Turnstile Entry Fines and Invisible Lines
Rainbow Dash was not built for the underground. Pegasi were meant to rule what lay above, not what lay below. She shuddered, feeling a bout of claustrophobia enveloping her.
The subway system was just… depressing, in a strange, serene sort of way. Her anxiety built higher and higher as she stood at the top of the stairs, staring down towards the platform. The halls went on forever and ever around her, empty and foreboding.
What bothered her the most was the silence. There was supposed to be the hissing of brakes and roaring of engines, mixed in with the lonely notes of the street performer and accented by the clamor of the early morning crowd, forming a strange sort of symphony.
Rainbow could almost picture it clearly. She saw the mare with the violin standing by the entrance, hat half-full of bits, playing her heart out. She felt the business pony brush past her, looking sharp and immaculate in his designer suit and bright red tie, and she could hear the distinct drone of the public address system.
But when she opened her eyes it all vanished. As she looked around, she got the strange feeling that every single hallway was pointed in her direction, as if she was the focal point of the entire station.
With another shiver, Rainbow trotted down the stairs. The stairs were worn with age and marred with stains and graffiti, to the point where no amount of cleaning would ever return them to their original state.
It was a shame, that. But Rainbow didn’t stop to pity them. She kept going, following some invisible line in front of her, and hoping that it would lead her… somewhere. Rainbow wasn’t sure where this line was leading her, but she had faith. Somehow.
And so, she walked the line. She hopped down the last set and landed on the station platform. At the center of the platform was a set of concrete benches. On either side, a set of railway tracks stretched outwards before bending out of sight. A few screens with side-scrolling words hung from the ceiling.
On the right sat a subway train, made of steel and metal. Its doors were open as it idled there, and Rainbow could see the colorful chairs and yellow triangles dangling from the straps. But she wasn’t ready to enter it quite yet.
She turned her attention to the other track instead. Across from her were two sets of posters, tucked away behind a sheet of glass. The first one showed a unicorn with a red mane smiling at the camera, the words ‘Artsy ‘46’’ etched below them.
The second one showed a pegasus that strangely looked like Rainbow herself. This pegasus was in flight, staring up at the sky with a devilish grin on her face. She flew towards the sun on wings of fire. The number ‘647’ was displayed in bold text underneath it.
Rainbow sighed and trotted to the center of the platform. She passed a metal trash can, filled to the brim with coffee cups and cigarette butts. Something about that made her angry, but she wasn’t sure why.
She collapsed on the bench and sighed, her eyes flicking to the screen.
“The red line to Eden is now departing from platform six,” declared the public address system, making Rainbow flinch. As she looked up, Rainbow’s eyes widened. A pony trotted out of the stationary subway, eyes beaming brighter than the sun could ever hope to.
Windy Whistles smiled. “Hi Rainbow! Why the long face?”
Rainbow scrambled to her hooves. “M-mom?” She embraced Windy in a hug, feeling the warmth radiating off of her and entering her system.
“What’s wrong, Rainbow?” whispered Windy. “You seem upset.” The mare guided her over to the bench and sat her down, keeping a wing draped over her shoulder.
“It… it’s nothing, mom, but I’m glad to see you,” Rainbow said with a smile.
Windy reached over and ruffled her mane. “Aw, so you haven’t given up on your old mare yet, huh?”
They laughed. “Nah, nothing will ever stop you anyways,” Rainbow said.
Windy nodded. “Rainbow, you know that I love you, right? And that I’m so proud of everything you’ve done?”
Rainbow sighed. “Yeah, of course.”
“Then… what are you scared of?”
“I just…” Rainbow took a second to compose herself and find the right words. “Well… I think you think too much of me. And I know that you think I’m being too hard on myself, but… I’ve just been feeling like the only hope for me is you, y’know?” She rubbed her eyes. “And I’m so tired of feeling like I’m falling.”
Windy nodded sagely. “Ah. Well, think of it this way, dear. Maybe you’re not falling. Maybe you’re falling in reverse.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “What does that even mean?”
Windy giggled. “Whatever you need it to. But you’re a tough cookie, Rainbow. Never one to let gravity take you down. You just flap your wings and keep on flying, even when it gets hard.”
“I guess, but that doesn’t make this easier.”
“I never said it would,” Windy replied. “But that’s the fun in flying, isn’t it? Knowing that you’re defying gravity?”
Rainbow studied the subway cars across from her intently. The windows were worn with age and scratched, but they were still whole. The trains were dirty and rusted, their components probably outdated and its engines older than time itself, but it still functioned. So what if it was old, it had a job to do.
In a few more minutes, it would probably leave the station, chugging down the same tracks it always had, with cars and trucks flying past its windows. It would snake its way through the city, pausing at its stations, and climb up bridges and dip into tunnels.
And then Rainbow focused on the transit map. It was nothing more than a series of colored lines snaking in between themselves, tangled and messy. Yet each line seemed to her like a path, a choice of sorts. Sometimes they’d cross with others, sometimes they’d lead to dead-ends.
But they were glowing brighter than they were before. Maybe they weren’t so invisible after all.
Rainbow blinked a few times and turned to her mother. “Hey, mom… you’ve been here before, haven’t you? Does it get any easier?”
“Mmm. I can’t say that it does, honey. It’s a long, dark walk, and it’s scary sometimes. But what helped me the most was knowing that I wasn’t alone.” She hugged Rainbow tighter. “You know that, right? You’re not alone. You have me, and your friends, and so many others.”
Rainbow smiled, nuzzling her mother. “Yeah. I know. Thanks, mom.”
The two pegasi stood up and trotted over to the train. Rainbow took a seat by the window and the doors slid shut. The train grumbled and groaned before it lurched forwards. The station platform slowly slipped away.
“I miss the way the sun streamed through my window,” she said absently.
Windy nodded. “I do too, honey.”
It felt as if a ten ton weight had been lifted from Rainbow’s back. She smiled, watching as the world flew by. Farmlands and city streets merged together, as cloudy cities and empty spaces joined together in a mass of color.
She leaned into her mother’s shoulder and savored the feeling, as it reminded her of early mornings and breezy evenings. The lights danced and blurred together outside the window, flashing by too fast to catch.
But all too soon, the train came to a halt and the door hissed open, an automated voice reminding them to stay clear of the doors.
Rainbow trotted out but paused, glancing behind her. Windy stood in the car, a wide smile on her face. “I love you,” she said.
“I love you too, mom,” Rainbow answered. They shared another quick hug.
“Stay strong, Dashie, you’ll get through this,” Windy whispered in her ear. “You’ll find your way home soon enough, and we’ll welcome you with open arms.”
They finally broke their hug, and Windy took a step back. The doors hissed shut slowly as Rainbow watched with a smile.
Then, the train took off down the rails, barreling towards some destination unknown.
