Appledashery

by Just Essay

Forgive and Experiment

It was the first morning in a long while where Rainbow Dash woke up with something resembling a smile on her muzzle. However, she did not wake up calmly. Her ears twitched, and she sat up to the loud, offish sound of a banging hoof against her house's front door.

"Mrmmmff..." She rubbed her fuzzy face, blinked, then rubbed it again. "What in the hay...?"

"Beats me, Sparky," Lancie said from her end-table. "When, exactly, was the last time you paid the bill for this farty place?"

"Grfff... please... Green Saddle...?" Rainbow yawned, then blinked, then gasped. "Buck me sideway! Green Saddle!"

"Buh?"

"Crud!" Rainbow leapt out of bed, promptly forgetting how numb her limbs had gotten overnight. THUNK! "Crudcrudcrud!" She wormed her way across the floor to her dresser. All the while, the hoof-pounding continued. Rainbow reached a drawer, pulled out a bag of bits, then flapped her wings.

"Watch your head, Sparky!" Lancie waved a granite statue. "There's no need for you to be banging about all over the—" Th-Thud! He winced hard. "—place."

Rainbow was currently occupied in the process of barreling her way through all the doors of her house. At last, she stumbled into the front foyer, bruised and wheezing. "Hold up! Hold up! For Luna's sake, hold up!" She flung the door open with her teeth and fiddled through her bit bag. "Look, Green Saddle, I'm sorry! I've got the payment! I've just been so caught up in all sorts of crud as of late that I forgot! But I got the p-payment! Here! See?!" She extended a bunch of bits, but froze in place, blinking.

There was no sign of the money-collector's hot air balloon... or the money-collector himself. Instead, a decidedly mysterious figure perched on the mare's cloudy doorstop, wearing a thick, thick cloak that obscured his every feature.

"How curious, Rainbow Dash," a stallion's breathy voice wafted out from under the hood. "Have you been in money trouble all this time?"

"Uhhhhh..." Rainbow Dash blinked, her ears twitching. She leaned forward with narrow eyes. "... ... ...Noir?"

The figure's head tilted up, and the pegasus saw a pair of slitted eyes reflecting from deep beneath the hood. "I'm not used to living a diurnal lifestyle. Forgive me—were you still sleeping?"

"Uhm... yeah, but s'all good!" Rainbow tied the bit bag shut and tossed it casually behind her. "What's up?"

"You're certain you're awake?"

"Pffft. I sure as Tartarus am now."

"Good." He tightened his cloak tighter around his photosensitive coat and gestured with his head. "Come to Everfree. We need you."

"Yeah! Sure thing!" Rainbow turned. "Just gimme a second to—" She froze, her eyes wide. "Wait..." She pivoted back towards him, muzzle agape. "Who's we?"

"Zecora and I."

"Zecchy?!"

"Yes. There's an important experiment that needs preparation and we need your—"

Rainbow slammed the front door and shot past him like a bullet. FWOOOOOSH!

Noir's teeth gnashed from beneath the hood. "Damnation, Rainbow!" He spun, spitting. "Give me a second to explain! We're headed to the Castle of the Old Sisters! Not the hut... grnnnnghhh." He stuck a pair of wings out from beneath the cloak and winced from the exposure to sunlight. "Why can't all heroes be cold-blooded?" And he floated after her as speedily as he could in the daytime.

---

In no time at all, Rainbow Dash landed on an aged balcony overgrown with vines and errant grass. As soon as her numb hooves stopped scraping to a stop, she saw several ponies gathered in a tight cluster in the front atrium of the decrepit castle.

Twilight Sparkle waved from where she sat—huddled—with the likes of Trixie and several Trottingham scientists. "Oh! Hi, Rainbow! You're up early!"

"Uhhhhh..." Rainbow merely blinked. "Uhhhhhhhh..."

"I'll be with you in just a second!" Twilight turned to Trixie, pointing at a series of notes and diagrams. "So, if we establish a circle of leylines here, then we should have an appropriately charged teleportation field for relocating the displaced materials—"

"Good morning, Rainbow, my friend!" Zecora's grinning face appeared out of nowhere. "A dazzling dream, I hope we did not end!"

"Gaaah!" Rainbow flinched backwards, nearly falling on her flank. "Stripes! Ghhrkk!" She went cross-eyed, then gasped. "Zecora...?!"

"Here." With a pleasant breath, Zecora slid a sloshing jar over Rainbow's way. "First, drink this limb relaxing elixir. Then you'll be strong enough to assist in our scientific expedenture."

"I... I..." Rainbow blinked at her, then at the jar, then at Noir—who was just then landing with a huff.

"Mmmff..." The stallion adjusted his cloak and glared Rainbow's way before trotting into the delicious shade of the old castle. "'Fastest mare in Equestria' in guts only."

"Nice to see you too." Rainbow popped the cork off the jar and prepared to take a sip. However, she stopped, and looked up across the way. "But, for real, Zecchy... what gives?"

"Please, do drink up, Rainbow," Zecora said. "And the matter of today's tasks I'll gladly bestow."

"Hey, I'm happy to lend a hoof... but all I wanna know is why."

"Twilight Sparkle has a most fascinating experiment at hoof, and it needs all her friends and resources to achieve any proof—"

"No, I get that. You're both cut from the same nerd cloth, and that's cool. But..." Rainbow gestured at the potion. "Why the gift of 'numb-go-away?'"

Zecora glanced over from the materials she was unpacking. "Hmmm?"

"I mean... the other day... with... with Fluttershy and Big Macintosh and what I'd... I mean..." Rainbow bit her lip, hugging the jar to her fuzzy chest as her ears folded back. "Aren't... aren't you mad at me?"

Zecora blinked, then simply smiled. "The only pony I have to be mad at is myself, but such negative emotions bring no wealth. Once I learned to move past such a feel, I've been reacquainted with life's progressive zeal."

"But... but I still don't get it," Rainbow wheezed. "You were... you were in love, Zecora. And all that time I knew—"

"Shhhhh..." Zecora trotted over and rested a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "Some things end before they begin, but they're never worth losing a friend."

Rainbow simply gazed at her.

Zecora giggled, leaned in to nuzzle the mare, then made an about face. "So, then, drink until you are whole, and we shall assist Twilight with her goal."

Rainbow exhaled. A warm smile crossed her muzzle.

"Swiftly, my beloved companion, before Noir suffers an incineration."

"Heh..." Rainbow toasted the air and poured the quaff down her throat. "Here's to roasted bats..."

Comments

[RoboRed]

Glad to see that Zeccy's in a positive mood again.

[zaponator]

Rainbow could learn a thing or two from Zecora about healthy emotional stability.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6030837 Indeed she could.

I guess that that's why Zecora is the wise one of the two of them.

As well as the most sensible.

[Lord Dragon]

Zecora and RD... I'd ship dat.

[MidnightReflection]

Zecora is most definitely too wise to stay in self-doubt, so instead she just keeps moving about.

...Yeah... I'll see my self out for that bad one.

[314]

Are they... teleporting the rest of Lancie to them?

[Sharp Quill]

"Rainbow Dash has a most fascinating experiment at hoof, and it needs all her friends and resources to achieve any proof—"

Dash is really turning into an egghead, isn't she?

[TIAS-A1927]

6030837
Luckily, she might learn that even if her love is not reciprocated, that does not mean that their friendship must be damaged. And so, with a little luck, she will have the courage to confess to AJ.

[Sheendough]

I think Twilight is trying to piece Discord too... I think. Also:

"Rainbow Dash has a most fascinating experiment at hoof, and it needs all her friends and resources to achieve any proof—"

Buh?

[Lightning Bearer]

*reading through comments*

Am I the only one getting an odd vibe from all this?

[Sheendough]

6031051 Ah, you beat me to it.

[Leftover of Saikano]

Twilight's experiments are the cause of 60% of adventures in fanfic. Let's see what happens.

[BabySkittleMonster]

This chapter makes me happy. And that makes me suspicious.

[HopelessRomanetic]

Hmmmm very curious.. And exciting. Mysteriously exciting.

[FloydienSlip]

That's actually a really good lesson that Zecora has, one that more people should follow.

[PropMaster]

Augh you write Zecora so well! Whattabastard! /sips

[DeathFox4]

Here is to roasted bats?

How do bats taste anywyas...ok now Im curious.

[Seraphimus]

6298568 I've heard they are rather tasty, I wouldn't actually know though.

"Shhhhh..." Zecora trotted over and rested a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "Some things end before they begin, but they're never worth losing a friend."

Oh Zecora, such wisdoms and kindness...

thankgodIneededthismomenttohappenexactlylikethisyouhavenoideajesuschrist.

[Aracus]

7682027
I bet Ozzy and some guy in China knows.