Chapters Chapter 1- Ephemeral Visions
“Rainbow, it’s time for you to go,” he said, walking up behind her.
Rainbow Dash turned to look once more into his beautiful green eyes. She wished they could be together forever, but fate was determined to keep them apart. Rainbow knew this was probably the last time she would ever see him again. She tried to fight it but tears began to form in her eyes.
Rainbow shook her head. “I can’t,” she said, her voice shaking. “I want to stay here with you!” She flung herself at him and hugged him tightly.
“I know, I know,” he said, stroking her mane. “But there’s no choice. You have to go and restore the timeline.”
“Maybe you can come back with me?” Rainbow suggested, backing up to look into his face.
“You know as well as I do that that can’t happen.” He gazed deep into her eyes as he wiped a tear from her cheek. “I love you. Just carry that in your heart always. Maybe that bond will keep me alive in the Void and we’ll meet again one day.”
Then Rainbow woke up, her emotions swirling inside her like a hurricane, out of control. But she didn’t know why. She knew it was only a dream. But she had been having dreams like it for a year now, ever since Pinkie claimed to have found her outside, lying in the grass near the Everfree Forest. She still couldn’t recall why she had been there. It would remain a mystery.
Rainbow sighed and rose from her fluffy bed of clouds. She quickly added her most recent dream to the journal on her nightstand. It was nearly full. Not surprising since she had one of these dreams every few nights. She had decided on keeping the journal when she noticed the pattern of the dreams. They were all extremely vivid and he was in every one of them.
He, the unicorn with the pitch black coat and fiery red mane, haunted her dreams. She felt a special connection with him, yet Rainbow wasn’t sure if he even existed. But he seemed so real. The comforting tone of his voice, those brilliant emerald eyes, they all bespoke power and kindness all at once. Yet his name was lost in the fragments of her dreams.
The cyan pegasus stretched and shuffled out of her room and downstairs. Figuring that a quick shower was in order, she went to the bathroom and turned the shower knob to full heat. Rainbow let the searing water wash away all thoughts of the mysterious unicorn stallion and any other thoughts in general. All that mattered was the liquid heat flowing down her multicolored mane, through her fur and feathers, and out of sight down the drain. The steam allowed her to breathe in some of the cleanliness, allowing her to feel altogether refreshed. After soaping up and rinsing down, she just soaked in the warmth of the water. When she decided it was time, she got out and shook herself dry, not even bothering with a towel.
Then she made her way to the kitchen, and yelped in surprise to find the room already had an occupant.
“Soarin! You scared me to death! I thought I told you to knock before letting yourself in,” Rainbow admonished, going to sit beside him at the table. A bowl of assorted fruits and vegetables were sitting appetizingly before her. She decided to eat a carrot and looked into Soarin’s green eyes, demanding an explanation.
“What?” the pale blue pegasus shrugged. “I thought I would be welcome in my own girlfriend’s house.”
“Yes, but I specifically told you to knock. What if I hadn’t cleaned up last night? You would’ve walked in and seen how terribly messy I am.”
“We’ve been going out for eight months now. I don’t think I would be driven off by a simple messy house. And, not just that, you’ve seen my house when it hasn’t been at the peak of its glory,” Soarin said.
Rainbow sighed with mock exasperation. “I know, but you’re a guy . You’re allowed to be all messy. It’s cute… unless it stinks and it’s been that way over a week. Now mares are expected to be clean and organized and pretty twenty-four-seven.”
“Um, I don’t know if you realize it, but I wasn’t attracted to you because of your femininity. I don’t exactly think you should be held by those standards.”
Rainbow Dash crunched down on her carrot. “Are you saying I’m not pretty?”
Soarin’s eyes flew wide as he stuttered, “N-no, that’s not what I’m saying at all!”
Rainbow laughed and gave him an affectionate shove. “Haha! I was just teasing. But I’m serious about knocking, though. Just try to be considerate.”
“Alright, alright,” Soarin agreed, allowing the panic to leave his expression. “So, did you hear about the upcoming race?”
“Which one?” Rainbow asked, taking another bite of the carrot.
“The Gyrfalcon Cup. It’s being held at the Crystal Empire’s stadium. The Wonderbolts are going there in a couple days.”
“Ooh, sounds intense. I’m totally there!” Rainbow said. She could use the break from work anyways. She’d been filling in for pegasi who’d been falling ill with some sort of fever the past few weeks, and the doubled efforts were wearing her out.
“Sweet! Glad to hear it. Anyways, I gotta head off to practice. Got a lot of training to do! You’re welcome to come if you want.” Soarin said.
“Nah, I have to go to my own job. I’ll meet up with you this afternoon, though. Seven sound good?” Rainbow asked.
“Sounds like a plan.” Soarin gave her a hug and a quick kiss before leaving.
Rainbow thoroughly enjoyed his company. He filled a hole in her heart she hadn’t realized she had. In fact, she was fairly certain it had never even existed before that mysterious night one year prior. Regardless, the problem was resolved. She had somepony to be proud of as much as herself.
Shoving the final, leafy bits of the carrot into her mouth, she got up from the table and made to exit her home. Hard work lay ahead of her, but it was still bound to be a good day.
Rainbow Dash yawned and stretched her wings wide as she clocked in her hours at the weather facility. She had been busting clouds over Manehattan all day and was well worn with the effort of having to fly so far just to do her job. What was her manager thinking, sending her halfway across Equestria? Surely he knew that he was wearing her thin with the extra work. At least her paycheck would be quite handsome. She could pay off her bills, buy the ticket to Soarin’s race, and still have plenty left over.
However, she was content to just glide home, collapse into her bed, and snore away the hours until her date with Soarin. At least, she would’ve if she hadn’t noticed the shady-looking pegasus staring directly at her from across the lobby. He instantly shifted his gaze from her as soon as their eyes met, but he already had Rainbow’s attention.
Dash made to cross the lobby and interrogate the dark-violet pegasus at an average walking pace, as not to alarm him. Despite this, he noticed and walked off in the opposite direction at a brisk trot, obviously trying to evade her. Rainbow put on a little more speed as she pursued him, curious to discover his intentions. Something told her he was someone who had something to hide.
Suddenly, he veered to the left, down a hallway marked, ‘Employees Only’. A couple bystanders cast suspicious glances at him as passed through the door, but nopony made an attempt to stop him, probably thrown off by his sense of mission. Rainbow followed after him quickly, careful not to break into a full run. She stalked him through the white halls, slowly gaining on him. He cast a glance backwards every once in a while and put on an extra burst of speed. It was the most agonizingly slow chase the cyan pegasus had ever been in. The violet pegasus turned down another hallway, this one empty. Rainbow followed, and burst into a run, not having to worry about running into anypony now. Her prey had also broken into a dash when he rounded the corner, his dark-gold tail flagging behind him.
Rainbow was nearly upon him when he launched himself through an open door. She overshot her target and had to backtrack to find the door he went through. It was a utility closet. What a fool!
“I’ve got you now!” she growled and swung open the door to find nothing. Only a single dark-purple feather bespoke of his presence in the room. She suddenly had an eerie feeling that the pegasus was much more than the shady character she had originally thought he was.
Rainbow had slept hardly an hour before she awoke to the knocking downstairs. Was it time for her date already? She wished she could stay in bed for at least another few hours, but she willed herself to get up and apply a little maintenance to her less than tidy mane. As she meandered down the staircase, she fluffed out her wings, pausing briefly to rearrange a few misaligned feathers.
When she opened the door, she was surprised to find Soarin looking a little downcast. She let him in and he collapsed on the couch.
“What’s wrong?” Rainbow asked, sitting next to him.
Soarin looked up into her eyes; his face creased with worry. “Spitfire is sick with the fever and I’m worried. She didn’t show up to practice today. She never misses practice,” he said.
Rainbow had the tiniest twinge of jealousy, but quickly suppressed it. His friend, and her role model, was desperately ill. Rainbow strove to be as strong and resilient as Spitfire. The fact that this sickness has even brought her low was a testament to the seriousness of the disease. But what was it, and how was she to prevent it?
“Oh. That’s horrible. Do you know if she’s going to be okay?” the cyan pegasus asked earnestly.
“That’s scary,” Rainbow muttered. The idea of such an overwhelming disease sounded petrifying. If Soarin were to get it, she would be devastated. If it truly was pegasus-strict, it left her wondering, why would something so foreign suddenly appear as if out of thin air?
“It is. And I’m worried about you, too. I don’t want you to get sick,” Soarin muttered.
Rainbow Dash sidled a closer and wrapped her hooves around him. “You know me. I won’t let anything get to me.”
“I pray that you’re right,” Soarin said, returning the hug. They shared a brief kiss and looked deep into each other’s eyes. Soarin was obviously feeling a little better, regardless of the heaviness that still seemed to shroud him.
The sunset shone through the window behind Soarin, giving his mane a reddish flare, and creating a dark silhouette. And those eyes. Those luminescent green eyes… they were just like his.
Chapter 2- The Sickness
Three days passed by without leaving much of a chance for Rainbow to rest. More ponies had fallen sick at the weather facility, and she was working extremely hard to make up for the absentees. However, it was exhausting, trying to make up for everypony. Sure, there were others to help her out, but being who she is, she tried taking as much on by herself as manageable. At least she would be going to the Crystal Empire in the morning and finally have some time to rest.
She pushed through the door to her house, dropping her lunch pail on the floor and dragging herself upstairs into her room. Rainbow collapsed onto her bed, and closed her eyes without bothering to crawl under the blankets. Sleep crashed down upon her as soon as her eyes were shut.
Dreams instantly took hold of her mind, sending her back to that mysterious black unicorn. He was asleep this time, in the seat across from her. They were on a train, its rumbling motors rocking the car ever so slightly. There was an orange pegasus seated beside her, Scootaloo perhaps? It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been in a dream like this, however every time she was, there was something different about her. Yet, every time she tried to place what it was, she could never tell, her dreams were always a bit obscure there.
Rainbow watched the land race by outside the window and wondered briefly where they were going. She shifted her gaze to the stallion that haunted her dreams, watching his sleeping form. Nopony else was quite as well defined in her mind’s eye as he was. The cyan pegasus shook her head, then noticed that something jangled around her neck when she did.
This was the first time Rainbow ever noticed the stopwatch. Opening the silver trinket, she observed its contents. A stylized dragon was engraved in the lid, seeming to guard the clock below it. The clock itself was a mystery in its own way. It counted up to thirteen and had three hands; one for days perhaps? She wasn’t exactly sure how twenty-six hour days were supposed to work, but she didn’t question it. This was a dream after all. But the thing that puzzled her most was the fact that the hands were spinning counterclockwise. It was counting down, and something warned her that, if it were to reach the final hour, something horrible would happen.
Suddenly, the train shook and clouds overtook the sky outside. The temperature plummeted instantly, shocking the pegasus out of her thoughts. The train skidded to an abrupt halt, waking the unicorn across from her. Rainbow pricked her ears as she heard muffled screams coming from the car before theirs. The car door slowly opened and darkness seemed to fill everything. When her eyes adjusted to the shadows, she was greeted with a nightmarish creature. It was an alicorn-like creature made of shadows with crystalline blue eyes that glowed. Its size was easily greater than that of Celestia’s, and its presence filled the room. A clock was embedded in its chest, ticking erratically.
Rainbow had seen this creature somewhere before. It was a creature that didn’t even exist, but she had a nagging feeling that she had faced many of them before. They were wielders of the Void, born from its very depths. Then she remembered their name: the Fallen.
Rainbow’s eyes shot open. Moonlight filtered through the window and across her bed, creating unique shapes and shadows. She must’ve slept three or so hours, but felt no better for it. Weariness dragged at her bones as she propped herself up on one elbow and lit the candle on the nightstand. She grabbed the journal and quill at her bedside and documented her latest dream.
Setting the book back in its rightful place, she dropped back to her pillow, hoping that sleep would find her again. However, the pegasus found herself staring at the ceiling for hours as spontaneous thoughts drifted in and out of her mind, most of them about work. It would be a relief not having to go to work in the morning. Instead, she would do nothing except ride a train to the Crystal Empire with Soarin and watch the race.
Comforted by the thought of an entire day to rest, she folded her wings and gazed out the window to Luna’s moon. Silently, she prayed for restful sleep, devoid of the unicorn that haunted her so often. Sleep had almost engulfed her once more when something passed before the moon’s lunar splendor. Rainbow blinked twice to make sure her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. There it was again, a silhouette flying back and forth across the moon. Was it an owl? No, it was far too large. A pegasus perhaps?
Then the figure smashed through her window and skidded to a halt on the floor. It was indeed a pegasus… and one she recognized. It was the same purple pegasus from the Weather Facility. Rainbow leapt out of her bed and swiftly lunged for one of the shards of glass to use as a weapon in case it came to that.
The pegasus laughed at her. Rainbow knew she must look ridiculous to the stranger with her tangled mane, trying to sustain an aggressive stance despite her sleep deprivation. But it didn’t matter. This pegasus was intruding, and she intended to drive him out.
“Get out!” she growled around the glass shard gripped in her teeth.
“Oh! The legendary Rainbow Dash is upset because she can’t get her beauty sleep?” he retorted.
Rainbow Dash intended to lunge forward, but found that her hooves wouldn’t budge. Panicking, she glanced down and noticed that she was standing in some sort of liquid. She dropped the glass as she struggled to free herself.
“What have you done!” she yowled.
“I used magic,” the golden-maned stallion replied simply.
“But you’re a pegasus! You can’t use magic!” Rainbow felt her voice rising. She was trying to keep the fear out of her voice by converting it to anger.
“Well then, you don’t seem to know much about magic now do you? There are more types of magic than the sorcery performed by unicorns and alicorns. I specialize in alchemy, dear savior. That fluid you are standing in is a potion of my own creation.”
“Savior?” the cyan mare muttered.
“That’s right…” the purple pegasus stated, weaving around Rainbow’s immobilized form. “You are the one who has and will save us…” he whispered into her ear.
“I don’t understand,” Rainbow growled. “What are you talking about?”
“Everything will be revealed in time. For now, I have a proposition for you. Surely, you’ve noticed the fever going around lately?”
“Yes.” Rainbow had a bad feeling as to where he was going with this.
“The virus is known as Dragon’s Tongue. It is a disease that shows no other symptoms other than fever and extreme fatigue. However, after six days’ time…” He dramatically spun and glared directly into her eyes. His were the most unusual grey color. “That’s when you realize that the fever never stops rising. It just gets hotter and hotter until it melts the host from the inside…”
“That’s horrible!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in horror.
“Luckily, I have developed a cure.” He reached into a satchel that she hadn’t noticed he’d been wearing, bringing forth a vial filled with a glowing orange liquid. “You can use it to bring those close to you back from the verge of death.”
Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “What are you asking for in return?”
“Your precious light…” The pegasus turned his back to her and made for the window. “It’ll all make sense soon enough.”
“Wait! You… Whoever you are, you can’t just leave me here like this!” She flapped her wings furiously, trying to free herself.
“Here.” He said, smashing a potion at her hooves. The liquid counteracted the other freeing her, but she was too tired to try and attack the intruder. She swayed back and forth, glaring at the purple and gold pegasus as he climbed out the window and spread his wings.
He turned his head and said, “Oh, and if you dare think about declining my offer… Things around here are going to start getting very grim for you.”
He took off into the night sky, and Rainbow stared after him, scared and hopeless.
The next day, she rose and immediately took off for the Ponyville Hospital, determined to get the cure out and circulating as soon as possible. She hadn’t slept since the pegasus broke into her house. Even had she wanted to, she wanted to make sure the potion was safe. Rainbow had flown the cure to Twilight to run tests, which wound up taking until dawn. Luckily, it seemed to have no harmful side effects, yet it was unknown if the solution would actually work.
“The only way to know is to just let them take it and see if they recover,” Twilight had told her.
“And if it does, I’ll see if I can copy the formula and make more.”
Dash just hoped it would. She landed before the Ponyville Hospital, skidding to a halt in front of the door. The rainbow-maned pegasus charged in and rushed up to the desk, startling the nurse behind it.
“I have something,” she said, setting the bottle on the counter.
The nurse lifted the glasses off her nose and squinted at the curious orange liquid. “What is it?” she asked.
“It’s a cure for Dragon’s Tongue, the fever that’s been spreading around. It’s not guaranteed to work, but it’s the best option we’ve got.”
“I don’t know…” the nurse replied skeptically. She leaned back in her chair and looked Rainbow in the eyes. “How can I be sure this is safe?”
“I had Princess Twilight run tests on it throughout the night. If it doesn’t work, it’ll be no more harmful than water,” Rainbow promised.
“Well, I guess if the Princess says it’s safe, then I’ll give it a shot,” said the nurse, picking up the potion and squinting at it again.
“Thanks,” Rainbow said, turning to leave. “And if it does work, contact Twilight and she’ll make more. Just try to make sure they get it before the sixth day they’ve been sick, or else terrible things will happen.”
“What kind of things?” she asked.
“They’ll die. And it won’t be painless. Just make sure it doesn’t happen.” Rainbow exited the hospital and took off for her next destination, Cloudsdale.
As she navigated the cloudless sky, weariness bore down on her like a cool stone. She hadn’t had much sleep at all in the last three days. It was a miracle she could even function. Rainbow forced herself to the cloudy city regardless, determined to get the other bottle Twilight made to her hometown. And if Spitfire died… both she and Soarin would be devastated.
Wait a second; there was something about Soarin that she felt she was supposed to remember.
Then it hit her. The race! Rainbow Dash had promised Soarin that she’d be there. However, she couldn’t abandon those that needed her. Surely he’d understand, right? Well, she’d make him,
While lost in her thoughts, she collided with another pegasus midflight. Rainbow and the other pony dropped in a tangle of wings and hooves before righting themselves moments later.
“Sorry!” Rainbow apologized; then she realized who she had crashed into. “Soarin?”
“Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?” he asked, his green eyes scanning over her.
“I’m fine,” said Rainbow, “Listen, I’ve got to go to Cloudsdale to deliver something.”
“But you’ll miss the race,” Soarin said, disappointment touching his voice.
“Trust me. It’s extremely important. It’s too much to explain right now, but I think I’ve found a cure for Dragon’s Tongue.”
“What?” Soarin had a perplexed expression on his face.
“The fever that’s been striking the pegasi around Ponyville and Cloudsdale. Listen, I’m sorry about your race, but I’ll make it up to you somehow.”
“No, I’ll go with you,” Soarin stated.
Rainbow Dash was so surprised her wings missed a beat. “What? But, why?”
Soarin shrugged. “I was probably going to miss the train anyways. And, you don’t look so well.
“That obvious, huh? You’re probably right. I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately,” she admitted, a bit ashamedly. She was pretty sure Spitfire wouldn’t have been caught looking unkempt. Rainbow was positive that she looked horribly disarrayed.
“Don’t worry, after we deliver your package, you can take a nap at my place,” he promised.
Chapter 3- Arcanum
Rainbow Dash collapsed onto Soarin’s couch as soon as they entered the house. She stretched her wings and closed her eyes, letting her mind regain some of its former peace. Sleep had instantly fallen over her.
Rainbow was surrounded by complete and utter darkness. There was nothing here except herself. Well, herself and this mirror. She trotted over to the wall-sized mirror and gazed into her reflection. For some reason, she knew that her reflection wasn’t hers at all. There was something in the eyes that bespoke of great hostility.
Then her reflection spoke.
“We still have unfinished business, you and I,” she said.
“What?” Rainbow asked, perplexed.
The reflection stepped out of the mirror and stood face to face with Rainbow. As she stood there, the irises of her eyes became red, her coat and mane faded to black, and her feathers grew tattered. “I know you don’t remember me. But surely you remember him…” She pointed into the darkness.
Rainbow followed her gesture and noticed that black unicorn, standing in the distance. “Who is he? He’s in my dreams all the time. I’ve never even met him before.”
“Trust me, you have,” the reflection said. “And I assure you, you’ve been in his.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on. Who are you? Who is he? Why am I in his dreams? Where are we?”
The Dark Rainbow Dash shook her head. “You really can’t remember, can you? I almost feel sorry for you. But I don’t. You’ve hurt me too badly for that. You stole everything from me. And now I am in an eternal sleep. Because of you.” She turned to face the red-maned unicorn in the distance. “I can’t wait for the fulfillment of the prophecy… It’ll mean I have a chance to see you again.”
“What did I do?” Rainbow asked.
But then the world of dreams shattered. And the nightmare began.
“Rainbow, get up! We have to go!” Soarin said in a harsh whisper as he shook her awake. Rainbow Dash sat straight up and glanced around the room, an immediate sense of panic sweeping over her. She could see stars and feel a gentle breeze through the open window. Nothing seemed wrong.
Rainbow opened her mouth to ask what the matter was but Soarin placed a hoof over her mouth and pointed upwards. She glanced at the ceiling above her, ears pricked. A very soft shuffling could be heard vaguely from upstairs. Rainbow’s heart rate began rising as she realized that something was up there. She turned to Soarin with fear in her gaze.
“What do we do?” she whispered.
“We have to leave,” Soarin whispered back.
“But what if whatever’s up there sees us? There are quite a few windows up there.”
“Well, we can leave through the basement. The walls are made of cloud after all.”
“But won’t that make noise? The concentrated clouds used to make houses are almost thick enough that an earth pony could walk on them. Busting them would sound like bucking a tree,” Rainbow pointed out.
Soarin frowned in frustration. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought about that.” While they were thinking of a solution, the shuffling crossed over them towards the staircase.
“Come on! Let’s go!” Rainbow urged, struggling to keep it a whisper.
“I got an idea. Follow me,” Soarin said, and hurried over to the basement door. He opened it and gestured for Rainbow to go down ahead of him. As soon as she did, the door shut behind her.
“Hey!” Rainbow yelped. She turned and tried to pull the door open, but it had been locked from the outside. Had Soarin betrayed her? There was no way.
“Just go break the wall. I’ll keep the intruder distracted,” Soarin’s voice came from the other side of the door.
Rainbow didn’t want to leave him behind. If he was going to fight, she’d rather be beside him, helping him do so. But there would be no changing his mind. Soarin would be furious if she broke down the door, and she still was low on sleep. It’d benefit her to just do as she was told.
Rainbow turned from the door and hurried down the stairs. She started slamming down on the ground with her forehooves, the clouds quivering slightly under her. Upstairs she heard yelling. As she persisted, the racket above her head grew. Things were crashing and glass breaking. It sounded as if a fight had broken out. The floor was thinning the more she pounded on it, but it was taking longer than she had initially thought; it was like smashing through dirt, weak but compact.
Suddenly, a bit of the floor crumbled away, and a little bit of moonlit ground could be seen far below. She struggled to widen the hole enough to allow herself through. When she had widened the hole to about two feet in diameter, she tried to push herself through, desperate to escape. She barely fit if she kept her wings and hooves pressed close to her sides.
Rainbow squirmed through the narrow opening, almost halfway through. She’d be able to push through the softer clouds when she got there. But she never did. She heard the door behind her smash open and somepony grabbed her by the tail.
“Gotcha!” growled a voice muffled by her tail. She felt herself being dragged out of the hole. She struggled against the pull, but her hooves couldn’t get a good enough grip on the cloudy walls.
When her head was pulled free, she turned to see who she was dealing with. It was the same dark purple pegasus, she had run into before. It almost wasn’t a surprise. She knew that he was definitely up to something shifty from the beginning. What was it he wanted?
Soarin tackled him out of nowhere and wrestled him to the ground, a trickle of blood dripping from his brow. “Go on Rainbow, get out of here!” he shouted, holding the other pegasus’ neck with his hooves, threatening to choke him out.
Rainbow shot through the door and into the living room. Glass was shattered across the floor, shelves knocked over, and furniture smashed. She dodged the debris and made for the front door. Kicking it open she flew out into the night, safe at last.
But what about Soarin? She couldn’t just leave him. He was her boyfriend after all! She made an immediate U-turn and shot for the door. The purple pegasus was waiting for her at the door. He splashed some sort of liquid in her face and the world seemed to distort around her. Then she felt sleep settle over her; beautiful, comforting, mindless sleep.
Soarin pushed the trophy shelf that the intruder had pushed on top of him off. He climbed to his hooves and flew through the basement door to see the purple pegasus standing in the doorway,Rainbow Dash draped over his back. Soarin lunged forward, but the pegasus sidestepped and he crashed into the clouds outside.
“Say goodbye to your precious Rainbow,” the pegasus taunted.
“Let her go!” Soarin shot forward, missing him by only a few inches.
“How about no. I’m getting a lot of reward by bringing her back to my time.”
“Your time? You don’t make any sense!” Soarin said panting. He wiped a bit of blood out of his eye and snarled. “Let her go!”
He lunged once more at him, but the pegasus brought out a white stone and threw it at the cloud below him. He dove after it, a purple and blue streak. As soon as he hit where the stone lied, a bright light exploded and both pegasi were gone, leaving Soarin all alone…
That night, Soarin didn’t sleep. Not knowing what else to do, he flew to Cloudsdale Hospital. He may as well check on Spitfire. He needed a friend nearby. He and Spitfire had been friends since childhood. She was a bit harsh to him in public, but when alone, they’d hang out like old times.
When he entered the facility he was surprised to be greeted by the nurse almost immediately.
“I’m fine,” he said, but she already had already hurried off to get first aid, beckoning him to follow. He sighed and did so, allowing her to clean and stitch his eyebrow.
“So, did you give some to Spitfire like I asked?” he asked.
“Why yes. And she’s doing just fine. We’re letting her out tomorrow,” the nurse replied as she threaded the needle.
“That’s good,” he said. “I’d like to see her when you’re done.”
“Sure,” she said. They sat in silence for a few seconds before she asked, “So, how’d you manage to get this wound anyways?”
“Somepony broke in and kidnapped Rainbow Dash,” he muttered blankly.
“What?!” the nurse yelped and accidently tugged the string so hard it snapped.
“OW!” Soarin cried, grasping his face.
“Oops. Hehe. Well, you’re done,” the nurse said. She shook her head. “I’m sorry about your friend. But she’ll be able to get herself free in no time if the rumors I hear about her are true.”
Soarin knew that it wouldn’t be that easy, but right now he needed to believe that. Rainbow knew a lot more than he did about magic, spending as much time as she did with Princess Twilight. She could make it.
Soarin made his way to Spitfire’s room, which she was sharing with two other ponies who had received the cure. “Hey, Soarin. Good to see you,” she greeted.
“Yeah. I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he said, knowing that his full heart wasn’t in it, but meaning it all the same.
“So, how did the Gyrfalcon Cup go?” Spitfire asked.
Soarin sighed. He knew that she wasn’t going to like his news. “I… I didn’t go.”
“What?” Spitfire glared up at him with quiet fury, “Even after we trained for weeks on end just to prepare for it?” Her voice was calm, but it still stung.
“But Rainbow Dash needed—“
“So that’s it,” Spitfire interrupted. “You know, if you weren’t so infatuated with her, maybe you might get somewhere in life!”
“It’s not that! She—“
“I don’t want your excuses!” Spitfire shook her head, “I’m beginning to question your loyalty to the team.”
Soarin was glad that the curtain was drawn, so the other patients in the room couldn’t see his face. It was one of pure dread. “Spitfire… you’re not suggesting an ultimatum, are you?”
Spitfire gazed into his eyes steadily. “Choose.”
Soarin turned his head away and sighed. It wasn’t Rainbow Dash or the Wonderbolts he was choosing between. It was Rainbow or Spitfire. The love of his life or his oldest friend. He didn’t want to choose. He wasn’t sure how his life would go on without either. He knew he had no real choice. Soarin was always one to follow his heart.
“I’m sorry…” he said quietly, refusing to meet her gaze.
“I see,” Spitfire replied. Soarin could hear hurt in her voice.
Seeing no more reason to be there, he turned and left, leaving behind one of his two best friends.
After Soarin left the hospital, he decided to go down and visit Ponyville. He didn’t feel like going home because it was a wreck, and he needed the support of ground under his hooves to process his emotions.
As he moped through the streets, he paid little mind to the busy activities of the citizens around him. All he could focus on was his own inner thoughts, slowly dragging him into depression. He had lost almost everything important to him within twelve hours. He was now unemployed, his girlfriend was missing, and his best friend was gone. How could his life get any worse?
Suddenly, Soarin bumped into somepony. Something fell out of her wagon with a clank.
“Sorry, Miss. I wasn’t paying attention,” he apologized as he knelt to pick up the object that had fallen.
“It’s quite alright,” she said. She was a light blue unicorn with a blue and white mane. She struck him as awfully familiar.
“Don’t I know you?” he asked, handing her the strange metal device that had fallen from the cart.
“Maybe, I’m the local dentist,” she said, quickly stowing the device away into her cart.
“Dentist?”
“Yes, and if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for an appointment,” she said, pushing past him.
It struck him as odd that a dentist would have an hourglass as a cutie mark. And just what was that strange contraption that she was carrying? It seemed much more complex than anything he’d ever seen at the dentists’ office.
“Wait up!” Soarin cried, catching up and walking alongside her.
“What is it?” she asked, “I’m a very busy mare.”
“I need to ask you something.”
“Please, make it quick.”
Soarin actually didn’t know what he wanted to ask. All he knew was that there was something about this mare that seemed off. He noticed that he was taking too long to respond just a second too late.
“Okay,” she stopped, turning to face him. “What do you want from me? You want my money?
“No, I just wanted ask you—“
“What? Oh I see. You think that our little collision back there was fate, and you think I’m gonna fall hopelessly in love with you. Well, I’m not!”
“What? No!” Soarin exclaimed. What was it with mares cutting him off today?
“What then?” she demanded hotly.
“You just seem like you’d know about weird things going on around here, and I wanted to know if you’d seen a dark purple pegasus with a gold mane around,” he said as soon as the thought popped into his head. He prayed that it didn’t sound too offensive.
The blue unicorn gazed at him quietly for a moment, then looked around. Then, in a hushed voice she said, “You have to promise you won’t tell anypony what I’m about to show you.”
Soarin nodded, his curiosity piquing.
“Alright then,” she said, “follow me.”
Chapter 4- Past Tense
Rainbow awoke to a nearly pitch black room. A terrible headache pounded deep within her skull. Moaning quietly and rubbing a hoof against her forehead, she sat up on the extremely uncomfortable cot she had been sleeping on. She looked around the room. There was a washbowl, her cot and a barred window and door. There was no denying it. She was in a dungeon.
She couldn’t believe she had let herself get caught. Wasn’t she supposed to be the fastest flier in Equestria? Rainbow stood up and gazed out the barred window, surprised at what she saw. She was nowhere near the ground. Rather, she was miles above the earth which looked rather desolate. It was like a desert only the roiling thunder clouds above were a testament that this place was not lacking in water. What kind of place was this that thunderclouds were so high?
In fact, she had never seen a tower of this height before. Or had she? There was a vague memory of an endlessly high tower that pierced the sky. She and a group of others had been there, but she couldn’t remember who she was with or why they had been there.
Rainbow’s attention was yanked to the door when she heard chains rattling against the ground. A pair of heavily armored soldiers were escorting a yellow and orange unicorn down the hall. They stopped at the empty cell across from Rainbow’s and threw the mare in harshly. They slammed the door shut and walked back the way they came.
The orange maned mare sat there in defeat, staring pitifully at the ground. Rainbow wanted to talk to her, but she wasn’t exactly sure what to say. So she decided to ask the most obvious question.
“Psst,” Rainbow hissed. The unicorn looked up at her with amber eyes. “Hey, what’d you do to get locked up in here?”
“I made them mad. Same as anypony else here,” she said.
“Really? I’m not sure what I did wrong,” Rainbow said.
“Wrong? No no no,” the unicorn said, shaking her head. “If you get locked up here, you did something right . The ponies that run this place are as corrupted as they get. All they care about is enforcing a utopian society where everypony lives in harmony.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Rainbow asked. It sounded nice to her.
“It’s actually quite horrible. They dictate every aspect of our lives down there from when we get up to what we do to where we work. Place one hoof out of line, then the IOE are on your tail.”
“IOE?” Rainbow asked.
“Listen, I get that you’re not from around here, but you don’t know what the IOE is? Everypony knows them.”
Rainbow was confused. She’d never heard of anything like it. “I’m sorry. I just never heard of them.”
“Then, my friend, you’ve led a good life. IOE are the Iridium Order Enforcers. They are ruthless, and usually use brutality to get you back in line.”
“Did they hurt you?” Rainbow asked.
The unicorn shrugged. “Not really. I have a way with the stallions if you know what I mean.
“How so?”
“Well, you’re supposed to stay inside the walls of Iridis at all times,” she lowered her voice for the next part. Rainbow leaned closer to the bars to hear her better. “However, one night I decided to sneak out. I met a pony, who was part of this rebellion and I decided to become a mole. Every week, I would deliver information to them. Problem was, I got my cutie mark in spying. I would dye the fur in that area every few days to keep the IOE from noticing. But one of them took notice of how much dye I would purchase. They discovered that I was covering a cutie mark and threw me in here.”
“So, you’re not allowed to have a cutie mark?” Rainbow asked.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that, if you get it in the wrong thing, you’ll likely be arrested.”
“That’s harsh.”
“Anything for the city,” she said, slumping against the bars. “You know, Iridis is the only city in the empire that is enforced in this utopia style.”
“How come?”
“Well, the entire city is at the base of this tower. It would be bad for the empire if its capital city was in chaos. So they put the mighty law and enforcers to prevent uprisings and such.” She let out a sigh, “At least up here I’m freer than I was.”
“Wow. That sounds horrible. Who does this emperor person think he is anyways?”
“You don’t know? He’s the creator of all of Altero!”
“Creator? Of this country?”
“Country? Altero is the entire world!”
“By the way, my name’s Minuette,” the blue unicorn told Soarin as they trotted down the street.
She led him to a building next to the windmill at the edge of town and stepped inside. Soarin hesitated at the door but she waved him in.
“Doctor!” she called. “Doctor Hooves!” There was no reply.
“I guess he’s out right now,” Minuette said, turning to Soarin. “Why don’t you take a seat?”
Soarin shrugged and sat down on a couch. There were clocks hanging from walls all around him; he felt as if he were in a clock museum.
Minuette stood before him and gazed at him with a serious expression. Was she still mad at him or something?
“Tell me what you know about Arcanum.”
“What?” Soarin asked.
“That purple pegasus. His name is Arcanum,” Minuette explained.
“Oh. Well, I don’t know much. All I know is that he broke into my house and kidnapped Rainbow Dash.”
Minuette stomped and swore. “Damn! We were way off!”
Soarin rose from his seat. Minuette knew something. “What do you mean?”
Minuette shook her head. “I’m sorry. We tried so hard to figure out what he was doing. But we failed.”
“I don’t get it!” Soarin snapped. “Who’s we? Who’s Arcanum? Why did he kidnap Rainbow?”
“I don’t know!” Minuette said, backing away from Soarin.
“Well you know something!” Soarin stepped closer, threatening the unicorn. “Tell me what’s going on!”
Minuette’s expression suddenly shifted from fearful to angry. “Stop being so pushy! You don’t have to force answers out of me! What the hell’s your problem?”
“I’ll tell you what my problem is!” Soarin loomed over Minuette, wings flared in anger, confusion, and even fear. “I lost the one I love most to somepony I don’t even know and my closest friend has turned her back on me! I lost everything in the course of a night! You have no idea what I’ve been through!”
“Yes I do!” Minuette shouted back.
Soarin suddenly felt his anger fade as quickly as it had risen. “You do?” he asked her, his voice low again.
Minuette was still panting and shaking with rage, but she lowered her head. Letting herself calm down, she sat on the floor and looked up at him a tear sliding down her cheek.
“Better than you’d imagine…”
An earth pony wearing a black cloak stood on a cliff overlooking the Iridium Plains. The dry, cracked earth stretched as far as she could see and in the center was Iridis, known to all but themselves as the City of Darkness. The Devil’s Spire rose from the enormous city and into the clouds many miles above.
“I wish I could find you,” she whispered into the wind. “Mother.”
She knew the mother she was referring to wasn’t her biological mother, but a pegasus that came to her in her dreams. This was the mother that brought her through the thirteen years since Altero was formed. She would never have survived without her.
She knew where she was, though. She was imprisoned on the highest floor of that accursed tower. But trying to get to her would be suicide. The IOE would kill her on sight. She’d be lucky getting anywhere near the Ragnarok Tower, or the Devil’s Spire as it was known to most, without being spotted from halfway across the plains.
Stardust was the only one who could get anywhere near that place without being caught. She was the only unicorn among her ranks that could use the teleportation spell. However, a field of magic surrounded Iridis; a spell that disabled magic of all except the IOE and the imperial leaders.
She prayed that the prophecy was true. That the savior would arrive and save everypony from the iron grip of the empire. She could only do so much with her meek rebellion. A hero was what they needed now.
“Lady Arcus, I just got word from Stardust,” said a white pegasus with a pale blue mane as he alighted on the cliff next to her.
“What's the report, Shattered Ice?” she prompted, still gazing across the vast desert-like expanse.
“Our inside mare, Summer Blaze has been arrested. Apparently they discovered that she was hiding her cutie mark,” Shattered Ice said.
Lady Arcus sighed. “I suppose she'll be alright as long as they don't discover her affiliation with us. But if they do...”
Shattered Ice blinked. “Let's hope they don't. If they do, the poor mare will have a slow, agonizing death.”
“It seems fate has been against us lately,” Lady Arcus said solemnly, turning to look Shattered Ice in the eye. “If our main spy is imprisoned, we'll have to struggle much harder to find out the information necessary to invade.”
“My Lady,” Shattered Ice said. “I fear that even if we had the info, we wouldn't have the strength in numbers to get through the Iridium Plains, let alone fight through the city and reach the Devil's Spire.”
“Shattered Ice, have a little faith. Once the savior arrives, we'll be able to do it. We will free the land and peace will reign.”
“You've been saying that for years, and yet the savior of prophecy has yet to show his tail. I think this prophecy of yours is a myth; a story to give hope to all of those that are starving or enslaved all around the world.”
“It's not a myth, I've seen the glass with my own eyes.”
“Glass?”
Minuette's heart beat in her chest. She had never told her secret to anypony before. Well none except Dr. Hooves of course. Could she trust Soarin? Most famous athletes she knew were pompous and untrustworthy and she wanted nothing to do with them. Yet, this was a stallion who just lost somepony important to him. The fact that she was kidnapped by Arcanum must have traumatized him. And not only that, he may be able to help her figure out what Arcanum's motives are. It might be worth the risk.
“I know your pain, Soarin,” Minuette began. “You see, I may say I'm a dentist, but I'm actually not.”
“I figured as much. An odd cutie mark to have if you were,” Soarin said. Minuette shrugged off her annoyance at the interruption. It was important to get him on her side.
“I'm actually a... time traveller.”
“A time traveller? Really?” Soarin asked.
“Yes. I go throughout time to restore it to its proper state. Many odd things have happened since the creation of the first Temporal Rift.”
“Temper what?” Soarin asked. This was going to take a lot of explaining.
“Okay. Here's the thing. You and I live on a specific timeline. However, a timeline can be distorted creating what we call a Temporal Distortion.”
“So temporal means having to do with time?” Soarin inquired uncertainly.
“Exactly,” Minuette exclaimed. Maybe he'd understand after all. “You see, a Temporal Distortion is a tear in time, basically when something happens that should not happen in this timeline. It ruins everything. Say I went five-hundred years into the future. However, I was not predestined to do so. Since matter cannot be created nor destroyed unless fate decides to allow it, all matter and time in the universe will be displaced. According to studies by Star Swirl the Bearded, when this situation occurs, the universe has a self-destruct mechanism. A creature or weapon created at the beginning of time would wake and destroy the world, so that a new world can be created in its place. Not even Star Swirl could tell why this was necessary, until it happened to him...”
“Wait a second... are you saying that you knew Star Swirl?” Soarin asked astonished.
“Well, yeah. We were friends. But that was when I was new to time travel. But as I was saying, a Temporal Rift was formed back then and that's when that alicorn appeared. Her name was... It was... well it's not important right now. What is important is that she is what's known as a Tempest. Not a storm, but a pony that is born from a Temporal Distortion. One that was never supposed to exist. Not even Star Swirl figured out how the Distortion that formed her came to be, but it spawned disastrous events. You see, when a Temporal Distortion occurs, a Temporal Rift appears. A Temporal Rift is basically the rift left behind in time. Beyond this rift is what is simply called the Void. It is called such because there is nothing. No time, no matter, no light, just nothingness.”
“What exactly do you mean by 'rift'?” Soarin questioned, thoroughly engrossed in her lesson. Minuette was glad that he was enjoying it. It was difficult explaining such an elusive subject.
“The rift is the hole left in time when it is torn by the Temporal Distortion,” she explained.
“Well, yes and no.”
Soarin stared at her blankly. Minuette rolled her eyes. She wanted to get to the point. “Okay, this is how it works. Say you are the author of a story. If you write a time traveller into your story, he is officially part of the storyline. But if you are writing and then suddenly a new character appears out of nowhere that you didn't write and the story starts writing itself in a different manner... well, that's basically what happens in a Temporal Distortion. Fate or God or whatever deity writing our timeline loses control of our stories, our destinies. Life becomes twisted. From the Temporal Rift, which is an invisible portal to the Void rises the Fallen, creatures of nothingness that strive only to return everything to the Void. However, if a Fallen somehow obtains a spirit, they take the form of a pony and have free will. They become a Tempest. Though they are not common Fallen, they still do not have souls and are not meant to exist. So, the Fallen strive to devour the universe. If they accomplish sending everything to the Void, there will be nothing. The ultimate end. However, after Star Swirl realized what the Fallen were capable of, he also realized the purpose of Ragnarok. Ragnarok was created to prevent the Fallen from ever eliminating the universe. When a new world is created so is a new timeline. The Fallen are destroyed with the old. That way the universe will never be reduced to nothingness.”
“What about everypony that's still living,” Soarin asked. “What would be the point of a new world if there was nopony to populate it?”
“Well, it seems that in the final days just before the end, a tower will appear. I can't be certain, but
Soarin looked at her closely. “You've seen it, haven't you?”
The question caught her off guard. What would make him ask that? “Y... yes. Why do you ask?”
“It must have been horrifying... The end of the world mere days away... So I think I got everything. Ragnarok ends the world to save it from creepy monsters that want to destroy everything. There are special Fallen called Tempests that aren't supposed to exist but are basically normal ponies. Um, special tower... Distortions are glitches in timeline and Rifts are... invisible portals to the Void apparently... So how is a Distortion set right again? Without ending the world, I mean.”
“Well basically all that needs to be done is remove the source of the distortion. If the one who caused the timeline to distort is removed before Ragnarok awakens, then time will reset. Everything before the distortion will return to normal.”
“So what does this have to do with Arcanum? Or your loss?”
“Arcanum is a Tempest, see. The Doctor and I have been trying to figure out what in Equestria he's doing here but he always disappears back to his own time. However, for some odd reason, whenever he returns to his own time, time doesn't reset. Everything he affected stays the way it is. If time had reset, nopony would recall his existence and nothing he did would have ever have happened. So we are trying to find out why this is happening and why he keeps coming back. We thought we had it figured out until you told me he kidnapped Rainbow.”
“What did you think he was here for?”
“Well, we knew he had something to do with the pegasi's disease. We thought he was picking off those at the Cloudsdale Weather Corporation to cause a storm or something that would affect his future beneficially. Even though Rainbow was important in the facility, the fact that he kidnapped Rainbow means that his goal was not just to kill. He had a personal goal and particular interest in Rainbow Dash. Now it seems as though he sickened all those pegasi just to tire out Rainbow and kidnap her. How odd that he would do that...”
What was so important that this Tempest would kidnap Rainbow? Strange works were going on and she was going to get to the bottom of it. She just hoped she be able to stop him before something too horrible happened.
Chapter V- Unknown
“Lady Arcus!”
The mare awoke immediately expecting danger as somepony knocked on the door of her bedroom. She swiftly ran to the door and swung it open.
“What is it? Are we being attacked?”
Before her, Shattered Ice was wearing an expression of glee. Lady Arcus allowed herself to lose the battle stance and regain her usual composure.
“No. It's good news, for once,” he stated.
“Well, go on,” she urged.
“A rainstorm broke over the Iridium Plains last night. We have a chance to get close to the city.”
“What makes you think that? Despite the fact that the rain would cover our approach for a ways, the guards will still be able to see us when we get close enough to the city. Not to mention, there's a wall around Iridis. Trying to scale that in the rain might get somepony seriously hurt.”
“But think about this. Some of the guards will most likely be neglecting their duties to stay dry. If we could find an area of the wall that is unguarded, we could get close enough to investigate so that‒”
“No,” Lady Arcus interrupted, “We've already sent Stardust to investigate the walls before. The walls were without flaw, remember? Impenetrable.”
“But you know Stardust. She may have missed something.”
“I'm sorry, but no. I appreciate the idea, but I'm not putting any of my ponies at risk for such a trivial matter. We will wait for the savior.”
Lady Arcus turned to walk back into her room.
“Listen here!” Shattered Ice shouted at her. She halted. “There is no savior! We can't sit around waiting for some celestial warrior to fix our problems! We have to do it ourselves!”
Arcus shook her head, “Oh, you of little faith...”
With that she shut the door behind her, leaving the frustrated white pegasus on the other side.
Soarin had fallen asleep on Minuette's couch overnight. Having not slept in over twenty-four hours, he had drifted off while she had been talking. He awoke with a blanket thrown over him and red dawn rays shining onto his face through the window next to the front door. He still felt pretty empty, but he forced himself to get up, stretching his limbs and wings.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” said Minuette, who was entering from another room.
“How long was I asleep?” he asked.
“About thirteen hours. I was almost afraid you wouldn't wake up,” she said with a slight chuckle.
“You want something to eat? There's some toast in the kitchen,” Minuette offered.
“No thanks. I don't feel like eating.”
“Okay then,” she shrugged.
Soarin stood up and stretched. Saying nothing, he opened the front door and stepped out onto the street. The sun had barely crept over the horizon. Clouds were building up in one corner of the sky. It was going to be a dreary day.
“Fitting,” he muttered.
He stood there for a while, not thinking about anything in particular. His mind would drift between sadness and a general sense of delirium. The hopelessness of the situation was making him depressed. Apparently, the kidnapper had the capability to time-travel. How was he supposed to find Rainbow in the vastness of time. There were millions of possibilities. Infinite even. It was impossible to determine when they went.
Minuette stepped out beside him. “You really do love her, don't you?” she asked.
Soarin nodded. It was true. He loved her more than anything in the world. In fact, he had started saving for a certain special gift for her. But it was too late. He had lost his chance. She was gone.
“There needs to be more like you in the world,” Minuette said. “Anypony would be so lucky to have you.”
Soarin turned to her. “Is it possible to get to Arcanum's time?”
“Well,” she looked at him, “If we had a reference. We would need to find out the time he comes from.”
“How would we do that, exactly?”
“That's just it. I have no idea.”
“Nothing, huh?”
“We could stop by the Golden Oak Library. Maybe something could be found there.”
“Come on, cheer up!” she said. “You'll see her again.”
Soarin let out a sigh. “I hope to Celestia that you're right.
Rainbow Dash sat near the bars of her cell window, staring out at the vast dry land stretching out into the distance. According to Summer Blaze, the unicorn she met the day prior, this entire world was new.
“Thirteen years ago,” Summer had told her. “The old world was wiped from existence. Nopony except a mare known as Lady Arcus knew of the old world. Rumor was that she and the emperor were the only ones to survive the destruction of the old world. The emperor, using god-like powers, created a new world that he named Altero. The ponies that populate his world have no memory of their pasts. Some create their own imaginary pasts and others question if that past exists at all.”
Rainbow wasn't sure what to do with this information. Was she supposed to be scared? It didn't feel real. This all felt like a dream.
“Maybe it is,” she said to herself. “Maybe this is all a figment of my imagination.
But she knew it was different than that. The dream was too real this time. And she hadn't seen that stallion from her dreams. But some part of her was whispering that she'd wake up soon.
Rainbow turned and looked into Summer Blazes cell. The yellow mare was sleeping on her cot, curled into a ball. Her orange tail was draped over her nose like a warm blanket. The unicorn was peculiarly accepting when Rainbow had told her that she was from another world. Maybe she thought that she was from the old world or something?
Rainbow gazed back out the window. Was she? What was the old world?You have to go and restore the timeline.
The sentence echoed through the back of her mind. It was a line from one of her dreams. Why did that come back to mind? She remembered a tower in the background. And the stallion. And darkness.
They were puzzle pieces she couldn't fit together. So many questions. So few answers. And all Rainbow could do is sit imprisoned in a cell made of iron. She had no choice but to wait for a miracle.
“You're just as lost as the first time we met, aren't you?”
Rainbow turned at the sound of the voice. Her pitch black doppelganger was standing there in her cell. Rainbow jumped back in surprise.
“How did you get in?” she yelped.
“I didn't. I'm not actually here.”
Rainbow then noticed that she could see Blaze through the tattered pegasus before her.
“Who are you?” she asked, regaining her heart.
“Still don't remember?” the double said. “You and I decided we'd call you Rainbow, and me Dash.”
“But,” Rainbow tilted her head, “I'm Rainbow Dash. I'm both. How could you be… me? I think I'd remember something like this.”
“Deep down you must. Way down in the shadows of your heart, there is the pony that I wanted so desperately to kill. The one who stole my love from me as well as my home.”
“But I fixed it! Everything should be normal!” Rainbow covered her mouth as soon as the words escaped her lips. Those weren't her words. Those were somepony else's.
Dash smiled. “I knew it. You are there. And when I meet you again, I'll settle the score once and for all.”
Then the mirage faded, leaving Rainbow alone, staring at the door of the cell. Crouching down to the floor, she covered her head with her hooves and said, “What in Celestia's name is going on?”
This dream was getting far too strange.
Chapter VI- Discovery
Soarin and Minuette trotted up to the library just as the rain started coming down. Soarin knocked on the door three times and stood back. He could hear the clopping of hooves as Twilight came up to the door. It swung open to reveal a rather tired looking princess.
“Oh, is this a bad time?” Minuette asked.
Twilight yawned. “Not at all,” she said, giving them a droopy grin. “I've just been working really hard on these batches of Dragon's Tongue cure and haven't been to sleep in... I don't even know how long. You know the fever, right?”
“We've heard of it,” Soarin replied. “May we come in? We need to talk.”
“Be my guest,” said Twilight as she moved out of the doorway to let them in. Once they were inside out of the weather, the alicorn nodded to them. What's on your minds?
“Rainbow's gone,” Soarin cut immediately to the chase. Twilight's eyes widened in surprise the sleepiness vanishing from her features. “She was kidnapped from my house by a pony named Arcanum. And we have reason to believe that they went into another time.”
“Hold on! What are you saying? A time traveler kidnapped Rainbow Dash?” the purple pony asked.
Minuette nodded. “I know it's hard to believe, Twilight. But you have to understand, your friend's life could hang in the balance.”
“Could this have anything to do with that pegasus that broke into Rainbow's house a couple nights ago? He gave her the Dragon's Tongue cure.”
Soarin looked to Minuette. A shocked expression crossed her face.
“More than likely. But now I find that odd. My accomplice and I theorized that Arcanum had started spreading the disease. Why then would he simply give away the cure?”
“Never mind that,” Soarin interjected. “We need to find something to identify what time he is from, so that we can go after him.”
Twilight shook her head. “I cannot allow that. I know that she means a lot to you Soarin, but messing with time is risky business. One can cause serious problems by doing anything out of line.”
“Trust me, Twilight. I know that better than most,” Minuette nodded. “But right now, I fear that if we don't get Rainbow back and stop whatever Arcanum is doing, much worse things could start happening.”
Soarin nodded. “Would you help us, please?”
Twilight sighed. “I can't help. I don't have anything that can help.”
Soarin deflated a little at that.
“But, I can give a suggestion. Go to Rainbow's house. Maybe Arcanum left something behind from his break in.”
“You're letting us do this?” Soarin asked, brightening back up a little. He thought she was refusing them the right to go.
“If what Minuette says is true, then something has to be done. I trust her enough to let you two go.”
“Thank you!” exclaimed Minuette and gave Twilight a hearty embrace.
“Now,” the princess said, “If you'll excuse me I have a lot more curatives to mix.”
“Of course,” said Soarin. “Thank you.”
So, the two ponies left Twilight to her business and were on their way to Rainbow's house. The scene of the break in.
“You know,” Minuette said as they trotted through the light rain. “If we find something there, we could be on our way to another time by tomorrow.”
“You think we will find anything though?” Soarin asked.
“I have no clue. But it's possible. All we would need is a molted feather, a lost object, practically anything except glass.”
“Why not glass?” Soarin puzzled.
Minuette shrugged. “My spell could never detect the time glass is from. It's possible that the traces of time merely slip off of it or something, but I can't be entirely sure. It's just one of those things. Time is as time does.”
“How strange.” Soarin commented. It really didn't matter at this point. There had to be something they could find. Even if they found nothing at Rainbow's house, there was bound to be something at his own.
The walk from then on was made in relative silence, both going into their own thoughts. Soarin worried about what he would do. What if they went forth in time and then Arcanum switched times again? What if Rainbow was being held in someplace he would never find? What if Arcanum killed her...
It wouldn't help thinking like that. Soarin decided to block out the thoughts and focus only on the task at hand. Get to the house, look for clues. Get to the house, look for clues. Get to the house...
“Wait, how are you going to get up there?” Soarin asked Minuette.
“Oh. I thought you were going to go up alone. You know, since she is your girlfriend and all. I don't want to intrude.”
“I could use some help searching. What if I don't know what to look for?”
“Just look for anything out of the ordinary. You'll have more luck at that than I will.”
“Alright, I guess.” Soarin said as they approached the crest where the building floated overhead.
The pegasus spread his wings and soared upwards, alighting in front of the door. It wasn't all that long ago that he had come here with news of Spitfire’s illness. Now he was here with neither of them at his side. He thought about how Spitfire made him choose between the team and Rainbow. He began to feel a little mad. He had neglected the race in order to help Rainbow deliver the Dragon's Tongue cure. The one that Spitfire took to get better. If not for him and Rainbow, she very well may have died . And this was how she repaid him? By cutting him off and kicking him out of the Wonderbolts?
“What's taking so long?” Minuette called up.
Soarin shook his head to clear away the fiery thoughts and reached for the door handle... then hesitated. He knocked on the door and listened for a second. Nothing. He walked in.
Nothing seemed to be out of place as he entered. He looked did a quick sweep to be sure then decided it would be best to look upstairs. He cracked open the door to her bedroom and peered inside. It was a disaster. Rain was blowing in through a broken window, and shards of glass littered the wet floor.
This was as out of the ordinary as it gets. He looked for any sign of the intruder, but all he saw was the broken glass. He went to the side of the bed and saw a book on the nightstand he had never seen before. He opened the cover and, seeing Rainbow Dash written in loopy handwriting signed inside, immediately closed it. Soarin was above snooping through her stuff.
Then he saw what he was looking for. A dark purple feather was caught just below the nightstand, pinned against one of the table's legs. Soarin reached down to grab it in his teeth, when a gust of wind blew the feather beneath the bed. Soarin grunted in discomfort as he got down on the wet floor and squeezed under the bed to chase after it.
Soarin located the feather almost immediately as the underside of her bed was spotless aside from the dust and the little bit of rain that had managed to get this far into her room. Well, he thought that was the case, but there was something else under here, against the wall there was something circular. And though it was very faint, he heard ticking. Squirming up to it, he managed to grasp it in his teeth by a chain that was attached to it, as well as grabbing the feather.
Once he was out from under the bed he looked at the circular object. It was obviously a silver pocketwatch. He opened it and saw an engraved dragon above a cracked, dusty watch face that counted to thirteen in roman numerals and had three hands. Though he heard the ticking, the hands were stationary, all meeting at the number thirteen.
“Ugh! I'm tired of being stuck in here! I'm tired of this gross food, I'm tired of this tiny cell, I'm tired of not being able to sleep!” Rainbow stormed back and forth across her cell as she fumed loudly.
“Could you keep it down?” Summer Blaze asked in an annoyed tone. “Some of us are tired of hearing you complain!”
“What about you?” said Rainbow. “Can't you use your magic to get us out or something?”
Blaze glared at her from where she was lying in her cot. “No. Iridis is surrounded by a spell that prevents any unicorns from using magic unless you are part of the Emperor's Court or the IOE.”
“But there has to be something we can do! Isn't there anything we can do?” Rainbow pressed her face against the bars and gazed agitatedly at the yellow and orange lump across from her.
“No,” Blaze said. “And don't talk so loudly about such things. You'll have the guards on us in no time! So just shut up!”
“Fine, fine! I won't talk about that.”
“Thank you!” Summer Blaze threw a hoof up in a sign of relief.
“But I feel so trapped! I can hardly breathe in here! It's been so long since I've been out in the fresh air!” Rainbow began pacing again.
“You've only been in here for two days!”
“But I'm a pegasus! I can't expect an earthbound pony like you to understand. You haven't had the opportunity to experience the wonders of flight like us.”
“I know what it feels like to fly. Kind of. I rode on an airship from Silverstone to Dawnforge. It was one of the best days of my life here in Altero.”
“Really? Do you remember any of your past life? Before Altero?” Rainbow asked, setting aside her own discomfort for a second.
Blaze sat up, looking at Rainbow through the bars, an expression of utter annoyance on her face. “No, I can't. No one can. I told you this on day one, remember?”
“Not even a little bit? I figure if you didn't remember anything, then surely you would've had to reinvent a spoken language.”
Blaze opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't make a sound. Instead, she shrugged. “Maybe we remember a little. But nopony I've met has any personal memories. So anything tying us to wherever we came from is pretty much lost. Most just ignore it and go on living as they should. Well, unless they live in Iridis.”
“That's sad. This world seems like a downer,” said Rainbow.
“Actually, the only real downer is Iridis and the Emperor. The rest of Altero is actually a really wonderful place. Take Dawnforge for example. It was the second city established after Iridis. It was originally simply a massive forge created to produce the massive amounts of metal needed for the city without going too far from the mines. It eventually became its own city because so many ponies would have to travel all the way across the plains just to work there, so they made their own homes near the forge. Now the forge itself is beautiful, especially at night. The orange light glows through it and lights up so much of the city that it seems like night never actually falls. It's like an eternal sunset. Dawnforge doesn't even have street lamps. It's rather pointless.”
“Wow. A whole city made in just a few years?” Rainbow asked appalled.
“Yeah. Does it take longer where you come from?” Blaze asked.
“Well, we can accomplish a lot but what you just described sounds like generations worth of work in my world.”
“Really... So what is your home like? It seems like a completely different planet.”
“You're not far off. I come from the land of Equestria. I haven't actually seen too much of it yet. So I don't actually know all the different cities. But I know the origin of Equestria. Long ago there was another land, but back then the three pony tribes were at odds with each other. This caused Windigos to attack creating-”
“An eternal winter!” Blaze interjected. “I know this story! Lady Arcus tells this story every winter! She called it Hearth's Warming Eve.”
Rainbow was shocked. “What? How could she know that story? Unless...”
The two mares locked eyes as a realization dawned on them simultaneously.
“This Lady Arcus...” said Rainbow, “She's from Equestria, isn't she?”
Chapter VII- Taking Action
“Where is Shattered Ice?” Lady Arcus asked mostly to herself.
It was midday and the clouds above loomed low, heavy with the rain that was soon to fall down over the plains. Hadn't it just rained the other day? This was not helping her rather foul mood. She stalked over to where a blue unicorn with a yellow mane stood guard at the gate to the fortress.
“Stardust, have you seen Shattered Ice anywhere, I need to speak with him.”
A blank look crossed the blue mare's expression. “No offense ma'am, but don't you already know?”
“Where did he go?” Arcus asked vehemently.
Stardust grimaced. “He told me that you ordered him to take Adamant Shield and Caelum to perform a reconnaissance mission on Iridis' walls during today's rainstorm.” She seemed to shrink in on herself as she reported back to her leader. Lady Arcus kept a respectable relationship with her followers, but they knew that bad things were going to happen when she was angry.
“Thank you Stardust,” Arcus nodded, “You may resume your duties. I would also like you to report to me as soon as Shattered Ice returns. He's got a lot of explaining to do.”
“But,” Stardust said, “What if he... doesn't return?”
“Then we will have lost a valuable asset to our rebellion. Now return to your duties.”
Stardust nodded and turned back to the gate, watching the forest beyond with keen eyes. Lady Arcus in turn decided it best to return to her room. There was very little she could do in this situation. She knew she could always send out a party to retrieve them, but that would just put her other ponies in danger. It wasn't worth the risk.
Lady Arcus entered the main hall and turned immediately right, climbing up the stone staircase. At the end of the hall upstairs was her room, which she entered and closed the wooden door gently behind her and locked it.
Now she was free to be herself. No longer the strong, collected, and revered Lady that she appeared to be in public, she became the naive, confused, young mare that she was. And the only one that actually knew what was going on in this world. Arcus curled into a ball on her bed and pulled out a small crystal shard from under her pillow.
“Mother,” she whispered. “I need help. My people are losing faith in the Savior. What can I do to regain their spirits?”
Arcus closed her eyes tightly and felt sleep wash over her after a while. Dreams came and went. Dreams of battle training. Dreams of the Devil's Spire falling. Dreams of the Emperor dying at her hooves. They were quite common as those were her main focus in her waking hours. Then a voice filled her mind, more lucid than the other dreams.
“Hey there...” came the warm voice from nowhere at all.
“Mother...” Arcus smiled, feeling like a filly again with that warm, protective voice over her. However, her pressing thoughts encroached on her once more.
“I can feel your agitation. What's wrong?”
“They're losing faith in me,” Arcus said. “Shattered Ice went over my leadership to scope out Iridis even though I specifically told him not to. That it's too dangerous.”
“Maybe they sense a hesitation in you... Have you been losing your faith in the Savior's coming?”
“Of course not!”
“Are you sure? It's been much longer than you thought, isn't it?”
Arcus sighed. “It's been far too long. When will she arrive?”
“You've asked me many times that very question. And I have given you the same answer each time.”
“I know... 'The Savior will arrive when the time is right.' But when is the right time? I don't know how much longer I can maintain a rebellion that never actually rebels! We have been training to fight a battle that hinges on the coming of a pony from an alternate world! All I've done is teach these ponies to fight and fill their heads with stories of a bright future without the rule of a cruel Emperor. I've already lost half my strongest soldiers who would rather submit to a twisted ruler than have a hope in an unseen force.”
“You have to be strong for the rest of your followers. The time is nearly upon us. The course of action has already been set. You must have patience.”
Arcus awoke abruptly to the sound of loud moans of pain. She got out of bed and rushed out her room and outside where Shattered Ice and Adamant Shield were carrying a blood stained pegasus between them through the gate.
“Caelum!” Lady Arcus exclaimed. “Stardust, go get somepony from the medicine wing, now! You two set her down there!” As she dashed through the rain up to Caelum, she noticed the arrow shaft protruding from between her ribs, a large amount of blood still seeping from the wound.
“Is it a barbed arrow?” Arcus demanded.
“Yes,” replied Adamant Shield immediately, “She's lost a lot of blood on the way here. I'm surprised she survived the journey.”
Just then, Stardust returned with the a pair of nurses.
“Barbed arrow,” Arcus reported to the nurses. “What can you do?”
The nurse frowned. “This isn't good at all. We're going to need to surgically remove the arrow to avoid infection. But the odds of her surviving the operation is very low. We'll do what we can, but we're going to need a miracle for her to survive.”
The other nurse demanded a tent be set up to negate the rain and produced a small knife and a bonesaw from her bag. Caelum cried out in pain as the nurse began to cut into her.
Lady Arcus glared at Shattered Ice. This was all his fault. “You!” her voice lanced as she stormed up to him. “I aught to kill you for this!” He gazed resolutely at her as she yelled in his face. “Not only did you directly disobey my orders against going into Iridis, but you have put these ponies' lives unnecessarily on the line! Now Caelum is on the verge of death because of YOUR stupidity!”
“We needed to take action! It was an opportunity we couldn't pass up! We can't waste time on idle dreams anymore! We need to do something!” Shattered Ice disputed.
Lady Arcus raised a hoof and punched the white pegasus directly in the face with brute force. He collapsed onto the ground unconscious and bleeding heavily from his nose. She gazed down at him with fury. “Never put my ponies lives in danger again!” she hissed through clenched teeth.
Adamant Shield stared in shock at Shattered Ice's unmoving form. “Wasn't that a bit harsh?” the grey earth pony asked.
Lady Arcus shook her head. “He sent you on a suicide mission. One that went against my very orders. He needs to learn that I am the one in charge. I know what I am doing, even if he doesn't understand.”
“I see,” he said.
“Now, tell me what happened...”
So there was a pony from Equestria in this foreign world. Rainbow could hardly believe it. Had this Lady Arcus gotten here the same way she herself had? But that begged the question how she herself had wound up here. All she knew was that the purple pegasus had caused her to fall asleep and she had woken up in the tower.
Rainbow shifted in her cot to look up at the ceiling. A series of rusty pipes coursed behind the grated ceiling. Every once in a while, one of the pipes would let out a puff of steam. Somewhere beyond the pipes was an indiscernible light source. That was the extent of the aesthetics the ceiling provided her with. She wanted to go back home with her ever-changing cloud ceiling and warm blankets. The only reminder of home was the pattering of the rain just outside her small window.
The gentle pitter-patter eventually lulled the cyan pegasus into fitful slumber...
She opened her eyes to see a stormy sky above her. Rain fell from the sky and into her face. Everything in her body ached. Breathing was a challenge. It felt as if she was going to die, right then and there. But there was a drive to get up. As if she knew there was something important somewhere around her.
Rainbow saw two figures in the rain: the shadowy version of herself and somepony else. He was a yellow unicorn with a green mane peaking from beneath a silver helmet. His red eyes pierced into her own. Then he turned to the black pegasus.
“Come on,” he said, “Let's go. You'll have all the time in the world to get revenge after I'm done with her.”
The shadowy double didn't acknowledge him, instead casting a loathing glare at Rainbow. “Your day is coming,” she spat. The unicorn then cast a teleportation spell then they were gone, leaving Rainbow alone.
Rainbow found the pain coursing through her too much to bear and lied back down on the wet ground.
“I'm sorry...” she whispered.
It wasn't what she meant to say... in fact she hadn't meant to speak at all. Rainbow was very confused. Why was she so hurt? Who were those ponies? And why did her double have a vendetta against her? And why had she said sorry?
This is another dream, isn't it? Rainbow thought, as soon as the possibility occurred to her. This one was slightly different than the others though. That black and red unicorn was nowhere to be found. For some reason, the thought made her a little sad. But aside from that, it felt just as realistic as the other dreams.
It seemed this black pegasus was becoming more prominent as well. Hadn't she imagined she was in the cell with her the other day? There was obviously something wrong here. This pony... what was the name she said they decided on?... Dash...
Why did that seem right? It felt like they had decided on it... But wasn't Dash just a figment of her imagination? Or was she? There was something deeper going on here...
“Am I still dreaming?” Rainbow asked herself. Her eyes were closed and she could still here rain, but her thoughts were very lucid, moreso than she thought possible when dreaming.
“Not anymore,” came Summer Blaze's voice.
Rainbow opened her eyes to see her prisonmate looking at her all disgruntled. The yellow unicorn was clearly woken up by Rainbow's sleep-talking. Rainbow wondered how much she had heard. Probably not much, considering she had only said two things.
“Sorry to wake you, Summer,” she apologized.
“Oh, it's not completely your fault. There's a couple of guards chattering up a storm at the end of the corridor. I'm surprised you can sleep through it.”
The pegasus listened for a moment and realized she was right. The sound of voices and obnoxious laughter were echoing down the hall. Now that she heard it, she couldn't block it out.
“Geez. I see why you can't sleep,” she said. “I must've been out cold.”
“No joke,” Summer replied.
“Wait...” Rainbow said, her eyes furrowing. An idea had just occurred to her. “We may be able to break out of here...”
“Are you insane?!” Blaze hissed.
Rainbow nodded. “But it may work. The guards carry keys on them right?”
Blaze shook her head. “You can't be serious. What do you think we're gonna do? Ask nicely for it? Mug him through the bars?”
“Nope, we're gonna distract him. Or rather, you are. While you hold his attention, I'll reach through the bars and sneak it off of him.”
“That's crazy! Why do I have to distract him?”
“You told me on the first day that you had a way with the stallions. Plus, I'm just the loud one. They won't listen to me.”
“Here's why that's a load of bull-”
“HEY!” Rainbow yelled out of nowhere.
Summer Blaze's eyes went wide. The plan was already in action.
“You can't talk to me like that!” Rainbow blurted again.
The guards' cutting up halted and the sound of hoofsteps approached their cells.
A large stallion, covered to the neck in bronze-colored armor glared into the cell. “Shut up, pegasus! It's sleeping time.”
“Well, this mare over here is threatening me! I'll go to sleep if and only if you tell her to stop.”
“Geez! You're so annoying!” the guard said, exasperated. He turned to Summer's cell, said stop, then turned back to Rainbow. “Happy now?”
Come on Summer! Say something! Rainbow thought. The yellow mare was just standing there, shock still on her face.
“No, she needs to understand that she can't just go around telling me what I should or shouldn't do!”
“You know what!” the guard said. “You're the one that's making all the noise! And I can tell you what to do! Now shut up or you'll be hung upside down and bludgeoned to death. You hear me!” The guard gave a solid whack to the bars for emphasis.
Rainbow nodded, fear making her comply.
“Thank you!” he said and stormed back down the hallway. It wasn't long before the guards started back up their conversations.
“Blaze! You were supposed to distract him!” she whispered harshly.
“Well, I thought you were doing that just fine on your own.” Summer said.
“Yeah, but...” Rainbow faltered. Summer Blaze was holding the keys in her hoof.
“But what? Like you said, you're the loud one. Much more distracting.”
Minuette placed the purple feather into a glass cylinder attached to the side of a large machine riddled with pipes, tubes, and wires. This was her time machine. Her horn began to glow as she supplied the magic necessary to start up the device. The time machine roared to life, she looked over the moniter as it scanned the feather.
“What's happening?” Soarin asked over her shoulder.
“Shh. It's analyzing the feather on the molecular level to pinpoint the various stages of genetic age and comparing it to similar compounds in our own time. Therefore pinpointing the time it was in previously.”
“Which means?” Soarin asked.
“It's finding out when it's from, now hush! I have to pay attention to the screen to be sure it's working properly.”
The blue mare studied the screen intently, watching the numbers shift. There was something wrong... The numbers didn't add up. There was no way an item could be from the future and past at the same time, which is what the data seemed to be suggesting.
“That doesn't make any sense!” she said. She wracked her brain for what it could mean. It was a temporal anomaly. There couldn't be a reason for this. The machine must be broken.
Soarin stepped closer, “What's wrong?” Suddenly the numbers began rolling again. It rolled to the year scrolled up by nine, rolled all the way back to zero then went up to thirteen and stopped. Minuette's eyes widened. That was it. She knew what had happened.
“The world restarted...” she whispered to herself. She turned to Soarin. “She's in the future... twenty-two years into the future.”
“So we can get there?” Soarin questioned excitedly.
“I hope so. There's just one thing, there was a reset. A rebirth of the world. According to this data, the world ends in nine years...”
“WHAT?!” Soarin exclaimed. His wings were fully extended, a look of pure shock across his features. Minuette figured she could have found a better way of letting him in on that fun fact. She herself wasn't worried because she could always time-travel away from the apocalypse. Soarin on the other hoof...
“What I'm saying is that Rainbow is probably thirteen years past that in a new world. Now we can get there, but I'm not sure if the machine can handle a time reset. I've never tested anything like that.”
“You mean... we can go to this new world?” Soarin asked.
“Maybe.” Minuette replied, “But to be honest, the machine could overload at the nine year mark where time ends and begins. It's like flying into a black hole. No one really knows what happens when you go in. Do you get crushed or warped to the other end of the universe? We will be traveling to somewhere nopony has ever been before.”
“Aside from Rainbow and Arcanum,” Soarin added.
Minuette nodded, “True. I'll leave it up to you. We go or we stay.”
“Wait, we? You want to come?”
Minuette rolled her eyes. “I kind of have to come. You don't know how to work the time machine. And besides, I've been after Arcanum for a while. This is probably my one chance at getting to him.”
“Well, you make a valid point.” Soarin shook out his feathers and sighed. “Alright... We'll do it. I'm going to save Rainbow.”
“That's what I like to hear!” Minuette said. “Now let's do this!”
