Rainbow is hurt. But what happens when the only way to help her is in another world?
The girls defeat yet another victim of Equestrian magic, but Rainbow is injured as a result. She not only loses her memory, she is just not herself. The only way to save her is magic - a magic on the other side of the portal. How are the girls going to keep that a secret? How are they going to get Dash through the portal? Can magic really fix your friends?
"Applejack!!" Rarity cried, throwing herself in front of her. Her necklace glowed as a shield of diamonds blocked the blast.
Rarity checked on her friend. "Are you okay, darling?"
"Never better. Thanks, Rarity." Applejack replied with a smile.
"Oh, don't mention it, darling. After all, we're all in this together!!" Rarity said, hugging her friend as the glow of the gem around her neck died down.
Applejack screamed as a blast of boiling lava came hurtling toward them. "Rarity!! Look out!!" Before either of them could do anything, a blur of rainbows shot towards them, grabbing them and pulling them to safety.
"You guys okay?" Rainbow Dash asked when they were out of harm's way.
"I th-think so," Applejack stammered, trying to catch her breath.
"Yes, darling, I believe we are unharmed. But are you okay?" Rarity asked, looking over Rainbow in concern.
"Have you met me? I'm awesome!!" Rainbow Dash said with a sly smile.
"That's good, sugarcube," Applejack said, with a smile of her own. Rainbow, however, barely heard her as she became a blur once again, barely saving Sunset Shimmer.
All around, the girls were trying to get close enough to the figure hovering far over their heads, shooting fireballs at them with every breath she takes. Without being able to fly, however, most of them can't get close enough to her. Fluttershy gets nervous at every blast, and nearly falls to her demise. Twilight tries, but had a previous broken arm, so she couldn't do much even if she did get to her. And Rainbow could get to her safely, if her natural loyalty hadn't kept her from it for the sake of her friends. So there they were, trying to break through to the girl without getting hurt from her fiery blasts.
The figure, formerly known as Citrus Crystal, was dressed in a moving gown of lava, with char-black skin. Her now-flaming hair was up in pigtails, which dripped lava on the ground below. The wings that had sprouted from her back were glowing red, and were strong and large enough to keep her well above the ground for a good amount of time. But her eyes made her truly scary, with endless black depths surrounding demon-red pupils. The magic in her bracelet on her left wrist allowed her to destroy what she didn't like with blasts of lava, so she could rebuild it as her empire.
"Crys! Stop! This isn't what you want!" Fluttershy called in the loudest voice the others had ever heard her use. The kind-hearted girl had known Citrus, as did Sunset. They were good friends, so she hoped she could break through to her.
"Isn't what I want?!" the girl laughed. "This is exactly what I want. This city will be my empire, and I will be the queen I want to be - the one I deserve to be!!"
With that, she aimed her next shot at Fluttershy. By the time she saw it coming, it was inches from her face, and she didn't have time to scream.
"FLUTTERSHY!!" the pink-haired girl heard a split second before the blaze slammed into her. She rolled across the ground as her body was encased in flames. She steeled herself for the pain, and then she felt.....
Nothing. No pain, even as she saw fire light up where she lay. Where she should have been laying, that is. It seemed she was roughly three feet away from where the blast was aimed, almost as if...someone....
"Oh, no!!" Fluttershy cried as she realized that someone had pushed her out of the way. She bent over the flames without touching them, trying to see who it was. Was it a creature? An enemy? Or a....a friend? Trying to see the figure's face, she watched as they were surrounded by Twilight's purple aura, lifting them out of the main part of the flames. Their clothes were still smoking, but all 7 - 6? of them were able to see her, clear as day.
"RAINBOW!!" they cried in a collective gasp. Aside from her smoking clothes, her skin was covered in burns, and her face was uncharacteristically still. Her pony ears had burnt edges, her extra-lengthened hair had tips coated in flames, and her wings...her wings...
Every feather was in the wrong spot or fallen out, with only a few in place, barely enough to still qualify as a wing at all. The structures were burnt and broken, as were most of the feathers. It seemed like they had gone from different shades of cyan blue to burnt black with gray highlights. If her hair hadn't stayed so colorful, they might not recognize her as Rainbow at all. She didn't stir, but lied stiller than when she slept.
"What should we do?" Applejack asked in a quivering voice. "We can't stop fighting, but if we leave her here, she'll be killed for sure. Besides, not one of us can get all the way up there anyhow. How's this gonna work?"
The weight of her words hung in the air. What do they do? Sunset and Twilight tried to come up with a plan, but they just couldn't. Nothing came to mind.
"I'll stay with her." Rarity said. "My gems can make a wall and will offer better protection than any of your powers could provide. She'll be safe with me."
"If you're sure, Rares." Sunset said. After a confident nod from Rarity, Twi used her magic to lower Dash to the ground near the edge of the battlefield. Rarity pulled up a forcefield of diamonds.
Though she knew it was the right thing to do, Rarity couldn't help but feel pity at the sight before her. The strong, confident, loyal girl she had known for what felt like forever was totally different. Weak, unstable, dependent. And she wasn't even awake yet. What would she do if she saw herself like this?
"Oh Rainbow," Rarity murmured. "Please wake up. Be alright. Please be alright." She started to weep a bit. This was her friend, of course. It pained her to see her like this.
The moment was broken by a sudden shudder of the dome. Still cradling the injured girl, Rarity looked outside. She gently laid Dash on the grass to get a better look. She then braced herself for impact when a streak if red came again. So that was what caused the forcefield to shake. As she pondered this, another blast came. It hit the diamonds and caused a small crack in the gems. Rarity could feel the pressure exerted upon the dome. She was beginning to feel strained; if the blasts kept coming, she wouldn't last much longer.
As much as she tried not to, Rarity glance wavered to Rainbow. That was what worried her the most. If the forcefield fell, she was vulnerable. If the forcefield fell, she could die.
And while the girl was on her mind, she took notice Dash's appearance. She looked better, at least a small amount. Her face had gained a bit of color, and she wasn't as still; she almost appeared to be sleeping.
Rarity offered a small smile. This girl would recover. She would come out stronger. She would come out a hero. Things would get better.
I hope.
The gems cracked again, and Rarity struggled to keep pushing. She had to do this. For the girls. For Rainbow.
She could only hope that the dome would hold out, and it, and she, wouldn't crack.
After leaving Rarity and Rainbow in the crystal dome, the others turned and headed back to the figure. She had decided to tend to destroying the city and terrorizing citizens rather than attack them some more. But when she heard running, she whipped her head around to see her enemies.
"You!!" she yelled, venom dripping from her every word. "Why did you come back?! You're not welcome here!!"
Applejack stepped up. "No, yer the one who ain't welcome, Citrus!! Come down and we can end this all friendly-like, ya hear? C'mon, come down now, hon."
"Alright then. If you want to settle this now, fine." She smiled maliciously. "If the fastest of you was that easy to take out, how hard could the rest of you be?" With that, she summoned a glowing ball of magic and aimed her hands at the farm girl's face.
"No!!" Fluttershy cried. At her plea, a small flock of birds flew to Citrus and starting pecking her face. When she fired, AJ was prepared for it, and was able to dodge the attack.
"Whew. Thanks fer that, sugarcube." Applejack said gratefully. "That could've been ugly."
Fluttershy smiled and said, "You have Tether and his family to thank, not me." She gestured towards the crow sitting on her shoulder. There were more crows sitting on the trees behind them. Each one had helped save the honest girl.
As blasts of fire showered all over the grounds, the girls began using their own magic to attempt to stop Citrus. Applejack used her super strength to hurtle things at Crystal, trying to hit her or, at the very least, distract her. Twilight also threw things with her telekinetic powers. Fluttershy and her animals stayed on the defensive end, delaying attacks and throwing off aim. Pinkie chucked sprinkle bombs at Citrus, trying to knock her down. And Sunset... well... she just tried to keep her and her friends safe, as her power was quite hard to use against a villain like this.
"Well," Crystal huffed. "If THAT'S how you want to play, then it's time I finished what I started!!" She redirected her shots towards the crystal dome. Remembering when Rarity's forcefield protected them from the thorns at Camp Everfree, the girls knew the fashionista couldn't hold up her jewels forever. They had to stop Citrus before Rarity and Dash got hurt.
The friends saw Rarity near the face of the dome, pressed up against it, her face twisted in pain. She was obviously pushing herself to her very limit just to save Dash. The girls knew that if they didn't stop Crystal, and soon, it wouldn't be pretty for either friend.
Fluttershy, in a rare show of bravery, unfurled her wings and took to the skies, more silent than a butterfly. She crept up behind the villain as she fired yet another blast upon the shield. Though her friends may have missed it, Fluttershy, from her vantage point in the sky, could see a crack spider across the dome. If those crystals were already cracking, they had to stop her NOW.
The shy girl waited until after the blast, and struck. She slammed herself into Citrus's back, sending them both spiraling down to the ground below, faster than the speed of light.
The ground spiraled in a kaleidoscope of color as a certain animal lover headed for her doom.
Her friends definitely weren't willing to let another be injured. But how would they stop her? Twilight tried to use her telekinesis, but she may as well have been trying to stop Rainbow from running; the speed was too much, and the purple magic broke.
Fluttershy hit the ground softer than expected. She looked up to see Sunset's face and found her head in Sunset's lap. The mind - reading girl must've swooped in to save her at the last minute, leaving both girls with nothing more than a couple of bruises.
Citrus, however, was struggling to even get on her knees. Her face was scarred, and her arms and legs were bleeding lava. Sunset helped Fluttershy up and walked over to Crystal. She set her hand on her shoulder as her mind was sucked into another's.
Through a whirl of memories, Sunset found the ones she needed. The magical girl watched as Citrus Crystal and her best friend, Hornette, walked down the halls of school at the end of the day. They were about to head out the door, having already stopped at their lockers.
As they were laughing along, Feather Clay, another girl at school, walked near them. Stealthily, she crept behind them and listened in.
"If I could have my way, the walls would be painted in glitter, and lockers would be unlocked through fingerprint and hold anything." Crystal said rapidly, as Hornette shook her head. Within that very instant, Feather popped up between them.
"Uh, hi, Feather Clay." Citrus said awkwardly, pushing her green glasses up her nose.
"Hey Clay, how you been?" Hornette said with a grin as the two chest-bumped.
"Meh, just prepping for the BB game on Saturday. You gonna shoot some hoops?" Feather responded.
"No duh. Gonna be nothing but net!! And you ready to wiggle?"
"To wiggle all day!!"
As the two friends continued their talk about their upcoming basketball game, Crystal followed along awkwardly beside them. The three were almost out of the empty hall and outside when Feather and Hornette jumped up for another chest-bump, and Clay knocked into Citrus. The impact caused her to slam against some lockers, and sink to the ground clutching her arm. Her bag was sent across the hall. Feather walked over and picked up the backpack when a slip of paper fell out. The girl bent down and picked it up, then unfolded it.
On the page was a listing of everything Citrus disliked about the school and even the city, and a drawing of what she thought it should be like. Feather looked it over and laughed.
"Really? You think that this is what the world should be like? It's ridiculous!!" she exclaimed.
"Give it back." Crystal muttered firmly.
"Okay." Clay walked over, then dropped the paper in a nearby wastebucket. Before Citrus could retrieve the page, Feather pulled out a bottle of water, uncapped it, and poured it into the trashcan. Crystal watched through tears as the bully and her best friend walked away. She grabbed her bag and bolted into the forest. She sat on the ground and wept over the destruction of her design. She didn't even remember what it looked like.
Suddenly, the sun hit something shiny, and the gleam caught Crystal's eye. She dug into the ground a bit and found a shiny, red pearl bracelet wrapped in parchment. Unrolling the paper and slipping the bracelet onto her wrist, the girl read that the bracelet contained powerful fiery magic. If she pictured something nearby as ash, the bracelet would fire. Citrus tried it. She aimed at a bush, and it exploded into flames. The girl practiced all the time, not coming home and skipping school, and little by little, the bracelet gained more control over her mind. Soon, she was ready to unleash it on the school, the city, the citizens.
As she was about to set fire to the school, she hesitated. Why am I doing this? This isn't right. she thought to herself. At that moment, the bracelet shot something stronger than anything she had ever felt before through her veins. "Power." she whispered. The piece of jewelry sent a swirl of ruby red magic swirled up her arm. The magic then transformed her into a fiery beast. Her lemon complexion darkened to burnt black. Her lime green hair turned to red-hot flames, which pulled themselves into pigtails. Her glasses fell away as her salmon-pink eyes changed shades to blood red and the white surroundings became dark as night. Her school outfit turned to a dress of lava. Large, powerful red wings sprouted from her back, allowing her to take flight high in the sky.
With an evil grin, Crystal flung a fistful of fire at the school. People screamed as they ran away from the burning building.
"Now," Citrus muttered with a sinister smile, "To ruin this world and make another."
Sunset opened her eyes and looked sadly at the injured girl. None of this would have happened if the magic hadn't found Crystal just as she was sad and angry. The psychic girl pulled the bracelet off the other's wrist and slipped it into her bag. The magic swirled off Citrus as she was reverted back to her normal form. She was a bit cut and bruised, but otherwise unharmed.
It would seem the girls had won, yet again. But...
After the girl was finally defeated, the friends split up. Sunset went over to her bag and got out her journal, asking Princess Twilight what they should do with the bracelet. Twilight and Pinkie Pie stayed by Citrus Crystal to make sure she was alright. Fluttershy and Applejack immediately ran over to the crystal dome to check on Rainbow and Rarity, with Sunset quickly following.
"It's over!! Let it down, Rarity!!" Fluttershy yelled towards the diamonds. When no response came from inside, she and Applejack shared a concerned look. When Sunset saw the fragile state of the dome, she had an idea.
"Applejack, do you think your super strength is enough to break the crystals?" Sunset asked. "They're obviously damaged, and Rarity doesn't seem to be holding them up anymore." After hearing this, Applejack nodded.
The country girl backed up, then took a running start. When she reached the dome, she smashed the gems using her shoulder. They crumbled under her pressure, and vanished quickly after. Inside the dome was quite a sight.
Near the back of the preexisting dome, Rainbow Dash lay as idle as ever. Closer to the front but mere feet from Dash lay Rarity, collapsed upon the ground.
Applejack was instantly at Rarity's side, kneeling by her as she struggled to sit up. Fluttershy rushed to Rainbow, sitting with the girl's head in her lap. Sunset glanced around. She saw Rarity leaning on Applejack to her right, and saw Fluttershy laying with Dash to her left. She started walking towards Rainbow and Fluttershy when she felt the bag on her back vibrate.
Sunset, I don't want you to have to worry about coming to Equestria. I'm coming to retrieve the bracelet myself, and I'll be there within an hour. Wait near the portal. Let me know if there's any issues with this plan.
Sounds good Twilight. Me and our friends won't leave the school. By the way, do you have any medical knowledge?
Of course I do. I have knowledge about everything!! Why, is something the matter?
Well, there's a bit of a medical issue I thought you might be able to help with while you're here.
I'm on my way now.
Sunset let out a breath of air. Rarity seemed to be at almost full strength, and Applejack was helping her over to where Dash lay.
From behind Sunset there was a flash of light, which disappeared almost instantly. Twilight stood up and shakily walked over to Sunset. Sunset grabbed the pony girl in a tight hug, which the now-human girl returned.
"So, what can I help with?" Twilight asked, concern coating her voice.
"It's Rainbow. She-" Sunset's voice broke as involuntary tears began to roll down her cheeks. Hearing the sobs of Fluttershy, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie from further away, Pony-Twi shoved past Sunset, passing a crying Rarity, and, surprisingly, a crying Applejack too.
The sight sent a shock of horror through her bones. Though Rainbow's clothes had stopped smoking, they were still burnt and torn. She still was very pale, and her wings were still mere skeletons of their former selves. It broke Pony-Twilight's heart to see her friend like this.
Getting to her knees beside the girl, Pony-Twi began checking up on her. As she began to, however, something happened. Something that scared them all, and made their hearts nearly explode from the overflow of emotions.
"Uh, what happened?" I asked. It was all a blur since....I don't know when. Why couldn't I remember anything? I glanced around the area I could see from my current location upon the ground. I saw a teenage girl with a head of pink hair against a face of yellow directly above me, and another one with purple skin and hair by my side. Definitely too close to me. Stranger danger. This was concerning.
I mentally prepared myself to deal with these...kidnappers?? Not sure what they were, but it looked like they had freakishy long hair and - were those horse ears? What the actual heck. As I thought this, my ears picked up noise nearby. It took me a minute to realize one of them was speaking to me.
"Dashie, are you okay?" the yellow girl asked. "I was so worried." Her teal eyes were moist with salty tears. I got the sense she knew me, but even if she did, I didn't know her. I wasn't about to trust her, but I was in no position to do anything. I decided to play it cool....ish? More like put on the confused act, really.
"Who...are you?" I asked, my voice wavering despite my best efforts. At that, the girl's eyes released the tears they had been holding, and she spoke to me again, in a voice so soft I barely heard it.
"W-What? D-Dashie, i-it's me. F-Fluttersh-shy. Y-Your best f-friend." Hearing that made me REALLY confused. I didn't know this girl, but she was my best friend? She had stuttered, so maybe she was lying. That was pretty likely.
"Uh...don't think so. Sorry." I said. It was a little rude, but it blew her off. As she started to cry harder, I went to sit up. Seemingly out of nowhere, a girl with a yellow-orange complexion and locks of red and yellow hair knelt beside me. She lightly pushed me, setting me back to the ground. Her fiery hair settled on her shoulders, and her pale blue eyes seemed to scan me. I wasn't sure I liked what she was doing, but there was something about her presence that was...strange.
"Rainbow, are you okay? That's Fluttershy, your best friend since forever. Why don't you..." She glanced over to the purple girl. "You don't think..."
The purple girl looked down as she sighed. "It's looking that way, Sunset." She said in a defeated voice.
As this conversation took place, other girls came over and sat beside me. Way too many, too overwhelming. It started to scare me. I couldn't move, couldn't get anywhere. I was stuck with strangers, they were gonna hurt me, they were gonna kill me. Have to get out, get away, escape.
My lungs started working overtime as I sucked it air as soon as I let it out. Scared, terrified, I curled into a ball. Breathing was getting harder, too much physical pressure, too much mental pressure. The pressure was too much. Why were the strangers so close?
You're always told if you're scared to take deep breaths. If you don't, you could hyperventilate and pass out. I always thought that was a bunch of bologna, that it never actually happened.
As my head hit the ground, I realized sometimes impossible-sounding stuff really is true.
