One pretty normal afternoon, I heard a knock on my door. I put down the 7th book in the Daring Do series and went to answer the door, contemplating who could be there, waiting for me. It might be Pinkie Pie. I mean, she had a party coming up, for Bon-Bon’s birthday, and I might come. Of course, if I’m not flying at the speed of sound, doing daredevil stunts in the air, or hanging with Tank, of course I’ll come! It could also be Fluttershy. She ALWAYS tells me what’s going on with Discord, or asking me to help with the animals. It could also b-GLIDA!!! What was Gilda doing here?! She’d left Ponyville ages ago, and I haven’t contacted her since. She’s not my friend, and will never be again. What could SHE possibly want?!
“Hey, Dash. I need your help with-”, Gilda stammered. “I don’t wanna hear it!! I’ve had enough of you putting down Pinkie Pie, or anyone else! I’m not your friend, okay?!” Gilda tried to continue. “But Dash, that’s not why I’m here! I need you to-” BANG! I slammed the door in her face. I was still pretty angry at her for the way she left here without apologizing, or anything! I heard a few more knocks, but I didn’t answer. All I did was return to my bed, and pick up my book where I left off.
A few minutes later, I heard more knocking. I decided not to answer, but then I heard Pinkie on the other side. Pinkie? Oh, this was the invitation to Bon-Bon’s party, right? I couldn’t have been more wrong. She was with Gilda! Really? Like, was this happening? I questioned myself for a second before opening the door. Why would Pinkie be with Gilda? Weren’t they enemies? Was Pinkie just oblivious to what happened? Why was Gilda even here in Ponyville? Doesn’t she know she’s not welcome around here, especially at my house? Does Gilda know I as the one who set up the pranks? Oh wait, yeah, she does. I told her before she left. Man, I am good at pranking ponies. I decided all of these could be answered by simply opening the door and talking to them. Reluctantly, I opened the door and angrily asked Gilda why she was here. Gilda started to talk, but Pinkie Pie answered me instead.
“Gildaneedsustogotohertownandhelpherbecausethereissmokecoveringherskiesandmostofthegryphonscan’tbreatheandweneedtofindthesourceofthesmokeandtakeitoutsothatGilda’stownisn’tcoveredinsmokebecauseifitiscoveredinsmokethenthatwouldbebadbecasue…...” Pinkie was talking really fast, like she sometimes does, and I couldn’t tell what she was talking about. So I turned to Gilda. “What did she just say?” I asked, gesturing towards Pinkie, who was still talking. “ I don’t know, but I can tell you why I’m here. If you want to know, of course.”, Gilda replied. “This better be good. Don’t you know you’re not welcome here?”, I said, repeating one of the questions I asked to myself.
“Listen, Dash. Of course I know I’m not welcome here. I messed up, and left in a fit without apologizing, or even a goodbye. I know you think I’m a real bad friend, and I probably am. But I need you and your friends’ help right. now. You see, our entire city is covered in smoke, and we have no idea why. I heard Ponyville had something similar once, so I thought you might know something.”
I flew into Twilight’s castle library, where Twilight was reading, as she always does. I immediately started rummaging through books, trying to find one that would help me. “Hey! What’re you doing with that? Be careful, that’s a rare- WHOA! Seriously, stop-” I wasn’t really listening to Twilight, and continued my search. Twilight eventually had to fly up and tackle me out of the air. She kept asking questions, but I stopped her. “I need something on dragons. Do you have anything?”, I asked quickly. I didn’t want to waste any time. “Of course I do, Rainbow”, Twilight said, surprisingly calm. “But you didn’t have to make a mess of everything.” I looked round. Man, I DID make a pretty big mess. “Can you at least tell me WHY you need a book about dragons?”, asked Twilight.
Spike walked into the room, right on cue. “Why wouldn’t Rainbow want a book about dragons? We can breathe fire, fly around, and do TONS of other cool stuff!”, Spike commented. That wasn’t why I needed a dragon book, though. “I need a way to move a dragon, like we did before, remember?”, I asked Twilight. “Why would you need to remove a dragon?”, Twilight asked, clearly puzzled. Now that I think about it, this WAS a pretty sensible question to ask. But I didn’t feel that way then.”None of your beezwax, Twilight! If I can’t find a dragon book here, then I’ll just find one somewhere else!”, I yelled. I stormed off, ignoring Twilight and the rest of what she had to say.
Apparently the land of the Gryphons was separated into 2 factions: Lion and Eagle. Each faction showed slightly more of their respective animal in the way they looked and acted. Gilda was in the Lion faction, and lead us to their library. “Jeez, this place is FILLED with smoke.”, I commented. And it really was. Most of the time, gryphons had to stay low to the ground just to breathe. But Pinkie was still taking in the sights, blissfully ignorant of the troubles around her. “What’s that?”, and “What’s this?”, she asked repeatedly. Gilda didn’t answer, and neither did I. I’d been here before, but never like this. Everypony, or should I say, everygryphon wasn’t having a good time. Gryphons all over were struggling. Due to the smoke blocking out the sun, the gryphons couldn’t grow any food, which was a major problem. There were soup lines. Nopony….. *ahem*....... Nogryphon was happy with this, at all. Once we got to the library, we found what we were looking for. And somepony else along with it.
“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE, RAINBOW DASH? AND WHY IS THIS PLACE FILLED WITH SMOKE?!” It was Twilight. How did she know I was here? I didn’t answer. I was too busy getting out of there, and fast. Twilight couldn’t know. It was enough trouble that Pinkie knew. Thinking back, I don’t know why I tried to hide it. I mean, it WAS pretty obvious. Eventually, Gilda caught up to me and convinced me to come back to the library. Gilda & I explained the whole thing to Twilight, who freaked out. “Why haven’t you told me this earlier, Gilda? And you, Rainbow. Why did you leave here so fast? And WHY in all of Equestria haven’t you cleaned up the mess in my library?”, Twilight angrily screamed, at both me and Gilda. “Isn’t Spike cleaning it up?”, I said. “Well, yeah, but……….. How about my other questions?”, asked Twilight, in an irritated tone.
After we answered the millions of questions Twilight asked us, we decided to get Fluttershy. “But Fluttershy can’t handle a dragon, can she? I mean, she’s very…... well,........ SCARED.”, I asked. “Well, she dealt with a dragon before, right? I sure she can deal with another.”, replied Twilight. Classic Twilight reasoning. I wish I was smart like her. We approached Fluttershy’s house, and knocked on the door. The second she opened the door, it was promptly closed. Must’ve been Gilda. We knocked again, and asked again for Fluttershy to open the door. We ended up just opening the door, with Fluttershy locked once again in her closet. I managed to get her out and explain to her the mission at hand. That…… didn’t really help too much, as this only made her more scared. “Ugh. Can’t she just GET OVER IT for once?”, I asked, agitated. Fluttershy’s a real scaredy-pony sometimes. All the time, actually. “Be more sensitive, Rainbow.”, said Twilight. “She’s just scared of dragons, that’s all.” “And spotlights, and the door, and her shadow, and Pinkie Pie, and the night, and leaves, and ME, and judgement, and apparently Gilda. Fluttershy’s scared of EVERYTHING, Twilight.” “Well, you can at least be more considerate about that”, Twilight said in a matter-of-fact voice.
After getting Fluttershy out of her house (which took a REALLY long time, by the way), we set off on our quest. Only to find that Fluttershy was back in her closet. Another long time of arguing with Fluttershy later, we started again toward the Lion faction, to do some (bleh!) *research* on the dragon near the two factions. As we learned, the smoke isn’t just affecting the two gryphon factions, it’s affecting a lot of Eastern Equestria, as well as areas outside of Equestria. “We need to stop this, right now.”, Twilight declared. “But we don’t know where the smoke is coming from!”, Pinkie replied. And Pinkie was right. We didn’t know where it was coming from, or from what dragon, or even if it was from a dragon. We kinda just assumed it was one, due to the similarities between this situation and the previous one in Ponyville. So began our search for the source.
“But we have to know where the source is by now! We’ve been all over Equestria looking for it!” The entire day had been wasted by searching, and no real progress was made. We were about to give up, until Gilda had a strange motion. “What if……… the dragon is OUTSIDE of Equestria?”, she suggested. That was it; at least, according to Twilight. She approved of searching outside of Equestria, and so did Pinkie & I. Fluttershy wasn’t willing to go, though. Of course. We dragged her past the border of Equestria. It was night, but it’s not like we had time to spare. We followed the smoke trail to, wouldn’t you know it, a cave. And inside was a dragon. Except there was something…… off. It wasn’t sleeping, but still creating smoke. Fluttershy eventually agreed to use her stare, but even that didn’t work. So, without asking, I resorted to my last resort; I kicked it as hard as I could, in the jaw. This decision would end up endangering both my friends, and the entire world.
As you know, kicking a dragon in the jaw isn’t exactly the brightest idea. This particular dragon didn’t take it too lightly, as he flew out of his cave, almost as fast as I could. Almost immediately, he started attacking the surrounding area, including me and the others. It was just a kick. Seriously, was that an over reaction or what? Simply put, I had put me and my friends in a possibly life-threatening situation. Not to mention the rest of Equestria, and even other places beyond Equestria. Before I even knew what I did, I flew back to my home in Ponyville, and locked the door tight. I stayed there for a while, clutching my bedsheets. I heard numerous knocks on my doors, and eventually, even screams from Ponyville could be heard from my room. But I couldn’t go out there. I shouldn’t. I wouldn’t.
Twilight burst down my door with a magic spell, and ran right in, along with Pinkie. Didn’t they see they weren’t welcome here? I decided it was no use trying to keep them out, so I just lay there. It had only been 15 minutes since I kicked the dragon, and already, chaos had spread. When I look up, I found Twilight & Pinkie looming over me, worried expressions on their faces. I didn’t find myself caring for either of them.They were but distant memories, specks in my already clouded head. I shut myself off from what they had to say, and focused on my own thoughts. Admittedly, I had nothing to think about, really. There was one sentence that repeated itself; I can’t go out there.
They tried to get me to see it. They dragged me out, and forced me to look. They asked me question after question. I didn’t respond to anything. I was shut off, lost in thought. Even the Wonderbolts couldn’t get anything out of me. I was too busy with my own questions: Where was Gilda? I hadn’t seen her since I flew off. Secondly, what exactly happened? The details were so foggy, I barely even knew there was a dragon.
Then, it just stopped. Everything, just, stopped. Everypony stopped trying to talk to me. I was just left their, under my covers. Where this whole mess began, I thought to myself over and over again. I could no longer hear anything outside my bedroom. Even Tank was taken away by Pinkie, to be cared for. I mean, it’s not like I could care for him. Like everything else, Tank was a memory. I lived in those memories, for a while. Until one day, I mustered the courage to step outside.
The rest of my house was a mess. Posters were torn & falling off the walls, trophies were knocked over, and windows were shattered, leaving glass all over the cloud floor. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I was sure it wasn’t too short. After inspecting the rest of my wreck, I said to myself, as I often did, “This has to happen NOW. Right now.”. But now, it was different. This time, I actually made it happened. I opened the door, and took in what I’ve caused.
I was confused. Why was everypony…… gone? Ponyville looked perfect; nothing out of place, everything in tip-top condition. Yet, nopony was here. Why? I decided to do a fly-by, just in case. My wings hurt from being crumpled all that time in her bed, but I managed to get off the ground. Then, I noticed something. I hit smoke instead of clouds. So, this is why everypony was missing! I still didn’t get it though. There should be some damage, some destruction, right? I mean, it IS a dragon we’re talking about. Where’s the demolition? I did a fly-by of all of Ponyville, but still didn’t see anyone. After a while, my foggy brain noticed something. Why were there holes in the ground? They were sealed shut, with iron doors. Man, I really didn’t get it. So I flew down to investigate. I knocked once, nopony answered. I was about to leave, when a pony surfaced, wearing a mask of some kind.
“Pinkie?”, I thought aloud. Before I could say anything else, she pulled me down the hole quickly. Quickly enough for me to clip my wing on the door. Pinkie immediately closed the door, locked it twice, and turned on the air lock. I would’ve asked more questions, if Pinkie hadn’t of taken me through another iron door, I think for the air lock. To my bewilderment, everypony was there. Pinkie, Twilight, AJ, even Rarity and Fluttershy were there. Without saying a word, they gave me a mask. I put it on, without thinking about it. I had a lot of other thinking to do. I started asking questions, but Twilight put a hoof to my lips. “It’s all fine. You will be sent to trial soon.”
“Trial?”, I asked. “What’s trial? Why are you all down here? Why am I down here?”. Twilight looked disappointed. “We’ll explain it all soon. Now, follow me. You have a lot of explaining to do”.
I followed Twilight and the rest of my friends to a white, sterile room. A drastic change from the dirty and unkempt tunnels I walked through earlier. There was nothing the room but two chairs, a table, a window covered by some shutters, and an apple. I was instructed to sit down, and I did. My mind was buzzing, and fast. I still didn’t know what happened after I kicked the dragon, or how long I was holed up in my bedroom. Twilight sat opposite me, and the others stood by her side. Twilight held up the apple. “Do you see this, Rainbow?, she asked. I was just glad that they still knew who I was, so I didn’t really answer. After a moment, Twilight continued. “This is one of our last apples. Due to your recklessness. we have been forced to retreat underground, along with the rest of Ponyville.” She opened the shutters at the other side of the window, and gave me a glimpse into what life was like down here.
There was a large room on the other side, devoid of furniture. Ponies sat on the ground floor, nothing but half a bread slice in front of them. Everypony looked and acted miserable. There was no noise, but the occasional crying foal. “This is……… awful.”, I stammered. “W-What happened?” “You don’t know?”, asked Fluttershy. There was no emotion in her voice. Just like the underground facility, I suppose. Twilight answered Fluttershy. “She was……… away from us, for a while.” She then turned her attention to me. “Do you see what you’ve caused? This is why you’re on trial. I am the judge. Fortunately for you, it will be a quick trial. The verdict is……. mostly decided.” I paused for a minute, sinking everything in. “Can you just tell me what happened?”, I asked.
“After you kicked the dragon, it stormed out from the cave. Then, you fled.” Oh boy, I thought. Another Twilight Sparkle lecture. Somehow, I could remember all the times in the castle that Twilight lectured me. I wondered if the castle was still standing. Of course, I thought, everything else was. Twilight continued, “But the dragon didn’t attack. All it did was move to a new cave, this time on the outskirts of Las Pegasus. It kept moving whenever we caught up to it. Spread smoke everywhere.”. Like Fluttershy, there was no emotion whatsoever. Where had THAT gone? Maybe I’ll never know. “With the smoke in the air, we couldn’t grow food. The problem in the Lion & Eagle factions repeated itself, all over Equestria. Smoke also means we can’t breathe correctly. Many ponies have suffocated, thanks to you, Rainbow.” Twilight Sparkle paused for a second, and so did my thoughts. “Hello? Rainbow Dash? I don’t think you realize the magnitudes of your actions.”. I was so lost in thought, as I was often back then, that I stopped listening for a bit. Happens every time Twilight lectures, I guess. She started again. “Everypony is now underground, to prevent from suffocation. Celestia & Luna are in the Canterlot bunker. Cities like Cloudsdale, in the sky, don’t have bunkers. Most bunkers, including Ponyville’s, refused to let pegasi in, for fear of overpopulation & starvation. This includes Gilda. Nopony knows where she is, or even if she survived.”, Twilight finished. So much information was dropped on me, all at once. I couldn’t handle it. So I did what I always do. I ran.
My house wasn’t an option. Too many memories. I thought, there was only one place to go. The Lion Faction. Would Gilda still be there? Would anypony… er, anyGRYPHON be there? I didn’t think so. Twilight said it was unlikely. Or did she? I left in such a hurry, I forgot to closed the iron door, letting in smoke. Sucks for them, I guess. I didn’t come back. Not to Ponyville, anyway. Once I arrived, the Lion Faction didn’t prove any help. My suspicions were correct. There was nothing left but corpses and smoke. I ended up searching Cloudsdale, too. Same thing; nothing. My journey eventually landed my tired hooves in Canterlot, where I was promptly pulled down another hole. Deja vu, I suppose. This facility looked almost identical, except for the room I was being lead too.
The room was decorated, with curtains and an actual window, which most of the rooms I saw in the Canterlot facility lacked. There were 2 thrones on the far side, each seating one princess. Twilight did say they’d be here, but I was surprised nonetheless. “Do you know why you’re here? I hope you do.”, Princess Celestia said, in the same monotone voice that everypony else used. I snapped back from my head to the real world, and answered her with a simple “Yes.” “Good. Your trial will begin in 3 hours.”, the Princess continued. “Let me lead you to your temporary room.”.
My room looked okay. It had a table, two chairs, a bed, and even a small Wonderbolts poster on the wall. Nice touch. My only gripe was that it was really, really small. No flying room here, or in the hallways, or anywhere. Made sense, since I was the only pegasus around. “Didn’t Twilight tell you? We……. kept them all out.”, Luna replied. I spent the next few hours in the room, bored out of my mind. Where was Gilda, I wondered. I found myself contemplating why I kicked the dragon in the first place. Just a reflex, I guess.
The trial finished quicker than I expected. We were in the throne room for less than 30 minutes before the verdict was decided. I was to be killed. Fine, I thought. I deserve this. Just like so many others had died because of me, I was to die with them. Hey, maybe I’ll see Gilda up there. I mean, I haven’t died YET. It’s possible she’s waiting for me, waiting to greet me. Or maybe she hates my guts. Probably the latter. I had not only lost ponies I knew & cared about, but lost friends as well. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity. They had all survived, but their personalities didn’t exist anymore. The real Twilight had already died, the remains, a shell of a former mare. I had died, too. On the inside. All those hours in bed, for nothing. If I hadn’t have left, maybe I could’ve helped. maybe, I could’ve fixed it. Too late now.
And so, here I am. Celestia & Luna let me write this memoir before my execution. This is the end, of both this story, and it’s writer.……………. I wish I was smart, like Twilight.
