Carpool Lanes and Growing Pains
The freeway cut through the city like a river of concrete, splitting the buildings in two. Rainbow Dash had been following it for a while now, following the roads from above. Towering goliaths of steel and brick offered her some shade, but the glint of sunlight on glass would occasionally find its way into her eyes.
Every now and then Rainbow would see some highway signs, pointing out exits and naming roads. The lanes below would part ways, like two lovers at dawn, before rejoining again underneath the sinking sun.
The white lines that divided the road into lanes seemed dull and faded to her now, probably from years of wear and tear. For a scant second she wondered how old the entire complex was, and marveled at how it had stood to the test of time.
The sides of the freeway were dotted with trash and plant life, sprouting up in between the cracks. Oftentimes drivers went too fast to notice these things, instead fixing their gazes on the roads ahead of them. They’d drive on and on, shifting and merging and speeding up on open roads and slowing down when they heard the sirens.
A freeway, after all, was a place where a million things could go wrong. It was a place that only functioned when everypony on it followed the rules. It went on and on, through tunnels and bridges, from cityscapes to country skies, getting ponies from one place to another.
It was odd, seeing the freeway without vehicles. It was like looking at a drained basin, void of water, or seeing a zebra without its stripes. It just didn’t seem right at all. Rainbow sighed, her wings suddenly feeling quite heavy. She stifled a yawn and dipped a little bit lower in the sky.
Freeways like this one made her drowsy. Gazing upon wave after wave of gray, she was reminded of early evening traffic jams, as hundreds of ponies tried to get home. And the river’s flow would grind to a painstaking halt. But even then the gray would be dotted with color, as cars would be crammed into every single space available.
And in the easy evening glow their headlights would cut into the darkness, leading a path for the rest to follow. But now there was nothing. The sun would set soon and soon the gray would be swallowed up by the night, with only the stars above to guide her.
Rainbow yawned. She wasn’t a mare who paid much attention to details: she moved far too fast for that. But now that all the chaos and noise was gone, details were all she noticed. Rainbow blinked and noticed something on the right shoulder.
Her eyes welcomed the break from the endless expanse of grays. Upon further inspection, Rainbow saw a strange white form moving about the street. Moving perhaps wasn’t the right word. It was more like… dancing.
Rainbow arched an eyebrow and dipped lower to investigate. As she approached, she recognized the object to be a pony.
Rarity moved about the lanes strangely, with her eyes closed and horn glowing slightly. Her head seemed to bob to a song that only she could hear, and Rainbow wondered for a second if she knew she was no longer alone. “Rainbow,” Rarity said, without opening her eyes. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
Rainbow landed on the ground, flinching as her hooves made contact with the smooth surface of the highway. “Hey, Rarity. I… I dunno. Somewhere, I guess.”
Rarity let out a low hum, continuing her odd dance. A stray glare of sunlight struck Rainbow, and she held up a foreleg to shield her eyes. “Well, aren’t we all,” Rarity replied.
From somewhere within the city, Rainbow swore she heard a sound. She glanced at the off-ramp, and at the road leading into the heart of the concrete jungle. It sounded a bit like a car alarm, but faded and muted.
When Rainbow looked away, Rarity was further down the highway, and Rainbow had to jog to catch up with her. “Hey, Rarity?” she asked softly.
“Yes, darling?”
Her voice had a strange tone to it. It almost reminded Rainbow of a car showroom, with all of its bright vibrant lights and a shiny new vehicle in the middle. “How… how do you do it?”
Rarity bowed low, tossing her mane and smiling. With a content sigh she straightened herself and opened her eyes to finally gaze at Rainbow. “How do you mean, Rainbow?”
Rainbow opened her mouth but failed to find the words. What did she mean? “Well… I don’t know. How do you just stay you, after everything that happened?”
“Now that’s an excellent question,” giggled Rarity, “although it does hinge on one big assumption.”
At that statement, Rainbow stared past her friend, to the wall on the far side of the freeway. The brick and mortar was cracked and worn, and covered in indecipherable graffiti messages. “What… what’re you saying?”
Rarity just smiled, and started walking again, her white hooves contrasting against the dull roadway with every step. Her coat and the road mixed like oil and water, and she almost seemed to glide across. “I’m saying, dear, that it’s a bit of a stretch to say that I’m the same.”
There was a soft yet fierce roar of thunder in the distance. Rainbow looked up again to see a swarm of black clouds cruising through the air. “So… what? You’re saying you’re different?”
Rarity gave her a strange look, as if she had spontaneously become another pony. “I suppose. But I’m still Rarity, aren’t I?”
Rainbow frowned. She noticed a discarded plastic bag blowing down the road towards them. “I dunno. You just… are.” A cool breeze blew through their manes, sending the plastic bag further on its journey.
“Well, if that’s the case, I suppose I can be anyone you want me to be,” Rarity replied, placing a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “So tell me, who would you like me to be, darling?”
Rainbow bit her lip before she spoke. “I… I want you to be Rarity. Because… because I don’t know where I’m going. It’s like I’m climbing up the stairs just to jump off the balcony again. I just… I just want to go somewhere. Somewhere that isn’t here.”
Her words seem to echo throughout the empty highway before fading into the sky.
Rarity took them in and nodded. “Ah.”
They stood in silence for a while longer. If Rainbow thought hard enough, she could almost hear the roaring of cars as they passed her by. She could almost feel the ground rumble and shake as semi trailers tore past, and she could see the flashing lights of turn signals dance across her view like fireflies in the summer night.
And Rainbow became scared to open her eyes. Because she wasn’t sure if Rarity would still be there when she opened them. That she’d fade away like everything else did. In her mind she pictured her friend dancing in the empty roads, as her coat gradually became grayer and grayer until she was one with the freeway.
Rainbow didn’t feel right anymore. Everything about where she was just felt wrong. She couldn’t quite describe it, but she didn’t feel here nor there. It was like she was stuck in between something.
Her breath hitched and she shook her head, opening her eyes. She stared down at the paved roads and didn’t dare look behind her. It seemed like there were too many ponies in her life who said fantastic things only to disappear soon after.
“Rainbow, dear, I need you to be Rainbow Dash for me,” she heard Rarity say. But she wasn’t sure if she was actually there.
“Yeah. Yeah, I think I can try,” Rainbow said, suddenly feeling very tired.
With another yawn, she spread her wings out and raised her head to the sky. Every fiber of her body wanted her to turn around and see if Rarity was still there. But she fought it off. Rainbow Dash took to the sky, blinking back tears. She turned her gaze back to the highway and kept flying.
Somehow, she knew where she was going.
