//------------------------------// // Day 3 // Story: Prototype: Black Rain // by Fuberrari //------------------------------// forty-four... forty-five... forty-six... forty-seven... forty-eight... *BLINK*... "Aw I lose again..." said Pinkie Pie, looking down at a scrap of parchment by her hoof. She picked up the pencil and mark another line under the column of labeled "Fluttershy", which was already packed with dozens of similar marks. "Fluttershy, one hundred and twelve... Pinkie Pie, zero... wow Fluttershy! You're really good at this staring contest game! Hey! I just broke the my personal record by one second! And you're still breaking the world staring record! We should celebrate!" Pinkie Pie bounced around the sitting pegasus, blowing on a paper horn as she went. A party hat with two lit sparklers attached sat on her head. Her signature confetti and streamer cannons saddle going off periodically, sending up showers of colorful paper. But the pegasus didn't move, nor did she showed any sign that she was aware of Pinkie Pie's antics. Fluttershy sat at the back corner of the barn. Her wings laid limply against the floor. The normally vibrant eyes of hers were lifeless and dull, staring blankly at a distant point in front of her. Pinkie Pie's paper horn petered out. Her bouncing slowed to a stop as her fluffy mane and tail seems to deflate a bit. She sat down, her eyes staring back at Fluttershy. "I guess... that's didn't work..." said the party pony. Her hoof rubbing at the dark circle under her eyes. "You've tried that... thing for like what? The last twenty something times?" said Rainbow Dash, sitting a few feet away from the two ponies. "Maybe if I ADD a cymbal or two..." said Pinkie Pie. Her voice carried an odd pitch which caused Rainbow Dash to visibly cringe. "Pinkie... you really need to get some sleep. It's..." Rainbow Dash looked to the desk clock nearby. "... five in the morning." "That means the cymbal shop is almost open!" gasped Pinkie Pie. Before Rainbow Dash could say anything else, the pink blur already left the front door. A startled Rarity shot her head up and looked around. Seeing that nothing was amiss, she mumbled something unintelligible and went back to sleep. Rainbow Dash turned back to watching Fluttershy, which she had done so for the past... ten hours at least. As far as she could tell, nothing changed. Fluttershy remained perfectly motionless, saved for the faint movement of her chest as she breathed. Her mind drifted back to the cause of Fluttershy's current predicament. ===================================================================== 10 hours ago... Fluttershy had woken up in the barn less than an hour after sun-down. She was disoriented, and quite scared that something really bad happened. It took seeing all her friends together, unharmed, to calm her down. Unfortunately, their attempt to conceal from Fluttershy what she did was a monumental act of futility. She had picked up that something was amiss almost immediately, and had set out to get them to tell her what happened. In fact, it was in that very same corner Fluttershy now occupied where she cornered Applejack. To be frank, Rainbow Dash had never seen Applejack sweat that much since the time she had to stop Pinkie Pie from finding out about the secret birthday party. Applejack fought valiantly and kept her mouth shut against Fluttershy's asking, beseeching, pleading, and out-right begging. In the end, it was Fluttershy's veiled threat of using The Stare that finally broke Applejack. In less then twenty seconds, Applejack spilled what happened after the hydra swallowed Fluttershy to when they brought Princess Celestia to the basement below. Fluttershy simple froze in place. Slowly turning around, she stared at each of her friends in turn, as if trying to find some pony to contradict what Applejack said. When none came, Fluttershy simple sat her rump down, let out a soft whimper before going completely catatonic. And for ten hours straight, she stayed in that same state. Both Applejack and Twilight Sparkle tried to talk her out of it. Unfortunately, Applejack difficulty in lying, including making white lies, culminated in her telling Fluttershy that " at worst she will banish you... okay, maybe not the worse, she may decide to k... I should just shut up now..." before leaving the barn with her head hung low in defeat. Twilight Sparkle started out trying to argue that Princess Celestia won't "execute" Fluttershy. She pointed out that there was never an execution by the princess, using Nightmare Moon and Discord as examples. When she failed to get a response from Fluttershy, she changed her topic to speeches on various mental traumas and possible cures for Fluttershy. One of the cures suggested, to Rainbow Dash' surprise, apparently involved electrical shocks applied directly to the head. That promptly got Twilight Sparkle dragged out of the barn by Rarity. Pinkie Pie took over almost immediately. True to the spirit of the Element of Laughter, she started with jokes. However, given the situation, trying to find a joke to laugh about was as easy as dodging raindrops while flying in a storm. A particularly cringe inducing one involved Pinkie Pie declaring that Fluttershy was among those who managed to "... poked Princess Celestia. Get it? Poked!" Then came the face-making, with Pinkie Pie trying to "mold" Fluttershy's face into different expressions. Then in a more creepy development, started opening and closing Fluttershy's jaw with her hooves to make it look like the pegasus was talking, with the pink party pony providing the voice. Thankfully, Rarity's return and prompt admonishment of Pinkie Pie stopped her from trying to argue with Fluttershy, or as the case may be, argue with herself through Fluttershy. Instead, she settled with a staring contest with the catatonic pegasus. Rarity simple plop down next to Fluttershy and started brushing her pink mane. The unicorn didn't say much, only making an occasionally comments on things they will do sometimes in the future: Having some nice tea, going to the spa, and maybe try out some new clothes. If anything Rarity said managed to get through to Fluttershy, the pegasus wasn't showing any sign of it. After a while, Rarity simply stopped talking, contend with just brushing Fluttershy's mane. It didn't take long before Rarity made Fluttershy's mane perfectly straight. She then turned her attention to cleaning up the barn as best she could. shortly before falling asleep by the door. ===================================================================== Now, it's just her, Rarity and Fluttershy... thought Rainbow Dash. With Pinkie gone, the barn descended into complete silence, broken only by Rarity's occasional snoring. Ever since Fluttershy went catatonic, Rainbow Dash had a stirring speech all readied to be delivered, guaranteed to bring any pony out of their funk. But as she practiced the speech in her head for the past hours, her confidence in it started to wane. She remembered how terrified she was when she found out that a diamond dog was killed by her hooves. She remembered how scared she was that she might have, or would hurt one of her friends or another pony. But Fluttershy didn't have the luxury of knowing she didn't hurt any pony. To make the matter worse, she didn't just hurt any pony. In fact, she almost killed Princess Celestia, and at the moment that "almost" could very well become "did". Given all that, Rainbow Dash could only think of one thing she could do. She got up and walked over to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy," said Rainbow Dash, "I can't imagine how scared you are. I mean, I know I was pretty scared when I found out about what happened to me but... well, I can't say I know what it's like for you. But I want you to know, whatever happens, we'll all be here for you." Rainbow Dash waited for a response that never came. She sat back down right next to Fluttershy and draped her wing over the still pegasus. Before long, she started to drift off to sleep. "Rainbow... Rainbow..." Rainbow Dash' eyes blinked open at the sound. She yawned, feeling like she didn't get much sleep at all. A quick look at the clock confirmed her suspicion. It was just seven in the morning, she had barely slept for two hours. And the culprit? A unicorn with a lavender coat. "Rainbow Dash!" said Twilight Sparkle. A pair of dark circles under her eyes. "Princess Celestia wants to talk to Fluttershy." ===================================================================== Luna didn't have a good night sleep. In theory, and in practice, Princess Luna normally didn't sleep at night. Normally, her sleep cycle was opposite of that of her sister. Which was convenient for the ponies, it meant that at all hours of the day, there will at least be one princess where they could request an audience with. But since she started her investigation on the alien meteors, she had adapted to sleeping at night and working by day. The major reason being that her guards. Even if they're her night guards, they were still just ponies, and ponies can't exactly operate against horde of blood-thirsty monsters that well at night. To be more precisely, her former guards. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could see her guards in their final moments. She could see the fears on their face as they changed into monster or were being eaten by one... Luna shook her head. There will be a time for mourning. Her sister needed her to be strong. She looked to her side where her sister lay. Princess Celestia was sitting with her legs tucked beneath her. A large white blanket covered her from the shoulders down. Her horn gave off a soft glow as her eyes remained closed in meditation. "Your highness." Luna ears swiveled forward at the sound of the guards, who was staying just outside of the white sheet curtain that divided their corner of the basement from the rest. "They're here." Princess Luna saw her sister nodded. "Okay, let them in." The gap in the curtain parted. Twilight Sparkle entered first, followed by Applejack and Rarity. The two that followed them caused Princess Luna arced her eyebrow. As far as she could tell, Rainbow Dash came in carrying a very realistic looking Fluttershy statue on her back. Twilight Sparkle's horn glowed and moved the statue from the pegasus' back and to the floor. A rustle to her side caused her glance in her sister's direction. Princess Celestia's eyes were open, a look of confusion on her face at the scene. "... Fluttershy?" asked Princess Celestia. That provoked a very lively response from the statue. "Princess Celestia!" Fluttershy immediately flattened herself to the floor, her hooves above her head. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for poking you without permission... or poking you in the first place..." "... Fluttershy..." said Princess Celestia, her voice gentle and soft. "... I know you're going to banish me now. But please give me some time to get things in order..." "... Fluttershy..." Princess Celestia tried again. "... Rarity, I got some bags of tea in my cupboard. You can have them if you want. I'm not going to need them..." "... Fluttershy..." and again. "... Rainbow, I know a good pet hospital that specializes in tortoise. You can send Tank if you need help..." "... Flutter..." "... and some pony please take care of my animals for me..." "... Luna... please..." Princess Luna turned to see her sister looking at her expectantly. She coughed a few times before breathing in. "FLUTTERSHY!" Princess Luna shouted. The magnified voice reverberated in the basement and caused the curtain to flutter. Fluttershy meeped and, as impossible as it seems for night princess, made herself looked even smaller. "MINE SISTER WISHES TO SPEAK WITH THEE!" "... okay..." came Fluttershy's response in a whimper. Her whole body was shaking like a leaf. "Fluttershy, I'm not going to banish you." said Princess Celestia. "You are... not?" "No. I am not." To Princess Luna's surprise, Fluttershy's shaking seems to got worse. "Oh... okay..." said Fluttershy. Her voice quaking with fear. "... could you... just give me... a day or two to... get ready?" What is she... no... she can't be thinking... "Dost thou... believest... that mine sister... will endeth... thy life?" asked Princess Luna, her voice low and threatening. Fluttershy didn't say anything, but her head have a slight up-down bob. "HOW DARE THEE!" Princess Luna roared. Her wings, repaired overnight with her magic, flared out. The air around her crackled with electric sparks as a storm cloud began to form. All the ponies backed away except for Fluttershy, just continued to shiver. "... sister..." "HOW DARE THEE ACCUSE MINE SISTER OF ENTERTAINING SUCH AN ACT!" She continued, not hearing her sister's attempt to calm her down. "... sister... please..." "HATH MINE SISTER'S PAST ACTS OF KINDNESS INSUFFICIENT PROOF FOR THEE? THOU UNGRA..." "Luna! Stop... *HACK*" Princess Celestia shook violently as great hacking coughs wracked her body. Her blanket pressed to her muzzle by her wing. Red-stains appeared on the blanket itself. "Tia!" Princess Luna rushed to her side. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that." "It's okay." said Princess Celestia as she folded her wing back, letting the sheet fall back in place. "I understand... just... let me handle this." Princess Celestia took a couple of deep breathe before turning her attention back to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, why do you believe that I would... do such a thing to you?" asked Princess Celestia. Her voice, thou weak, was warm and maternal. "Because I almost killed you?" said the still shaking Fluttershy. "Oh, it will take a lot more then that to kill me." said Princess Celestia. "So I say you're okay on that front." "But I hurt you!" her shaking was less severe. The fear in her voice, while still present, was carrying some note of surprise. "I believe it was an accident..." Fluttershy nodded slightly. "... and you're sorry about it." She nodded more vigorously. "Then apology accepted." "So you're not going to..." Fluttershy sat up, disbelief in her eyes. Princess Celestia shook her head and smiled. "Of course not." said Princess Celestia with a smile. Almost in that instant, Fluttershy brightened up and was promptly swamped by her four friends. At least that's one positive thing that happened today... thought Princess Luna as she listened to the small celebration in front of her. Her thoughts went no further as the sound of rattling cymbal and clattering hooves echoed through the basement. Shouts of guards followed when an oddly dressed pink pony burst through the curtain. "Okay! I'm here! This will definite snap her out of it!" yelled Pinkie Pie. She wore a party hat with a pair of burned out sparklers attached. The confetti and streamer cannon saddle on her back was joined by a pair of cymbals. "Where's Fluttershy?" Her darting eyes locked in on Fluttershy. She let out a loud gasp before zipping forward and putting her hooves on Fluttershy's shoulder. "You're awake! Wait, you were always awake. I mean you are not going guh..." Pinkie Pie jaw went slack. Her eyes bulged out trying to do the best impression of some pony who was staring into the distance. She quickly revert to normal and continued her rapid-fire talking. "... and *GASP*, you look happy! Are you happy!? Are you, are you, are you?" Fluttershy, a look of surprise frozen on her face, simply nodded. "She IS happy! Woohoo!" Pinkie Pie started doing cartwheels. "This deserves a party!" Pinkie Pie got back on four hooves... "I'm gonna go prepare a... zzz..." ... and promptly collapsed to the ground. A wide smile plastered across her face. The only sound coming from her was the sound of her snoring. Princess Celestia couldn't help but giggle at the sight. However, she had to stop and lift the blanket to her muzzle when another bout of hacking cough wracked her body. ===================================================================== "Princess! Are you going to be alright!?" asked Twilight Sparkle with a note of urgency in her voice. Princess Celestia kept the blanket at her muzzle for a moment before responding. "I'm not sure..." said Princess Celestia, drawing shouts surprise from Twilight Sparkle and her friends. "I thought you said that you're not going to die!" said Fluttershy in panic. "I said what you did won't kill me." said Princess Celestia. "What... this is doing, I'm not sure." "This?" asked Twilight Sparkle with fear. "Are you talking about..." "Promise me you won't tell any pony else about what I'm about to show you." Princess Celestia watched the five conscious ponies in front of her nod their heads in unison. She raised her right-wing to lift the blanket away. All the ponies gasped in shock. The bleeding wounds that Fluttershy had caused had healed. However, Twilight Sparkle could see red veins spreading out like spider-webs just beneath Princess Celestia's coat. "It appears that whatever this disease is, it spreads through contact with blood." said Princess Celestia as she lowered her blanket back in place. "I'm able to stop it from spreading further, but I cannot purge it from my body." "So you want us to use the Elements of Harmony?" asked Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia responded with a shake of her head. "I'm afraid it's not that simple." said Princess Celestia. "Why not? It purged Nightmare Moon from Princess Luna! Why can't it..." "And the first time it was used, it banished Princess Luna with it." said Princess Celestia. "The Elements of Harmony may be powerful artifacts. And as living artifacts, they do learn how to deal with similar threats. But against an unknown enemy, their effects can be... unpredictable. They rely on their wielder to understand the threat involved, something that took me centuries in regard to Nightmare Moon." "And even if we want to attempt it, we cannot get them to you six." added Princess Luna. "Since the incidence with Discord. The Elements of Harmony were moved to a more secured storage that required complex spell-works from both of us to retrieve. My sister, in her current state, will be unable to perform the spell required to do so." "Then... what now? What will happen to you?" asked Twilight Sparkle in a fearful tone. "The Canterlot university scholars were on the task of studying this disease and creating a cure for it. In the mean time, I will keep this in check for as long as I can." said Princess Celestia. "There is something we would like Rainbow Dash to do." "Me?" said Rainbow Dash while pointing a hoof at herself. "What do you want me to do?" "The alicorn that was... formed out of my wing escaped toward the Everfree forest. We suspect that it was headed for the diamond dog lairs." said Princess Luna, her horn glowed as a map unrolled in front of her. Twilight Sparkle leaned in and studied the map. It showed a fairly detailed drawing of the area from Ponyville to deep in the Everfree forest. A red circle marked a section labeled The Diamond Dog Lairs. "We want you to investigate what's happening there." "And you only want Rainbow Dash to go... because you are afraid that we will become like... one of your guards?" asked Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia nodded. "The only thing that I'm fairly sure for now is that whatever this disease is, it affects Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy differently." said Princess Celestia. "While I couldn't bear to see any of your harmed, I also need some pony who can find some answers. So given the circumstance, Rainbow Dash is best suited for this task." Princess Celestia turned to Rainbow Dash. "Of course, if you're not completely willing to..." "Don't worry your highness!" said Rainbow Dash. "I'm your mare for this!" ===================================================================== I could get used to this... thought Rainbow Dash as she galloped through the underbrush at full tilt. If her estimate was correct, the distance she traveled on hoof in an hours would've taken any other pegasus two hours to travel by air. That didn't account for the fact that she's running through the Everfree forest, where she had to weave and dodge around trees. Although for some thinner trees, she found she could crash through them like they're not even there. Even better, she didn't feel the slightest bit winded from all this running. In fact, she felt she could do this for as long as she wants. Oh, I'm so going to beat Applejack in the Running of the Leaves this year. Rainbow Dash weaved past another tree, and found herself looking at a small cliff wall. With a grin, she coiled the muscles in her legs, building up a tremendous amount of tensions. Once she got within a few pony-length away from the cliff-face, she release those tensions and launched herself into the air. While Rainbow Dash may have lost her ability to sustain flight, owing to the extra mass she gained, her ability to jump to tremendous height did make up for some of that. Once at the peak of the jump, she spread a wing and started to glide. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and enjoyed the wind blasting against her face. It may not be as exhilarating as being able to fly freely, but the feeling was similar. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to look where she was going. In front her, cutting through the Everfree forest with its meandering path, was the river that marked the boundary between pony and diamond dog territories. A quick estimate told her that she was going to glide right over it. Which would be a golden opportunity lost. Rainbow Dash waited until she was right above the river before pulling up sharply, trading all her speed for height. Once she went as high as she could, she snapped her wings shut and tuck her legs in. "CANNONBALL!" yelled Rainbow Dash as she plummeted straight down. Wind roared past her ears as she quickly reached terminal velocity. She drew in a deep breath as the water surface approached. The adrenaline rushing through her head was tempered by a nagging sensation that something was wrong. The source of the nagging sensation made itself clear when Rainbow Dash found herself drowning the instant she hit the water. She flailed around until her hoof hit the river bed. Almost by instinct, she kicked against the river bed and launched herself out of the water. She landed in a sprawl on the river bank, gasping for breath. Guess I found a new skill... super-drowning skill... thought Rainbow Dash as she let out a groan. She shook herself dry and continued on toward her destination. Her mind wondered why she got so adverse to water. ===================================================================== Back in Applejack's barn... "So there's additional respiration through her skin." commented a unicorn stallion as he scribbled some notes in a clipboard. His flank adorned by a pair of beakers holding red and green bubbling liquids. "... which would point to a heighten level of metabolism..." "It does look that way, professor Bubble Shake." said a unicorn mare with a microscope as her cutie-mark. She turned to Twilight Sparkle while pointing her hooves at Fluttershy, who was cocooned in a pale purple magic bubble and wore an oxygen make that covered her face. "I'm impressed, Twilight Sparkle. I've never seen a bubble spell used to detect oxygen consumption." "Thanks you for the compliment, Professor Scope." said Twilight Sparkle with a smile. "But it's quite a simple modification, really. It just need to detect airflow exchange across the surface, so I..." "Hey..." Applejack poked her head into the barn. "... Twilight, ah would like to talk to yah." "Oh before you leave, can you undo the bubble spell?" asked Bubble Shake. "Sure." Twilight's horn glowed for "Oh... okay..." said Fluttershy. Her voice muffled by the oxygen mask she's wearing. "... please don't take too long..." Twilight Sparkle followed Applejack out the barn. Once outside, Applejack turned to Twilight Sparkle with a worried look on her face. "Twilight, are yah sure about this? Ya know Fluttershy ain't so good around stranger." "To be honest, I'm not really sure." said Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes furrowed with uncertainty. "But at least it's better than having Fluttershy go stay at Canterlot university for a week." "But why have them here?" asked Applejack, her hoof pointing at the barn. "Why can't you do all this... smarty-smart thingy?" "While I may study a lot, I am by no mean an expert on biology. Meanwhile, Professor Bubble Shake and Professor Scope are the best experts on biology at the Canterlot University." said Twilight Sparkle with a smile. "So don't worry, Fluttershy is in very good..." "GAH!" came Fluttershy's scream. At the same moment, dozen of black spears laced with pink threads shot out of the barn wall. Twilight Sparkle darted back in with her eyes widened with shock. Once inside, she found Fluttershy still sitting at the same spot. Her pastel pink mane, however, had twisted themselves into dozens of black tendrils that shot out. The cause of Fluttershy's behavior became apparent to Twilight Sparkle by a particularly large hypodermic needle stuck in the pegasus' flank. "Is every pony okay!?" came the hysterical cry of Fluttershy. "Is any pony hurt? Oh Celestia please tell me I didn't hurt any pony!" Twilight Sparkle took a closer look. There, amidst the tendrils, were the two unicorn professors. Both had contorted their body into uncomfortable forms, narrowly avoiding the tendrils that had instead trapped them. Their eyes filled with surprise and shocked. "Are you two alright?" asked Twilight Sparkle. She breathed out in relief when both of them nodded the best they could in their position. "Professor Bubble Shake." said Scope. Her voice strained from the odd angle she had to crane her neck. "I say we proceed with a bit more caution from now on." ===================================================================== This is it... Diamond Dog territory... Rainbow Dash slowly walked across the rocky quarry that the diamond dogs made their home. The ground around her was covered with holes of varying sizes, all of them were filled in. Her wings were up and in claw form. Her body tense, ready to pounce on any threat. But the quarry was completely silent. The only sound was the sound of her hooves crunching on the gravels. Rainbow Dash jerked when a pile of dirt covering a hole nearby collapsed. She stared at the now open hole, her wing claws up and ready for whatever that might emerge. But when nothing showed after a minute, Rainbow Dash slowly made her way to the edge of the hole and peered into it. The hole was pitch black, and tried as she might, she couldn't see more then a few meters into it. She could, however, hear some faint noises coming from the bottom of the hole. Oh well, nothing to see up here anyway... with that thought in mind, Rainbow Dash jumped into the hole. The trip reminded her of the time when they had to infiltrate another diamond dog lair when those canine kidnapped Rarity. However, the wall started to feel wet and fleshy as she continued to slide down. She saw a faint glow near the bottom, and readied her hooves for a solid landing. She landed in the cave with a squish. Looking down, she found herself standing on what could be best described as a bloody flesh carpet. Rainbow Dash fought the urge to hurl and looked around. The cave walls were covered by similar substance. A couple of torches, now just burning embers, provided the only illumination. Rainbow Dash ears twitched as she focused on the muted noise she heard. She carefully made her way in the direction of the noise, taking care not to create too much noise herself. After winding through what must have been hundreds of tunnels, and forced to turned around at about several dozen dead-ends, she found herself heading toward a flickering light at an opening. The muted noise became sounds of squelching and squishing the closer she got. With as much care as she could manage, she peeked around the end of the tunnel. This must have been the diamond dog leader's throne room or something... thought Rainbow Dash as she looked at the massive cavern below. Six burning braziers surrounded a gem studded throne, surrounding it was more piles of gems of assorted colors. The light from the braziers refracted off all the gems, casting multicolored dots of light all over the cavern wall. Something Rainbow Dash really wished it hadn't, since it allowed her to see the pulsating pustules that lined the wall. Rainbow Dash felt some bile in the back of her mouth when one of the pustules popped, showering the ground with viscous fluid as a shape tumbled to the ground. It was a diamond dog, or at least shaped somewhat like one. It looked very much identical to the smaller ones she had been fighting when Ponyville was attacked. But these looked... younger, if one would to describe it. Its skin was almost transparent, making the red-vein cover it more pronounced. The claws were smaller, and a paler color compared to the jet-black claws others had. A movement nearby caught Rainbow Dash's eyes. The sickly-gray alicorn walked out from a shadow toward the newly... born canine. The diamond dog made a whining noise like a puppy calling out to its mother. For Rainbow Dash, it was a moment that could almost be considered quite endearing. At least until said "mother" promptly crushed the canine's head under her hooves. Red tendrils shot out from the alicorn's body and pulled the now dead diamond dog into its form. Even before the diamond dog was fully consumed, the alicorn already started making its way to another pulsing pustule. In the flickering light, Rainbow Dash could make out what looked like its cutie mark, three pimple-like lumps on her flank. The alicorn suddenly stopped in its walk. Its snout tilted high as it sniffed the air a couple of times. With a snap of its neck, the alicorn turned its head around toward Rainbow Dash. The pegasus quickly duck back behind cover. She could hear squishing foot-steps coming closer. Her heart beat against her chest and she had her wing claws raised. Then the hoof-steps stopped, and after a few moments of silence, retreated away. Rainbow Dash waited until everything was quiet again before she poked her head out from behind cover. The cavern was empty, saved for the pulsing pustules and the flickering flames. Where did it go? thought Rainbow Dash. Her unasked question was immediately answered when she felt an overbearing presence behind her. With a reflex befitting of the Best Young Flier of Equestria, Rainbow Dash jumped out of the tunnel as a set of long claws slammed into the ground that she once occupied. She hit the ground and ran a short distance before turning around. A small tremor rippled through the ground as the alicorn landed right in front of her. Its eyes, now a dull yellow with a cat-like pupil, stared hungrily at her. Its wings had turned to claws, just like Rainbow Dash's. However, the alicorn's claws were much bulkier and longer. Each claw was easily twice as long as the pegasus' body. The alicorn opened its mouth and let out a high-pitched scream. Rainbow Dash could feel her whole body tremble from the sound. Her hooves dug in to stop herself from being blown away. "So... you want to... WHOA!" Rainbow Dash leaped out-of-the-way as the alicorn charged. Sharp stinging pain shot through her as one of the claw dug into her flesh and tore out a long gash in her side. Rainbow Dash grunted as she landed, the deep wound on her side rapidly regenerating itself. "Okay, got to watch out for those... CLAWS!" the pegasus dodged to the side as the alicorn charged again. Her own wing claws clashing with the alicorn's to deflect it. The force of the impact sent her flying to the ground on her. She quickly flipped herself upright. In the corner of her eyes she noticed one of her wing claws was regenerating, apparently chipped off at the point where she parried the alicorn's attack. Rainbow Dash turned around and ran when the alicorn charged again. Her mind ran through the option she had. One, she could try to face it head on again. However, the result would likely be her being chopped to pieces against those longer and stronger claws. Two, she could try to out-run it and try to hit it from better angles. That option quickly disappeared when she had to jinx right to avoid the alicorn that had managed to charge right past her. The alicorn's wing claws raked Rainbow Dash side before their owner crashed right into a wall. Rainbow Dash saw the alicorn got up and shook herself off when a plan started to form in her head. When the alicorn charged again, Rainbow Dash was ready. She ran toward the wall directly ahead with the alicorn in close pursuit. Without fully understanding how she do it, she leaped and found herself running up the cave wall. The alicorn, on the other hooves, crashed into the same wall beneath her. Rainbow Dash pushed off against the wall, somersaulted once in mid-air, before crashing down on the alicorn's back. It roared out and started trying to buck Rainbow Dash off, but was unable since Rainbow Dash had hooked her front hooves around the alicorn's neck. "Take that, and that, and that!" yelled Rainbow Dash as she drove her wing claws into the alicorn repeatedly. She didn't notice the electric blue lights traveling up from the base of the alicorn's wings to its tip. She did notice her mane standing on end, followed by her whole body seizing up when built up charge released into her. Rainbow Dash lost her grip on the alicorn and was bucked off its back. As she fell, Rainbow Dash found herself staring at the bottom of a pair of hooves before their impact sent her flying. Her body hit the solid cavern wall with enough force to create a pony shaped crater in it. She landed on the ground with a thud, pieces of shattered rocks falling on top of her. Rainbow Dash managed to push herself upright, but that's all she could do. The electric shock was still sending spasms through her muscle, making any movement difficult. Stars filled her eyes from the impact against the hard rocks. She managed to clear those stars away in time to see the alicorn lowering its horn, which crackled with white and blue electric energy, at her. Ah... crAH... Rainbow Dash's scream echoed through the cave as the bolt of electricity hit her. The stream of energy pinned her against the wall as her body convulsed violently. When the attack ended, the pegasus collapsed to the ground with a whimper. The air stank of burnt flesh and her body continued to twitch as she lay there. Her eyes could barely open, let alone see the approaching alicorn. She did manage to wrench open her eyes, thanks to the sharp pain from having two claws driven into her side. Rainbow Dash gasped from a second wave of pain that shot through her as she was lifted into the air by the claws. The alicorn's face swam into her view. It regarded the pegasus with its hungry eyes. Its tongue, long, barbed and slimy, gave her a lick. With whatever strength she had left, Rainbow Dash lashed out with her wing claws, leaving three deep scratches on the alicorn face. The alicorn merely looked annoyed, the wounds on its face rapidly healed. I guess... this is it... thought Rainbow Dash as the alicorn growled. Its lips pulled back, baring a row of sharp teeth. Then, inexplicably, it howled in pain and dropped her. Stars exploded in her eyes as her body hit the ground. Fighting to keep her eyes open, she saw a black and pink tendril had embedded into the alicorn's neck. A second later, the tendril popped out and started to retract. She followed it back to the owner, and found Fluttershy standing there "GET YOUR WINGS OFF HER!" yelled Fluttershy. Her pastel pink mane had turned to a single spear like tendril dangling off the back of her neck. The alicorn growled at the new-comer. Fluttershy did not back down, instead she whipped her mane around. The tendril rapidly extended and cracked across the alicorn's face, leaving behind a single gash on its face. "BACK OFF!" The alicorn, however, had other ideas. It pawed at the ground while snarling at Fluttershy. The wound inflicted by Fluttershy on its face had healed already. "... run..." Rainbow Dash choked out when the alicorn charge. Her warning was not needed when a nearby wall glowed purple, and flew out. The flying piece of wall broadsided the charging alicorn and slammed it into the opposite wall of the cavern. From behind the new cave opening, Twilight Sparkle stepped in, followed by Princess Luna. ===================================================================== "Fluttershy! Where's... RAINBOW!" Twilight Sparkle quickly ran to the injured pegasus. She couldn't believe how Rainbow Dash still remained conscious in her state. Her mane and tail were gone, leaving only a blackened stubble near the roots. The sky-blue coat had charred to black. Angry red welts and burnt flesh covered her body. Worse were the two gaping wounds, likely large enough for Spike to stick his hand in without touching anything, that went all the way through her. Even the claws on her wing, which Twilight had seen capable of cutting through steel, were chipped and cracked. Rainbow Dash was staring at her, her eyes crossed and unfocused. Her mouth was moving, but the only sound that came out was a guttural groan. "Don't talk." said Fluttershy, who had just joined them. "Just... rest. We'll get you out of here." "Stay behind me!" shouted Princess Luna as a dark blue bubble surrounded them. Twilight Sparkle followed her piercing eyes and saw the alicorn had pulled itself out of the rubble. Its mouth open as it screeched. The sound was muffled inside Princess Luna's shield, but she could see dust and fragments falling down from the cave ceiling. "So! Thou wishes for a shouting match?" said Princess Luna when the sickly gray alicorn stopped screeching. The dark blue bubble around them dissolved into thin air. "Then I shall happily oblige!" Twilight Sparkle quickly threw up her own shield as Princess Luna drew in a deep breath. Even under her acoustic shield, both her and Fluttershy had to cover their ears when Princess Luna released her own scream. Her bones rattled as the ground vibrated. Large chunks of rocks fell from the ceiling as cracks started to spread. The gray alicorn's eyes was squeezed shut, its body shook like it was in pain when it turned tail and ran. Once the screeching died away, Twilight Sparkle dropped the shield as Princess Luna approached them. "I guess..." said Princess Luna. Her voice a bit hoarse. "... the Royal Canterlot voice does have its uses." Princess Luna paused and looked around the cavern they're in. Twilight could see the reason why. The cracks in the wall were still spreading and section of the cave ceiling started to collapse. The rumbling noise had not subsided, instead grew louder by the seconds. On the wall, the many pustules burst one by one, depositing mutated diamond dogs at various stages of development to the ground. "I fear I may have irreversibly damage the cave system. We must make haste. Stand close." Twilight Sparkle quickly levitated the injured Rainbow Dash onto Fluttershy's back as Princess Luna's horn started to glow. Moments later, a familiar soaring sensation washed through her as the collapsing cave fade to white. The trip lasted for mere moments before Twilight Sparkle found her hooves back on solid ground in front of the Apple family's barn. Before she could even shake off the feeling of vertigo, she found herself spinning on her hooves again when Fluttershy rushed Rainbow Dash past her into the barn. Once her head finally stopped spinning, Twilight Sparkle followed the two pegasi in. When she entered, Fluttershy had already deposited Rainbow Dash on one of the make-shift lab table in the barn. She was surrounded by the rest of her friends, plus the two unicorn professors. "How in Celestia's name is she still alive?" exclaimed Scope as she examined the gaping wound in Rainbow's side. "Goodness gracious, I think I can see her ribs!" Beside her, Bubble Shake's quill was scratching away furiously on his clipboard. "Ew! Gross!" said Rarity. "Well yah two stop poking at her? We have ta help her!" said Applejack. "Although to be honest... I'm not sure where to start on that..." "Applejack is right." said Princess Luna as she entered the barn. "Rainbow Dash's well-being is our first priority. Any scientific inquiries can wait. Professors, have you find out anything that may be of use?" The two unicorns professors looked at one another before shaking their heads. "I'm sorry your highness." said Scope. "Our brief studies into their... situations are quite limited. We don't know the first thing how her body handle traumatic injuries such as that. In fact, I'm surprised that she's still alive..." A loud groan drew their attention back to the injured pegasus. Applejack leaned her head down to Rainbow Dash, her ear next to the pegasus' mouth. "Yah try to say something?" Rainbow Dash's mouth moved a little before Applejack straightened her head. "She's hungry." "That would make some sense." said Bubble Shake. "Means of regenerations aside. She will need a lot of nutrients to repair any damage in the first place..." "I'll get her something to eat then." said Applejack before trotting out with Fluttershy following close behind. Minutes later, Applejack returned with a basket of apple on her back and dropped it off by the table. Before they could do anything else, Rainbow Dash pulled herself off the table and to the ground. Her head reached into the basket and started wolfing the apples down. The entire barn was silent, save for the loud chewing noise coming from the basket. The silence was less from politeness of not interrupting some-pony eating, but from the fascination of watching some pony devouring apples at a rate almost as fast as a parasprite. In less than a minute, the only thing left in the basket was Rainbow Dash's head. "How ya feeling..." asked Applejack. As far as Twilight Sparkle could tell, nothing changed visibly about Rainbow Dash. Her wound still looked... horrible, which worried her greatly. "A little better..." said Rainbow Dash. She pulled her head out of the basket and sat on her haunches. With some effort, she lifted her clawed wings and stared at the still open wound on her side. "... I don't think this is working well." "Yah look better... a little." said Applejack. Twilight Sparkle trotted over for a closer look. Applejack was right, some of Rainbow Dash's more minor cuts and bruises were healing, albeit very slowly. The two gaping holes and various burn wounds, however, showed no sign of healing any-time soon. "Ooh! I know!" shouted Pinkie Pie while jumping up and down. "She needs to eat a diamond dog!" All the ponies present just looked at her with a dumbfounded look on their face. "You see! The first time Dashie got holes through her, she ate a diamond dog, and holes went away!" "You're right." said Rarity. "Yesterday, when Rainbow got her wing... torn off. She grew it back right after she... um... assimilated that monster." An uncomfortable silence descended on the barn. Each ponies mulled over the implication of those two events. "So..." Princess Luna broke the silence. "... we need find one of those mutated diamond dogs? That may be a problem, considering that I just collapsed their lair." "Maybe it doesn't have to be a creepy diamond dog." said Pinkie Pie, who was tapping her chin with her hoof. "Maybe just any diamond dog... or creepy things... or a dog... hey Applejack! Where Winona? Let's..." "NO!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash shouted out unison. "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FEED ME APPLEJACK'S DOG!" added Rainbow Dash. "Wait what? No you silly." Pinkie Pie giggled. "I just want to see if Winona can track more of those creepy things down." Twilight Sparkle face-hoofed at the exchange while Applejack and Rainbow Dash just stared at the laughing earth pony with weary eyes. "Oh! I'm sorry..." every pony turned around to see Fluttershy standing by the barn door. A tightly lidded basket resting on her back. "... am I interrupting something?" "No." said Rainbow Dash in a flat tone. "Oh good. I brought you something." said Fluttershy with a smile as she trotted over with the heavy basket. "Ah don't think apples are working..." said Applejack. "... Ah who am ah kidding! Apples always works. You know what they say. An apple a day..." "It's not... apples..." Fluttershy's voice trailed off as she said that. She dropped the basket, which landed with a wet thud, beside Rainbow Dash. "Er... Fluttershy? What's in that basket?" asked Twilight Sparkle. She poked at the basket with her hoof, her curiosity piqued. "It's... um..." Fluttershy hesitated for a moment before lifting the lid off. Twilight Sparkle fell on her haunch when a strong acrid smell assaulted her nose. Beside her, Applejack backed away, her nose scrunched up. "... fish." "What in tarnation did yah get fish for?" asked Applejack. Her hoof trying to hold her nose shut. "And where did yah get dem?" "I thought... that..." Fluttershy started pawing at the ground nervously. "... maybe Rainbow is a carnivore now... so I just... I didn't kill them!" added Fluttershy when she noticed the look of shock on her friends' face. "I just asked them nicely if they got some that's... already dead..." Fluttershy turned to Rainbow Dash. "So... fish?' Rainbow Dash gave the basket of fishes a sniff, which made Twilight Sparkle wondered for a moment why she wasn't put off by the rotting smell. With some hesitation, Rainbow Dash took a fish from the basket in her mouth and swallowed it with a tile of her head. Twilight Sparkle, with her eyes fixed on Rainbow Dash, could hear Rarity making some sort of gagging noise behind her. In a flash, Rainbow Dash picked up the basket and started pouring the content into her mouth. Twilight Sparkle heard Rarity made an audible retching sound before running out of the barn. At the same time, Pinkie Pie made some comment about having a new competitor in eating contests. "Slow down Rainbow! Yah gonna choke." said Applejack. The warning was apparently not needed, as Rainbow Dash put down the now empty basket while licking her lip. "I'm not sure what I should be more worried about." said Rainbow Dash while looking at the empty basket in front of her. "The fact that I just swallowed a basket of fish... or the fact that I actually don't mind the taste... WHOA!" Rainbow Dash stood up suddenly. Her back arched with her wings, still as claws, fully extended. Twilight Sparkle watched in fascination as the numerous burns on her body started to recede. Her burnt-off mane and tail grew back at an astounding rate. The nicks and cuts in her wing claws disappeared. Black fibrous material crisscrossed the gaping wound on her side and pulled the wound close. In the span of mere seconds, all traces of injuries had disappeared from the pegasus. "That felt... weird." said Rainbow Dash as she flexed her wings a few times before reverting them back to normal. "How are yah feeling?" asked Applejack. Rainbow Dash trotted around in a circle a few times and looked all over herself. "Good as new." said Rainbow Dash with a smile. Before Twilight could even blink, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had squeezed Rainbow Dash into a hug. "Good ta have ya back." said Applejack. Her hoof gave Rainbow Dash a light poke on the shoulder. "Like I said, nothing keeps me down for long." said Rainbow Dash with a smug grin. However, it faded into a more sheepish grin as she continued. "Of course, if it wasn't for you girls... and your highness..." Princess Luna gave a quick nod to the acknowledgment. "... that thing might have put me down for good... wait, how did you know I was in trouble?" ===================================================================== "You can read her thought?" asked Rainbow Dash, pointing her hoof at Princess Celestia to emphasize her point. Normally, any "nobles" would find such a violation of decorum to be an outrage, but regent of the sun wasn't one to care for such thing.. "Yes and no." said Princess Celestia, still sitting in the same spot where she was in the morning. The only difference being a fresh, blood-spot free blanket draped over her back. "I can see... fragments of what may be her thoughts. I first thought they were mere hallucinations due to my injuries. But on closer study, this... thing appears to have replicated, to some extent, the telepathic link my sister and I use. However, it either doesn't know, or isn't capable of turning it off. So it's broadcasting some of her thoughts to me." Princess Celestia's face darkened. "That's how I found out it was growing more powerful by... consuming its own kind, and how I discovered that it was planning to consume you too." Rainbow Dash gulped at the revelation and turned to Twilight Sparkle. "So... how did you get there so quickly?" "Teleportation spell." said Twilight Sparkle. "The distance was close enough that Princess Luna was able to teleport us there. However, she could only take a few other ponies with her before the spell becomes too unstable to use. So Fluttershy and I went. I think we managed to land just a few hundred feet from you." Rainbow Dash nodded in understanding. "So... did you get that... thing?" Princess Celestia shook her head. "Unfortunately... no." said Princess Celestia. "It appeared that it had fled. From what I can... see, it is heading toward the frontier regions. In the area near Appleloosa." "Appleloosa!?" repeated Applejack in alarm. "That thing is heading toward Appleloosa?" "Yes. I'm afraid that there are some evidence that Appleloosa may be affected." said Princess Celestia. "I've asked Spike to look into any record in Canterlot regarding any anomaly regarding the frontier region. He had found out that five days ago, the bi-weekly train from Appleloosa never arrived." "... cousin Braeburn..." muttered Applejack. "So what do you need us to do?" asked Twilight Sparkle. "I want you six to head for Appleloosa to find out what's going on there, and to track down that creature." said Princess Celestia with great reluctance. "I'm hoping that, based on what happened to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, that this disease does effect the wielder of the Elements of Harmony differently." Princess Celestia watched as the wielder of the Elements huddled together. In almost no time, Twilight Sparkle broke away from the group. "When do we leave?' she asked. "As soon as possible, preferably tonight." said Princess Celestia. "I want you to send reports on anything you find. So I have sent for Spike to join you, along with a few guards." Twilight Sparkle nodded, and the six wielder of Elements of Harmony left the cellar on their way to make preparation for the trip. "Sister." said Princess Luna. "Do you think they'll succeed?" "Have faith, my dear sister." reply Princess Celestia. "I'm sure that, with the power of their friendship, they can overcome anything." I hope...