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Little Consequences

by Skijarama

Chapter 1: Nightmare

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“It truly is beautiful, isn’t it?” Princess Celestia asked, looking on at the endless, gloriously green hills with a soft smile and gentle, mesmerized eyes. Her sun shined down on the area, illuminating it all in a bright and comforting glow. Barely any clouds populated the sky that day, white, fluffy, and completely docile. Flowers of enumerable species and colors danced ever so gently as a subtle breeze washed over the serene landscape, and a few petals were set loose upon the currents in the air. She shifted slightly on the blanket she and the two others mares rested on, and looked down at the pegasus that casually rested the back of her head against Celestia’s barrel. The mare looked back up at the alabaster alicorn and put on a small smile, her rainbow-colored mane shifting slightly over her face from the movement.

“It is. Kinda barren though, isn’t it?” Rainbow Dash asked before returning her attention to the endlessly sprawling hills. “I mean, there’s not really anything here. Just us.”

“If we are being honest,” Princess Luna cut in with a small smile of her own while nibbling on a banana. She swallowed her bite before pointing at the other two with the butt of her snack. “Do we really need anypony else? We’re with family.”

Rainbow Dash gave a small shrug and chortled. “Hey, you got me there,” she admitted before looking straight up into the sky again. “Yeah… this is nice. Open skies, simple land, and my family…” a small smile worked its way onto her face as she spoke.

“Open skies, indeed,” Celestia noted before craning her head down to nuzzle Rainbow Dash atop the head affectionately. “Open enough for you to perform a sonic rainboom? It has been quite some time since you stretched your wings, after all.”

Rainbow’s relaxed smile turned cocky and confident. “Oh, yeah. Easily! Just gimme a minute to load up, kay?” she said before sitting up from Celestia’s side and turning to a small wicker basket that she had by her side. Peering inside, her mouth watered at the sight of a pasta and potato sandwich on sourdough bread with a side of crispy potato slices, cooked just enough to have a nice crunch. Licking her lips, she withdrew the contents and got to eating.

Luna play gagged at the messy display, though the mirthful smile on her face could not be missed. “You really like odd combinations, don’t you?” she asked, eyeing the meal with a mix of confusion and mild disgust.

“Odd is good,” Celestia countered Luna’s statement with a playful smirk of her own. “After all, What fun is there in life if one cannot cut loose and just be odd from time to time?”

Luna shrugged at that. “I suppose I just have to deal with enough oddities in the dreams I visit each night. The depths of a ponies mind can be strange and twisted indeed.”

Rainbow swallowed a slice of potato and nodded. “I can attest to that. One time I dreamed that Twilight had three heads, and each one had a different personality. They all talked over each other and I was so confused.”

“Huh… I wonder why you had such a dream…” Celestia pondered before shaking her head.

“Oh, I can tell you why,” Rainbow proclaimed before taking an enormous bite out of her sandwich. After a few seconds chewing, she gulped the contents, burped lightly and kept talking. “I love the mare, but holy cow can she ramble sometimes. Give her a new book and she won’t shut up for hours if it’s good, and double that if it’s a bad book. She’ll be verbally tearing it apart for days if it’s particularly offensive.”

“That sounds about right for my faithful student,” Celestia outright laughed before closing her eyes and taking a long, deep breath. Rainbow finished off her sandwich with one more giant bite, then nudged her adoptive mother in the ribs.

“Eyes open, mom. It’s time for my big performance!” she declared, standing up and starting to do a few stretches. Celestia opened her eyes and smiled at Rainbow, just watching her go about her warm-ups. One one of her stretches, Rainbow caught a glimpse of Celestia’s face and paused. There were tears in the alicorn’s eyes, and Luna was looking away almost as if she were ashamed.

“We… cannot watch, I fear,” Luna said regretfully, chucking the slowly decaying peel of her banana away.

“Huh?” Rainbow asked, confused. She straightened her posture and looked back and forth at the two of them in confusion. “Why not? What’s wrong?”

“Rainbow…” Celestia sighed, her smile slowly fading. A fly flew up out of the grass and softly landed on her cheek. Celestia’s eyes lowered, and dark rings began to fade into existence under them. “...You cannot waste time putting on a show for us. Equestria needs you…”

“Mom?” Rainbow asked, a small nervous tremble in her voice. “What are you talking about?.”

“Forgive us, my niece” Luna added with a firm look crossing her face. Another insect came up from one of the flowers, landing atop her ear and buzzing its large wings. It was a wasp. “But it is time to wake up.”

“Wake up?” Rainbow choked out. The air turned cold, and a harsh gust suddenly blew by. Rainbow grunted and shielded her face with a foreleg as swiftly rotting flower petals were stolen by the winds and sent flying past her. Among the petals were insects of all sorts, the buzzing of their wings drowning out everything else. With her heart hammering against her chest, Rainbow managed to squint through the swarm, which was only growing thicker and thicker, smothering the world in darkness and buzzing. She could feel them crawling over her skin, into her fur, into her ears. Her entire body shuddered with revulsion and she shook herself on reflex. “Aunt Luna! MOM?!”

She narrowed her eyes and managed to make out their forms looking back at her. They had both closed their eyes, their bodies quickly being completely enveloped by the insects. They spoke in unison, many bugs crawling into their mouths as they did so. “Wake up, Rainbow Dash. Wake up and save Equestria.”

There was an explosion of green fire from directly under the two alicorns, swallowing them whole. Rainbow’s eyes widened and she screamed out in fear, taking several steps back to avoid the ominously reaching green fire. Celestia and Luna vanished like dust amidst the flame, and two reptilian eyes snapped wide open to glare at her. A shadowy silhouette appeared it’s long, crooked horn igniting with putrid magic. The creature it belonged to laughed a sadistic, blood-chilling laugh, the light on its horn lurching forward in a beam of energy directed at Rainbow Dash.

The light was blinding.


Rainbow Dash opened her eyes with a sharp inhale through her nostrils, her hooves, which had been resting on her chest, tightened and curled up into the blanket she was tucked under. Her gaze was met with the dust-covered roof of an old, unoccupied house carved out of blue crystals. From her position on the floor, she could see a reflection of the room she had been sleeping in, and there were a few stripes of yellow sunlight along the floor. Taking a moment to collect herself, Rainbow slowly sat up and looked around the room.

Twilight Sparkle was still asleep in her own bedroll just to Rainbow’s right, snoring peacefully and holding Spike, also still asleep, close to her chest. Beyond her, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were sharing a sleeping bag, while Rarity had kept to her own. In front of Rainbow, against the dusty wall, Thorax slept with little Wind Whisper curled up against his chest. He was still disguised as Squall Dreamer and was using his leathery bat-like wing like a blanket for the small thestral filly he rested with. Over in the right side corner of the room, Starlight Glimmer could be seen, also still asleep, with a blanket draped over her and her back turned on the room. To Rainbow’s left was Fluttershy, one of her eyes cracked just slightly open and looking at Rainbow questioningly.

“Bad dream?” the timid yellow pegasus asked in a very quiet whisper. Rainbow nodded and slowly lay back down, her head thumping onto her mostly emptied saddlebag, which had passed for a pillow during her sleep.

“Yeah. I’m okay, though. It’s no big deal.”

Fluttershy nodded slowly, a strand of her long pink mane falling in front of her face. “Okay… are you sure?”

Rainbow nodded again. “Yup,” she replied simply before glancing to her right at Twilight and Spike. She took a few moments to just look at the unicorn, watching her sleep and taking some comfort in her presence. After a little bit, she looked back up at the ceiling. “You sleep okay?” she quietly asked Fluttershy.

“I’m a little stiff, but, um, yes.”

“Same,” Rainbow muttered before sitting up again. “You get some more rest, alright? I’ll be back in a little bit.”

Fluttershy shifted slightly as Rainbow stood up, her brow furrowed. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, where are you going?”

“Just right outside,” Rainbow replied with a reassuring smile. “Need some fresh air. It’s kinda musty in here.”

“Oh… okay.”

Rainbow slowly and quietly made her way for the front door of the abandoned crystal house, carefully opened it, and slipped outside. Once the door was closed, she took in a long deep breath and turned around. Her eyes were greeted by the sight of a beautiful, perfectly smooth crystal road with a surface like a dark blue mirror. Across the street, she could see a line of yet more Crystal Houses, some of them red, and some of them blue. Lush grass rested beyond the edges of the street, with healthy bushes and lovely trees dotted about. The sky overhead was perfectly clear, with Celestia’s Sun slowly inching higher into the sky as time went on. Rainbow frowned as she thought about that, and how Queen Chrysalis was presently in charge of day and night. It was an unsettling fact, given that she could skew the day and night to her advantage. With that worrying thought in her mind, Rainbow lowered her gaze from the sky and to the streets before her, where a few ponies were trotting by. They all looked at her warily as they passed, giving her a very wide berth.

She sighed. It had been like this since they showed up the previous day; the Crystal Ponies were afraid of them, not sure what to make of her or her entourage. As a result of the anxiety and fear, none of them had been helpful at all in answering their questions about the Empire, or the power it supposedly held that could help defeat the Changelings back in Equestria.

Rainbow couldn’t help but cringe and shudder with disgust as she thought back on those creatures and what they had done to Canterlot and her family. She trailed her eyes along the street she stood on, then up the towering Crystal Palace at the very center of the city. She took in another deep breath and glanced over her shoulder at the door of the house, thinking of the ponies slumbering on the other side.

“Well,” she thought out loud, a small, reassured smile replacing her disturbed cringe. “At least I have them, eh?”

With that comforting thought nestled firmly in her mind, Rainbow took some time to sit with her back against the wall next to the door, and just enjoy the morning air...

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