Rainbow Dash’s head was swimming. The room was spinning. The horizon was suddenly vertical. She felt like she would split in half any minute now, but felt like she would be crushed under an entire ocean at the same time.
It took a colossal effort of will just to keep herself together.
“Oh my Stars…” she distantly heard a familiar voice whisper in quiet shock.
“What in the world…”
“Rainbow?”
Rainbow groaned and tried to shake her head to clear it. The sickening sense of vertigo doubled up and she nearly lost her lunch. She did lose her balance.
She felt… did she just pass through someone’s hooves?
Horseapples. That was bad. How did it get this bad? She remembered… a light. A pink light. Dome shaped, and… expanding?
Oh. Right. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor’s spell.
She chuckled from the floor. “Everything else I survive by the skin of my teeth…” she said in a warbling voice. The Elements of Harmony, Trixie, the dragon, Discord… They all had nearly undone her. “... and it’s love that makes me bite it,” she laughs outright this time, unable to contain her mirth at the situation.
It really was kinda funny. Gallows humor, she supposed.
“...No…”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes snap open and zero in on the source of that quiet and terrified voice. She found a pair sky blue eyes staring at her in terror. The owner of these eyes was shaking her head. “No… No…” Fluttershy kept whispering.
Rainbow Dash slowly, almost drunkenly, got to her hooves. She looked at a hoof and watched it flicker and quake. It was like watching a particularly bad quality movie. She could already see through her hoof.
She looked back at Fluttershy, and felt a pang of sympathy for the timid Pegasus. Her heart demanded action. She stepped towards Fluttershy.
Some rubble nearby shifted, and everypony turned just in time to watch a horrifying familiar black figure burst from it. Queen Chrysalis looked livid. No, it was more accurate to say she looked absolutely furious. “I should have killed you when I had the chance!” she snarled at the thoroughly exhausted Cadence. She turned to Twilight. “Both of you!” Green magic roiled to life around her horn. “I won’t make that mistake again!” she roared, before unleashing the magic.
Rainbow Dash’s mind instantly sharpened and sped up. She realized something incredibly important. Chrysalis was injured pretty badly, the spell that failed to eject her from Canterlot having still tossed her around violently. This was probably why her aim was off. Instead of Twilight and Cadence, the spell was heading straight for…
“Fluttershy!” she cried, instantly becoming fully corporeal and diving between the wild blast of magic and her friend and ward.
“Rainbow Dash!” she heard her friends cry out.
She was going to die.
This was it. This was the day she finally died. At least it wasn’t going to be slow, like the love magic death would have been.
Her body was already stressed to the point of breaking. Magic was dangerous to her when she was perfectly healthy. Now? When her body could barely retain cohesion? That was a lot of magic concentrated on her. Still, a badass like her deserved a badass exit. Like Tartarus was she going out with a whisper.
And yet, the only thing she could think to do was look at Fluttershy… and smile encouragingly.
Yeah…
Yeah, that was good enough. She could be happy with that. It described her perfectly.
The magic consumed her.
---
Chrysalis laughed uproariously when the smoke cleared and showed no signs of the rainbow maned Pegasus.
Fluttershy shook on the spot, staring at the blackened marble where her greatest and best friend had only seconds ago stood to shield her. That smile... even on the edge of death, Rainbow Dash supported her.
And now that smile was gone.
Fluttershy felt something in her chest bloom, and it took her a moment to realize just what it was. It was an emotion she hadn’t felt in a very long time, hadn’t been capable of feeling. Not since that horrible day…
She had cast it aside a long time ago, deciding she would never use it again. Besides, Rainbow had been able to feel it well enough for both of them.
Her eyes narrowed into slits and she turned towards the madly laughing Changeling Queen. That emotion was Rage.
“How… dare you…”
Chrysalis stopped laughing at the quiet declaration. “What did you say?” she asked coldly. She then grinned, magic charging into her twisted horn again. “I just killed one of you, and I still have plenty of power left for the rest of you! Are you offering to go first?”
“How dare you.”
Chrysalis paused. There was something in that glare… Wait, was the yellow Pegasus’ eyes always purple?
“How dare you!” Fluttershy screamed, and leapt.
Chrysalis wasn’t even aware she had been hit until she was against the wall, head ringing. ‘Fast!’ she thought in surprise.
A pink and yellow blur zipped around the room at random, making it difficult to track, before it suddenly resolved itself into Fluttershy in front of Chrysalis, just in time for the Pegasus to buck the Changeling Queen hard enough to make her see stars.
‘How?!’ Chrysalis thought as she could only take the high speed pounding. ‘I overpowered Celestia! How is this timid wallflower hurting me?!’
Chrysalis wasn’t the only one wondering these things.
“Whoa Nelly! Lookit her go!” Applejack cheered. “Get’er Fluttershy!”
Twilight was frowning, watching Fluttershy. ‘Those movements…’
Pinkie was… glaring at Chrysalis rather hatefully. Her hair was straight as a board and fur grey as a rock. Her eyes were also hunting, searching… analyzing. She was waiting for an opening.
Rarity was on her knees alongside Cadence, sobbing over the loss of their friend.
Celestia was the one that the most prominent. Her eyes had long since turned a ruby-colored red, and her mane was now waving viciously, crackling like a flame. Like Pinkie Pie, she was watching and waiting.
An enemy had just murdered one of her little Ponies. The kids gloves were off. No more mercy. No more holding back. She would peel back the Ozone Layer and flash fry Chrysalis if she had to with the full fury of the Sun she commanded.
For Celestia was no mere Pony. She was the Primary Alicorn, the Final Flame, the scourge of dragons, and the last being you wanted gunning for you. Her horn hurt like Tartarus… but she didn’t care.
Fluttershy zipped around a blast of magic and punched Chrysalis again, sending her sprawling. She saw her opening and leapt onto the Changeling, pinning her down. Her violet eyes glared hatefully at the source of her rage, who returned the glare, defiant.
She pulled her hoof back, fully intending to end it. Suddenly, the rage left her and a feeling of weakness rushed through her.
A hoof landed on her shoulder. She looked over and found Rainbow Dash smiling at her. The rainbow Pegasus shook her head.
Tears came to Fluttershy’s blue eyes. “But… but…” she stammered. “but…!” she cried.
Rainbow Dash shook her head again.
“Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy looked over and found Twilight and her friends staring at her in concern.
“Who are you talking to?”
Fluttershy looked back at Rainbow Dash, only to find her gone. The rage was back, and her violet eyes locked onto Chrysalis’s green eyes. She pulled her hoof back… and hesitated. Tears started to fall. Then, with a cry, she slammed her hoof down.
Next to Chrysalis’ head.
Shadows covered Fluttershy’s eyes as she got off the Changeling and backed away. “Leave,” she said.
Chrysalis growled and stood. “If you think I will take orders from-”
“NOW!!!” Fluttershy roared in Chrysalis’ face, her eyes flaring dark purple.
Chrysalis stumbled backwards. Celestia decided that was her opening and unloaded.
Chrysalis was slammed into the wall, and then through it, by a golden beam of magic twice the size of her body.
Celestia sighed, her body slouching and returning to normal as fatigue gripped her. That had been far more magic than she had channeled in the last four hundred years. She hadn’t needed that much magic, not since she earned the name of Final Flame in a very brief war with the dragons. Her body would be fine, but it was still a slight shock to her system. ‘Luna was right. I’ve gone soft,’ she thought.
She looked up as a low keening wail echoed around the room, and found Twilight and her friends comforting Fluttershy, who was, understandably, inconsolable. They were all crying. Celestia could feel tears coming to her own eyes, but she blinked them away and set a mask of stone on her face.
Now was not the time.
Turning towards a recently freed Royal Guard, she marched to him. “Inform the Commanders that I wish to speak with them. Now,” she nearly growled.
The Guard hastily saluted and left the room.
“Rainbow Dash!”
Celestia looked over, and her eyes widened at the impossible sight before her. For there, standing at the center of the ruined room, was the Elements of Loyalty herself. And she was… wearing the Element of Loyalty?
Fluttershy dived at her friend, only for Celestia’s confusion, alongside everyone else’s, to grow when she passed through the Pegasus.
Rainbow Dash sighed. “We need to talk,” she said to everyone.