You all saw how the episode ended: Rainbow Dash unmasks Pinkie-Do-Well, the others show up, she learns her lesson, a letter is written, and everything ends up hunky-dory. Well, if I know Dash (and my fellow bronies), I'd bet a group of us thought that this was not at all characteristic of our favorite speed-demon. I have my own interpretation of that day's events, respectfully submitted below for your reading pleasure.
Having lost her one greatest fan to the usurper, Rainbow Dash is brought to a new low. How did she lose it all? Even her five greatest friends seemed to have abandoned her for Mare-Do-Well. And then Scootaloo... No. She would not let this happen. She would not lose everypony she cared about to some mask-wearing intruder. Even if she had to go beyond the limits of legality, morality, or even sanity, she would bring Mare-Do-Well down.
It was crushing. "Ponyville's greatest hero"? How could the filly who had run the Rainbow Dash Fan Club give that title to anypony else? Especially Mare-Do-Well, of all ponies! Even her little squirt had changed teams. Rainbow needed to do some thinking. It wasn't like her in the least, but there wasn't much else for her to do.
Was it something about her? Had she done something wrong? Perhaps she was a tad overbearing on those first few rescues, but everypony loved her anyway! Why would they change now?
And especially her friends. She was the Element of Loyalty, and she had always been faithful to that charge, but she had also expected a little of it in return. Like her friends standing by her when everypony else had deserted her. But no, even that was too much to ask. She had heard them lavishing compliments on Mare-Do-Well in Sugarcube Corner, and it just made her sick. Who's side were they on, anyway? She never left them hanging, so what made them so quick to leave her?
Maybe she should just give up the hero thing. She had been in a cold spot lately, since she showed up; maybe she should just let it all go and go back to being normal Rainbow Dash. Nopony really cared about her being a hero anymore, anyway.
NO! She would not give up that easily! She was Rainbow Dash, the best flier in Equestria! She was one of the saviors of Equestria, for that matter! Who did Mare-Do-Well think she was, upstaging her like that? Ponyville was her turf, and she wanted it back. Everypony had cheered for her before: she just needed to remind them why. And the only way to do that was to get rid of their distractions. Namely, one dark, brooding, faceless distraction.
The parade was still days away, and that left Rainbow plenty of time to plan one hero's downfall, and another's return. She spent a lot of her time the next day at home, just thinking about the issue. Normally she would act on the first impulse that caught her attention, but that had gotten her nowhere fast so far. No, she was going to think this one out and make a plan. Twilight would be proud.
It took some time, but Rainbow was able to figure out the one thing that she lacked: numbers. Mare-Do-Well had so many powers, she might as well have been three ponies wrapped into one. Raibow was an excellent flyer, but only one pegasus. She needed a friend. A powerful one. One that she could trust. This course of thought brought her back to her original dilemma: she had no such friends at the time. Everypony was so filled with the Mare-Do-Well craze that she knew that there wasn't a soul in Ponyville that would help her bring her down. In Ponyville. The words resonated in her mind, like a loophole in a contract would to a lawpony. She would have to look abroad.
Rainbow Dash, surprisingly enough, was not the best-traveled of ponies. Sure, she dropped by Cloudsdale every so often, and there were those trips to Appleloosa and Canterlot with the others, but that was generally where her travels ended. She barely knew anypony outside of those few pockets of Equestria, except for one. But even she wasn't sure she'd be able to go back to her. And asking for help, after what she'd done to her, was beyond crazy. Even Pinkie Pie would agree on that.
Zipping through the narrow skyways of Manehatten, Rainbow scanned her new surroundings for any sign the "friend" she had come to find. She had just pulled an overnighter flying to the city, though, and was dead tired. Sensing her own weariness (Was she accepting her limits now? This Mare-Do-Well business was really getting to her), she practically dropped down into the bar of a street-corner cafe. Raw carrot juice on the rocks was all she could think of to pull herself back into the air again, and thankfully they had plenty. A brown-winged stranger sitting beside her noticed the drink, and launched into conversation with her.
"An old friend of mine use to love that stuff. We would go for night-time flying sessions, and she swore it was the only thing that kept her going the next day."
"Funny. I used to go night-flying with a griffon in flight school, but she never liked it that much. Wait..."
"Dash?"
"Gilda?"
Back in a seedy apartment on the other side of downtown, an hour later, two former friends began to try and rekindle what had been lost so long ago.
"So you're not still mad?"
"No, Dash. When you told me I was being a jerk, I blew you off at first. But after I got home, I did some thinking. Totally not Gilda, I know."
"Hey, that bug's been going around lately."
"Anyway, I thought about it, and what you said made a lot of sense, Dash. I figured out I was being a complete jerk, and that's what cost me you."
"Gilda, don't get all mushy on me now."
"Like you said, that's going around. But when I figured that out, I knew I needed to make a change. So I moved here, got a job or two, and I've been trying to be a better griffon ever since. Make up for my jerkiness and all, you know."
"I'm glad to hear it, Gilda. Right now, I really could use an old friend."
"What's up, Dash? I know you wouldn't come just to visit. Something's not right with you. Spill."
"Have you heard of "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" ?"
"Kind of. I saw something about her in the paper. She's some big hero in Ponyville, right?"
"Yes. And she also ruined my life. I used to be Ponyville's big hero, until she showed up. Everypony loved me. I was a celebrity. Then she beat me to the punch on a few rescues, and now they're giving her a parade!"
"Ouch."
"That's not the half of it! All my friends are cheering for her. They won't stop talking about how wonderful Mare-Do-Well is. Even Scootaloo."
"Scoots? Dear Celestia, you've got a major thunder-stealer on your hands."
"You know it. Do you know that feeling, getting upstaged like that?"
"Are you kidding? Remember that one colt in flight school who kept doing flashy stunts to distract everyone when I was showing off my new tricks?"
"Yeah, I think so. The one who showed up with broken wings so often?"
"That's the one. I get your feeling, Dash."
"You may be the only one who does, Gilda."
"There's something more to this, Dash. You were never the breed to take this kind of stuff lying down. What are you thinking about?"
"Only because we're old friends, Gilda. I want to unmask Mare-Do-Well. Bring her out into the light for everypony to see. But every time I meet her she gets the better of me. She's got magic, speed, strength, not to mention wings. I just can't beat her alone."
"And you want my help, am I right?"
"Yes. You're the only one in Equestria I trust right now, Gilda. And you're the best flier I can think of."
"No argument there."
"Will you help me?"
The griffon paused in thought for a second. "Dash, the way I see it, before today I did nothing but cause you and your friends trouble. I owe you quite a bit for that. You know I'd do anything to help you out. Count me in."
Two days later, an enthusiastic crowd of ponies had gathered at Ponyville town square. Signs were being held in hooves, banners had been hung, and everypony was chattering idly in anticipation. After quieting the excited mass, the Mayor took the podium and began her introduction.
“Welcome to Ponyville's first, but surely not last, thank you parade, in honor of our city's greatest hero, the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well!”
On cue, the mare in question burst onto the stage from behind a banner, to the cheers of the crowd. High above the celebration, however, much less approving words were being exchanged.
“Do you see her, Gilda?”
“Yeah, Dash. Right on center stage. Just like we expected her to be.”
“Good. These thing you got for us are great. What did you call them again?”
“Radios, Dash. Bought them off of a crazy doctor who lives on the outskirts of town. Never thought they would be so useful, though.”
“I’m glad they are. Look at her, basking in all that glory. My glory. Are you ready?”
“You bet. I’m dropping altitude now… perfect. There’s not a cloud in the sky down here, which also means no chance of me losing her.”
“Good. Remember the plan. I’ll handle the groundwork, you just keep me updated on where Mare-Do-Well’s going.”
“Got it. I’m ready to go. On your mark.”
“Time to take back this town.”
At that moment, the vengeful pegasus rose above the throng, ready to confront her adversary.
“The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well, huh?”
Almost everypony stood back, in shock at this interruption.
“So what are you hiding? Let's see how mysterious you are without that mask!”
Rainbow made a dive for the vigilante’s face, but met only air. The heroine had lept off the stage, galloping down the street towards the markets. But Rainbow was not far behind, nor was her eye in the sky.
“You got her, Gilda?”
“Yeah, Dash. I’ve got both of you in my sights. She just hung a left and jumped the fence on the right.”
“Thanks. She’s all mine.”
Taking advantage of her new knowledge, Rainbow followed Mare-Do-Well’s every move. She was never more than a few hoofs behind her quarry, but just couldn’t take her down. Her focus was unbroken, until her radio crackled to life once more.
“Dash, call me crazy, but I’m seeing more that one Mare-Do-Well down there.”
“Oh my Celestia… How did I not think of it before?”
“There’s the one right in front of you, but there are about three others pretty close to you two. They all look about the same.”
“Keep me posted. I’ll deal with this one first.”
As the words came from her mouth, both she and the first Mare-Do-Well entered a long alley. This was it. Rainbow reached her hooves forward and started aiming for top speed. Not even Mare-Do-Well could outrun a Sonic Rainboom. The mach cone began to form around her, and her hooves reached around the hero’s cape and grabbed at her sides. But before the signature explosion (deadly in such confined quarters), both Rainbow Dash and Mare-Do-Well crashed headlong into a brick wall at the end of the alleyway. The vigilante took most of the impact, but apparently shared the pegasus’ uncanny knack for surviving: she was still perfectly conscious. Rainbow must’ve gotten hit harder than she thought, though, because now she could swear that there were two Mare-Do-Wells between her and the wall. But a winged shadow fell across her, which, accompanied by the thud of two ponies hitting the cobblestone, eliminated her doubts.
“You all right there, Dash?”
“Yeah, just got going a little bit too fast. I see you got two of the others.”
“Well I wasn’t just going to fly around up there and let you have all the fun. Besides, someone had to even the odds. Glad you managed to run into the last one.”
The griffon chuckled at her unintentional pun, as Rainbow Dash was able to snap out of the daze the crash had put her in.
“I should’ve guessed it before. They had so many powers, there was no way it was just one pony. But the charade ends now."
Reaching her mouth down to the masks of the two she had run into, she pulled them off with a bite. Gilda unmasked the other two with her claws, and both stood in shock at what they saw. The griffon was rightfully dumbstruck, but Rainbow’s jaw went clear to the floor. She started stammering in disbelief:
“What in the name of Celestia… Twilight? Applejack? Pinkie Pie? Fluttershy?”
“Don’t forget about me!”
A sweet, yet serious voice called out from behind. Gilda, on edge, flicked her right wing back as their heads twisted. The sharp tip of a brown feather embedded itself into the masonry, beside which Rarity stood. Her appearance only added to the confusion, and Rainbow could barely make out words for the situation.
Rainbow Dash stared blankly towards the other ponies, speechless. Words could not describe her shock. The last time she had an enemy like Mare-Do-Well was those stuck-up colts at flight school. And for that enemy to end up being not merely a friend, but her five best friends, was... It was inconcievable. The very ponies she would have expected to be on her side only days ago were anything but. Gilda the Griffon stood beside her, just as dumbfounded. The tense silence was broken by Applejack's down-home southern drawl.
"Well, I reckon we have some explainin' to do, don't we?"
For Rainbow's response, "irrate" would be an understatement. The same could be said of calling her speech pattern "hastened".
"Are you kidding? I thought you were my friends, I thought you would stand by me when Mare-Do-Well showed up but then you didn't and I got a little ticked off but then I find out that you're all Mare-Do-Well and you've been upstaging me this entire time..."
Twilight interrupted the unintelligible tirade, hoping to bring some of her signature logic into the picture.
"Easy there, Rainbow. I'm not going to try to lie to you and say that this isn't what it seems, but we still are your friends. Give me a chance to explain."
Dash accepted, grudgingly.
"You have five minutes."
"Good. Pinkie's Pinkie Sense would tell us in advance that something dangerous was going to happen, and one of us would get suited up and go to make the rescue."
At this point, the others chimed in on their own accomplishments.
"I stopped the carriage bus with these babies. Bucky McGillicuddy and Kicks McGee."
"I saved the construction workers with my Pinkie Sense."
"And I used my magic to fix the dam."
"Ooh, ooh! And I did the flyby afterwards."
"I made the costumes. Fabulous, if I do say so myself!"
As Twilight tried to explain the group's actions to the pegasus and griffon, Applejack took Rarity by the hoof and pulled her to the side.
"Sugarcube, I'm glad you helped us out, but they didn't know you were working with us. They didn't need to, and they wouldn't have if you had just kept your trap shut! What if something went wrong, and we needed help?"
"Sorry, Applejack. But how else would Rainbow and Gilda have known who created such a wonderful ensemble? The costumes were absolutely fabulous, and I would've hated to leave them wondering about..."
Applejack cut her off with an irritated glare. After a few seconds, the white unicorn picked up sheepishly:
"But it's O.K. now, right, Applejack? This is going to end up just fine for everypony... Right?"
But by that time, A.J. had rejoined the group, and Rarity soon did the same. Apparently, Twilight's explanation had done little good, because Rainbow and Gilda were now not so much slackjawed as scowling. The unicorn and pegasus were still arguing.
"I still don't get it. If you all really are my friends, I'd think you'd be happy with me being a hero. Why did you have to do all this?"
"We were happy, at first, Rainbow. But the fame kind of went to your head."
Fluttershy timidly interrupted.
"Yes, you were being a teensy bit of a braggart. Only a teensy bit, though. Oh my, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, Rainbow."
"Teensy nothin'! She was bein' a full-on high horse!"
"Yeah. You were really a braggy Mcbragger-brags. Even Gummy thought so!"
"Our point is, Rainbow..."
"Yeah, I get it, Twilight. And you're right, I was being kind of a glory-hog. But you didn't have to go to all this just to tell me that! A simple "Hey Rainbow, tone down the showboating" would've done just as nicely. But no, you had to steal my thunder, turn all of Ponyville against me, and ruin my life! If you hadn't gone and played dress-up, my existance would be a lot less painful right now!"
"Rainbow, wait..."
" "Wait Rainbow", nothing! You betrayed me, Twilight. You all betrayed me. I was doing perfectly fine as Ponyville's resident hero, all until you made up Mare-Do-Well to run me off! I don't know if it was really because you couldn't stand my bragging, or if you were jealous, or whatever the real reason is. But I do know that you had the burning desire to upstage me! And now, thanks to the Mare-Do-Well brigade, I'm the laughingstock of Ponyville! Is this what you wanted? Are you happy now?"
The questions bit each of them sharply. And not like a Gummy bite. More like a dragon bite. Twilight predictably tried to reason with her, while the others stood back in shame.
"I'm sorry it came to this, Rainbow. We never meant for it to go this far. When you had learned your lesson, Mare-Do-Well would have just vanished into the night. We never expected everypony to flock to us the way they did, nor did we expect you to launch a counterattack. And nopony expected you to bring in Gilda."
At the mention of her name, the griffon shot Twilight a look that seemed less of a statement and more of a death threat. And Rainbow was barely listening, just enough to know how to make a stinging retort. One came immediately.
"Well it did go this far. Mare-Do-Well is now Ponyville's favorite hero, and she can't just vanish from that. Even though she put several innocent ponies at risk while trying to teach me a lesson, everypony still loves her. And Rainbow Dash is Ponyville's favorite joke, if anypony remembers her at all. I guess your genius plan worked anyway, Twilight. I won't be bragging any time soon; I've got nothing to be proud of. Just ask Scootaloo."
At this, the pegasus took off into the evening sky. The five remaining ponies started to run off after her, but their attempt at pursuit was met by the flick of a wing. A row of razor-sharp brown feathers appeared in front of them, sticking out of the pavement like darts. Across from the new boundary stood Gilda, who, having kept silent for most of the confrontation, finally took the opportunity to speak her piece.
"You've hurt her enough tonight. I would recommend you quit while you're behind."
The griffon flew away promptly, following her old friend back to her home.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the first Crusader Chronicle. Over the course of my various works, I will sometimes include a Crusader Chronicle in a story, to tell how one, two, or all of the Cutie Mark Crusaders had some effect on the plot. You could call it a running theme. I'm going to try it out, and if I like how it goes, you can expect more.
Nopony saw or heard from either the pegasus or griffon for the next few days. Dash, holding to her element all the same, still managed the weather, but she changed it very early in the morning, and it was always a depressing rainstorm. Nopony knew Gilda was there, anyway, so she was not missed. The Mane 5, as they now considered themselves, were too intimidated by her threat to even consider looking for Dash, to say nothing of their own guilt. As for the others, almost everypony had written off Rainbow Dash as insane after the parade (at this point, they may have been right), and as the other five were never seen about Ponyville without a somber, downtrodden expression, one knew it was best not to pry. But some had not given up yet. In particular, an orange pegasus filly still tried to have faith in her hero.
A single knock rang out on the door of the area's only cloudhouse; Gilda pulled herself off the couch to answer. The door opened an inch wide, restrained by a deadbolt.
"Rainbow Dash isn't seeing any... oh, it's you. She told me she doesn't want to see anyone right now, but I doubt she was expecting you. Lemme go ask her."
The filly watched the griffon disappear and the door close. Several seconds later, the door swung wide open, and the griffon beckoned her inside.
"Come on in. I'll take you to her."
She led her deep into the house, past a kitchen and living room, into what appeared to be the master bedroom. It was dark inside, but she could barely make out the form of a pegasus lying on the bed. It rose its head sluggishly to see her.
"Sc...Scootaloo? Is that you?"
"Yes, Rainbow, it's me."
"Why are you here?"
"I wanted to see you. Nopony's seen you anywhere. I missed you."
"You're probably the only pony who does, Scoots. Besides, I thought you loved Mare-Do-Well now, just like everypony else."
"No, Dash! Mare-Do-Well was a fad, and now that she's gone, we're all past her."
"Wait, how do you know she's gone?"
"That's what I wanted to tell you! I saw the whole thing at the parade. When you stood up to her like that, you reminded me that you were still my favorite hero. I followed you both on my scooter, and I saw you two take all of the Mare-Do-Wells down. It was awesome!"
Dash smiled for the first time in days, as Scootaloo was lost in the adoration of the moment.
"Look at that, Gilda. I think you've got your first fan. Hope you don't mind sharing her with me."
"Hey, I'll take a shared one over no one any day."
"But anyway, I saw you get really mad and fly off, and I felt so bad because I had forgotten about you when Mare-Do-Well showed up. So I knew I had to come find you and tell you how sorry I was, but you were never around. The other five wouldn't even talk to me; they're barely around either, and they always look really depressed. But they deserve it, being such jerks to you. But when you weren't in Ponyville anymore, I decided I had to come up to your house to see you."
"Aw, thanks, Scoots. That's probably the nicest thing I've heard in a long time. I'd never tell you in front of anypony else, but I really do like you, too. In a little-sister kind of way."
"Rainbow, I'm sorry I forgot about you. I don't care what Mare-Do-Well can do, you're still the coolest pony in Equestria."
"That means a lot, Scootaloo."
Rainbow pulled herself out of her cloud bed, and the two pegasi shared a friendly embrace. Gilda looked on, smiling warmly.
"Hey, squirt, when this is all over, do you wanna do some flying with us?"
The filly could not contain her glee at the proposition, and started jumping up and down, fluttering her wings in delight.
"DO I? Ohyesohyesohyesohyesohyesohyes... I would love to! Thank you so much, Rainbow Dash!"
Scootaloo hugged her again, much tighter than before.
"Dash, I really hate to break up the warm fuzzy moment, but you know you can't avoid them forever. You're going to have to go back to Ponyville sooner or later. I think sooner would be better."
"You're right, Gilda. It's got to happen, so I might as well do it now. Come on, Scoots."
Rainbow walked to the door, ready to face her problem, with Gilda at her side. Scootaloo bounced alongside them happily, still ecstatic at the thought of flying with her idol.
Heads had never turned faster in Ponyville. When Zecora showed up, ponies were startled. When Princess Luna returned on Nightmare Night, shock was an appropriate term for their reactions. But nopony would have expected to see the trio entering town square: a cyan-blue pegasus thought to be in self-exile, alongside a griffon who might as well have been exiled, and a tiny, orange pegasus tompony to complete the group. A recluse, a foreigner, and a flightless filly certainly made up a motley crew, not to mention the fact that they were acting as close as sisters. Some gasped, some snickered, but all noticed. This included a certain five ponies, none of whom felt ready to see them.
Applejack, the first to spot the group, galloped into the dense orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, pretending to be occupied with work.
Rarity quickly closed all the curtains inside the Carousel Boutique, and flipped a sign on the door to say "Sorry, we're closed".
Pinkie Pie stared blankly away into space, as if somepony were watching her, then promptly fainted.
Fluttershy "flew" (if it could even be called that) away, sobbing.
Twilight was about to gallop back into the library and bury her nose in a book, but she was frozen in place as Rainbow called out to her.
"Twilight, wait. I want to talk to you."
Twilight stared back at them, with a clear deer-in-hornlight expression. They looked serious, but not angry. She would just have to handle the situation as best she could. She replied sheepishly:
"Hi, Rainbow. We haven't seen you here in Ponyville lately."
"I know. I've been needing some time to think. Can I talk to you inside?"
"I...I guess so. Come inside, everypony."
Gilda cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Oh, yes, and everygriffon, too."
About an hour later, a knock came at the library door. Outside stood four very fearful ponies. Applejack was still panting, but was the first to speak.
"Twi, ya gotta help us. Rainbow's back, and none of us know what to do. We're really worried, and..."
Twilight, now calm and somewhat cheerful, stopped her.
"I know, girls, I know. Come on in. There's somepony or two here who wanted to see you."
They entered, looking towards the darkness where Twilight had motioned. Rainbow Dash stepped out of the shadows, Gilda and Scootaloo following close behind her.The four were silenced in fear, and Fluttershy immediately tried to retreat back outside, though to no avail. They were stuck there, forced into a confrontation each had hoped to avoid for as long as possible.
"Rainbow came to me, and we talked about what happened. I think you all should hear it, too."
They stood there stoicly, ready to accept the verbal lashing they each knew they deserved. But Rainbow's voice came to their ears gently, though it lacked its usual cheerfulness.
"Yeah. Girls, I'm not going to say what you did didn't hurt me, because we all know it did. When I yelled at you that night, I was venting my anger about Mare-Do-Well. I was letting my emotions rule how I acted. But I've figured out that I'd rather control my feelings than lose you all as friends."
"Sugarcube, don't act like this is your fault, now..."
"I'm not, Applejack. At least not everything. What you all did as Mare-Do-Well wasn't my fault, but how I reacted was. I shouldn't have just run off like you didn't exist anymore. If I had alienated you all just because I was too bitter to try and solve the problem, I would have had to live with it my whole life. And I never would've forgiven myself for it."
"Rainbow, we're the ones to blame for all of this..."
"Stop it, Rarity. We all make mistakes. If I hadn't been such a showoff in the first place, none of this would've happened. And I shouldn't have let how I felt about it all ruin our friendship. The fact is, I care about having you all as my friends a lot, and If that means I have to control myself a lot more than I have before, I'm willing to do it."
Twilight broke in, trying to voice the sentiments of the others that had been cut off.
"Rainbow, we should be the ones apologizing. We were so focused on how to teach you a lesson, we completely forgot about how you would feel. We forgot you were our friend. We never thought that we would end up causing all of Ponyville to ostracize you, or you to strike back at us. If I had known what would end up happening, I never would have suggested the idea in the first place. And I promise I won't let anything like this happen again; Mare-Do-Well is gone for good. Can you forgive us for being so insensitive to you?"
"You don't even have to ask. But I do. Can you guys forgive me for being so harsh on you?"
Everypony already knew the answer; a reply was not necessary. There was a short silence in the room, as the wounds of the past were mended in everypony's hearts. Twilight was the first to break the quiet of the warm-fuzzy moment.
"We missed you very much, Rainbow, and we're happy you're back. And now that Mare-Do-Well's gone, I think the rest of Ponyville will feel the same way."
"That's good to know. I'm glad to be friends with you all again."
"I'm glad to hear it, Rainbow. And I think the Princess would be, too. Spike, did you get any of that?"
"It's all on paper, Twilight. And it's sending... now!"
The baby dragon blew a puff of emerald fire, and the letter became a cloud of smoke which whizzed off towards Canterlot. Having lifted a great weight off her chest, Rainbow smiled at the old and new friends surrounding her.
"I love you guys."
The Mane 6 engaged in a group hug, with an affection that each of them had been missing for a while. Gilda and Scootaloo, retaining their tomponyish attitudes, looked at each other with mock disgust. Secretly, they were just as happy as the others.
~~~~~~
"Hey, Rainbow Dash! Gilda! Look at me! I'm flying!"
Author's Note: This is the alternate ending, based on my original idea of how to end the story. This had been my plan all along, until the time came to write it. I ended up deciding it was both a cop-out ending and anticlimactic, leading to the standing ending. But I've noticed that the most criticized part of this story is the ending. Thus, I provide to you my original ending for the story, and you are free to decide which you prefer. This ending comes after "Ends and Means", but go ahead and read the first paragraph of "Crusader Chronicles: Redemption" (not the author's note). And on that note, I've pretty much given up on that idea; it didn't flow in naturally with my other stories. But I digress. Here you go...
Scootaloo revved her wings expectantly, balancing on her scooter. She had concieved this plan many years ago, but had never found a moment to pull it off. Until now, that is. She had calculated each movement necessary, preparing herself and practicing as best she could. It would have to be enough, or she would be dead in the water, or on the ground, as it were.
Step 1: Find a low-lying cloud coming out of the Everfree Forest, close to the intercept point.
Easy enough. She had been sitting on that pathway for a good half-hour, waiting for just the perfect one to come over. It was in her target area.
Step 2: Two seconds before the cloud reaches the intercept point, begin accelerating on the scooter.
Scootaloo flapped her wings as hard as she could, propeling her scooter across the dirt trail.
Step 3: Reach maximum speed at least fifty feet before the jump.
All she needed was a little more power. The world around her was becoming a blur, and the only clear thing she could see was her plywood ramp ahead. She had to be at maximum speed by now, she just had to be.
Step 4: Make the jump.
The ramp came to her faster than she expected, but she was still holding her balance. The adrenaline rush of a jump washed over her, only made stronger by the intense speed. She was ascending now, reaching some 10 hooves off the ground.
Step 5: As you approach the cloud, release the scooter and transfer to the cloud.
Scootaloo leapt from her scooter, scrambling to get a hold of the wild cloud. If she was willing to give into wishful thinking, she could say she was flying now. Her wings were flapping aggressively as ever, trying to push her towards the salvation of white fluff beside her. If she failed, it was a long, scary, and inevitably painful way back down. But that would not happen today; she had landed both front hooves on the cloud, and swinging the other two on was a simple business. She was through the toughest part now; all she had left was to trust the cloud and her wings, then hope her scooter was still in one piece when she came back.
Step 6: Using wings as propulsion, fly the cloud to the target area.
Thankfully, the cloud was able to support her weight, and hopefully enough that she could fly it. She wrapped her legs around both sides, and set her wings back to fluttering. She could only imagine how she could explain it if she ran into some other pegasus. Only one idea came to mind.
"Beep beep," she muttered. "I'm a cloud."
She slowly leaned back, cautiously experimenting with her newest form of transportation. Sure, it was unorthdox, but when you're a flightless pegasus filly, what are you going to do? The nose of the cloud tilted back with her, sending her up. It appeared as though she could fly it by leaning in the direction she wanted to go. So, with wings beating faster than ever before, she banked right, towards Ponyville.
------------
Scootaloo's plan to fly without flying had worked thus far, and her target was one she had had in mind for years. But only now was the situation urgent enough for her to actually go through with it. She scanned the clouds ahead of her, looking for something distinguishable. Cirrus here, stratocumulous there, a big cumulonimbus approaching Ponyville. But among all the shades of gray, only the faintest hint of color stood out. It was a bright red and orange, side by side, poking out between two cumulus clouds. That had to be it.
As she approached, Scootaloo thought back to her one image of Cloudsdale. It actually came from a snowglobe, a gift from Rainbow Dash after the Best Young Fliers Competition. The home she saw was near identical. Exact same architecture, floating islands and balconies made of clouds, and liquid rainbow flowing through the exterior water-features. So this was Rainbow Dash's house. Scootaloo tried to gently bring the cloud down, leveling it with the building's foundation, then dismounting. Though she was flightless, she was still a pegasus, and the clouds supported her weight without any fault. She tentatively crossed the surface to what seemed to be a door, and pushed it open with similar caution.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash! Are you home? Dash? Gilda? Anypony?"
Inside the house, the first thing she noticed was the furniture; it was made entirely of clouds. Couches, counters, chairs, everything. They were hard-packed and precisely shaped, almost carved, nothing like the clouds outside. But aside from those, all she could see was a huge mess. Documents were scattered everywhere, alongside upturned pictures and old newspapers on the ground. Scootaloo flipped a few of them to the front pages, and read over the headlines:
Filly Does the Impossible!
The Sonic Rainboom is Real!
Rainbow Dash: Wonderbolt in the Making?
Each was accompanied by some inspiring portrait of Rainbow Dash, the Sonic Rainboom, or a similar topic. But nearby, Scootaloo found another pile of newspaper clippings, these ones from more recent editions:
Masked Hero a Hit in Ponyville
Mare-Do-Well Does It Again
Rainbow Who?
The picture from these that stood out was little more than the bottom a cyan hoof, held out to obscure the camera, and around which one could barely make out Rainbow Dash's face. They only confirmed what she knew all along: Dash was not in a good spot in life. Having the spotlight ripped out from under her like that must have hurt, and for a wild, impulsive personality like Rainbow Dash's, it was unpleasant to think of what the end result would be. But as these thoughts ran across her mind, a folded letter on the counter continually grabbed Scootaloo's attention. It was so neat, creased perfectly, almost like it had been intentionally placed there. And with the state of disarray the rest of the house was in, that had to mean something. Any inhibitions related to privacy or fears of what she would find inside yielded in the end to curiousity, and Scootaloo nervously unfolded the letter, then slowly began reading it.
As soon as she had finished, Scootaloo chomped down on the slip of paper and scrambled back out the door. She leapt back on her cloud, tucked the letter into the fluff, and raced off, heading towards downtown Ponyville.
------------
Twilight and the other four had finally broken out of depression, and sitting down together at Sugarcube Corner, tried to figure out a new course of action.
"It goes without saying that we'll need to make first contact with her. I doubt she's in any mood to take intiative. Do you agree, Twilight?"
"Please, Rarity, don't ask. I'm not really sure what to do now. This whole problem started because of my plan, my idea. Anything I come up with will probably only make things worse. I'm not even going to try."
"Twi, you're letting one failure get to ya. We all screw up once and a while, but we've gotta bounce back. If you can't stop doubting yourself, we'll never be able to figure out what to do. And I ain't sure all this time alone is good for Rainbow."
"You're right, Applejack. She's always been a volatile personality, and this recent turn of events has put her on a very sharp edge. Moving fast is definitely our safest option."
"Then it's decided. We'll move immediately. But should we all go, or send an emissary? Pinkie, Fluttershy, dearies, you've been awfully quiet today. What do you all think?"
"I just don't know! Part of me wants to rush to her and tell her how much we care about her and how sorry we are, but then the other part of me says that she'll just push me further away! I'm not sure how much time alone she needs! The first part of me says she's had enough, and she'll do something stupid if we give her any more, but if the first part of me's wrong, the second part says that Rainbow will just be even madder, and then..."
"Pinkie, slow down! We get your point, now calm down before you make your mane even straighter! Fluttershy, you're the closest one to her. You'll need to talk sometime."
"Twilight... sniff I'm just so worried! What if Rainbow hates us now? sniffsniff What if she never wants to see us again?"
"You've got to quit thinking like that, sugarcube! Of all of us, you're probably the one she likes best! You've got nothing to worry about, but we need you. I think Twi's right; you're closer to her than any of us. You should be the one to talk her down. When she's out of her home, we can get to her as a group."
"Not to mention that she's the only one who can get to Rainbow Dash's house."
"That too!"
Scootaloo headbutted through the front door, abruptly cutting off their conversation. She was carrying a slip of paper in her mouth, and ran toward their table, sobbing all the way in.
"Scootaloo! What's the matter?"
"Look at this, Twilight! I went by Rainbow Dash's house this morning, to see if she was alright, but nopony was home, and I found this! Look at it!"
She passed the paper over to Twilight, who opened up the folds and read it aloud.
To whoever cares about me enough to read,
As you've probably noticed, I'm not around Ponyville anymore. Since I know you'll probably care more about the weather than me, don't worry, I've signed the job over to my cousin, Firefly. She's just as good as me, and I'm sure she'll feel at home in Ponyville. I'm leaving this house and whatever's left in it to her. Consider this my resignation. Recently, I reunited with an old friend, Gilda. She brought to my attention the opportunity to enlist in the Gryffanian Foreign Legion. They are a special arm of the Gryffanian Armed Forces that accepts soldiers of all species. Her brother is a high-ranking officer within their ranks, and she said he could secure us both positions in the Legion. With this in mind, I am moving to Gryffania to enlist with Gilda. This transition offers me the chance of a fresh start, which is the one thing I need most right now. If anypony remembers me enough to miss me, to them, I'm sorry. Just understand that this is probably for the best.
To Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack,
Right now, I'm not sure whether to say goodbye or good riddance. Truth be told, I'm still kinda pissed off at you all. I doubt you will ever understand how I feel right now, but I can only hope. I know your first thought is going to be to follow me. Please don't. It's been hard enough for Gilda's brother to get me into Gryffania, and without an inside contact, you'll be turned back at the border at best. I don't want to mention the at-worst scenario. Somewhere in my house you'll find the Element of Loyalty necklace. Since they only work when united, it's kind of worthless to me now. If you want to reassign it to Spike or somepony, be my guest. Will I come back? I honestly have no idea. There may come a time when I feel ready to, but that will be a ways off in any case. I wish I could stay and work this out, but I just don't feel like I can trust you anymore. And if I can't trust my best friends, it's better off I just leave and find new ones. At least I've got Gilda. Never thought I'd see the day when I picked her over you all. Go figure.
To Fluttershy,
I know that, of anypony in Ponyville or otherwise, you'll take this the hardest. I've been looking out for you ever since I knew you; the time has come for that to end. I may never see you again, but if that's the case, this is my last request: stick up for yourself. Don't let anypony push you or your friends around. If you believe in something, don't be afraid to fight for it. This is going to be tough on everypony, so you'll need to be strong like that. But no matter what happens, I've always cared about you, and I always will. Goodbye, Fluttershy. I think I'll miss you the most.
To Scootaloo,
If this ever reaches you, I just wanted to let you know that I always thought of you as the little sister I never had. You supported me like nopony else, and believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself. So thanks, kid. If you asked me for some final advice, I would have to say this: don't give up. I wish I could say I practice what I preach, but you've got as fresh a slate as a pony could ask for. Your missing Cutie Mark is more of a blessing than you think. You could go anywhere in life, from the Wonderbolts to the Royal Palace, and anywhere in between. Whatever you want to do, you can go for it. Just don't give up on your dreams. I wish I could say you'll never have to deal with circumstances like I am now, though I beg in the name of Faust that you won't. But you'll know what to do. Trust your friends, and most importantly, trust yourself. You're going to have to be strong, but I know you'll figure out how to handle things. I always have. That's about all I've got. See you around sometime. You're gonna go far, kid.
Everypony at the table was left speechless. Of course, this didn't mean much for Fluttershy, who had already fainted on the table.
------------
Fluttershy having been woken up, the group of now 6 tried to make sense of this news.
"We were too late! I told y'all she would do somethin' stupid if we left her alone for too long. Now she's run off to join a foreign army!"
"And the Gryffanian army, of all groups! Should you look up 'ruffian' in a dictionary, you will always find a picture of a griffon. But I do suppose that's her type."
"Yes, the Gryffanian Foreign Legion would seem like a perfect fit for Rainbow Dash. They're a very shadowy group, a black-ops type organization that you always hear the rumors about. During the Griffon War, they were our greatest worry on the home front."
"Have you all forgotten who this is about? We shouldn't be bragging about the army Rainbow Dash just ran off to join, we should be worrying that Rainbow Dash just ran off to join an army! What will we do now?"
"Pinkie's right. How are we supposed to save our friendship with her if she's in a foreign country? Twilight, what do we do?"
"I'm not sure, Rarity. Scootaloo, do you think she meant it? Would Rainbow Dash really do this?"
"I think so, Twilight. Her house was a complete disaster area, and there was no sign of her or Gilda. She's never lied to me before, so I have to say I think she means it. But we have to go after her! There's got to be some way for me to see her again. Twilight, you're close to the Princesses, can't you get in with some kind of diplomatic connection?"
"That was my first idea too, Scootaloo. But relations with the griffons have been tense ever since the Treaty of Manetreal ended the Griffon War. Neither of us have ambassadors to the other country, and international travel is closely monitored and regulated. Gilda's brother must be somepony important to get Rainbow Dash into the Foreign Legion. Nevertheless, any kind of diplomatic envoy would be out of the question. I'm afraid she was right in her letter; there's no way to go after her."
"Hang on a sec', Twi. What if we go into Gryffania by ourselves?"
"Still pointless. Even if we were able to enter the country, it would be next to impossible to get anywhere near the Foreign Legion. Like I said, they're a special ops unit, and you have to have an inside contact to even be considered for membership."
"Not what I meant. What if we snuck over the border, all sneaky-like, and found her and brought her back here?"
"Even worse. First, with my relationship to the princess, I might be considered a representative of the Crown, which would spark an international incident. It would be percieved as an invasion, which would inevitably tail-spin into another war. And if we get far enough, we could be caught kidnapping Gryffanian military personnel and attempting to remove her from the country. We'd be executed without a second thought. Not to mention the fact that Rainbow herself would not be the least bit cooperative."
"Point taken, Twilight. But we certainly can't just sit around here and hope she stops by for tea."
"Right now, Rarity, I'm afraid that's all we can do. As we discussed, getting into Gryffania is not an option, and there's next to no way to get Rainbow Dash out. If Gilda's brother has enough influence to get her into the Gryffanian military, and she wants to be there, he certainly has enough of it to keep her there. For once, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do to get her back. The Element of Loyalty would be our only way to track her and stop her before she gets to the border, if she hasn't already, and she's left it behind."
"Celestia help us, did we really do so much to push her over the edge?"
"To her, Pinkie, I'm afraid we did. Rainbow Dash was always impulsive and unstable. It wouldn't take a perfect storm to make her do something like this, and a perfect storm is what she got. Think about it: she had recently managed to reconcile with Gilda, and gets her help to deal with her "problem". When they catch us, it seems like we are the source of said problem. Dash feels betrayed. Broken and lonely, she is offered an opportunity for a life of adventure and purpose in a faraway land by Gilda, who now seems like the perfect friend compared to us. Knowing the impulsive, emotional Rainbow Dash, could we honestly expect her to say no?"
Fluttershy, who had been sobbing most of the time, abruptly stopped, causing an eerie silence to fall upon the group. The others took notice of this, and looked over to her to see her slowly raising her head from the table, teeth gritted. Nopony had seen Fluttershy angry in quite a while, but this was no ordinary anger. One could tell it from her voice, which was no longer sweet and demure, but gritty and tense.
"I don't care."
"Wait, what did you just say, Fluttershy?"
"I said, Twilight, I don't care! I don't care what we would expect Rainbow Dash to do; she's long gone. We should be asking what we expect ourselves to do."
"True, dearie, but like we were saying..."
"I don't care about that, either, Rarity. I don't care about diplomacy, international incidents, or any stupid war that ended 30 years ago! I care that we've lost one of our own. I care that the six of us, supposed to be the perfect representatives of harmony and friendship, are now five. But if we just let Rainbow Dash go, we don't deserve to wear those necklaces. She's been too good of a friend to us for us to just let her go!"
"We all want Rainbow Dash back, sugarcube. But it just don't make sense to..."
"Shut the buck up, Applejack."
When Fluttershy used language like that, the others knew that this pile of pony-turd had just gotten real.
"Fluttershy, listen to yourself! You've got to..."
"No, Twilight, you listen to yourself! You're giving up on one of your best friends just because it seems too dangerous to try. On any other day, would Rainbow Dash have taken the risks to get one of us back if we were where she is now? You buckin' bet she would. I don't care what she's said or who she's joined, she's still our friend. We have to at least try. I don't know about you four, but that's what I plan to do. I'm no 'representative of the Crown'; if I'm caught, you can just call me crazy and let them have me. But I'll die before I let Rainbow Dash get away from me that easily."
"Please, Fluttershy, that's crazy, and I should know. Isn't there any way we can talk you out of this?"
"Never, Pinkie. In her letter, Rainbow told me to be strong and fight for what I believe in. Well, I believe in her, and I believe that we can still be friends. But that would involve making the effort to get to her. That's where 'being strong' comes in. I'm going after her, girls, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
The other 5, stunned at this sudden outburst of courage and determination, were dumbstruck. Fluttershy's pep talk had given them each food for thought, and Applejack was the first to finish her meal.
"Well, heck, I couldn't call myself your friend if I let you do this all alone, 'Shy. If you want to chase after Rainbow Dash, I'll chase after her with you."
"Yeah, me too. I never got to throw Dash a decent goodbye party. That, and getting her back may be the only way to recurl my hair."
"Well, I suppose you can count me in as well. I won't sleep a night with that kind of regret in my mind. Besides, it's my best chance to scout out Gryffanian fashions."
"Fluttershy, you know I'd sooner lose my horn than lose Rainbow Dash. But like you said, you four are independent citizens; if you're caught, you can't be tied back to the Princesses. But I can, and if I go, I risk starting another war. Please, understand."
"I understand, Twilight. We could really use your magic expertise, but I would never want to have the bloodstains of a war on my hooves. Is there anything else you could do?"
"I've been thinking about that. I can go as far as the border, no further, but there's no reason I can't stay there on a nice camping trip. And the four of you will be a lot easier to detect as a group. So here's what we do: I can use my magic to give us telepathic abilities, so we can talk to each other through our thoughts. That way, you can each go in alone, and still keep in touch with each other. I can also translate Old Gryffanian, if you need it. And I can use my magic to help you from far away, though only with simple spells. But I can't be connected to this, or we know what happens."
"That's more than enough, Twilight. Thank you. Can you contact Princess Celestia, and see if she can get us some weapons or resources?"
"I might be able to get some bits from her, or gold or precious stones for trade. But it's best that she not know what we're doing. That way, if we're caught, she can disavow any knowledge of our actions, and hopefully avoid war."
"Fair enough."
Scootaloo had been inspired by this daring rescue plan, and was suddenly excited at the idea.
"I want to go too! Take me with you! I could get my Cutie Mark as a spy!"
"I'm afraid not, little one. You know Rainbow Dash would kill me on sight if she knew I had put you in harm's way. You need to stay in Ponyville."
"Come on, I'm her friend, too! You've got to let me in on something!"
"I think there's a way you can help us, Scootaloo."
"What is it, Twilight?"
"Well, you're very fast on your scooter, right?"
"Faster than anypony on hooves, that's for sure!"
"Well, since I'm going to be camping at the Gryffanian border, I'll need some way to communicate with Spike. I'm going to let him in on this, and have him keep up the loose ends in Ponyville while we're gone. More specifically, I need a messenger. Could you do that for us?"
"I'd do anything to get Rainbow Dash back. Count me in."
"That's good to hear. Fluttershy, this is kind of your plan. Are you okay with that?"
"As long as she stays in Equestria, I don't mind. But keep her safe, Twilight. Girls, it's getting late. We should all go home pretty soon. But start packing first thing tomorrow; we leave the day after."
"That soon, Fluttershy? Shouldn't we give ourselves a little more time for something like this?"
"Maybe we should, Rarity. But ask youself this: does Rainbow Dash deserve to wait?"
"No, no she doesn't. We can leave as soon as you'd like, Fluttershy. We'll follow you."
"Good. Take care of your personal business and get together anything you might need. But pack light; we need to be able to sneak across the border without any heavy baggage. We'll meet at my cottage the morning after tomorrow. We're going after Rainbow Dash, and nothing's going to get in our way."
