“Big Mac! Ya'll holdin' up okay with dem apple trees?”
“Ee'yup...”
The big red stallion calmly replied his younger sister as he raised his rear and kicked backwards, bucking an apple tree with his hind legs. The apples fell from it's green canopy and landed into baskets surrounding the trunk. Applejack trotted up to Big Mac nodding with approval. Her big brother may be a stallion of few words but his hardworking nature more than made up for his lack of conversation. He had handled the farm well while Applejack had joined her friends for the Canterlot Gardens celebrations. She helped him heave some of the baskets onto his back before lifting a few on her own. She nudged the bottom of an apple filled basket with her snout, dug her entire head underneath the load and swiftly tossed it into the air. The whole basket landed squarely on her back balancing perfectly despite being loaded above the rim with delicious red fruits. She joined Big Macintosh on his way to a wagon nearby that already had baskets of apples in it. The both of them loaded their burdens into it without a single word being exchanged between them, there was no need to. They have been apple-bucking for so many years that the routine had become second nature to them.
“So Big Mac, has Granny gone off ta see Uncle Strudel yet? She mentioned sumthin' bout that before Ah left fer Canterlot.”
“Ee'yup.”
The harness fastened in place with a 'click' around Big Mac's back as Applejack did some last minute checking.
“All ready ta go Big Mac! Ya'll don't mind if Ah go ahead and meet Apple Bloom back at da house first do ya? It's just that Ah promised ta see her da first thing Ah got back.”
“Nn'ope...”
“Swell! Well, Ah'll catch ya back at home. Maybe Apple Bloom and Ah'll have dinner ready on da table too, see ya!”
Applejack galloped off in the direction of the farm house while Big Macintosh trotted along behind with a cart full of apple-baskets in tow. He had to unload his cart at the barn before heading back out to buck a few more apple trees before calling it a day, the promise of his sisters preparing dinner lingering on his mind.
The wind blew against her blonde mane as Applejack galloped along the beaten path across her family's farmland. Her cowgirl hat staying leveled on her head the whole time as she recalled her race earlier with Rainbow Dash. It was good to have a friend who always kept her on her wits when it came to athletic activities. Despite just having ran a good race against one of the fastest mares in all of Equestria, Applejack still didn't show any signs of fatigue as she kept a steady pace. And even though the both of them were very competitive, they have learned a long time ago not to let it get in the way of their friendship.
She could hardly wait to get back and tell her little sister about the fun time she had in Canterlot with the other ponies. Apple Bloom meant the world to her big sister, she had cared for her ever since she was a little filly. And though sometimes they had their differences as all sisters would, it never stopped them from being the closest siblings in all of Ponyville, or even Equestria if Applejack wasn't being modest. Together they were, as Applejack likes to put it, as close as apple-pie. One would be the crust, the other would be the apples, but together they make the perfect apple-pie. She suddenly caught sight of the unmistakable red apple weather vane at the top of her farm house, coming home filled her heart with joy every time. She could soon spot the chicken coop, the hay laid aside for the cows and the fields of vegetables adorning the landscape. All that was lacking was the sound of barking from Winona greeting her as she returned. 'She must be playing with Apple Bloom.' Applejack thought to herself. She cantered faster, passing the leafy decorated arc that marked the entry into the farm house compound. She reached the front door of the house and called out for her sister.
“Apple Bloom... Apple Bloom! Guess who's back? Yer big sister!”
As she pushed against the door she realized it was slightly ajar. Curious, she poked her head in around the edge.
“Apple Bloom... Winona?”
No one, no pony answered her call. Applejack entered and tossed her bag onto a nearby table, a feeling of suspicion crept into her mind. She decided to go upstairs to Applebloom's room to check on her sister. 'Maybe she's asleep? Those Cutie Mark Crusader fillies sure know how to work themselves out.' Applejack assured herself. She suddenly froze in her tracks, her eyes widening in panic at a sight that gripped her heart. Near the foot of the stairs was a motionless brown and white form, it had a red collar with a bell around the neck. It's usually wagging tail now flopped lifelessly on the wooden planked floor, but what caught Applejack's attention the most was the red substance trickling down it's head from a wound just above it's brow.
“Winona!”
Applejack rushed over to her beloved pet and lifted her gently from the floor. She gave a sigh of relief to find she was still breathing. Her hoof ran across Winona's head checking the wound, it wasn't as bad as she had feared. The Apple family had been through enough injuries on the farm for her to recognize a none life-threatening wound when she saw one. Whatever had hurt Winona, it wasn't enough to kill her. But it did leave a nasty bump and a cut on the poor collie's head.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
Applejack jolted at the piercing scream. It had come from upstairs, and there was no mistaking it... it was Apple Bloom's voice. Applejack laid Winona rather hurriedly but carefully on the couch nearby while muttering a quick apology to her pet. She galloped up the stairs as fast as all her four hooves could carry her.
“Ah'm commin' Apple Bloom! Just hang in there'!”
Applejack made it to Apple Bloom's door and pushed with her front hooves, the door didn't budge. She could hear her... her sister in the room crying out in terror.
“P, puh, p... please... 'sniff' please don't hurt me!”
'CRACK!!!'
“Applebloom!”
The sound of something being smashed had Applejack fretting for her sister's life. She had to get to Apple Bloom now. Applejack turned around positioning herself as if to buck an apple tree, her hind legs lifted and recoiled. With a mighty kick her hooves impacted the wooden barrier and the hinges of the door cracked and gave way completely, bursting into pieces of planks and splinters. She wasted no time and dashed into the room, the sound of crunching wood cracking beneath her hooves.
“Ah'm here lil' sis'! Ar ya...”
Applejack stopped in her tracks. In a corner was Apple Bloom cowering in fear, her face buried in her tiny hooves as tears streamed down from her closed eyes. Her little body curled into a ball, trembling as she sobbed and sniffled uncontrollably. Missing the pink bow on her red mane by a hair was a piece of wood that had gouged into the wall, cruel looking crooked nails were jutting out randomly at the tip. The wielder of the wooden bat stood over the yellow coated filly, her shadow covering Apple Bloom in a foreboding manner. She tugged at the cruel bat with her mouth and it came loose from the wall, leaving behind deep gashing cuts. The mare spun around to face Applejack as the workhorse gasped at the sight of the intruder in her home. She had the exact same coat color, the same mane, the same stetson hat and even the exact same cutie mark as Applejack did.
“What in tarnation's...”
“Well lookie ere'.” The doppelganger sneered, her teeth grating on the piece of wood in her mouth.
“Decided ta come back home and join da fun?”
Without warning, the orange mare charged at Applejack with the bat raised and ready to strike. Applejack dodged just in time as the intruder brought the bat crashing down onto the floor, sending wood fragments into the air. Applejack kicked out with her hind legs at her but the mare was too fast, ducking the workhorse's legs at the right moment. Applejack faced her enemy and tried ramming the mare with her head. To her surprise, the doppelganger casually side-stepped Applejack's charge as if she was anticipating it... it was almost like she knew what the farm pony was thinking. The momentarily wavering was all the intruder needed to use the head of the wooden club and drove it into Applejack's side, causing her to stumble from the impact.
A cruel grin manifested on the intruder's lips and she made another attempt to swing her club at Applejack. The weapon barely missed her head as she tried to avoid it from caving her head right in. One of the nails scratched against her left cheek as the bat passed by her head, leaving behind a thin rosy red line across her face. Before the intruder could recover from her attack, Applejack swung a fore-hoof at her, smacking the club out of the pony's mouth. Unfazed by the lost of her weapon, she lunged at Applejack knocking her on to the floor. She pinned the workhorse down with both hind legs pressed on hers and her right fore-hoof stepping on Applejack's own left fore-hoof. The intruder had her left fore-leg bent and pressed against the workhorse's throat and right shoulder, suppressing Applejack's flailing attempts to hit her. An ugly smile spread itself across the mare's muzzle as she bent over Applejack's body, bringing her face within an inch of the workhorse who was struggling under the intense hold the intruder had on her.
“Ain't this fun Applejack? Ah'd say it's better than buckin' apples anyday!”
“Who... in da hay... are ya?”
“Why can't ya'll see? Ah'm yoo!”
Her flaming orange red eyes seemed to glow with an unnatural light as they gazed intently into Applejack's own green ones. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted the wooden club just a couple of hooves away to her right. If only she could reach it.
“Horse feathers! Ah ain't nothin' like ya! Ah'd never try ta hurt ma own family!”
“Oh but we did... don't ya'll remember da good times we had, beatin' da lil' pest close ta death with our... with yer bare hooves?”
“Dats a Lie! Ah nevah did dat ta Apple Bloom! And Ah nevah will!”
“Really? Remember all those years when ya wish ya could just strangle da life outta dat pesky vermin? She ain't nuthin' but a burden to ya Applejack an' yoo know it. All she evah did was whine and complain while ya'll did da hardwork round ere'... why should ya'll be the one ta suffer? Don't tell me ya nevah once wished she was gone from yer life fer good?”
The orange duplicate was so engrossed in taunting Applejack she didn't realize that her hoof was reaching out for the club. Applejack was disgusted by the words of this intruder who looked like her in almost every way, but she knew if she kept her talking she might have a chance of getting out of this choke hold.
“Ah don't know who ya tryin' ta kid, but ya'll don't know a thing bou't me!”
A little closer...
“Oh but Ah do... see Applejack, I know everything there is ta know about yoo...”
Just a bit more...
“Cause' Ah am yoo, Ah know yer memories, yer feelings... Ah know what yer really think bout' wat happened ta Ma an' Pa... and most of all...”
The blonde mare leaned in more intimately until her lips were right at Applejack's ear.
“...Ah know just how much of a monster ya'll really are...”
Got it!
Applejack tightened her grip around the club and swung it at the mare's head.
'Thunk!'
The hit never made it's target, instead the orange mare had blocked it with her left hoof without even bothering to look away from Applejack. She pushed back Applejack's fore-leg and pinned it back on the floor, the club falling from her hoof as the desperate workhorse fought against her foe. She cocked her head slightly to one side, gloating at the frustration on her victim's face.
“Now why do ya have ta go an' do sumthin' silly like dat. Looks like Ah'm gonna have ta tea...”
'Smack!'
The mare reeled back from a vicious head-butt to the chin from Applejack, freeing the workhorse from her clutches. Applejack rolled across the floor towards the bat and grabbed the nasty thing with her mouth. She yelled out in anger as she rushed the evil duplicate still recovering from Applejack's earlier attack.
“Nopony comes in ere' an' threatens ma family!”
Applejack swung wildly at the other orange mare. The urgency of the situation made the doppelganger aware she was in trouble and quickly reacted to it. As the club came close, she feigned being hit and fell backwards fooling Applejack that she had succeeded in tackling her. She was back on her hooves in a split second and bolted for the exit where the now broken door used to be. She spared a moment to look back at the workhorse with a challenging smile on her muzzle before galloping off leaving behind a stunned Applejack. The orange workhorse looked down at the nail covered club in her mouth and flung it aside, the horrid weapon hitting the wall before falling to the floor with a dull thud. Applejack turned her attention towards Apple Bloom who was cowering beside her bed, still sobbing with fear and confusion. It didn't look like she was physically hurt but Applejack didn't want to take any chances.
“Apple Bloom! Ar ya hurt? Talk ta me sis'...”
Apple Bloom flinched and recoiled as Applejack tried to touch her.
“Go away! Puh... please, just don't hurt me...”
The orange mare backed away a bit, grieved that her own sister was so traumatized by what had happened.
“Apple Bloom... it's me, yer big sister. Ah'd nevah evah do anythin' ta hurt yoo... Ah made a promise ta keep yer safe no matter what, and Ah intend on keepin' that promise. We're Apples forever remember?”
Applejack lowered her voice to a soft volume like the tune of a lullaby. She lifted her right hoof in offering to Apple Bloom who looked up at her big sister with watering eyes as if recognizing her for the first time. She gingerly reached out with her own hoof and bumped it against her big sister's before continuing what Applejack started.
“...Apples together...”
“We're Apples, to the core...”
The both of them finished in unison. And as Apple Bloom gazed up into the familiar kind green eyes of her big sister, she embraced her in a tight hug sobbing into her orange coat. Applejack wrapped her fore-hooves around the little filly nuzzling her red mane as a single tear strolled down the side of her cheek.
“There, there... everythin's gonna be just fine.”
“Oh Applejack! Ah was so scared! 'sniff' Ah thought yoo really... 'sniff' yoo really wanted to... yoo said... she said such horrible things! 'sniff' She... she, said we were gonna play a game...”
Apple Bloom's voice trailed off into a whimper. Applejack's features hardened as she sensed the fear in her sister's voice. She gently pulled her away from her chest and wiped the tears off Apple Bloom's face.
“Listen sugarcube, Ah need yer ta be brave right now yer hear.” She held her hoof to Apple Bloom's chin and lifted her head so that both their eyes met with each other.
“Ah need ta find this mare who tried ta frame me and hurt our family. Ah can't let her get away and try ta hurt somepony else. Ah gotta leave yer here with Big Mac alright? Can yoo be brave, fer yer big sis'?”
Apple Bloom nodded and shook away her tears determine to be brave like her big sister. Then she noticed the cut on Applejack's cheek and her bright orange eyes widened.
“Applejack! Yer hurt!”
“It ain't nuthin' ta worry about, Ah'll be alright. Now how bout' let's get yoo ta Big Mac?”
Applejack gave her a smile of encouragement and placed the filly on her back, letting Apple Bloom hang on to her blonde mane as the both of them rushed out the room and down the stairs. Upon entered the living room they spotted Big Macintosh trotting in the front door with a dazed look. The left side of his face was red and starting to swell, he gave a confused look at his two sisters as he tried to get his bearings. If Applejack had to guess she would bet her hat that Big Mac had met her double on his way in to the farm house. And not suspecting a thing about his supposed sister, got a surprised buck to the face as the intruder was escaping from the real Applejack.
“Big Mac! Ah can't explain everythin' right now but yer gotta keep Apple Bloom and Winona safe, Ah have ta catch that pony who was impersonatin' me before she does more damage!”
“Winona!”
Apple Bloom cried out as she saw the brown and white collie laying on the couch and scrambled off Applejack's back, rushing to the poor dog's side. She was relieved when Winona awoke as she checked her for signs of breathing. She gave Apple Bloom a lick on her snout and whined with gladness at a familiar face. Big Mac took all of this in with the words of Applejack and what had happened to him just moments ago. He added the two together and understood what needed to be done. He regarded his younger sister and simply nodded in agreement.
“Ee'yup...”
“Thank yoo Big Mac...”
She was about to head out the front door when Big Macintosh called out.
“Applejack...”
She stopped and looked at her big brother. And despite the passive demeanor on his face, she could see the look of concern in those green eyes of his.
“...be careful.”
Applejack nodded solemnly and disappeared from Big Mac's view.
'Who in da hay was dat mare?' Applejack thought to herself while frantically searching to and fro for signs on where the intruder had run off to. 'Which pony could have pulled off something like that? Was Trixie back in town? No... it can't be, she had done awful things before but even she won't resort to downright murdering some pony.' A thought suddenly crossed her mind as she thought of the one enemy she and her friends had faced before. Could the Changelings and their Queen have made a return?
Applejack dreaded the thought. Chrysalis had overpowered Celestia before, and if it were not for the combined power of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence she could have taken the throne of Canterlot and become the new ruler of Equestria. Now after her defeat there was no telling what kind of revenge plan she might have hatched for those who opposed her. Applejack caught side of some hoof marks on the beaten down path she was on, she followed them forward thankful they were at least leading away from the farm. As she cantered after the tracks it suddenly occurred to her where the tracks were leading to... Ponyville.
'Ah have ta warn them... Ah have ta warn mah friends an' da rest of Ponyville...'
Driven by purpose, Applejack picked up the pace and galloped even faster than before...
--------------------------
She galloped past the green trees, leaves smacking against her body, the humid hot air smothering her lungs as she raced against time to her destination. She stopped to take a breather and wipe the sweat from her forehead. As she stood there thinking of her next course of action she suddenly noticed something dangling from the tip of her hat. She looked up and saw a light greenish-yellow spider hanging on to it's own silk thread, the little thing seemed shy and rather harmless. The mare raised an eyebrow at it and lifted the spider with her hoof from it's silk thread and carefully placed him on a nearby leaf. The spider appeared to be surprised at this gesture and continued to stare at the pony with large beady eyes.
The mare gave it a grin before looking around to make sure nopony was there besides her. She than tipped her hat aside and a scroll fell from her head to the ground. She spread it open with her front hooves and began to carefully study it's contents. Taking a moment only to glance at the spider which and spun another thread to lower itself beside her as if it was interested in the scroll as well. After briefly running through the strange symbols on the scroll she turned her gaze upwards.
Through the leafy thicket she could see under the rays of the sun a pyramid like structure not too far off in the distance. The pony narrowed her eyes, those rosy red irises glinting with anticipation as she spread her wings getting ready to fly. She hardly noticed the little spider had decided to become her new companion and hitched a ride on her hat as she lifted off into the air. She flew for a short distance somewhat glad that she could be out of the thick jungle flora for a while. She soared through the air, her dark-multi-shaded mane flapping lightly in the wind. She landed closer to the pyramid structure, but still kept a reasonable amount of distance from it as she knew caution was the best approach in these types of situations. Just right next to her was a large stone set into the ground, it was her clue that this was the right place. For carved into the stone were the symbols, XIII...
'This... is... so... Awesome!'
Rainbow Dash paused her reading to hug the book close to her chest and squeaked with glee. She always enjoyed Daring Do's adventures and often saw a part of herself in the fictional mare. How could she not? Daring Do was a fearless and courageous pegasus who was undoubtedly, unquestionably, unstoppable! Kind of like Rainbow Dash herself, though Rainbow always did have a high view of her own abilities. She owed Twilight for introducing her to the joy of reading. Not only was she dead wrong on her opinion that reading was for eggheads only, but was glad she could also enjoy it while staying the competitive athletic pony that she is. And now she was reading her favorite heroine's next adventure, The Secret of XIII.
Who would have thought a cool mare like her would spend a late afternoon in her bed reading fictional adventure stories? As she held the book in her hooves, her mind lingered back to the workout she had with Applejack. It was fun to race with her, she always did give Rainbow a run for her bits when it came to these athletic challenges. And today, Rainbow felt the thrill of the race after being in the city of Canterlot for a week. There was probably no other mare in all of Equestria who could match Rainbow's thirst for competition while having so much fun like Applejack could.
'CRASH!!!'
Rainbow Dash jolted up from her bed at the sound, the book falling from her hooves and landed with a thump on the floor. She was now in the air hovering over her bed as she flapped her wings nervously wondering if somepony had intrude into her house. The sound came from her living room, it sounded like something had smashed through her windows. She swiftly flew from her bedroom to the source of the noise. A piece of rock laid on the floor among the shattered pieces of midnight blue glass. The dimming sunlight shone through a hole in one of the windows betraying the cause of the disruption to Rainbow's private moment. She hovered over the mess and lowered herself, careful not to touch any of the sharp glass surrounding the rock before picking it up with her mouth. She dropped the rock into her front hooves and saw there was a folded letter tied to it. She ripped off the strings binding the letter to the rock and spread the letter out.
'You are a sellout Miss-Wonder-Dolt... you don't even know what a real Rainbow is made of...'
Rainbow stared at the words on the flimsy paper. It wasn't so much the insult to her Wonderbolt status, or even the challenging tone the message ended with; it was the fact that the words were written in her own hoof-writing.
'What the hay...'
Something in Rainbow's gut told her to look out the broken window. She turned to face the clouds outside her home, and there staring back at her was the culprit... And though the distance was too far for Rainbow Dash to identify the pony as a colt or a mare, she could make out the tight black and purple suit the pony was wearing. The sun's dying rays causing a flare to reflect off the yellow goggles covering the pony's eyes. However, it was the exposed cyan wings along with the rainbow colored mane and tail that had Rainbow Dash fixated on this mysterious pony. 'Was this somepony's idea of a sick joke?' Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes at the pony, not quite sure what was the motive of vandalizing her home while dressed up in a Shadowbolt outfit. Even going through the trouble of dyeing the mane and tail to match hers.
The Shadowbolt raised one hoof to it's chest before slowly pointing towards Rainbow Dash menacingly. With frightening speed, the pegasus rushed forward in a burst of multicolored spectrum, aiming for Rainbow Dash at an alarming rate. She was hardly able to react in time as the pegasus crashed through her already broken window and smashed right through another one across the room with blazing speed. Rainbow Dash felt the force of the Shadowbolt's passing knocking her back to the floor as she lost control of staying up in the air. She quickly recovered and looked back at the Shadowbolt who was now disappearing off in a distance, a contrail of vapors trailing behind. The cyan pegasus gritted her teeth in anger at this wanton invasion of her home.
“Oh... it... is... On!”
The furious mare got back on her hooves, stretched out her wings and gave them a quick flex. She focused herself and with a burst of colors that shattered the light spectrum, launched out of the same window the Shadowbolt had gone through. The explosive take off was accompanied by the colors of the rainbow blazing behind Rainbow Dash left in the wake of her amazing speed. She propelled herself forward with sheer wing-power determined to catch up with the other pegasus. Soon she could see the familiar multicolored mane filling her vision as she covered the distance quickly with her legendary speed. It wasn't long before she was right on the tail of the Shadowbolt. She had her front hooves stretched out in front, impatient to grab on to the pony who ruined her afternoon.
'I've got you now...'
But before she could even lay one hoof on the pegasus, the pony did a side barrel-roll in mid-air avoiding Rainbow's clutches thus catching the confident pony off guard for just a second. This was enough to throw her reaction time off as she collided with a particularly big cloud sending white puffy cottons dispersing in every direction. She was just in time to spot her rival instantaneously switching directions and flying straight up, climbing vertically at high speeds. Rainbow Dash kicked away what remained of the cloud still stuck to her body and zoomed off after the escaping pegasus.
As they both duck in and out of clouds at great velocity while climbing ever higher, Rainbow soon realized that this pegasus was just as fast and agile as she was. Not many pegasi could claim such a feat, even the fabled Wonderbolts did not have many members who could challenge Rainbow Dash when it came to flying. None except...
'Lightning Dust?'
Could it be her? Could the pegasus in front be her former lead-pony during her entry trainings at the Wonderbolt Academy? No, it didn't make sense. Surely Lightning Dust would not hold a grudge over what had happened back then. It wasn't Rainbow Dash's fault she had to report to Spitfire about Lightning's reckless behavior that nearly cost the lives of her friends. Was the opal colored mare trying to get back at Rainbow Dash for costing her a place as a Wonderbolt? She had to catch up to the pegasus to find out, she must know whether Lightning Dust was indeed so bitter towards Rainbow that she would go to such lengths to challenge her in her own home. As they zigzag across the darkening sky, she contemplated on the best way to end the chase when suddenly, the Shadowbolt made a sharp dive creating a u-shaped outline against the sky. This time however, Rainbow was alert for any sudden tricks. She did a back-flip and allowed her body to flow with the arc shaped contrail left by her prey. She realigned her direction back towards the ground and dived after the pegasus, following in it's slipstream. Clouds and colors blurred at the side of Rainbow's vision as her only focus was reaching her target. This time, she knew she had the advantage, she was about to show this Shadowbolt what nopony has been able to do in recent time... besides her. As the air around her front started to bend into the shape of a mach-cone, she gritted her teeth as the stress of the speed increased on her frame. Her eyes watered, her wings flapping at an impossible pace, everything else didn't matter to her except achieving what she needed to do...
'BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!'
She shattered the light spectrum in a thunderous explosion of rainbow colors accompanied by the supersonic shock-wave that echoed throughout the skies and the valleys below. A Sonic Rainboom. Her speed instantaneously doubled allowing her to reach the other pegasus within mere seconds. A smirk covering her face as she reached out to grab the pony by the tail.
'Aw, yeah...'
Her victory was short lived. She was knocked aside by a huge force knocking the wind out of her lungs, her eyes briefly blinded by the blazing colors overloading her senses. The other pegasus shooting off in a trail of the same multicolored light that Rainbow Dash had just created herself moments ago. Another Sonic Rainboom.
'Th... th-thats impossible!'
Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped in shock as she stared in disbelief at the pegasus streaming off with her signature rainbow colors in it's wake. Another pegasus performing the legendary Sonic Rainboom that only she had done in recent history? Confused, Rainbow Dash gave chase after the flier, her mind trying to process what had just taken place. She doubted whether it was possible to catch up with her rival now, but she was not about to give up. She didn't care how fast that pegasus could fly, even a Shadowbolt would eventually need to rest. Rainbow just needed to out-last the other pony until fatigue took it's toil and tiredness overcomes the flying menace. Rainbow Dash flew on, this time determined not to let the Shadowbolt out of her sights.
The pegasus had now changed course and was flying straight for the horizon while leading Rainbow in a merry chase through the air. After dodging two colliding puffs of clouds, she followed the pony into a clearing in the sky. She recognized the massive pillars and multiple arcs of the complex cloud structure that now loomed before them. Dark puffs of clouds hanged around a giant sphere at the peak of the highest tower, creating a rather somber tone that contrasted with the rainbow waterfalls that flowed throughout the place. It was Cloudsdale's Weather Factory.
As the pegasi were packing up to return home from their hard day's work at the factory, many had paused to stare at the early evening's sky. They had all witnessed the shock-wave of colors from the double Rainboom that had occurred just before their shift ended and were overcome by curiosity as to what may have caused it. Then they spotted a rainbow mane pegasus with a fitting black and purple garb flying across the skyline towards them.
“Look guys, it's Rainbow Dash!” One of the workers exclaimed while pointing at the oncoming pony with his hoof while the others gasp in wonderment, thrilled that one of Cloudsdale's most celebrated pony was visiting them.
“Wait... why isn't she stopping?”
Another mare asked out loud when the pegasus in question did not seem to be decelerating. The pony that they all mistook as Rainbow Dash flew through an opening among the high arches, and smashed into the many supporting beams holding up the great cloud construct together. The gasps of awe were soon replaced by the sounds of screaming as the crowd of pegasi frantically tried to avoid the chunks of falling debris of the collapsing structure.
Rainbow Dash witnessed the horror unfolding before her eyes as parts of the great Weather Factory came apart threatening to crush any pegasi unlucky enough to be underneath. She yelled in frustration and dived in to help her fellow ponies, temporarily forgetting her chase. Some of the pegasi were galloping around in the factory floor, so fear-stricken by the destruction that they forget to use their wings. A green-hued mare huddled in a corner crying as huge machinery toppled around her in a deafening crescendo. She noticed the dark shadow beneath her hooves was widening and looked up only to be greeted by a large pillar piece falling towards her. With her wings locked in a panic, she could only close her eyes and hope that the pain would be quick. It never came. Instead she heard a loud 'thunk' followed by a crash near her spot and she mustered the courage to open her eyes. The huge piece of rubble that was once a part of the pillars was laying close to her, she looked up and saw a familiar cyan pegasus with her rainbow colored mane and tail flying off to intercept more falling debris. It suddenly hit her that Rainbow Dash had saved her life by knocking the pillar aside preventing it from crushing her. She stared teary eyed at the pegasus and softly cheered her on.
“Go Rainbow Dash!”
“Hai-Yah!”
Rainbow Dash gave an uppercut to a large hardened cloud piece that used to be part of the roof, smashing it to bits. She swiftly dodged a few more falling debris before giving one a kick with her hind-legs, saving three pegasi who were trying to maneuver their way through all the chaos. Rainbow waved at them madly, signaling them to evacuate the area.
“Go! Get out of here! I'll hold off these pieces of junk!”
She didn't need to tell them twice as they flew out the nearest exit as fast as they could. Rainbow Dash scanned the room in utter disbelief at the damaged done to such an iconic and important part of Cloudsdale. The building was still falling apart and if all of the occupants didn't make it out in time, there was a chance they would end up being buried under the rubble. She swerved to the side, avoiding another piece of roof that whizzed past her, crashing through the floor and leaving behind a gaping hole that opened out into the sky. She turned her attention back to the room for one last check, and spotted a stallion desperately trying to open the main doors to the factory but the partially destroyed thing would not budge. He seemed to think it a better idea than risking the collapsing factory around him to get to the newly opened gaps in the walls and roof. He did not realize a piece of the roof right above him had detached and was now falling at high velocity, with the stallion as the intended mark.
“Look out!”
Rainbow called out in exasperation but the stallion did not hear her, his entire attention was focused only on getting the doors opened. Rainbow Dash made her choice. The air around her erupted with a brilliant flash of rainbow colors as she launched herself towards the endangered pony. She agilely avoided all obstacles on her way to the stallion, her mind instinctively counting down the seconds when the impact would occur. She could make it, she had too...
With a violent shove she knocked the stallion from the broken doors and ironically rocketed him into the air through a gap in the walls, sending the shocked pegasus into relative safety from the crumbling factory. Rainbow Dash wasn't so lucky.
'CRASH!'
The poor pony felt the blunt trauma against both her back and wings as the debris slammed against her body. The impact sent her crashing through the factory floor and out into the open sky. For a few seconds all she could hear was loud ringing in her ears as all other noises went mute. Her vision blurred as flashes of light and stars danced around her head.
As her vision slowly returned, Rainbow realized she was falling away from the once glorious Weather Factory. The sad sight filled her eyes as she witnessed clouds of dust hanging around the ruined pillar columns. Despite the fact that most of the entire factory complex remained untouched, the damage done to that one section was significant enough to interrupt weather productions for weeks. It spelled disaster for the rest of Ponyville... even all of Equestria if the damages weren't repaired immediately. As she kept falling with her back towards the ground and her hooves flailing upwards in the air, the distance between her and the factory grew. Rainbow knew that she could not could not continue her chase after that mysterious Shadobolt. She had to help them, she had to help her fellow pegasi rebuild the Weather Factory.
Rainbow Dash shook her head clearing the rest of the ringing in her ears away and tried flapping her wings. She cried out in excruciating pain as the muscles rejected the command her brain was sending to them. Her senses told her something was terribly wrong. As she turned her head around far enough to look at her wings, her eyes widened with fear. Her wings were misshapen and bent in an unnatural way, the pain coursing through her when she tried to move them was an indicator that they could very well be broken. This was not a very pleasant thought to Rainbow.
'This is bad... this is very bad'
She turned her gaze back to the factory in the clouds, it was slowly disappearing from sight. Did anypony see her fall? Would any one of them come to her rescue? Or more likely, would they all be preoccupied by the catastrophe that had just hit Cloudsdale to even notice a single mare missing from the scene? Rainbow concluded the latter was the more likely scenario. Her body ached from the stress she had put it through all afternoon, maybe racing with Applejack earlier wasn't such a good idea after all. Now she couldn't even fly to save herself due to her crippled wings. Rainbow closed her eyes tightly, the feeling of rushing air blowing against her face, it would soon be evening and nopony would even think to look for her until the next day. She mouthed a word of prayer to Celestia hoping against hope that this would not be her end. It was not death she feared, but being failure. A failure to Cloudsdale, to the Wonderbolts, to her parents... a failure to her closest friends...
'WHOOOSH!'
Rainbow Dash felt herself being carried away from the rapid fall by a pair of hooves clinging on to her. The sudden change in direction and velocity made her gasp a little before opening her eyes to see who her savior was.
The sight that greeted her gave her a mixed feeling of surprise and hatred. It was the Shadowbolt pegasus. And being a mere hoof's length away from her face, Rainbow could clearly see she was a mare. The mocking grin she had on her mouth stirred up feelings of anger inside Rainbow Dash. What was this mare thinking, recklessly putting the lives of so many ponies in danger, and for what? Just so she could proof herself better than Rainbow Dash? Rainbow didn't care if the mare had saved her life, she had to pay for what she had done to Cloudsdale. With seething rage she reached out with her fore-hooves and grabbed hold of the Shadowbolt's yellow goggles and black mask, yanking them off from her muzzle.
“Let's see who you rea...”
Rainbow Dash stopped mid sentence when she saw now who it really was behind the costume. It was herself. Rainbow couldn't believe her own eyes, her rescuer had the exact same cyan fur, the same rosy red pupils... if it weren't for the scars and discolored patches of hair Rainbow would think she was looking into a mirror. Plus the doppelganger looked as if she was older, by decades even, than Rainbow Dash herself. If she had any questions for her copy she did not utter a word of it. For her gaze had suddenly locked onto the eyes of her flying duplicate. What she saw behind those rose red irises chilled her to the bone. Those eyes revealed no joy, no love, no care... only malice and hate. The spiteful grin never left her face as she relished Rainbow Dash's confusion and fear.
“Nighty-night squirt.”
And before Rainbow Dash could react, she felt a massive blow to her skull. The last thing she was aware of was the trickling of blood as her mind drifted off into the blackness...
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