The Darkest Kind of Kindness

Rainbow Dash groggily made her way out of her bed and down to the kitchen that her aunt and uncle were sitting at. The earth pony greeted her elders and sat down to her breakfast of bacon and pancakes. The disheartened filly munched away at her breakfast and ate the flower that was included on her plate. Her aunt and uncle were worried about her, she hadn't been taking the death of her parents well and they feared for her health.

Before the two elder pegasus ponies were able to ask their niece what was wrong she got up and left without saying single word to either of them. The walk to school was uneventful and she sighed while looking at the pegasi that were flying overhead. They reminded her of the dreams that she used to have when she was a little younger only she was the one flying. Now all that she dreamed about was her parents which only helped emphasize how much emptier her life was now.

Rainbow Dash talked to Fluttershy who was on her way to the flight school and they talked about who the best Wonderbolt is. Rainbow Dash really didn't care about the Wonderbolts anymore, she was an earthpony, and she sometimes wondered why she ever aspired to be one. Rodeo stars like Ten Gallon or the great Big Macarena were more fun and interesting to watch. The very thought of one day being a rodeo star made Dash' spine tingle with delight.

The two fillies prattled on about what they hoped to do in the future. Fluttershy stated that she simply wished to change the world and that her cutie-mark, which was a fiery butterfly emitting darkness, signified her ability to bring ponies together by lighting the darkness that keeps them separated. Rainbow Dash believed the lie and admitted that she had no idea what she wanted to do. Her special talent had turned out to be precision watering at any speed and she was drawing nothing but blanks for what her future was going to be other than another farmer.

The two mares parted when Rainbow Dash went on to her school in Ponyville while Fluttershy made her way to her Father's carriage that was there to pick her up for school while she was staying with her grandmother in Ponyville. The yellow mare was pleased with herself at having successfully lied to her friend, and allowed her driver to “accidentally” run over a random pony without even feeling remotely guilty. Fluttershy looked at the rising sun and she knew that her life was a good one.

Rainbow Dash was busy trying to avoid being late to class, she hated being tardy.  Being tardy was the most embarrassing thing to endure when everypony was already there. It was only made worse when they all noticed you enter the room and Rainbow Dash knew that they would notice, they always did. If the truth were to be told she hated feeling inferior to other ponies, and being looked at for something that was at least considered a misdemeanor had a way of making you feel like garbage. Especially when you were sitting next to a pony like Golden Platter.

Golden Platter was the second biggest bully in school next to Iron Shilling, a colt Rainbow Dash secretly believed was the very son of Satan himself. These two would make fun of rainbow Dash and ridicule her for almost anything. They would make fun of her earthpony status, her sexuality, missing a question she was asked, or even just being late. These two made her life Tartarus, and the two always tackle her from different angles.

Golden Platter made fun of her lineage and upbringing, claiming that an earthpony who was the descendant of a family of pegasi was only bringing her family down. One of the worst taunts that she had was claiming that her earthpony status had actually caused her parents to hire the guy to kill them to get away from Rainbow Dash and her inability to fly. Rainbow Dash was later found crying in the girl’s bathroom after she failed to attend class after recess that day.

Iron Shilling was much worse than Golden Platter, unlike her he was considered highly educated. He would boast that a grade as low as Rainbow Dash's could only be achieved by a rock that had hit every branch on the stupid tree. When he wasn't making fun of her intelligence he was beating the living tar out of her until she was coughing up blood. He always said that if she were capable of higher thought then she would have been able to have avoided hurting Ditzy.

Out of the two she realized that Iron Shilling talking about Ditzy like that made her the angriest. She had never forgiven herself for what had happened and the young filly was still in a coma. She knew that if she had thought ahead instead of being a big idiot and going at it recklessly she would have never hit Ditzy. She hated Iron Shilling for using that as leverage, it was too close to being true for her comfort.

Rainbow Dash always tried to do well in school it made her feel less incompetent and it helped her feel more in control of things. Sports were never easy unless it was a race or tag. Even then she would be called out for ramming the ponies she was trying to tag. She couldn't perform tricks without nearly dying or getting covered in tree sap, which only gave Golden Platter and Iron Shilling more ammunition against her.

Sports were something that quickly became a trivial thing to the growing mare and she found that even though she could barely retain her studies, they were easier to understand than the events going on around her. She hated studying though, it was boring, uncool, not fun, and totally not awesome. Friends for the pony were usually very few and they usually didn't have anything fun going on without it ending with her getting covered in tree sap.

(_0_==============================================_0_)

[five years later]

Rainbow Dash was staring at her latest biology test with adamant horror etched onto her face. She had gotten every question right including the bonus questions which gave her one hundred and twenty points out of one hundred. She was elated in some ways hoping that this would get Iron Shilling to back down, while the rest of her was embarrassed about her sudden egghead like knowledge. If anypony found out that she had actually happily studied for the test they would kick her out of the only groups that she was still a part of. Or maybe they would consider her to be a nerd and try to bully her. She already had enough problems with Golden Platter around.

Why the plant section had managed to intrigue and fascinate her so much that she read the whole thing three times eluded the cyan earth pony. She was determined to never let something as uncool as a plant garner so much attention ever again, especially when Fluttershy caught her reading the textbook. She even vowed to never let Iron Shilling find out just in case he decides to make a joke about her hard work having been some sort of fluke.

The rest of the school day went y fairly quickly and Rainbow Dash had a hard time focusing on anything else other than Cherry Jubilee, the most attractive colt in school. She noticed that he was sneaking bites out of a yellow daffodil that had a crisp stem that was B class, the soft petals were heavenly to look at but they only ranked at a C class. The stigma and pistol of the flower ranked at an A class, making the flower a low B class flower. It would be adequate for a sandwich with some condiments but it probably didn't have much going for it in flavor.

Rainbow Dash turned pale when the bell for school to end started ringing. Had she really just spent the entire class sizing up a flower that somepony was eating for lunch? Her mind answered with a joyous yes, but Rainbow Dash wasn't going to have any of it. On her way home from school the young mare was walking along and was stopped by Iron Shilling himself.

“So I heard that you did well on your exam. It's nice to see a young mare like yourself climbing the ladder. If you keep this up I might consider using you as my personal cock sock like Golden Platter.” The stallion stated trying to act suave.

“You wish! I would never get anywhere near your thing no matter what you threaten me with.” The cyan mare said with disgust.

“Really? You would turn down the most well-endowed, and handsome stallion in school?”

“Every pony knows that Cherry Jubilee is the most amazing stallion in school. You are nothing more than a stupid prick who enjoys tormenting others.” The mare said with a dreamy look in her eyes.

“Well then maybe a little taste of what I'm packing will change your mind!”

With that Iron Shilling grabbed rainbow Dash with his magic and dragged her into the ally while gagging her. The stallion looked down at his prey hungrily, readying his massive shaft for the young mare's virgin folds. When the shaft was at its maximum size he began to angle his massive rod at Rainbow Dash's tight entrance.

“STOOOOOOP!!!!!” Screamed a voice that rang through the alley way like thunder in the desert.

“Fluttershy?” Iron Shilling asked confused.

“Back away from her! Or I will end your life right now!” The large butter pegasus demanded.

“Oh! What is a mare going to do to me hmm? I could easily take you down foal!”

“Bring it!” Fluttershy spoke sternly.

Iron Shilling wasn't impressed with the young mare's performance, but she had guts for what it was worth. The mare slowly approached the stallion while pulling out  a flower and slowly popping it into her mouth. When Fluttershy finally approached him she took his head and passionately kissed him while forcing the flower into his mouth. The stallion swallowed the flower and smiled at the sudden turn of events.

“Well my dear aren't we feisty!” He said

“You do realize that was a Larkspur of delphinium you just ate?” Fluttershy said while smiling at Iron Shilling's panicked face, “Sweet dreams my dear Iron Shilling.” The mare cooed while Iron Shilling passed out from the flowers toxins letting Rainbow Dash remove the gag in her mouth.

“You... You saved me! What are we going to do about Iron Shilling though?”

“Oh! Don't worry, he'll be fine. The plant is poisonous but he only had enough to cause minor damage. He'll wake up in a while feeling disoriented and maybe a little nauseous, I didn't want to cause too much physical harm. Now all we have to do is report him to the cops...”

“No! We can't report him! Do you know what he'll do to me when he comes back? He could kill me or worse!” The Cyan earth pony interrupted.

“I will make sure he isn't a problem, now how about a nice ice cream cone to make you feel better? That is if you want to.”

“That would be nice.” Rainbow Dash stated while poking the ground.

(_0_==============================================_0_)

The two friends made their way to the ice cream parlor and made sure that Iron Shilling was going to get a nasty surprise involving the police. Rainbow Dash was stunned that Fluttershy had used a plant to fool Iron Shilling and save her, maybe the mare was smarter than what most ponies assumed. The order came back being delivered to them by white longma with a pink tint to her scales.

“Fluttershy who was that? The dragon mare thing that delivered our ice cream I mean.”

“That's Strawberry Cream. She comes from a faraway country where more of her kind live, and they are known as longma by the way. They usually don't try to make many pony friends since they don't age once they reach adulthood, but a few do enjoy watching the day to day lives of our race. Strawberry Cream is here with her brother Chocolate Dip so they can make new candies and ice creams for ponies.” The mare explained.

“That's cool, I guess? So what did you get?” Rainbow Dash said unenthusiastically.

“Their best dessert so far! It's called the flaming chocolate mountain. It is so sweet and creamy and they put a flower called a Vulcan flower on top. The whole flower resembles a fire and its pollen flows up from it creating this reddish mist giving the impression that it's made of fire. Its spiciness compliments the chocolate's sweetness in ways that can't be described with words.”

“Really! I've never heard of a Vulcan flower?”

“Well it only grows in the volcanic soil of the Longma Empire. The intense heat of the volcanic terrain that the longma call home is the only place hot enough for these flowers to grow. The deserts are rather reasonably priced though.” The butter Pegasus mentioned.

“Wow! That is one tough little flower if it grows in an environment full of lava.”

“Indeed! It is almost as cool as the vampire rose from Trottingham that induces a sleep-like state on a pony before allowing a vampire an easier time of converting their victim.” The Pegasus replied.

“Or maybe that one flower that will grow on any creature and slowly devour their insides.” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically.

“Hey! Isn't your class going to take a trip to that one biology museum tomorrow?”

“Ugh don't remind me!! I hate museums. They somehow manage to make even the most interesting subjects boring, while leaving you with more questions than when you entered the place.”

“Well... I didn't want to tell you this, but my father had the most expansive garden in Equestria, and I know where all of the coolest places are. If you are up to it maybe you could come by and play with me there.”

“Well I would love to play with you, but as long as you promise this isn't just some ruse to make me think plants are cool. Just because you caught me reading the textbook doesn’t mean that I like them”

“I don't think that I need to help you think that plants are cool, but maybe a little push to help you accept it is in order. That is if you want to of course.”

“Listen Shy, just because there are a few plants out there that are pretty awesome does not mean that I want to study them, or that they are all awesome. I order to even get me to consider thinking that they are cool enough to study would require a least a whole garden full of plants that are beyond amazing.” The cyan earth pony retorted.

“We'll Dash I... well uh... I was hoping that maybe, you would give them a shot. You are an earthpony after all, and I was thinking that it would be a relevant interest.”

“Ugh… now you are starting to sound as prejudiced as Golden Platter. I know you didn’t mean it though. Hey do you know what is going on with Golden Platter anyways?”

“She moved to Fillydalphia the last time I heard anything about her.”

“Oh! Well I’d better get going. I have a lot of… things to do back home.” The earthpony said with a smile.

“Oh, okay. Thanks for eating with me. It really means a lot.”

Later that evening Rainbow Dash was running through the procedures for harvesting a cactus flower on one of the many plants that found a residence in the young mare’s room. Even though Rainbow dash hated being looked at as an egghead, she had always been fond of the plants that she took care of. Her special talent did involve them after all. Her only problem with plants was being mocked for trying to learn about them.

In a way Rainbow knew that her real problem was that she was afraid of what others thought of her, and what being considered an egghead would do to her image. She didn’t want to be known as the nerdy plant pony. A name which was already taken by her cousin in Manehatten. Rainbow hated knowing what kinds of comments her cousin received, and was determined to never let her own image cause that kind of pain.

After taking care of all of the plants in her room the young mare went down and began tending to the rest that littered the house. Her Aunt and Uncle were beginning to think that she was running out of room for her plants in her room, which resembled a greenhouse more than anything. The plants that lined the tables that supported their pots were mostly flowers and herbs of various species that her family enjoyed. The rest of the plants were stationed either in her room, or the largely unused basement that the house sported.

(_0_==============================================_0_)

Rainbow Dash was busy examining the shrubs outside of the Posey mansion while waiting for Fluttershy to let her in. In truth the earthpony had only been inside of the building once before and that was for Fluttershy’s Cutecenera. The mansion looked rather daunting and something about it reminded her of a horror movie. The door to the building opened up and the pony that she was expecting to see eagerly pulled her in and shut the door.

Rainbow Dash wanted to ask her why she seemed so eager, but they were at their destination before she could get a word in. The entrance to the garden was rather plain, just two glass doors that opened into what looked like a large jungle. The mare that had dragged Dash here was eagerly making her way into the garden and was motioning for her to follow.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but notice her friend’s rather large stature now that she was going through what was known as the Posey family growth spurt. It was supposed to skip generations, but Fluttershy was already the size of a full grown mare. Dash sometimes wondered if being larger than most ponies ever caused problems for the family, even Princess Celestia was shorter than some of their stallions.

When the cyan earth pony reached her friend she was in utter awe of the scenery around her. The mare that was currently to her right was giddy for some, still inexplicable, reason. The whole room was filled with lush vegetation and the plants were kept well taken care of. The Rainbow maned mare was silently thanking Celestia for having allowed her to see such divinity as the garden that she was in.

Fluttershy who looked somewhere between elated and needing to use the restroom couldn’t hold back her excitement any longer and told her friend what was on her mind.

“I just inherited my family’s entire fortune!” The mare blurted.

“W-what! That’s terrible I’m so sorry for the loss of your parents.” The Cyan mare said in shock at her friend’s lack of misery.

“Huh? Oh! They aren’t dead, just retiring. They are leaving me with the family business and a rather large sum of money that counts as my inheritance.”

“Flutter’s you’re only fourteen! How can a mare your age inherit and run a factory!?”

“Well, I’ve been receiving a lot of training and I am now considered of age for a Pegasus.”

“That’s… weird. All of my teacher’s and friends say that you come age at eighteen. Are you sure that you aren’t mistaken?”

“Of course! I can see why you would be concerned, but there really isn’t anything to worry about. If anypony even asks they will simply look at me and think that I’m old enough.”

“Listen Shy just because you are the size of a full grown mare right now doesn’t mean that you can get away with lying like that! You’ll get in trouble!”

“Don’t worry about me. My family has the rest already taken care of. Now let’s look at the foliage that is so desperately wanting attention.”

Rainbow Dash wanted to reprimand her friend for trying to do something that was borderline illegal, but the plants that adorned the room were calling out to her. Something about the lush greenery in the room spoke to the young mare. Maybe it was just her special talent resonating with her environment, or perhaps it was her desire to understand the living beings around her.

The vibrant colors of a nearby flower caught the mare’s attention and she looked it over. The stem was mostly a dark purple that was oddly appealing, the leaves were a vibrant green that was looking rather crisp. The many flowers that adorned the plant were of a vibrant orange that slowly turned into a magenta as the petals neared the stalk. It was rather delicious looking and there was nopony looking so she figured a small nibble wouldn’t hurt.

Thankfully Fluttershy was there to stop her from eating the flower. It turned out to be rather poisonous when ingested and was only for display, unlike the wildflowers that could be seen growing around Equestria. Rainbow was unsettled at first by the deceptive flower’s ability to hoodwink her into nearly poisoning herself, but then she found an odd fascination surrounding its deceptive nature. Why would something so vile and harmful look so good and clean?

The mare was never answered, her curiosity had led her to what surmounted to a small water fall of blue pollen. The pollen was lazily drifting from flowers that were growing in front of a small hole in the wall. The hole looked like something made by a magic blast rather than time, which made the young mare wonder what lay behind the misty curtain. Behind the mist was a rather dingy room with a plant that she couldn’t identify.

It was a simple looking flowering plant that bore a striking resemblance to a Lily. A reddish haze surrounded the fragile flower causing Rainbow Dash no small amount of unease when gazing upon it. The flower oddly reminded the mare of home and her family but something was niggling at the back of her mind that the flower was dangerous. Fluttershy called out to her friend causing Rainbow Dash to ignore the flower and leave. Thankfully she hadn’t been paying attention to the animal bones that littered the space around the flower.

The rest of Rainbow’s stay was filled with vibrant flora that beckoned her to tend to them. Fluttershy was rather pleased that she was enjoying herself and started to point out interesting facts about certain plants. One of Rainbow’s favorite plants was one that distributed its seeds by launching its flower into the air. The spectacle that the plant would perform was rather beautiful, but the day was growing short and Rainbow Dash needed to get home.

“I’ll see you later Fluttershy! I really need to get home now.”

“Oh! Okay. Thanks for coming over I just knew that you would enjoy the garden.”

“That reminds me. Why does the rest of your family have posey in their name except you?”

“Oh that’s simple. Fluttershy is just a nickname. My real name is Fluttering Posey, but I prefer Fluttershy.”

“Well, I’d better stop wasting time and head back home then.”

On her way home Rainbow Dash felt something nagging at the back of her mind. Her special talent dealt with plants, and not just a specific type either. How was she supposed to care for them if she knew almost nothing about them? In fact her ignorance nearly caused her to make a mistake and poison herself. She was utterly clueless for what was required to care for certain species that she was likely to encounter.

As soon as the mare thought about that she ran all the way home and made sure that her plants were still alive. To the mare’s delight they were all healthy, but were they as healthy as they could be? The mare knew better than to think that they were the healthiest they could be, that kind of thing required a bit more care. Care that the mare was going to make sure she knew how to administer.

(_0_==============================================_0_)

[2 years later]

Rainbow Dash was now a healthy sixteen year old with a passion for her craft, her mission was to ensure that all of her plants were in top shape. The mare was currently pruning a rather unyielding rose bush that was blossoming into something that looked more like a flowering tree than a bush. Rainbow Dash’s research had paid off and her plants were now looking like something that one would send in for a farming competition.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t the best farmer around, but she certainly had her fair share of first and second place ribbons from the farmers markets that she would attend. Sure the cyan mare was still embarrassed about being called an egghead, but that was still currently a secret. Most ponies just said she was a good farmer and pat her on the back for her expert care. Others looked rather peeved, especially that Apple Jack character.

It wasn’t her fault that she was so amazing when it came to growing things or participating in rodeo events. The rivalry between the two mares was a rather heated one that provided a lot of entertainment for any pony watching. Out of the clashes that the two were known for Rainbow Dash had won a total of five out of ten, putting the two at a tie. The apple farmer never gave up though and she was still trying to outdo Dash.

Although it wasn’t until an apple bucking event that Dash realized the mare was a unicorn. She had caught Apple Jack cheating by using magic to break the stems of the apples when she bucked the trees. It was well hidden, but the mare was caught and her horn had an enchantment put on it in order to keep her playing fair.

The most endearing thing was when the mare’s sister showed up, a young filly of roughly age four. The young filly was rather adorable with a gigantic red bow perched atop her head. The young filly surprisingly bore more of a resemblance to Apple Jack than her other sister Macarena though. The filly also seemed to show an unusual amount of affection towards Apple Jack as well, but what was to be expected from family?

The mare briskly made her way down the hall and stopped to eat breakfast with her aunt and uncle. The two ponies eagerly greeted the pony that had become somewhat of a daughter to them. Rainbow Dash was prepping some gear while eating, today was the day she was going to be going to Canterlot to examine an outcropping of rare flowers.

The flowers happened to be right next to a Wonderbolts stadium, and some ponies thought that they were planted by somepony. Rainbow Dash wasn’t dumb enough to believe that. Those flowers didn’t grow in Equestria, let alone anywhere near the country.

Rainbow Dash was suggested for the study when her secret was revealed to the principle of her high school. Ponyville High wasn’t the most prestigious school, but the principle had a few friends in Canterlot, and was able to help the young earthpony. She was certainly surprised at first and even considered refusing to go in order to maintain her image.

The two ponies that were Rainbow Dash’s guardians weren’t going to let her just refuse it though. After what surmounted to a talk about how she was too chicken to be an egghead in front of an egghead Rainbow Dash was infuriated and accepted because she wasn’t a coward. Later that evening the anxiety came back and her more sensible cousin from Manehatten who was visiting at the time to praise Rainbow’s rather excellent plant collection.

The mare had heard of Rainbow’s amazing skills from a farm pony that had passed through her part of town. The mare quickly made an arrangement to go visit her cousin in order to see if the tales were true. She wasn’t disappointed, but she seriously didn’t expect her aunt and uncle to be dense enough to cause a problem.

She knew what Rainbow Dash was going through and she managed to let Rainbow Dash know that she wasn’t going to be laughed at. Professionals didn’t do that to other’s. Even if they were too close to the upper or middle classes. Something about money caused ponies to have an almost insatiable blood lust and it tended to leach out to those close to them as well.

The mare made sure her cousin was certain that they would accept her, and if they didn’t it was their problem not hers. Rainbow Dash still wasn’t feeling up to going though. She was still afraid that somepony in Ponyville would hear about what she had been up to.

“Alright that’s enough now. Just because some pony knows that you like plants doesn’t mean that they are going to make fun of you.”

“What if they do though?”

“Who cares!? You are Rainbow Dash the best plant grower this side of the Macintosh Mountains and the smartest filly I know. If you aren’t smart enough for those high society folks then may all mares cry over Blue Blood’s grave.”

“You know he is the second most hated stallion in the country. Even the Equestrian Days newspaper can’t find anything worse than him.”

“Now cousin I know that you’ve been through a lot but I want you to know that I believe one day even the princess will be jealous of your knowledge.”

“Well… I guess I could try and get in good with those ponies up there. They might even name something after me if I impress them enough!”

“Now there’s the Rainbow Dash that I know! Now let’s get something to eat I’m starving!”

Rainbow Dash eagerly accepted the offer to eat, she had skipped dinner and was feeling rather hungry. Her cousin may not be known for much, but at least she knew how to make Dash feel better. The two had a rather simple dinner and Rainbow’s aunt and uncle apologized for forcing her to go on the trip.

The next week was spent packing for Rainbow’s trip and a ticket for the train to Canterlot was purchased for her. The ticket was bought using some of the bits Rainbow made off of produce. When the day for the trip finally arrived she waved good bye to her aunt and uncle and looked at the metallic beast that lay before her. It was a pristine engine that was built to run entirely on steam and it was painted in colors that matched the rest of the town.

Rainbow Dash stood there eagerly awaiting what would await her in Canterlot. The door opened to let several passengers off and allowing the cyan earthpony on. She was ushered into the train by a pink pony with an equally pink mane and tail that resembled cotton candy.

“Hiya Dashie! I bet you weren’t expecting to meet me here!” The mare exclaimed.

“Pinke? I thought that you worked for the Cakes at Sugar Cube Corner?”

“Oh I do! And it’s the best job in the world for me! I work several other jobs on the side though. My parents and family aren’t doing so well and I’m sending them as many bits as I can to help out, but rock farming as a business is tanking and I’m worried about what will happen if I can’t help them keep up.” The pink mare said while her mane and tail temporarily deflated, “Oh! But I just know that you are going to have a super de duper good time in Canterlot! Just FYI there’s a little flower that will be overlooked close to the Canterlot stadium, trust me, if you check it out you’ll thank me later.” Pinkie said in a conspiratorial tone.

“Okay?”

“Yep! Now can you point me to the changeling that got on board? I really need to brief him on our mission, but I lost him. Who knew that changelings were so good at hiding!? I bet they are the best at hide-and-seek! So Rainbow do you like hide-and-seek? Oh what am I talking about everypony likes hide-and-seek! Unless you lost somepony then I guess it wouldn’t be too fun, but they’ll still be super happy st the end and…!”

“Pinkie!!”

“Yes Dashie?”

“Don’t you have something you need to do?”

“Of course! Don’t worry my changeling friend! I’m coming!” The pink party mare yelled while running off into a random train car.

The rest of the train ride went on with very little disturbance, except for a foal that was jostled a little too roughly and started to whine. When the train finally arrived at its destination the rainbow maned earthpony gathered her things and made her way onto the platform that was already teaming with ponies boarding the train in order to go to Trottingham.

On dash’s way to the building where she was supposed to meet with her head advisor she noticed a certain pink pony pulling around a rather terrified Pegasus. The earthpony paid no mind to Pinkie’s shenanigans and trotted up to the building that would she would be staying at for the duration of the trip.

The building was just like any other building in Canterlot, its walls were pure white and was accented with golden hued filigree. The building was not what garnered the young mare’s attention though, but the stallion who was in front of her. He was rustic looking and was probably no older then twenty, but his cuie mark of three crowns was what drew her attention.

“Oh hello there my dear! Am I disrupting something?” The stallion asked.

“Uhm… No sir! Mr. Fancy Pants sir!” The mare said in a rather exasperated tone.

“So you’ve heard of me! Well then I am pleasantly surprised. It certainly gets my introduction out of the way, but what pray tell is your name?”

“I-I’m Rainbow Dash…” She stuttered out.

“Really? What a peculiar name for an earthpony. Although most ponies would probably laugh at my name if it weren’t for my reputation. So my young lady what brings you to this fair city?”

“Oh uh… I’m here to help with the research being done on the flowers that cropped up near the stadium.”

“Well then! I wish you the best of luck. It always brings a smile to my face to find young ponies like yourself taking a fine interest in the sciences.”

“Oh thank you Mr. Fancy Pants! Although back home most ponies would probably laugh at me.” The young mare said while tentatively poking a hoof at the ground.

“And why is that my dear? Surely they would understand that your interests are your own and accept you for that. If they don’t respect you then they were never worthy of giving you respect in the first place.”

“Well… It’s just that I don’t want to be labelled as the nerdy plant pony. I’m way too cool for something like that. I’ve managed to grow a tomato that was the size of my own head, and there’s no way I’d be able to live it down with Apple Jack pestering me about being an egghead.”

“A bit of a rivalry I see. Now young filly you need to take your genius in stride! No normal pony can grow a tomato that big without the proper knowledge. If you were to come out with your knowledge in stride, that Apple Jack would be hard pressed my dear. She’d be so jealous that I bet she would storm a library in order to best you. Maybe her sister will even get in on the ordeal.”

“Wait! You know about Apple Jack’s sister?”

“Big Macarena is one of the most renowned rodeo stars! Of course I’ve heard of her! I’ve also heard of the young filly who has been competing with the Apple family and keeping up! You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished! Not many ponies can compete with professionals like that at your age.” The stallion said in reverence.

“I guess you’re right! Thanks for helping me get my priorities focused.” The mare said while feeling a little more confident.

“Think nothing of it! Now I must be off, I have a date I need to get to and she is quite a feisty one!” The stallion said while kissing Rainbows hoof and trotting off into the distance.

Rainbow Dash was grateful when she got to her accommodations. The train ride had sapped her energy and she would be needing it for the upcoming week and her study of the specimen that they were assigned to. Similar to what Pinkie had asked Rainbow Dash had made sure to get placed on the team that was studying the flower groups closest to the Wonderbolts stadium.

The mare wondered what was so special about those particular flowers, but maybe she would be pleasantly surprised. Sleep came slowly and she found herself dreaming about Pinkie kissing a gryphon and then a changeling pulled Pinkie away and had her continue on with their mission to protect Canterlot from aliens.

The next day came with the rather unpleasant ringing of her alarm clock, a device that she had grown to hate. Dash was grateful that her dream had ended when it did, she didn’t want to dream about Pinkie banging a gryphon…again. After the incessant ringing was stopped she made her way downstairs and prepared to head to the stadium along with the rest of her crew.

The Wonderbolt stadium was packed like it always was, but Dash didn’t care about the show. She was too busy looking at the flower that had her attention completely drawn to it. It was right next to the stadium and the spot was open to a small section of the raceway.

The flower itself was a deep iridescent blue that glowed faintly in the morning light. White specks were dotted all along the petals like stars in the night sky. The whole flower shimmered like nothing on the mortal plane was capable of harming its beauty. The flower made the young pony feel happy and also a little bit hungry.

The cyan earth pony began to write down all of the features of the flower and the nature of its presence. What concerned the mare the most about the flower was that the stars on its glowing petals seemed to move and align themselves into known constellations. The glowing green stem was almost completely transparent and was unaffected by physical contact.

The flower seemed to be made of pure ethereal energy that resonates with the night. Dash knew that further testing after dark and a few aura scans were underway in order to determine if it truly was part of the night. The mare continued working on observing the rare flower, unaware that a Wonderbolt was coming in for a landing nearby.

Soarin was still a young Wonderbolt and was happily performing with the rest of his team. That was until he pulled a muscle in his wing and had to land nearby before he lost control. The stallion knew he was an idiot for skipping the warmups, but there was an unattended piece of pie lying around with his name on it. The Wonderbolt began to stretch the wing out and knew from the pain that he wasn’t going to be resuming the performance anytime soon.

The young Wonderbolt looked around to make sure nopony was watching him while trying to alleviate the pain in his wing. He tried to stretch it every way he knew how to, but he either made the pain worse or did nothing to it at all. While the Wonderbolt was trying so desperately to alleviate the pain in his wings a Cyan earthpony who was looking at a flower noticed him.

Rainbow Dash approached the Wonderbolt and noticed that whatever he was doing with his wings wasn’t working. The cyan mare continued to trot over to him until she was close enough to see how tense his muscles were.

“Hey buddy! Do you need any help?!” Rainbow yelled.

“Oh! Uhh…”

Rainbow didn’t wait for him to answer and grabbed his wings and kneaded the tense muscles. The mare did this until both wings were relaxed before popping one of the wings back where it belonged. How he had even managed to pull one of his wings out of socket while stretching was beyond the mare. Rainbow Dash carefully examined the rest of his body in case of any other injury.

When Rainbow Dash was satisfied with her work she went over to her bag and pulled out a few herbs that she had brought in case of an emergency and created an ointment to help the Wonderbolt heal. Soarin was embarrassed that a mare had just helped him like that after causing more injury to himself. When the ointment was applied the Wonderbolt stayed still while examining the mare that was helping him.

Rainbow wasn’t an overly muscular mare, probably due to her sedentary life of tending to potted plants, but she still had an athletic build to her. Her plot was graced with an image of a cloud that had a rainbow colored lightning bolt coming from it. Her eyes were a deep cerise that seemed to emulate pools of wine, while her mane and tail were graced with the colors of the rainbow, a pegasus’ most beautiful creation.

“Hey! Eyes off of the eye candy!” Rainbow said indignantly, “Now that I’ve fixed your wings up you can return to whatever it was you were doing.”

“Oh I’m so sorry! Maybe… if you want to that is, maybe you could join me later for some dinner at a donut shop I know.” The stallion said sheepishly.

“Alright but you’re paying!”

“Deal!”

(_0_==============================================_0_)

Rainbow Dash, aside from having dinner with a stallion that she just met, was having a relatively good time. Soarin was trying to talk to her about things like what Celestia has the Wonderbolts do or other things like that. Rainbow Dash wasn’t paying too much attention to that though, to be honest it bored her to listen about Pegasus sports.

The stallion across from her was starting to notice her discomfort and decided to take a different approach to the situation.

“Uhm… what is it that you like miss…”

“Rainbow Dash, Yes I know the name is odd but that’s what you get in a family of Pegasus ponies. As for my interests I enjoy botany, caring for plants, and creating medical salves or ointments. I seriously doubt that you would be able to comprehend any of the stuff involved.”

“You might be surprised about what I know. I’ve heard that you’ve caused quite a stir in the farming community with your talents. What exactly is your talent by the way?”

“Precision watering and plant maintenance at any speed required of me. The cloud represents my ability to care to the watering aspect of plants while the lightning bolt represents the precision and speed at which I can perform.” The young mare gloated.

“Really? I’ve heard of a cutie-mark having multiple meanings, especially when earned by ponies of a different tribe, but I never though plants would be linked to a cutie-mark with that imagery. You must be a very special pony to get such a cutie-mark.”

“Stop with the flattery, I know that all you want to do is get me in the sack. Well it’s not working.”

“I’m sorry if it seemed like I was coming off that way. I wouldn’t imagine doing something like that immediately.”

“You’re a Wonderbolt! I bet you have mares lining up to get a shot at you.”

“Not really. I’m just the Wonderbolt who always comes in last or injures himself. I was good enough for the team, just not the expectations of the crowd.” Soarin said dejectedly.

“Cheer up. I was embarrassed about my plant thing, but you have no reason to live up to another’s expectations. Being a Wonderbolt means that you’ve already succeeded in a way.”

“That’s true I guess, but what if I never find that mare that’s right for me?”

“Hey, don’t you ever give up! You hear me? If you give up how will you ever expect to grasp your dreams?”

“Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate them. Really. I’m sorry if this sounds intrusive, but… what do you dream about?”

For once during the conversation Rainbow Dash was drawing a blank. What is it that I dream about? The mare began to ponder the question and decided maybe asking Soarin the same question would buy her some time.

“Uhm… I’d prefer it if you answer your own question first.” The cyan mare asked.

“I dream that one day I will meet my very special somepony and that we will be together and have a family.”

This startled the mare out of her thought. She knew that he had been acting oddly sentimental and mushy for a first date, but she had never noticed how attractive he was before. Sure he was a Wonderbolt and physically fit, but something about him seemed to penetrate deeper than his appearance at that moment.

“That’s a nice dream.” Rainbow Dash replied, “I just wish I had a dream that was worth dreaming about. My head is empty and I have nothing to shoot for.”

“Surely there’s something for you out there.”

“No. There isn’t. All that lies before me is farm life, probably one of the biggest wastes of my talents.”

“Why would that be waste?”

“It’s a waste because of what I can do. Nopony can compete with my plant raising skills, I just don’t want it to be squandered on a farm where it will be hardly appreciated or looked at.”

“Well, no matter what you decide to do with your life I’m certain your skills will be put to good use. If it makes you feel better, you mentioned that you like botany.”

“Yeah, what of it?”

“Well, I’ve heard that botanists do all kinds of things. They research plants and depending on which part of the field you go into you can make hybrids or make new medicines. Your talents would be welcomed there I bet.”

Rainbow Dash considered his words. They rang true and her skills would be useful in most aspects of a botanist’s career. She felt a warmness inside from the insight and care that the stallion seemed to be showing towards her. He also knew what it felt like to be rejected because he didn’t meet expectations, he just wasn’t afraid of it though. She wasn’t sure where their lives would go from here, but she was willing to let him be a part of it.

“Thank you… for helping me see what I’ve overlooked. I’m sorry if… I mean… What I want to say is… maybe we can make a relationship work. We’ll just date and go around and see how things go, and if they don’t work out we won’t have any reason to regret our decisions.” The cyan earthpony said hesitantly.

“Th-thank you. You are the first mare to ever want a relationship with me other than sex. I just hope that I can live up to your expectations… egghead” Soarin said with a joking tone at the end.

“Alright, but let’s not get this mopey again. It’s depressing.”

“I’ll try.”

That evening bore witness to two ponies happily walking along Canterlot’s moon washed streets. The pair reluctantly parted ways when they reached the residence that Rainbow Dash was staying at. The stallion, grateful for having been given a chance, and the mare, who was happy to have somepony who at least knew how she felt, kissed under the light of the rising moon. Somewhere in the background a pink pony and a changeling were watching the sight. The changeling sighed and handed the pink pony fifty bits.

The rest of the year was perfect for the young couple. Soarin would take Rainbow Dash out on romantic evenings and Rainbow Dash would present him with one of her homegrown roses. Their nights were tame excursions of either theater or music, something that Rainbow insisted on. The two were growing closer each day and Rainbow knew it wouldn’t be long before he decided to propose.

(_0_==============================================_0_)

Rainbow Dash woke up refreshed and delighted that her dreams were filled with her lover. This dream was different than some of the others though, in the dream they were already wed and they were happily entertaining three foals of their own. The foals were concerned for their mother though and it felt as if a weight was placed upon her.

The dream ended abruptly with only the image of a honeycomb, a gear, and a starburst lingering in her mind. The images haunted Rainbow Dash throughout the morning, but they were quickly forgotten when she remembered the date that she was going on today. Rainbow Dash made a visit over to the boutique in town, today was going to be special she just knew it.

The owner of the boutique, a stallion named Elusive, took the mare’s measurements and began to work on her outfit. Rainbow Dash could almost make out crying in the back ground and decided to ask Elusive about it when he returned with her dress. Normally Rainbow Dash hated dresses, but this wasn’t for her, it was Soarin. When Rainbow Looked at herself in the mirror she was pleased with the work and proceeded to ask Elusive her question while paying him his money.

“Uhm I’m sorry Mr. Elusive, but I can’t help but notice that there is somepony crying upstairs.”

“Sorry deary, that’s just my five year old sister Sweetie Belle. She received some rather tragic news today and isn’t taking it well, she’ll be better by tomorrow though.” Elusive said while ushering Rainbow dash to the door.

Rainbow Dash was sure the young filly was alright and continued on her way to the Canterlot train station. Pinkie was there again, but this time she seemed a little more antsy than usual. She came up to Rainbow Dash and it appeared that she wanted to tell her something, but she also appeared to be trying not to say anything and all that Pinkie wound up doing was making a bunch of faces.

When Rainbow Dash arrived in Canterlot she easily blended in with the dress that she was wearing. She made sure to head to the restaurant that they were to meet up at and made it there a little bit early. When Soarin arrived she greeted him and promptly sat down with him.

“So… notice anything different?” The cyan mare asked.

“I was wondering why you decided to wear a dress like that to a burger joint.”

“Why don’t you guess?”

“Well may…”

Whatever the Wonderbolt was going to say was cut off when a pony ran in and started screaming about an attack on the palace. The stallion gave Rainbow an apologetic look and flew out the door to perform his duty as a Wonderbolt. Rainbow chased after him though, today was supposed to be the day that she proposed. Now she was fuming at the idiot who was stupid enough to attack the castle.

Rainbow Dash ran towards the castle, chasing the stallion that she loved. All that she could see around her were screaming ponies running in the other direction. The young mare laughed at them for being afraid until a blast of dark colored magic whizzed by her head and blew apart the second floor of a building.

Shrapnel cascaded down around the mare but she pressed on hoping to find her stallion. Somewhere deep inside her mind Rainbow Dash was asking why she was running headlong into a fight she had no business being in. The other parts of her mind were screaming that he needed her now more than ever. She would not betray her loyalty to him like she did with her parents, she would be there with him.

As the cyan blur approached the castle the devastation that was being wrought became more and more appalling. If an illiterate pony were to guess what was happening they would think that Celestia’s brother who became Nightmare Nebula came back. Rainbow Dash knew that this wasn’t the case, it was too early in the year for his return, and this was a preemptive strike from supporters of the night.

The mare continued to run trying to distract the unicorns that were throwing blasts of dark magic her way. The mare narrowly avoided being crushed by a collapsing building when Pinkie showed up to give her a push. The pink mare vanished as quickly as she had appeared and the young mare managed to get to the castle gates.

Centuries of paranoia from Celestia had caused a large wall to be built around her castle. The wall was about as thick as two buildings placed side by side, and the night loyalists had managed to blow the gates apart. The guards were missing and the whole castle was eerily quiet. Blood was splattered against the walls and more horrors awaited the young mare beyond the broken gates.

The palace’s courtyard gardens were flooded with blood and the bodies of dead guards were littered everywhere. The gates to the palace were open and undamaged, but blood was dripping down onto the floor before the entrance from an impaled Pegasus just above it. The inside of the palace was just as quiet as the courtyard, blood splattered along the walls were a grim reminder of what had happened.

The pantries that the young mare passed were horrific and gruesome. The bakers and prepares of the food had been slaughtered using their own tools. One poor pony had even been baked into a pie that was cooling on one of the tables. The young mare resisted the urge to vomit and trudged onward fearing what monster was capable of this.

Rainbow kept trotting through the painted halls of the castle almost completely lost. After another sighting of a potted plant that Rainbow Dash swore she had seen three times already the mare sat down on her haunches and looked around. The halls were testaments to the amount of blood a pony had in their bodies, and the trails that dark magic had left were rather obvious. In fact the dark magic blasts all seemed to be heading in a single direction.

The mare followed the scorch marks, cursing herself for being an idiot the entire time, and promptly stopped when she heard voices. One voice was her lovers and the rest were either the other Wonderbolts or their foes. When the mare peeked inside the room she noticed that all of the Wonderbolts other than Soarin had been bound with dark magic. There was only one enemy within the room though and it made Rainbow Dash quiver in fear.

Within the room stood princess Cellestia’s most faithful student, a stallion who had originally been a mare, Dusk Shine. The stallion was standing there with Barb lazily standing nearby. The young dragoness had obviously been forcibly aged up into what appeared to be a teenager, while her feminine attributes had obviously been enhanced. Dusk Shine was glaring daggers at Soarin who was doing the same right back at Dusk Shine.

“Back down fiend.” Soarin demanded.

“Why should I? Your interruption was all the distraction that I needed to bind your co-workers here. Surely you pose no threat to me.”

“Try me.”

“I’d think not. Celestia has been freaking out in her tower for over three-thousand years and a little gift for her brother is in order.”

“I should have guessed that you were a moon worshipper!”

“We are all children of the night my dear stallion. When Artemis was rejected by his own sister and had nopony to love, we mortals were there to satisfy his desires. All ponies are now his descendants and we must honor our father.”

“I don’t care who our great grandpa is! You are not harming the princess!”

“Oh my poor stallion the damage was wrought long before I ever found favor under the sun. The sun is weakening and I am insuring my claim to the throne by aligning myself with the stronger power.”

“Oh really! I’d like to see how you would deal with an insane alicorn bearing down on you!”

“Trust me I have my ways. I will please the night and help him guide us to a proper world.”

“When he became the nightmare and fought Celestia the world was kept dark for five-hundred years!”

“He was angry and upset. We may have begun to starve and freeze, but our coats grew thicker and our teeth grew sharper. Our eyes became more privy to the night and we became more like our thestral brothers. He blessed us with more of his power that way and his magnificence was revealed in greater glory to us! I changed my form to emulate his glory and I am stronger now than ever before!”

“You’re insane! If you think that he was seriously trying to help us he wouldn’t have done that!”

“You bore me. As the last caretaker of the great king’s diary I am privy to all of his inner thoughts and know how he works. I will give him his proper throne and there is nothing you can do to stop me.”

Dusk Shine lit up his horn channeling dark energy into it and fired the blast at a dumbfounded Soarin. The stallion was unable to move while the blast neared him, he silently hoped that Celestia would stop this. Suddenly a blur of motion rammed into Soarin clearing him off the blast. Shrapnel erupted from the wall behind the stallion raining debris on all that were present.

Soarin looked at his savior and the explosion of debris going on behind her and nearly fainted from shock. The two quickly recollected themselves and faced the stallion that had attacked the two. Dusk Shine only smirked and turned around while leaving causing a black cape that he had worn for just the occasion to billow behind him. Barb took the hint and followed him while setting fires all throughout the room that the ponies were in.

Rainbow Dash was now officially panicking and running around while fire continued to block any form of exit. The heat was beginning to sap the life out of the poor mare and the rest of the Wonderbolts weren’t doing too well either. Soarin was frantically looking for an exit and gulped when he noticed the barred window that had flames dancing in front of it.

The rest of the room was beginning to buckle and bits of the ceiling were beginning to cave in. Sorain cursed Celestia for using stone and marble for only the large halls and rooms when the doors were blocked off by the crumbling ceiling. Soarin was running out of ideas and his feathers were gradually being singed by the approaching flames.

Meanwhile Celestia was lying in her royal bedchambers curled into a quivering ball under her covers. The princess was always a nervous wreck anyways, she knew that everpony was out to get her, and there would be no denying it. Sugar helped to distract her fear addled mind, but she was under siege right now. Dusk Shine, her most faithful student who was turned into a stallion after an accident, had come in earlier and reassured her that she would be fine.

“Why… Why would I be fine! I’m hunted! Hunted!! The eyes they are always watching me… hoping for me to fall *Cough*… Even my precious sun is against me… Can’t run! Can’t hide! It always follows me! Make it go away! Please… JUST STOP FOLLOWING ME!!!” The alicorn screamed at an empty room.

She had leapt out of her bead and was scanning the room with eyes the size of pinpricks. Her windows were all bricked up, like she had made them, and blackout curtains hung heavily before them. The room was silent and the solar alicorn was scanning every shadow and corner of her almost completely sterile room. Then she rolled back into her bead and placed her hooves over her eyes.

“It always watches, even though it has no eyes. I can tell that it’s looking at me. *Cough* I-I’m scared… Always scared… *Cough* I just hope Dusk Shine can deal with this mess…”

The alicorn continued to quiver in her bed, blissfully unaware of the events that were going elsewhere in the castle, While Soarin had started to ram the barred window in the burning room. Rainbow Dash was helping the other Wonderbolts get to their hooves after their bindings were released. Rainbow Dash suspected that Dusk Shine knew that the bonds were no longer needed.

The mare eagerly rushed to her colt-friend and looked at the window he was trying to bust through. She sighed and grabbed a bit of twisted metal nearby and nearly dropped it from the heat in it. She wasn’t going to drop it though and ran towards the window and began using the metal piece to pry against the bars.

Soarin joined in and the rest of the Wonderbolts began to grab things to help. The bars on the window groaned and creaked, but they eventually gave in and were broken off of the window. The Wonderbolts eagerly escaped leaving Soarin to pick up the mare that had helped save his life.

When the duo joined the rest of the Wonderbolts they were coughing and trying to stay steady. The mare looked up at her colt-friend and smiled at him. They had escaped that crazy stallions clutches, but him still running around was bothering her. When they landed on the ground she decided to finally ask a few questions that had started forming in her mind.

“What are we going to do about that monster of a stallion?”

“What can we do? This was nothing more than a blood sacrifice to Nightmare Nebula while showing his devotion. He already slaughtered everypony in the castle except for the princess. Knowing him he will leave the princess alone for the Nightmare to deal with.” One of the Wonderbolts said.

“But surely something will be done right?! There is no way a stallion that insane is going to just get away with this!”

“He can and he will… Now all that has to do is set up a memory spell and we will forget he was ever tied to the attack. We will only remember a shadow where he once was, he has won.” Soarin said dejectedly.

“But… I don’t want to forget about what he’s done… I love you too much to let him get away with this!”

“It’s already started.” Another Wonderbolt said while a purple glow enveloped the city.

(_0_==============================================_0_)

The next few weeks were quite frantic for Rainbow Dash. She was preparing for her wedding and her colt-friend was leaving the Wonderbolts in order to pursue a safer line of work. Her life was hectic enough as it was without Canterlot being in an uproar about an unknown assailant on the castle. Sometimes Rainbow dash wondered if the ponies up there were ever prepared. That didn’t matter right now though all that mattered was that she was the happiest mare alive and nothing was going to take that from her.