Dashing Your Friends Away

I am not prepared for this.

There wasn’t much to do in a situation like this, where emotions are running high and you don’t know what to do. Seeing the sight of one of her friends who still trusted her gave Rainbow something she hadn't felt since Rarity was murdered.

Hope and happiness.

"P…Pinkie? But… but why? Everypony else hates me and I thought you did too! What made you-"

It took all of her effort not to tear up, but it was a lost cause after Pinkie interrupted her speech with a tug into a tight embrace. They both had tears flowing out of their eyes, but for the first time in a while, both were of happiness and relief.

"I'd always believe you. You would never do such a thing, Dashie. I will always lo-”

“It’s just... it’s really nice to see you Pinkie. I’m not sure what I’d do without a friend by my side,” Rainbow interrupted.

As if she had something important to say before she was interrupted, Pinkie sighed at the missed opportunity to express her feelings.

“I’m not sure what I should do though, Pinkie. I have no way of getting inside the town to get the rest of our friends to back me up, and they wouldn’t even listen to me anyway.”

Even though this news sounded horrible to Rainbow, it didn't phase Pinkie in the slightest. If anything, she smiled with a happier tone to her voice.

"Oh, come on, Dashie! I'll just convince them myself! Sometimes, they don't seem to take me seriously, but I'll just ask them if they can come to see you and I'm sure they will! …Oh, no. Now that everypony's back from their celebrations, Twilight will be busy speaking to them about you. I guess I can still get Fluttershy and Applejack!"

Only Pinkie could make a pony this happy, even after everything she had already been through. This could be Rainbow’s ticket to freedom, justice and a chance at living a semi-normal life. Nothing would ever be like it used to be- not without Rarity.

“Pinkie... you don’t understand how happy it makes me to hear that coming from you. It’s been nearly impossible to deal with what’s happened... it’s relieving to hear that everything can work out in the end.”

Pinkie smiled at her kind words, keeping them close to heart. It was all she needed to hear before leaving, even if there was something she still wanted to say.

As Pinkie walked away towards Ponyville, Rainbow found a comfy spot on the ground to think.

I’ve got some time on my hands, maybe I can set things a little straight in my own mind before getting things straight with my friends.

Most of what happened in the last while seemed to relate to Dawson primarily, who is probably a good place to start.

Who even is Dawson? He seems like a fantastic flyer... no, that question is too broad. Let’s see... why would he kill Rarity, and how does he know me? I’ve never seen him before, and I’m pretty sure Rarity looked at him in confusion. I’d be pretty confused if I faced some homicidal pony I haven’t met before. But how does he maintain his calm demeanour? ...Ugh! This is so pointless! All I’m doing is making more questions for myself...

Rainbow judged that waiting for Pinkie was probably a better idea. Thinking of answers to questions she could only dream of figuring out turned out to do more bad than good. Now there was more conflict in her own mind, and even though the situation seemed good and under control, Rainbow’s struggle to remain sane was becoming more and more difficult.

The tension building inside Rainbow lasted for hours, brooding as she sat on the ground unmoving. It came as a huge relief when she could see a familiar pink figure coming towards her.

Pinkie. I know she has good news.

Sure enough, Pinkie came with a bright smile on her face, as though she were proud of something.

“Dashie, guess what? Fluttershy wasn’t available since she’s helping out Twilight with something, but I got Applejack on the bandwagon! Isn’t that great?” Pinkie said, cheerily.

Pinkie jumped up and down repeatedly, but Rainbow didn’t share the sentiment. As she shook her head, Pinkie slowed down her excitement in confusion.

“Didn’t you hear me, Dashie? I said-”

“Yes, I know what you said. It’s just that it seems out of character for Applejack to do something like accept me so easily, even if you were advocating for me. She seemed dead set that I was a menace to the town at that meeting or whatever it was,” Rainbow explained.

Pinkie shuffled her hooves a little, mumbling under her breath.

“Well, I guess I forgot to mention... she doesn’t actually believe you, but she wants to meet you over by Fluttershy’s cottage. She wants to see you personally to see if you are lying or not.”

“What about Fluttershy? Won’t she be upset to see me?”

“We’re planning on meeting behind a tree out of sight from her windows. The idea we had was to get Fluttershy in it if Applejack agrees that you’re innocent. She’ll jump on the bandwagon too, and I am guessing that the three of us will be enough to make the case for Twilight. It’ll only branch out from there,” Pinkie explained.

Rainbow pondered Pinkie’s words.

It all makes sense, but what if Applejack doesn’t believe me? Sure, I know I’m telling the truth, but maybe the pressure or the anxiety will change how it looks to Applejack...

Pinkie put her hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder and smiled assuringly, giving Rainbow a newfound sense of hope. She smiled in turn.

“Don’t worry, Dashie. I know you might think Applejack won’t get it right, but she will. It’s not about what appears on your coat, it’s what she sees in your heart through your eyes. She’ll know the truth,” Pinkie said.

What if... what if what I think isn’t the truth?

Those words haunted Rainbow on the journey to Fluttershy’s cottage, despite any attempts she made to remove them with small talk.

“Pinkie, I noticed there was a first aid kit and some apple stuff in the bag. How did you get those from Applejack? You didn’t steal them, did you?” Rainbow inquired.

Pinkie brightened up with a smile, coming up with a logical answer for everything.

There was something about that that bothered Rainbow. She was acting differently; she was happy like her usual self, but her attitude was off. She was logical instead of random, and she seemed to take a lot of interest in Rainbow.

“Well, the first aid kit was from Sugarcube Corner. Applejack isn’t the only one that has one!” Pinkie joked. “Applejack gave me the apple stuff to give to you as a little treat for cleaning her barn. This was before the... inci...”

Pinkie choked up a little at the memory of her fallen friend. It brought up flashes of Pinkie’s shocked face to Rainbow, who was close to tears before she caught sight of Applejack sitting by a tree. All of the thoughts in her mind dissipated as she saw the opportunities that could take place.

“Applejack! I’m so happy you’re here!”

No response from Applejack except an accusing stare as she marched towards Rainbow assertively. As she got closer and closer, still not saying a word, Rainbow felt more and more anxious.

What if she can’t tell if I’m telling the truth?

As Applejack approached within a nose of Rainbow, her face straightened to meet Rainbow’s directly. Despite her forwardness, Rainbow tried to make her case as good as possible by holding her ground.

After what seemed like forever, Pinkie broke the two up and asked Applejack what she thought.

“Rainbow, it seemed unlikely to me that you were the one at fault for the whole ordeal, but I started to have my doubts as everypony kept accusing you. Now that I’ve looked you in the eye...”

Pinkie and Rainbow leaned in, perking their ears to hear the result.

Applejack gave a light hearted smile as she opened her hooves out to Rainbow.

“I believe everything Pinkie told me. I think ya’ll are innocent.”

Rainbow rushed at Applejack to accept the invitation, embracing her tightly. Pinkie joined soon after, happy to see her friends reconciling.

“You don’t know how good it is to hear-”

Rainbow stopped abruptly when she caught a glint of red on the other side of the tree, with a devilish smile on his face.

“Hello, Rainbow. Thanks for making my housekeeping duties so much easier, I didn’t think you had it in you,” Dawson said.

Rainbow was about to protest to Dawson and tell her friends of the impending attack, when she caught sight of a squad of soldiers rushing over. They must have seen Rainbow in the distance and decided to come to detain her.

Breaking apart the hug with Applejack, she smiled with satisfaction to Dawson, who seemed frightened by the sudden realization.

“Looks like you’re done, Dawson. They’ll put you in prison forever,” Rainbow taunted Dawson.

Just as the guards came within spitting distance of everypony, Dawson turned with a scowl to Pinkie Pie. In the meantime, Applejack stared at Dawson with a look of anger and frustration.

“You really are something. I hope you wind up in a prison cell for the rest of your life,” Applejack said sharply to Dawson. Applejack was too far away from Dawson to lunge, but she began charging at him before he acted on Pinkie in desperation.

Rainbow knew exactly why she was doing this.

Dawson has a knife pointed at Pinkie! I have to save her!

With a quick lunge to Pinkie, Rainbow expected to see Dawson lunge at the same time, but was surprised to discover that her own world went pitch black quickly, without any foreseeable reason. Dawson hadn’t even touched her yet.

No... What’s going... on... Pinkie...

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        The pitch darkness that had dominated Rainbow’s vision turned into a dazzling white light as she opened her eyes, illuminating the now visible room. It had a simple white design, with a bed and sink pressed against the walls.

Rainbow made an attempt to rub her eyes so she can adjust them better, but was surprised to discover a yellow binding kept her hooves crossed over herself.

A… a straightjacket? Where am I? What happened?

"HELP ME!!!!"

No answer. Complete silence filled the room for a few minutes, until a scruffy voice reassured her that she was not alone.

"Hello, Rainbow," the voice projected from outside the door to her room. "You are currently residing in a rehabilitation institute with the purpose of helping you recover your mental state. We trust that-"

"Hey, what's the big idea? I just blacked out, and all of a sudden, I wind up here! Let me go!" Rainbow yelled to the door. "And who's this 'we'?"

"We had guessed you would be a little dazed. We are not suspecting or accusing you of murder or anything, but we believe that you may have some sort of mental ailment. The authorities will deal with you once we discover the nature of the problem. Determining if you are a criminal is not up to us."

It wasn't easy to take in. Rather than argue about it, she decided to get the only question on her mind answered. After all, it would help her mental integrity, and isn't that the goal of this rehabilitation?

"Could you just answer one question? I'll be subjected to whatever you want if you can answer it," Rainbow pleaded.

"And what is that?"

"What did you mean by murder? Is this going back to Rarity's death?"

Silence for a few moments, as though the voice had something to say that would be difficult for Rainbow to comprehend.

"Hello? Hey! Why won't you answer me?!" Rainbow called out.

Her yelling was met by an upset sigh coming from the curious voice.

"Rainbow, Pinkie Pie is dead."

END OF CHAPTER THREE