Fading Colors - Chapter 3

Chapter 3:  |
-----------

|Shipping| |Sad| |Dark|

---

Prepare for the worst, don't go headfirst.

Her mind is almost broken, do not remain soft-spoken.

Tell her how you feel, she'll return her zeal.

The end is near, hold on dear.

---

With the impending night creeping upon them, Twilight and Fluttershy found the calling of sleep too hard to resist. Twilight Sparkle offered Luna the guest room, which the Alicorn was more than happy to accept. Making her way to the guest room, Luna bid them goodnight.

Wishing their friends a safe night, the pair found themselves falling asleep on makeshift beds of blankets and pillows. The mess of bedclothes lay sprawled out across the library floor, reaching the farthest corners of the main floor. Afraid of being alone, Spike moved his basket downstairs, sleeping beside the lavender Unicorn.

The storm continued to rage on long into the night, setting the mood on edge. Distant lightning crackles rang out, showering the black sky with electricity. As the lightning exchanged blows with the darkness, thunder boomed with fiercely, deafening the sound of the torrential downpour assaulting the giant tree. As the lightning continued, the library danced with light, revealing a now completely colorless Rainbow Dash, whose unseen inner battle was taking a turn for the worst.

---

The darkness faded, the gray morning sunlight came rushing back to the Earth pony. Applejack's sense of smell came into consciousness before her mind wanted to, the foul odor of decay filing her nose. She awoke, coughing heavily at the unsettling smell that lingered in her nose. She inspected the crumbling world around her; collapsing house and structures were scattered on broken pieces of the cloud floor as far as she could see. Even after falling asleep mere feet from Dash's house she was now easily 50 feet away.

"Great…" the Earth pony sighed loudly, dropping her head. She could not see it, but the world was also taking a toll on her. Darkened bags lined the bottoms of her eyelids, seeming to suck the life from her spirit. Applejack's mane was in no better shape, it hung lifelessly, frizzy and out of place. If Rarity had seen her in this state, she would have a fit, Applejack thought.

"Gettin' around this place just got harder," confessed her mind.

"Well, genius, ya got a plan?" she called out to her mind.

"Yeah, Ah do…tell her ya love her," the Earth pony's mind retorted.

"Have ya'll lost yer marbles?"

"What's wrong with tellin' her how ya feel?" her mind asked.

"Ain't that what got us into this mess in tha' first place?" she scolded herself for not thinking of a better plan.

"Well it's only that-hey, where is that voice is comin' from?"

"Ain't any voices-" Applejack stopped herself mid-sentence, her ears standing straight up. There was a voice, it sounded alive, not like the sound of the eerie emotionless tones of the faceless ponies. Applejack began to notice that the only parts of this world with details seemed to be important to Dash, possibly significant parts of her past. Everything else seemed abstract, like a backdrop. Nonetheless, this voice stood out above the faded details, it was quiet but it was there.

Applejack glanced around, trying to pinpoint exactly where the voice was coming from. It seemed to chime from down the disjointed street, in the direction of the park. Applejack cautiously started in the direction of the call, jumping over the broken cloud floor when necessary.

Getting to the park did not take a lot of time for her, even with hitting a dead end once or twice where the ground was no longer connected. The dreamscape was definitely taking a physical toll on the Earth pony. She stopped that the edge of the park, feeling the exhaustion of traversing the roads. The toned Earth pony quickly caught her breath, and began surveying the park for any signs of life. The sound was louder here, and seemed to be coming from behind the twisted and distorted jungle gym that sat in the middle of the park. She could clearly make out more than once voice now, and…

"Is that crying?" she asked aloud.

The Earth pony galloped towards the jungle gym, panic setting in, renewing her tired body. Surprisingly the cloud floor around the park was in better shape than the streets had been. After a quick gallop, she rounded the side of the playground equipment, skidding to a halt. Applejack could not believe her eyes, in front of her lay filly Rainbow Dash, curled into a ball. The colorless filly was shaking violently from how hard she was sobbing. Towering over Rainbow Dash were two colts, both laughing and teasing the distraught Pegasus. The two bullies had facial features and clear Cutie Marks. Whoever they were, Applejack thought, they were a part of the problem in Dash's mind.

Reacting in the only way she could think of, Applejack jumped in front of Rainbow Dash, taking a fighting stance. "Leave her alone, ya good fer nothin' vermin!" she screamed at the pair, adrenaline flowing freely through her veins.

The bullies did not flinch at the Earth pony's words, they continued to verbally assault the tormented Pegasus. "Ah said LEAVE HER ALONE!" Applejack screamed. This time Rainbow Dash noticed the new voice, lifting her head to see the Earth pony standing over her, trying to shield her from the bullies.

"You… You came back," Dash managed to choke out.

Applejack heard the Pegasus behind her. "Ah'd never leave ya Dash. Yer mah friend, even if ya don't remember that yet." The Earth pony turned her head, offering Dash a comforting smile.

The Pegasus was completely ignoring the bullies now, focused only on the Earth pony in front of her. "I'm sorry, for what I said to you before…" Rainbow Dash admitted, hanging her head in shame.

Applejack turned back to the bullies. They didn't seem to want to do more than laugh. "Ah forgive ya, Sugarcube. Ah know yer not thinkin' straight in this place."

"This… Place," Rainbow Dash uttered, as she looked around. "It feels so real. How can it not be?"

"Take a look at them bullies, Dash. Ah can't make contact with em," the Earth pony demonstrated to the Pegasus what she meant. She walked up to the colt on the left, who was still in a fit of laughter. Turning around, she kicked her hind legs straight at the colt's face, the powerful buck passing right through him. "Ya see?" she concluded, walking back over to her friend.

"Whoa! How did you do that?"  Dash asked, her face holding an expressing of utter astonishment.

"It's not real sugarcube," she explained. "Look at the jungle-gym. It's falling to pieces. D'ya really think it looks like that in real life?"

Dash inspected the equipment for a good solid minute before speaking. "Hey, you're right! Why would anypony build a jungle-gym that you can't even use?" She jumped to her hooves. The bullies reacted immediately stepping away from the Pegasus. The filly Pegasus noticed the motion, stepping around Applejack to confront the colts. "And you guys are nothing but my imagination!" she snapped at them.

"What are you talking about, Filly-fooler!" sneered the bully on the right.

"You're not real! Which means you can't hurt me!" She smiled feeling victorious for once. Both colts went silent, before dissolving into thin air.

Applejack watched in horror as the rainbow-maned filly started to tremble violently.

"Rainbow! What's wrong?!"

The Pegasus turned back to the Earth pony. "Applejack…W-what's happening? Where am I?" There was a tone of pure fear in her voice.

Applejack knew that voice, it was not the one of the filly anymore; it was the Dash she knew. "Rainbow, Ah'm here. Ah'm gonna help you through this," she called, reassuring her scared friend.

The world started shaking violently beneath her hooves. Applejack had to fight to stay standing. The ground between the two started cracking and splitting, the clouds seemingly as brittle as the Earth far below. The ground that Dash was standing on drifted farther away from Applejack by the second, frozen in fear, Rainbow Dash watched helplessly as they continued to drift.

"Applejack! Help me!" Dash screamed, a haze engulfing the fractured cloud she stood on. Slipping into the empty world, the Pegasus was fading away fast.

"Hold on, Dash!" the Earth pony screamed, still fighting for her balance. A loud cracking sound came from behind her. Applejack turned around just in time to find a piece of the jungle-gym come crashing down on her head.

---

"Ugh…"

Applejack's eyes slowly opened, her head exploding with pain. She quickly shut her eyes, blocking out the light of the sun. She rubbed the top of her head with a hoof, finding a huge lump had formed where she had taken the blow. Luckily, for her, the impact did not break skin. After a few minutes of regaining herself, she shakily stood up. Her legs felt weak, wobbling as they tried to hold her up. Once steady, she turned her attention to the pounding headache she now felt. Grimacing at the throbbing pain, Applejack could make out a distant sound of somepony crying.

Disregarding her pounding head, the Earth pony glanced around, finding herself still in the playground from earlier. Using her ears, Applejack pinpointed the direction of the sound. The apple farmer let loose a sigh of relief, as she noticed the sound coming in the direction opposite to Dash's house.

Appearing at the top of the mountain of mangled clouds, the apple farmer cast a glance over the remains of the park and neighboring streets. It seemed impossible to her, but apparently, this world could get worse. Few houses actually remained standing, most just empty spaces or piles of big, shapeless clouds. The supporting cloud floor of the city floated freely, separated by massive gaps, far too big to jump over. It was clear that getting around was going to be much tougher. Climbing down from her elevated position, Applejack started toward the sobbing.

"Fer a cloud, that impact sure hurt a lot…" Applejack remarked aloud, once again rubbing her newly acquired goose egg.

---

A couple of backtracks and near falls later, Applejack found herself standing in front of a house. It was not hard to miss, as it was the only house left standing as far as she could see. The house seemed vaguely familiar to her, although it was impossible to tell with how damaged it was. The cloud home was missing pieces of walls and rooms; however, just enough of the house remained to hide its contents. If she wanted to find out what was going on, the Earth pony needed to go in. "It's too late ta turn around now Applejack. Ya can do this," she assured herself, stepping forward towards door.

The smell at the entrance was that of rotting apples and wood. Applejack stumbled backwards as the powerful odor almost knocked her off her hooves. She felt like she was going to be sick, a cold bitterness twisting in her gut. Her mind screamed at her not to go into that house, but she needed to find out who was crying. Braving the repulsive smell, Applejack stepped up to the door.

Opening the door, the Earth pony stepped through its frame. Her jaw almost hitting the floor at what she saw. The inside of the cloud home was intact, uncanny to its outward appearance. Despite smelling repulsive, it looked like a perfectly normal house.

The crying grew louder with every step she took inside the home. The wailing seemed to be coming from upstairs, now. Applejack swiftly ascended the staircase at the far end of the living room. On the second level was a long hallway with several doors on each side. She walked up to the first door on the left, opening it.

A sheer volume of intense light immediately blinded Applejack. When the light cleared, the stunned Earth pony found herself standing in a field clouds. Applejack was in shock. This world was perfect, color and all. She took in the sights of the colossal cloud city stretched out behind the field she stood in. Not far from her, Pegasus ponies laughed and played, none of them carrying the featureless qualities of the colorless world's denizens. The only pony that stood out as odd was a grey-coated Pegasus that flew by, her golden eyes looking in different directions. Applejack could have sworn she heard the Pegasus say something about muffins.

Applejack started walking, taking in the sights and sounds of the surrounding area. Unsure of where she was heading or how she had even gotten where she was, the Earth pony continued. Out of the corner of her eye a Pegasus landed. Instinctively the farmer cast a glance towards the pony. Applejack froze mid-step; shaking her head to confirm she was really seeing what her eyes told her.

"Rainbow!" Applejack called, galloping full speed at the cyan filly. Her colors had returned since last Applejack had seen her. She skidded to a stop right in front of the Pegasus, reaching out to scoop the filly up into a hug. Applejack fell through Dash landing face first into the cloud floor. "What in the hay is going on here?" she said aloud, rubbing her chin with a fore hoof.

"Hey Dash!" called a voice that Applejack remembered belonged to Skyfire. Sure enough, approaching Dash was a white Pegasus filly, with a fiery orange mane and tail, a streak of pure crimson through the middle.

Applejack turned her glance back to Rainbow Dash, whose face was just as red as the streak in Skyfire's mane. "H… Hey there, Sky!" Dash smiled back to the filly, nervousness clearly detectable in her voice.

Skyfire giggled at the usually brash Pegasus. "So, Dash. Why did you want me to meet you here?" she asked playfully, flying circles around the grounded Pegasus.

"Well… You see, I was wondering if you, umm… Wanted to…" Dash paused, trying to find the right way to say what she wanted.

Skyfire touched down in front of Dash. "To…?" She moved her head closer, turning it a little to the right to get a better chance of hearing what Dash had to say.

"To… Go out some time!" Dash burst out, backing away from Skyfire a little.

Skyfire giggled again, "Well, it's about time…" she gave Dash a happy smile. "I was starting to think you were going to chicken out!" she admitted, laughing again.

Dash's face turned from a look of rejection to one of pure happiness in under a second. She flew off the ground, doing flips of pure joy. After a few seconds, she landed again. "Me? Chicken out? Yeah, right!"

Skyfire joined in laughing with the Pegasus. "Hey, I still didn't give my answer yet, silly," she said, moving closer to Dash.

"Well, what do you say?" Dash asked playfully, seeming to be free of all nervousness now.

"How about this?" Skyfire leaned in, closing the gap between the two. Their lips meeting for the first time, both Pegasi found themselves in a blissful embrace. A warming feeling radiated out from deep inside both Pegasi, washing over them, as their world seemed to melt away. A flutter of wings broke the silence as the pair's wings unfurled to full length, gloriously displaying all their feathers. As the two parted, fierceness burned in their eyes, signaling the start of their relationship. Their eyes met, emitting a love so deep their souls seemed to intertwine with one another. For once in her life, Rainbow Dash felt complete, wishing it would stay that was forever.

Applejack stood feet from the Pegasus duo, watching as the display of affection unraveled. The Earth pony felt overcome with a heart-warming feeling; just seeing Dash happy, was enough for her. Soon, she found the world slowly fading away into nothingness.

---

Applejack's vision soon came back. She was standing in the doorway still, an empty, colorless room in front of her now. "Whoa, Nelly, That was weird…" She closed the door. The sound of somepony crying still invaded her ears. Crossing the hall, she opened the opposite door.

Just like before, a powerful light filled her vision. When she regained it, she was standing just outside Skyfire's house. The Earth pony cast a glance around the neighborhood, finally seeing it in its true form. She was stunned at how high end the neighborhood was. Huge cloud structures lined both sides of the street. A pony truly needed to be well off to live in this place, she thought to herself.

Just then, two fillies, flying side by side, came into view. The Earth pony knew right away, who they were. Skyfire and Rainbow Dash stopped right in front of the house, paying no mind to the seemingly invisible Earth pony standing beside them.

"Are you sure you want to do this Sky? You don't have to," Dash insisted, dropping down to the doorstep.

Skyfire followed suit, landing beside the other Pegasus. "Yes, Dash. I'm sure," she replied, a hint of nervousness present in her tone. She glanced at her house, seeming to be thinking something over.

Dash draped a wing over her filly friend. Making eye contact, Dash offered her friend a confident smile. "No matter what happens, Sky, I will be here for you."

"Thanks, Dash." She pushed closer to the cyan Pegasus, nuzzling her neck.

After a moment, the two broke the embrace, walking into the house. Applejack followed close behind the pair.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home," Skyfire announced, stepping into the house.

A white Pegasus mare poked her head out from around the living room corner. "Oh welcome home, sweetie, why don't you and Dash get washed up. Dinner will be ready shortly," she indicated, disappearing back into the kitchen.

"Last one up the stairs doesn't get dessert!" Skyfire challenged Dash, as she galloped off towards the stairs.

"Hey! No fair!" replied Dash, quickly catching Skyfire at the base of the stairs. Both Pegasi took off, flying up the staircase. The two found themselves on the floor atop of the stairs, both laughing hysterically. "I totally won that!" exclaimed Dash, puffing for breath.

"As if, I clearly had my hooves up here first," Skyfire pushed back, also out of breath.

"Haha! Oh, you two, so full of energy," Skyfire's dad indicated, walking towards the stairs.

"Hey, dad!" yelled Skyfire joyfully, quickly jumping onto all four hooves and running at her dad, hugging him tightly.

"Whoa, Hey there, kiddo," replied the stallion, returning the hug. "You kids go get washed up. Your mother will have dinner ready any minute now."

"Sure thing, daddy," Skyfire replied, signaling Dash to follow her to the washroom.

As the two Pegasi were washing up for dinner, an idea came across Rainbow Dash's mind. The brash Pegasus smiled, mischievously as she pieced together her idea.

"Hey Sky, what's white, orange, red, and dripping wet?" she questioned her filly friend.

"Hmm… What is it?" replied Skyfire, facing her friend with curiosity.

"You are! Splash fight!" yelled the cyan filly, throwing water at Skyfire.

"Oh no you don't!" challenged Skyfire, returning fire on Dash.

Skyfire tossed another round of water; Rainbow Dash blocked the water with a hoof, tackling her friend to the ground. The pair wrestled for control, limbs flailing in all directions. When it was over, Rainbow Dash stood victorious, looming over her defeated pray.

"You have lost, evil villain! Give in to Rainbow Dash's demands at once!"

"And just what does the great and powerful Rainbow Dash desire?" questioned Skyfire, mimicking a helpless tone.

"Close your eyes and find out, evil scum!" demanded the rainbow-maned Pegasus, taking a confident stance over the defeated Skyfire.

Skyfire giggled, she had a hunch on where this was heading. Smiling she did what she was told, closing her eyes, she waited for Dash to make the next move.

As Skyfire's eyes closed, Rainbow Dash swooped down upon her pray. Pressing her lips hard against Skyfire's, in an aggressive manner. Skyfire's hunch was correct, wasting no time she returned the kiss. As the kiss drew on, their tongues danced, fighting for control of the other. Reaching up, Skyfire ran her hooves through Dash's mane, pulling the Pegasus closer to her until their stomachs touched.

Breaking the embrace, the pair locked eyes, both panting for breath. A crimson streaked lay painted across their cheeks, and wings at full length. The couple giggled happily to each other, sharing another quick kiss.

"Thanks Dash," Skyfire expressed, pulling herself off the bathroom floor.

"For what?" the cyan Pegasus questioned, her face still shining lightly with a hint of crimson.

"Calming my nerves, if I'm going to tell my parents about us tonight, I don't want to be a nervous wreck," admitted Skyfire, nuzzling the brash Pegasus's cheek.

"Heh heh, no problem, Sky," winked Dash, returning the loving nuzzle.

"Dinner is ready!" called a motherly voice from below.

"Last one there is a featherbrain!" challenged Dash, galloping out of the washroom.

---

Sure enough, when they reached the dining room, the fresh scent of food signaled the start of dinner. They all gathered round the table in the dining room. Skyfire's father sat across from Dash, and to the right of his wife. To Rainbow Dash's right sat Skyfire, and across from Skyfire sat her mother. Applejack stood in the corner of the room watching the memory take place. Skyfire's mother had made a daisy and daffodil casserole, with a side of steamed oats. Dash dove in, attacking her food. Applejack could not help but giggle at how big her friend's appetite always seemed to be. Skyfire, on the other hoof had barely made a dent in hers. Something was on her mind, but the Earth pony could not put her hoof on it.

"Sky, dear, you've barely touched your food. What's wrong?" Her mother asked.

Skyfire glanced at Rainbow Dash, who had intern stopped mid-bite to focus on her. Dash finished her mouthful of food and nodded at her friend. By this point, nopony was eating; all eyes were on Skyfire.

The young Pegasus finally spoke. "Mom… Dad… Rainbow and I… Have something we'd like to tell you," Skyfire was clearly nervous about the whole situation. Dash put a fore hoof over Skyfire, comforting the Pegasus. Her parents sat listening attentively, clearly curious to what their daughter had to say. "Well, you see… Rainbow Dash and I are together." Skyfire tensed, the relief he confession obviously being leashed by the fear of parent's reaction.

Suddenly, Skyfire's mother shattered the quite atmosphere. "Aw, isn't that just adorable? Our baby's first love!" The mare seemed truly overjoyed at the announcement.

"heh heh, well good for you, honey!" her father added.

"You… you guys aren't mad?" Skyfire questioned her parents.

"Heavens no, why would you ever think that, darling?" her mother asked, warmth radiating from her voice.

"Well, I just thought you guys would think less of me… because I like fillies," replied Skyfire, dropping her head.

"Sky, we would never think less of you for who you like. Be it an Earth pony, Unicorn, or Rainbow Dash." Her father gave Dash a wink, who intern gave the biggest smile Applejack had seen.

The on looking Earth pony had to do a double take on the situation. She never thought about having to tell Granny Smith that she like mares before, but knew that when the time came, it would take a lot of courage. Applejack took note of the room starting to get smaller, waiting for it to fade away into nothingness again.

---

Applejack found herself back in the destroyed and faded version of Cloudsdale. Again, she was in the doorway of a colorless room, only this one was not empty like the last had been. The Earth pony walked into the room, noticing something on the corner of the large bed, something colorful. She walked over to take a better look. It was a picture, sitting in a small glass frame. She held it up. The image was of filly Dash and Skyfire, held together in a close embrace. Their faces outlined in a pink heart. In the bottom right hand corner, it read, "Rainbow Dash & Skyfire's six month together!"  Applejack stood looking at the picture for a long time, she found herself holding back tears. She put the picture back down on the bed and left the room, closing the door behind her.