The ponies all turned their heads towards the door as soon as they heard it open. They were all eager to find out just what Indominus had been up to. However, the second they saw the poor state the hybrid dinosaur was in, their eagerness dropped away. Everypony rushed over to Indominus once they saw all the marks and slashes on his body. Rainbow was truly worried seeing Indominus in such a hurt and defeated state. Judging by how T-Rex and the raptors were holding him up, Indominus had gone through some kind of rough ordeal.
"Indominus, what happened to you," asked Scootaloo as she nuzzled her surrogate dad in comfort.
"What in the wide world of Equestria did this to you darling?"
"I, I don't want to talk about it." The hurt and exhausted tone in the hybrid's voice told everypony that something terrible had gone down.
"It's alright brother, you just go get some rest. Rainbow, can you help Indominus up to the bedroom?"
"Of course T-Rex."
Rainbow increased her size slightly and put one of Indominus's arms over her shoulder to help him up the staircase. T-Rex waited until he heard the bedroom door close, and then told everypony what had happened.
"Tyrannosaurus, you have to tell us what's going on. Rainbow Dash is losing her spirit because of Soarin, and now Indominus looks like he just fought an army."
"Alright Twilight, but in order for it to make sense, we'll have to tell you everything that we've seen."
So Tyrannosaurus and the raptors told everypony about how they had followed Rainbow to the Wonderbolts compound. They had seen everything that Soarin had done to Rainbow Dash, and how it triggered some kind of hidden rage within Indominus. They admitted that they had encouraged Indominus to take his vengeance out on the Wonderbolts, and how he had used his camouflage to attack them.
"So Indominus was the one attacking the Wonderbolts that taunted Rainbow," asked Twilight.
"I'm afraid so," Blue answered. "He couldn't stand the thought of standing there and just letting his girl get hurt."
"Yet despite all the pain he inflicted on them, they still kept calling her that filthy nickname," said Delta.
"So Indominus had one final idea for taking his vengeance, he followed the Wonderbolts into their compound," said Echo.
"WHAT!?"
"Ya mean he actually went inside the compound where he could attack them all at once," Applejack said horrified.
"Didn't ya guys try to stop him?"
"It's not that simple Applebloom," said Charlie. "When we tried to stop him, he bellowed a threatening message into our heads."
The dinosaurs all relayed the exact same Indominus had bellowed at them. Everypony could feel the terrible rage in Indominus's voice within their heads. Scootaloo was especially afraid of the rage, it scared her to hear such anger in her dad's voice.
"I'M DOING THIS, AND ANYONE THAT TRIES TO STOP ME WILL BE SORRY!! I'M GOING TO MAKE IT SO THEY'LL NEVER HURT RAINBOW AGAIN!!"
When the message was over, nopony had an immediate response. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were frozen over in fear, they had never felt such rage before. The CMC were shaking in fright and went to the dinosaurs for comfort.
"That, was awful," said Rarity. "He had been hurt that much, and to have such rage in his heart."
"We were scared for him after he warned us. After that we had no choice but to let Indominus take his vengeance. We didn't hear from him after that, until a while ago."
The ponies all had shrunken eyes at what Tyrannosaurus was implying.
"You...you don't mean-"
"Yes we do Twilight," said Blue. "Those explosions in the Everfree Forest and the deadly roars, they were all caused by Indominus."
Twilight and the others were deeply worried as the dinosaurs continued. They told their friends everything that Indominus had done, even how the Immortal Phoenix was being brought out through his rage. Even how he had thought they were the Wonderbolts and had almost killed them if Smaug hadn't shown up. None of the Mane Six could believe how savagely Indominus had been attacking, and it explained some of the wounds on his body. When T-Rex told them how the Immortal Phoenix would kill Indominus if he lost too much control, that was it.
Twilight and her friends were at a total loss for words. Indominus's anger had been slowly killing him through his own power, and the Wonderbolts were responsible for all of it. Their bullying and taunting of Rainbow Dash had triggered a deep rage that Indominus had kept buried for so many years. Now that rage was taking over his mind, bringing out the Immortal Phoenix, and making him go on savage rampages.
"My friends, this is way over our heads," said Twilight. "Whatever happened to Indominus in the past has been brought to the surface of his mind. T-Rex, exactly what happened to Indominus in your old world?"
"I believe I can answer that Twilight," said Scootaloo. "When Princess Luna showed me their old life, I saw that Indominus had been kept in isolation for most of his life. Apparently he had been living that way for the last twenty years."
"Twenty years of isolation? He was at the mercy of others and left like that for that long?"
"It's true Twilight," Scootaloo said sadly.
"Oh this is much worse than I thought. We're dealing with an unstable hybrid dinosaur, who has been in isolation and dominated by others for twenty long years. He is experiencing true emotional pain for the first time in his life, and he sees only one way to end it."
Everypony gasped in horror as Twilight gave her answer.
"Indominus will not stop until he has killed all of the Wonderbolts."
"But Twilight, are you sure that he'll really kill all of them," said Fluttershy. "When I met him, Indominus told me he had been changed by Scootaloo's love."
"He might've been changed Fluttershy, but that doesn't mean he had gotten rid of his anger. He must've kept it buried after spending so much time with us. Besides, he was disillusioned and saw his own family as the Wonderbolts and almost killed them. If his anger could affect his mind that much, there's no telling what it could do to him. Indominus has the power to carry out his vengeance and there is almost nothing in all of Equestria that can stop him."
"Almost? What do ya mean by 'almost' Twilight?"
"I'm saying Applejack, that the only one that might be able to stop Indominus, is comforting him in the bedroom. Rainbow knows Indominus better than any of us, and she knows how to fight him as well. Unfortunately, there is a massive conflict involved in this: Rainbow loves Indominus but she also respects the Wonderbolts. There is going to be a battle on the horizon, and the outcome will be determined by Rainbow's choice. When everything is settled, there will be one of two outcomes. Either the Wonderbolts will die by Indominus's claws, or he will die trying to kill them."
The others were silent as they let everything that Twilight had said sink in. This was a more tense situation than dealing with Scootaloo's parents and Black Death. So many lives now hung in the balance, including the life of a Guardian. Indominus was going yo have a confrontation with the Wonderbolts, but the outcome of that fight would ultimately be determined by Rainbow Dash's decision. She would have to choose between the ponies she looked up to, or the dinosaur she loved.
While the dinosaurs and the rest of the Mane Six discussed how to keep an eye on Indominus, Rainbow was comforting him in their bedroom. She had never seen her husband so hurt before, and his wounds were taking longer to heal despite his power. As she ran her hooves across her husband's face to sooth him, Rainbow felt she had to talk to him.
"Indominus, what happened to cause all this damage to you?" The hybrid struggled to find the right words without giving away his real reason.
"Something terrible that cause my anger to take over. It almost made me kill my brother and sisters." This shocked Rainbow completely.
"But what happened to trigger such anger in you?"
"I can't say right now."
"Not even to me?"
"I'm sorry Rainbow, it's a personal matter." Rainbow laid her hoof down on Indominus's hand to show that she understood.
"I understand Indominus, believe it or not, dealing with the Wonderbolts today brought up a personal matter from my past." Indominus knew that he was close to finding out the truth. He needed to know more about what had upset Rainbow so much, and then decide if his anger towards the Wonderbolts was justified. He slowly sat up and held Rainbow's hoof in his claws.
"Alright Rainbow, I'll tell you what brought up all that anger, but you have to tell me your past first."
"Promise you won't tell anypony about this?"
"Just like on our honeymoon, whatever happens between us doesn't leave this room. I won't tell anypony about this."
Rainbow climbed onto the bed and Indominus moved over so she could say beside him. She had never confided in anypony before about her past, but after all the Indominus had done for her, she felt she could trust him. So with Indominus holding her hoof, Rainbow began telling him about her past.
"I wasn't always the best flyer in Equestria, Indominus. Back when I was a filly, I had trouble flying straight and often couldn't control where I ended up. But that didn't stop me, I was going to be the best flyer one day. So when I joined flight school, I was determined to make a big impression and show everypony what I could do. Unfortunately, my wings wouldn't cooperate with me on my first day and I wound up crashing into a garbage can."
Indominus could see that tears were starting to form in Rainbow's eyes as she continued.
"Once I crashed, everypony started laughing at me, including the instructor. Then this light brown colt started calling me 'Rainbow Crash' and the next thing I knew, everypony was chanting the nickname and taunting me. They were all making fun of me and didn't care that I was hurt!"
Once Indominus heard those words, he knew that Smaug had been right. Rainbow's past was identical to his, she had gone through taunting since she was a filly, while Indominus had been taunted his whole life. The hybrid dinosaur held his girl as the tears overwhelmed her.
"I can't believe they did that to you Rainbow. I'm so sorry, you didn't deserve any of that."
"Yeah, and now the Wonderbolts are calling me that same nickname, all because Soarin pushed me into a garbage can! Yet none of them would believe me, they think I did that to myself."
Indominus just held Rainbow close while she let her tears out. He didn't say a single word, he just let Rainbow vent out her sorrow to him and gave her the comfort she had desperately needed. When she was finished, Indominus gently stroked her mane and Rainbow looked into his eyes.
"Incredible, despite how hurt you look, you still manage to comfort me and make me feel worthwhile, Indominus."
"I'll take all the pain in the world, if it means I can see you smile, my Dashie." Rainbow felt herself blushing from hearing Indominus's beautiful and touching reply. "I assume those bullies are still around?"
"Indeed they are, they attended the Young Flyer's Competition a few years ago. I won the contest and even though they tried to sound like they cared, I knew deep down that they were still calling me that nickname."
"Did these stubborn rats have names?"
"Oh how could I forget them. Hoops, Dumb-Bell and Score, the bullies that taunted me as a filly and still do to this day."
Before Indominus could answer, he heard the bedroom door open up. Scootaloo, T-Rex and the raptors came into the bedroom, looking a little concerned for their brother.
"How are you doing brother," asked Tyrannosaurus.
"You look a lot more at peace Indominus," said Scootaloo.
"I am guys, having Rainbow by my side has helped me a lot. I hope that the others aren't too worried."
"You can see for yourself, Indominus," said Blue. The raptors parted to reveal the rest pf the Mane Six and CMC standing behind them.
"Are you doing ok Indominus," asked Pinkie Pie.
"We were really worried once we saw how ya looked," said Applebloom.
"I'm doing a lot better girls, and your timing is perfect. I feel that all of you need to hear this, I was about to tell Rainbow Dash about my past."
This surprised everypony, they didn't think Indominus was ok enough to talk about something so personal. Scootaloo may have seen part of the life Indominus had been living before, but now she was going to hear the absolute truth about what the hybrid dinosaur had gone through. Everypony gathered around the bed while T-Rex and Scootaloo joined their family.
"My past was far more cruel than any creature should ever receive. I was born in a confined space in some kind of lab with only one other of my kind. We grew up being at the mercy of the creatures that had brought us into this world. They prodded our bodies with needles and subjected us to grueling experiments. The more they experimented on me, the more my rage for those wretched creatures grew."
The ponies were getting more nervous as Indominus continued, they felt sorry for the pain he had gone through since birth.
"Over the years, my rage as well as my body grew. Once I reached a big enough size, my sibling and I were moved into a bigger enclosure, or so I thought. Our new home was nothing but a cage, with massive walls on every side, cutting us off from everything else. Plants were placed all around us that stung and snapped against my body with every step. Those rats could watch us from a glass sealing that could take the full force of my claws. I could hear them taunting me with their cruel names, and all I wanted was to get revenge on them. Then one day, my rage went too far and I did something that still haunts me to this day."
"What did you do Indominus," asked Twilight.
"I, I went and killed my own sibling." Rarity and Applejack held their sisters close with worry, they had never heard of a sibling being killed.
"I'm sorry that you girls had to hear that, what I did back then was out of spiteful rage. One day that younger Indominus Rex had just been with those creatures and was steaming with anger himself. He foolishly decided to take his frustration out on me, a mistake that would prove to be his last. He got one slash across my chest, and I retaliated with brutal savagery. I broke one of his arms, pinned him to the ground, and crushed that fool's skull in my jaws."
"We're sorry Indominus," said Twilight.
"Those ruffians brought that kind of pain on you, and it made you take out your only companion?"
The ponies were beside themselves with grief, they walked over and gave Indominus a huge group hug. He had kept that kind of pain and hatred buried for so long, now they understood why he was so intent on making the Wonderbolts pay. What they were doing to Rainbow Dash, was nearly identical to the treatment Indominus had gone through.
"We'll make sure that doesn't happen to you again Indominus," said Fluttershy.
"Those ruffians can't hurt you anymore," said Rarity.
"We're sorry about what you've gone through, brother," said Delta.
"Thank you everypony, I'm grateful that I got to tell all of you about my past."
Later in the night, after everypony had gone home, Indominus was still awake while his family slept. He had so much to take in, and plenty to think about. Rainbow had been bullied most of her life, and those same bullies were still alive. He had to take care of them and the Wonderbolts, without relying too much on the Immortal Phoenix. His anger could call upon it against his will, and it would turn him into a corrupt monster. Thankfully, his friends had vowed to find a way to help Indominus get rid of his rage.
Twilight had promised Indominus that she would find a way to help him vanquish the anger that plagued his heart. Fluttershy told him that he could always visit her cottage if he ever needed some tranquility and peace. Applejack agreed to show him more healthy ways to vent his anger without destroying too much. The hybrid was grateful for their concern, but he had bullies that he needed to rid Equestria of first.
"My Dashie, you've gone through too much suffering already," Indominus whispered softly. Thankfully, Rainbow was too sound asleep to hear him. He gently stroked her mane as he spoke quietly. "These bullies have hurt you for the last time, so I have made my decision. I will find them, and kill them all. I won't let anypony hurt you ever again."
Indominus would begin his hunt in the morning, and the bullies of Rainbow's past and present would find themselves being stalked by a vengeful hybrid dinosaur.