Title:           Personae Non Gratae (Rainbow Dash)
Author:          Six_Hooves_Under
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/ga7iNSVz
First Edit:      Monday 28th of January 2013 09:49:23 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Monday 28th of January 2013 09:49:23 PM CDT

>Walking through the forest.
>Plodding along the worn down path.
>The only sound to be heard was that of your heavy footfalls and the rattling of masks on your rucksack.
>Such is the life of a traveling mask salesman.
>It is a lonely one to be sure, but you get to do the thing you love most!
>You get to spread happiness!
>You make people happy!
>Happy!
>HAPPY!
>H??????A??????????P??????????P????Y????????????!?????????!????!??????????????
>....
>Yes....happy...
>You continue on your rambling journey, seeking people to spread your happiness to.
 
>You floated on your back in the Highland Reservoir, letting the cool waters soothe your aching muscles.
>Today had been exhausting.
>And you had nothing to show for it!
>You couldn't make another Sonic Rainboom, no matter how hard you tried!
>You were Rainbow Dash, and you couldn't figure out how you, the fastest pegasus in all of Equestira, couldn't pull off your own signature move.
>Letting out a sigh of frustration, you use your wings to propel yourself to shore.
>You shake of as much water as you can and then go searching for that towel you brought along.
>After toweling off, you lay down on the grassy shore with your wings splayed out along the grass.
>You'll give the Rainboom another go after you let your wings dry out.
>As you lay there, grumbling to yourself about what you were doing wrong, you begin to hear and feel the the sounds of hoof falls.
>Although these hoof falls don't sound like anything you've ever heard.
>You raise your head and begin glancing around.
>A few seconds later, you see a strange bipedal creature with what has to be the largest backpack you've ever seen.
>It looks like a shaved minotaur, except it's got a funny shaped head and legs.
>The sheer oddity of the sight before you keeps you glued to the spot.
>After walking on for a bit, the creature seems to notice your presence and turns it's head to look at you.
>It smiles at you.
>”You look like you are in need of some happiness.”
>It can talk?
>”Of course I can talk.”
 
“Wha! How did you do that?”
>”OH, the how and why are not important. The only thing important about me is my masks.”
>As he, you realise this because the creature sounds male, says this, he grabs a mask that was dangling off the side of his backpack and shows it off to you.
>”I sell masks that are made from around the world! They bring happiness, you see.”
>The mask he's holding doesn't look like much of a mask at all. It actually looks like a pair of rabbit ears.
>”Want to give one of my masks a try?”
>You don't think a mask is going to make you happy.
“Uhh...yeeeah. I don't think so.”
>You get up from the grass and begin to go elsewhere to find a sunning spot when the creature says something else.
>”Okay, I guess you don't want to ever be able to do a Sonic Rainboom again. It's a shame really. This mask could have helped you do it quite easily.”
>You stop dead in your tracks.
>How did he know what you were doing?
>Just who is this guy?
>”I told you, the how and the why are unimportant. I am also no one of consequence myself. One could say I am the very definition of Anonymous. Even I don't know who I am. However, I am known by one name. I am the Happy Mask Salesman, who brings happiness wherever he goes!”
“Hmph, I don't need happiness or your stupid mask to help me perform a Sonic Rainboom. Wait right there and I'll show you I don't!”
 
>With that, you snap your wings open and launch yourself skyward.
>Your wings were still a tad damp, but nothing you couldn't handle.
>You continue to ascend until you got the altitude you needed.
>You roll your body so as to go into a nosedive.
>Beating your wings furiously to gain speed, you rocket towards the ground.
>The air whipped by you, pulling your skin taught from the drag and G-forces.
>As you continue your descent, you could feel yourself approaching the sound barrier.
>You could see the vapor trail starting to form.
>You push on, trying to gain more speed.
>The wind is now far more intense, stretching your lips backwards.
>You're almost there! Just a little more!
>Suddenly, you stop and are flung back upwards, tumbling through the sky and land back in the Highland Reservoir.
>Smooth move Rainbow Crash, you just proved the strange thing right.
>With a groan, you make your way back to shore again.
>”Impressive showing. Now, care to give my mask a try?”
“Hmph...fine. I'll give your stupid mask a try. Let me dry off first.”
>The creature nods and waits for you to towel off again.
>After you feel sufficiently dry, you walk over to the creature.
>”I'm glad you came around. Now, let me tell you a little something about this mask...”
>Oh great, he's an egghead.
>You tune him out, throwing in an occasional “Yeah.” and “Uh huh.” in the mix.
>As soon as he's done speaking, he holds the mask out towards you.
>You grab the mask and stick it on top of your head.
>”Now, remember-”
“Yeah yeah, I got this.”
>Having said that, you spread your wings out and launch yourself forward.
 
>DEAR SWEET CELESTIA!!!
>You were going so fast!
>And you weren't even flapping your wings hard!
>This is amazing! You could make a Sonic Rainboom easy! You didn't even have to nosedive!
>You flap your wings a bit harder, seeing the vapor trail forming and growing narrower.
>Soon enough, you feel yourself pop the sound barrier and perform a Sonic Rainboom.
>Your exhilaration is so much that you don't notice the wind resistance on your skin, stretching it to it's limit.
>You figure, if you could make a Sonic Rainboom this easily, how much faster could you actually go?
>You beat your wings faster and faster, ignorant of your skin screaming in protest.
>You soon reach speeds previously thought impossible for any pegasus to achieve.
>You scream past Canterlot going roughly one and a half times the speed of sound.
>The entire castle shakes from the force of your rainboom.
>There's no way people didn't notice that.
>There's no way people didn't notice YOU!
>But, you knew you could go faster yet.
>You knew you could show EVERYONE you could go faster!
>You continue accelerating faster and faster and faster, until you feel a strange feeling.
>It's feels like a bandage being ripped off of you, except it's all over.
>And it hurts MUCH worse!
>Oh Celestia the pain!
>You tried yelling out, but the onrushing air made it impossible.
>You tried steering with your wings, but found you had no feathers.
>The only thing you could do was stick around for the ride as you fell right into a collision course with the Foal mountain range.
>The last thought to run through your head was: “I hope no one sees this.”
 
>You plod along a mountain path this time.
>The scenery makes no difference to you, just the destination.
>You would wonder how you got to the mountains so fast, but trivial details like distances don't concern you.
>Only happiness concerned you.
>Suddenly, something smacks into the side of the mountain a few dozen yards in front of you with a sickening crunch.
>You continue plodding along, knowing exactly who it was.
>The Rainbow pegasus you meant moments before.
>You tried to warn her, you really did.
>But she didn't listen.
>Oh well.
>It's a shame really.
>But the happiness she felt!
>It was absolutely sublime!
>Yes, this would keep you going for quite some time.
>Soon enough, you plod up to the red paste that was once the fastest pegasus alive.
“You've met an unfortunate fate, haven't you?”
>The mask you gave her was still out there somewhere, but you weren't concerned.
>Your masks always found a way home.
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