Where Rainbows Don't Shine
The days seemed colder and longer for many in Equestrian society. The news spread particularly fast in the town of Ponyville, given its small size and fairly adequate population.
The Ponyville Press and national newspaper distributors alike were pumping out papers all slathered with the same title, typed up in a thick and bold black font that read,
Rainbow Dash, bearer of the Element of Loyalty mysteriously found deceased
Equestria in Mass State of Mourning
And mourn they did. Given the legendary status of the iconic pegasus mare with the rainbow mane, it left an enormous, bleeding wound in society. With the devastating news freshly planted in everypony's minds, their thoughts were left in a catastrophic disarray of jumbled emotions.
Some ponies cried with pure hysteria, some said their prayers to the deceased mare, others simply accepted the loss. Some even came bearing flowers to where her cloud palace was hovering in the sky, unattended and left as a reminder of the spunky and well-known and widely-loved mare.
Nopony knew for sure what had happened to her. All that anypony knew thus far was that Fluttershy was unfortunate enough to be the one to discover her body. The very thought alone brought about a heavy sadness that lingered in the atmosphere around the nation. Everypony that knew the timid, butter-coated and pink-maned pegasus knew of her life-long friendship with the prismatic mare.
It was evident that this was one experience that would stick with her for her entire life. The entire populace of the town felt a great sympathy for the mare. Being the one to find their best friend like that...the feeling was beyond words that could even begin to describe the trauma.
Almost as soon as the discovery was made, multiple rumours had already found their way into the circle of theories and caught the attention of thousands of curious minds.
Some say that it was a flight accident that ended on its south end.
Others say that it was a consequence of bad weather hitting hard during a storm set-up, yet there was no scheduled thunderstorms or downpours authorised in previous days.
Another theory suggests that she was murdered by an unknown assailant out of pure spite. Of course, it sapped the attention of those with open-enough minds. They would make anything up for attention. However, that's not to say it isn't a possibility, but why would anypony carry out such a cold-blooded deed? Even more importantly, who?
Perhaps the questions resting in everypony's minds will be answered at a later point in the future. Until then, only a black veil filled the gap.
Unlike those that stayed home and mourned with their tears for the loss of Rainbow Dash, a certain orange filly with a head of scruffy purple hair and eyes to match was out for a walk on the edge of the town, lost in her thoughts of grief.
Her eyes were sunken and cast down at the dirt path beneath her. She walked with slow pace, her lips drooped down into a frown to correspond with the dark cloud over her head.
Scootaloo was, like the rest of the town, miserable. Perhaps even more so.
Thoughts played in the back of her mind as she walked along. The time she first met Rainbow when she was performing aerial tricks and spins in the sky and how she complimented her with a beaming, awestruck grin.
''Heh,'' Rainbow chuckled at the compliment from the filly upon her touchdown. ''Thanks, kid. The name's Rainbow Dash.''
The best day of her life was made once those words were spoken by the cyan-coated mare with the white cloud and rainbow-coloured thunderbolt cutie mark on her flanks. Ever since then, she would sit out front on the grass where her house was, watching from afar as Dash pulled off and experimented with her stunts over the large and open surrounding fields.
It didn't take long until the young filly's mind took an instant liking to the pegasus. She was her idol, her mentor.
Her big sister.
She remembered the night where Rainbow Dash, herself and her best friends, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom went camping in the woods with their older sisters, Applejack and Rarity.
How she became scared when Dash told campfire stories depicting of a headless horse and an old, scrawny elderly mare aimlessly wondering through the deepest depths of the forest, searching for her long-lost rusty horseshoe. That very night, her fright caused her to have a close encounter with death as she fell down the side of a ravine and into the river, thankfully being saved by none other then her soon-to-be big sister.
The stars glimmered in her eyes when she opened up to Dash and she agreed to take her under her wing to teach her all that she knows. If there was one thing she had longed for, it was to reach the same scale of awesomeness that radiated from her idol. She wanted to be her.
She gave a sniffle as memories from times of old floated around in her mind. It wasn't the reminiscing that made her want to cry, it was the fact that she knew that there wouldn't be any more memories to cherish.
A tear rolled down her cheek, warm against her cold face as she stopped in her tracks to rub a hoof over her eyes, wiping away the wetness building up. Raising her head to face the sky, she came to view what used to serve as the home of her big sister.
Her royal-scaled cloud palace.
It towered over most other Cloudsdale homes with a triumphant grin. The most iconic and eye-catching features that the home had was the dual rainbow rivers running off of the edges of the grand residence and a large, curved rainbow that twisted around the back of the property and feeding into the streams on a cycle.
Her custom-built living quarters were truly a marvellous spectacle of Pegasi engineering.
Scootaloo stared at it for a good while. Her eyes drifted lazily over waterfalls and to the main body of the house, half-expecting to spot her sister, although she knew she wouldn't appear.
The rainbows, normally vibrant and shimmering with glorious variations of colour and radiance, seemed dull and drained. It was almost as if they had lost their motivation to sparkle and shine following the loss of the housekeeper. They appeared dead. (Ironically speaking.)
Her frosty purple eyes fell downwards to view beneath the cloud home, landing upon dozens of flower bouquets that were lovingly and respectfully placed by the Ponyvillians and various other foreigners to deliver their grief.
The sight that bestowed itself upon the young girl brought a small but genuine smile to her lips. It was nice to know that even in death, the great living legend that was Rainbow Dash lived on. Of course, despite the circumstances, a slight humour played a role in her death. Scootaloo would recall a comment that Dash made some time ago, based upon the fact that if she was going to go out, she would go out with a boom.
In a sense, the orange filly supposed that it had some relevance. However, she wished that the 'boom' part wasn't of this variation in particular.
''I miss you, Rainbow Dash,'' Scootaloo said to nobody in particular. There was nopony around in the surrounding area, so she was pretty much alone with her thoughts. ''I'll never forget you. I promise.'' She said, holding back a small sniffle.
''Scootaloo?''
A small voice asked from a short distance behind her. With a twitch of her ear, Scootaloo turned to face the source of the voice, revealing a rather tired-looking Fluttershy. Her lips offered the most gentle of smiles, but her eyes told a different story.
Her usually vibrant turquoise eyes were dull and glassy and the borderline surrounding them was a faint black, indentifying a lack of sleep and heavy crying. It was clear that she had been feeling the worst of the grief. It made sense, after all. She and Rainbow Dash were very much like sisters.
''Oh, hey, Fluttershy,'' Scootaloo greeted, managing a smile.
''Are you alright, sweetie?'' Fluttershy asked, coming towards the filly to offer her hoof to her shoulder, meeting her eyes. The question may have been rather stupid to ask, but the kindness of the mare's heart still made it a priority to ask, despite the situation.
''I was going to ask you the same thing,'' The filly said, motioning with a hoof to Fluttershy's eyes.
''O-Oh, yes. I'm f-fine. Thank you.'' She said, her voice slightly shaky and drained of energy. ''I suppose you're here to pay your respects, too?'' She asked, motioning with her eyes over to the many variations of flower bouquets.
Scootaloo looked down at the ground. ''Um, I suppose,'' She said. ''I was just trying to take my mind off of...you know.'' She said slowly, her voice faltering to an oncoming sob as fresh tears began to arise and pool behind her eyes.
''Oh, there, there, sweetheart,'' Fluttershy said comfortingly as she gently sat herself down in front of the filly, enveloping her hooves around her in a warm embrace. ''It's alright, don't cry,'' She said softly, resting her head on top of the filly's as she cried.
Tears burned at Scootaloo's eyes and rolled down her face as she began to sob uncontrollably, her face buried into Fluttershy's breast, absorbing them.
The pair of Pegasi sat together as they mourned the loss of their best friend and sister, crying to their heart's content. Their hearts ached with a bitter twinge and their tears fell freely. The little filly held in the older mare's embrace wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy's barrel as she returned the hug, offering her own comfort to the best of her ability.
What had happened to their dearly beloved sister may have been unfortunate and tough to accept, but time will only tell how the wounds heal. It wasn't going to be easy, but they knew they had friends and each other to help them pull through.
In the end, regardless of whichever fate may have befallen Rainbow Dash to make her demise untimely, she will surely never be forgotten by those that knew and loved her.
For the wonderful land of Equestria, the days may seem colder, but the legacy of the prismatic mare will always shine and live on.
