Don't Fear The Storm

Chapters

1 ~ Don't Bow To The Wind
2 ~ Crashing Waves
3 ~ Rattling Cages

1 ~ Don't Bow To The Wind

The wind brushed through her mane in a wild gust. She felt it moving every hair on her body, felt her tail dancing along its rhythm. Rainbow Dash felt a grin come upon her face as she took it in. Beneath her hooves she felt the soft surface of the cloud she stood on, as it, too, was carried along the gale.

As she played with the goggles she wore for protection, her eyes were fixed on what would be the greatest storm in Equestria’s history. The weather ponies had planned for this all winter and now, with spring’s arrival, it was finally time. As the sun ever so slowly crept up from beyond the horizon so far behind her, she could only stare at the black wall of clouds that moved towards her.

She was alone with it.

Rainbow Dash shivered with excitement. The cyan pegasus lifted one hoof and let it move through her mane, making sure not a single strand would fall into her face. Red or orange or yellow, she needn’t any of them in her eyes now. This was going to be her moment, her storm.

The wonderbolts often trained in rainstorms, refining their maneuvers under the most dangerous circumstances. So, of course, the more dangerous a storm, the easier it would be to refine herself. It was simple, and with her ability and knowledge of the weather, this would not only be the perfect exercise, it would also be easy.

Of course, pretty much all her friends had told her that flying into the most massive hurricane to ever move across Equestria’s sky was dangerous, but she was Rainbow Danger Dash. This was her moment, her storm, surely.

Yet the pegasus pony found herself quaking and a fearful voice came from the depths of her subconscious. She was too far from Ponyville, all alone and if something would happen, then nopony would be able to help her. Those were the things her friends had told her and she’d laughed it off. Another laugh escaped her, louder than the wind. All the world should hear her, for she wasn’t scared.

The wind, the distant thunder and her laughter were the only sounds and she found herself unable to stop. She needn’t fear, because this was nothing to her. She was an Element of Harmony, the best flier in Ponyville and all-around a most magnificent mare. There was no need to fear anything.

The wind picked up and she shook her hooves and wings, readying herself for the take-off.

Her storm, her moment, that was how this was going to be. And yet she felt more and more nervous the closer the clouds moved. They looked like a monstrosity of smoke, water and electricity, its maw opening to swallow her whole.

A few clouds, one or two bolts of lightning tearing through the sky, and the thunder making itself heard through the thick glass of a house’s window, that was how storms in the equestrian central plains usually went, but as the sound reached her ears, the sight grew in front of her eyes, she knew that this was far more than that. It was like a wave of black smoke slowly creeping forward and the roar of its electrical discharges would’ve scared any pony more faint hearted than her. This was THE storm of the century.

“And you’re going to be mine,” she said with a confidence no other pony could have mustered up.

What new moves she had thought out and prepared rushed to her head, every moment of training came to mind. She was ready, she did not need to tremble, but she did.

The wind became stronger, and Rainbow Dash looked to the ground, where the few trees that plastered the landscape moved with the wind, agitated. Within the storm, the gale turned the clouds into twisters and she could make out how bolts of lightning went through and past them.

“You can do this,” she said, her voice shaking more than she wanted it, too. Nopony was watching, but she still wanted to look as brave as she felt herself to be.

The daring pegasus took one more breath. “The Thunderbolts are doing this sort of thing constantly, and Daring Do also managed to go through at least one big storm. And she had her wing broken, and needed to protect a baby. You’re Rainbow Dash. You’re Rainbow Dash.”

With that she pulled the goggles down on her eyes and put some weight into her legs as she used what strength she could muster to kick herself off the cloud. The mare spread her wings to catch the wind and caught it swiftly.

She approached the stormfront with careful beats. Her heart felt heavy, her breaths slow, her brain stopped thinking. Moments passed in a matter of eternities. This is your moment, she told the brave pegasus she knew herself to be. With nopony to watch, she would master the storm. So, with only seconds before she reached the black and bright of her training ground she shifted her weight a bit. Catching the right wind, she started to drift upwards, her hoof barely touching the dark grey clouds’ edges. One moment passed, then another. She went up and up, ever closer to the sky beyond. At least until she was close to the highest of highs, where no more clouds moved across the sky.

Before she reached it, Rainbow Dash took a sharp dive into the dark. Suddenly, water was splashing across her face and a split second later, a bolt of lightning ripped right through the rain to her side. She barely noticed it though, as all around her even more bolts struck through the sky.

The feathers on her wings were wet and heavy. Every beat felt more heavy than the last, like rocks attached themselves to her, but there was only rain. There were so many raindrops on her goggles that she could only barely see and the wind was blowing so hard against her, she barely managed to control her flight path. Even so, Rainbow Danger Dash roared with laughter. This was what she lived for!

She beat her wings again and again, did a barrel roll, then another. Rainbow Dash took assessment of the air around her, how it felt, where she could catch a bolt.

Her instincts were honed from all her years as a weather pony. Bolts of stray lightning were basically accidents waiting to happen and after getting struck by one too many, a pony usually managed to learn how to anticipate them. Or, if their name was Derpy Hooves, started to wear strange apparel that would serve as a conductor for electricity. Rainbow Dash was even better than the former, because she the sky was her realm and even under these circumstances, she could navigate without a problem. That was just how good she was.

Rainbow Dash did indeed feel it. The friction in the air and how it released electricity, she could make it out a split-second before it happened. It was like the hairs on her body stood up, a cold shiver ran through her. She couldn’t stop herself from laughing, she was so happy tears were coming from her eyes and the rush of adrenaline became her entire world.

She started to twist her body, sent herself into a spiralling motion and suddenly the cold of the storm was gone.

There was a heat all around her as she spun forwards like a drill. A bolt of lightning engulfed her for one split second, but before the heat became too much, she shifted her weight again. Amidst the chaos of the storm, she caught another gust of wind that carried her upwards.

For the shortest of moments, she felt like she was burning, like she was lightning incarnate, blazing across the dark and the cold. None could see her, but she knew the feeling for what it was. And then the rain was all around her again and the cold wetness engulfed her body and drenched the heat from her. Her smile left her as she flew upwards again. It worked, she thought dully. “It worked,” she mouthed, unable to comprehend how she was able to pull it off.

Twilight had told her that this sort of technique only worked for Stormrider dragons, that nopony, no griffon, no bird, no creature of the skies could do the same. Yet here she was, and she’d done the impossible. She was all she expected herself to be.

Her heart’s beat calmed down, she felt the rain’s weight on her, the strain of the stunt on her muscles. Yet the pegasus turned for a looping, only barely catching something in the corner of her eye. A wondrous sight she didn’t quite believe to be there. Yet as she turned her head, she made out that fabled creature Twilight had told her about.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t scared, for she heard the dragons’ roar and knew that it, too, had been carried here by the magnificence of this raging hurricane. Not only that, but Rainbow Dash almost felt happy, because someone else was there in the distance, doing tricks between the lightning and the rain.

As she took another gust upwards, she managed to sneak a better look at the giant lizard. Its own, feathered wings beat against the wind with electricity engulfing the whole beast’s body. It turned and rolled from one lightning bolt to another, much like a dancer, so utterly magnificent, so profound. Rainbow Dash almost felt jealous of how natural its every move seemed, how unafraid and unexcited it looked by its own greatness.

That darn dragon was a better flier than she was.

Then, she herself turned downwards again. Once more she wanted to be like lightning, once more she wanted to feel the heat brushing against her coat. She could be like the Stormrider. No, she could be better. So she went down, ever quicker. At the same time, she tried to feel the air, feel the electricity oncoming. Once more, she caught a glimpse of the dragon, but this time it was hovering in the air, watching her. Eyes the color of lightning met hers, glittering with curiosity as the young pony attempted to imitate its dance.

And then, for the briefest of moments, Rainbow Dash felt it, and at the same time didn’t. She felt the heat, she saw the light and she heard the thunder crashing against her ears, but that was it. Suddenly her eyes were turned upwards, rain and dark clouds all around her. Suddenly, she felt nothing and her wings wouldn’t move.

What? she heard herself ask, but not with her mouth. Her thoughts were spiralling into nothingness, even she could not make them out.

Rainbow Dash was falling, and there was nothing else there. She felt no pain, heard no sound, saw only how the clouds got farther and farther away from her.

No, she thought and tried to lift her hoof, tried to make a grab for them, for someone. Help, she begged but nopony heard her, not even the daring pony named Rainbow Dash.

It didn’t work and suddenly she felt a sharp pain going through her body as everything went black, if only for a moment.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes again and the clouds were still above her. She felt blades of grass touch her skin, mud clinging to her. Her sight was reddened and slowly turned darker. For a moment she felt nothing, couldn’t breathe. Then there was a distant pain and to the nothingness, there came a cold, slowly crawling through her body. It was an indescribable feeling and with it came the weight of sleepiness, the want for rest.

She blinked, or passed out, only to open her eyes to the sight of a giant, red lizard covered with spines, its feathered wings shielding her from the rain. It looked at her for but a moment and then moved its claw closer to Rainbow Dash.

“Don’t fear. …”

It was a voice, but whether it was her own, the dragon’s, a friend’s or a parent’s, she didn’t know.

And as the blackness finally took over, another voice called out to her. It came from the farthest reaches, from the very end, and it beckoned her to wake up.

2 ~ Crashing Waves

The waves rushed against the beach, as if the water tried to escape from the storm. The entirety of the horizon was painted in black tint, spreading out farther and farther against a blue canvas. As the dark grew, a cold wind swept over the one who remained. Everypony had left by now, everypony except her. The lonely filly remained, staring at the advancing front with wonder.

Did she feel the chill in her bones? Did she smell the salty air? In truth, she couldn’t tell, but at least her eyes worked, at least they allowed her to see what she wanted to see. As she remained on the sand, the water touched her hooves as it tried to flee from the oncoming hurricane.

Was she amazed by the sight? Was she even the least bit afraid? In truth, she couldn’t tell, but at least she didn’t show her back to the storm.

But what silence she thought to hear became a noise, distant, somewhat familiar. It was like a voice, calling out to her, but whether it came from what lay before her or what she left behind, she couldn’t tell. Instead, the filly remained and let the wind run through her mane, letting it ruffle her head like a mother once did with a sad smile on the face. She knew, because she’d seen her in those dreams she once dreamt, the ones that made her sad and happy.

Did she really hear anything? Did she really think that anypony else would ever come here? In truth, she couldn’t tell, but the voice grew louder and the storm remained in the distance.

She’s waking up, somepony said and something moved on the horizon. It was too far away for the filly to make out, but it didn’t matter.

She was too far away from the storm anyhow.

As Rainbow Dash’s consciousness returned to her body, her first thought was: Why?

She asked herself that question pretty much immediately, because the first thing she felt was pain. It wasn’t just a sting in the leg, the bite of a flea or a stomachache from bad food, no, it was everything and yet worse. Every part of her body that held nerves told her that waking up was a horrible mistake. Not that she was the sort of pony to whine about something like that, but, darn it, everything hurt. However, before she could shout obscenities against the world because of what she felt, she heard a voice speaking.

“Dashie?”

It was Twilight’s voice, using that awkwardly cutesy nickname Pinkie’d given her. Slowly, she opened her eyes and, aside from the oh-so familiar ceiling of a hospital room, she saw the purple pony look at her, face so close that her horn almost touched Rainbow Dash’s forehead.

As she came into focus, Dash couldn’t help but notice that Twilight looked somewhat distressed. Her eyes were red and she looked like she’d cried, Rainbow Dash wondered why? The pain was receding, but it was still there. What had happened? Why was she here? As the questions rose, her head started to sting. As her hoof went up to her forehead, as she ground her teeth, the pegasus remembered the storm, the stunt and the dragon reaching out to her.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked, her voice shaking. She grabbed Rainbow Dash’s hoof and started to caress it and smiled reassuringly. It wasn’t the sort of gesture Dash could appreciate right now.

I got struck by lightning, fell to the ground from. … Well, quite a height, and now it feels like even my pain is in pain, she thought, making an audible grunt as she tried to move her head a bit.

“I’m fine. It was just an accident,” she stated and tried to soften the mood with a smile.

Twilight had warned her, so of course she’d be the one by Rainbow Dash’s bedside. She was glad that her dear unicorn friend had decided against lecturing her immediately. After all, it seemed like luck was on her side.

Rainbow Dash made it a point to be happy that she’d woken up to her friend not having a grey mane and wrinkled face. Another positive made itself clear as she tried to move her appendages, all four of her legs and wings. They hurt, they really did, but she was able to move them. The one strange thing was that as she moved her hind-legs, they felt as if someone had placed a cushion between them. It was the strangest feeling and she immediately wondered who would put a pillow there and why?

However, the word “accident” seemed to catch Twilight’s attention and her eyes went down immediately. Rainbow Dash didn’t even have the time to ask what was going on, as Twilight immediately took hold of the blanket and lifted it from the pegasus’ body.

As she did so, Rainbow Dash made the mistake of immediately staring at whatever produced that strange feeling between her legs. What she witnessed, however, was far from anything she anticipated. Not that there was much she could’ve anticipated. But really, a normal pillow would’ve at least been explainable. Fluttershy or Rarity might’ve brought one over, because they’d be the types to put fancy sitting cushions everywhere.

Yet what the hospital staff had thought to put her in made her cheeks burn red. Twilight’s eyes were fixated on the thing, Rainbow Dash was almost sure she took some glee in seeing her friend like this. Was it a prank? Revenge for her going out to train like the cool pony she was? In truth, Rainbow Dash didn’t know, but she would’ve loved if Twilight just let go of the blanket so she could wrap herself in it and make sure nopony else would see.

Her own gaze was enraptured by the sole garment she wore. A bulky, plastic-backed beast that crinkled softly as she moved her legs ever so slightly, as if it wanted to announce itself to the whole hospital. Look at me. Look at Rainbow Dash, the most baby-ish pegasus in all of Ponyville, it practically screamed. Yet that it was there somehow wasn’t the worst part, no, of course not. It could’ve been white, it could’ve been green or some other sort of mono-color, instead childishly comical images of birds and flowers were printed on the frontal tape, while fading clouds and rainbows covered what lay beneath. Rainbow Dash would’ve just been embarrassed if it were a normal incontinence product, but what she wore looked like an oversized version of those diapers for actual foals. Yes, she was downright humiliated.

She wanted to make a grab for the blanket, to hide the shameful thing from sight, as she tilted her head ever so slightly, a bolt of pain ran through the back of her neck and drilled into her skull. It was like someone had ran an axe into her back and then decided to push it upwards. A short scream escaped her and she let her head fall back. Luckily, it only lasted for the briefest second and as the pain vanished, she noticed that Twilight had embraced her and was ruffling her mane, rubbing cheek against cheek. She cooed softly, like she wanted to calm a foal. Rainbow Dash, between the pain and the feeling of drowning in shame, didn’t really answer.

“On the plus side, at least we now know that we could start potty-training soon … -ish. Your dipees held more than a little accident,” she said and even dared to giggle.

Are you for real? Dash wondered as she groaned both to answer the joke and to make Twilight understand that she really wasn’t in the mood for her failed attempts at humor. Yet, a second later her eyes widened in shock. “Wait,” she said and slowly turned to look at the garment again.

She wasn’t really a specialist in the field, but the bloody thing she wore, this thing they’d placed her in as a sort of joke. … Rainbow Dash stared at it and the pictures of the clouds and the rainbows that spread around her crotch. They were fading and the plastic or what was beneath felt weird and didn’t look as white as it should. She couldn’t have, right?

As it seemed, Twilight took notice and gently put her arm around Dash’s shoulder, finally letting go of the garment. Rainbow Dash felt relieved that she didn’t say anything to mock her and slowly pulled the sheet up to her chest again. Out of sight, out of mind, that was how she was going to handle this. Nodding to that piece of wisdom, Rainbow Dash decided to lay back and stare at the plain white ceiling again.

Twilight bit her lip as she nervously looked around for a moment. After a few seconds too long she finally decided to rise up and turned her attention to the door, then back to Rainbow Dash. “You must be thirsty, sweetie. How about I’ll get you some water?”

Rainbow Dash nodded, a bit aggravated at the nicknames. “That’d be nice. Thanks,” she said, keeping her discontent quiet for now. She could swallow her pride a bit, so long as Twilight didn’t bring up what just occurred anyhow.

Twilight nodded and rubbed the pegasus’ cheek. “Don’t worry, the doctor’s said everything will be fine, Dashie.”

Her voice sounded almost patronizing, as if she was talking down to a child. She really enjoys her revenge, Rainbow Dash thought, figuring that her friend would take a moment to bask in her embarrassment, but no such luck. Twilight turned to leave without even checking whether Rainbow Dash even reacted.

Maybe she should have, Rainbow certainly would. Maybe the diaper she wore was actually drenched in water and her friends put her in it like that to make her worry. Twilight would come back and tell her about it and maybe even apologize. Sheesh, Rainbow Dash thought and rolled her eyes, she sucks at pranking others.

Sure, a wet diaper prank was humiliating, but easily figured out, at least for someone as awesome as Rainbow Dash. If she intended to get her to apologize like this she shouldn’t have bothered, the pegasus figured. Right now she knew why some called pain the best teacher, because she was in a lot of it.

Yet she had to wonder why the staff would let Twilight do this? They weren’t too keen on their patients being disturbed in any way or form.

Rainbow Dash was pretty much a regular at the Ponyville Hospital. She even was on first-name basis with most of the staff, except for the doctors. Quite often, she had broken her wings or legs and spent long, boring weeks in this place. Only twice had she been immobilized to the point where she couldn’t go to the toilet and then they’d at least had the decency to use catheters.

Why not now?

Rainbow Dash felt her head starting to hurt again, but decided to look at the sheets again. There was something about them that bothered her, even though she hadn’t examined them as of yet.

The blanket that covered her was a deep blue and printed on it was the symbol of the Wonderbolts. It was her own, or one of her own. She’d used wonderbolts merchandise for sheets, sleepwear, tablewear, doorknobs, wallpaper, just about everything. Yet she usually didn’t wake up in the hospital with any of her own stuff here. For a second she wondered who could’ve brought it. And immediately, the answer found itself. Fluttershy, Dash thought with a smile.

This was her lucky blanket and Fluttershy knew that. She probably brought it here as quick as she could. Yes, Fluttershy was a good friend and hopefully not involved in this horrible prank. I need to thank her later.

Later, because right now, she needed to lift it up. Why exactly, she didn’t know. Maybe she just wanted to make sure her other friends really were pranking her in the most stupid, embarrassing way possible.

And yes, yes they were. It was a diaper. If she was going to be honest, it might’ve felt a bit damp on the inside, but that was, of course, only water.

Yup, that’s it, Rainbow Dash told herself, as if she doubted. This was an elaborate scheme to exact vengeance upon her for daring, daring to go on a training session during the greatest storm of the century.

Well, it hadn’t ended well, so Rainbow Dash could at least, kinda, sort of, get the sentiment.

She didn’t want to look at that horrid thing for a second longer, and so she put the blanket down again. Once I’m out of this thing I can probably start to laugh at it, she thought and laid her head back on the not-so-comfortable hospital cushion.

The pillows in this place were the worst.

Rainbow Dash tilted her head to the left, where Celestia’s light touched her through the glass of the window. The air was a comforting warmth and the late morning glow of the sun on her face made her feel better. At least the princess was on her side.

By the side of her bed stood the nightstand. Strangely enough, it had a small, blue deer on it. A plushed animal with what Dash thought to be a bright smile plastered on her face. Probably a gift from Pinkie, because she was obviously in on whatever joke Twilight wanted to tell.

Her eyes didn’t linger on it and instead she looked at the flowers that rose up from an elegant vase. Considering how well the blossoms’ colors matched both the violet paintings on the vase and the color of the plush toy, Rainbow Dash could instantly tell that this was a gift from Rarity, but the balloons tied around it were Pinkie’s signature.

By the vase was a letter, with the hoof-writing of Applejack. It was long and sappy and basically just told her to get well soon. There were also a ton of embarrassing nicknames, so Applejack was also in on the joke.

If Rainbow Dash wasn’t awfully aware of the childish diaper she probably would’ve felt more gratitude towards them. But, despite herself, she found a smile on her face.

She’d gone and made all her friends worry as it seemed. “I’ve gotta apologize to them all,” she said to herself, touching her forehead again.

A bandage was wrapped around it. It was the only visible indicator that she’d been wounded and of course it was the one part of her body she needed for navigation. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

As she opened them, she looked at the nightstand again and her eyes widened.

Bugs gnawed at the leaves of the flowers and the blossoms turned small and brown in a matter of seconds. The petals fell off and as they did, so did the toy. Its arms fell off and a liquid began to pour from the main body, as if it had been wounded. Rainbow Dash couldn’t make the colors out, but a word for it jumped to her mind.

Red.

Then, something moved, in the farthest corner of her eye, a shadow slithered across the edge of everything and she immediately turned around, the hairs on her body standing up. What greeted her was a face like the pale skull of a boar with red eyes gleaming with hunger. Worms crawled out of them and the thing’s breath was sickly-sweet to inhale. Rainbow Dash screamed out and immediately hid under the blanket.

Rainbow Dash heard two ponies giggling a second later, somepony softly touched her head, stroking it carefully. “Hey, it’s only me, silly.”

This voice belonged to Twilight, her friend.

Rainbow Dash slowly came out from beneath the blanket, looking at the most maternal smile she’d ever seen on Twilight’s face. It was welcoming and warm, but instead of focusing on it, Rainbow Dash turned back to the nightstand.

The flowers and the plush toy were fine, but with how quick she’d moved, her head started to sting again.

Again, she groaned and closed her eyes, hoping the pain would lessen by itself. Once more, without anything to see, only the sound of voices remained.

“I’m sorry, doctor. Dashie sometimes forgets all around her surroundings when she gets absorbed with her thoughts. She’s quite the dreamer,” she heard Twilight say, in a voice that sounded both condescending and proud.

It was like she was talking about a child, maybe even her own. It was strange how honest she sounded, like she meant the words. Rainbow Dash had never taken her friend for an actress, though.

The doctor’s smile penetrated even his voice. “Don’t you worry about it, Miss Sparkle,” strange way to address a princess, “but I have to, again, say that you’d best be careful. She was out for a week and we still don’t know if there’s any lasting damage.”

“Don’t worry about it, you said yourself that she should be fine and if there’s anything I just bring her back here.”

“Nevertheless, Miss Sparkle, you need to supervise her better in the future. Another accident like this one and–”

Twilight interrupted him. “I know, but don’t worry. Me and my friends will take better care of her this time. There’ll be no more harm coming to her.”

She felt a hoof rubbing her head, but all Dash could think about was how worried Twilight sounded.

In the quiet moment that followed, all that remained was a sound in the back of her head, like waves rolling onto a beach. It was strangely calming, like something was beckoning her to move.

“Are you alright, Dashie?” Twilight asked.

For a moment, Dash thought that she should address how Twilight’s prank was really high on the Fail-o-meter, but decided against it. Why, she did not know. Maybe pity. Twilight probably had worked on it all week.

“Yeah,” she said, opening her eyes and looking at the doc. “I’ll just need to get some sleep once I’m home. That’s fine, isn’t it, doc?”

He was one of the older ponies here, not even five years away from retirement, but that wasn’t why she recognised him. He was a pegasus and she’d only been treated once by him, during summer flight camp.

He was a foal doctor.

“Well, your auntie insisted that she can take you home, kiddo, so I don’t have much of a say in that matter,” he said with a slight giggle.

Dash, despite the headache, rolled her eyes. Why was her foal doctor in on this charade, too? Did he know about the diaper? Rainbow Dash hoped he didn’t. Not that it mattered, she wouldn’t give Twilight a victory here.

So, she decided that the best way would be to play along. She could still end this game when she was back in her home. Until then, she could maybe come up with a revenge prank so Twilight understood the gravity of challenging the best prankster in all of Ponyville.

“Alright then,” she said and looked at Twilight, “well then, auntie, can we please go?”

Twilight smiled at the doctor. “See, I told you she’d want to leave as quickly as possible.”

He laughed out. “Yeah, few foals can stand hospitals for too long. I assume you have everything you need, though?”

Okay, what’s he on about now?

“Yes, I brought everything from home. Thank you again for everything,” Twilight said and turned to Dash. “You can remain wrapped in your blankie if you want. The way to the library is a bit cold today, after all. Your new friend can stay with you, too. The rest’ll fit just nicely into the stroller.”

A sudden quiet took over as Twilight just smiled at our rainbow-maned protagonist. Her head stung and in the back of it a sound recurred, like an ocean rearing up against the quiet. In the corner of her eye, so far into it that she didn’t even notice, something moved and all Rainbow Dash could do was stare at Twilight as suddenly she realized that this pony would, of course, plan out such a prank most meticulously. Yet, Rainbow Dash doubted that Twilight truly could’ve gone and gotten what she just said she did. No, even then, Rainbow Dash wasn’t even sure whether or not she had heard her right. Only one word could lift the suspense, answer her prayers and maybe, just maybe, make everything all right.

“What?”

3 ~ Rattling Cages

The waves rushed against the beach, as if each and every droplet tried to cling to the sand. The grains remained unmoved by the forces that went up against them however, and the water stood no chance of advancing any further than it did. Moments passed by just like that and slowly the water started to extend its reach. The grains could not withstand the strength of the tide.

The color of the sand shifted from its paling and bleak color to an ever darker tone as the waters washed over them. Then it withdrew again, only to return, swallowing all that surrounded those tiny hooves more and more. So maybe it wasn’t like the filly thought it to be. Maybe these sands were all that remained of her world. Maybe this beach was the last place where life still remained.

The storm might yet claim it all.

Did she feel the chill in her bones? Did she smell the salt in the air? In truth, she couldn’t tell, but at least her eyes worked, at least they allowed her to see what she wanted to see. As she remained on the sand, the water rose up to her knees as another wave hit.

Was she really amazed by the sight? Was she even the least bit afraid? In truth, she couldn’t tell, but at least nopony would be here to judge her for it.

Then, what silence she thought to hear became a noise, distant, somewhat familiar. It was like a voice, calling out to her, but whether it came from what lay before her or what remained out of sight, she couldn’t tell. All the filly could do was stand and feel the sand touch her hooves.

Did she really hear anything? Did she really think that anypony else would ever come here? In truth, she couldn’t tell, but the black clouds rose up before her.

As something moved across the horizon, the filly only closed her eyes. She didn’t know what it was and maybe, just maybe, she had long since stopped caring.

She was too far away from the storm anyhow.

Rainbow Dash had two things. The first thing was the worst headache that ever tore her skull apart and the second was thing was confusion, because she didn’t quite know what to make of this. Maybe she’d been wrong, maybe this was the best prank ever.

As soon as she’d said the word, Twilight turned around and went to the door, only to return swiftly, beaming as she did. Yet what she brought into the room left Dash’s mouth fall wide open. A stroller, that’s what she came back with, an actual stroller for her. Not a wheelchair, no, a stroller, one used for foals, with some cute rainbow designs adorning it. Rainbow Dash didn’t even want to look at them, if Twilight had thought she’d look at that, she was wrong. No, instead Rainbow Dash stared at her friend.

It was like she’d planned to make this dramatic reveal and as she smiled at Rainbow Dash the pegasus couldn’t help but notice how weird it was. It wasn’t a prankster’s smile, smug and self-indulgent, it actually seemed expectant of Rainbow Dash. Did she think that anypony above the age of 1 would be excited to see a colorful foal carriage? Did she think that Rainbow Dash of all ponies would find the idea of getting rolled around town in such a thing awesome?

Yet, another thing just occurred to her. It might’ve been the confusion blurring out the pain in her head, but only now did she notice how strange Twilight looked. Non-regal, small and without wings stretching out from her back. Yet with every step Twilight took, it seemed like she’d never been an alicorn.

She looked like the unicorn who recently came to town, one who tried to walk with a certain grace, but only barely managed to hide that awkward shuffling of a bookworm. It was like Rainbow Dash looked through a window back in time, to before the Equestrian Games, before Tirek. She lifted her hoof, touched her forehead, felt the bandages pressing against her coat.

“How hard did I hit my head?” She heard herself ask, but only barely managed to produce her voice.

The doctor seemed to catch on and walked up to her. “Is something wrong, Dash?”

She looked at him, then, studied his eyes. They were looking a confused child, she knew, because that’s always how he looked at her back whenever she was confused back in the old days.

Twilight, after placing the stroller close to the bed, stepped forward and looked at the doctor, eyes filled with worry. It was a strange look for Twilight, like when Spike had gotten into trouble and needed stitches or something. Both of them weren’t looking at a grown pony, a friend they knew.

Bile rose up, she felt her hoof shaking. What the hay? she thought, tried to find her breath. There was something wrong with what the two of them saw. The diapers, the appearance of this doctor, the way he’d called Twilight her “auntie” and the stroller. This wasn’t a prank. This couldn’t be a prank.

Rainbow Dash gulped and, eyes fixed on Twilight, asked the question she wondered about. “How old do you think I am?”

The question made Twilight raise an eyebrow, the doctor squinted his eyes, wondering what she was on about.

“What do you mean, sweetie?” Twilight asked.

“My age, Twilight,” she said and tried to keep her eyes on her friend’s. Twilight Sparkle looked confused, honestly confused. Again, Rainbow Dash asked the question. “How old am I?”

The light headedness seemed to grow. In a strange way, it was like she wasn’t even in the room, not really at least, and somebody in the distance was knocking against a wall. That wall, she knew, was the inside of her skull, and the knocking was the beating of a hammer. She saw how Twilight moved her mouth, how the doctor leaned in, but then her sight became blurry. She closed her eyes then and for but a split-second, she heard thunder roaring, smelled the petrichor and saw a spider making its web. Then came the sound from the farthest distance, at the end of a long, long road she knew she was not ready to take.

Twilight looked at the doctor, who gently touched Rainbow Dash’s shoulder and pushed her down into a lying position again. “It’s alright, just breathe, Dash. Can you do that for me?”

She knew his face, but couldn’t see it. He was there as she opened her eyes and at the same time he was not. The world in the corners of her eyes were made of black, like a spot of ink slowly spreading out. Rainbow Dash turned her head again, to where the window was.

The light of the sun faded as it was obscured by dark clouds and she saw a bolt of lightning running down in the distance. Dash blinked. She remembered her fall, but also something else, staring at her, talking to her.

“What’s going on, doctor?” Twilight asked, her voice suddenly shaking. “Is she alright? We need to do something. Doctor!”

She became loud for Rainbow Dash, for her friend. That’s how worried she was. Rainbow Dash looked at the darkness only she could see and thought to herself an apology she couldn’t bring out of her mouth.

“As I said, Miss Sparkle, her head got the worst of it, I’d say–”

She didn’t hear what he said next, instead her mind faded into the dark. Her last thought was an apology to her friends, because Rainbow Dash understood that she had messed up big time. In the corner of the room, however, the spider spotted a fly.

Yet, the moment Rainbow Dash felt herself come to, she couldn’t help but notice that the pain had subsided, that her eyes were only heavy from sleep and as opened her mouth for a yawn, it was the longest she’d let out in a long time. For the first moment, she took notice of how a blanket was spread over her body, spending a warmth she knew to need. She smelled a sweet, nostalgic scent around her. From where she knew it, Rainbow Dash couldn’t tell. Her stomach felt a bit heavy, she noticed, and the feeling made her twitch a bit. As she moved, she felt herself hugging something soft, holding it close to her chest. After a moment or two, Rainbow Dash decided to open her eyes, although she only managed to do so slowly.

The headache was gone, for the most part, at least. It was still there, like a scratch, itching, being annoying, so she didn’t want to move around too much. As long as she didn’t move, it wouldn’t grow, and as long as it didn’t grow again, she was better.

Yet better wasn’t good, she noticed the moment thereafter. As the world came into focus she immediately noted that the padding between her legs felt so much more obvious to her now. It was bloated and soggy, which Rainbow Dash figured could only mean one thing.

Her eyes remained on the ceiling as she felt her cheeks grow warm. Whatever she held in her arms, she pressed it even closer to her chest. “I wet the bed,” she murmured.

No, that would’ve been one thing. She didn’t just wet the bed.

She wet a diaper.

Somepony had expected this to happen and gone out of their way to dress Rainbow Dash for the occasion. For all she knew they might’ve gone so far as to cover the mattress with a rubber sheet. Now that she thought about it, what if she leaked? What if a rubber sheet was necessary, too? What would her friends think of her? What would the Wonderbolts think? And what would Scoots think once she found out her idol turned into diaper-wetting foal.

Her arms moved up and she lifted whatever she held to eye-level with her. It was a plush toy, a pink and pale blue griffin like she used to own, when having plush toys was still age appropriate.

“April Storm,” she mumbled her old plushie’s name. “If I move my head, it’ll be a nightmare, huh?”

The animal didn’t move, so Rainbow Dash imagined it to say, “Yes.”

“Well,” the pegasus said, not knowing herself whether she was being sarcastic or not, “at least I have company to help me through the shock.”

April Storm didn’t move, so Rainbow Dash imagined her to say, “I’m with you all the way.”

It was either good or bad luck, but at least she wasn’t in the hospital anymore. The ceiling was clearly made out of wood and with the way the moon’s light went through the window to her left, she could make out the rest of the room quite easily. To her annoyance, she noticed that high bars prevented her from getting out of the bed.

Not only did somepony expect her to wet the bed, no, they also had the audacity to think that she’d fall out of it. She, the great Rainbow Dash, falling out of bed. If anypony saw her, her life would be pretty much ruined, the pegasus figured and immediately looked at the plush toy.

“I probably even look like a big foal beneath this blanket,” she whispered to the griffon.

“You look like the best flyer in Equestria,” she answered herself with an adjusted voice for April Storm.

Then she shook her head. “I must’ve really hit my head.”

Once more she tried to figure out where she was and quickly all the details in the room raised her awareness. The bed, the bookshelves, the way a stairway lead downstairs to her right, it was all so very familiar, so very old. She remembered this place, before the fires, before the beast known as Tirek it had been called Golden Oaks Library and it was Twilight Sparkle’s place.

This was where the unicorn had spent her nights, reading and sometimes probably sleeping. Not the castle, not her own house high up in the clouds. This was Twilight Sparkle’s library.

She let herself sink back into the cushion and the bed, rested there for a moment. After that, she moved her right leg a bit, enough to hear the sound, to feel the bed. Rainbow Dash was sure there was a rubber sheet beneath the one she lay on.

“I asked Twilight how old she thought I was,” Rainbow Dash mumbled, lifting the small griffon up high. “It must be pretty young, eh?”

She almost laughed, but felt herself shiver with fear. If somepony saw her, Rainbow didn’t know what she would do. Cry, perhaps, or maybe wet herself out of fear. The mare wasn’t quite sure, but at least she was in the clear about one thing, she wouldn’t be composed about it.

She still felt the thick padding between her thighs, pressing against her with a weight that told her that she used the garment without even noticing it. Who knew, maybe she even wore a onesie, maybe rubber pants. Maybe somepony had a foal phone in this room so they knew she was talking to a plush toy.

“What the hay happened to me?” She asked. “What happened to the world?”

Was it that the lightning had sent her to another dimension? One where the library never burned down and where Twilight never needed to become the princess of friendship. That sounded weird, though. Maybe Twilight was a unicorn by day, and an alicorn superhero by night.

Whatever was going on, it didn’t explain why she was dressed as she was. That was a problem, a huge one.

“At least the Wonderbolts still exist,” April Storm told Rainbow Dash.

The pegasus looked at the plush toy. “I’m pretending to be comforted by my plushie. … Celestia help me.”

Quiet were the moments that passed thereafter and it was a quiet that left Rainbow Dash wallowing in the horridness of this situation. This was just an all-around bad situation. The only thing she found relatively positive was that she felt more awake by the moment. What remnants remained of the headache weren’t bothersome, only merely annoying. Rainbow Dash knew she needed to be careful with that, a bandage was still slung around her head after all.

Who knew how long she’d slept, and who knew what would happen once she tried to get up? The first question was one she would’ve loved an answer for more than the second one. It had to have been in the afternoon when she woke up at the hospital.

And, now that she thought about it, Twilight must’ve brought her to the library.

She remembered that the unicorn had produced a stroller.

“No she didn’t,” Rainbow Dash immediately concluded, bars to her sides, wet diaper clinging to her. “I’m way too big for that thing anyway, right?”

Her eyes were fixed on April Storm, who kept her quiet and for a brief moment Rainbow Dash wondered whether it was because she didn’t have an answer, or because she’d been there and wanted to keep it a secret.

After all, Twilight couldn’t, wouldn’t have gone and used that blasted thing to drive her over here. If she did, would she chat up the flower trio, talk about how adorable her little “Dashie” looked with her cute widdle diaper, hugging her plush friend? What if Scootaloo had seen her? That filly looked up to her, and she, quite frankly, didn’t want the admiration to stop.

Anxiety rising, she stared at April Storm, who still kept her quiet, maybe as a way to tell her not to worry.

“If you lie to me,” Rainbow Dash started, only to look to both her sides again.

Now she was arguing with a plush toy. This wasn’t her night, after all.

But lying around quietly wasn’t something she usually did. After all, she was Rainbow Dash, the most active and fastest pony in all of Equestria. Usually, being her was awesome, but now that she found herself in the worst possible situation her existence seemed to be so miserable that it could’ve ruined her day. She was the Element of Loyalty, a hero to every colt and every filly in the town, she was an idol to her friends; and she was also an incredibly well-mannered, awesome and above all humble pony. On every other day, she loved to be herself. On every other day, she wouldn’t have wondered what she needed to do to change her diaper. The feeling of it was starting to get on her nerves as well.

Not that she wanted it changed into another one per-se, but she would’ve loved to get out of the one she wore and enjoy the freedoms of the adult pony dress code.

Think of something positive, Dash. You’re too smart to despair over a situation like this, she thought to herself and took one more deep breath. “Tell me something, April.”

“Okay,” the griffon started, “You’re in a crib, which is not that big a problem. Your blanket is warm, if you did wet, nopony’s gonna know because you can get rid of the diaper quicker than the sheets. Then you’ve got a ton of books, and Twilight, who’s still an egghead. She’ll hear you out, realize that you’re not a foal and help you get back to normal.”

Her own, slightly higher-pitched than usual, voice sounded against the silence in an unusual manner. No, it wasn’t that she pretended that her plush was talking to her, but rather it seemed like the world around her was unnaturally quiet.

Rainbow Dash didn’t really care about that, instead she just stared at April Storm.

“Did I just get an incredibly brilliant idea from a plush toy?”

No, she was not going to debate it. Rainbow Dash had a strategy, one that would get her out of the wet diaper and back into the normality of life. This was going to be easy. All she needed to do was get out of the crib, which, again, was easy-peasy, talk with Twilight and then hopefully get to do more awesome stunts in thunderstorms to save the day.

A bright smile formed on her face. “All the way,” she told herself, rose up into a seated position. Then, she looked at the darkness.

And the darkness looked back.

Rainbow Dash stared at a beast darker than the night, large enough that it seemed to almost scrape the room’s wall. The silhouette was hulking and deformed, its appendages long and muscled, ending in thin claws that rested on the ground. Its entire face was covered with tendrils, which wrung themselves around the bars of the crib.

The pale light of the moon shone through the windows, yet revealed nothing of the monster, it only allowed for Dash to see how the beast cracked the bars. The creature, if it had eyes, seemed focused on Rainbow Dash, who felt the headache act up again, digging itself into her brain like a saw. The pain and the fear combined led her to immediately conclude how to resolve this situation in a sound manner.

By screaming loudly.

She flailed with her arms, pushed herself with the back against the railing and pulled the blanket up to cover her face. Her nose was running, tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to hide from whatever that horror was. The filly heard the bars break and knew that the thing would come for her. What courage she always thought to possess emptied itself out of her body, or maybe it was something else. Rainbow Dash didn’t know why, but right now all she could do was wail and kick.

She felt something touch her leg, slithering upwards and pressing against the padding for a moment. As it did that, she felt a shiver run up her entire body. She edged closer to the wall, hoping it would swallow her whole instead of the beast.

Then, she heard a few steps and then came a loud sound, a bang and the tendrils were pulled away. Something smashed against something else, then again, and again. From beneath the blanket, she saw something light up.

The beast made a noise not unlike that of a dying whale who was being clawed open from the inside–not that Rainbow knew how she came up with that metaphor–and then the light intensified. It was warm and green and all familiar.

Slowly, she lifted her head up from her not-so-safe shelter to look at the most unusual savior. He held a small candle, alit with green dragonfire and stared at the darkness that remained in the corners of the library, but there was nothing in it anymore.

A silent moment followed, yet Rainbow Dash didn’t dare to say anything to break it. The purple lizard in front of her seemed cautious, his ears were perked and he seemed clearly ready to be jumped at from any direction. Nothing happened, but the way he stood there left Rainbow Dash amazed.

Spike looked way too cool at this moment to be Spike.

A moment longer went past them and only then did Rainbow Dash notice the strange feeling of something being pressed between the back of her diaper and her behind. Her tummy felt lighter, which was a relief, at least until the odor hit her nose. Her eyes widened. Did I just–?

Spike, at least, didn’t seem to notice.

“Well,” he said calmly and turned around. “Looks like he…”

The dragon made a dramatic pause, smiling as he prepared himself for what he was about to say.

“Couldn’t take the heat.”

Yet all Rainbow Dash could do was stare at that adorable, little face of his as he failed miserably at acting cool. No, even before that, did that cute dragon baby just beat up a monster that had managed to make her–she couldn’t even think it–soil her diaper.

“Not good?” He asked as she didn’t show any other reaction except befuddlement. “Well then, I guess… Uhm, right. Hello, to you. My name’ll be Spike for you.”

He took his steps towards her, over the broken shards of the crib’s bars and then stretched out his free arm in greeting. “And it looks like I’ll be the Guardian Angel who both changes your didees and protects you from those things. Pleasure to meet you.”