//------------------------------// // Thy Flesh Consumed // Story: Rainbow Dash Goes to Hell // by Obsidian Chitin //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle sat on her throne. She had been sitting on her throne silently for two hours. She was staring at an empty chair. Any other day, she would be with her friends. Perhaps sharing a cupcake with Pinkie, helping Fluttershy with her animals, talking about old stories over a mug of cider with Applejack, model fashion with Rarity, or practice magic with Starlight. But there was one friend she could do nothing with. She was gone. It would be one thing if Rainbow Dash had gone out in a blaze of glory, sacrificing herself for the greater good against a threat to Equestria and fighting to the last breath. But the only thing that took the life of her friend was a stunt gone wrong, the metal wall of a Baltimare stadium, and a snapped neck. By all accounts, Twilight should be a sobbing mess, screaming at the world as her friends trying to comfort her as she let out her anguish. Instead, she just sat in her crystal chair, motionless and emotionless. Feeling something, anything, would be better than- Was that an earthquake? Twilight broke out of her state when she noticed the ground shaking. Then, she heard a lot of cracking. Pieces of crystal began raining from the ceiling and the windows began to shatter. The map blinked off, then cracked in half. Twilight began to sweat as the temperature of the room began to rise. She began to hyperventilate. The map caught fire, red flames spouting high enough to burn the Golden Oak roots above her. Realization hit as she heard the ropes snap, and she dived out of the way as the roots crashed down. Starlight crashed through the doors. "What is going- Twilight!" "Starlight!" Twilight shouted as she got to her hooves. "We need to get out of here!" "No kidding! Where's Spike?" Starlight asked. "With Rarity. Teleport!" Twilight replied. Her horn lit, and she vanished with a flash of magic, Starlight following after. Twilight and Starlight watched from afar as the castle they called home crumbled. Red flames jetted skywards from the windows, thick black smoke rising into the sky. A team of pegasi brought storm clouds together to douse the fire with rain, but it had no effect. Starlight placed a comforting hoof on Twilight's back. A noise like searing flesh coming from behind startled them both, and they turned around. Burned into the ground was an ancient symbol lost to time, one that made Twilight's head hurt when she looked at it. She was not looking at that, however. She was looking at a silhouette rising from it. With a flash of red flame, the silhouette became a pony. She was completely furless, her flesh red and leathery. Her mane and tail were a sight to behold, made of prismatic fire. Her wings more like that of a bat than a bird, her eyes a bloodshot yellow with slit pupils. Her cutie mark, a cloud with a lightning bolt, was branded on her flank. Her voice, while rough and had an unsettling dual tone, was familiar. "You would not believe the day I've had." Rainbow Dash said, grinning with very menacing sharp teeth. Starlight Glimmer fainted.