Fracture: Over The Rainbow

>You are now Anon.

>Dreaming about the cheeseburgers in France.

>Despite having more or less adapted to the vegetarian lifestyle in Ponyville, there were still times where you craved something from Earth.

>Granted, Fluttershy brought you fish every now and-

>Wait. Fluttershy…aren’t you sleeping on her couch or something?

>The dream begins to collapse around you with the mention of her name.

>The ground becomes slick with some red liquid on the floor, and a yellow object is racing towards you.

>You are knocked to the ground by Fluttershy, her irises shifting between turquoise and light-green.

>”You WILL love me, Anon.”

>It sounds as if she is speaking with two voices at the same time.

>The main one sounds like the new Fluttershy, and the second is raspy and cracked.

>You can feel her begin to press on your arms, and you begin to struggle under the weight.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

>You throw yourself awake and find minty eyes staring at you.

>Fluttershy is floating a few feet in front of you, carrying a tray of food.

>There is cereal, a banana, a tilted glass, and pancakes that appear to be drenched in orange juice.

>”Are you okay Anon?” Her voice is tinged with concern.

>Angel is laughing his ass off in the kitchen.

 

 

No…I mean; I’m fine N- Fluttershy. Just had a bad dream.

>”You almost made me call her ‘New Fluttershy’. What the hell Brain?”

>Well, it is true…kinda.

>After hearing that it was all a dream, Fluttershy brightened up a bit and set the tray onto the nearby table.

>”I’m just glad you’re okay. Now, I have to go help Twilight with her studies on cloning. Angel will be here to keep you company until I get back.”

>Angel makes a squeaky noise in the background.

>”Once I get back, we can start our search for Pinkie.”

>That voice…it’s a pleasant change from the old one.

>Distracted by her voice, you can barely understand her goodbye, but the sound of the door closing manages to sound off alarms in your mind.

>”SHE’S GONNA LOCK ME IN.”

>”I’M TRAPPED.”

>”I DON’T WANNA BE USED AS A DILDO.”

>You run towards the door and try to throw it open.

>Fluttershy stares at you as you practically fly out of the front doorway.

>”I’m not locked in?”

>You meet her gaze with an awkward smile and yell

BYE!

>”Bye Anon!” She responds while laughing, and continues down the road to Twilight’s.

>There’s a *whish* sound as something collides with the back of your head and bounces towards your toes.

A carrot?

>You turn around to find that Angel “Nick Fury” Bunny is glaring at you.

 

 

>”Anon, would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?”

>You try to calmly explain the situation to Angel.

Well you see-

>*smack!*

>You can hear the sound, but you can’t feel the pain as Angel’s paw lands hard on your face.

>”Thank Celestia for Pinkie’s pain powder...”

>You begin to think about where Pinkie might have ran off to, but Angel derails that train with another loud punch.

>”Do NOT talk to me like I’m a kitten! Fluttershy’s voice and eyes have changed and you’re jumpier than usual.”

>Wow.

Baby rabbits are called kittens?

>”I may like you, but I’ve known her longer and I can make your life a living hell if you do not answer my question.”

>Thinking back, you recall Angel’s ‘hotel’ in Ponyville’s Red Light District.

>He has enough money to pull off any threat he makes.

>You sigh and look at Angel.

My life already is hell. You might wanna sit down…it’s a long story.

>You and Angel head into the cottage, and once the door closed, you started to tell your story.

>You began with the night that you found the old Fluttershy’s list and added every detail that you were able to remember:

>The army that the old Fluttershy had brought down upon your house.

>Her laugh as she and her clones were destroyed.

>How Pinkie had run away covered in blood and Rainbow’s flight to the tavern at the sight of Flutter’s eyes.

>How you had convinced Twilight and the other Elements to keep quiet about the whole fiasco.

 

 

>Angel stayed quiet for the most part, but a few tears leaked out when you described her death.

>”Is she… is she still the same? You know…up here?” he says, pointing at his head.

I don’t know man. Twilight is using her as a behavioral lab rat, so….

>Wait a second.

>Why does he even care?

Hey Angel?

What’s your stake in this whole thing?

>”What do you mean?” He looks confused and slightly angry.

>You have to be delicate about this, Anon.

Well, you’re a successful business owner, you have money that pretty much flows out of you in streams, and yet you choose to live with Fluttershy as a “normal” bunny.

>He doesn’t look as angry now, his face bears the lines of sadness as opposed to confusion.

>He sits quietly for a few seconds, probably to condense whatever he wants to tell you.

>”Fluttershy’s father died in the war, and her mother died in labor. I promised on her deathbed that I would keep Fluttershy safe and happy.”

>”I moved her from Baltimare to Ponyville, and set her up in a Cloudsdale orphanage; I didn’t know much about raising pegasi fillies.”

>“From there on, I had to take a background role in her life…making sure she got a monthly stipend from her ‘distant Aunt Twinkle.’”

>”I promised her safety, and she had to suffer through a horrible and lonely childhood…but where others would turn sour, she came out kind.”

>His eyes never looked up from the ground as he talked, but now that the story was done, he stared you dead in the eyes.

>You could almost see the tinges of fire behind the stare.

>Angel grabs you by the neck of your shirt and pulls you down towards him.

>”I’m warning you Anon…If I fail her again…

>You nod grimly, trying not to think of what he had in mind.

>Angel lets go of you and runs out the back door.

>You fall back onto the couch, and hope for the best as Fluttershy walks in the door.

 

 

>Within ten minutes, you and Fluttershy are back outside the cottage and heading into Everfree Forest.

>You searched the woods until the sun went down, and then continued until the moon rose high into the night.

>Aside from the occasional tuft of pink mane gripping tightly onto a branch, or small piles of confetti sparkling in the mud, there was no sign of Pinkie Pie.

>Rainbow showed up to help Fluttershy with the aerial scouting, leaving you alone on the ground.

>There was silence as you walked, broken only by the scattered howls of timberwolves in the depths of the forest.

>Up ahead, the trees thinned out into a clearing.

>You lie down in the soft grass and looked up to the stars.

>Phantom raindrops trail down your face from the cloudless sky.

WHERE ARE YOU, PINKIE!?

>The stars seem to swirl slowly around you, leaving heavy trails behind them as they go.

>A light weight presses down on your chest, and the tails race back to their stars as you are snapped out of your daze.

>Looking down, Fluttershy’s head is resting on you, and her hoof gripping your hand slightly…somehow.

>Rape alarms are sounding off at full strength, and your arms instinctively ready themselves to throw her out any nearby window or doors.

>”I’m sorry Anon.”

Huh?

 

 

>Your arms retract to your sides, and your rapey-sense dies down a little.

>”Why are you betraying me, Brain?”

>Shut up. Let’s hear what Flutters has to say.

>”All of this: you leaving my house, the clones, Pinkie’s breakdown and her going missing…it’s all been my fault, and I’m sorry.”

>Small tears roll down from her eyes. “I know you probably won’t forgive me, but I’m going to make this right.”

>You reach your hand out and wipe the tears away from her face.

>”I’m only doing this to be nice…right Brain?”

>Maybe.

>”He’s lying.”

>Shut up, Penis.

Oh, fuck you Brain.

>”Anon, who is ‘Brain’?”

No one important.

>The two of you lay silently in the grass for a while, fighting the urge to fall asleep.

>Overhead, a rainbow arcs across the sky, rousing you to resume searching for Pinkie.

 

 

:Time Travel back to Earlier Today:

>The smell of whisky hangs heavy in the air.

>You are now Rainbow Dash, and you are at The Splintered Hoof, Ponyville’s local tavern.

>You came here after Twilight’s “magic tree bubble” disappeared, to put distance between you and the clone of your deceased friend.

>Normally, you would be here to work on your novel, seeking the counsel of Mr. Walker and Mr. Daniels for inspiration.

>But today, staring into the bottom of your fifth appletini, you couldn’t understand why you chose to come here…

>…or why you were drinking appletinis.

>”Why did I run away…I-I’m Loyalty…and I ran.” As you think, you gaze over at The Writers Den, and unknowingly order another appletini.

>Damn tasty appletinis.

>To join The Writers Den was your second lifelong dream…after joining the Wonderbolts; they were famous authors known all over Equestria.

 >At their table today: Raritan, whose main job was being a Canterlot Guard, and something about him made you think of Rarity; He writes “lovey-dovey” stuff. Ew.

>Jibber, who lost a leg during the Wartimes...he was a gardener; He writes about families.

>DriverBang, the resident “cool kid”, doesn’t talk much, and yet ponies still understand him; His autobiography sold millions.

>And then there was-

>”WHAT’S WITH THE FAGGY DRINK, DASHIE!?”

>…Scrabhunter. He could be Skittish...or Irish. You didn’t really know.

 

 

 

>You and Scrab have a strange relationship: he makes fun of your mane, and you mock his kilt…

>You guys were the best of friends.

Leave me alone….I’m not in the mood.

>His smile drops slightly; “What’s the matter? They run outta whisky or something?”

No.

>”You broke?”

No.

>”Tank never made it to your uncle’s farm?”

LEAVE.

>Scrab’s smile drops completely, and is replaced with a concerned look. ”What’s wrong, Rainbow?”

>Hey….maybe if you be quiet, he’ll leave!

>”Awesome plan, Brain!”

>Of course it’s awesome, it’s MY plan!

> Scrab takes the stool next to you, and you avoid his gaze by staring deep into your drink.

>”Whatever problem you’re having, a six glass distance isn’t going to make it go away; you need to deal with it head-on like you usually do.”

>You stay silent.

>”Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make Jibber cry.”

>Scrab runs back to his table and begins belting out some Itailian song, and true to his word, Jibber begins bawling.

>”He’s right”, you think, “and not just about Jibber crying like a bitch; I have to go deal with her. She may be a clone, but she’s still Fluttershy.”

Hey Morning.

>A tired blue unicorn pokes his head up from below the bar. “Yes, Ms. Dash?” You gesture over at the writers and say

Put their next round on my tab.

>Putting the money for your new favorite drink on the counter, you take off into the bright light of day to make amends with Fluttershy.