On the outskirts of Ponyville, up in the sky, a rainbow blur sped through the air at a break neck pace.
It was none other than Rainbow Dash, one of the best fliers in Equestria.
She may have one of the newer members of the Wonderbolts, but that didn’t mean she was any less skilled.
Her training regimen attested to that.
She would repeat the routine for hours on end, ensuring she was absolutely perfect.
That was what she was doing now, completing a triple loop and coming back in to the formation.
She was so busy visualizing her teammates next her that she hardly noticed as something flew just a few feet in front of her.
THUMP
Rainbow fell from the sky, landing in the field below with a thud.
Oww…
Rainbow said as she picked herself up and assessed herself.
Nothing appeared to be broken or sprained.
The only part of her that hurt was her head, which was pounding like crazy.
She felt dizzy, and tried to take a few deep breaths to get herself together.
Oh…What happened?
Rainbow turned and saw another crater of dirt just across the field.
She flew over, finding somepony she was all too familiar with.
Derpy! What in Celestia’s name were you doing?!?
Oh. Sorry Rainbow Dash! I was hurrying over to Sugarcube Corner. The Cakes only make one batch of muffins a day. I just can’t go a day without one.
Rainbow Dash groaned.
She should’ve known Derpy would be the only pony that would mindlessly walk in front of a pony performing stunts.
Make sure you watch where you’re going! We both could’ve been hurt much worse than knocking skulls.
I will. Sorry Rainbow Dash!
Said Derpy as she picked herself up and began flying off again toward Sugarcube Corner.
Rainbow looked down at herself.
Dirt and grass covered her fur, mane, and tail.
Guess practice is over for today…
Sighed Rainbow as she took off for town as well.
She was headed for the town gym.
She had no intention of working out right now, but her membership gave her access to the showers there she could use to get cleaned up. Plus a post work out shake from the juice bar wouldn’t hurt.
In minutes she arrived, landing at the foot of the building and heading inside.
The warm water felt great on her sore body and aching head.
She knew it would hurt for a bit, but was nothing she couldn’t handle.
The occasional accident was just part of the game for a flyer.
Her body clean and dried, she headed for the juice bar, waiting her turn in line.
After a couple minutes of the line not moving, she began to get antsy, flexing and stretching her legs.
What was taking so long?
She wanted her smoothie already!
At one point, she glanced to her side and saw her reflection in the mirrored wall a few feet away from her.
Her hind leg was stretched back, and her muzzle was scrunched up.
She giggled at her reflection.
She looked so dumb!
She began making faces, sticking her tongue out and doing little dances.
She felt so silly, giggling like a little school filly at her ridiculous actions.
Uh…Miss?
Rainbow turned and looked forward. The line that had been there a moment ago had vanished, and the pony at the counter was staring at her with a worried expression.
A few other ponies stared at her too at the fool she was making of herself.
Quickly composing herself, she rushed up to the counter.
Oat Grass smoothie please.
She quickly blurted out and grabbed a menu to cover her face and hide her embarrassment.
Everypony turned back to what they were doing.
Rainbow Dash blushed red behind the menu.
What was she doing?
She had never made such a fool of herself before.
She liked to be silly sometimes, but that was usually with Pinkie Pie or her other friends.
Not by herself.
Here you go miss.
Rainbow turned and grabbed her smoothie from the counter, leaving the menu there and heading out the door.
She wanted to put some space between herself and the gym now.
The further she got, the further back the thought of her humiliating herself would be in her mind.
After getting a couple blocks away, she decided to wander a little.
She had nothing planned for the rest of the day, and figured she’d socialize with ponies in town until she bumped into one of friends or decided to go home.
It had only been an hour of browsing storefronts when Rainbow smelled the most delightful smell she had smelled in a long time.
It stopped her in her tracks.
Her eyes shot wide open.
An uncontrollable instinct was taking over.
MUFFINS!!!
Rainbow Dash blurted out loudly.
The second she shouted it, she caught herself.
Where in Equestria had that come from?
She looked and saw everypony around her staring at her with confusion.
She blushed red and ducted down the nearest alley, hiding behind a dumpster.
What was wrong with her?
She never embarrassed herself so much in one day.
That was it.
It was time to call the day early and head home.
As she went to take off for home however, she once again caught the smell of muffins tickling her nose.
Her body stopped, and began to trot toward where the smell was coming from.
What the- Hey! Quit it!
She yelled in her head, trying to will her body to stop but to no avail.
Her body trotted onward mindlessly, heading to Sugarcube Corner and right up to the counter.
Hi Rainbow! What can I get-
Muffins…
What?
MUFFINS!!!
AHHH!!!
Mrs. Cake leaped back with a shriek.
Rainbow had never acted this way before.
She quickly grabbed a dozen muffins and put them in a bag, dropping them on the counter.
Rainbow threw down a fist full of bits, more than enough to cover the total.
She grabbed the bag and dashed out the door, leaving Mrs. Cake with a look or concern.
Trotting back to the alley, she ripped open the bag.
She shoved her muzzle down into the bag and began scarfing down the baked goods, their flavor coating her mouth.
The whole timed Rainbow watched in panic and horror.
She had no control of herself at all!
As she ate, she began to feel weird.
Memories of how to do things now seemed much more confusing.
Her flight routine she had down pat now seemed like an unstudied language.
Her tasks at the Rainbow factory, that she had just recently left when joining the Wonderbolts also seemed complex and complicated.
Her mind began to feel a pleasant tingle as her memories became jostled, scattered, jumbled.
She began to feel a warm sense of ignorance coat her whole brain.
The simple pleasure of scarfing down her favorite snack was now plenty satisfying for a simple-minded mare like her.
Her body changed slightly, her mane and tail going from styled to a messy just out of bed look.
Her body, once lithe and thin became pudgy, a side effect of a diet that was cheated on by a few muffins a day, if not a dozen on occasion.
Her eyes became cross eyed, the act of keeping both in the same direction now seeming to be too much for the silly pony to handle.
As she finished feasting on her treats, she stood up and giggled, wiping the crumbs from her muzzle.
Rainbow Dash was no more.
She was Rainderp Dash.
She was just a clumsy equipment manager for the Wonderbolts, the team taking her out of pity after she had tried so many times to join the team and causing havoc and destruction on the field.
The damage had gone down since she became manager, although the tasks certainly took longer and often involved more broken equipment than other ponies.
Still, Rainderp didn’t mind.
She was too busy having fun with her teammates to care.
She giggled as she threw her empty bag away and headed off toward home, nearly knocking over a planter box as she flew off, her mind a cluttered mess of derp.
