down to the little black mark on the planks. “No...” she whispered. “Twilight, please get that stain cleaned... right now...”
The streak on the floor began to change, seeming to get larger and larger. It slowly leaked over to where Rarity’s chair was set, Twilight leaving the room in a run to get something to wipe up the mess.
“Just stop it... Quit messing with me...” Rarity whispered to herself, trying to calm her mind like it was just a bad headache that could be easily avoided.
It was no use, of course. The blackness began to spread all over the floor, looking as though it was climbing up objects to get as high as it could. Darkness began to eat away at the roof above Rarity, slowly devouring the walls until it got to some of Twilight’s furniture. Rarity only felt a gooey, thick substance surround her as she looked left and right just to see more darkness beginning to destroy all of Twilight’s little library.
She looked up, hoping to see a beautiful, clear blue sky that would almost lift away all the ink that had spilled. The sky was black, though, and not from it just being night. The chair beneath her finally disappeared, the ink that had covered it spilling to the black floor in a splash with Rarity following close behind, quickly getting drenched in the dreadful stuff.
Rarity landed with a terribly hard thud, looking down to the floor to see most of the black ink, to her horror, turn a different color and then seem to infect the rest of the slow moving black to a new color of blood red.
Everything looked to be covered in the bloody red that was Rarity’s. A pain struck from the skin that touched the newly red floor. Rarity opened her eyes that had closed because of the sudden strike of pain to see that the red on the floor was crawling onto her, ready to deteriorate her to the nothingness of the furniture and walls that were no more.
Before the terrible bloody ink got to cover Rarity’s nose, though, a new shape seemed to form from the floor, looking to be a mare... a very familiar mare.
The shape quickly changed back into gray, her flat mane and tail dripping as it looked to push away the blood like water off a duck’s back.
She opened her mouth, her black eyes glinting in random light as she stepped forward, moving towards Rarity so slowly that the red ink surrounding her hooves had enough time to settle before getting mixed up again by her movement. “I’m so sorry for you...” she whispered, still walking at a very slow pace. “I can have empathy towards you, though...” she seemed to smile timidly. “I-I know what it’s like... like to go crazy...” her voice quivered slightly as she spoke.
Rarity took much offense to the gray mare’s words. “I-I... I am not crazy!”
The pony in front of her shook her head, closing her eyes but smiling all the same. “You... you are seeing blood destroying everything around you... You imaged that black goo into all of this...” the horse didn’t even slightly gesture towards the ink surrounding her, simply smiling with her eyes that were slowly getting wider for some reason.
In front of her, the mare suddenly turned around, seeming to gasp and scream in rage at the same time. “Y-your friend is back...” her voice shook in odd uncontrolled rage. “I... I think... think it’s time to say goodbye...” The gray horse was still staring at Twilight, who was now emerging, the tip of her hoof in view. “But...” She turned her head, facing Rarity as she stood still completely. “Not...” One hoof came forward very slowly, shaking. “Before...” Another came after the first, the third leg already tensing as it got ready to move. “You...” The pony didn’t continue her words, and disappeared from view as ink moved over Rarity’s eyes.
As she gasped in sudden horror, she swallowed at least a pint of blood colored ink. The ink began to move like it was wanting her to see every second of what was about to happen. Clear as day, the gray pony charged towards Rarity, her hooves working like the back wheels on a cart when a flying pegasus began to lift it from the ground. “Die!”
Everything was in slow motion from the fright that lifted up to Rarity’s heart. Twilight was moving so slow, like nothing was happening that really mattered, and only now began to touch the small sheet of tissue paper to the spot of ink that really existed. The pony in front of her was now hairs away, her face burning with rage and adrenaline yet still wearing a terribly disturbing smile. Her eye glinted in light as she moved her head down to hit Rarity in the face.
What should she do? Rarity panicked. There were only a few seconds until her skull would be smashed by this tough pony. Suddenly, something clicked in her brain, she knew what to do. She moved her head down slightly and then closed her eyes.
Rarity heard a gasp. Then she heard the sound of a shriek. After that, all that she felt, was blood splattering onto her eyelids. She opened her eyes as she breathed in suddenly.
What in the world?
“-arity! Rarity! What’s wrong? Rarity, just wake up or something!” Twilight almost screamed in Rarity’s face.
Rarity’s head and heart were pounding in rhythm. “Don-... don’t scream in my ear...” she said as though she were tired, despite the adrenaline and blood rushing through her veins.
Twilight seemed to be embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Rarity... I’m also sorry that I didn’t clean that ink quickly... it just looked like you were fine on the chair... I didn’t think you were freaking out until I noticed your eyes opening and closing, getting wider and smaller, and you finally moving your head down slightly... But that was after I had cleaned the ink up and everything...”
“Wait... so I didn’t move?” Rarity questioned.
The purple pony thought for a second. “If you mean that you didn’t fall off the chair or something like that, then yes.”
Rarity put her hoof to her head, too tired to laugh. “What were we doing again...”
Twilight looked down to her notepad as she sat on her chair across from Rarity. “Plausible Causes... So what’d you do before you began to... hallucinate..?”
It took only ten seconds for Rarity to remember what she was going to say. “Nothing too suspicious...”
“Well...” Twilight pursed her lips in thought. “It’s typical that you eat something and then you get a spell cast onto yourself.” She smiled.
“Then... I did... give me a second...” She had eaten some bread, one or two cupcakes, and an apple today. The most recent thing being the apple, but it could’ve been anything that had just acted up slowly. “Bread, cupcakes, and an apple.”
Twilight thought for a second, then smiled as she came up with an idea. “It’s probably the apple or the cupcakes. I’ve never heard of a spell cast on bread, but that would be... knew, I can give that to you...” She paused. “Anyways... I’m putting my bits on the apple.”
Rarity nodded. “It sounds like it would work.”
“Okay... give me a moment...” Twilight pulled a book out from the shelf on a wall. “This is the spellbook.” She came over to Rarity, levitating the book as they both scanned the pages for hallucination spells under the illusion category.
After much page turning and going back and forth between the one section, Twilight sighed. “It’s just not in here.” She thought for a second, putting the book on the table in front of the chair. “Oh...” Twilight seemed to frown. “It’s probably not in there because it’s a, uh... a dark spell... or evil spell, if you really want to call it that.”
Rarity wanted to hit herself in the face. “Just get this over with, then... pull out your dark spell book or something...” she almost began to whine.
“Well... uh...” Twilight paused, not wanting to continue.
Rarity looked at her intently. “Go on...”
Twilight sighed. “You see... the problem is... I don’t have a spellbook for dark or evil spells...”
“Where are we going to get one, then?” Rarity asked Twilight.
“There’s a lot of options...” Twilight thought for a few seconds. “Zecora probably has one... Princess Celestia and maybe even Princess Luna... There’s probably one in that Hearth place... And probably a ton of other places we could check out.”
Rarity sighed. “I don’t think I can go to Hearth.”
“Why not?” Twilight asked.
“Twilight...” Rarity said, but decided not to be rude or mean. “I’ve been hallucinating, recently... and, uh... Stuff like that...”
Twilight looked to Rarity. “Sorry. I guess I forgot or something... Anyways, let’s get back to that spell and all that...”
After some talking, the two ponies figured that Twilight should go to Hearth by herself while Rarity goes to the hospital or at least stays with somepony instead of being by herself at all times. They also agreed that Twilight shouldn’t leave for Hearth until at least tomorrow to a few days, just to get ready and everything.
Rarity left and went to her own home. One day in her house wouldn’t hurt her, right? She had killed off that gray mare, or at least she thought so. Rarity was certain that unless she did something that reminded her of blood or gore, she would be absolutely safe.
She sighed as she sat on her little bed, her cat purring as Rarity levitated a brush and pulled it delicately through her fur.
“Okay...” Rarity spoke aloud.
After Rarity was all finished, she sat on her bed, staring at a wall. Once she turned around to look at her window, though, something white and shining was set on the sill of it, the shape below it was completely gray and somewhat large. Black eyes were set just above the white object.
“Oh no...” Rarity whispered as she recognized the shape as a certain gray pony.
The white thing moved quickly as a shaky voice spoke, getting wider and then smaller to every syllable as the eyes above it did, “Hello, lovely... I’ve missed you...”
