Chapters Rainbow Dash
Do you ever get the feeling that you just don't belong, no matter where you are, or what you're doing?
Rainbow Dash solemnly reflected on this thought as she stared out from the Everfree Forest. To be honest, she had felt out of place most of her life, and it kept coming back to haunt her. She sighed, it always seemed to really hit her when she was least guarded for it.
She continued on through the forest, head down, reflecting on why she felt this way, until the dulcet tones of Zecora brought her back to reality. She couldn't make out the words, but the sound of her voice reminded her of why she was in the Everfree forest in the first place. She was supposed to be getting Amethyst to help Zecora in her newest remedy, even though Zecora was still frustratingly keeping what it would be a secret. Oh well, nothing she could do about it.
Rainbow Dash found some of the elusive purple flowers, and after taking a mouthful of it, traveled back towards Zecora's hut. She went about placing it in the right place in the right barrel, muttering under her breath about how Zecora had to be so neat the whole time. It was just... unnatural.
Excused from anymore wild plant chases, Rainbow Dash decided to take a walk in the forest to clear her mind. She sighed contentedly and stretched her wings. A calm walk through the woods was always a good way to clear her mind. She walked calmly past the owl hooting, and the distant Timberwolves howling, sounds that quite often paralyzed most ponies with fear. Pfft, wimps. If you had a little knowledge, maybe a little common sense (something most ponies seemed to lack) and a little bravery, you could navigate this forest, no problem. Seems most ponies Rainbow Dash knew lacked all of these things though. What a waste.
She decided to test her wings and go for a little flight. Nothing rigorous, just a smooth little fly through the canopy. She took off with a running jump, enjoying how the number of branches and lack of light added a good bit of challenge to the game. She landed on her hooves and ran blindly through the trees, letting off a little happy laugh, barely avoiding the trunks. An upturned root decided to end her fun though, and as she face-planted, she thought the Everfree forest might not be the best place for a midnight joyride. She slowed down and took a good look at herself, to see how badly she had messed herself up.
Rainbow Dash was a very peculiar pony. For one, she was a rainbow Pegasus. Her mane, which was mostly tied up into a ponytail at the moment, minus the few rebel strands that had gotten out, had all the colors of the rainbow.
Second off, she was one of the only ponies brave enough to spend time with Zecora.
But the most fascinating thing about her?
Rainbow Dash was a fully-grown blank flank.
The Weak, the Strong, and the Scary
Head in the Clouds
Rainbow Dash eventually retired back to Zecora's little house, and lay wearily on the hammock Zecora had prepared for her. She closed her eyes, but sleep refused to embrace her in its loving hold. Instead, the thoughts she had tried to fruitlessly lock away began resurfacing.
Memories of falling. Memories of failure. And worst of all, memories of what had come after her failure. Two Pegasi coming down to taunt her mercilessly. And nobody to stand up for her. She started alone, and would most likely end that way.
"Rainbow Crash" they had taunted when she failed. When she had fallen. When she was broken.
"What do they know?" Sniffed Rainbow, as the memories came flooding back. She reflected on all those years she had been downtrodden, first for looking different, then for not having the gall to stand up for herself.
"And that's why I'm in some stupid cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest" choked out Rainbow Dash, her eyes misting up.
"Makes sense the only other one to accept me has to be the only other outcast here."
Besides, what did they know? She wasn't... that bad of a flier. Last time she practiced, she had flown perfectly fine.
She tried to shut out the names and the teasing voices, but it brought back memories. Memories of years of names and torment. Memories of trying to do her best, but being paralyzed at the thought of what her tormenters would think of her if they saw her fail. Memories of bitter defeat, losing in that race against the two biggest featherbrains in Cloudsdale, despite one being stuck in a pillar.
She remembered all too clearly as that colt trailed behind her. She remembered a burst of speed, and the feeling of going faster than ever before. And then... nothing. The burst of speed had died down, and the colt had outstripped her. She never returned after that day. After passing the last ring, so close to the ground, she decided to just drop there. A sad, tired heap of colorful filly.
She eventually built a shabby shack in that field. It was miserable there, but at least she wasn't teased as much. The colt who had won the race ended up being head of Ponyville's weather team, and she ended up joining a rhyming zebra who scared almost everypony, living at the edge of the Everfree Forest. At least that featherbrain was too scared to come near there and tease her, as he had done all too often when she tried to live by herself, Rainbow Dash thought grimly. A tear slowly fell across her face, and to the floor below. This was joined by more as Rainbow Dash softly cried herself to sleep.
Twilight Sparkle
"You! Get back in line!" A very angry looking commander shouted at two rookies breaking rank and chatting idly between themselves.
"You all have volunteered to help your city by joining the guard. By the end of these three weeks, I'll turn you pathetic bunch of ponies into elites, or so help me Celestia, I'll have your flank mounted on my wall! Training starts now, now give me 20 laps around Ponyville!"
The to-be guards all groaned in unison, before a shrill whistle got them running. Then the glare of the commander got them sprinting.
One of the recruits turned to his friend
"I told you Sparkle is going to be a crazy one, her brother is captain of the guard up in Canterlot, she must come from a military famil-"
"That's COMMANDER SPARKLE to you, private!" Twilight Sparkle shouted, materializing right in front of the pony, who ended up falling on his back, and hyperventilating due to her not-so-subtle appearance. She fixed him with a glare and teleported off to harass somebody else.
"She'll be the death of us" joked the terrified pony's friend as he helped him up.
Commander Sparkle gazed critically as the crew of newbies ran around town. They weren't the worst she had trained, but she had some work cut out for her. She had enlisted in the guard at a young age, and raised up the ranks, gaining infamy for being a cruel and unforgiving soldier. They almost celebrated when they made her a commander. Where she lacked in magic, she had made up for it in muscle and brains.
Magic, pfft. What an unreliable source of making things happen. If you want something to work, do it yourself.
Although the commander remembered a time when she did trust magic. Unfortunately that... event with the entrance exam had deterred her from continuing down that path. She was young and stupid, but so full of hope and happiness...
She looked down, lost in memories. After her... failure, she had trained as hard as she could, working both her mind and body in preparation for the military. She shifted a piece of her armor, revealing a shield crossed by two spears for a cutie mark. Sometimes she wondered if it was all worth it. The sounds of hushed voices brought her away from her walk down memory lane.
"Hey, this isn't a trot through the park! Gallop you impudent foals!"
The Weak, the Strong, and the Scary
As the foul scents of Zecora's newest patch of... whatever breached Rainbow Dash's nose, she decided to get some fresh air. And maybe a drink. A strong one. After getting Zecora's permission, which she looked a bit peeved to be brought out of her meditation to be asked, Rainbow dashed out.
She got to Ponyville's local bar, and ordered the first thing she saw. She really didn't know too much about drinking, so she just hoped for the best. As soon she entered, she drew eyes, so after getting her drink, she retired to a corner and tried to hide from the attention. Sometimes her rainbow colors were a curse. Come to think of it, they never did help, just drew her unwanted attention. Hey, weren't there way to change colors of your fur and mane? She should look into that. She took a sip of her drink. Ugh, tasted like some of the spicy herbs Zecora had combined with something that had been dead with a week, and that was putting it nicely. She spit it out suddenly.
"Ugh, what is this shit?" She exclaimed loudly.
That drew more eyes. Awkwardly, Rainbow Dash blushed and sunk back in her seat, taking another tentative sip. Oh god, let them look away. She looked again, and the ponies returned to their drinks.It was only then she noticed an angry looking pony walking toward her.
"Oh god, what did I do? Please don't let this happen" Rainbow screamed in her head.
The pony stood in front of her, Rainbow trying not to cower.
"Mind if I sit here? Rest of the seats are full." The pony spit out.
Well that was anticlimactic.
And unexpected.
"Uhh, sure, why not?" Rainbow Dash eventually managed to say.
The mysterious pony raised an eyebrow and sat down across from her.
She had short cropped purple hair, with one darker purple streak and a pink streak right next to each other. She was wearing guard armor, but with some darker areas and horns curling toward the front attached to her shoulder pads. Her fur was a dark purple, and her glare. If looks could kill, Rainbow Dash was sure this pony would be a serial killer. A rather timid looking looking bartender brought her a glass filled with a red liquid.
"First off, that 'shit' is called Vodka, spiced with herbs from the Everfree Forest, which seems to be a strong start for somebody who obviously a drinking novice, such as yourself" The purple pony started
"And second off, what in the name of Equestria are you doing here alone when there are so many ponies in this damned city you can drown you sorrows with? Drinking alone is just pitiful" She spat. Rainbow flinched.
"Well uhh, I just ordered what I first saw." Rainbow stammered
"You ordered the 'Challenge of the Week'" the purple pony smirked.
"Err, yeah. And I'm here because... Well I need a break from my mentor, who is this zebra who lives in the Everfree and so I came here to take a break. And well, I uhh, haven't befriended anybody in Ponyville yet, so that's why I'm alone." Rainbow managed to speak.
"Oh Celestia, I asked why you were here alone, not for your whole life story. Jeez." The purple pony spat. Rainbow Dash shrunk back and consdered cowering. Or running. Or maybe even both.
"Oh calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you. My name's Commander Twilight Sparkle." Twilight glared, dropping the challenging tone at the sight of the petrified pony. She decided then to swallow her whole drink in one gulp.
"Weak shit. Hey Bartender! Bring me what Dash here ordered, and make it strong!" Twilight yelled across the pub. Moments later there was a flash, and another glass in front of the commander.
Apparently intending to keep up conversation, Twilight turned to face Rainbow.
"So you live with some strange Zebra in the middle of the forest which half of this city is too damn afraid to go near due to the numerous amount of monsters that can tear you limb from limb, yet you're the most timid pony I met. Tell me Dash, how does that work?" Twilight said, peering over her glass.
"Well uh, a bit of common knowledge is all you need there, and I really haven't had too much contact with ponies..." Rainbow trailed off. Good contact with ponies, at least.
"Half of my soldiers are far to cowardly to go into that forest, you calling them stupid?" Spoke Twilight in an icy tone.
"Uh no, that's not what I meant at all! I mean-" Dash panicked
Twilight waved a hoof to calm her down.
"It would be just as well; they wouldn't know bravery if ran up to them in a frilly dress and hit them in the face."
Just then the door to the pub burst open and an angry looking pony with black streaks in her hair, followed by a blue... thing stormed in. If the barkeep was scared by Twilight, he was terrified of this new pony, judging as he was now trying to hide behind the glass he was wiping clean moments earlier.
"Ah Flutters, Iron Will, glad you could make it."
There's a hole in the world like a great black pit, and it's filled with ponies who are filled with shit, Pinkamena thought peevishly. And Ponyville was the center of that hole. I mean, who could look at this second-rate hick town and honestly call it a peach cupcake? But no sayeth the travelers.
"You can find your future here."
A future in this small little town? What were they smoking? Pinkamena gritted her teeth and swept a lock of straight pink hair out her face. First I'm stuck in some Celestia-forsaken rock farm, and now I'm stuck in Loserville?
But hark, attend the tale of Pinkamena Diane Pie.
Stuck on a farm, she got sick of rotating rocks every day. Rocks. Every damned day. Do you how dull rocks are? One day she got so sick of it, she got up and left. She didn't even pack. One day her family went in early, and she just walked off. She had wandered Equestria growing up. Seen the sick art that is reality. She had traveled city to city, picking up odd jobs until she earned enough to set off again. Always an alien wherever she stayed. So she never stayed. She thought maybe such explorations and adventures might affect her more, but alas, fate disagreed. Her flank was bare, save her short pink fur.
I suppose I never had the chance to settle down and find what I'm really good at, Pinkamena thought. Last time she tried... it hadn't gone well.
Oh, but who cared about her woes? She was just a widely ignored Blank Flank who flitted all over, barely keeping herself fed. That's all she would ever be. Pinkamena sighed and trotted into Ponyville, expecting the worst.
