On a chilly spring morning, a cyan pegasus, unlike the others, took her usual morning jog. Few ponies dared to be out on such a dark, cold time of day, but Rainbow here, acted as if it wasn't cold at all. The sun barely shown behind thick clouds, as pegasi tried to keep their little town warm. Rainbow Dash had the urge to help, though she had more important matters to take into her own hooves.
She soon stopped at her destination, Sweet Apple Acres, hoping for her orange earth pony friend to have some left over cider. The gate swept open, the breeze picking up, as Rainbow took her chance to run through it. It was too dangerous to fly over, even for the athletic pegasus pony. The wind was way too strong to handle, and as if on cue, Apple Jack passed by the gate with a mug of hot cider.
"Hey, AJ! Got any cider this morning?" Rainbow yelled over the ear-piercing sound of the air whistling in their ears.
"Sorry, sugarcube, weather's so harsh, it darn knocked out our supply of cider!" she yelled back, her voice cracking from cold.
She took a final, quick glimpse at Rainbow Dash, as she finished off the mug in a single gulp. Displeased, Rainbow took of into the air, fighting the wind with all her might. Suddenly, a cloud puffed into her face, blocking her view, as the air took advantage of her, knocking the pegasus out cold on the blood-stained dirt.
Hours passed, as the sun had come out more, and Rainbow noticed herself near the Ponyville Market Center. Weakly getting up, she limped over to a tree, with a lavender pony resting on the other side, a hoodie on. Rainbow, finally reaching the tree, gasped for air, as the pony turned around, revealing a horn.
"A-Are you okay? Are you hurt? I-I... could call somepony-" she then stopped, then stared at the bruised, bloody, black-eye'd pony.
"Rainbow Dash?" she said, as Rainbow turned to her, groaning in pain.
"T...Twi... wilight?" Rainbow tried, her mouth in deep pain and sore. The alicorn wrapped a wing around her, soon hugging her, and for once, Rainbow accepted it.
A yellow pegasus then rushed over, gasping, eyes nearly all white, as she grabbed up Rainbow Dash in a tight hug.
"Raaainbb-bow..." Fluttershy whispered in her ear, her voice and hooves shaking. Tear escaped her eyes, as a liquid drop fell onto her nose.
Soon at her house, the blue pony settled on her couch for some cocoa made by Twilight, and a stack of sandwiches from Fluttershy. Rainbow had made an excuse to get back home on her own, saying she'd be okay. She held Tank in her hooves, then the doorbell rang. Trotting over, she opened the door, finding nopony there, but a package.
"Hmm. What's this?" She asked herself, heaving the large packing with her weak, still sprained and bloody muscles. Putting the thing down, she ripped it open in anticipation. Removing bubble wrap and packing peanuts, she gasped at was inside. A mirror. With silvery, gold-encrusted edges, and sleek glass displayed in the center. It was as tall as Dash, as if the pony had measured her to get it the right size.
"Well, well, well! This pony's got good taste! Now, let's try this thing out," she told herself, as Tank opened his eyes, watching Dash spill all her ego into it. For hours, she found herself trapped into looking at it, until it was nearly midnight. Tank crawled into Rainbow's bed, motioning to the bookshelf.
"Aww, Tank, can't we read a bedtime story tomorrow?" Rainbow complained, as Tank gave pleading eyes. Rainbow sighed in defeat, as the went over to the shelf. Her hoof scanned a random book, as she took out a small green one, "Daring Do Novel: Volume 1". Rainbow smiled a bit, then opened the book finding a note.
"In the book you seek
The one makes you weak
But finding book two
You shall live through"
Rainbow rolled her eyes at it, taking out the second book on her shelf, one that wasn't there before. It seem red one minute, but then she looked away to check on Tank, who was still awake behind her. Looking back to the book in horror, it was now blue. It magically opened itself, as Rainbow sat on the bed with Tank in her lap, as she read.
"There was a fine, noble unicorn, of great beauty and skill. They lived upon all other ponies, in a poor village, weak, sick and hungry, as this unicorn was fed royalty. She looked upon her mirror more than anything else, and that night, they were visited by a spirit of selfishness. They commanded 'look upon your mirror, and obey what is there'. And from that day on, the fine unicorn fell in love with what was seen in the mirror. The village slowly died out, and cold winds blew upon it, as the fine unicorn lived with themselves, as they were visited once again. 'Look beyond your mirror, and love what is there'. And from that day on, the fine unicorn looked beyond the mirror, out into the windows, and spread joy throughout the land. The End," Rainbow finished, another eye-roll following. The, a bright beam of light shown through Rainbow's mirror, as one eye opened, and she gasped.
