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Convergence Series: Journeys

by TheGreatEater

Chapter 16: Chapter 15: Rainbow Dash: Fears

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Rainbow Dash wasn’t anxious when the fog wrapped around her. It had been a long time since she had admitted fear over anything, and it her facade had long ago even fooled herself into thinking that she was fearless. As the fog started to clear she found out how wrong she was.




When the fog cleared she was in her Flight School dormitory, laying next to her was a letter. Opening it, she remembered exactly what this moment was. Her parents, both of whom worked for the Cloudsdale Weather Company, had met a tragic accident and died days after she started school. She was given a time and place for their funerals, and an appointment to discuss her inheritance.




The memory sped up to the day of the funeral, apparently there was an accident at the Weather Creation Center, the sub-division of CWC that was responsible for the creation of weather that needed to be made before it was moved out to where it needed to go. The old infrastructure was improperly fixed, and a pipeline dedicated to running liquid lightning, the power source for all of the WCC, broke. The resulting flood of electricity killed over 40 workers, among them her family. A mixture of being cooked, non-fatally electrocuted, and then falling miles to the cold unforgiving ground below was enough to make their corpses near unidentifiable. Needless to say it was a close casket funeral. Rainbow Dash wept inconsolably at their coffins, their last conversation being her telling them that she didn’t need them and was going to Flight School rather than train as an intern in the CWC. That she had dreams that didn’t revolve around working around stinking weather all day.




She was thinking about going back to them when break started to apologize to them. To actually talk rather than storming off, but now it was too late. All that was left that she left in anger and they were dead. As she cried it was her friend Fluttershy, whose family was a friend of the Rainbow Dash’s family that came up and comforted her. Drawing her over to her seat.




As she sat there, ponies around her started to fade away, leaving her alone all over again. With the memories of her families death still fresh in her mind, she was even more suseptible to her greatest fear. The fear of being alone. She had spent her entire life after her families death being the best. Flying the fastest, doing the best tricks, show boating for the adulation from others. She made it a point in life to attract as much attention as possible so that she didn’t have to be alone.But here she was, a world with no ponies, no one to applaud her, no one to notice her, no one to make that soul crushing emptiness in her heart go away. She flew as fast as she could to spot anypony, but it was fruitless. She was utterly alone.





She wondered the earth, every day filling her with more and more dread. Her coat slowly greying as it finally came to her that everything she was loyal to was gone. There was nothing left in life, no one to take away the pain. So in a fit of depression she clamped her wings to the side and let herself fall to the cold, unforgiving ground beneath her. Just as the ground approached her she felt the fog wrap around her.





She awoke, tired and broken in her cloud home hovering above Ponyville. It had taken her a a good amount of bits and hours of work to get her home built. That was the most bucked up dream I’ve ever had. And that’s including the time I dreamt that Pinkie Pie was actually a dragon made of cupcakes and was drowning me in whip cream and chocolate frosting. Well I better go and visit Flutters.




She flew the few miles to Fluttershy’s cottage, and gliding to her door did for her what she rarely did with her other friends. Actually knocked on the door. It cracked slightly open showing, “Hello ... how may I ... Oh, it’s you Rainbow.” Fluttershy said her one showing eye glaring at Rainbow Dash.




“What’s wrong Flutters?”




“Don’t ‘what’s wrong’ me Rainbow! I’m through with you. Go away.”




“Now I know I must still be dreaming. The Fluttershy I know wouldn’t say that.”




She opened the door, her trade mark “Stare” piercing Rainbow Dash. She slowly walked towards Rainbow Dash until she fell on her haunches. Fluttershy standing barely inches way from her, “Oh really? And why not? After all the years of saying how you’re going to ditch me for training, about how you should leave me behind because I’m dead weight, or what about all the times you’ve teased me about my fears. I’m tired of you treating me and everypony else as secondary importance to you. All you do is show boat, brag, and push others away when they get to close.




You’re pathetic Rainbow. All those times I comforted you when your parents died. All those times I put my heart on the line for you when you were feeling alone. I’m through! I’m done with your selfishness! And most of all I’m done with you!”




“B-Bu-But I’m not that bad! I haven’t teased you in a year, and those were all in good fun. No harm meant.”




“Well Angel was recording everything you’ve done, why don’t we see what you didn’t mean. Actually let’s look at one point in time that sums up who you are perfectly.”




Angel brought out a projector and a movie screen, and when it played it showed when the Red Dragon took up residence in the mountains outside Ponyville.




****************




Rainbow Dash hovering over Twilight whispers in a not so quite voice, “Are you sure you want to bring her along? She’s afraid of her own shadow,” She said landing a look of annoyance on her face, “ She’s only going to slow us down.”




Twilight smiled, “Of course. I’m sure when we get started she’ll be fine.”




Upon hearing Fluttershy scream, looking at her shadow before hiding in a bush. Rainbow Dash glares at Twilight before turning and walking away. Before they all decided to take her kicking and screaming to the mountain. It was moments later that they were standing at it’s base.




After seeing how huge the mountain was Fluttershy peeks from behind Apple Jack and states that it was so high. Rainbow Dash looks at her incredulously stating that it was a mountain. When they all went ahead of her, her fear of how high it was getting the better of her she didn’t hear Twilight’s question to her. But it was hard to miss the glare and body posture that spoke raw annoyance coming from Rainbow Dash.




“Hey! What are you waiting for an invitation?”




“But it’s so, so steep.”




Looking more annoyed than before, her voice dripping with sarcasm and impatience, “ Well it is a cliff. You could, I don’t know ... fly up here!”




It was Apple Jack who had to bring her up the mountain and when they got there it Rainbow Dash was quick to point out that she told Twilight that it would take them forever.




Through out the entire mission Rainbow Dash only looked at her as if she was a waste of time, and couldn't wait to get rid of her. Even when Fluttershy came through and saved all of them. Rainbow Dash blew a leaf on her causing her to faint, laughing at her, the recording showing it as a merciless cruel laugh at her expense.




**************************




“But that was three years ago -”




“And do you think you actually got better in all that time? It was only this past year when you started to look like you’d grow to make things more than just you and your ego. But then with Twilight’s spell you went back to your old ways. You only care about others when it furthers your goals, dreams, and ego. It’s like they say, with a friend like you who needs enemies. Face it. Your a egotistical jerk, and you push others away to justify feeling alone. Well guess what? You got your wish, now go away and never talk to me again.” She said turning around and slamming the door in Rainbow Dash’s face.




Rainbow Dash’s coat turned darker, and she felt as if some one had stabbed her in the heart. To think that her friend could say such horrible things about her. With tears in her eyes she flew off. It was a short time later when she saw Scootaloo. Scoots thinks of me as a big sister. I know that I need to find a way to make it up to Flutters and the others, but I’ve been good to Scoots haven’t I?




The dull colored, Rainbow Dash landed in front of Scootaloo to see her staring blankly at the ground as if she were lost in thought. After waving her hoof in front of Scootaloo’s face and not getting a reaction she decided it was time for a more direct approach. “Hiya Squirt! What’s the matter?”




When Scootaloo noticed Rainbow Dash, held back tears glistened in her lavender eyes. “What do you want?”




“You just looked lost and thought and I thought I’d see what was up.”




“Now you care? Well too bad leave me alone. After all you made it clear to me that you want nothing to do with me, or is it that you need me to stroke your ego some more.”




“What.The.Hay. What’s gotten into you Scoots?”




“Wow! Really! You have the gall to ask that question? Well let’s see here,” Glaring at her she did a near perfect imitation of Rainbow Dash’s voice.




“ 'I can’t mess with you today Squirt, grown up business.'




'I have problems of my own to deal with, go ask your parents to teach you how to fly.'




'Don’t you have folks, or anypony else you can bother right now? I need to do training of my own if I’m to get to stay in the Wonderbolts.'





'Maybe next time Scoots, I’m busy. Don’t you have crusading to do with your friends or something?' ” Finishing her hate filled repeating of the things Rainbow Dash had used to blow her off over the last year and a half the tears she had been fighting to hold back fell like a waterfall down her face. Her body shivering in rage as Rainbow Dash looked as if she had been smacked.




“And that’s not all, I’ve always looked up to you. Then when you call me as sister you do nothing but brush me off. What do you know of my life? You never took the time to know me! No one has! You just use me to stroke your ego then leave me, but when I need you. When I need anypony to care you just leave me high and dry. Well I’m done with you! I don’t need a hero that will only abandon me in my time of need! So I’m abandoning you right back! See how you like it!” With that said Scootaloo hopped on the scooter that was her namesake and buzzed off leaving behind Rainbow Dash whose coat had dulled even further.




If Fluttershy had felt like some one had stabbed her in the heart. Then what had just transpired was as if someone had ripped out her heart, crushed it to a thousand pieces, then lit the pieces on fire. For the longest time she couldn’t move trying to make sense of what was happening. Sure she was a jerk on occasions, but she had made so many improvements, at least she thought she did until now. Then it clicked in her mind, it had to be Discord’s doing. Not bothering to take a train she flew the six hours it took to get to Celestia’s Castle.




When she arrived at the Castle she saw Discord having tea with Celestia. “What did you do to my friends Discord?”




“What ever do you mean? I didn’t do anything.”




“Your lying! Celestia he mind wiped Fluttershy and Scootaloo! We need to turn him back to stone now!”




Celestia glared at Rainbow Dash with a look that she had once reserved only for Discord when he first broke free, and when facing Queen Chrysalis. With an icy cold voice she replied as Discord pulled out a bucket of popcorn,“Don’t you dare think of telling me what I should and shouldn’t do in my own home Rainbow Dash. I know for a fact that they aren’t mind wiped. What they told you, if they told you anything was the truth.”




“But I’m the Element of Loyalty! They can’t think I’m that bad after all I’ve done for them.”




“You mean to them! I want you to know your a disappointment to everypony you’ve ever met. I’ve been wanting to replace you for some time, and now I will. But first what punishment do you think I should give her Discord?”




“I don’t know ‘Tia. I’m thinking the moon sounds pretty nice this time of the year.”




“You always did have a good sense of humor. Well then, there you go Rainbow Dash you’ll spend the rest of your life on the moon. Just know this, your friends will rejoice with you gone and everypony will be better know that you aren’t around.”




With those last spiteful words out of the way Celestia’s horn was alight in a firey yellow aura before a white light engulfed Rainbow Dash’s senses. When her vision cleared she was alone on the moon. Standing on the blank expanse of the lunar surface she saw hoof marks that had spread off in every direction. These were the remnants of Luna’s exile, and now the only sign to Rainbow Dash that somepony had once been here other than her. Looking at the Earth, alone and abandoned just like she feared she’d always end up. She wept.




In the cold recesses of space she lost track of how long she had been crying. Eventually she fell to sleep, where her mind blurred dream and memory together. She remembered that the first part of her trials were to be preserverance and the next was supposed to be acceptance as well as forgiveness. As she woke up she looked at the Earth below her. If all I need to do is preserver than I can do that. I do that all the time I just need to get to Equestria and find someway to make up to all my friends the bad pony I’ve been to everyone. Being a Wonderbolt was my dream, but if I’ve only caused pain to my friends then I don’t deserve to be a Wonderbolt. From here on out my friends and Scoots come first.




Without air resistance to hold her back she shot out to the planet only to meet a magical barrier. Knowing that she couldn’t afford to loose she blasted forward with all her might. She felt her body being pulled and stretched beyond her limits, yet still she pushed as the barrier formed a knife like cone around her. Just as her body was about to give way the barrier burst as a marvelous rainbow as Rainbow Dash found herself panting at the edge of the fog. She had escaped the Nightmare Room, but in this small area in between one room and the next, Rainbow Dash felt as if she could sleep forever.

Author's Notes:

The memory shown in the Nightmare Distortion of Fluttershy was "Dragonshy". Watching it again with the view of looking at it in a more darker light [dark as in twisting Flutters to her nightmare distortion's verbal beatdown of Rainbow Dash]. I saw that Rainbow Dash's facial expressions and tone towards here harsh.



I always liked Rainbow Dash as an Orphan that needed to make her own way in the world. But I didn't like the whole families house burning down in a fire angle that I see in a few fan fics.

Next Chapter: Chapter 16: Rainbow Dash: Darkside Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 6 Minutes
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