Chapter 34 Guardian of the Rainbow
AN: Pretty sure I found the one missing bit of text from gdoc upload, but please comment right away if I missed it and there's some paragraphs with empty space between them
***
Trotting into town, Scootaloo paused to watch the train as it rattled past, off towards Canterlot. She passed the leash she held in one hoof to the other, raising the first to wave. For a moment, as the train roared past, she saw Paladin sitting there with his usual, possibly trademarked, lack of amusement. Pinkie was visible, her face twisted into an expression that was normally found only in the nightmares of some ponies, and in the dreams of others, hooves raised in a pantomime Scootaloo would never understand.
“I bet they’re going to have loads of fun. All the fancy stuff, ponies in pretty dresses…” Scootaloo glanced at her companion. “Uh, don’t tell Rainbow Dash I said that. I don’t want her to think I’m all mushy.”
Tank paused in his ceaseless, patient crawl to look up at her. He blinked, slowly. They stared at each other before his head, with glacial patience, began to fall. It took another few goes before she realised he was nodding.
“Thanks.” Scootaloo nuzzled him, their noses rubbing. The filly grinned as she returned the leash to its original hoof. “Even without your flying thingy, you’re pretty cool.”
Again, the tortoise nodded. He resumed his plodding pace towards Ponyville. She followed him, walking oh so slowly to keep the leash from growing tight. She had learned, over the past few days, that Tank didn’t really like it when the brace the leash was latched to was pulled.
Looking away from him, Scootaloo couldn’t help but smile. Her chest swelled with pride when the distant shape of the hospital came into view, remembering when Rainbow Dash had asked her to take care of her pet.
* Several days ago... *
“How’s my favourite fan doing?”
Scootaloo beamed as she scampered into the room. “I’m doing great!” She glanced back, watching the nurse close the door. The instant it clicked shut she pulled her backpack off, opening the flap. “And so is Tank!”
Grinning, Rainbow Dash watched pet crawl out of the bag. She gestured at him. “That’s awesome. Wanna pass him up?”
“Sure!” Scootaloo let out a grunt as she picked the tortoise up, wobbling. “Whoa, I think Tank is having a growth spurt! He’s gotten heavier.”
“Nah, ‘Shy’s probably just spoiling him. There we go.” Dash claimed her pet from Scootaloo, hefting him up. Rainbow Dash turned over, her back to Scootaloo, and hugged Tank. He rubbed his head against her nose, the pair nuzzling as she pulled the hospital bedsheet half over him. A slight movement brought her eyes flicking up, meeting Big Mac’s.
They stared at each other for a few seconds, the stallion’s slight smile at her affectionate embrace of the tortoise sending heat shooting across her face. With deliberate action, Mac turned, allowing her the privacy of her moment with Tank.
‘Who knew AJ’s brother was this cool?’ Deciding to give him her dessert tonight, well, half of it anyway. Rainbow Dash turned back to face Scootaloo.
“Thanks again, squirt. Gah, can’t believe they’re making me stay here! I’m fine already,” Rainbow said with a barely hidden growl in her voice.
“Yeah, that’s so lame,” agreed Scootaloo. She climbed onto the same stool she had taken to sitting on each time she visited, plopping down at eye level with her idol. “Why won’t they let you leave? You’d know if you were still bad, right?”
Dash nodded. She huffed in aggravation as she answered, “Exactly! But for some reason, they don’t believe me!”
A loud cough caught their attention, and the pair glanced at Big Mac. He didn’t say anything, just looked at Dash, then towards the recently plastered wall opposite Rainbow Dash’s bed. He raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Huh?” Scootaloo cocked her head to the side. “What’s that- oh no! Rainbow Dash, your face has gone all red! Are you okay?”
Her cheeks burning in embarrassment, Dash ducked her head, turning away from Big Mac. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Stupid wall, totally not my fault I didn’t see it coming…”
Her complaints fell away into a quiet grumble before she rallied. Patting Tank’s shell, Rainbow Dash lay back. The silence was, to her, comfortable and relaxing, but by the fidgeting from Scootaloo she guessed the filly found it less so.
“Seriously, kid, how’ve you been? Done anything cool with your friends?” Dash asked. She blinked, staring in confusion when she saw the slump in Scootaloo’s shoulders. “Kid?”
Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck, looking away. “I’m fine. I mean, Twilight has Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle at the library all the time, or their sisters have them with them all the time, and we aren’t getting to crusade, and Twilight and the others keep giving me worried looks and telling me to let them know if anything odd happens or I feel strange…” Scootaloo took a breath.”So, yeah….but, you know, it’s cool. I’m fine.”
“Uh huh.” Dash glanced at Mac. Despite his attempts to give the pair privacy the room wasn’t nearly big enough, and she caught the look in his eye; he didn’t believe Scootaloo anymore than she did.
A gentle nudging made Rainbow Dash look down at Tank. The tortoise stared up at her, his scaly little expression speaking the words he couldn’t. At least, that was how she read it.
“...squirt, think you could do me a favour?”
Scootaloo’s frown flipped into a bright smile. “I can do anything you want, Rainbow Dash!”
“Heh, I know you can,” grinning in reply, the older pegasus patted Tank’s shell. “You seem pretty good at getting Tank in here everyday without the nurse noticing. I was thinking you could do a little pet sitting for me. Fluttershy is great and all, but she’s got plenty of animals to look after. Just take him for a walk, and spend some time with him since I can’t.” She shrugged. “If you have more important stuff to do-”
“I can do that! I’d love to do it! Please let me look after Tank for you!” The stool rocked as Scootaloo all but jumped from it, landing on the edge of Dash’s bed to give her a pleading look. “I’ll do everything right, I promise!”
Ruffling the filly’s mane, Rainbow Dash grinned. “I know you will. That’s why I’m trusting you with my pal Tank. You’ll do me proud, I’m sure of it.”
* ...in the present *
Scootaloo practically bounced as she led Tank on his very slow walk. A circuit around Ponyville, which was no quick affair with a tortoise, was her own idea.
“You won’t be fat when Rainbow Dash gets out,” Scootaloo said. Her tone made it clear that she considered Dash’s stay at the hospital more akin to prison than a vital part of the healing process. “You’ll be even fitter than you were before!”
Unfortunately for both of them, Scootaloo’s attention soon began to wander. There was only so long she could spend pulling a tortoise slowly around town. An hour after starting, she was zigzagging across the road, never quite letting the leash go taut.
“Boooooored,”she whined. Lifting a rock, she poked the odd stick under it and let out a shriek when it moved, little legs sticking out. Leaving the rock to fall back into place, she darted to the other side of the road, looking around the surrounding trees of Whitetail Woods for something to entertain her.
Tank stopped. He peered upwards, through the tree branches with a searching look in his small eyes. Scootaloo didn’t notice until the leash in her hoof went tight.
“Ow! Tank, what the heck?” Scootaloo brushed dirt off her coat as she stood back up, pouting at him. “You tripped me! Hey, what’re you looking at?”
She trotted over, staring in the same direction. After a few seconds of nothing, she lowered her head to his level and kept on looking, absently winding the leash around her hoof.
“I don’t get it.”
Another few seconds passed. Scootaloo’s ear twitched.
“Somepony is flying nearby? Wow, your hearing must be really good.” Her eyes widened, the faint sound of flapping wings sending her mind leaping to conclusions. “Maybe it’s Rainbow Dash! Maybe she got out earl-”
A terrible, ear-wrenching shriek preceded the dark form slicing through the tree branches. It moved with such speed it was a mere impression, a shadow that sent leaves and branches falling as its passage cut them away. Scootaloo’s scream of surprise and fear was drowned out by another shriek, a sound only distantly related to that of a predatory raptor, as though it had been taken and spliced with the haunting chimes of a nightmare.
The filly jumped back, little wings buzzing. The leash pulled her up short, far too short, most of its length wound around her hoof. She only realised this as she fell onto her back, pulling on the leash that kept Tank close to her - or rather, her close to Tank - desperately.
Tank hit her chest. Seconds later the sound of a jarring, ringing clash and a moment of pressure made Scootaloo yelp. The dark thing, a streak of vaguely bird-shaped shadows, continued past, vanishing into the branches above.
“Ooooow.” Scootaloo tugged on the leash. This time it came easily, and she saw why when the tattered remains of the belt came off Tank. She stared at the tortoise sitting on her stomach. “W-what was that?”
He just cocked his head to the side, having no answers, or perhaps just not sharing them. A good larynx was such a hard thing to get, at least for a tortoise.
Again came the hunting call of the avian attacker. Scootaloo shot up in alarm. Tank landed on his shell, Scootaloo atop him. She was relieved that he had grown, or she might have been too big. His shell skidded across the dirt path, the pair propelled by Scootaloo’s reflexively buzzing wings. She clutched tight, wobbling and twisting in fright before gaining control.
‘This is so awesome,’ she thought when she realised she was riding a tortoise shell, bouncing and skidding like mad, barely in control. Despite the fact there was probably a monster of some kind trying to get her, Scootaloo couldn’t help but grin with wild glee.
She only saw the shadow it cast as it came above her. Her body reacted before her mind could, twitching to the side and sending her Tank-sled off at a wild angle. The sound of dirt being ripped up followed her, along with a shriek that had a hint of frustration to it.
‘Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh.’
Her foolhardy glee began to fade somewhat, the hint of fear growing. A monster was after her!
‘A monster is...after me?’ There it was. A monster was after her. Her, not anypony else. She was important too! She was so important she was going to be killed by a giant evil bird!
“I don’t wanna be important!” Scootaloo screamed as they bounced and spun through Whitetail Woods. Her lack of control was the only thing saving her; the deadly avian swooped back and forth through the branches above, diving down only to have its target go whirling off in another direction entirely. There was no method to the madness of that buzzing slide to freedom; no prediction could render a sane path.
The shadowy raptor left a trail of destruction, its wings slicing through branches thick and thin with no concern for what it left in its wake. Only the most gravity defying twists kept it on their trail, forgoing the diving attacks for simply trying to follow them and wait for a chance.
Scootaloo screamed again as they lurched, Tank’s shell glancing off a root and rocketing the pair up. The world spun as they rose, filly and tortoise clutching each other as they twirled up. For an instant, Scootaloo saw the creature speeding towards them. Within the coiling shadows that clutched it, the thing had the form of a terrible predator, the form of those hunters who flew above the land but blown up to scale larger than a pony. A claw swamped in tendrils of darkness reached out for them. Any more details escaped Scootaloo, all save one; it was coming right at them!
The spin continued, taking with it that moment of sight as Tank came between filly and monster. Those vicious talons struck, lashing out with a victorious skree and a surge of blackened energy. A sound akin to metal sliding across metal, blades smoothly skidding their surfaces, erupted and they...took off?
Filly and tortoise shot away, piercing the tree tops. Breathless and stunned, Scootaloo couldn’t even scream. The only consolation, if she’d known, would be that the monster was just as surprised as she was.
The forest was filed with the sound of collapsing trees. Everything in the path of its attack fell to pieces yet instead of its victory the monster simply froze. No new commands came, and so it did nothing. It went still for a few vital seconds as its prey were blown away, vanishing from sight.
‘After them!’
It launched itself into the air, but the filly and the tortoise were gone. With sharp flaps it took to the sky, soaring above the forest. It continued to menace the forest but all hint of its prey had disappeared.
***
Scootaloo groaned quietly as she crawled out of the thickly grown bush she had crashed into. Shifting about for a few minutes, she eventually got the clinging branches off and stood, wings buzzing. Her coat blown clean, the filly took a deep, deep breath.
“That was awesome!” she squealed, bouncing in a circle, too excited to be coordinated. “Oof!”
Tank blinked as his head peeked out from under the crash staring at the little pegasus sprawled on the ground in front of him. Normally, a tortoise was unable to snicker, Scootaloo reminded herself of that as she sat up. Tank couldn’t possibly be snickering at her. Definitely not.
She hoped.
Her ear twitched, catching a distant cry from some far off bird. It was probably just an eagle, or a falcon or something-
The second time she heard it, moments later and much closer, Scootaloo decided that, just this once, she wouldn’t do what Rainbow Dash would do. The filly scurried back under the bush, dragging Tank with her.
“Don’t tell Rainbow Dash we hid, okay?” Given he couldn’t really answer her, Scootaloo settled for assuming he’d agree. The absurdity of what she was asking suddenly occurred to her. “Wait, you can’t talk. Don’t tell Fluttershy, so she can’t tell Rainbow Dash.”
Satisfied the secret would be kept, Scootaloo peeked out. She pulled back moments later, gulping.
“Okay, yeah, still out there,” she whispered nervously. She gave Tank a shaky smile. “Don’t worry, it’ll be gone soon.”
Tank craned his neck to nuzzle the filly, trying to reassure her.
“It’ll be gone soon. I’m sure of it…” Scootaloo mumbled, shifting closer and hugging Tank as another screech pierced the skies.
***
Rainbow Dash yawned, stretching and glancing at the clock. She frowned as she turned, settling on her belly.
“Hey, Mac, Scoots say anything about being late today?”
The farm stallion raised an eyebrow at her. She scowled back, and briefly wondered when she had learned to read him so well.
“Okay, I know she didn’t, but come on, she should be here with Tank by now,” the pegasus grumbled.
The door slid open before he could reply. “With who?” asked Nurse Redheart, lifting an eyebrow.
“Uh...no one?” Rainbow Dash gave the nurse a wide, innocent, entirely fake smile. “She out there?”
The nurse shook her head as she entered, giving her troublesome patient a long-suffering look. “I’m afraid not. I’m sure you can go one day without being showered with adoration.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes, doing her best to ignore Macintosh’s amused chuckle. “Yeah yeah, just fork over the food.”
Redheart sighed as she passed the meals out before giving their injuries a routine check, making sure the bandages were still tight.
“It’s nearly sundown, so if she’s not here soon, I’m afraid she’ll miss visiting hours. Perhaps she can survive without a daily dose of Rainbow Dash, just this once.” Redheart smiled as she spoke, giving her patient a reassuring pat. “I’ll be back later to get the plates.”
Rainbow Dash grunted, her eyes lingering on the window and the distant, setting sun. She ate on automatic, jaw working silently, an expression of worry flashing across her face for a moment. Only when her spork struck the bottom of the plate did she realise she had eaten it all.
“She’ll be fine.”
Dash started, looking around for a moment before her eyes landed on Big Macintosh. The stallion nodded to the window as he put his tray on the bedside table. After a moment, Rainbow Dash smiled.
“Yeah, I know that...” she mumbled. Yet for some reason she still felt reassured by his confidence. Dash smiled tentatively back at him. “But, thanks. I mean, I know she’ll be fine, but I bet other ponies would doubt her.”
The big pony nodded, his expression serene. They both stared out the window, the companionable silence stretching out. It was so companionable, it took Rainbow Dash almost three minutes before she was bored.
“...tic-tac-toe?”
“Eeyup.”
***
A bush scurried across the empty field between Ponyville and White Tail Woods. It seemed to stop and turn about as if looking to each side every few seconds, to such a degree one might feel labelling the bush paranoid wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Even by Ponyville’s standards, a mobile, paranoid bush was a tad unusual. Its pace picked up as it got closer to the town.
The bush yelped as it passed over a rock, shuddering as if something within was struggling to stay standing. When it resumed moving, it left behind what a knowledge pony might recognise as a tortoise. A slightly oversized tortoise, but a tortoise nonetheless. It took a few trembling steps, one leg reaching out almost longingly.
“Huh? Oh, Tank! Sorry!” uttered the bush in the voice of a filly. It came hurrying back to drape Tank in its leafy cover. “Okay, we’re fine, it’s still gone. We’re nearly there!”
A little orange muzzle stuck out of the moving cover. Scootaloo peeked out cautiously before nodding to herself and withdrawing.
“All clear! No stupid evil bird in sight!” She set off once more, her clever cover giving the filly and tortoise the nondescript appearance of a moving bush. Hours of work had gone into it, and Scootaloo still found a few of the branches poking her in the side. She grumbled to herself with each step, but simply thinking back to the creature that had attacked her kept Scootaloo from just making a break for it.
‘It does want me, after all,’ she thought with a grin. ‘This little filly won’t go without a fight!’
It still made Scootaloo host to an odd feeling of satisfaction. Being hunted by a giant monster shadow-bird was not, strictly speaking, a Good Thing. It was, in fact, a Very Bad Thing Indeed. Despite that, the filly felt proud. She was important now, after all, and anything else was just a technicality.
High above Ponyville, so high no pegasi bothered to go there, a dark figure surveyed the town, catching the barest hint of movement in the near-night with eyes that put eagles to shame. It flinched as images rushed through its mind again; ponies, fillies, little ones, brimming with something.
“Hunt,” whispered the old, hateful voice that drove all other thoughts from its mind. “Bring them to me.”
Something inside it whimpered when it caught sight of the bush. The other one, the third target that came in a painful surge, was there. It saw it for a moment, pushing its head out before a hoof pulled it back in. The thought of its prey out in the open, vulnerable, no shielding unicorns brimming with angelic magic around to protect it, made the creature’s talons flex.
“Hunt!”
With a cry that was as mournful as it was victorious, the predator born of shadows and fear and pain launched itself down towards the town. It streaked past a pegasus flying lazily through the lower airspace, pushing a cloud with nary a concern in the world.
Thunderlane’s eyes widened when something smashed the cloud to bits. He had a moment to react to the wicked fast form passing him, and even less before its tail struck him. The lazy, backhanded nature of the attack left his bones unbroken, but Thunderlane fell from the sky with a cry.
Scootaloo’s eyes widened. She took her hoof from Tank’s head and stared up through the bush. Her heart felt like a lead weight dropping into her stomach as the hauntingly familiar screech ran its claws down her spine, and she shot a despairing look at the hospital.
‘I really wish I wasn’t important.’
***
Rainbow Dash’s eyes snapped open. “I’m on my break!” She blinked, staring at the hospital ceiling for a few seconds. “Huh. Okay, hospital, I can nap as much as I want.”
‘What the hay woke me up?’ she thought irritably, sitting up and glancing around the room. She barely thought about it as she threw her pillow at Big Macintosh. ‘A...bird? Sounded like an eagle, I think.’
“Hey, Mac, you hear something?” she asked.
Lowering the pillow from his face, Big Mac raised an eyebrow. “Bird,” he answered with a tired shrug.
Despite reasonable suggestion, Rainbow Dash’s expression remained troubled. She slipped out of her bed, ignoring Macintosh’s disapproving stare as she approached the window.
“...you sure?” She squinted, frowning with her searching eyes hardening. “I coulda sworn there was something weird about it…”
She saw his brow furrow in the window, his reflected expression turning to one of consideration. The thoughtful stallion moved his jaw as if working an invisible strand of hay before shrugging.
“Nope. Ah was sleepin’ too,” he answered eventually. “Sure ya weren’t dreamin’?”
“I dunno, I don’t think I was, but…” Dash trailed off uncertainly. She hated being uncertain. Things were so annoying when she was uncertain. It was hard to be awesome when you weren’t sure you were actually being awesome.
A shiver ran through her, her wings twitching, feathers ruffled as a strange tension set her nerves on edge. That unnamable tension crawled down her spine, setting off alarm bells she was barely even aware of. Something was wrong, but what-
The shriek came in loud and clear this time. It shot through Dash, the crawling sensation replaced by cold claws.
“Okay, that wasn’t just some bird!” Without waiting for an answer, Rainbow Dash bolted for the door. She bowled past the nurse, sending Redheart nearly to the floor in her rush and leaving only a shout of ‘Sorry!’ in her wake.
“You’re supposed to be in bed!” Redheart called, groaning at the futility of it. “At least one of them doesn’t-”
“‘scuse me, ma’am,” came Mac’s voice, the polite red pony giving her a rushed nod as he brushed past her, his heavy set shoulders enough like an oncoming train to clear the hall ahead of him.
“....” she stared after them, her expression flat. Eventually, when they were gone and she was sure nopony would notice, she let out an explosive sigh. “I knew we should have used manacles.”
***
Ponies looked from their homes and promptly went back into hiding as an enormous bird shrieked its way down the street. None noticed the distinctly frustrated edge to the insidious sounds. They were too busy panicking, fleeing into newly built panic-rooms or sighing and going back to dinner as they waited for Twilight or her friends to fix this mess too.
“Ten bits say they shoot the big rainbow beam,” Lyra offered Bon Bon, wincing as her horn bumped the underside of the table they had retreated to.
The earth pony mare snorted. “Don’t be a child. One of them will just have some skill or lesson they were learning earlier. Twenty bits.”
Outside, unseen in the gloom, Scootaloo had redeployed her tortoise-board, which was quite similar to a skateboard, minus the skate part. Also, the board part. She was, in fact, riding Tank again, gripping his soft underbelly and using his unusually smooth, frictionless shell to glide once more away from her deadly hunter.
‘Kill it, kill the little pest and leave its body for them to find!’ ordered the painful old voice. The seething tones rippled through the avian predator searing what little of its mind wasn’t wrapped in dark chains and numbed into uselessness. ‘I will not be mocked by a child!’
Its true target forgotten, the hunter attacked. Black winds cut furrows in the earth with deliberate beats of its great wings, herding the filly and her inexplicable mount across the dirt. Each attack came closer and closer, and each escape was nearer and more desperate.
‘Cease your game, slave! Kill it!’
The order burned its way into the slave-creature’s withered consciousness. It dove forward with a mournful cry, tail lashing out as Scootaloo tried to evade.
Each rapid beat of Scootaloo’s wings sent aching pangs through her back, making the filly wince. ‘Keep going! Rainbow Dash will save me, I just need to keep going!’
She knew Rainbow Dash was going to save her with utter certainty. It was impossible to imagine that Rainbow Dash wouldn’t save her. Rainbow Dash wasn’t just a hero; she was her hero, and heroes saved the day. It all made perfect sense in Scootaloo’s mind.
Which is why the sight of a corded, whip-like tail flashing down in front of her for a fraction of a second made no sense. Even as she was smacked flying. her hooves flailing as her grip on Tank was casually broken, Scootaloo couldn’t believe what just happened.
She could believe it even less as the tremendous bird, its features a twisting, morphing meld of eagle, hawk and some savage, primordial predator, hovered before her. One of its talons flexed, preparing to strike. Scootaloo stared at it for a moment, and in a distant, still-working part of her brain that wasn’t frozen in terror, wondered; ‘Why is it waiting?’
“Hey, bird-brain! Claws off!”
The monster vanished in a blaze of glory. To be more accurate, everything did. It returned in the same blaze, white light fading to reveal Rainbow Dash’s face.
“Hey, squirt. Miss me?” Dash smirked down at her.
“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs around the bigger pegasus’s neck. “You saved me!”
Her smirk dissolving into a smile, Rainbow Dash returned the hug for a moment. “Sure did. Uh…” Her eyes darted about. “Think that’s enough hugging now.”
Muffled giggles made Scootaloo look around. She blinked, staring at the rows of book shelves lining the walls. Her eyes soon landed on the source of the giggling. Their game of checkers forgotten, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom watched, giggling. They launched themselves over, tackling Scootaloo into a three-filly hug as Rainbow Dash slipped away.
“Scootaloo!” The pair cried out joyfully. She hugged back, adrenaline and relief making her giddy.
“Girls! You’re never going to believe it! I was attacked too!”
Her friends gasped with the suitable degree of shock and awe.
“Ya’ll got superpowers too? That’s all three of us! This is great!” Apple Bloom grinned as she bounced in place. “We can be a team! A team of supermares!”
Sweetie Bell squealed, throwing her hooves up. “We can be the Super Cutie Mark Crusaders! The Super Crusaders!”
Rainbow Dash held back a snicker as the three fell into delighted chatter. Scootaloo seemed to have forgotten that she had been seconds from being sliced into bits only seconds before.
‘And now, back to Mac and the monster!’ Rainbow Dash decided. Her wings began to glow, just in time for Twilight and Applejack to emerge from the basement door. “Sorry girls, left Big Mac and Tank with a evil monster bird thing. Went after Scoots, look after her for me. See ya!”
White light flared, and Rainbow Dash was gone. Applejack and Twilight stared at the empty space for a moment with wide eyes, then looked to Scootaloo.
“-I don’t know what my power is, but a big shadow monster was going for me, so it’s gonna happen,” the filly was insisting to her friends. She frowned. “Wait, I think I left Tank there! Oh no!”
Applejack winced.. “Did Dash really just drop her off and then go off to fight another monster?” she demanded, not even bothering to resist the urge to stomp her hoof like a filly throwing a tantrum. “After the beating she keeps taking each darn time?! Landsakes!”
Putting a placating hoof on Applejack shoulder, Twilight was already dragging over a quill and parchment. She dipped the quill’s tip into an inkpot with delicate care that belied the intense expression on her face.
“It must be another of the shadow creatures being sent after those with this angelic energy within them.” Her quill worked with maddening speed, faster than any hoof or mouth could have hoped to move it. “Rainbow Dash brought Scootaloo here, so she must be possessed. I’m not sensing anything from her though, so it must be hidden…”
“Twi’, are ya listening?” Applejack growled. She pushed her hat up, snorting fiercely. “There’s a monster out there!”
“And one of us needs to stay here to look after the girls. If this monster is after Scootaloo - and I have to wonder why its just one monster per target - then we have to keep her safe.” Giving her friend her best attempt at a reassuring smile, Twilight motioned to the basement door. “I’ll take them down there. Only one entrance, so if Scorpan comes after her or the others, he can’t sneak up on us. Go help Rainbow Dash.”
Applejack looked between the fillies and Twilight, uncertainty in her eyes. “Okay, Ah guess y’all can protect ‘em. Just be safe, ya hear? Ah don’t wanna go beat the feathers outta some monster an’ come back to find y’all gone.”
She didn’t wait for an answer, stopping only to give her sister a hug before taking off.
“Don’t forget Tank!” Scootaloo called.
Twilight ran after Applejack, raising her voice and hoping her friend heard. “Applejack! There has to be somepony inside it! Try to find out who!”
She stopped at her door, staring into the gloom and shaking her head. She would just have to hope. Turning back, Twilight’s letter trailed along as if led by an invisible tether tied to her horn.
“Spike! I need you to send a letter!” she shouted. “Girls, into the basement. I need to run some more tests-”
“Awwww,” groaned two fillies.
“-on Scootaloo.”
“Yay!” They cheered.
“Aw, come on!” Scootaloo whined. She directed a pleading, wide-eyed look at Twilight. “Can’t it wait until Rainbow Dash has beaten up the evil bird? And I actually get my superpowers?”
“No,” came the stern answer. “If the angelic presence is hiding, I need to be thorough! This could be the break through I need to complete the transfer spell,” explained Twilight, herding them to the basement. Spike came running after them, and the door slammed shut, leaving only a room, and a shadow that shouldn’t be there.
Scorpan’s eyes narrowed from his hiding place within the shadow. He did not merely conceal himself within it; he was submerged in darkness, like a crocodile peering from its jungle river in search of food. His claws itched.
‘I could have slain them, master, and taken the vessels,’ he dared venture. Given the mental nature of their communication, it wasn’t really sound that passed between them. Nonetheless, the note that replied was agony in a single tone.
‘Do not,’ warned Tirek, his breath hissing out, ‘Question me. They will suffer before I take my victory. They dance upon my strings like puppets for now. That is all that keeps them alive. Now cease your prattling. The other vessel is interfering, and my attention cannot be long divided.’
Scorpan fought to conceal his growing indignation with his master from the demon’s notice. The thought of being a mere distraction, of stringing their foes along for little reason but Tirek’s amusement, filled him with fury. He was a prince, a lord among primates. No blood was as pure as his, and none more deserving of power than him. That he could be treated so was, perhaps, the only reason he had ever regretted his choices.
He studied the ponies before him intently. How tempting, to have such power within his grasp as his master struggled to coordinate two slaves at once. The one in Canterlot was beyond his reach, but here….
Ruling out the vessels, Scorpan snuck deeper into the shadows. He stroked his chin, claws running through his thin fur as he thought. Betrayal ran in his veins as much as the power he had been blessed with since long ago, and so he had no qualms with planning to steal power from Tirek. The issue, as ever, was how to succeed. For him to succeed, Tirek had to fail. Who better than the lieutenant who knew him best to ensure not just Tirek’s failure, but defeat for the Elements?
Listening in to the fillies, comforted by Twilight and guided through, a wide smile soon spread across his face.
‘Master,’ he called through their bond. ‘The pegasus your slave battles in Ponyville...’
‘What of her?’ The implicit threat that this had better be worth his attention hung in the cadence of Tirek’s thought.
‘Loyalty, master. She is Loyalty.’
Scorpan favoured himself with a small smile. There were few things the Lord of Betrayal loathed so much. It was only a shame he wouldn’t get to see the fireworks.
***
‘Kill her!’
The order struck the enslaved bird, sending it shrieking towards Rainbow Dash with renewed fury. The earth was furrowed and torn beneath them, but the true battlefield was the sky. Fading in and out of sight within the gloom of the ever darkening evening, the shadowy raptor lost what grace it had in exchange for insane ferocity.
“Whoa! Only been here a minute and- argh!” Rainbow Dash bobbed and weaved through the sky, twisting around the slashing talons. She rose ever higher, wings closing, snapping open, flapping and beating as she performed the most spontaneous, difficult maneuvers she ever had.
Mac stared up from the ground, feeling ever so useless. Glancing across the street, he searched, hunting for something, anything. He had been useless when he had been possessed; he wouldn’t be useless tonight.
‘Kill her! Kill her now!’
Something in the possesed predator resisted, but against the overwhelming commands of a demon lord, that resistance bought Rainbow Dash mere moments before the attacks continued.
‘I’m so never going to hear the end of it if I get hurt again,’ Dash thought absently, feeling the brush of razor wind passing her mane by a fraction of a centimetre. She spun through the air, dancing with wild abandon, moving on instinct rather than thought. The deadly aerial duel was no place for planning.
All of which made it even more surprising when a potted plant smashed over the monster’s beak. Both of them paused, confused, for a moment. Another potted plant, slightly larger, hit it in the stomach and it cried out in pain and anger.
Dash dropped from the sky, folding her wings in and shooting down like a dart. Even in the darkness she saw Big Macintosh and his red coat as he hefted another potted plant, took aim, and sent it rocketing into the sky.
‘Okay, that’s cool,’ she admitted to herself.
As potent a weapon as one might expect potted plants to be, the shock gave way soon enough for the unholy beast. The rage of a demon lord urging it to act sent it following Rainbow Dash towards the ground, trying to corner her as more makeshift ammo was fired at it way by of the Macintosh Cannon.
Darting above the ground as she leveled off, Dash led the fiend in a chase through the streets of Ponyville. For once she wished the town had tighter streets and less space; each turn had the beast easily following, few obstacles present to add any challenge. The best thing she found was leading the bird-monster into the sign for Davenport’s quill and sofa store with an unexpected teleport.
‘First time that’s ever been useful.’
The sign clattered to the ground, wood and metal ripped into ugly debris, and the chase was on once again. Dash looked back as she passed the edge of the town, smirking at it as it stretched its claw out for her. She waited until she could almost feeling them before snickering.
“Later.”
She was going as the word left her mouth, and gone in an instant.
‘FIND HER!’
Rainbow Dash flashed into existence, and promptly ran straight into Big Mac. The stallion let out a grunt of surprise, digging in by reflex with his powerful earth pony muscles. The pair slid back a few inches, Dash’s momentum expended in her unintended collision. He caught the dazed pegasus before she hit the ground, and gently helped her get back on her hooves.
“W-watch where you’re walkin’,” Dash groaned, rubbing her forehead. She flashed the bigger pony a look that was half the apology she was too proud to give, half thanks for keeping her from face planting.
“Where’s is...she?” Mac glanced around cautiously.
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “She?” She snorted when he shrugged. “Whatever, The monster-”
“Ain’t a monster,” he cut in. His expression was stony, and his tone terse. “Think that’s somepony.”
Furrowing her brow, Rainbow Dash winced when she realised what he meant, and what it sounded like she meant. Tank, his slow pace finally bringing him to her, nudged her with his head. Dash ignored him, looking up at the Macintosh with an apologetic expression. “Yeah...not a monster. Uh...sorry.”
Macintosh shook his head. “‘s fine,” he dismissed. “Gotta focus. Gotta help whoever it is. Goin’ after you.”
She caught his meaning, and nodded. “Yeah- Tank, stop it, I’m busy.” She pushed Tank away a bit. “Later, little dude, later. If it’s coming after me and Scoots, and it’s a bird…who could it be...”
Leaving her to mull that over, Mac turned to keep looking, trying to find the creature before it found them. His heart ached at the thought of somepony going through the same thing he, and Spike, had gone through. A shudder ran through him as the memories rushed back; a tide of nausea rising up-
“Ow!”
The deceptively delicate yelp, despite Dash’s harsh tones, brought Macintosh back to the world. He had to admit, he was relieved. A look towards her revealed the source. Rainbow Dash hovered a few feet above the ground, glaring at her pet.
“Tank! What was that for?” she demanded, rubbing her hoof. Her pet was glaring at her in turn, before the expression on his little scaly face melted into worry. “Is something wrong? Argh, where’s Fluttershy when you need her. Oh, right, on a stupid date with Paladin in Canterlot! Gah!”
Letting out a frustrated growl, Dash rose a few more feet into the air, throwing her forehooves up in frustration.
“Can’t I go at least a week without something going wrong? I love adventure, but come on! I can’t even work out who the stupid monster is, because the second I try to work it out Tank bites me! He literally bites me!”
Mac leaned back, glancing around nervously. Was she addressing him?
“Seriously, after a week in the bucking hospital, I thought getting to outfly, outsmart and outfight a big evil bird would be awesome, but now I just feel bad because whoever is inside that thing must be in bad shape, and I rammed her into a sign!” Dash ground her teeth. “I need to see Twilight. Mac, look after Tank, I’m gonna port over to the library.”
He nodded, silent and wishing he had a stalk of hay to chew on, as her wings began to glow. The angelic white glow died away a moment later as a shout filled the empty street.
“Dash!” Applejack came pounding down the street. “Stop right there!”
Squinting, Rainbow Dash grinned. “Huh? AJ?” She let the glow fade completely. “Hey, why aren’t you looking after Scootaloo?”
“Ah couldn’t just let ya- Dash! Behind ya!” the earth pony bellowed, legs pumping even faster.
Rainbow Dash stared at her friend, brow drawn into a confused expression for a few seconds. That look transformed, slipping from confusion to realisation and, much as she might later deny it, fear when a set of black talons wrapped around her forelegs. Unnervingly silent, the corrupted predator no longer screeched its rage and fury to the skies. Now it simply acted, a noiseless wraith tightening its grip on its prey. Dash was not so silent.
“Hey, leggo! Let the buck go!” she screamed, thrashing and kicking with all her might. Her might amounted to roughly nothing, unable to attack it, only able to squirm and flail as it held onto her.
Tank stared up at her, a helpless, hopeless look in his eyes. For a moment she looked down as she fought, the distance growing between her and the ground, between Rainbow Dash and her loyal Tank. The bite of claws digging into her sent jagged knives searing through her body as she tried to focus and teleport. Her wings flickered, unable to hold onto the power as she let out a scream.
“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack became a silver-battering ram, launching herself into the air with a great leap. Wind buffeted her, brushing across her armour like a soft sea breeze while Mac was nearly knocked from his hooves, and the dark enemy ascended out of her reach. “No! Teleport! Rainbow, teleport!”
“Gah!” answered Rainbow Dash, her pained call ringing out. She rammed her head back against her captor, her skull ringing as it bounced off steel-cable muscles sheathed in dark feathers. Blinking the stars from her vision, Dash stared up at the craned neck and the poised beak. In the distant light of the stars and the nearly-covered moon, that pointed, edged beak looked as wicked as any blade.
As her brain rattled about, scrambling for a way out, something finally clicked.
“Gilda?”
The beak, the blade, fell.
***
The animals of Equestria could, from a certain point of view, be considered unusual. Just as the seasons needed help to change, the natural animals of this world suffered a curious oddity compared to the only other stable realm. Intelligence, for one, made them simply less alien, though they could never be considered civilised rather than domesticated. These were facts none save a single spiritually confused pegasus and, perhaps, a scant few ancient beings could appreciate, that made it no less a fact of this world.
There were few things in Tank’s life that mattered all that much to him. He was, on the whole, a fairly content tortoise. He was, too, quite intelligent, if only in a simple, direct way. For all of a few seconds, his relatively formidable intelligence was focused on the pain in the eyes of his pony. Something inside him trembled with the surge of emotion.
His pony, who had been kept in the place-for-hurt-ponies, and seemed to just keep getting hurt.
His pony, who cared for him and fed him and let him play with his friends and her little orange pony.
His pony, who he loved and wanted to protect, was in pain.
Powerless was a distinctly unpleasant feeling, and an even worse thing to realise you were in. In contrast, to be uplifted, to become mighty, was something akin to the rush of euphoria only the most dangerous drugs could bring.
The possessed griffon didn’t see it coming, but then, neither did anyone else. It’s hard to predict a land bound tortoise igniting in an incandescent blast of holy magic, or a blast of such power roaring out in a pair of close-knit beams. The holy light flashed across its neck, burning away feathers and shadows in equal measure. One was much the same as the other, but whatever the nature of its cover it surely hurt, for it screamed in pain.
Rainbow Dash dropped from its claws, wings snapping out and rocketing away. She raised a hoof to her eyes as night became day in the glorious glow that burned from the ground.
“What…” she trailed off, muzzle scrunched in a look of confusion. Phantom pains made her tremble, and she lost air. With an effort of will, Rainbow Dash warped from above.
Big Mac let out a grunt of surprise when Rainbow Dash appeared in front of him. He had a hoof around her before the weary-looking pegasus could fall to the ground. Her pride, he decided as he helped her up, would be hurt less than if she smacked face-first into the dirt. He squinted against the light, glad it was dying down.
“What the hay was that?” Dash demanded, shuddering. “Ow, ow, ow. That hurt.”
He shrugged. “Applejack?”
“Weren’t me,” came the answer. Applejack trotted from behind them, brushing dirt off her armour. Her hooves threat over exposed earth and torn grass. “Whatever knocked us flyin’.”
“Knocked you...flying…” The pegasus trailed off, holding up a hoof against the light as her eyes ran down to twin tracks of dirt. One, she realised, ended at Mac and explained why he had dirt all over his flank.
Not that she was looking.
A sudden thought sent Rainbow Dash scrambling away from her support, staring into the light. “Tank! Where’s Tank?”
“Ah think he’s still in the light. Can’t see a thing, still too bright…” Gritting her teeth, Applejack wondered where Rarity could possibly be. It wasn’t like this whole affair had been in the slightest bit subtle, after all.
The light waned, at last, as Rainbow Dash galloped into it. It cut off completely when she came to an abrupt stop. Stumbling back, she rubbed her nose with a quite grumble.
“Oh come on, why do I keep getting hurt? Felt like I ran into a brick…” Her hoof lowered, and she stared blankly at the shell-pattern in front of her. “...wall…”
The ground trembled. The earth shook. Everything not nailed down bounced. Glasses of water were ominously disturbed as Tank, roughly about the size of far-too-large, turned to Rainbow Dash and looked down at her.
“Uuuuh….” was Rainbow’s rather understandable reply.
He blinked, slowly, at the pony smaller than one of his eyes.
“...Tank?”
He began to nod.
“...Tank?” she repeated, not at all reassured.
He finished nodding.
The Apples were extremely pleased there were no foals around, because Rainbow Dash’s language for the next few seconds was not at all acceptable!”
“-and you’re huge! Huuuuuuuuuge! How the- what the-...why…” Rainbow finally trailed off, staring up with her mouth hanging open.
“...guess it weren’t goin’ after Scootaloo,” Applejack offered, taking in the gargantuan tortoise. She let her armour fade as she approached “‘Cause, an’ Ah’m just guessin’ here sugarcube, the only thing Ah can think of that’d make a turtle-”
“Tortoise!”
“-turn into a giant in a big flash of white light is, well, all this angel nonsense.” Trotting up, Applejack raised a hoof to pat her stunned friend on the shoulder. A bright glow lit the town square, a burning beam from Tank’s eyes lancing down that sent Applejack jumping back. “Whoa there!”
The heat eye beams carved a line between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and a tremendous scaly tortoise foot swung with surprising speed. Dash yelped, her pet’s limb pushing her closer to it.
“Tank, what the hay? Why did you try to fry AJ?” Warping out from under Tank, Rainbow Dash hovered before him with forelegs crossed. “You don’t try to vapourise friends, even if you are awesome and giant now, got it?”
It was hard to tell if he got, if she was honest, but Rainbow Dash was certain he did. She nodded, satisfied, and turned back to her friend.
“Sorry, no idea why he did that. Guess he’s just- hey, no, bad Tank!”
Applejack and Big Mac watched as the pegasus fought her tortoise, the giant pet having claimed her tail in his massive maw as she spoke, and began to tug her down.
“...protectin’ Dash is his thing now?” Applejack guessed.
Macintosh shrugged. “Looks like.”
“Huh.”
“Eyup.”
They watched the tug of war, fascinated by the sight of a giant reptile playing tug-of-war with his relatively small owner’s tail. Each time the tortoise got a good grasp, she would teleport free, only for him to take land-shaking steps in pursuit of her, turning in place and snapping for her tail.
“Come on! Stop! Applejack, Mac, help! Tank won’t stop trying to pull me under his shell!” Dash flashed the ground-bound ponies a look of annoyance. “And, you know, Gilda will be back!”
“Gilda? Whatcha mean?” Frowning, Applejack felt a tap on her shoulder. “Mac?”
“The...’monster’. Like me, an’ Spike,” he explained, expression flat and carefully blank.
She nodded, slowly, and it made a certain amount of sense. “Ah guess that might be a good guess then. We better get lookin’ then. Tank is kinda a big target now.”
Nodding, Mac set off to one side of Tank while she took the other. They kept clear of the tremendous tortoise, occasionally bouncing when Tank dropped a particularly heavy step.
“Tank, I’m fine!” Frustrated beyond belief, Rainbow warped in front of her pet and gave his oversized face a poke right between the nostrils. “Stop trying to shove me down there, I’m safe the way I am.”
He shook his head, frowning down at her. A wall of sound hit when he let out a grunt. She didn’t need to be Fluttershy to tell that he was most certainly not a happy tortoise. Dash poked him again.
“Listen here, buster; I’m fine, and as cool as you being a giant is, you gotta stop trying to shove me into your shell or protect me under you, got it? I have to go find Gilda, and free her from that stuff.” Hovering closer, Rainbow Dash glanced about for a moment, scanning for prying eyes. She leaned in, nuzzled his thick scaly hide and gave him as much of a hug as possible. Only for a moment, though, pulling away to check again that nopony had seen.
Technically, nopony had seen.
She caught the stirring of darkness in the night, a blackness deeper than the shadows around it. With a sharp twitch of her wings Rainbow Dash shot up, orienting to face it in time for the possessed griffon to emerge. Coming out with claws flying, the twisted avian shrieked. Stealth was abandoned. Its eyes, consumed with fury, met Dash’s as it charged through the air.
‘Kill her kill her kill her kill loyalty I will not stand for it destroy the element let loyalty die I will not be mocked!’
The ranting, raving commands pushed her forward, sent Gilda screaming out without an ounce of subtlety. She screamed in her mind, wishing her own cries were as loud as those torn from the beak that wasn’t hers. Wings that burned with hateful energy beat with each moment, bringing her closer to her prey, closer to Dash, and with a mournful, angry cry TIrek’s slave fell upon her.
A gasp left Dash’s muzzle as the creature she was sure had to be her former friend closed in. Only the strangely sad screech gave her warning. Agile as the wind itself, she evaded for only a moment before vanishing, warping right above Gilda, close enough to reach out and grab her. So, naturally, she did.
“Gilda! I know its you in there!” Dash wrapped her forelegs around Gilda’s neck, holding on with all of her might. The pair took a skewed, uneven course through the sky, tumbling and twisting as the griffon sought to fly and rip its passenger free all at once. “Come on, snap out of it!”
One rear hoof found purchase among the vile, strangely oily feathers upon her old friend’s form. She gritted her teeth as she held on. Besides a brief glimpse of Tank turning towards them, Rainbow Dash couldn’t tell what was going on below.
“Come on, G, are you really so lame some ugly monkey with wings can tell you what to do?” she snarled into what she hoped was an ear. “I thought you were too cool and independent for that! Are you really gonna keep taking orders?”
Whatever her goal was, all Dash earned was being slammed into a roof that approached much too fast. An ‘oof’ of air escaped her as she bounced away from Gilda. Rolling back onto her hooves, she nearly fell back down as the roof under her hooves trembled. She glanced away to see the massive form of her pet trying to stomp towards them. She let out a sigh of relief when she realised why he wasn’t making it; he was taking care not to hit any houses. Dash was just glad she wouldn’t have to shell out for repairs.
‘Heh, ‘shell out’,’ she snickered to herself. She stopped snickering when a claw grasped the back of her head and smashed her face into the roof. It was a harsh reminder that puns, while hilarious, were best enjoyed when not engaged in battle.
Gilda shrieked above her, tightening her hold. Twitches ran through the possessed griffon’s arm, almost as though her muscles were fighting themselves. A hoof came up, snapping a kick into her beak and knocking her off. Staggering, the dark avian seemed closer to Gilda’s own form, manifesting new limbs tipped with claws at will to give the bird a gait more fitting to the ground.
“Okay, that hurt a lot! Gilda, I’m not going to hurt you….you know, aside from kicking you just then. I don’t want to hurt you.” Rainbow Dash huffed as she got up, talking past the ringing in her skull. “Beating you up won’t help. We can try it, but, you know, we’ll break things and ourselves and I’ve already been in the hospital for waaaaaaaaay too long. How about you stop doing what that stupid bat-monkey thing is telling you to do?”
The pegasus tensed, though she tried to give off a relaxed air, grinning hopefully. ‘Buck, where’s Twilight?! I can’t poof Gilda back to normal! How did Sweetie Belle fix Spike? Maybe my powers can fix this. I just need to think with ‘porting!’
She didn’t have time to think, though she did manage to ‘port out of the way as her former-friend attacked. Bursts of light lit the night, turning the fight into a dance of light and dark. Gilda, fueled and controlled by magic old, foul and violent, moved faster than Rainbow Dash could, claws out and beak going for blood. Only warping by metres kept the pegasus in the game; she could do the tiny jumps without having to focus, line-of-sighting as adrenaline pumped through her.
“Gotta be faster than that, G! You’re trying to catch Rainbow Danger Dash!” She taunted, flashing from one side of the roof to the next. Her wings ached for flight, and she sought a chance to take to the sky. She blinked, and nearly got an extra pair of nostrils.
A fiery line was drawn across her cheek, jerking her head back as Gilda’s claw passed her. Drops of blood ran down her cheek, landing on the other side of the roof where her teleport dropped her. Dash kept her eyes trained on Gilda, fighting the urge to glance to the side or up, unwilling to take her gaze away.
Dash gritted her teeth, brushing the blood away with her wing. “You’re not making this easy!”
Gilda’s answering screech came as she closed with her. From streets away, Tank issued a pair of beams that passed the two, but only Rainbow Dash flinched. She hit the ground and rolled, talons slashing through the tiles below her. Pressure struck her face, a paw made of shadowy feathers bursting from Gilda’s chest and grasped Dash.
Bells rang in Dash’s head as the back of her head was smashed into the roof. Another bell boomed each time she was pulling up and smashed back down. By the third, the paw vanished, replaced by claws grasping Rainbow Dash’s neck.
“G-Gilda…” Dash gasped, kicking and fighting, trying to get past the pain in her head for even the smallest of teleports.
She could’ve sworn, a moment before Tank’s eye-beams blew Gilda off her, that something wet fell from Gilda’s face. Sweat, surely, and yet…
‘Hang on. I know you’re in there.’ Rainbow Dash sat up, shaking her head and coughing. Rainbow Dash blinked the spots from her vision and turned her head. One moment she looked in the direction Gilda had been sent, the next she looked back. Tank, still trying to get past houses without destroying them, fired off another pair of eye-beams.
“....why didn’t I get that?” she wondered, raspy voice even more harsh than usual. Teleporting was cool, but laser eye beams! Wings beating, she rose into the sky, turning in a circle, taking in the town as she sought Gilda. “Where’d she- gotcha!”
This time the first to attack was Rainbow Dash. She pulled her punches, as it were, as she launched an offensive at the dark griffon. Shadow-feathers formed into claws, talons grasping at her as she whirled around her. The wind began to follow Rainbow Dash, pegasus magic dragging it in her wake and twisting it into a sudden whirlwind that spun Gilda around and around and around.
Blackened claws finally rent the wind, tearing at the magic sustaining it, and Gilda burst free. Trying to retreat from the immense angelic vessel’s sight was the smart thing to do, but Tirek’s rage beat what little common sense remained in Gilda’s thoroughly broken mind into bloody submission. Instead of hiding, she began to rise. Potted plants, bricks, and other loose heavy items began to fly past her as she shot up, the pair of earth ponies below firing up everything they could get their hooves on and were utterly ignored.
‘Find her kill her I want her dead dead loyalty is a lie there is only betrayal kill her betray her murder her!’
As Gilda ascended, Rainbow Dash began to fall. Hidden in the clouds above, she dove down as the griffon rose. The pegasus focused, eyes narrowed. She understood little of the practical application of pegasus magic. It just worked. It didn’t need training like Twilight trained unicorn magic. Rainbow Dash wanted, and the air obeyed. It smoothed her flight, it sped her passage, and now it gathered around her like a shell born of hurricanes. The air was pulled along in her wake, pegasus magic twisting the wind around her into a missile. Dark claws flashed out at the last moment, but they did little against the gale that guarded her as they closed, one slicing a single gash along Dash’s cheek to match the first wound in the moment before she hit.
Pegasus and possessed griffon rocketed down, slamming into the dirt. Rainbow Dash grunted and bounced, holding onto Gilda. They hit the ground again and rolled, over and over, until at last they rammed to a stop.
‘So much for not hurting her…’ Dash rolled off Gilda with a groan, sagging onto the ground tiredly. Laying there, she raised her head on one hoof to gaze at the dirt and grass before her. It was, oddly, shaking. Even she was quite aware that after having her skull rammed into tiles several times she probably wasn’t at her best, so she entertained the notion that maybe it was just her. After all, a couple of cuts on her face, bruises, tired wings, all the energy teleporting so much drained out of her…
“Arrrrrrrgh, I’m gonna be stuck in the stupid hospital forever!” she whined, letting out a tired sigh.
Grass crunched, and she forced herself to look up. An impending sense of doom permeated Rainbow Dash, even before she saw that, somehow, Gilda was standing.
“Oh come the buck on….”
The shaking got worse, and just as she began to realise that maybe it wasn’t just her, Rainbow Dash got to watch Gilda pounce. It was an interesting experience, particularly how time seemed to slow down so she could enjoy watching her impending doom with a special degree of high detail and the excessive eye for detail she had for those scant few moments.
Added up, it all meant the giant tortoise foot that intercepted Gilda mid-leap was rather something of a relief. Tank smacked Gilda away from Dash, right down the middle of the road. Before she could even begin to stand, the foot came down in a heavy stomp.
“Wooo….” Dash gave a weary cheer, forcing herself to stand up. She gestured at his foot, and it began to rise. “Good job, Tank, just let me talk-”
Slam! Tank’s foot came down with bone-jarring force. The ground around his foot grumbled, its integrity lost.
“Whoa, Tank, stop-” Rainbow Dash tried to say.
Slam!
She yelped. nearly tripping. Yet still she forged on, seeing Tank’s foot rise again.
“Dude, stop, you’re-”
Slam! Shadows exploded out from the crater he was pounding into the road, splashing out like water stomped from a puddle.
“You’re gonna hurt her!”
Slam! Slam! Slam!
Rainbow Dash screamed her pet’s name, galloping forward. His foot rose with unusual speed and fell with devastating force. He continued, heedless, stomping and crushing a single griffon. Each time his foot fell, more shadows splashed out, dissipating like steam.
“Tank, stop!” She threw herself into a single warp, crossing the space between her and Gilda in a moment. Rainbow Dash appeared on her back hooves, sinking in the fine dust the dirt had been reduced to. Forelegs raised, she held her position as his foot came down. “Stop!”
He stopped. She flinched, the sole of his scaly foot hovering a foot away from her. A moment of utter tension began, and passed, and took her breath with it as he slowly, calmly, moved it away. She couldn’t help but sag again, blowing out a dreadful sigh of relief.
“D….Da..sh….Da-a-a-sssh,” groaned a quiet, weak voice that had Rainbow Dash spinning so fast she broke her own record.
Gilda stared up at Rainbow Dash, her body free of darkness. It took a few seconds for Rainbow Dash to realise that Tank had, quite literally, beaten the evil out of Gilda. The pegasus stared back, their eyes meeting and the world freezing as they both waited.
Gilda broke first. She had never really intended to do anything else, not now.
“S-sor...ry…” She didn’t have any shame for the fact she was begining to cry. The shame of what she had done, of how she had been turned into a puppet, the shame of being nothing but fodder for something far worse, left little room for shame in something so minor. For the first time in her life, Gilda cried. “S-sorry….’m s’rry...p-please don’t...don’t hate me…”
Rainbow Dash dropped down next to her, pulling Gilda from the dust she was half-buried in and wrapping her in a tight hug. For a moment, everything from Gilda’s previous visit to Ponyville flashed through Rainbow’s mind. She promptly discarded it.
“Hey, G, why would I hate you? You’re my friend.” She nuzzled Gilda. “Friends don’t hate each other. No matter what’s happened, they’re there for each other. That’s why I’m loyalty; I don’t care about this, or last time. You’re here. and I’m here, and that’s all that matters.” Rainbow Dash forced a grin out. ”Now, come on, let’s get you to the hospital. You’re not looking your best.”
The feeble jest did nothing to stem the tears leaking from Gilda’s wretched, frightened eyes. It did nothing to hold back her sobs, or make the agony of her violation fade. But somehow, Gilda knew everything was better now, as she clung to the friend she had thought she’d lost, and cried like a hatchling. Even the weakest of jests was better than reality.
Something tugged at Rainbow Dash’s tail as she heaved Gilda out of the crater. She ignored it, until it tugged again, harder. Scowling, the pegasus glanced back, a growl in her throat that drained away when she saw the clear white aura that was wrapped around her tail. Her eyes followed the thin streams of aura that ran back, a pair of straight lines up to Tank’s vision.
“Tank?” She frowned at him, snapping her tail to shake off his weird eye-beam-aura-thing. “I’ll be right back, I’m not exactly going to lose you, you’re freaking huge!”
The aura crept up her flank, and the tugging pulled her up with a sudden jerk. Gilda slumped to the ground without support, a terrified, pained whimper escaping the griffon. The uncharacteristic sound from her normally brash and overconfident friend - and Gilda was her friend, Rainbow Dash had decided, because what happened last time mattered little compared to how much Gilda needed a friend right now - drove Rainbow Dash to fight the tractor-beam harder. She floated up in front of Tank, who let out a rumbling groan.
Her wings flared. Rainbow Dash helped Gilda up, glancing up to see the tractor beam aura fade without her to occupy it. The pounding of hooves drew her attention back to the road, where Applejack and Big Mac came galloping down.
“You don’t grab ponies without permission. Bad tortoise! Just because you’re huge now doesn’t mean you can just go around doing what you want. As soon as I’ve got Gilda to the hospital, we’re gonna...I don’t know, sit down and talk, or something mushy and stupid like that.” Turning her attention back to helping Gilda along, Dash gave the approaching earth ponies a grin. “Hey. I won.”
“Ah can see that. Here, lemme help ya. It’s alright, Ah’m just gonna help…” Applejack edged closer to the pair, offering her hoof slowly. The approach just made Gilda flinch. The wild eyed, almost feral look in the griffon’s eyes didn’t give Applejack a moment’s pause. “Ah’m not gonna hurt ya, sugarcube, Ah promise.”
Applejack had never expected meeting Gilda, the griffon she had heard so much about, to be anything less than a stern talking to, having to separate her and Rainbow Dash, or in averting some kind of petty revenge scheme. She took in the image of the ragged, traumatised griffon with a deep sigh of sadness.
Rainbow Dash shot her a grateful look, and then one to Mac when he came to help her.
“Looks like I’m gonna be stuck in that place for ages again,” Dash lamented wearily. He chuffed, shaking his head at her light, joking tone, amazed she could be glib after such a fight. “And you finally convinced them you’re not all traumatised - which, you know, you totally are, dude, we both know it - so it’ll just be me and G. Boy, you’re sure missing out!”
The ebbing of adrenaline left Rainbow Dash loopy, and with Applejack holding Gilda, and Macintosh at her own side, the pegasus didn’t realise their slow progress become a crawl. Irritation surged through her as she was pulled back into the air and held before Tank in his tractor vision.
Luminescence spread through her feathers, the glow growing to accompany her scowl. This time she only moved a few feet, still in front of him and still firmly scowling. “Now is not the time….”
Tank barely heard his pony’s words as he stared at her. He blinked in slow, resolute thought as his pony spoke at him. He had to Protect his pony. Why, the tortoise wondered when she escaped his safe and secure tractor-beam, was she doing her magical thing when he was just trying to Protect her? It was clear she was hurt, and each time she flapped her wings or took a step upon the ground, she was just wearing herself out. Dimly, he noted his pony saying that word, the word for the place-where-hurt-ponies-go. Tank didn’t want her to go there.
In fact, Tank realised, he didn’t want her to go anywhere. His pony was safest when she was with him, where he could Protect her. She couldn’t Protect herself. He had to do it. He would. He would Protect his pony.
His tractor-beams flashed out again, trying to drag her into his Protective embrace with ever more vigour and determination. Yet each time he tried, his silly little pony was using her magic wings to reappear somewhere else. His gigantic eyes glanced along her wings, noting the unsteady beat, the fraying feathers, and suddenly, it all made sense.
He was going to Protect her, even if she didn’t realise she needed his Protection. She was his pony, and he was going to Protect her. His pony had to be Protected. Protect his pony, keep her with him. She would be Protected with him. Tank knew his shell kept him safe and afforded him such vast Protection, why couldn’t he share it with her?
Rainbow Dash appeared again, a foot from where Tank had tried to hold her. The last of Fluttershy’s tricks for staying calm in the face of immense pet based frustration were fading fast as she opened her mouth to deliver what would surely be a rousing, motivating one-liner.
She knew something was wrong the instant she was there. One moment she had been in Tank’s tractor-beams, the next she was a foot away, still high above any of the houses below and even further above the ground itself. This was a good thing, because it meant when she started to fall she got to enjoy the thrill of freefall as her wings tried and failed to break free of the impenetrable cage suddenly weighing down her back.
“Aaaaah!”
Flailing as she fell, Rainbow Dash’s every effort to regain lost altitude she found thwarted. Something bound her wings tightly to her back, and wrapped around her front, like somepony had strapped a vest to her and added a few belts to make sure it didn’t come off.
“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack practically shoved Gilda to Big Mac, breaking into a gallop. She leaped, armour appearing in the blink of an eye. She wasn’t slowed in the slightest. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of Rainbow Dash, and her...shell?
Applejack missed her, flying under her as the pegasus’s fall stopped before she hit the ground. Rolling back onto her hooves, Applejack craned her neck, eyes going wide as Rainbow Dash was summoned by Tank’s tractor-beam. She blinked, wondering she if was hallucinating. The only other explanation was that Rainbow Dash had become part-turtle.
She was quite a sight, carried in Tank’s aura, a shell gracing her back. Something that looked like scales covered her front, and as Applejack watched, Rainbow Dash began to tug at the neck hole, at gaps where her legs emerged, at everywhere she could reach, all without the slightest hint of success.
“..what...the...hay…” Applejack glanced around to make sure Twilight wasn’t there. “Rainbow Dash! Why’re ya a turtle?”
“I’m not! I don’t know! I-I can’t teleport! I can’t fly!” Rainbow Dash swallowed a lump of fear inexplicably filling her throat. She kicked at Tank’s aura, fighting the welling feelings of entrapment. She repeated, her voice trembling; “I can’t fly!”
Tank pulled her closer, and she cringed as he gave her a nuzzle. Despite the sheer size difference, he was steady and gentle. The kaiju tortoise didn’t seem to notice the way his pony cringed and flinched as though he might bite. Ignoring her shouts of protest, Tank moved her up higher until he could drop her atop his shell. She stared at the huge scale, the centre of his shell and seemingly the tip of a mountain.
Somehow, she was finding the height a lot more intimidating now she couldn’t fly.
Rainbow Dash peered down, trying to see her friends. The shell hung heavy on her, and each step she took was slow and plodding. Her wings twitched and flexed within their prison, trying to break free. Her head bounced off something, and running her hoof along the edge of the scale revealed an invisible wall that ran all around her.
“Applejack?” she shouted, her voice wavering slightly. “A...AJ, I, uh, I could use some help here! ...please?”
Nothing, as far as she could tell, proceeded to happen. Rainbow Dash laid there, fighting the rising tide of fear, trying to ignore the mantra of ‘trapped trapped trapped trapped’ that echoed in her mind. To fly, and then to teleport, had been the greatest of freedoms, yet here she was; flightless, anchored, slowed...trapped.
***
“I’m here! Everypony calm down!” Twilight’s hooves kicked up a float of dust as she slowed to a halt. Only Applejack’s hoof kept her from tipping over, and she gave her friend a grateful smile as the farmer let go. “Thanks, okay...oh my…”
Trailing off, Twilight craned her head back. She wasn’t the only pony; half the town, when the banging had stopped, had slowly trailed out to stare at the giant tortoise. They were staring up at the colourful flag that was Rainbow Dash’s mane as she looked down at them.
“Real different from right next to him, ain’t it?” Applejack observed.
Twilight nodded. “I saw him on the way over - everypony can! - but...wow. The creature-”
“Gilda.”
“Yes, Gilda, she must have been after him, not Scootaloo. Fascinating…alright, explain it all to me, in depth.” Out came the parchment, ink and quill. “I couldn’t really get much out of the pony you sent to get me.”
Applejack sighed, shaking her head. “Tank got huge when Gilda was about to hurt Dash real bad, maybe even kill her, and then he just stomped the evil outta her. Ah didn’t see most of it, but Ah saw when a shell appeared on Dash. Said she couldn’t teleport, or fly, an’ Ah guess that’s why she’s trapped up there.”
“Hmm...I see...shell?” It was all copied down dutifully, every word written, albeit with slight adjustments. Twilight simply couldn’t bring herself to allow the accent to remain.
“She got a shell on her back, an’ now she’s stuck up there. Ah got Flitter to fly up, but Tank won’t let nopony close. He’s been right protective of Dash.” Slipping her hat off, Applejack stared up worriedly. “Twi’, Dash has gotten better, but if she’s trapped up there...ya know how important flyin’ is to her.”
The unicorn winced. “I know. I’m going to try teleporting her down. Tank is clearly fixated on her safety, the way Apple Bloom was obsessed with making things ‘perfect’. Sweetie Belle never became fixated, but I don’t think the angelic energy had reached the same point of development in her yet…” Trailing off at the look she was receiving, Twilight sighed. “Basically, the imperfect fusion of angelic essence is causing its vessel to be overwhelmed when it builds to a certain point. It dominants their mind, making them obsessive and compelled to act in pursuit of specific goals. For Apple Bloom, it was creating perfect things. For Tank, it looks like he’s trying to keep Rainbow Dash safe, even from herself.”
Snorting, Applejack said, “Well, much as somepony knockin’ some sense into Rainbow’s skull would be nice, this is goin’ a bit far. We need to get her down, an’ get her down fast.”
The discussion continued, the pair swapping ideas. Applejack made the first attempt at diplomacy towards Tank. He answered in a few blinks, which meant roughly nothing at all. Twilight met similar success, and her attempt after that to teleport Rainbow Dash down was just as much a failure as before.
“I just can’t do it,” Twilight explained with a sigh and sad shake of her head. “I can target her, I can complete the spell, but it just isn’t working! The spell finishes, and then it just gets negated. Tank’s essence is devoted to keeping her safe, and as far as he’s concerned, that means with him!”
“Ain’t there anything else y’all can do?” asked Applejack.
An uncertain frown formed on Twilight’s muzzle. “Well…” From her bag came the figure of Ardleon Fluttershy had knit and built. “I, I do have one theoretical spell I could use. It should drain the angelic essence out, but…”
“But? Ah’m guessin’ it ain’t so simple if ya haven’t used it yet.” Giving the knitted statuette a look of distaste, Applejack looked away quickly. ‘’S all that darn Ardleon’s fault this is happenin’…’
Twilight’s ears drooped as she nodded. “Yes. Tank’s essence is focused on protection right now, and I can’t be certain if it will get through. If I can cast it on him without him trying to stop it, I should be able to drain the essence safely. The biggest problem is that its not safe to use unless the essence is the dominating presence. I can’t use it on your sister or Sweetie Belle, because they both let out the built up energy.”
Applejack rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “But if ya can cast it on Tank now, while he’s all full’a the stuff, it should work?”
“Maaaaaaybe?” Twilight smiled uncertainly. “I think so. There’s really no way to tell unless I try it.”
“Guess we better work out how ta distract him then,” decided Applejack. She gave Twilight a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry none, sugarcube. Ah trust ya, an’ Dash does to. If anypony can pull it off, it’s Twilight Sparkle.”
Reassuring as it was meant to be, Twilight just gulped and nodded. “Okay…”
The scattered herd of ponies watching the proceedings alternated between looking at Tank and at the pair. Some scattered as Ponyville’s other primary distraction on any given day came rushing down the street, darting about as they oooh’d and aww’d. Rarity galloped after them, her voice raising.
“Sweetie, get back here this instance! Apple Bloom, come back now! Scootaloo, we have to wait for Twilight!” Her increasingly shrill commands went unheeded, all three fillies far too wow’d by the sight of the giant tortoise. “Girls!”
Looking towards the commotion, Applejack and Twilight exchanged long-suffering looks. Low level suffering did tend to follow the Crusaders around, but right now neither really wanted to deal with them right now.
“I’m sooo sorry!” Rarity came to a stop before them, panting. She levitated up a handkerchief, shuddering as she wiped at her forehead. Astride her, Spike gingerly offered his assistance. “The little- ahem...the darlings saw Tank out the window and there was nothing I could do to stop them! I grab one in my magic, and the others run off, so I drop her to get another and she runs off and it’s just chaos!”
“‘S all good, sugarcube,” Applejack assured her. “Maybe those eyes of yers can help us get Dash down. Wanna look up there and tell us whatcha see?”
“Of course…” Rarity turned her eyes on Tank, while Spike turned his to Twilight.
“Princess Celestia hasn’t replied yet,” he mumbled, a look of shame on his face as though it was his fault. “Sorry.”
Twilight pulled him to her own back, trying her best to reassure him. “It’s fine. I’m sure she has a reason. Are you okay?”
As listless as he had been since his own corruption and rampage, Spike just shrugged. Twilight’s uneasy and false smile of reassurance faded away, replaced by concern. She wanted to do something, or to say something, but nothing came to her and she had a situation to deal with right now. Afterwards, she promised herself, after this was over she would get back to helping Spike.
Scootaloo had stopped running around, pausing to listen to the ponies discussing what was going on. She stared up at Tank’s head, her own cocked to the side. Her mouth trembled for a moment, trying to work up the nerve to say something. “Uh...Tank?”
Despite the great distance between filly and head, Tank still heard. He lowered his head, smiling at the sight of the little pony. He liked the little pony. His pony liked her too. She was like a little pony of his pony, except now his pony was a little pony so she was an even littler pony.
“Um, they said you’re keeping Dash up there, because you don’t want her to get hurt…” Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck nervously. “I...I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He blinked, apparently surprised by this suggestion. The tortoise cocked his head to the side, confused and curious.
“I mean, I get that you wanna keep her safe, but won’t she hate it? She’s Rainbow Dash! I don’t think keeping her cooped up forever will help her. I know I hate it when I get grounded! I get so worked up I wanna bust free and do something crazy!” Scootaloo pushed herself onward, biting her lip for a moment. “I...I really think you should let her go.”
Tank shook his head, frowning.
“Tank, please? You’re not the only one who cares about Rainbow Dash! I’ll never get to hang out with her if you never let her go! Her friends won’t either! What about those flying lessons she promised me?” Her eyes grew wide, shimmering as she gave him her most adorable looking pout of pleading. Not intentionally, of course, because she was far too cool to use Sweetie’s favourite tactic for avoiding trouble.
Troubling thoughts buzzed around Tank’s head. He wasn’t exactly stupid, but he wasn’t quite happy with the odd fullness in his mind lately. Something about the little pony’s words were registering, making him feel…..bad? But he shouldn’t feel bad, because he was doing the right thing. He was keeping his pony safe. He was Protecting her. So long as she was Protected, his pony would be safe and happy and…
Tank’s frown grew. She would be happy, wouldn’t she? His pony just needed Protection to be happy...except maybe...maybe she didn’t…
The herd cried out, the ground trembling under their hooves with each step Tank took as he shook his head, backing away from Scootaloo. Directly behind him, the Mayor stood defiantly in front of the town hall.
“Oh no, I am not having the hall stomped flat by a giant reptile!” The Mayor declared. She glared stubbornly at him. “Rainbow Dash, control your pet!”
Generally speaking, this seemed unlikely even to her, but the Mayor was nothing if not stubborn.
Scootaloo gazed up at him, not noticing the number of eyes on her. Rarity held out a hoof to hold back Applejack, the farm mare starting towards Scootaloo.
“Wait a moment, darling. I think she may be getting through to him. She has been looking after him, perhaps he’s taken a shine to her, enough to listen,” Rarity suggested.
“Tank. Please. Rainbow Dash is important to both of us. Please let her go…” Scootaloo continued, her lower lip trembling. “She’s awesome, but Rainbow Dash won’t be awesome if you don’t let her be awesome!”
They were such simple words, really. There was nothing special about them. They were just what a filly, a child, was saying. Few would give them much consideration, yet they held greater sway over the kaiju tortoise than all save Rainbow Dash’s. Even her words and wants were blunted by the surge of overprotectiveness that swamped Tank at the thought of her.
Perhaps it was that she had been looking after him, but Tank heard what Scootaloo was saying. More, as he looked down, Tank recognised the same look Scootaloo got when she was sad. He had always been too small when his pony’s favourite pony got sad to help. He could only offer her nuzzles. Now, though, now he was the one doing it. What would his pony think?
Like dominoes falling one after another, a chain reaction ran through Tank’s mind. Half a dozen epiphanies and realisations snapped into being. The surging warmth within him wanted to just Protect his pony without regard for anything else, even herself, except now it struck him what exactly that meant. It wasn’t just his pony he was making said. It was the little pony too, and as he swung his head around, Tank saw the other ponies. He saw owl’s pony, looking worried and nervous, and doggy’s pony just the same. Evil-cat’s pony was looking past him, right up to where his pony was sitting safely. She looked sad, and concerned, and...and it was his fault.
Tank reeled. The Mayor didn’t budge an inch, her glare fixed firmly on the approaching bulk. She did gulp, but she didn’t budge. There were some things a mayor just couldn’t accept. Her precious town hall being crushed by an overgrown tortoise was among them.
Rainbow Dash yelped, scrambling to hold onto Tank as he staggered, his shell tipping dangerously.
“I don’t want to get off like this! I want to fly!” she complained, slipping towards the edge of the shell-scale and, she feared, soon after that the edge itself. ‘I wanna fly!’
Tank heard. He heard his pony crying out as she bounced around his back. She was afraid, because of him. It was his fault she was afraid and probably hurt and all he wanted to do was Protect her but, was he really doing it?
The magic of Twilight’s spell turned her horn into an incandescent torch that lit the night, as seemed increasingly common lately. The glow carried down into her eyes, which became solid pools of light and energy. What little she had put into practice from her lessons on Angelic magic filled her mind, layered into more mundane mortal spellcasting. The idol floated before her, the almost mockingly soft statuette captured within her aura.
“Here goes…” she panted. “Nothing!”
Her spell unleashed, a beam of magic streaming from her horn with the force of a river suddenly undammed. It lanced into Tank like a needle, so vast for any mortal mage’s magic yet so tiny compared to his bulk. Tank’s eyes widened, bolts of white and magenta magic bouncing across him. His mind split in two. No, his mind was restored! The split faded, for there was no true split. The mindlessness of his protectiveness faded, the clinging, feeble remnants of an ancient warrior’s drive to protect pulled from the niche it had dug within him. Though it removed nothing physical, Tank experienced a great yanking sensation, something pulled from deep within him.
The energies pulsing across Tank gathered, growing as he shrunk. The shocking bang tore through the town. The energy of the spell fired back the direction it had come, dragging with it the gathered Angelic essence, hurtling towards Twilight and the angelic woolen figure she now held aloft.
‘Yes!’ Scorpan howled triumphantly to himself, his voice echoing only in the shadows in which he dwelled. Hidden in the night, his claws reached up to catch the essence before it reached her. Nopony heard the screams of agony that were swallowed by his dark magic. Only one pony caught a glimpse of the smoking, broken claws retreating into a shadow, but it had been at the edge of her vision and Derpy was used to seeing odd things, so she didn’t pause to give it much thought. She was far too busy oohing and ahhing at the display of magical might.
The light vanished. Without so much as a fanfare, the idol of wool caught the Angelic essence. Twilight’s magic saturated it, and though it trembled and nearly escaped her grasp, the idol held. Seconds passed, the glow fading, until the full force of the night returned, leaving Twilight only a woolen figure, a normal sized tortoise, and Rainbow Dash wearing a tortoise shell.
The pegasus stared down at Tank. He sat between her hooves, looking up at her apologetically. She just stared at him, not moving, her only thought a moment’s gratitude that she hadn’t been simply dropped, that she had been able to cling on as he gradually shrunk. Only when the pounding of hooves approached her did Rainbow Dash look up. She nearly fell over when an orange and purple torpedo hit her, but she managed to stay up. She even managed to return Scootaloo’s hug.
“Rainbow Dash! Are you alright?” Twilight asked, stopping in front of her, panting more than a short walk should require.
Rainbow Dash ignored her. She glanced at Applejack. “...did….did you get her to the hospital?”
Starting in surprise, Applejack gave a nod after a moment of hesitation. “Gilda? Sure did, sugarcube. Mac took her, she’ll be right as rain in no time.”
A smile graced Dash’s muzzle. “Oh, cool. Your brother is awesome...thanks…”
That was enough, she decided, and Rainbow Dash sank into darkness, closing her eyes with a sigh of relief.
***