Chapter 1
It was days like these that made Rainbow Dash truly, genuinely appreciate the small town she came from. The sun was shining; there was barely a cloud in the sky, and Scootaloo hadn't bothered her for flight lessons in a whole hour! The sky was an inviting shade of blue- deeper than usual, but still light and saturated at the same time. The cyan Pegasus flexed her wings, her pools of fuchsia widening in excitement. She didn't need to stretch before a flight, but found it had rapidly developed into a habit. She supposed it was for the best, as stretching lowered the chances of getting wing cramps- surprisingly, wing cramps were responsible for 4 out of 10 pegasus deaths- At least, that's what Rainbow Dash remembered. Facts like that were something that Twilight Sparkle would remember; not the fastest flier in Equestria! Speaking of flying… She broke into a speedy trot, her pace quickening with each stride. The magenta-eyed Pegasus didn't normally run before lift-off, but today felt.. different. Special, for some reason. Unfortunately she couldn't put her hoof on why, even as she spread her feathered wings and began an easy glide upwards towards the sun. Flying would take her mind off things.. The cyan pony closed her eyes as a wave of nostalgia overtook her.
This was what she lived for. The cool air pushed against her messy coat, running through each follicle of blue fur and leaving a tingly, refreshing feeling on her skin. Her wings pumped gently, sending her flying not vertically upwards but at a slight incline. She beat her wings calmly, lost in the moment. She loved the thrill she got when flying. It was an everlasting rush of adrenaline. When she felt the air getting thinner, harder to fly any higher- She flickered open her eyes to find herself a good thirty meters above Ponyville, the distinct features that made up the town now a blurry mess of colours and shapes. She could barely see Sweet Apple Acres, the largest part of Ponyville- It was all just a mass of deep green and small speckles of orange and red. The town square, maybe.. a colourful mosaic of contrasting hues. It made her heart quite literally soar knowing that she was so.. lucky. Not everypony got to an amazing view like this everyday. It was quite fortunate that Rainbow Dash had earned herself the title of chief Weatherpony, meaning she had to stay in the sky everyday. Of course, she had no problem with that. Her place was in the sky: flying free and unrestricted, no cares in the world. When she was in the sky, her worries blew away with the wind. Who needed yoga to relax when you could have experiences like this?
The rainbow-maned pony shut her eyes tightly once more, breathing in the fresh air. The chilly oxygen filled her lungs, making her shiver a little bit. Today was a perfect day. Too perfect. The thought chewed at the back of Rainbow Dashes mind like a sore; but the stubborn mare refused to let it bother her. Deciding doing some tricks and aerial acrobatics would take her mind off things, also doing her cold muscles some justice. She started off with the basics: A loop de loop here, a speed strut there. Simple filly's stuff.
Those are foal tricks. Let's do something real!
Rainbow Dash decided to warm up a little more, and then try out a new trick she had been planning for quite a while. The winged pony did a small barrel roll in the air, curving in an arc and folding her blue wings in. The air whistled past her face, buffeting her Technicolor forelock and pushing her gums backwards. As she was nearing a breakneck speed, it was only natural that her signature six-color rainbow trailed behind her, leaving a faint glimmer in it's wake. As she neared the ground, she began to see details in Ponyville again. She was on the outskirts of Sweet Apple acres, the smell of ripe apples wafting over. If she concentrated, she could see the apple grove no more than a half mile away from her position.
The ground was nearing quickly, the peak of a grassy hill crawling up to meet her. At the last second, her wings snapped open and she curved back up, using the momentum of her fall to assist her in swooping up at almost the same speed she went down. Her wings pumped quickly, beating in time with her heart. The thumpa-thumpa-thump of said organ was pounding in her ears, her sense of hearing intensified by the adrenaline rush. As she began her ascent into the higher part of the sky, she bit her lip in concentration. Things got serious now. Alright, let's try it! If preformed correctly, she would cast a rainbow over all of Ponyville! If that didn't scream awesome, what did? The cyan Pegasus swooped downwards once more, aiming herself towards a cloud not too far away. The winged pony shot through it, diving towards the ground and flying back upwards again in the same trick she had used earlier. Now that I'm nice and wet.. Back to her original height, the pegasus arched backwards in a gentle slope, spinning rapidly as she did so. She could feel the flecks of water flying off her pelt in the form of vapor. The perfect equation for a rainbow. Rainbow Dash glanced behind her with a pair of hopeful magenta eyes, but to her disappointment, no rainbow had taken formation behind her. What? I did that perfectly! She couldn't stop looking behind her, her eyes wide with shock. That was a truly feeble attempt. She scolded herself, glaring at the spot as if a rainbow was going to grace the sky at any moment. Pff, as if! She turned around and fla-
WHAM.
Ah, she had forgotten about Twilights treehouse.. And how much it ached to slam into it. Of course, it hadn't been her first time doing so. Twilight seemed to attract bad luck easily, and Rainbow Dash as well. So it wasn't too much of a surprise to her when she hit the hard bark and slowly and painfully slid down the rough surface, her skin grinding against it in the process. Crumpling into a dazed heap, Rainbow Dash felt like she was going to puke. A sense of lightheadedness overcame her senses, and the loud slamming of Twilight Sparkle's front door beside her didn't help.
"Can I help you?" Her friends voice, dripping with sarcasm, rang through her ears and rattled her brain. The dazed Pegasus shakily rose to her feet, screwing her eyes shut and taking a shaky step forward. A purple unicorn stood before her, an unimpressed look plastered across her violet muzzle.
"Yes. I mean no. I mean ye- Actually, yeah. No." Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously, her eyes flickering open. The world was spinning around her, making her dizzy. A small trickle of crimson blood flowed down her forehead, coming from a few minor scratches in on her face.
"Rainbow! You're hurt!" The lavender pony gasped, her serious expression gone and replaced with one of worry and confusion. The Pegasus groaned, her wings drooping.
"No, I'm fine! Really, it's just a scratch." The Pegasus stammered rapidly. Maybe a little two quickly? But either way, Rainbow had no time for whatever spells or potions.. or.. or.. whatever that Twilight would thrust upon her for having a small cut or two. She hated being a test subject, mostly for the lack of actual motion in the process. The cyan pony couldn't sit still for anything more than a minute; wasting time was one of her pet peeves, though it didn't seem like it. Despite what her cowpony friend Applejack would say, napping was not a waste of time. Especially in tree limbs. A pang of sharp pain jabbed her in the forehead as a violet hoof reached out and gently touched it. Rainbow flinched away, her wings unfurling defensively.
"..Not really. I'll help you! Just give me a second! I've got to get Supernaturals! It's got to have a cure to.." Twilight's voice faded away as she trotted inside her treehouse, still talking. Rainbow Dash quickly flapped her wings, taking off and flying away as fast as she could. Sorry Twilight.. She would have to come up with an excuse to apologize another time.
Cyan hooves met white cloud as Rainbow Dash touched down on the front door of her cloud home, a grand castle of white pillars, rainbow liquid pouring down in neat, colourful waterfalls. It was a mansion in itself, and Rainbow Dash knew it. The masterpiece she was proud to call her home had taken almost a whole week of nonstop work to create, model and design. In the end, her beautiful home had not only caught the eyes of every passerby earth pony and unicorn, but a few local pegasi as well. She gently opened the door, trying not to break the delicate cloud material. She stepped inside and trotted to the kitchen, her stomach growling. Equestria's iron pony was hungry, and she was craving jerky. Toferky, that is. She opened the secret spot where she kept her jerky(most of her friends would just comment on a horse eating meat as "sick and wrong"), and grasped two or three stalks of the stuff in her mouth.
Rainbow Dash walked to her main sleeping hub- her couch. Of course, she had a bed, but it was made of the same stuff earth ponies slept on and Rainbow Dash just didn't find that as comfortable as cloud. Besides, she'd get one of those fancy cloud beds when she got into the wonderbolts. Not if, but when.
Yawning, she laid down on the makeshift couch with lidded eyes. She chewed absentmindedly on one of the jerky sticks, thinking of her priorities. She would definitely have to apologize to Twilight Sparkle tomorrow, practice her flying.. She couldn't think straight with a migraine like this. Her heart still pounded and her muscles still ached from flying. But despite that, her internal clock was telling her that it was time to sleep. She lay her head down on a pillow, hugging it with her front legs. Her eyes closed slowly. Yawning once more, she felt slumber overcome her and her body relax.
Rainbow Dash was.. where was she? She examined her surroundings. White. What? No walls, just a vista of white. A white oblivion.. Nothing but for as long as she could see. This made no sense.. Was she dreaming? That was probably it. After all, why would she- how would she even get to a place like this in reality? She tried to call out to someone, but something was in her mouth. Why couldn't she spit it out? Alright, Rainbow Dash. Calm down. She thought, failing to reassure herself.. She took a step forward, something catching her eye. Peering downwards, she noticed her coat was a light pinkish colour. Well, that made no sense. Something warm was on her shoulder.. Where were her wings? What was going on? Wait.. a mirror! Where had that come from? It certainly hadn't been there before. Walking slowly but surely forward, she crept towards the mirror nervously. If she wasn't a blue pegasus, then what..
She peered into the mirror cautiously.
Oh no.
A pair of white eyes stared back at her. Something was off, though. The area that was normally white was black.. and vice versa? Where was the color? They were so..distorted! The owners of the eyes was a muted pink colour, the desaturated shade making the odd eyes all the more unappealing. A darker shade of the odd pink colour rolled down the ponies face in a straight fashion. The pony was carrying a knife in her mouth.
It wasn't. It couldn't be. No..
Rainbow Dash moved her head from side to side, her reflection mimicking her. This wasn't possible.
Not Pinkie Pie.
"Hiya, Dashie!" The voice of her former friend and companion rang in Rainbow's ears, her reflection's expression turning grim. Rainbow's heart skipped a beat.
"P-Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash frowned in surprise, her voice trembling with nervosa. The happy-go-lucky voice cut her off.
"You remember me? That's great!" Her reflection looked impressed momentarily, but quickly regained it's irritated expression. Rainbow Dash didn't understand. Was she dreaming, or not? The pink pony in the mirror leaned forward, her vile hatred seemingly emanating through the boundaries of the mirror.
"Y-Yeah.. H-how've you been, P-Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash stuttered, a bead of sweat dropping on her lip.
"Fine, Dashie! Just.. FINE! " The reflection was leaning so far forward.. Rainbow didn't know if it the boundaries of the mirror would hold her back. But when Pinkamena Diane Pie burst through the boundaries of the shiny surface, leaving ripples behind her- her question was soon answered. The pink pony advanced on Rainbow Dash, closing in on her and forcing her backwards.
"Ever since you and the rest of those losers LIED TO ME and CAST ME OUT, I've been JUST FINE!" Her double screamed, pupils shrinking madly. The other pink pony had her ears pinned back in fear.
"P-Pinkie.. I told you.. We were h-holding a s-surprise party for you.." Rainbow Dash whimpered, the Pink Pony still staring her down. It was quite intimidating, really. When a Pink pony hops out of your mirror holding a knife, you'll understand.
"A SURPRISE PARTY?" Pinkie snarled, her eyes widening to exaggerate every word she said.
"A SURPRISE PARTY?" She repeated, her teeth clenched in a prominent glower. Rainbow couldn't take it. She turned tail and ran, shutting her eyes and trying to take flight. What? Where are my- Remembering her lack of wings, Rainbow Dash shrieked in fear and galloped faster than she ever had before. The sound of pounding hooves behind her told her that Pinkie Pie was taking pursuit.
"Errghh!" Pinkie Pie grunted from behind her, and suddenly something hit Rainbow Dash in the flank, burying itself in her flesh. The knife.. Pinkie had thrown the knife at her. Howling in agony, Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks and tripped, falling head over hooves into a confused, trembling heap. The knife was taken out of her with brutish force, leaving an open would that bled all over the white nothingness, staining it crimson.
"Thought you'd get away, Dashie?" Pinkie Pie giggled, tracing designs into the other ponies back with the blade of the knife, damaging the skin but not causing it to bleed. Dash was in agony. Why had Pinkie come back.. why was she tormenting her.. why her..?
"I thought you'd be stronger than this, Dashie! You ARE the cool one, after all! You're supposed to be BRAVE! A GOOD FRIEND! LOYAL!" With each word she spat, Pinkie Pie drove the blade into Rainbow Dash. Blood spilled from each cut, staining Pinkie's clean coat and Dash's similar one. She took it silently, not uttering a sound save for a quiet, maniacal laugh.
"You're giggling, Dashie! Giggling at the ghosties! Good job!" Pinkie Pie bounced up and down eccentrically, the same rock hard expression plastered across her muzzle. As she sliced up and down Rainbow Dash's body, she sang. Her voice possessed a low, monotonic tune that hurt Rainbow Dash's ears.
When you were still friends with me and we joked around like clowns~
Our lives were really rad, though Gilda really made me frown~
She stole Dashie from Pinkie and left her in the dust~
But Dashie didn't help're, she just stood and watched her turn to ruuuust~
But I thought "Pinkie, you can't stand this at all! As long as Dashie is still here~
Just try to get her 'cause you don't deserve how she made you feel~!"
Pinkie sliced Rainbow Dashes stomach open, revealing an impressive set of organs. The pony in question screamed in agony, curling up as tight as she could. It hurt so much.. weren't Pinkie and her friends? She thought she had been the nicest of the group to her..
"Wow, Dashie! Good job keeping fit, your intestines look great! Pale pink, just like they should be!" The earth pony giggled and snorted, finishing off the job by slitting the other ponies neck, then returned to pulling out Rainbow Dashes entrails and using them to suffocate her. It was a few minutes of having her intestines wrapped around her like a gag before Rainbow saw spots. She had a surprisingly high threshold for pain, despite her rather.. extreme overreactions to things that happened to her in the past. Those dots soon melted into blotches, which melted into large areas of darkness, which suddenly turned into complete blackness. It was hard to resist, death seemed like an inviting thing for Rainbow at a time like this.
"Don't go near any mirrors, Dashie..!" Was the last thing that Rainbow heard as she slipped into darkness.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Rainbow Dash sat up straight, screaming as loud as she could. The sound echoed through her house, reverberating back with a chorus of twenty Rainbow Dashes. Thoughts of her dream flooded back to her, her shocked expression turning into a wince as she remembered the vivid details. Pinkie Pie slicing her open.. Entrails everywhere.. Some nightmare.. Rainbow Dash tried to laugh it off. Nothing felt too off, but she still felt a little lightheaded. She decided to check herself in the bathroom to make sure everything was alright. Shivering and shaking, she got off of the couch and made her way towards the restroom. Leaning a hoof on the beige cloud-counter of her bathroom, she peered into the mirror and checked herself over. The inside of her eyelids were pink, as were her gums and tongue. Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary, save for her increased heartbeat and abnormally dilated pupils. Sighing in relief, she shut off the bathroom light before realizing something had been different about her reflection. She flickered on the bathroom light again and stared herself in the mirror, trying t- Wait..
Were her eyes blue?
