Newbie Dash (Alternative)

Princess Celestia is reading through a stack of paperwork when her sister approaches her.

“Sister, I have an important concern I wish to speak with you about.” The Princess of the Night says. “It is about one of the Elements.”

Celestia puts down the paper she was reading. “Oh?”

“I have noticed that Rainbow Dash has been having some rather… strange dreams- strange nightmares. She dreams of eating large amounts of food uncontrollably, and becoming impossibly large because of it.” Luna explains.

Celestia frowns as she listens, then gets a look of sad recognition. “I fear that this sounds familiar. I had a student once, long before Sunset Shimmer, who reported of having similar dreams plaguing her at night.”

“What happened to her?” Luna asks curiously, not liking how subdued her sister sounds.

Celestia looks seriously at her younger sister. “She died.”

“Rainbow Dash! Can you hear me?!” Twilight asks for a third time, trying to shake her friend awake.

It might be a trick of the light, but somehow she looks even thinner this morning. Twilight prays that her mind is just playing tricks on her.

Finally those magenta irises look up at her in confusion, and Dash folds her fallen-open wings.

“Oh thank Celestia.” Twilight sighs heavily in relief. “Rainbow Dash, I know you don’t want to, but you really have to eat something. I’ve read that Pegasi have an extremely fast metabolism, and if you don’t get enough nutrients, your body is going to eat itself to get what it needs. If it starts eating your heart muscle,…. you could die.”

Dash’s eyes widen at the desperate explanation. “But.. I just wasn’t eating much for a few days. It can’t be that bad.” She tries to defend, despite her blurry vision filling with black spots once more.
It’s not her fault that her body doesn’t want her to swallow food anymore.

“Look at where you are! You’ve passed out twice now, in just a few days. You have to eat!” Twilight begs.

Spike throws her a sad look. He may not understand what Dash’s problem is, but he doesn’t like what Twilight is saying, at all.

Twilight levitates a protein shake with a straw to her — literally — grounded friend.

“Please. I thought that maybe liquids would be easier for now. Please drink it. I- I don’t want-” She couldn’t bring herself to say it again.

The seriousness of the situation is starting to really sink in for Dash now, and she does as told, forcing herself to quickly drink the shake. She quickly dislikes the way her stomach feels uncomfortably full and heavy, but she pushes through the feeling until the glass is empty and she’s only sucking in air through the straw.

“Thank you.” Twilight says in relief, taking the glass away.

Dash closes her eyes in discomfort. “I don’t feel well.” She admits.

“Like you’re going to be sick?” Twilight asks in renewed horror.

No, but I would like to. Dash thinks. I really want this back out of me. This feels wrong.

Spike interrupts their conversation by burping out a letter. “Urgh, that hasn’t happened in a while.” He clutches his stomach for a moment.

Twilight magically grabs hold of the scroll and reads it aloud.

“Dear Twilight,

it has come to my attention that your friend Rainbow Dash could be suffering from a very serious sickness. I will be arriving in Ponyville shortly.

Please do not panic in the meantime.

Best regards

Princess Celestia.”

Rainbow looks startled, painstakingly sitting up. She sways a bit when she’s upright. “I’m sick?” She asks in shock.

Twilight lowers the letter to look at her friend, then she suddenly bursts into tears at the idea of losing Rainbow Dash. She hugs her frail friend, grimacing when she feels her ribcage. It was too real for her liking, the possibility that they’re too late and Dash will die.

Rainbow suddenly hunches over, causing Twilight to let go of her. Her stomach is really cramping now, and she had to clutch her very upset stomach in discomfort. “Twilight, I don’t think that shake is agreeing with me. Ugh.” She grunts out between pained, shallow breaths.

Twilight quickly teleports her into the closest bathroom, then covers her face with her front hooves and breaks down into tears. Spike can only pat her on her shoulder, he himself afraid of what is happening.

“Oh Spike.. what are we going to do?” She asks brokenly.

Celestia arrives by the time Dash was able to stay away from the bathroom again. The shake had pretty much gone straight through her, not giving her a lot of much needed energy and nutrients.

“Oh dear.” The ruler starts when she takes a look at the element of loyalty. “I had hoped to be wrong about this.”

The girls frown.

“Wrong about what?” Twilight asks.

“Rainbow Dash, I have to ask you a few questions, and it is of utmost importance that you answer honestly.”

Dash gulps.

“First, please tell me how eating makes you feel.” She starts, to Twilight’s surprise, and Dash’s horror.

The Pegasus hesitates, but then replies honestly, “really uncomfortable. Heavy. Wrong. I physically can’t swallow much, either.”

The others grimace in sympathy.

Celestia makes a full body mirror appear next. “What do you see?”

Twilight leans in behind Dash to see for herself. The Pegasus was getting scarily thin, she looks very ill and tired.

Dash takes a look at herself, then looks down at the floor with a sigh. “I look huge. There’s no way I can ever fly as a Wonderbolt again if I keep getting bigger.”

Twilight gasps in shock. “You’re not big at all! You’re so thin that I’m scared!”

Celestia makes the mirror vanish again. “Twilight, I need you to stay calm right now.” She then makes a large container with little glowing pills appear. “These magical pills will keep you alive by slowing down your metabolism. Rainbow Dash, it is extremely important that you take these every single day until you are able to eat normally again.”

“Slow down my metabolism?” Dash asks in horror at the idea of becoming even bigger.

Celestia nods. “You need to understand that what you are experiencing is a disorder, a sickness of the mind. It is a dangerous, deadly disease. Your weight has become dangerously low, yet you see an obese pony when you look in the mirror.”

The girls share a terrified glance.

“How do we cure it? How do we fix it?” Twilight asks desperately.

“You can’t. This disease is unlikely to ever fully go away, which means that Rainbow Dash, you will need to learn to control it, instead of it controlling you. And you have to be honest with yourself and your friends, because this disease feeds on lies and secrecy.” She explains seriously, then regards Twilight. “She will need a lot of support, from all of you, if she is to have a single chance at beating this disease.”

Dash shyly speaks up. “…I’m really as thin as you guys say?”

They nod sadly.

Rainbow opens the container and takes out one of the glowing pills, looking at it for a moment in debate, then swallows it dry. Then she turns to her alicorn friend. “Twilight, I want to get better. I only just became a Wonderbolt, I don’t want to die!”

Twilight pulls her into a tight but gentle hug, a few tears soaking into the rainbow mane. “I’ll- we’ll help you every step of the way. I promise you.” She pulls away in order to make eye contact. “And if I know any pony that can beat this, it’s you. You’re the strongest pony that I’ve ever known.”