Now I face out. I hold out
I reach out to the truth of my life
Seeking to seize on the whole moment, yeah.
Chapter 21: We All Have Our Demons
I woke up with a strange feeling on the inside my mouth. It felt like something was forcing me to swallow my own drool. I opened my eyes to a creeping ray of sunlight and moved into a sitting position. I reached up to feel what could possibly be protruding from my mouth. I tapped the object a couple times before I decided to just spit it out... literally.
"What is this? A mouth guard?" I asked out loud, "And why does my tongue feel a little fuzzy?" Then, it hit me.
Rainbow Dash, I thought, I ought to give you a piece of my mind. I marched on over toward her bedroom. It might have been a more intimidating image if my marching wasn't muffled by the cloud floors that I walked on. As I rounded the corner, I prepared to give a good yelling at a certain pony for stuffing bacteria-infected objects in my mouth. However, before I even got one word out, I noticed something that caught me off guard.
She was... well, I wasn't sure. But the position of that other thing suggested... uh. Rainbow Dash was cuddling Zangetsu. She was holding that giant butcher knife like it was a stuffed animal. Sometimes images are so wrong, intimidating, or cute that I just don't want anything to do with them, lest they somehow cause my untimely death. This was a cute-wrong image.
All thoughts of flipping my lid evaporated in that moment. I decided to just turn around and do something else.
I need to stop drinking, I thought.
But you haven't been drinking, pointed out Shirayuki's mind.
Maybe I should start so that I can stop, I retorted.
That doesn't make any sense, she countered.
Welcome to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, I half-sarcastically replied, All logic is bleeped up here.
I'm sorry, but did you just think the word "bleep"? she asked.
Yeah, so? I thought back.
Wouldn't it just be easier to think of the actual curse word you're looking for? asked her mind.
No, I will not use profanity even in the safety of my own mind, I argued, I have to have some integrity.
If you say so, Shirayuki thought uncertain.
I do say so, was my thought to finish the mental conversation.
---
"What the hay is going on?" asked Rainbow Dash. She was held in some sort of suspended animation but she wasn't in some pony's magical hold as far as she could tell. Slowly, the unknown force pulled her toward the roof of one of the bland, rectangular structures. Thankfully, the force allowed her to land on all four hooves. She was given the freedom to look around the place more freely. But all in all, it was more of the same. Blue box-shaped structures sat underneath the solid blue sky.
"Rainbow Dash," called a deep voice. The Pegasus in question looked around rapidly for the source.
"Over here," said the voice. Rainbow Dash turned around to face the voice's owner.
"Who? What are you?" she asked. The entity that she was looking at had a long, rustled mane and a pair of tan sunglasses. Aside from that, she couldn't see any other details about the being. It was covered in an overly long maroon cloth that was torn and ragged.
"I'm surprised that you have to ask that, Rainbow," said the being. Its voice definitely set it in the 'male' category.
"Well, of course I would ask that!" snapped the Pegasus, "I've never seen you before."
"Very few beings can reside in this place," he said as if she hadn't said anything, "and there isn't anyone who could possibly know me better than you."
"Than me?" echoed Dash, "Sorry, but I think I'd remember a cryptic old colt like you."
"Then perhaps you will recognize this," responded the man with just as much patience as he started with, "My name is Zangetsu."
Zangetsu? thought Rainbow Dash, Wait a minute. She had a brief flashback of holding a particular weapon against Princess Luna the other night.
"You're my sword?!" she exclaimed in disbelief.
"So you do remember quickly," confirmed Zangetsu, "Good. Your mind needs to be as quick as your physical speed."
"Hey! Was that an insult?" asked Rainbow as a blood vessel started to bulge. Zangetsu ignored the angry question and repositioned himself. He almost looked like he was floating in the air just behind the pole that his feet were touching.
The old man asked, "How is it that you can stand there like that?" Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrow before looking behind the man.
Since when do clouds float sideways? she asked herself. Then a strange unknown force pulled her backwards... or rather down... the real down. Her eyes opened wide at the realization that she was falling. She tried flapping her wings, but they weren't catching any air in this weird place.
"Ahhhhhhh!" screamed the bearer of Loyalty.
"We will meet again soon," called Zangetsu, "Don't lose sight of your desire to win, Rainbow Dash!"
"Ahhhhhhh!" was the response he got. The world began to fade to black.
---
I wasn't too surprised when I found very little in what looked like Rainbow Dash's fridge. I found some honey and oats to munch on. I had no idea why she had honey and oats. I hoped she wouldn't notice the thin layer of ice that my magic had left on the honey jar's lid. Even I had to admit that was a pretty lame hope.
As I finished my makeshift breakfast, I heard a sound akin to a door knocking. I was kind of bewildered at the time because I didn't think clouds could imitate such a noise. I half-expected Rainbow Dash to answer it, but then I remembered the disturbing cute-wrong image that plagued my mind from earlier. Not wanting to be the one to wake up Rainbow Dash just to get cut in half by accident, I decided to trot over to the front door myself.
My frozen magical touch left the doorknob a bit icy as I opened it. I briefly questioned how water vapor could freeze without falling but the thought left my mind almost instantly. I opened the door toward me to see someone I never thought I would see again.
"Can I help you?" I asked politely.
"Where's Dash?" asked the visitor, "Is she home?"
"She's a bit preoccupied at the moment," I said with a careful choice of words, "May I take a message?"
"Yeah... here's a message for you," said the gruff girl's voice. My eyes widened as a sword appeared in her grasp.
"Don't get smart with me!" she practically squawked.
---
Rainbow Dash jumped up from her bed in a yelp. She looked around frantically before calming down again. She was in her bedroom safe and sound. Her wings still worked. Everything was normal. Well, everything was normal except for the large blade she saw on the bed. She didn't remember summoning its power.
"Don't get smart with me!" said a voice. Dash's ear perked up at the sound. Had that been who she thought it was? Whatever the case, she picked up her Zanpaktou and quickly flew around the corner.
---
Metal clashed against metal and we spun around each other flying outside the door. I had to admit that she had the advantage. After all, her claws were better designed for a grip. That explained why her wakizashi felt so forceful against my katana. She had me on the defensive. Judging from her confident smirk, she knew it too.
"That all you got?" she snidely asked. I couldn't reply using up all my focus to defend. I'd have to activate my Shikai if I wanted to even come close to matching her strength. But with her striking so fiercely and rapidly, I wasn't getting that chance.
"Gilda, stop!" yelled a third voice. My opponent noticeably halted her attacks as the two of us turned to Rainbow Dash. She was standing just in front of her doorway. Zangetsu was wrapped tightly to her hoof by the bandaging on its handle. I used this reprieve to fly a little distance away from the gryphon. To my fortune, I found a small cloud patch on which I could momentarily rest.
"Yo, Dash," called the gryphon holding the wakizashi, "Long time no see."
"Gilda," said Rainbow Dash slowly, "What are you doing?"
"What? Can't I give an old friend a visit?" asked Gilda, "Or did you decide to replace me with another lame pony friend?"
"It wasn't like that, Gilda," rebutted the Pegasus, "You left on your own terms, remember?"
"Details, shmetails," dismissed the gryphon, "I had cool standards and you fell short of them."
"Since when does being cool involve trying to kill my friends?" asked Dash in annoyance.
"Oh, I haven't been trying to kill her," stated Gilda calmly. Before I could try to comprehend that twisted logic, she disappeared in a blur of motion. Next thing I knew, I had a wakizashi in front of my face and a gryphon's claw around my neck.
"This is me trying to kill her," Gilda stated before whispering, "Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi." My eyes widened at the name. I didn't need to watch her wakizashi reform itself into a gauntlet with an extended needle on her middle claw. I already knew it was bad news to be this close to that particular Zanpaktou.
Risking a small scratch from her unarmed claw, I delivered a back-leg kick to her body and flapped my wings hard. Unfortunately, I felt a deep pierce in my back-right hoof as I flew away. As I turned around to face Gilda, my hooves slid along the larger cloud that held Rainbow Dash's house up. A quick glance back confirmed my suspicion that a white-patterned mark in the shape of a butterfly had appeared on the hoof that was hit. This was going to make my concentration difficult to keep.
"Tundra, what is that?" asked Rainbow Dash pointing her free hoof at the mark in question.
"It's a Homonka," I answered, "It's part of that weapon's 'Nigeki Kessatsu' maneuver also known as the 'two-step death'."
"Two-step death?" she echoed, "I don't like the sound of that."
"Should that needle touch the same spot again," I continued, "my death will be imminent."
"That's crazy!" argued Dash, "No pony could possibly die from two hits to the leg."
"It doesn't need to be the leg," I responded, "If she gets two shots on any part of my body, then it will be the end of me."
"Is there any way to get rid of the mark?" asked the Pegasus.
"There are only two ways that I can think of," I replied, "Neither of which are going to be easy to accomplish. We have to incapacitate Gilda or break her Zanpaktou."
"If you two lame-os are done chatting," interrupted Gilda, "Then I'd like to get on with this." She came flying in like a predator chasing its prey.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" I shouted. The blade and my body gained a white hue. I didn't look, but I'm sure that the Homonka mark on Shirayuki's back-right hoof changed to appear black against the white fur.
As I expected, Shirayuki's physical strength was better than my own. She was able to push Gilda back after a couple exchanges of weapon swings. What I didn't account for was Gilda using her unarmed talon. A single, bleeding gash against my sword-bearing hoof was the consequence I paid for my mistake.
This isn't a mindless beast, thought Shirayuki, This is an Amazonian that has been trained her whole life to rip apart her enemies.
That... was a deep comparison, I replied in my mind. The gryphon dove in for another round. Shirayuki prepared to perform one of her Zanpaktou's specific attacks, but was interrupted by a multicolored blur rushing past her. Butcher knife parried gauntlet as Rainbow Dash looked Gilda in the eye.
"Gilda, stop!" shouted the Pegasus, "Why are you doing this?"
"Why?" echoed Gilda, "Because I feel like it." She swiped with her free talon but Dash managed to angle Zangetsu to block both of the gryphon's front limbs.
"I don't believe that," stated Rainbow Dash, "You don't just aim to kill some pony for no reason."
"It's instinctual, Dash," argued Gilda, "I can only be an animal now."
"This isn't the Gilda I knew," said Rainbow shaking hear head in disbelief, "Even when you got really upset before, you didn't lash out and hurt others."
"The Gilda you knew was weak!" squawked the gryphon. I saw a disturbing yellow energy being radiated from her feathers.
I really hope that isn't... my thoughts trailed off.
...Kenpachi Zaraki's spirit energy? finished Shirayuki.
Yeah, that, I affirmed.
"You replaced me with a bunch of weaklings!" shouted Gilda as she managed to shove Rainbow Dash away from herself, "I've been granted a new power and now I'm going to use it to get rid of your distractions, one by one."
"Gilda... no," breathed Dash.
"If I have to take you down too, so be it!" she roared as she disappeared in a whisk. Before I could finish opening my eyes in shock, Gilda had sunk Suzumebachi's needle into Rainbow Dash's cutie mark. Time seemed to slow down before Dash reeled back in a pained yell. A black, Homonka butterfly mark appeared and blocked the view of her cloud with the three colored lightning bolt.
"Rainbow!" yelled Shirayuki. In my distracted distress, I almost missed Gilda's advance on my position. She and Shirayuki threw a few more strikes at each other before I felt another sting pierce my cheek. I could only assume another mark appeared in that spot as Shirayuki fell to the cloud behind her. I could only here grunts from the white alicorn in acknowledgement of her pain.
---
Something stirred inside the heart of the bearer of Loyalty. She no longer saw her friends fighting each other. She saw a monster preying on her real friend. It looked like the beast was about to deliver the finishing blow.
"Rainbow Dash," said the deep voice from her dreams. Her bandaged grip on her Zanpaktou tightened with a new fury.
"Don't lose sight of your desire to win," continued the voice. Energy like a rainbow's spice surged through her entire being.
"Trust me completely and I shall lend you my strength."
"I trust you, Zangetsu," said Rainbow Dash, "Beat this monster and save my friend."
"Yes," affirmed the old man. The rainbow aura changed to a solid, bluish-white tint and engulfed both Zanpaktou and wielder. The wielder raised her blade above her head. The concentration of energy increased along the blade's edge. In a large exaggerated motion, Rainbow Dash swung her blade down in front of her.
She shouted her attack, "Getsuga Tenshou!"
---
Shirayuki managed to open her eyes enough for me to see the horrific sight of the gryphon wielding Suzumebachi. How could I have gone down this easily? I wasn't even bleeding that much. Yet somehow, neither Shirayuki nor I could get my body to move.
"So long, loser!" declared Gilda raising her armed talon.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" shouted a voice out of sight.
"Huh?" questioned the gryphon looking to her side. Before I knew what had happened, she was swept away by a large blue wave of light.
"Huh?" asked Shirayuki.
Huh? I thought in a confused agreement. My other half managed to turn her head enough to see Rainbow Dash a couple meters away. She looked like she was breathing heavily and her weapon was held out straight in front of her.
Did she just...? Shirayuki and I thought simultaneously. A squawking roar interrupted our shared pondering and Shirayuki turned to the right to see what it was. Gilda was hanging there, slowly flapping her wings, and holding her currently bleeding limb that had the gauntlet on it. Her beaked face was held in one of loathing and pain.
"You'll pay for this, Dash!" growled Gilda as she turned around and flew to who knew where. Shirayuki managed to slowly stand on the cloud she was on. Absentmindedly, I turned my head to look at the back hoof that had been stung earlier. To my relief, the Homonka mark was gone. I heard Rainbow Dash softly land next to me.
"Rainbow Dash, that was amazing!" complimented Shirayuki.
"Y-yeah," she stammered between breaths, "That felt... really... good." The sentence ended with Rainbow Dash collapsing on the cloud area that we were on. After that heart thumping encounter, she deserved a rest. Sode no Shirayuki vanished from the physical plane as I regained dominance over my body. Though, I still had cuts in the same places that Shirayuki had been hit.
"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!" breathed a voice nearby. I turned around to see Fluttershy of all ponies.
"I sensed a strange power over in this direction," she managed to say despite her worried look, "What happened?"
"Gilda happened," I stated bluntly. Fluttershy seemed to get the message and nodded in understanding. She then looked shocked all over again as she got a better look at me.
"You're bleeding!" she exclaimed at whisper volume.
"It's just a scratch," I said automatically.
"No, no, no. You're covered in cuts and gashes," corrected the yellow Pegasus, "This is much more serious than a scratch."
"I'm more concerned about Rainbow Dash," I said turning to look at her, "She's fallen unconscious."
"Oh, gosh. That's terrible!" whisper-exclaimed Fluttershy, "You two need medical help right away! Can you fly?"
"No problem," I smirked flapping my still healthy wings.
"All right," Fluttershy grunted as she held up Rainbow Dash's front hooves, "Here... we... go." It looked like we were headed once again for Ponyville Hospital. This time, I would be awake upon my arrival.
---
"So, Rainbow Dash, you've started developing your powers," said a raspy voice. Their evil eye glowed in the dark abyss.
"Excellent," it continued as it began to cackle maniacally.
---
On the bright side, I didn't need much more than antiseptic and bandages. Basically, I got the 'first-aid kit' treatment. On the downside, Rainbow Dash was exhausted. She was breathing a bit easier now, so I was relieved to hear that. But she'd have to stay at the hospital for the rest of the day or until she woke up, whichever came first. Fluttershy and I were asked to leave the bedroom so that Dash could recover properly.
During our departure, I gave Fluttershy a bit more detailed description about what had happened. It hadn't been easy taking it in as an eye witness. So it took a bit longer for me trying to tell it to someone else. But I think Fluttershy got the gist of the important details. I couldn't read her expression completely through the mane that covered her eye.
"First Trixie and now Gilda," I said off-hand, "It almost makes me think that Blueblood and Photo Finish aren't far behind."
Fluttershy didn't comment on that. If she did, it was too quiet for me to pick up.
"Okay, wrong thing to say," I said pausing briefly to rub the back of my neck, "Sorry, I'll shut up now."
"What if...?" Fluttershy began but then trailed off into a mumble.
"Come again?" I said turning to face her directly.
"What if you're right?" she asked just barely above whisper volume.
"About what?" I asked not quite following her meaning.
"What if they aren't far behind?" she clarified using my words from before.
"That was a left field joke that I shouldn't have made," I insisted, "They're not going to turn bad and attack us."
"How can you be so sure?" Fluttershy breathed inquiringly.
"They've got busy lives," I pointed out, "They won't have time to plan petty vengeance."
"Oh," she responded letting the conversation fade back into awkward silence. The only sounds that filled my ears now were our hoof steps on the tile floor.
"But," breathed Fluttershy, "If they do somehow get free time, you're saying that they could."
I shook my head fervently, "No, Fluttershy. They won't."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
I lightly chuckled, "If they want to hurt you, Fluttershy, they'll have to go through me first."
"Um, all right," was her response, "Just... be careful, okay?"
"Of course," I affirmed.
---
"See? See?" chirped the small, yellow spirit, "Didn't I tell you I could reunite you two?"
"Buzz off!" ordered the gryphon trying to swipe away the spirit with a talon. The little spirit easily moved out of the way and giggled at her master's frustration.
"Don't be mad at me," jokingly criticized the fairy, "You're the one that attacked the other pony without provocation."
"I said buzz off!" demanded the gryphon.
"Can't," pointed out the fairy, "Face it, grumpy. You're stuck with me until the day you die and I don't think you want to die anytime soon. Do you?"
The gryphon only growled and hissed in response.
"I didn't think so," giggled the spirit.
---
Rainbow Dash found herself in the familiar landscape. It was the bland, structural complex inside her mind. This was where she had met Zangetsu's spirit. Something felt different about the air, though. She could tell that it was... darker and fouler.
"Why hello," said a raspy voice. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes wide and turned around. She wasn't entirely sure what she was looking at. Sure, it had the wings and shape of a normal Pegasus pony. However, there was something wrong with its face. Its crooked grin was filled with black teeth. The whites of its eyes were solid black as well. The eyes' color was a demonic, golden orange.
"It's good to see you face to face," the white Pegasus continued, "Rainbow Dash."
"Who the hay are you?" asked the addressed cyan Pegasus.
"Me?" asked the other, "Well, isn't that obvious? I'm your better half."
"Better half?" echoed Dash.
"I'm the real you," continued the other Pegasus.
"That's a load of horse apples," spat Rainbow Dash, "You can't be the real me because I'm the real me."
The white being just laughed in its raspy tone before saying, "You really are slow in the head."
"What?" asked Rainbow lowering her eyebrows in anger.
"When I say 'real'," clarified the other, "I'm saying that I have the strength that you couldn't hope to possess."
"What are you saying?" asked Rainbow Dash with a tone that practically warned of a future clobbering.
"You came close to dying today," continued the white Pegasus, "As a result, I started to gain a part of your being and fed off your weakness." Its wings opened wide and high as it smiled with an insane elation.
"Eventually, your weakness will burn out and I'll have your soul all to myself." The being cackled in its ever-painful raspy tone.
"You're not making any sense!" spat the bearer of Loyalty. The other Pegasus seemed to take a few seconds to pause from its fits of cackling laughter.
"Who knows?" it asked rhetorically, "You'll probably be long dead before I can do that. So you've got nothing to worry about, Rainbow."
"I've heard enough nonsense from you!" shouted Rainbow Dash, "Zangetsu!" She held out a hoof and the bandaged handle of her butcher knife-shaped Zanpaktou appeared in her grasp.
"Oh, so she has a temper," mocked the white creature, "Good. You'll need that anger to win later."
"If you're the real me," reasoned Rainbow Dash, "Then pull out your sword and back up your nonsense right now!"
"No, not yet," chuckled the other, "This fight would be premature. Come back when you've gained some new found strength. I don't want you to die on me just yet."
"Raaaaaah!" yelled the cyan Pegasus as she charged forward and flew right at the other being. Rainbow heard her weapon connect with something. But when she looked more closely, the other Pegasus had somehow blocked her sword with just its bare hoof. What surprised her more was that it didn't look the least bit scratched.
The other being humphed, "Like I said, premature." A white light surrounded it and spread out to cover Rainbow's entire field of vision.
---
I had a bad feeling as I started to fall asleep in Fluttershy's bed that night. It wasn't a spiritual pressure. It was just something that gave me the case of the shivers, even though it was relatively warm in the room. Perhaps there was some merit to the worry I had mistakenly inflicted on Fluttershy's conscience. Either way, I knew that my battles for Equestria weren't over... not by a long shot.
"Fan-tipping-flastic," I muttered before my eyes closed completely.