A hoof rapped the front door, gently at first, then with increasing urgency. "I know you're in there Rainbow Dash! You can't hide forever!" Rainbow Dash groaned and pulled her head under the blue comforter. It was too early for this!
The knocking continued, dashing Rainbow's hopes of sleeping in, not that she had been sleeping much anyways. Anger kept her awake at night.
"I want to ask you some questions!" said the voice behind the door. It was the voice of a gruff male, and one Rainbow Dash was sure she'd heard yesterday, and the day before that. Seventy-two hours ago, Rainbow Dash was a celebrity, respectable, courageous, awesome.
Peeking her head out from the comforter, she stared at the closet to her right. There was once a Wonderbolts uniform (often unwashed) dangling from a plastic hanger. If she tried hard enough, she could imagine that it was still there. That the event that stripped her of what she most valued, that utterly and completely shattered her legacy, never happened. But it was no use. The closet was empty now.
Just when Rainbow Dash thought that the reporter had given up to pursue more important stories, she again heard the beating of a hoof upon her front door. She shouted "LEAVE ME ALONE!" before retreating to the comforter.
Two sleepless hours later, Rainbow Dash finally turned her toned figure over and climbed out of bed. She evaluated herself in the small mirror on her nightstand. She was strong. She was powerful. This body, it was hers. She built this.
The press said otherwise, however.
Sipping black coffee, Rainbow Dash's eyes scanned the front page of the Cloudsdale Times. "DOPE N' DASH" read the headline. The press was relentless! Her name was on the front page for the third day in a row. After skimming the columns on the front page, she turned to page A4 to read the rest of the story. "Undeserving", "tragic", "shameful", were just three of many similar words used by the article's author, Chance Flow.
The press was also wrong. Rainbow Dash was a dedicated member of the Wonderbolts. Thousands of hours and enough sweat to drench Ponyville had propelled her to a spot on the team. It wasn't the steroids. It couldn't be the steroids.
Rainbow Dash pushed on the door, only enough to open a small sliver to the world outside, and peered through the crack. She looked left. She looked right. The door opened, and she slipped into the sun. For a moment, the clouds and buildings surrounding her were blurred. Her eyes needed a moment to adjust to sunlight, even with the red baseball cap pulled over her polychromatic mane.
She ventured through Cloudsdale slowly. There were no adoring fillies and colts shouting at her from clouds above and clouds below. There were no Rainbow Dash posters plastered on the city architecture. It was eerie.
She saw the rainbow fence, the small cottage with the back house. Her hooves gently touched the cloud beneath her and she trotted inside, unannounced.
Mr. and Mrs. Shy sat at the round, red table. Mrs. Shy looked up from the Cloudsdale Times. "So typical of you to barge in without knocking." Rainbow averted her gaze, looking down at the floor.
"Rainbow Dash is here?" said a voice from the kitchen. "Dope or no dope, my offer to buy you a drink still stands!" Zephyr Breeze emerged, holding a stack of pancakes that was tall, almost as tall as his eloquently styled blonde mane, but not quite. He winked at her. Uh, ew.
Three pairs of eyes were on Rainbow Dash now. Still looking down, she said "I'm... uh... here to see Fluttershy."
"She's upstairs," replied Mrs. Shy, rather dismissively.
Rainbow opened the door to Fluttershy's bedroom. A yellow mare was looking out the open window, her pink mane fluttering in the gentle breeze. "You could knock, y'know," said Fluttershy without turning around. "I knew you'd come over while I was visiting Cloudsdale." There was a pause. "It hurts me, what you did." Her voice was soft.
Fluttershy's bed was unmade. Her mane unbrushed. When she finally turned around, Rainbow Dash looked into a tear-stained face and swollen blue-green eyes. "I just... I just want to know why," sobbed Fluttershy.
"What are you talking about?" said Rainbow. "I didn't do anything!" Rainbow looked around the room, at the poster on the blue-green wall, the dresser, the unmade bed, the poster again. Anywhere but Fluttershy.
"I looked up to you. I LOOKED UP TO YOU!" Fluttershy was wailing now as she put her hooves to her face. "Y-you were a brilliant flier. Y-you inspired me to push myself by showing me just how fast, how courageous a pegasus could truly be."
"I'm still a brilliant flier! I came to see you because I wanted to tell you that those bogus reporters at the Cloudsdale Times have it all wrong!" Rainbow extended a muscular blue wing towards Fluttershy.
Fluttershy recoiled, avoiding Rainbow's touch. "Do they? Then say it! Look me in the eye and say that you Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolt and my friend, have never used steroids," Fluttershy demanded.
Rainbow Dash sighed. On Fluttershy's dresser there was a photo. It was a photo taken years ago, when the two mares were fillies enrolled in flight school together. While Fluttershy hid behind a thick pink mane, Rainbow posed for the camera, a large grin plastered across her young face, spanning from one cheek to the other.
Her eyes fell to the wooden floorboards. "Listen to m-"
"I thought so. Just leave," sniffled Fluttershy, retreating to the pile of white pillows and light pink blankets.
"Th-"
"Please. Leave me alone."
So Rainbow Dash left. She flew right out the window, which was still open, moving fast, but not fast enough. The baseball cap slid of her head and floated away in the wind. Oh well. Maybe someone else would understand. Understand that doping was not the reason that she was the awesome pegasus pony that she was.
There were exclamations from the clouds below as Cloudsdale pegasi realized that the disgraced Wonderbolt was speeding by overhead, a comet in broad daylight.
She passed by her home, headed towards Canterlot. At this speed, she could arrive there within half an hour. Flapping her wings desperately, she pressed onwards.
In front of the castle, she skidded to a screeching halt. Guards eyed her. Did they recognize her as a friend of Princess Twilight?
"Only approved persons may speak with the princess," said a member of the royal guard. His shiny helmet jostled on his head as he spoke.
"I'm... *huff* a friend... *huff* of Twilight!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. She moved to enter the castle.
"That's what they all say." The guard shuffled in front of her, prohibiting her from entering the castle. Rainbow attempted to push past the dark gray stallion, only to be met with a shove that left her on the ground, looking up at the blue sky over Canterlot. She lifted her head.
"Hey! You're telling me you don't recognize me? I'm Rainbow Dash! I've saved Canterlot, and Equestria like a dozen times! I'm a Wonderbolt!"
"Doesn't matter to me. You're not on the list of approved persons."
The sun, bright overhead, was blocked by a shadow. Another guard landed next to the first, white coat gleaming.
"Ah. It is such an honor to be in the presence of the Wonderbolt, sorry, former Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash. Let her through Mighty Jack," the white guard said, before turning to Rainbow Dash. He looked her straight in the eyes. "If you're looking for approval from Princess Twilight for what you did, you're not going to find it."
Without saying another word to either of the guards, Rainbow Dash entered the castle. Every surface inside was pristine, vibrant. Every thread was in place on the red banners that draped from the stone columns. Who were those guards to say that she was looking for approval? She just wanted to talk to a friend. To tell Twilight the truth.
As she walked down the hall, towards the large doors where Twilight sat in her throne, Rainbow felt the stares of the guards, the servants, the nobility. A blue unicorn scoffed as he passed her. She opened her mouth, but thought better of it. This was definitely not the place to cause a scene, especially with her already tattered reputation. Lost in thought, she crashed into pony delivering a tray of sandwiches, sending bread and cucumbers through the air.
"Watch where you're going!"
Rainbow Dash continued down the hall. The orange mare could only stare at Rainbow in disbelief before reaching into her uniform for a cleaning rag.
At last, she stood before the larger than life double doors, not a single hoofmark on them. As she moved to open the door, the door swung outwards, nearly knocking Rainbow over. Spike appeared in the doorway.
"Geez, Spike, I didn't know you were so strong," said Rainbow Dash, still slightly dazed from the impact.
"Oh, y'know, an injection here, an injection there," Spike flexed his scrawny purple child arms before continuing, "It really helps bring out your inner strength."
"That's not funny!" Rainbow looked up towards Twilight, distant and high upon her throne. Flapping her wings, she hovered, floating slowly towards the Princess.
"It's still strange for me to see the crown on your head Twilight," said Rainbow as she landed and bowed her head, a gesture of respect for the newly crowned Princess.
"Get up Rainbow. You don't need to bow. You're my friend." Twilight spoke with a courteous, regal tone, one of the side effects of becoming a princess. "And friends don't lie, so I want to know..." Rainbow gulped nervously. "...why you used steroids to cheat your way into the Wonderbolts."
"Listen Twi. I didn't cheat. Everypony's just out to get me! They're all jealous of my success! Success that I worked for! That's why I'm here! I wanted to tell you the truth."
"So you didn't use steroids?"
"I... uh..."
"Don't you know how bad steroids are for your body Rainbow Dash? I've read dozens of books on the subject. First of all..." Rainbow Dash just groaned. Once Twilight started talking about her research, nobody could stop her. Rainbow looked across the cavernous chamber to Spike, who shrugged.
"...and that's how Prance Armstrong lost his left wing. Did you kn-"
"Alright! I get it! Steroids are bad for you," said Rainbow. "But look at me! I'm as healthy and strong as ever!" Beating her wings, she arced into the air, tapping the tiled ceiling before diving into several tight loops, leaving a trail of rainbow behind her.
Twilight put her hoof to her forehead in disapproval. "Is this about your teaching position at the School of Friendship?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" said Rainbow Dash.
Spike had approached the throne. "You mean, Starlight didn't tell you?" he said.
Rainbow's stomach dropped. "You're firing me?" She couldn't believe it. Refused to accept it.
"I wasn't the one who made that decision. Starlight did. But yes, Rainbow. You are no longer a teacher at the school of friendship."
"But why?"
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, parents would feel uncomfortable about the fact that the school's physical fitness teacher has been doping FOR YEARS?! I mean, what kind of message does that send to the students?"
"Quit playing around Twi! I didn't do anything!" Rainbow said, in the air now, wings beating aggressively.
"I'm asking you, not as a princess but as your friend, to fess up and stop embarrassing yourself. Either you do that or come back to me after you've done some serious self-evaluation." A scroll and quill appeared in front of Twilight.
"Hey! We aren't finished!" shouted Rainbow angrily. But Twilight's eyes were focused on the scroll in front of her, quill scratching against the parchment. Rainbow dashed towards Twilight in an attempt to knock the scroll aside but was repelled by a magical force. Twilight didn't even glance up. A second dash. Another repulsion.
Looking up from her scroll, Twilight said, "Spike, did you talk to Rusty Bucket about the renovations of the third floor guest room yet? If you have the plans, I can give them the go-ahead."
Rainbow Dash was still floating in midair, prepping for another dash at the shield that surrounded Twilight. "Uh, Rainbow Dash? That's probably your cue to leave," said Spike.
"Whatever," groaned Rainbow Dash, and she promptly headed out the double doors of the throne room.
"This is ridiculous," Rainbow muttered to herself as she touched down a few paces from her front door. I did nothing wrong, yet my friends turn their backs on me? After shaking her head, she lay down on the comfy cloud bed before her, resigned to spend the remainder of the day in bed. At least she had her Daring Do books to read, but seeing that she was about to finish the series for the fourth time, she was quickly going to run out of ways to amuse herself if the public continued to ridicule her.
It was early evening when Rainbow Dash began to feel thirsty. Water wouldn't do. There was only one drink strong enough to quell her self-pity. Cider. And there was only one place that offered it. Well, she could beg Applejack, but based on the interactions she had with Fluttershy and Twilight, it was unlikely that Applejack would give in to her demands for the sweet taste of apple cider. Rainbow shuddered at the thought of a lecture about honesty from Applejack.
So there Rainbow stood, in front of Cider Place, the only other business in Ponyville besides Sweet Apple Acres that sold genuine Sweet Apple Acres cider. Had the bar always look so... run down? She hadn't been here in years, mostly on account of being good friends with Applejack. The sign standing in front tilted slightly to the left, its legs uneven due to wear. "APPLE CIDER HERE" it read, a few apples drawn in red chalk beneath the words.
Not many ponies went out for drinks on a Monday night, so Rainbow's arrival was met with only a few quiet murmurs before the patrons returned to their drinks. All of the barstools stood unoccupied.
"Give me a pint," Rainbow said coarsely as she sat at the barstool furthest from the door. Her hooves brushed the cobwebs underneath the countertop.
"You got it boss," said the bartender, a young stallion with a black coat.
While the bartender tapped cider from a keg behind the bar, Rainbow took the opportunity to survey the ponies sitting at tables in the bar. They all looked so... sad. So pathetic. A stallion alone at a table picked at some bar nuts, cradling his head with his right hoof. Two mares with bushy lavender hair sat at a table near the window, occasionally taking drags from a single cigarette shared between the two of them. A couple sat quietly, the stallion's brown hoof pointing at words on one page of a lengthy legal document. But was Rainbow Dash any better? Her flank was in the bar same as theirs, just as sad and just as pathetic.
The mug of cider hit the bar counter with a thud, froth splashing over the edge. Rainbow Dash cradled the mug in her hoof, pausing for a brief moment before tossing her head back. The bartender stared as Rainbow chugged the sweet liquid.
"I take it you'll want another?" The black stallion smirked.
Rainbow drank the second mug slower. She looked at her forelimbs, toned and muscular. She looked at her wings, sleek and strong. Pulling back the fur of her left hoof, she could still see them. The tiny holes. How many were there? Rainbow didn't know. All she knew was that the magical emotional healing powers of cider were beginning to take effect. Feeling warm inside, she slammed the mug down and demanded a third.
Slumped over the decrepit wood, Rainbow tried to count the holes in her skin. Pressing her fur back, she counted to twenty three before forgetting which ones she had counted and which ones she hadn't. Letting out an audible sigh, she took another swig of cider, thankful for pony fur. Room spinning, the memory of the test swirled in her vision.
It was Friday morning. Rainbow reported to the training room later than she normally did for the biweekly drug checks that were mandatory for all members of the Wonderbolts team. She made small talk with Soarin', the blue-grey stallion who stood in front of her in line. Pressing her wing tightly against her body, she felt the plastic of the thin bag sandwiched between her wing and her body. If she lost the bag, or if somepony else saw it, it would be over.
After a few minutes in the white hallway, Rainbow found herself at the head of the line. Soarin' trotted out of the office to her right, her signal to enter.
The room was bare, save for a low bed, a sheet of white paper covering the teal surface of the hard cushion. Swift Comet, the stallion who managed the drug tests, offered a professional greeting. He did not, however, gesture to the restroom that adjoined the office as he normally did. The restroom where Rainbow poured the translucent yellow liquid into the provided plastic cup before inserting it into the metal chute.
Rainbow moved towards the restroom anyways. Maybe Swift Comet's hoof was tired. The line for the test when Rainbow had arrived had, after all, been longer than she'd been used to on account of her getting to the training room a few minutes later than usual.
"We're not doing urine tests this week," said Swift Comet. Rainbow didn't turn to face him, lest he see the expression on her face in that moment. "After some cost analysis, the Wonderbolts have decided that blood sampling is much cheaper than the urine tests we've been doing." He paused before continuing. "It's also easier to identify cheaters."
"What? Who cheated? Was it Silver Zoom? He always seemed a bit too fast," said Rainbow before laughing nervously. She was still facing the door to the restroom.
"Nobody cheated, Rainbow. It was just a hypothetical," said Swift Comet, unamused. "All I need to do is prick your skin and draw a bit of blood. Let's get this over with." He walked over to the door and peered out at the line in the white hallway of the training complex, which stretched all the way back to the wind treadmill room. "Now."
"Just let me do the urine test today, doc," said Rainbow flatly before once again moving towards the restroom.
"No. You're going to do the blood test like everypony else on the team or fail the inspection. It's your choice."
Rainbow was going to fail the inspection either way. After a heavy sigh, she turned to face the stallion. The light from the window of the office danced across his purple coat. The blood test wouldn't identify the steroids in her blood. It couldn't. There was too much at stake.
She winced as the small needle pressed into her skin, not due to the physical pain. She was used to needles. The emotional turmoil, the fear in her chest, it nearly overtook her.
Rainbow had only one option left. She would have to sabotage the test. When would she do it? Tonight? The urine tests were held overnight at the onsite lab, with the results being reported the next day. She imagined that the blood samples would be processed in the same way. Yes. She would sneak into the lab after the sun had fallen, the moonlight weak enough that she could hide in the shadows. She would damage all of the samples. They would have no choice bu-
"Okay Rainbow. The test results will come back in a few hours. To be honest, I don't even know why we bother reporting the results. The last pegasus to cheat was Icy Gale, and that was over forty years ago."
"Wait. A few hours?" Rainbow Dash tensed as Swift Comet was in the process of removing the needle, causing him to lose his grip. The needle scratched across Rainbow's skin. Near the insertion, a dark red spread across Rainbow's coat.
"Yes. The new technology speeds up the process quite a bit." Swift Comet trotted over to the cabinet and reached for a bottle of sanitizing spray. A few droplets of blood had fallen on the white tile of the floor beneath them. "What is your problem today? Go on! There are still at least two dozen other members that I need to test before practice today."
Head down, Rainbow Dash moped out of the office. "What happened in there Rainbow Dash? The needle scare you? I thought you were tougher than that," said a short stallion with silver fur, his muzzle upturned in a smirk. A few members in line stifled giggles.
"Can it, Silver Zoom!" Rainbow continued down the hallway. Suddenly aware of the plastic bag under her wing, her posture sank even lower than it already was. Okay. Just play it cool, thought Rainbow. At worst, you'll be reprimanded by Spitfire. You can take that.
The results came back two hours later. Three hours later, her badges, the badges she worked so hard to obtain, were stripped away from her. Her career was over.
Five drinks in, Rainbow was noticeably off balance. She shifted her weight, the barstool no longer vertical against the floor. "Do you ever feel... like everypony's out to get you? That nobody... nobody has your back except you?" The cider in Rainbow's mug sloshed around as she raised her hoof to take yet another drink.
"Can't say that I do," the bartender replied as he wiped down the faded wood of the counter with a damp rag. Rainbow was still the only pony at the counter. Rainbow brought the now empty mug down and a thud echoed through the bar. "Refill?"
"Nah. I'm gonna go home." As Rainbow moved to get up, the stool collapsed from under her and she plopped to the ground. "It's so good to be home." Without getting up, Rainbow curled into a ball and began to snore. The late-night patrons sitting at the low tables looked her way, then returned to their drinks.
In a few swift movements, the bartender, whom Rainbow had never bothered to get the name of, wrote a tab on a piece of paper and walked around the counter. He crouched low and gently slid the tab under one of Rainbow Dash's hooves.
A voice from near the doorway spoke. "It's okay. I'll take care of her." He looked at the mare who had spoken. "And the tab. Add another cider, actually. I'm kinda thirsty myself." The teal mare gracefully maneuvered around the completely unconscious Rainbow Dash, who was still snoring, and picked up the barstool that had fallen on the floor. "Name's Lightning Dust. What's yours?"
The first thing Rainbow Dash saw upon waking was a pair of amber eyes. A hoof waved in front of her, blocking the low sun. The sun? "Yo Dash," Rainbow stirred. "You good Dash?" The voice. It sounded familiar. Rainbow Dash felt the solid wood of the park bench beneath her.
"Where am I, and what time is it?"
"We're in a park. In Ponyville. And by my calculations, it's time to get you home." Rainbow craned her neck to get a better look at who was speaking, though she already had a guess.
"Yep. It's me. Your old pal Lightning Dust," the teal mare said with a smirk. They were not pals, nor had the ever been. Lightning Dust's legs were curled up underneath her slender body, wings folded. She was facing Rainbow Dash. "Long time no see. How've you been?"
Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes, felt remnants of the sticky cider around her muzzle. "I've been better."
Lightning Dust faced the early morning sun, gentle beams of light dancing across her face. "It's nice, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"The morning sky."
Rainbow lifted her head and stared beyond the statue, beyond the trees at the colorful sky before her, a brilliant blend of purples, oranges, and blues.
"Would been a lot better if I didn't have to stay up all night making sure you didn't embarrass yourself." said Lightning Dust, before yawning. Rainbow watched as Lightning Dust stretched her hooves upwards in an elegant motion. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Lightning Dust continued. "'s true Dash. I could've let you be. Could've let you sleep on that grimy bar floor. One that I've dirtied a few times myself, actually."
"Why didn't you?" asked Rainbow, still somewhat groggy.
Lightning Dust turned to look at Rainbow Dash. "When you're at your lowest, and it seems like nobody's there for you? I've been there Rainbow Dash. Spent years of my life at rock bottom. Let me tell you, it's the loneliest feeling in the world." Turning back to the sun, now slightly higher in the sky, she said, "Even though you wouldn't do the same for me, I didn't want you to feel the way I did. Sad. Alone."
It was quiet for a bit as the two mares sat on the park bench and watched the sun rise. Rainbow's eyes flicked between the sky and Lightning Dust, whose stare never wavered from the morning sun. Rainbow couldn't see Lightning's hindlegs because they were curled underneath her body. Dash's gaze followed the remaining contours of the mare's teal coat. Her forelegs were toned, but not overtly muscular. Lightning's wings, slightly smaller than her own, possessed a unique elegance. Rainbow couldn't deny that Lightning Dust had a beautiful body.
"How come I've never seen you at Cider Place before, by the way? I thought you loved that stuff." Lightning's voice permeated the silence.
"I usually get my cider from Applejack but because of... y'know, I wasn't sure that she'd give me any."
"Because of the dope?"
"Yeah."
A sigh. A long pause before Lightning spoke. "A lot of people looked up to you, y'know? Even me. I always wanted to be as fast as you. As strong, as courageous as you. For a long time, I was jealous. I didn't know how to handle myself, anger building up inside of me." Another pause. Lightning's gaze was still focused on the sun. "And all the while, I was oblivious to just how much of a mess my life had become. By the time the zeppelin was goin' down, it was too late to jump ship."
"Lightning, I-"
"But I'm done being angry. My ship crashed into a million pieces. Putting it back together is one of the hardest things I've ever done Rainbow Dash. Even now, I'm still working, wanting to be better than I was before."
"The steroids don't define me!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash suddenly, raising her voice. "I did nothing wrong!" Frustrated about receiving yet another lecture, Rainbow swung her hind legs forward, preparing to abandon Lightning Dust and the park bench.
Lightning Dash's muzzle curled up in a soft smile. "You remind me of myself Dash, you really do."
Rainbow was hovering now, above the park bench. She should have been miles away, feeling the crisp morning air in her mane, her body dancing with the orange leaves of fall as she returned home, to a place where nopony would judge her. Instead her wings beat slowly, a tether to the bench and Lightning Dust's tired amber eyes, which gazed up at Rainbow. With a sigh, Rainbow floated down.
"Okay. Maybe using steroids was wrong. But I had to do it! Without my dreams, without the Wonderbolts, I'd be nothing."
"Admitting I had a problem was extremely difficult for me, Rainbow. It was. I can tell you're going through something similar."
"You have no idea what I'm going through!" Rainbow shifted as she eyed the sky above her.
"Everypony's judging you for choices you made because you were afraid. Afraid of failure. You doped because you wanted to mask that fear with strength. But steroids are not courageous Rainbow. They never were. You hid from the truth for years. Probably thought you could hide from it forever." Rainbow's face was buried in her hooves. Lightning sighed. "That's the thing about the truth. It catches up with everyone eventually."
Rainbow was sobbing now. Lightning opened her wing and pressed it against Rainbow Dash's body gently. "I j-just wanted to be somebody."
"I know Rainbow. I know."
A muscular mare skidded to a halt in front of the park bench. "What the hay?"
Rainbow didn't look up, but she recognized the country accent immediately. "Applejack?" What was she doing here?
"I take it you two aren't, ah, 'rivals for life' anymore?" said Applejack, still a bit short of breath.
Applejack moved towards the bench slowly. "What's wrong, Rainbow?" Rainbow Dash just sniffled. Facing Lightning Dust, she said "Did you do this?"
"I've changed, believe me,"
"Sure," muttered Applejack in reply.
Rainbow Dash poked her head out from her hooves, now soaked with tears. "Am I a failure Applejack?"
The question took Applejack by surprise, but after a brief moment, her tender hoof joined Lightning's graceful wing, and together they caressed Rainbow's back. "Why would I ever think of you as a failure, sugar cube? You're one of my best friends." Applejack removed her hoof and returned it to the soft earth. "I am mighty disappointed though. I think a lot of other ponies are too."
"Yeah," replied Rainbow.
"I would tell you to be honest with me Rainbow, but I think the pony you should really be bein' honest with is yourself."
"What are you doing out here, anyways?" asked Rainbow hoarsely. Wasn't Applejack usually on the farm doing chores at this time of day?
"Thought I'd get in shape for the running of the leaves next week." Applejack kicked a hoof back. "The right way."
"But aren't you like, already in shape?" Rainbow looked at Applejack's hind legs, stocky from years of bucking apples.
"This year, I'm aimin' to win the whole thing." The distant sound of clock bells reached the mares in the park. "If you'll excuse me, I've got chores to do. Busy day today." Applejack sprinted onwards. Wow. She was fast. Rainbow watched her disappear behind the hills adjacent to the park.
"I'm running too," said Lightning Dust.
"Really?" replied Rainbow.
"Yep. Think you can keep up with me?"
"Is that a challenge?" It had been many, many moons since Rainbow had last run in the Running of the Leaves, a race through Ponyville to shake the autumn leaves off of trees in preparation for winter.
"I don't know. Won't that look... bad? Everypony knows who I am now." Rainbow looked around the still empty park. "Not that they didn't before, but now I'm..."
"Infamous?"
"Yeah."
"C'mon Rainbow, for old time's sake, you and me duking it out on the course... only with our hooves instead of our wings. Imagine it for one second." She closed her eyes. Rainbow did too.
"Yeah, that doesn't really do it for me," said Rainbow as she opened her eyes.
"Meet me here at eight o'clock tonight." Lightning Dust removed her wing from Rainbow's back and picked herself up off of the bench.
"W-" But before Rainbow could say anything, Lightning Dust was rocketing through the air.
It was only then that Rainbow noticed. Where Lightning Dust's hind leg should have been, there were instead a few rods, some pieces of thin metal connected to a flat plate.
Rainbow Dash eyed the clock. Eight was fast approaching. Was she really going to do this? Was she really going to meet a... rival? Friend? Rainbow didn't know how to feel about Lightning Dust anymore. Lightning Dust had flown out of her life, a distant memory. Yet here she was again, profoundly changed. By what? Rainbow didn't know. Rainbow Dash could still picture the appealing shapes of Lighting Dust's appealing teal body. When she thought about the prosthetic hind leg though, the entire image was thrown off balance.
Shaking her head, Rainbow cleared the thoughts of flesh, metal, and plastic. Standing in her bedroom doorway, she hesitated, glancing back at her blue nightstand. There were still a few syringes inside the bottom drawer, hidden underneath a signed copy of Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone. Just one more time, before the race. If she was strong enough, fast enough, she could beat Applejack. She could win.
Her shadow danced across the front door. Hurriedly pulling back the bottom drawer, she reached down. Her hoof touched the hard spine of the book, brushed against the soft paper underneath, before she felt the familiar coolness of plastic tubes. She pulled a single syringe out gently, taking care not to bend the needle. Its sharp tip was against her skin now. In the low light, she saw her face and body in the small mirror. She was strong. She was powerful. Yes. This body was hers.
But she didn't build it. Applejack was right. There was no honesty in doing what she was about to do. No glory. No satisfaction. Only shame.
"No," Rainbow said aloud. "Maybe?" She was still holding the needle. "AHHHHH!" Rainbow screamed, before throwing the injection across the room. She stepped forward in an effort to retrieve it. Screamed again. No. Trotting out of her bedroom, she looked at the round clock in the common area. There were only five minutes until eight. To meet Lighting Dust on time, she would have to fly fast.
Wings beating like a hummingbird's, she propelled herself towards the park in Ponyville, the one with the stone statue of a famous figure that Twilight always talked about whenever they were there together. Rainbow hadn't used steroids for nearly a week. Had she always been so slow? She blew past a pegasi couple flying casually through the air, hooves intertwined. She scoffed. Romance? Nah.
But as she continued flying, sweat building underneath her thin coat, she imagined her hoof in Lightning's. Lightning and her exhausted amber eyes and her graceful wings and her...
Metal leg. Rainbow was nearly at the park now, and from above, she could see the pale blue reflection of moonlight on steel. Lightning Dust was already there.
"You're late Dash. Didn't the Wonderbolts teach you anything about punctuality?" Lightning Dust gave Rainbow Dash a thin smile. The one Rainbow returned was even thinner, as if it were a competition. "And you're already sweaty. This training will surely do you good then."
Lightning Dust had returned to the familiar cocky attitude of years ago, the one that, at one time, roused a deep annoyance in Rainbow Dash. Now, there was something different about it.
"It's called a warm-up. My muscles are warm and yours are," Rainbow playfully pressed her hoof against Lightning Dust's right hindleg, the one that was still attached to her body. "Cold. So cold."
"Right," said Lightning Dust awkwardly. "So here's the plan. The course for the Running of the Leaves is about five miles. I'm thinking we run a loop of about three miles tonight, and work our way up. Three miles is easy for me, but I thought I'd go easy on you."
"Pshh. Three miles? That's nothing," Rainbow said as she stretched her limbs and shook her wings.
Two miles later, Rainbow huffed. "This is *huff* definitely *huff* nothing." From within, Rainbow Dash reprimanded herself. Without dope, she was weak. Weaker than she'd ever felt before in her life. Lightning Dust was about fifty yards ahead of her, moving seamlessly, effortlessly.
"What was that Rainbow? Couldn't hear you all the way over here!" Lightning shouted. They were on the streets of Ponyville now, rocketing through the dark streets, illuminated by the warm, orange glow of the occasional streetlight. To her right, outside of one of Ponyville's many cafes, a pair of mares sat at a table. Chatting over late-night sandwiches, they gazed into each others eyes Rainbow Dash's stomach grumbled. She'd kill for a sandwich. And company. Specifically, Lightning's company. "Ugh." She shook her head and sped up in an attempt to rid herself of the image and the feelings that accompanied it.
Forty yards now. Rainbow's hooves thumped against the hard earth. Thirty. She was going to catch up! In the distance, the statue of the mare stood tall. Twenty. Lighting Dust's flank was growing ever closer. Ten. Rainbow was nearly close enough to reach out and touch the little lightning bolt and white stars that adorned it.
They stumbled into the park at the same time, breathing heavily, Lightning Dust less so.
"You really gave me a ride there, Dash," said Lighting Dust.
"Almost caught up. It's like that... thing," She gestured to Lighting's left side. "gives you a speed boost or something." Rainbow laughed. Lightning didn't. "Less energy, right?"
Lightning Dust was quiet for a moment. She walked to the bench they had shared that morning and gingerly, sheepishly sat down. She gazed up at the starry sky and sighed. Rainbow was still standing near the statue, a tall silhouette in the moonlight.
"I almost died that day, Dash," she said softly. "It was my leg or me." Rainbow Dash moved slowly towards the bench. "And for a while, I wished it was me. It was torture, spending a month alone in that hospital bed. No visitors. No friends." Rainbow Dash was in front of the bench now. She sat down next to Lightning.
"What happened?" asked Rainbow, softly, curiously.
Lighting didn't say anything. Just kept looking at the evening sky. Finally, she spoke. "I thought it would be a good idea, that I would finally gain the recognition that I'd been craving my whole life. That I'd be on the same level as you. It was so stupid of me. The rockets. The fireworks." Lightning Dust's eyes welled up with tears. "That night, the crowd arrived for my one trick show, a stunt unlike anything anypony had ever seen before. I was up in the air when it happened, flying fast as I ever have, boosted by the rockets. A match in one hoof, a firework in the other. I tossed it in the air." Lightning paused. "But it didn't go off. Instead my body, and the rockets, collided with it. My leg was shredded by the blast. As I was falling, I thought about my life, thought about my death. I was okay with it, going out with a bang. I felt the trees rake my back before I lost consciousness." Lighting Dust was sobbing now. "Fuck."
Dash extended her wing to comfort Lightning Dust, just as Lightning had done for her over twelve hours earlier. Her blue body gently pressed against the teal mare. "I... I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'm here now, aren't I?" A white stallion trotted by, giving the two mares an awkward smile. "Y'know Dash, it's been a long time since I've talked to somepony like this. Before the accident. After the accident. Social interaction has always been difficult for me."
The two mares cuddled beneath the stars, two tiny shades of blue-green in a vast universe. They stayed that way for a while before Rainbow's stomach rumbled. "Wanna get cucumber sandwiches?"
"I've got nothing better to do,"
Rainbow Dash awoke to knocking. "Go away," she mumbled from underneath the comforter. She waited. The knocking didn't stop. "This again?" Once it became obvious that Rainbow wasn't going to speak to the press, reporters put less effort into interviewing her and more effort into investigating the story itself. It didn't worry Rainbow. There wasn't much story to tell. Heaving herself out of bed, she yawned and meandered to the front door. "I to-"
All she could see was lines of black ink and warm gray as a newspaper was forcefully shoved against her muzzle. Grasping it, she pulled it down and read the headline. "HOW RAINBOW DASH DID IT" She glanced up, and in the bottom of her vision, she could see the pegasi's bright orange body and tiny wings. She tilted her head down. "Scootaloo?"
Scootaloo was crying. Wailing. "I'm sorry Rainbow Dash! I'm sorry!" A wet cough, then more crying. "They cornered me Rainbow. They knew it was me," Rainbow looked at the newspaper again. This was bad. This was really bad.
"You didn't have to say anything!" A wave of anger cascaded over Rainbow Dash.
"B-but th-"
"I don't care! Do you know how embarrassing this is for me? You promised me! You promised me you wouldn't say anything!"
"I kn-"
"Ugh. Now everypony knows I used your urine to pass the tests!"
Scootaloo just cried. "I'm sorry Rainbow Dash!" Five more apologies followed. Scootaloo showed no signs of stopping. Suddenly, the ceaseless apologies struck a nerve with Rainbow. Scootaloo looked up to her. So much so that she didn't realize that what she and Rainbow did was completely and utterly wrong. Rainbow hadn't even realized herself until a few days ago.
How could I have been so... Rainbow had no words. With the filly in front of her still bawling, Rainbow remembered the day that the idea came to her, not long after she had joined the Wonderbolts reserves. Remembered showing Scootaloo the thin plastic bags, and what to do with them. Remembered telling Scootaloo to meet her at the shadowy border of the Everfree forest every other Thursday at eleven P.M. But most of all, Rainbow remembered Scootaloo's enthusiastic gaze as she agreed to Rainbow's plan.
"I'm going to help you become even faster? Awesome!" she'd said. Scootaloo was, at that point barely older than a filly, too young to understand the implications of the cold needles and plastic tubes. How could I bring somepony, somepony barely older than a child into this? thought Rainbow.
Every other Thursday, Scootaloo would show up, kicking dirt behind her as she propelled her little red scooter through the dirt near the thick canopy of the Everfree forest. Two silhouettes. An exchange.
Rainbow Dash remembered one particular night. "Hey," Scootaloo said softly, with hesitation. "Is this, like, okay? What we're doing?" Her words were barely audible, blending with the natural sounds of the night that surrounded them.
"Of course. I might be a Wonderbolt soon! Isn't that great?"
"Yeah... but... in Miss Cherilee's class today..." Scootaloo looked down at the ground. "Have you ever met Prance Armstrong?"
"Who?"
"Nevermind," Scootaloo mumbled.
Rainbow had read about Prance Armstrong in the paper earlier that week, about how he had been using steroids to give him an edge in competition. But she wasn't like that. Her story was different.
"Listen Scootaloo, Prance Armstrong cheated. What we're doing, it isn't cheating. It's er..." She paused, thinking. "...conditioning."
"Conditioning?" Scootaloo's purple eyes sparkled in the moonlight, full of admiration and innocence.
"Yeah."
Scootaloo removed her helmet, and reached inside. Hoof outstretched, she offered the bag of translucent yellow liquid to Rainbow Dash.
"Thanks a bunch Scootaloo," said Rainbow quickly as she unfolded her wings. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta be up bright and early tomorrow for practice."
What's wrong with me?
Scootaloo was still apologizing at Rainbow's hooves, her little orange body shaking and trembling. Another wet cough. Rainbow lowered herself. "I'm sorry," Scootaloo whined.
Rainbow gently touched Scootaloo's soft back. "No Scootaloo. I'm the one that should be sorry. I'm sorry that I ever involved you in this. I'm sorry that I, someone you looked up to, used steroids to help me become an official member of the Wonderbolts."
Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash, her eyes puffy. "You mean, you cheated?"
Rainbow sighed. "Er..." A long pause followed, then a sigh. "Yeah. I did. And I'm not proud of it."
Scootaloo's sobs intensified again. "Y-you mean... I... I helped you? All these years?"
Rainbow Dash didn't, couldn't say anything. Then the tears poured, mixing with Scootaloo's, forming a salty ocean on her front porch. Finally, "Yes."
The sun beamed through Rainbow's window that morning, illuminating her bedroom, decked in shades of blue. She opened her eyes and propped herself up, extending her hooves into the air. Today was the day. The Running of the Leaves was to take place in a few hours. Lightning Dust was coming over beforehand so that the two mares could chat while they stretched and warmed up. Rainbow placed her hooves on her stomach. Butterflies?
A week ago, Lightning Dust was a distant memory. Now, they were... friends? Rainbow thought about the past week, about evenings with the teal mare. She thought about the way the streetlamps of Ponyville illuminated Lightning's blond mane, blown back by the speed at which she ran. She thought about the way Lightning ate cucumber sandwiches. Tiny bites, as if savoring each crunchy, round disk between the two slices of bread. Lightning's coarse voice, her cocky attitude, the way it felt when she touched Rainbow's body.
Lightning Dust crashed through the front door. "Hey Dash," She trotted into the kitchen. "I've never seen your place before. 's nice. Get up, we've got a race to run."
Rainbow instinctively pulled the comforter over her body. From her bed, she smiled softly before saying, "Geez, knock much?"
Rainbow Dash joined Lightning Dust in the small kitchen, packets of chocolate breakfast shake on the countertop next to two mugs. Rainbow looked at them, then at Lightning Dust.
"What Dash, you've never seen a protein shake before?"
It wasn't that. Lightning Dust busied herself stirring the dark brown powder until it formed a thick liquid. It was the way Lightning Dust had made herself at home in Rainbow Dash's kitchen. Asserted her presence in Rainbow's home. And her life. A part of Rainbow Dash wanted to believe that Lightning Dust was breaking a boundary. Another part of her liked it. She screamed in confusion internally as Lightning Dust slid a mug across the light blue surface of the counter. "Drink up."
As the two mares drank their protein shakes, Lightning said, "Where's your coltfriend?" This was a topic that, in the previous week, had not come up. Rainbow Dash stared blankly into her mug. An awkward silence. "What? You're telling me a fine mare like yourself doesn't have a special somepony?" A fine mare? An unusual feeling spread across Rainbow's cheeks. Another awkward silence. "Oh. I get it. Mares are more your style. Cool with me Dash. I dated a stallion once. Only once. Now I'm on team mare for life." She chuckled, looking out of Rainbow's window at the clear blue skies outside. Now Rainbow was sweating. "Not that I've dated many ponies, what, with me being me and all." Rainbow turned to place her now empty mug in the sink. "You're awfully quiet this morning Dash. Nervous for the race?"
Blushing, Rainbow mumbled, "Yeah."
After stretches and a brisk jog through the trees beneath Rainbow's home in the sky, Rainbow Dash was warm. Wings beating, the two mares headed for the starting line in Ponyville, surrounded by the yellows and oranges of autumn and the clean blue of open skies above.
A crowd of ponies lay before Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust. A dark green colt visibly recoiled as Rainbow walked by, as if disgusted by her mere presence. "Guess this is a race I'm going to lose," said a mare's voice from somewhere in the crowd. The stares from other racers were almost unbearable.
"Rainbow Dash the cheater," one voice spoke. "Doesn't she know when to quit?", "Who the hay let her register for this?" All around, ponies spoke. Trembling, Rainbow Dash walked to the outside, ponies parting. She was nauseous now. Lightning Dust spoke near her ear in a low voice, her muzzle closer to than it needed to be. "It's okay, Dash." Rainbow could feel Lightning's breath on her multicolored mane. Definitely didn't help the nausea. Moving away, Lightning tapped Rainbow's left flank, which bore a tan sheet of parchment, the number 42 written roughly in black ink.
One of the organizers had tried to pin 41 to Lightning Dust's left flank, attaching it to one of the metal rods that inserted into her hip bone. After several attempts, Lightning took the square sheet of paper and tacked it to her right flank instead.
41 and 42 were still on the outside of the crowd, well behind the starting line, when Rainbow spotted the familiar cowboy hat. Rainbow's posture straightened, and she looked into Lightning Dust's perpetually fatigued eyes. "Let's do this."
The two mares trotted towards Applejack. A few minutes until the race was set to begin. Rainbow looked at Applejack's legs, at her flank, which bore the number 1. Sensing Rainbow's gaze on her number, Applejack said, "First to register, first to finish." A wink followed.
"Wanna bet?" was Rainbow's response.
"We don't need to tie your wings this time, do we sugarcube?" mocked Applejack in a childish voice.
"Uh, Rainbow," said Lightning Dust. But Rainbow was too busy sparking her competitive spirit, engaged in heated banter with Applejack.
"Laugh it up, why don't ya. Gives everypony else a fair chance," quipped Applejack.
"Oh go tell it on the mountain! Get a lift in Pinkie's balloon while you're at it!" shouted Rainbow Dash.
"Betcha wish you had these legs," Applejack said, looking back at her flank. She tilted it in Rainbow's direction.
Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Sure. Okay Applejack. I totally want legs that are half as strong and twice as ugly as my own."
"What's underneath your coat Rainbow, huh?" asked Applejack.
"Oh that's it!"
"Hey guys," Lightning Dust said, frowning. The three mares looked at the now empty space that encircled them. A few organizers were snickering. They looked at each other, then pushed off the dirt with so much force that the starting line banner, held between two trees, was nearly blown away.
Applejack began to distance herself from Rainbow and Lightning, until Rainbow could no longer hear the country mare's playful insults. "She's *huff* really fast," breathed Lightning Dust.
All around, the leaves were falling from the trees, an orange blizzard in the autumn morning. Slowing a bit, Rainbow admired the beauty of it all. The sunshine, the leaves, Lightning Dust. Lightning Dust, who was now far in front of her, looking back at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash almost couldn't hear her say, "What are you doing Dash? Let's go!"
From atop the hill, they could see other ponies in the distance, some of whom were walking out of fatigue or a lack of competitive interest. Grinning, Rainbow's legs pounded against the earth even harder than they already were. Applejack's familiar hat was nearly not visible from their position. But she could still see it. She could still catch up.
They passed a pair of ponies, a mare and a stallion, who were strolling together as shades of yellow danced around them. Rainbow paused to look at them. At their dreamy gazes and lopsided smiles. "Dash!" shouted Lightning with about as much breath as she could muster. They passed a gleaming pink unicorn mare, who trotted along briskly, bobbing her head to some music played out of small, white earbuds.
Hanging off of a branch, Rainbow Dash saw it. Applejack's hat sagged from the tips of the dry wood. Without pausing, Rainbow grasped it, secured it under her wing, and pressed onwards. The feeling of the leather hat under her wing, while much, much different from the feeling of urine enclosed in thin plastic, reminded her of it all. Of everything that she had done. It had happened, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Her legs were burning now, demanding a break, but all Rainbow could do was keep going. Try to put the pieces back together. "Half a mile left, Dash!" shouted Lightning from in front of her, her prosthetic leg arcing across the fall air. Rainbow Dash sped up, now surrounded by galloping ponies.
In the distance, the painted banner of the finish line fluttered. Rainbow could see Applejack, who had already finished the race, scratching her head with her hoof. It was strange to see her without her hat. The crowd of ponies near the banner, though small, signaled to Rainbow that she had not won the race. Not by a long shot.
There were no cheers when Rainbow crossed the finish line, a few paces behind Lightning Dust. Her arrival was largely ignored. A yellow mare, who was adorned with a shining gold medal, eyed Rainbow in apparent confusion before leaning in to whisper words to a friend next to her. Applejack sauntered over.
Rainbow's breathing was still labored. She opened her wing to reveal Applejack's hat beneath. "Saved it for ya'." Rainbow grinned as she let the hat drop to the dirt on the ground. "So..."
"Did ah win? Nah. But third place ain't half bad considering that we started well after everypony else," said Applejack stooping over to pick up her hat, a circular bronze ornament dangling from her neck.
Rainbow stretched her legs. "We just gave everpony else a handicap," she joked. Lightning glared at her. "...er, poor choice of words." Then Lightning shot up and gave Rainbow a quick peck on the cheek. Surprised, Rainbow could feel her face turn red in response, feel her wings, which were folded flat against her back, stiffen slightly. Applejack smirked.
Lightning's hoof jostled Rainbow's mane. "So Dash, whatcha thinkin'? Cucumber sandwiches?"
"Sure." Before Rainbow could continue, she heard a familiar voice. The stallion walked around, pen in hoof, underneath the now bare trees. Chance Flow was interviewing participants, scribbling down notes as they recounted the race and what it meant to them. "Before we go though, there's one thing I need to take care of."
