Shortly after Spike wore the Element Of Loyalty, the magic concealed deep within the gem chose him to wield it, replacing Rainbow Dash. Continue the story to read her lament.
Rainbow Dash has always been a loyal and caring mare, she was always there for her friends. She was the one they could and would cry into, and she would console them. She may not have been the best friend nor the most modest... But she most certainly didn't deserve what was coming for her.
Discovering she was jumping dimensions every night without trying, she must find a way to reunite her friends, whom are scattered around different universes like she, and that is if she can.
As the colours in her died, her loyalty did, and so did her friendships. The Element Of Loyalty changed it's Wielder the second Spike wore the ornament. Rainbow's soul is practically sewn with thread to the magic of The Element Of Loyalty... Removing that thread made her soul crumble.
Her friends deserted her, and so did herself... So can I ask you a question, Rainbow? Who are you?
Hello! I know i've done plenty other stories, but A Rainbow's Lament is probably the first one I'm feeling okay with. Therefore, I dub this story My First-Not-Futile-Attempt-At-A-Story Story.
Since it is so, don't be too shy on the comments, kay? Have fuuun
"You won't get away with this, Discord!" The regal mare lifted her hoof, her translucent mane rifting in an unnoticeable and quite frankly fake breeze forged from magic.
"Oh, I already have, Celestia. You know that."
"The impervious Twilight and her friends shall successfully defeat thee, discord, and imprison thee where thy tyrant must be imprisoned!" Luna stamped on the marble floor, her horn glowing a bright blue to threaten him.
"Impervious? Why they are more frail than your little Equestria here!" He pointed to the map, snickering as he snapped his finger to burn it. "I am ever so hungry. Anyway, since Equestria has burnt, you aren't their rulers so I'll be taking this!" He snatched their crowns from their heads and bit into it.
"Return it to us you foal!" Luna and Celestia snapped at the same time.
"Oh, but it tastes so good! I'll add some sprinkles," he pulled a few stars of the lunar alicorn's mane and place it on the melting jewellery, "and some cream too!" Cutting off a bit of Celestia's mane and placing it on top. "Sweet!"
"I hope you get DIABETES!"
The flabbergasted mare watched in awe as the magenta colour in her widened eyes soon dissolved, and the particles that still had their shine drifted away swiftly to the Element Of Loyalty ornament, which was now around Spike's neck. The element gave off a bright glow when the colour entered the sharp, lightning bolt shaped gem, levitating the young dragon of his heels and into the air.
Along with her eyes, Rainbow Dash turned grey. She had felt like this before, the feeling itself was very familiar. Multiple times she met this feeling, and yet she had never known it. It was like Satan himself had walked by her, his black and torn cloak held together with sorrow and grief. It was like he had thrown the cloak upon her, and she had been blinded. "Spike... Is the Spirit Of Loyalty... Which means... I'm not!" Rainbow's silvery eyes had now filled with tears, she'd been replaced by her own friends and herself. After all, the Element Of Loyalty was her, it was a part of her.
She didn't know what was worse. The fact her friends left her so quickly or the fact she had given up so fast. She couldn't move, her narrow, silver pupils stayed prominent on those five ponies and dragon. Her knees were trembling as she continued to gape. Princess Luna was probably pranking her with a dream. They would never ever... Ever... Would they?
She dropped onto the floor, feeling overcome with nostalgia as she did from the days when she hadn't a cutiemark and how she'd hated every other filly who had one. Jealous. That could be what she was feeling. Or replaced. Both were correct.
After an hour or two had passed, the mare leapt up and bared her teeth at them. Flicking her tail wildly, she found herself able to hiss a few words in response to the events. "Well, I don't need you guys either, I have so much better things to do!" She cantered far from them, and hopped helplessly in a desperate effort to get airborne. Fighting back her tears from falling, she raised her wings once more and let them fall and rise. "Why can I not-" her anger was interrupted by a certain missing symbol, and as she turned she realised her Cutiemark had faded completely. If it represented her ability to fly stronger than the sound barrier and flight in itself, but if she didn't have it, she wouldn't be able to fly at all. It was when darkness quickly engulf her was she well and truly annoyed. She turned to face the figure, darkness shielding it's face, and thrusted her hoof at it. "Why are you taking away me?" She demanded, expecting some failure of consolation, but it didn't come. A cackle echoed around her, the sound itself ringing in her ear.
"I did nothing." It cried amusingly.
"What's going on, lady?"
"I know repeating words gets boring, but nothing," if this creature had showed itself to Rainbow, she was sure it would be laughing, but as she tried to yell back, the figure spoke, "Dimensions, universes. Your lost in them. Your real friends are scattered around the different ones, your unlucky to have landed one where you never existed." Rainbow gaped until she felt her jaws touch the ground.
"Your lying!"
"That action is below me."
"Who are you?"
"Hm, a shadow. Goodbye, Rainbow Dash."
"What? You can't just tell me something like that and leave! I have questions! How come I don't remember anything? And If I really did How do I get back?"
The colossal trees that towered above her did not alter her target, nor what she was going to do. Her destination was in the center of the Everfree Forest, in the very core. It would only take half an hour, but she knew that if night did come, she'd have no choice but to retreat. Trudging through the thick mud, she found she could hardly breathe. Perhaps it was due to the scent of decaying leaves, or the many remains of deceased creatures. Time went on until the troubled Pegasus saw the Moon begin to rise, when that did happen, her trot turned to a canter, and that into a gallop. Rainbow Dash's mane danced in the heavy breeze and she noticed a silhouette of the place she wished to go. Her hooves ached with pain as she gladly did thrust herself through the open doors of the hut.
"What is this sound I hear, has some unfortunate pony stumbled upon Zecor's hut? It seems so! Welcome, although... Curious it is, who are you, miss?" A rough voice echoed through the hut, and a stallion zebra approached her.
"Zecora! Wait, You're not Zecora!"
"Indeed Not, Though I like the name a lot. I am Zecor, mind the decor!" He grinned, watching Rainbow duck under the large masks and beads.
"Well, Mister Zecor. Have you ever heard of a pony jumping dimensions?"
"Such things are beyond me, I'm just a lowly Zebra, see. If you really wish to know, go to Starswirl and say hello."The grey pegasus sighed, frustration finally starting to best her.
"He isn't rotting five feet under the ground yet? Wouldn't he be like, two billion, six million and whatever years old now? Surprising."
"I believe you are wrong, the truth is yes, he lived for long, but his death is not known."
"Whatever, where can I find him?"
"If i knew, i would answer you, but sadly our dear Starswirl is missing, And his student too." Her mind blazing she threw herself out and far from Zecor's house. Her thoughts began to wonder about her friends, where were they? She silently prayed they'd found a way back.
She couldn't ignore the fact she really missed her, no matter how much she hated them. She saw them replace her. She saw them...
Her only shelter from the bullets that fell from the heavens was a gloomy cave which seemed like a castle to her after being stranded in the wilderness with no place to go. The wet, damp rock served as a pillow to the young Pegasus and her own wings were her blanket. Silver eyes stared blankly into the horizon, pondering if she would see her friends again or even find her way back. She missed everything about them. Her heart ached to see their warm, smiling faces. Rainbow thought of them until the mare's cheeks had been stained with tears. Hours passed by like milliseconds, and she woke up with a familiar scent dancing in her nostrils.
The grey Pegasus jumped up in surprise as she heard another tearful cry that did not belong to her. No longer was she in the cave she'd fallen to slumber in, but instead a long hall filled with stars and constellations. Windows framed with beautiful patterns decorated the sides, and staring out of them, discovered many other ponies. She desperately ran among all of them, thrusting herself up to see if her friends would be there. She came to the conclusion these were windows to another dimension, and if she found the right one and darted into it... She would return to the Equestria she knew and love.
It was like she'd turned into a madmare, frantically galloping aimlessly around every second that passed. It was when a giant explosion of blue light appeared was Rainbow really, truly petrified. It had clearly destroyed the sound barrier, and smashed it into little pieces, much like a Sonic Rainboom. The mare was forced to collapse on the floor due to the gravitational increase, and quickly, she discovered it had to be magic. For no pegasus had soared out of the light, and no alicorn did either. Not any winged creature that could ever be capable of doing it. She slowly backed away, but the flames grew until one last explosion sounded and Rainbow was thrown seventy feet in the air and crashed into a dimensional window.
Breathing heavily, she cried as she gasped for air. She awoke in somepony's bed, and a fragrance she knew very well tingled at her muzzle. She took a minute to calm herself, and then grew enough courage to examine her surroundings. The walls were made out of spruce wood, and a little lamp rested upon a bedside table. A fireplace sat below a painting of an apple orchard. There was rug on the floor that smelt awfully vintage, and there was not even an inch of glamour in it.
"Gee, if Rarity saw this she'd start crying." Rainbow Dash allowed her wings to tightly rest by her side as to avoid the leaking rain that constantly fell through the ceiling. She heard loud hoofsteps grow from hardly audible to like a scream, but when the door bolt open the sound died.
"Is she gonna be ah'right, big sis?" The voice of a young, country filly asked in a uneasy ring to the words.
"Ah wouldn't doubt it for a second, li'l sister. This 'ere mare seems mighty strong or else she would'a died long before we found 'er." A very familiar voice sang out in her accent.
Rainbow couldn't handle it any more and cautiously sat up to see the source of these sounds.
She found herself face to face with a young mare about her size with freckles in her silky orange fur and red eyes that reminded her of magma. The mare's blonde hair tumbled from a rusty hat and was tied by the end of it. Her mane was completely tangled, and in a worse state than that bundle of straw-like hair filled with split ends.
The orange mare gave a laugh in reply as Rainbow Dash simply cocked her head to the left, bathed in confusion. Staring blankly at this strange mare, she realized what this had to be. Leaping up and trapping the 'Applejack' in between her hooves, anger consumed the grey mare as she forced her down.
"You wont fool me, Changeling!" She hissed, barely regarding the fact a certain filly sat beside her, watching the event with a smirk on her face. 'Applejack's' deep red eyes reminded her of crimson liquid recently discovered and named blood. 'Applejack's' veins began to show by her forehead as she strained. Rainbow's wing flared as she continued to shout loudly. When her fury died down, she managed to speak clearly again, "You got her eyes wrong, Changeling."
"... Ah' beg y'er pardon?"
"Applejack's eyes are bright green, not red."
"Jus' what in tarnation are y'e goin' on about?"
"...Who are you?"
"Me? Well, ah'm sure ah'm Applejack." The young earth pony lifted her head with pride, beaming as if she were proud to hold the name of an Apple. She turned to see what looked like Applebloom, who's mane was a familiar shade of hot pink, but slowly gave of a gradient of black as it reached the ends of her braid. A tiny ribbon held the braid together, but her favorite pink bows did not rest on her head. Applejack clutched her hat as she coughed slightly to regain Rainbow's attention. Quickly, she asked, "and you are?"
"Rainbow Dash." There was a silence as the room was drained of it's sounds. Applejack and Applebloom gaped in bewilderment before Rainbow curiously asked why.
"Well, suga' cube, you're... Ah' dunno how to put this but, y'er..." Her voice faded as it continued, and Applejack bent down to whisper something to her sister, whom darted out the door as if she were being chased, "Well, y'er nothin'. Nothin' at all, no sir. Ah' ain't a liar, and ah' said nothin'." Applejack's eyes stared at anything and everything but Rainbow Dash, who just rolled her eyes in frustration.
"You know what? Forget it, i'm going out for a walk-"
"NO! Ah' mean... no, wont yah' stay for some apple pie?" She awkwardly spoke, her mouth breaking into a twisted smile. Rainbow tried to decline, claiming she wasn't hungry, but her stomach betrayed her.
It would only be a quick lunch with her friends and go, but time had not agreed with the sorrowful mare. A few minutes turned to hours, and their behavior grew stranger. Rainbow Dash's jaws smashed together as they consumed yet another slice of apple pie. Her wings remained tightly by her sides she devoured the rest, and let out a merry burp.
"That was brilliant!"
"Thank y'all kindly. Ah' was the chef today." A beaming Applejack blissfully announced, but Rainbow had seen the expression many times before. Deep under that mask was devastation. Rainbow could see it in her bright, Persian red eyes. The mare shifted uncomfortably from her seat and whispered something to her older brother. Though she tried, Rainbow could not hear a word.
"So... how did you guys find me?" The family cocked their heads in unison, only to give out an 'oh'.
"After me an' ma' crusaders headed to the Everfree Forest to see if we can get our cutiemarks for heading to the Everfree Forest, we saw a really shiny light, and then the sky ripped apart, and ya' fell out. That's all ah' know." The pale yellow filly smiled menacingly, sending shivers down their spines.
A knock echoed loudly from the hall, and Applejack suddenly darted to the door. The clatter of horseshoes smashing on the wooden floor throbbed in her heart, and as they passed around the corner, two guards and Applejack were exposed, AJ pointing in Rainbow's direction.
"Rainbow Dash," They spoke blankly, their rough, grim voice hardly matching their poker faces, "You are sentenced to court for theft, murder, and most of all, treason."
Darkness flooded Rainbow Dash's silver eyes as they remained tightly closed. The pegasus simply lay there motionlessly. Still inert, unclear and, if one can use the term to describe a sound, blurry voice, No, voices, rung in her ears in a hardly audible form.
"Is she there? No? Lets do it again, clear!" They yelled as she felt an electric current shoot through her body like knives.
"Her blood pressure has lowered, that's good." Another cried, his voice cracking in fear every few moments.
"Thank heavens, she's regaining consciousness!"
"Let us leave her to rest, hopefully she'll be okay in the morning. I'll appoint one of the nurses to watch her every five minutes." Somepony cooed in relief as he trotted out the door with a bunch of others scurrying behind.
For hours, Rainbow simply lay there, barely breathing. On occasion, her ears would twitch as she heard a pony, most likely a mare, that would canter in every so often and lay her hoof against Rainbow's forehead. It was, nevertheless, not often enough and this made Rainbow Dash lonelier than ever before.
Company would be nice right about now... she pondered silently, still questioning herself in her mind if she were dead or not. Finally, she rose up and stared at the clock in awe, it was around about 11:20pm. She was so uncomfortable with the idea of having been half dead for almost a day. She shook her head and let her eyes drift to her hooves which were very painfully tied together in a horrid position. She attempted to remove it, but in her effort rubbed the skin raw, thus stinging with bitter pain. She opened her mouth to try and sigh, but no sound came out. She jerked up and repeated, but again, nothing.
Her eyes began to fill with tears as she threw the pillow under her head onto her eyes.
I, either can't speak or can't hear... she tearfully thought, fear dancing in her heart.
"Wake up." A sudden, raging voice shrieked, forcing the unsuspecting mare to spring up. She gave a scream as she did, and relief bathed her as she noticed she now had her beloved and now cherished voice once more. Rainbow Dash looked at the stallion, whom she could now classify as a grey pegasus guard, as he shoved her through the door and into a long hallway. "I suppose you are wondering what your doing here."
Rainbow Dash nodded frantically.
"Well, shortly after Private Golden Feather came to you in order to arrest you, he frightened you to the point of having a seizure. We quickly took you here, the Ponyville Insane Asylum. What?"
Rainbow frowned at him, cursing his obxnoxious stupidly in her mind.
"It's the only suitable medical place for worldwide famous murderers. Anyway, a mare that goes by the name... wait a second." He opened an old satchel that had been blended into his armor so much Rainbow did not notice it's existence. Out from it came a report, and he read it aloud.
CLASSIFIED Copy Of The Royal Guard's Property Miss Rainbow Dash
To Those It May Concern, Crimes committed include: The theft of an Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby alloy necklace. Cost: Eighty Million bits The murder of Miss Twilight (Andromeda) Sparkle, Student Of Princess Celestia Attempted murder of Princess Cadence, Prince Shining Armor
Discovery made by Miss Applejack, Miss Applebloom, Mr Big Macintosh, Mrs Granny Smith, Miss SweetieBelle, Miss Scootaloo. Reward of discovery 22,000 bits. Date Of Finding: 4th Of Harvest Moon Date Of Escape: ....
For Her Majesty, High Empress Luna Of Equestria, Ruler And Bringer Of The Night and Day
Signed: Private Golden Feather
"So you see, we are heading to Canterlot for court. It's 11:49pm right now, but we'll be there in about twenty-five minutes. The chariot is right outside."
Rainbow simply stared at the floor, not wishing to see anymore. Unless a miracle would occur at that specific moment, she was doomed.
The long, threatening silence of the chariot ride was nothing compared to the long, threatening halls of the Royal Court. She stared quietly at the tall grandfather clock that towered above her, and felt herself collapse onto the concrete ground. A Royal Guard that held the chain that was attached to her hooves tightly in his own hoof dragged her up, allowing her to lose her balance once more, but this time merely made a circular motion with her hooves. It was when the brilliant and shimmering door thrust open did Rainbow know her destiny. The horrifying sound of terror raged from the stallion who had opened it as he, trembling, muttered Rainbow Dash's name.
"R-Rainbow... Dash? You're needed in t-the court..."
"That didn't take long... I guess they couldn't help but meet the best flyer to ever lived as soon as possible, am I right? Heh..." She grinned, although it faded into a simply ghost of one as she was forced through the doors.
Upon a throne of blue and white was a magnificent and regal mare whom, though she looked different, was the one and only Princess Luna. Only now her height had changed drastically, and her crown looked much like Celestia's, but black like ebony. She had a regal mane that, unlike her time as Nightmare Moon which looked like a cloudy dawn, or her young years of a spring night, it was somewhere in between. Her teal eyes stared in horror as she watched Rainbow enter, and simply looked away.
"I do not wish to see the one who ended my most faithful student, Twilight's, time here. I wish not to even carry on with this session." "Instead, I sentence miss Rainbow Dash, for treason, murder and thieving, to execution. And moreover," she spoke, ignoring the gaping crowd as she turned gracefully to a strong colt at the back, "I wish it to be so slow and painful, make it so I can hear her screams and pleas from even in here, loud and clear."
"But, Princess Luna, you can't do that! I'm not the one who has done this!" She shrieked, only to be interrupted with a stomp of a hoof.
"I am the High Empress Of Equestria, how dare you expose me to these lies? Notwithstanding, how dare you strip me down to a princess? I give you day, I give you night, and yet lies? Lies!"
Rainbow's voice faded down to simple moans, her mind still processing her words.
"What of Celestia?" Shock overcame the 'High Empress' face.
"You... You.... TAKE HER AWAY!" her voice cracked as vein marks appeared on her forehead, and that was all Rainbow's eyes were cursed to see.
All her ears were cursed to hear.
All until darkness crept up and tackled her from the behind.
