The buzz of the crowd overwhelmed Rainbow Dash as moved through the air. Clasped in her mouth was a small scrap of paper. She held it so tightly that her gums started to ache from the pressure but she knew that this was important. If she lost this paper, she lost Pinkie, and that was more than enough reason to keep the note safe. The next clue to the puzzle was tantalizing close, but she needed to be safe before she read it. There wasn't nose or tail of the monsters that were chasing her and letting her guard down now was just asking for one of them to jump out and cut her in half.
She slowed for a moment, despite the danger. The implications of what had just happened were finally catching up to her. She'd managed to kill one of the mascots. Not just injure or incapacitate, but straight up murder one of the creatures. She tried to smile in relief, or at least pride but the smile never came. The final words of the creatures hung heavy on her mind, and when combined with what her mascot said, cast a dark shadow over Dash's actions. Had she made the right choice? She'd barely even thought about it since she'd arrived, but now it was unavoidable. It was impossible to deny that the mascots acted extremely similar to her friends, and that they truly believed they were the real elements. The thought finally managed to get beneath Dash's skin, and she shivered. How would Twilight react to someone pretending to be her? How would Rarity, or Fluttershy? They'd try to help them, figure out their motives, to reason with them, not fight aimlessly.
Dash raised her hoof as she slowed down more. On the other hand though, they were simply machines. Nothing more, nothing less. She'd even watched one of them be repaired. Reasoning with one would be impossible. They did what they had to do, and that was that.
Swallowing nervously, Dash landed in the crowd. Several of the ponies present shouted at her sudden appearance, but she paid them no mind. The paper still needed to be open. Scanning through the sea of ponies, Dash tried to pick out a safe place, a bastion from anything that sought to harm her. Someone shoved past her, causing her to swing forward and capture a glance of the most beautiful thing she could have seen.
An empty stall sat on the side of the road, covered in a faint film of dust. A large red cloth covered the stall from the elements, and the prying eyes of anyone flying overhead. Spiders walked across the surface of the wooden counter, before retreating back into their nests as Dash came closer. It wasn't what she was expecting, but there wasn't time to waste searching for a better place. Leaping over the top, Dash landed on the other side gracefully. She crouched behind the counter, hiding her from the crowd passing by. Only someone sneaking up from behind would be able to see her now. Glancing around one final time for her attackers, Dash spat the note onto the ground. A neat crease ran down the middle of the note, folding it in half and smothering the words within. Dash moved to open it, but stopped when she realised her hoof was still planted firmly on the ground.
How could she open it? Not five minutes ago, she'd been made painfully aware of just how much danger she was in. She'd nearly been burnt to a crisp by a shameless copy of one of her friends. Anything could be written on the other side of that note. Pinkie could be injured, or dying or even dead, and this note would be all that was left. All to tell her about the terrible deed. Yet she needed to open it, the only way to save Pinkie was to brave whatever fear was holding her back. Shrugging, Dash pushed forward, finally flipping the dreaded note open. Whatever news it had for her, it was better to be prepared. Besides, she couldn't hide forever.
Hiya Dashie, they moved me again. I didn't want to but the scary pony says it's like a game and that I should play, which is sweet because I like games. Is this game fun for you Dashie? It's like the time we beat Celestia in flying dodgeball, only with less balls and more blindfolds. I don't see why the blindfolds are necessary though. Oh, they say I need to tell you where I am. I'm sorry it took so long for me to get to this, you're probably reading this on the fly. Literally. Well, let's see here. I spy with my little eyes, something that feels. Metal; and slimy. Also, some sort of water, maybe a log ride? I hope so, I wanted to go to the log ride today but I couldn't figure out how to fit it into the schedule so instead we shot Trixie with water guns.
Have you talked to Robo-Pinkie yet? She's really interested in you, even more than Nightmare is. She can really talk your ear off though, sometimes I just wish she would stop talking so I could talk, but she just keeps going and going. It's a good thing I know when to stop, unlike her. The two of us are going to throw a party when this is all done, but I'm not sure I like her ideas because really, who eats cheesecake on a Wednesday?
Oops, black pony says I lost track again, but that's crazy because a track can't move. Anyway, I suppose this is where I end it. If you come across a candy shop, can you remember to buy me some chocolate before we rush off? I could really use some chocolate right now. Being a damsel in distress is tiring.
The note drifted to the floor slowly as Dash threw her weight against the stall behind her. Her gaze drifted upwards as she focused on the clouds drifting lazily through the sky. Years of working for the Ponyville weather force gave her a kind of instinct when it came to stray clouds, and she felt the urge to fly up there and tidy them up. Moving though, seemed like a challenge. All the bruises and battle scars she'd gathered through her short adventure at the park crashed down on her once she stopped moving and it took most of her will power to stay awake.
She knew she should get going. The stall was barely a safe place to begin with and the longer she waited the more danger she placed everyone in. Focusing all her strength into a single arm, she tried to lift it into the air. It struggled up to her face, before she dropped it limply. She gritted her teeth as she adjusted herself, placing her in a more comfortable position. Her eyes drifted close and she was unable to stop them.
For a moment, everything was perfect as the pain disappeared for a second. The warm sun on her fur provided an indescribable change from her worries and Dash reviled in it. Her pained mind drifted through a sea of thoughts, eventually settling on the happiest one.
She was resting on a cloud back in Ponyville, without any killer robots, or insane dictators, or kidnapped friends, or any of the harsh reality crashing down on her. Slowly, the memories of her day came back to her. She needed to go and visit her friend Pinkie Pie soon. She'd gotten so caught up in her exercises earlier that she'd nearly forgotten that Pinkie had asked to meet her at Sugercube Corner at three. That was the reason she was tired, all her exercise. Pinkie hadn't said why or what they would be doing, but knowing Pinkie, it could be anything. Dash glanced up at the sky to check the time; stopping in confusion when she was faced by a large black ball.
She stared at it for a moment, not sure what to think. Where'd the sun go? Dash scanned the ground hastily, making sure that the sun was still shining down on everything. Content with what she saw, Dash spun back up to look at the hole in the sky. It had changed while she was distracted, growing two large distinct red blurs out of its sides. The wire like hands stretched down to Dash, and she moved to dodge them. Too late, as the red gripped her wings tightly. More wires, twisted like branches, reached up to her face, forcing her to gaze upon the hole. A sound began to emit from it, something loud that pierced her soul, forcing Dash away from her dream.
Her eyes snapped open, revealing the scene in front of her. Reacting quickly, Dash leapt back, pushing her wings into the stall behind her. A pained groan broke her lips as she moved again, focusing on the creature in front of her. A huge cyan robot.
The dreams of her sleep faded away as she struggled for words, simultaneously trying to figure out how long she'd been asleep. She hated the fact that she'd let her weakness get the better of her. It boggled her mind that she could fall asleep while her friend was in grave danger. Still struggling to make sense of everything, her mascot decided to give her a friendly push.
"Congratulations. You murdered a weapon-less, stuck up fashionista by dunking her in a tank of acid, how do you feel?"
Dash gave it a moment of thought before responding. "Tired, I guess. Maybe a little sore."
"I'm drowning in my own laughter."
"Well, I thought it was pretty funny. Doesn't that mean you should?" Dash asked.
"It's a little hard to laugh under the circumstances."
Dash stood back up, stretching her wings while she did so. She scanned her surroundings hastily, tapping her hoof quickly. Focusing back on her clone she said, "Enough small talk, you here for the race? Think you're up to the Dash's level, huh? I'll take you down easily, you won't even get the chance to see me."
"Quit bragging, we both know I would win."
"Like hay you would."
"I'm here on something more important than that. I should have done this ages ago, but I honestly thought I didn't need you." The mascot said.
"Hang on, what? What's important?"
The robot cocked its head sideways. "I thought I could get through this myself, but time's running out. I thought I could silently push you towards figuring this out yourself, but it seems I'm denser than I think."
Dash raised one of her eyebrows and stepped forward, keeping a careful eye on the mascot the whole time. The ponies on the street paid no mind to the two creatures, other than the occasional stray eye. "I am not dense, I just don't bother with the details when the big picture is more important."
"We don't have time to argue, listen, have you noticed anything strange about this park since you got here?"
Dash stared at her clone stupidly, "We gonna start the list?"
The mascot shook her head, "No, what I mean is, have you noticed anything strange when you sleep?"
Dash rubbed the back of her head, wincing when her hoof ran over a large bruise there. "Who has time to sleep? I don't have time to worry about sleep."
"You were sleeping just now."
Shaking her head, Dash blurted out a hasty response. "No...no I wasn't. I was...I was waiting. Yea, waiting for the perfect time to save Pinkie."
"Because Celestia knows you've done a top notch job of that so far."
"Like you would do better."
The robot waited for a moment, cocking its head sideways occasionally in an attempt to process its thoughts more clearly. Finally, it spoke again, strangely clear through the static. "Can we please just move past this? Forget the big picture for a moment and listen to me. There is something important I need to show you. Ponies will die if you are not aware of this fact, Pinkie will die. There are plots running across this park that I can't even begin to explain, and you need to stop being so...so Dashie and let me help you."
Dash shrugged. "You would like plots running all over this park, wouldn't you?"
"Again, same pony. Is it really that hard to understand for you? You just made fun of yourself."
"Why would I want your help anyway? I don't want to end up dead, and you seem to want that to be our end goal here. Why would I want the help of the one pony in this park out to kill me? Why would you want to help me in the first place? Nothing you do makes any sense, and it's driving me crazy. What do you want from me?"
The mascot stepped forward, stretching its 'wings' to make itself appear larger. "Is this how you accept my help? I'm off risking my flank hiding us from the insane alicorn and all her little minions running the park, and you think you have ANY right to complain about my intentions? You are only still here because I want you to. I could have swept both you and Pinkie up out of this park and back into safety and that would be that, if only you would listen to me."
Dash, not one to be intimidated, stepped forward too, pushing her nose into the mascot. The cold metal shocked Dash for a second, but she fought off the disorienting effects quickly. "So why don't you? What are your intentions? If you can get Pinkie out of here, do it. I thought you were suppose to be me, and I would have saved Pinkie."
"You want to know why I haven't done that? Huh, do you? Why don't you take a quick nap and find out? Even better, I'll help you!"
With that shout, Rainbow's mascot threw its hooves into the air, punching them forward occasionally. Its fore legs heated up with every movement, eventually becoming a raging inferno of heat and fuel. The glass eyes of the mascot watched on emotionlessly as the two tubes of fire swung towards Rainbow.
Dash simply hoisted herself into the air, staring down her opponent. The attack simply passed beneath her harmlessly, throwing the mascot off balance.
"It's on!" Rainbow shouted.
Dash leapt forward, swinging her back legs forward. A heavy thunk vibrated up her legs as she made contact and she spun around hastily to make another attack. In the time it took for her to face her attacker again, the mascot already had a super-heated punch flying in her direction. Dash subconsciously bit down on her lip as she thrust downwards with her wings, sending her just high enough to avoid the swing. The other hoof punched up uselessly to try and grab her, but it was a wasted effort as Dash rose higher into the air, well out of the mascot's range.
"Haha, can't touch me up here, what now?" Dash shouted at the ground.
Rainbow's mascot simply placed one of its hooves on its forehead, not even fazed by the heat. It cradled its head for a moment, before rising into the air slowly. The faint whir of the rockets beneath her were just loud enough to drown out Dash's cries of indignity.
The two fighters stared at each other for a moment, neither one prepared to actually throw another punch. There was no reason to fight over something so trivial, not when time, precious time at that, was slipping away. Beneath the duo, ponies had gathered to watch the spectacle. Dash glanced down, letting her mascot escape her sight for a split second, before the danger she was in clicked.
Plain sight, she'd thrown herself into plain sight. More than that, she'd done it while screaming at the top of her voice and causing the largest gathering of ponies at the park to form beneath her.
She looked back up at the mascot and swallowed nervously. "Maybe...maybe we didn't think this through."
Her mascot nodded, "Yea, you kinda screwed up."
"This was your fault! You attacked me!"
"Only because you won't listen to me. Can you hear the words coming out of my mouth? Pinkie, is going, to die."
Snapping her mouth shut, Dash's 'witty' response died before it even began. Pinkie was...dying? Dash shook her head. "No...no, Pinkie is safe, you said yourself 'Pinkie is safe.' Even Nightmare said it! You're lying."
"Look, come with me, I'll explain everything I know."
Dash glanced back down one last time, scanning the crowd for any sign of the other mascots. If they were in the crowd, it was extremely hard to pick them out. Snapping her head forwards, Dash nodded hastily. "Let's get out of here before the others show up. I don't want to have to beat another one of you."
"Like you could."
Dash blinked the wind out of her eyes as she flew. A painful itch had developed on her wings from the strain of flying so fast, and she could already see black dots marking her vision. She kept her teeth tightly clasped on her tongue though, using the fresh pain to stop her from slowing down. The mascot next to her showed no signs of exhaustion and Dash had the suspicion that it wasn't even going as fast as it could.
Despite this though, she wasn't about to ask it to slow down for her. She was Rainbow Dash, fastest pegasus alive. A fancy paint job on a tin can wasn't faster than her, no way.
Panting heavily, Dash swallowed the bile building in her throat long enough to question her mascot. "Where are...where are we going?"
"You slowing down there or what? Come on, keep up."
Dash exhaled painfully. "Where...are we...going?" she asked.
"Don't worry, we're nearly there. It's not safe to talk here, even if we are flying. Just be patient for another minute."
"I can't be...patient. Pinkie...danger...something something...ah screw it." Dash cursed beneath her breath as she slowed down. The strain left her body and the wind finally stopped pushing against her as her mascot raced on ahead. She wanted to keep moving, prove why she was the true Rainbow Dash, but her body could only take so much abuse. Without the continuous struggle of keeping up with her companion, all the battle wounds from before raced back into her.
She simply hovered silently, fighting down the urge to vomit. The cool wind blew against her again, softer than when she was flying. It was cool, relaxing. Dash closed her eyes and felt the currents, hoping that they would do something to ease her pain.
Eventually, a hot wind rushed back to her and Dash opened her eyes to face her mascot again.
"You don't look so good. Everything finally building up on you, huh?" the robot said, glancing behind itself.
Dash swallowed her puke again before forming an answer, "I'm fine. Just a little...little tired. What could be building up on me, these are nothing. Just scratches, I've had worse."
Rainbow's clone shook its head. "I don't know. I've never seen myself after an accident, but I don't think we would look that bad."
"Just shut up. How much further?"
"Oh, we're nearly there. You can see it actually, just over there." It said, pointing somewhere near the edge of the park.
Dash pulled her head up, focusing on where they were going. It appeared to be a small shack, constructed out of worn metal. Dash was forced to close her eyes as the sun reflected off the building into her face.
The mascot spun back to face Rainbow Dash, static already building in its mouth. "Listen, Dash...about before."
"What...what before?"
The robot simply ignored Dash, continuing whatever it was trying to say. "All of us, the real elements that is, all of us are...well, we wanted to say...you see, weren't expecting something like this to happen. It's normal that we would freak out a bit, after all, after the wedding...what I want to say is we're sorry about being so rash. We really shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."
Dash flew forward, pushing past her mascot. A moment passed in silence as the robot waited for Dash response. Slowly, Dash spun around, still keeping her pace backwards. "No, that isn't good enough. I don't care what the hay you're doing out here in this moon damned park, you have no right to nearly kill me and then just wave a magic stick and go, 'I'm sorry about the misunderstanding.' Stealing a Daring Do book was a misunderstanding, this is straight up wrong. You're suppose to be the elements, why are you doing this? My friends, the real elements, do their best to protect ponies. What have you done, besides hunt me down and break my wings?"
Another moment passed and the mascot moved closer to Rainbow Dash. She tried to pull away, but her body broke down before she could. Pulling up to her side, the mascot tried its best to defend itself. "We are protecting ponies. Have you met Nightmare? Mare's crazy. If we weren't here to keep her in place, do you have any idea how many ponies she could hurt? It's like clearing a few clouds to contain the storm."
Dash swallowed again, taking her pride with it. She couldn't keep pushing herself this hard. "Can we...we go there slower? I'm just hanging on here."
Her mascot cocked its head sideways, eager to drop the situation. "Rainbow Dash? Wanting to go slow? Is this really happening? Is this still real life? What's wrong, can't keep up with the true Rainbow Dash?"
"Just you wait, it's coming to you, I'll make sure of that. I just can't dash well like this." she replied.
"Sure thing, slowpoke. We'll take this easy, just for you."
Dash choked out a smile, pushing herself forward again. Her wings stung with every repetition, but she could fight through that. Next to her, the cyan robot gave her the occasional lift, helping her get through the air. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.
"So what's the deal?" Dash said, resting against the wall as she talked. The metal sides of the building were effective at blocking out any light the sun might offer, limiting Dash's vision to a few paces in front of her. There was a light in the roof, but it was old and worn down, barely lighting the room at all. Every now and then, the entire structure would creak as the wind blew against, confirming the belief that it was an incredibly old building.
"Not yet, will you please be patient?" was the reply. It echoed across the room from the large mascot, only visible from the lights behind her eyes. Dash couldn't tell what she was doing.
Pushing herself off the wall with one of her battered wings, Dash stepped forward. "No. No I won't. I'm getting pretty annoyed at this point, and telling me that I need to wait even longer to get an answer isn't helping. What's happening, how's Pinkie in danger? What do you need me for?" Dash stopped for a moment as her thoughts rushed to catch up with her mouth. "This is a trap isn't it? That's why you won't say anything and why you've handling Rarity so well. This freaky mind thing works both ways, buddy. If the real Rarity died, I know I'd be freaking out a lot more than this, what's your plan?"
"This isn't a trap, would you please just trust me on this. It's just...just easier to show you everything than it is to explain it."
"What's easier? What are you doing over there anyway?" Dash stepped closer to the mascot, waiting a second as her vision adapted to the darkness.
Dash's eyes widened as she saw the answer to her own question. Hundreds of emotions rushed into her and with them, hundreds of questions. Each one flew past her face for a split second, leaving their mark as they did. Slowly, her face twisted into confusion and a single question rose to her mouth.
"Why are you making a bed?"
Her mascot simply stared at her, dropping the sheets back onto the bed as it did. Its hoof rose to its chin hastily, as if it was trying to remember something it had forgotten. A sparkle of comprehension shone in its eyes as it turned back to bed, picking the sheet back up. All pretense of seriousness though, was dropped when the robot crackled out its response. "So you can sleep."
"Obviously, but what...why...how does this help anypony? I thought you were going to show me something shocking, not practice your ancient prench folding technique."
The mascot released what could have been a sigh. "Alright, listen to this then. It is very important that you go to sleep now. Dreams, emotions, impulses, these all play a big part in this. Each one is going to be needed. You've got the impulse part down, but you've skipped the dream stuff. How many times has it slapped you in the face and you didn't notice it? How many times have you sat in the face of danger without even realizing how close you were to dying? Dreams, not impulses, are going to guide us through this."
Dash nodded, a blank gaze stuck on her face. "Sounds like something Twilight would say."
"Don't tell her I copied her then. Now get in the bed, I'll follow after."
At this, Dash threw her front hooves into the air. She waved them as if the movement would help her catch the words she needed. "Whoa whoa, I'm not going to sleep."
"Yes, you are. Get in."
"No way. I get in there I become a sleeping duck. Before I know it, you've got me tied up and it's over." Dash turned around and made her way towards the rickety door. "I can see right though this. Now excuse me, I have a Pinkie to save."
Her way was suddenly blocked by the cold metal of the machine. "Will you please let go of this attitude for six sec...actually, you know what? Go. Go out there and die already, I don't even care. Why am I wasting all this time and effort to save a useless clone of myself? You want to go out there and try to stop Nightmare? Fine, just don't expect me to save you." A swift kick flung the door open, flooding the room with light. "Go on, out. Me and the real elements have an alicorn to fight. After all I've done, I can't even believe that you don't at least think that I may be on your side."
Dash breathed in deeply, closing her eyes as the sun blinded her. She took a stunned step forward, expecting her mascot to step in and stop her. When it didn't, she focused on the mascot's face. She could feel the heat of the robots barely concealed rage. A moment passed as Dash tried to comprehend it.
So much had already passed, yet she'd learnt so little. It was insulting, that's what it was. Couldn't it see what Dash was going through? Half of her troubles were caused by the robots, why shouldn't she be suspicious? It was smarter to be suspicious, better suspicious than dead. They had taken Pinkie, abused her, trapped her within a park of doom and were mascots all the while. What right did it have to get angry?
Dash stepped forward, slamming her foot into the floor. "Oh, like you ever cared. How much of my troubles could you have stopped? You say that you're the real Rainbow Dash, but when have you shown that? Every interaction I've had with you guys have ended with you punching me between the eyes and knocking me out. The one time we met and didn't immediately fight each other ended like that. Why do you have such a hatred towards me? Why won't you let me just take Pinkie and leave?"
Taking a step back from the outburst, Rainbow's clone backpedaled. "Alright, I get it. I'm not you, can we drop that now? You've been waving it around like flaming tree branch. You know why I haven't stopped this? We need you. Assuming, for a moment, that you are the real element, then we need your help to stop Nightmare. I am...sorry, for attacking you, and I know this isn't going to help my case, but please; just listen for once.
Dash lowered her eyebrows in a combination of anger and confusion. Opening her mouth, she prepared to ask if that was it, until something cold smacked her in the maw. The robots hoof continued swinging forward, pushing itself into Dash's mouth. With a wet smack, it finally hit something, filling Dash's vision with black spots.
She wavered on her legs for a split second, before succumbing to the punch. Everything from her earlier fights rushed into her and were numbed back down into oblivion as she slowly lost her grip on reality.
Choking back something building in her throat, she coughed out a near silent "What?" before finally blacking out for good.
Dash snapped her eyes open again instantly. Something felt different. Not odd, but simply different. She stayed on her back, trying to figure out what it was. Carefully, she rolled onto her side, still not sure what had changed. With a faint grunt and a push on her wings, Dash pulled herself back to her feet, scanning her surroundings for whatever was making her feel different.
It wasn't until she stretched the needles out of her wings that it occurred to her. Her wings didn't hurt anymore. All the strain, all the punches; the layers upon layers of bruises she had gathered during her adventure had simply vanished. This realization flowed through her as the full extent of great she felt made itself clear. The ringing in her ears was gone, her stomach refused to ache, the burn down her neck disappeared; she felt like a new born baby.
She hadn't even noticed how much everything had hurt until she was forced to remember how she felt before the pain. It was blissful. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a vague memory of danger lingered, drowned out by the ecstasy of not being in a state of agony. A lethargic hoof swung forward, pulling the drunken pony behind it forward.
Dash stopped for a moment, realizing a very important fact. Two facts, actually. She was no longer in the run down shed with her mascot self, and Fluttershy was staring at her timidly. Not the robot Fluttershy, but her actual flesh and blood friend Fluttershy.
Fighting against her better instincts, Dash stood perfectly still. Her eyes drifted through the empty field she was standing in, trying to pick out any thing that didn't fit. Switching between her friend and the clear sky, Dash continued to scan for danger. A couple of trees blocked her view, but each of them were far too small to hide behind anyway. With a hoof full of hesitation, Dash took a step closer to Fluttershy.
More questions flashed in her mind. Always questions, never answers. That's all she wanted really, an actual answer to one of her questions rather than a cryptic riddle.
Despite her best efforts to stay subtle, and every instinct shouting at her to get under cover again, Dash sprinted forward.
Fluttershy let out a cute squeak as Dash tackled her, wrapping her hooves around the pegasus. The pair rolled for a split second, eventually resting in a two pony pile. Dash refused to release her grip, pulling herself closer.
Fluttershy's cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. "Umm...hel...hello. Rainbow?"
Dash sobbed quietly and grabbed her tighter. "If...if you tell anypony I cried I'll...I'll tell them about your tail extensions."
Fluttershy's hooves hovered in the air around Rainbow, before she made her choice and brought them down over Dash's back. "There there? Are you okay?" she asked.
Pulling her head up, Dash looked into the eyes of her friend. "I've been through a lot today. I needed a familiar face."
"Umm...do you want to talk ab--"
"No. I really don't want to talk about it. Can we just sit here for a moment?"
Fluttershy shuffled uncomfortably, releasing Dash while she did so. She struggled to remove herself from Dash's arms, eventually stopping when she realized how impossible it was. "Dash, I...we need to move soon. If that's okay."
Dash stared at Fluttershy for a minute, letting her hooves drop uselessly to her sides. Silence sat between the two, breaking suddenly when Dash threw herself back to her feet. "Listen, Fluttershy, where are we?" she asked, wiping the water out of her eyes and pretending nothing had happened.
"Oh, we're somewhere."
Dash's hoof found her face again. "I can see that Fluttershy, but where are we? How did you get here?"
Kicking her hoof, Fluttershy turned away from Rainbow. "Are you...alright, Rainbow? You're acting weird."
"I'm acting weird? Where am we? Did the mascots take me here? Did they take you? I swear, if they hurt you--"
For a moment, Fluttershy's pace wavered. Despite this, she continued moving forward, ignoring Dash's questions. Eventually, the questions dried up and Dash was left simply watching Fluttershy walk towards the middle of the field. Her steps were heaver than usual and seemed to carry the weight of an unseen responsibility. Fluttershy breathed in deeply, taking in the smell of the field as she took her place at the center of the field. Around her, a dull sort of wavering appeared, like someone was lighting a fire beneath her.
"You're not the real Rainbow Dash, are you?" she asked.
Dash tripped over her own tongue trying to form a response. "What? Of course I'm the real Rainbow Dash. Do I look like I'm made of soup cans?"
Fluttershy simply closed her eyes. "But...but we are made of soup cans."
Dash was about to ask what the hell she was talking about, but stopped when the answer began to show itself.
It started with the trees, a slow ripple that chased away the vibrant greens and browns of the powerful trunks. They flew into the sky like flecks of paint, eager to escape whatever was coming next. The outline of the trees remained, darkening to a deep red and with it; every branch of every tree started to reach outwards. Each red line cut through the air like a sword, stretching itself into the sky. Connecting together with a meaty 'pop' the once trees reached further, only stopping when every connection was made. A circle had been made, a perfect hole in the middle of reality.
The ground began to change next, crumbling away beneath the ponies feet. Rainbow Dash leapt forward suddenly, narrowly avoiding tumbling into a dark abyss that appeared beneath her. Colours began to drain again, dripping off the land into the hole below, only to be swallowed by the encroaching darkness until only lines were left. Faster than Rainbow could blink, the lines darkened like the trees. Instead of joining their brothers in the sky though, they reached down like roots, encircling the land from below. With a rip, the section of land containing the plain was pulled into the air, saving it from crumbling with the rest.
Dash released a breath she was holding, maybe a little faster than she wanted. She'd seen this before, she'd seen it all. It was like her dreams. She took a step back, nearly falling off the island she was suddenly on. Her breathing came faster and heavier as she realized she was trapped. She needed to get off, this wasn't safe. Her wings swung open reflexively, preparing her for flight. All it would take is a single step off the edge, and she could wake up. It would all be safe.
The only thing stopping her was Fluttershy. Dash spun around, searching the dark red landscape for her friend. She was still sitting in the middle of the field, staring up at the circle in the sky. The darkness reached out to stop Rainbow as she flew, did its best to keep the mare grounded, but Dash wasn't having any of that. The mist parted slightly as she landed next to Fluttershy, giving her a strong push as she did.
"We need to get out of here, Fluttershy!" Dash shouted. It was too quiet though, something was wrong. The darkness and the mist and the smoke and all these distractions continued to push against Rainbow, making doing anything nearly impossible. She gritted her teeth, physically punching through the clogged air to reach her target. It was so constricting; she could feel it seeping into her mouth and her lungs and her mind.
She panicked again, grabbing Fluttershy by the wings. Roughly, she shook the mare repeatedly, trying to snap her out of whatever had caught her. Instead, Dash received one simple word.
"Watch."
A ripple ran through Dash's spine as the word cut through the smoke. It retreated hastily, pulled into the air like the colour before it. With the sky clear, Dash finally looked up, seeing exactly what her friend was talking about.
Something was coming closer, clawing its way out of the hole in the sky.
A faint whining hovered in the air as the thing came closer. Dash tried to look away, tried to do anything except look at this thing moving towards her. It was just so odd, so wrong, a mockery of everything she knew and believed in. She blinked, and her vision blurred with it. Her tears hit the glowing red ground, barely even leaving a mark. Why was she here? What did she do to deserve witnessing something so horrendously out of this world that the mere sight reduced her to tears? Her feet remained glued to the floor, despite everything telling her to run far, far away.
The thing reached forward further, stretching a gnarled hoof over the edge of the hold and towards the ground. Everything slowed down as adrenaline hit Dash again, adding another voice to the hundreds telling her to flee. She remembered the last time she talked to Pinkie, and how she'd never know the truth between them. She remembered the cause for her depression in the first place, god, it felt so unimportant right now. The memory of her first Wonderbolt show, leaving Cloudsdale, meeting her friends, fighting Nightmare and Disord, sleeping. Always sleeping, why did she have to waste so much of the time she had sleeping?
The thing from the hole finally reached the earth, gouging into it as its hoof dug in to grab a better hold. Dash tried screaming, but nothing came out of her mouth. She wasn't ready to die, at least not like this. She wanted to join the Wonderbolts, be rich and famous, meet her fans. She didn't want to go.
She could taste the bitter tears running down her face. Then slowly, Fluttershy stepped forward.
Dash could hardly watch as Fluttershy, the most timid pony she'd ever met, walked closer to this monster that had reduced Dash to a whimpering foal. Her wings sprung open, throwing off a thin sheet of dust as they did. Fluttershy took a moment to adjust herself, and simply flew directly towards the breach.
"What did I tell you!" she shouted.
It was slight, perhaps a tiny shudder, but Dash swore she could see the thing react to Fluttershy's shout.
"WHAT DID I TELL YOU!"
There was a definite change this time. The giant hoof buried in the ground flinched, throwing dirt high into the air. Dash covered her eyes from the spray, and watched in dull amazement at her friend.
"If I ever, EVER see you come here again, then I will show you why you should hide in that hole of yours."
Dash gasped in fright as the hole started to break. Red wires snapped apart from the pressure, flailing wildly in the air. The darkness around Dash lurched into the sky, pulled towards the rapidly shrinking hole. Inside, the thing shouted in fury as its escape closed around its head, trapping it back where it came from.
Not without a fight though. As a final resistance, the thing pushed forward, trying to force itself through the hole. Force its way through the smoke and mist that kept its true face hidden. For the first time since Dash arrived at park, she finally got an unobstructed view of the thing haunting her dreams.
Two serpentine eyes focused on Rainbow, and the sheer hate, the sheer wrongness, the unstoppable wave of negative emotions rushing into her from the creature's gaze overwhelmed her. It felt like someone was punching her in the chest each time her heart beat; and slowly, so slowly, the thing retreated. Dash collapsed to her knees, physically tired. She just wanted to go home and forget all this. A wave of exhaustion flowed over her, and her worn out body failed on her once again.
She faded from the dream, the soft smile of Fluttershy guiding her back into the realm of sleep.
Dash flinched as something pulled at her wing. A dull ache took over from the sudden sting and Dash forced her eyes open to find the cause. A blinding yellow light stopped her instead, forcing her to close her eyes again. Spinning her head around out of the light, Dash tried again, only to find the same result. She tried again, and again, each time being greeted with the same blinding light.
Slowly, the lethargy of her sleep faded, and she began to realize someone was stroking her wings. Preening, actually. Dash relaxed a minute as she pondered on why. It hadn't occurred to her that she might have gotten dirty, it was almost certain though, but why bother cleaning her now?
Flapping her wings once, she forced whoever was with her away. Preening was for ponies like Rarity anyway, Dash didn't need to look pretty. Bored and confused, Dash tried opening her eyes again. It worked however, causing a note of surprise to leap out of Dash's mouth.
Instantly, Dash looked over to see who was with her, sighing in relief when she was greeted by the soft yellow of her friend.
"Oh, are you awake? I was just...well, I...never-mind. Are you hurt, I can help with that."
Dash rubbed her head, looking around as she did. She was still on the grassy plain, though it was once again stuck to the ground instead of hovering over a dark void. In fact, it looked nearly exactly the way it did before...before the thing appeared. Dash shuddered. She and Fluttershy traded a stare, before she leapt back to her feet.
"Of course I'm fine. Just took a little nap, all's fine. Are you all right though, you tackled that thi...you tackled it like a champ." Dash replied, trying to avoid encroaching on that subject. It hurt too much to think about what she saw.
Fluttershy pulled her gaze down, "It wasn't that amazing."
Dash opened her mouth to correct Fluttershy, to tell her how brave she was, until someone beat her to the punch.
"That's crazy talk, Fluttershy. No matter how many times that happens, it'll still amaze me."
Glancing behind herself, Dash took a double take at what she was seeing. Or more specifically, who she was seeing.
A flesh and blood copy of herself. Fierce-browed determination sat behind her copy's eyes as she trotted closer. Two rows of polished teeth shined out of her mouth, rivaled only by the energy nearly visibly radiating out of the other Rainbow.
Dash's mouth closed itself as her copy began to speak. "So you see now, Dash? This is why I'm not lifting you and Pinkie out of here. If we leave without dealing with Nightmare first, that's what goes wrong."
A dull burn spread through Dash's chest as her confusion kindled away to confident anger. "What's going on here? Who are you and why the horseapple do you look like me?"
The fake Rainbow shrugged. "I am you, we've been over this before, so many times. Why can't you just listen for once? Have you really forgotten everything we talked about?"
Dash glared at her impostor, until precious realization hit her over the head. "My mascot?"
"Yep. Good to see you're as perceptive as ever."
Dash glanced around again, flying into the air slightly to get a better view. "Same pony, stop insulting yourself. Wait, hang on. Why do you look like me?"
"You've always looked like me, that's the point of a copy. Though I know you're referring to why I'm not made of metal."
Before she could explain, Fluttershy took over her point. "It's.. um, because this is a dream. Nightmare's dream. So...so everypony looks like how Nightmare thinks they look like."
Nodding, Dash responded slowly. "I don't understand."
"None of this is real, idiot. It's a dream. And in the dream, we look like you, because that's what we think we should look like."
"Well...technically it's how Nightmare sees us..." Fluttershy corrected, sinking into her chest at the sudden attention it brought her.
Dash nodded, a blank gaze fixed on the duo. "Still don't get it, but there are bigger things. What the hay was that thing? Oh sweet Celestia, it was...it was terrifying."
Almost instantly, Rainbow's copy threw a hoof in Dash's direction, releasing a loud shout of 'Ah ha' as she did. "I knew it! She agrees with me, that thing is straight up 'banished to the moon' levels of freaky."
"It really isn't. It's just a giant hoof. It was...was scary the first time and the second time...and all times after that, but all it does is stamp the ground." Fluttershy replied.
"Don't give me that, it's two against one now. That thing is freaky."
Dash sighed and pushed herself between the two ponies. Capturing their attention by passing each one a quick glance, Dash tried to fix the situation. This must be how Twilight feels every day. "Shut up, what is that thing?"
Focusing on Fluttershy, Dash felt something drop inside her when she was met with a simple shrug. Spinning back to face her copy; a half scared, mostly confused smile on her face, Dash asked again. "What. Is. That. Thing?"
Her copy broke eye contact. "We don't know. I'm sorry but, we don't know. We think Nightmare might be trying to break it out, and we know you and the other Pinkie have something to do with it. Beyond that though, we know as much as you."
Dash nodded, "All right, so lets not give her the chance. Pinkie's in danger--" Dash stopped herself as the words passed her lips. How could she forget, how much time had she wasted already? Her best friend was in danger and she'd gone and passed out again. She needed to focus.
"Pinkie's in danger, what danger? What's going on?"
"Nightmare's getting impatient. I guess she thought you would be more interesting or something, that's not important. She wants to get this over and done with. She's getting bored; and when Nightmare gets bored, bodies tend to start piling up. Usually, we'd try to get you and Pinkie out of here as fast as we can, but...even if you leave, that thing's still waiting here. Sooner or later, Nightmare's gonna get it out."
Dash instinctively stared up at the sky, worried that whatever it was could appear at any moment. "Hang on, you want me to fight that?"
Her copy nodded.
"What about the Princess, or the other elements? We should be getting them in here! I can't fight that thing alone. I can barely look at it!"
The other Dash clicked her lips together, making a quiet 'tut tut' sound. "Think about it, Rainbow. You saw how close that thing was to escaping, how long do you think you have? By the time you get to Ponyville, there's no telling whether it would have escaped. You may just be learning this, but Nightmare is very good at planning. Nearly all of your options end with her winning."
Dash could feel the gears grinding in her head. If she started fleeing now, she might be able to gather Twilight and the others before the thing got out, but Pinkie would be left at the mercy of Nightmare. If she saved Pinkie and tried to flee, the thing would be breathing down their necks by the time they got home. Simply saving Pinkie and staying to fight wouldn't work either; without the other elements Nightmare would be near invincible, not to mention Rainbow risked waking up the thing herself by unwittingly following Nightmare's plan.
Clutching her head, Dash fell to the ground. She didn't want this, it was suppose to be a simple day at the park, not a world changing adventure! Fond memories of Ponyville found their way into Dash's head and with them, a renewed sense of purpose. Even if she didn't know what she was doing, at least she was doing something, right? Better to go down fighting than cowering.
Dash breathed in deeply to calm her nerves and stepped back so she could focus on both of the mascots. "Okay, all better. Where's Pinkie?"
"Underground. There's a series of tunnels built beneath the park--"
"Yes, I know, me and Pinkie used them to escape back when you guys were trying to kill me." Dash replied.
Her clone grinned. "So that's how you did it."
Dash paced forward, trying to keep her mind focused. "Why did you guys do that anyway? I mean, I understand the whole 'I'm the clone' thing, but still..."
"It was a mixture of Nightmare's urging and blind panic, and I already said sorry." Dash's copy said.
Rainbow could feel her hoof moving on it's own, slowly rising to her face in the holy matrimony that was the face hoof. "Yes, but why are you helping her at all?"
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash traded glances as something passed over their face. Worry? Confusion? The real Rainbow couldn't tell. It was something so subtle that it was nearly impossible to describe.
"At first, it was because we had no choice. It was either help Nightmare or she'd...well, kill us. Lately though, it's been a convenient place to subtly mess with her plans. She doesn't have a clue."
The real Dash nodded, as if all the pieces and questions she had were finally getting answered. One question stuck out though, something which didn't fit in among the rest. She knew it was there, just dangling on the tip of her tongue. Why was it so hard find?
Struggling for a moment more, Dash finally managed to grasp the wayward thought. It dissolved in her brain, finally bringing the last pieces together.
"There's something I don't get though." Dash said, causing her clone to look at her questioningly. A soft 'hmm' escaped from the pony's mouth.
"Why are you here?" Dash asked.
The simple question hung in the air, taunting in its simplicity. Too simple, in fact. Straight and precise and plain unnoticeable in its sheer simplicity, it was probably the one question that had never been asked. Dash's clone could only cock her head sideways, trying to figure out what Dash meant. As she searched the question though, digging through it to try and find the double meaning it had to have, it finally dawned on her.
"I...I don't understand." She said. That was a lie, but she needed to hear the confirmation of her fears.
Dash raised a hoof to help explain her point. "Why are you guys here to begin with? What was the point of creating a bunch of robots to imitate my friends? Why create robots at all? Nightmare has enough bits to keep this whole park running and has a security force consisting of the three most burly figures I've ever met. Why make robots?"
Waiting a moment for a response, Dash could feel the tension rising in the air. Neither of the ponies in front of her wanted to make a noise; each one struggling to come up with an answer.
"Maybe...maybe she needs loyal servants?" Fluttershy said.
Dash scoffed. "You're the least loyal workers I've ever seen, besides, why bother giving you my memories than?"
"Nightmare's insane, who can guess why she does anything? We're wasting time obsessing over pointless questions that don't matter, while the thing is slowly breaking free. Dash, lets get out of here already. The sooner we stop Nightmare the better."
Nodding hastily at her copy, Dash hesitantly agreed. "Alright, alright. What's the plan here? How do we stop Nightmare?"
Dash's copy grinned like a school kid in front of a toy store. Her tongue traced a line across her lips as she began. "Okay, listen up, because I'm only saying this once. Here's what we're gonna do. Nightmare's not going to expect you to know where Pinkie is, this gives you a small opportunity to strike back. We need you to distract Nightmare long enough so that Twilight can cast her brother's shield spell. Hopefully, this'll be strong enough to keep Nightmare contained until you can rush out and bring back the elements. You pass the elements to us, the real ponies of harmony, we wipe the floor with Nightmare, everypony's happy and you and Pinkie get to return home to wherever you came from. Badabing badaboom, simple and easy."
"Sounds flimsy."
"If you have a better plan, I'd like to hear it."
Dash shrugged, throwing off the blow to her ego. "Good point, but how do you expect me to distract the invincible alicorn?"
"How should I know? Figure something out."
"I will then, useless piles of junk." she whispered to herself while leaping forward.
She stopped as Dash suddenly remembered her surroundings. She wasn't in the park anymore, she was still trapped in some freaky dreamworld. Rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, Dash spun around. "Umm, how do I...you know...leave?"
The grin on her clone's face grew wider. "Same way you entered."
Dash glanced around, expecting to find some kind of door or blatant exit. While her search proved fruitless, the soft noises of hoofsteps began as the mascots moved closer.
Staring at her mascots, Dash was painfully reminded of how she entered the dream to begin with. Luckily for her, a half baked 'wait' was all she managed to spit out before her clone delivered a painful punch into her side.
This time however, she wasn't going to go down easily. Disoriented from the blow, Dash swung out blindly; feeling her hoof connect with something meaty before being thrown off balance. Her vision split as she locked onto her clone, taking another swing at her. A punch of her attacker hit her at the same same as her own, digging Dash's teeth into her lips. Her wings sprung open on their own to get Dash a better fighting position, both by springing her into the air and throwing her back from the other ponies. Her vision cleared for a second, just long enough for her to see a cyan blur rushing towards her. Dash crossed her hooves instinctively, tanking the tackle with her lower arms. Her wings pushed down strongly, propelling Dash into the air away from her attacker. While she rose, something smacked into her foot and her clone reeled backwards from the unexpected kick.
Stopping her ascent hastily, Rainbow turned her advantage back on her opponent. Gravity worked on her side as her hoof crashed down on her clone's neck; pushing them down. Both of the ponies braced themselves for impact as the ground rushed forward. Clumps of dirt and mud splashed up into Dash's face; combined with a shock wave travelling up her arm. Beneath her, the mascot struggled to breathe, gasping pathetically while thoroughly winded. Dash couldn't help but smile.
"You know, I think I like you more like this. Gives me a fair fight, unlike last tim--"
Pain exploded out of Dash's mouth as her teeth bit down onto her tongue. All she could taste was the coppery liquid of her own blood as it rushed through the new hole she'd cut into herself. Black lines rushed into Dash's vision as her thoughts finally caught up with her body. Another pain stretched out from the back of her head, spreading to any place it could reach.
Dash finally gave in to the sudden pain, letting her heavy eyelids collapse onto themselves.
Behind her, the kitchen pan clattered to the ground as Fluttershy lost the nerve to hold it. She couldn't stop her shaking hooves no matter what she tried, nor could she so much as blink. Instead, Fluttershy carefully lifted Dash's unconscious body off her friend; checking to make sure there was no permanent damage to either of them. The two clones simply sat next to each other, with Rainbow occasionally wheezing and rubbing her neck.
Pain.
Why was she in so much pain?
It was a jarring experience, to be sure. One Dash didn't want to have to repeat. The 'transfer,' if it could be called that, happened nearly instantly. Her eyes closed slowly in the dream and the eyes on her body opened in return. Usually, this wouldn't be something interesting, if it wasn't for the fact that her body was currently battered blue and that the short rest had done nothing to soothe her injuries.
If it were possible to measure, Dash would assume it actually hurt more than before. It was important that she started her part of the plan before something else could happen, but despite her efforts, her body simply wouldn't drag itself out of the bed.
She wanted to stay in bed; let someone else handle the danger. She'd done her part already, let Twilight swoop in and save Pinkie, or let Applejack jump the fence and stop Nightmare, just find someone else to do her job so she didn't need to get up. It was just so comfortable.
With a sigh as heavy as her smile, Dash finally gathered the willpower to throw her leg over the side of the bed. Her hoof rushed down to meet the floor and Rainbow winced as the pain flowed back through her. It was the pain of staying still for so long mixed with the pain of her bruises and burns. Feeling something like that so early after waking up really brought Dash down to earth quickly.
Once again, she became aware of how terrifyingly final everything was. She needed to be perfect for there to be any chance of saving Pinkie. Perfect at sneaking, perfect at fighting, perfect at distracting, perfect at being perfect. Not a single screw up or it was all over.
Leaping out of the bed, Rainbow cringed as everything exploded around her. Not a single part of her didn't hurt. Maybe it was the sudden transition between being in no pain to being in excruciating pain.
Rainbow breathed deeply to calm herself, with the hope that it would also do something about her aching body.
Seeing as it didn't, Dash stepped forward.
The rusty door creaked as she pushed it open, quickly adjusting her eyes to the light. In the distance, she could see ponies walking around, completely oblivious to any danger. Not one of them realized what was really going on behind the scenes.
Dash replaced the grimace on her face as she looked around.
The first part of the plan involved getting beneath the park. There was always the entrance hidden beneath Tom, or the one in Flim Flam's tent, but those would take too long. Surely there were other entrances. Dash didn't have time to waste flying back through the park, and she doubted she'd even be able to in her current state. Somewhere nearby, there had to be an entrance, she just knew it.
A slight sound rang out behind her, so quiet she nearly missed it. She spun around hastily, expecting to see her mascot again. It was odd now that she had time to notice it, that her mascot wasn't waiting for her when she woke up. Wasn't she important in this plan? Even a passing hello would have helped her calm her nerves. Instead, she was greeted with something different.
A perfectly circle hole was cut into the ground. A simple glance told Dash that it went straight to where she was looking for. She couldn't fight through her suspicions though. A waft of empty green magic floated out of the hole as Dash tried to figure out the safest option.
This was clearly a trap, right? Too convenient, it was too convenient. Nothing had gone her way this trip, and now the entrance was just opening up for her? Where was the struggle? Where was the resistance of loyal Nightmare Moonians?
Dash shook her head slowly, scanning around herself as she did so.
She was just being paranoid. The mascots were on her side now. They figured out every tiny little detail for her, all she needed to do was follow through. Really, what was she scared of? Nightmare didn't have a clue she was coming, there was no way she could have set a trap. Right?
Dash swallowed nervously, and jumped into the air. The scars from her battles protested, but Dash could beat them down.
It was only a short flight anyway, and most of it would be falling.
The only sounds Dash could hear were her own heavy breathing and the slow repeating drops of falling water. The ground beneath her was moist, causing every step to stick her to the ground. She really wanted to simply fly over this mess, it would be so much easier, but even if she could, stealth was more important.
A huge tunnel stretched out in front of her, lit every few steps by candles drilled into the walls. The flickering shadows did nothing to help relax Dash's nerves. How could they, when any one of them could hold a surprise attack?
Slowly, as Dash trudged forward, something else appeared at the end of the tunnel. A faint green glow.
Dash's feet picked up on their own, pushing her forward faster than before. It was impossible to pinpoint what was going through her head as she rushed closer, at this point, it could be anything. A soft breeze floated down the tunnel, cooling Dash's face and soothing her muscles. With it though, came something else.
A plethora of smells. The polished, metallic smell of her enemy. Something new, the smell of a freshly watered farm. Why would there be a farm?
And...candy?
Dash shook her head, no, that couldn't be right. Her mind was playing tricks on her. Chuckling, Dash entertained the thought. She'd done it, she'd gone insane. The stress, the pain, the mascots, it finally got to her. All she needed now was to start seeing purple donkeys and the cycle would be complete.
Still laughing, Dash passed the threshold of the light, stopping for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the change.
It was like stepping into a whole other world. Dash stepped forward, careful to avoid one of the many puddles of goo on the floor. The walls were lined with a strange kind of glowing moss, the source of the light. Dash poked it lightly to make sure it wasn't dangerous, before drawing her attention to the other things in the hall.
A bulbous plant, about the size of Dash's head sat together in thick clumps. It too was glowing, along with occasionally deflating into an empty sack. Sticking to her morals, Dash poked the plant.
A loud 'pop' echoed down the hall and Dash wiped the gunk off her face hastily. The green sludge had covered Dash from head to toe. It tasted terrible, and Dash couldn't spit it out faster. Walking back into the middle of the hallway, she made a mental note not to touch the bulbs anymore.
Finally though, the end of the hall came into her sight. A pair of stone steps, twisting back to the surface. They looked out of place; perfectly clean in a place full of rubbish.
Dash waited a moment to calm her nerves and stepped forward.
This was it, nothing was getting in her way. Now was the time to save Pinkie and be the hero. Nothing would stop her now.
"Dashie?"
Except that.
Dash reacted nearly instantly, turning herself mid step. This had the unintended side effect of causing her to trip over her extended feet; smacking into the ground painfully. The ache however, vanished as soon as her brain understood what she was looking at.
There, blind folded, tied up and safely behind bars but alive, was Pinkie.
Dash forgot everything. The plan was meaningless at this moment, her pain couldn't even attempt to hold her back; in the pure unfiltered joy that coursed into her body at the mere sight of her friend, she even forgot where she was.
And it didn't even matter. There was Pinkie! Dash wanted to laugh or cry or smile or rage or do something other than stare blindly in awe. It took a moment for Dash to recover her tongue, "Pinkie? Is that really you?" she said.
Pinkie looked around wildly, seemingly forgetting that she was wearing a blindfold. "Dashie? Are you there?"
Rainbow shook her head, trying to scare away the stars swirling around her head. Rhythmic breaths forced their way out of her mouth. She needed to calm down, needed to focus again. "Stay there, Pinkie. I'll get you out of there."
Dash threw herself at the bars, putting all her strength into pulling them off. Her hooves dug into the oily ground roughly, but the bars still refused to move. Dash tried pushing instead, not expecting a different result. She glanced around hastily, surely there must be something she could use to break the bars.
"Of course I'll stay here, silly. I can't move. What are you doing here?"
Stopping for a moment, Dash turned back around. Alright, attacking the bars didn't work and there was nothing in sight she could use to force them apart, that left only one option. Dash moved over to the door, nearly rusted away into dust, and stared at it intently. She poked it a couple of times, gaining a feel for its weight and size. "What are you talking about? I came here to save you. I can't leave you here with Nightmare, she'd kill you. Now stand back, I'm breaking the door down."
"But...but she said you would t--"
"Take longer? Change of plan. You know the mascots? They're on our side now. I can't waste time now, so I'll give you the run down when I get that blindfold off." Dash said, facing away from the door. She took a deep breath, and kicked backwards. The sudden stop caused by the door was enough to override Dash's bliss, bringing back the aches she had gotten through her journey. What was more surprising though, was the door slamming open at an amazing speed. Dash turned back around, examining the hole she'd opened up.
She had to fight off the urge to smack herself in the face when she realized that the door wasn't even locked to begin with. The confusion passed as she rushed over to Pinkie, tearing the cloth off her eyes.
Instead of a happy smile though, a concerned glare greeted her. "The mascots? But...but they brought me here! They're the reason you're here at all! We could have gone by now."
Dash stopped again. Something was wrong, she could feel it in her gut. The moment passed, like last time, and Dash quickly got to work untying Pinkie. "No no, see, we can't just go. There's this thing here, Nightmare's trying to wake it up and needs us to do it. We need to stop it or it'll destroy Equestria." she explained.
"But you just said Nightmare needs us. We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for the mascots."
"Yes, but they need our help to stop Nightmare."
The ropes finally slipped off Pinkie as the final note was undone. At the same second, Pinkie launched herself back to her feet. "Well, why can't they stop Nightmare? What do we need to do?"
Dash smiled, this was more like it. "Simple, we just need to distract Nightmare long enough so that robot Twilight can cast Shining's shield spell, containing Nightmare and that thing in this park. Then, we rush out and gather the others, bring 'em back and send Nightmare back to the moon."
"Wait, so you're really going to do this Dashie?" Pinkie asked.
Dash faltered. "Yes?"
"Are you crazy? You can't just walk up to Nightmare Moon! She'll rip you to pieces. What did they do to you? The real Dashie wouldn't fall for something like this."
"Pinkie, this isn't a trick. I trust them. This...I saw that thing myself, they were trying to stop it." Dash said, backpedaling.
Pinkie stepped forward, forcing Rainbow to step back again. "Were they, Dashie? How do you know that? Think about it, they sent you straight to Nightmare. It's a trick, Dash."
"No no, it's not a trick. They're trying to help us."
Pinkie stepped forward again, causing Dash to jump into the air. "So they foalnap me, tie me up, beat you, force you to jump through hoops to save me, tell you everything you want to hear and send you straight to the one pony who has been trying to kill you this entire time? And you still trust them? Why? We need to get out of here, Dashie. We can't trust them, they tried to kill me, tried to kill you! And you just trust that they won't turn on you?"
Whatever emotion Dash was feeling before burned away into general annoyance. It didn't matter who it was, whether Pinkie or Celestia herself, after all she'd been through, no one was going to talk to her like that. She didn't risk her life to listen to Pinkie complain about how stupid she was. She was an adult, she knew what she was doing. While Pinkie was off playing the easy role of damsel in distress, Dash was out there fighting tooth and nail for her. She could make her own balanced decisions.
"Listen Pinkie, and really listen. Through-out this day, I have been burned, stabbed, shot, punched, kicked, slammed, thrown around, acid-ed and crashed into the ground more times than I can care to count. There is a lump the size of an apple on the back of my head, my lips and tongue bleed when I talk too much, my vision occasionally splits for no reason, there is a hole in my chest and rope burns around that, all four of my legs feel broken, I have more bruises than a week old apple, I'm pretty sure there is a spoon stuck in my tail and I lost feeling in one of my ribs somewhere around the beginning. Then I come here, risking my life further to save you and what do I get? Not a hug, not even a smile. I get a whinny ass who thinks she knows better than me. News flash Pinkie, I've been through so much today that if I say that the mascots are on our side, you believe that the mascots are on our side."
Dash stopped, breathing deeply again. She couldn't bear to look at Pinkie, it hurt too much. Maybe she was too harsh? Rainbow shook her head again, no, she wasn't. She said exactly what needed to be said. "Are we clear Pinkie?" she asked.
The silence in the air was unbearable. It was the exact opposite of what Dash wanted; she wanted laughter and congratulations and smiles, not ear piercing silence and tension thicker than most butter. Dash knew she needed to stand her ground though. It tore at her heart, but that terrible feeling vanished into the air when Pinkie finally found the strength to break the silence.
"You're...you're right, Dash. I'm sorry. You've been through so much and...I'm sorry."
Dash still refused to look at Pinkie, but it was clear from the breaking of her words that she was starting to cry.
"It's just...I'm scared, Dashie. I just want to go...go home and make cup...cupcakes and the only pony helping u...us is the same pony try...trying to kill us."
Biting the bottom of her lip, Dash finally broke, looking back at Pinkie. The glance between them lasted a second, and Pinkie took it as a sign to move closer. A little too close, actually. Dash tried to step back, tried to find some personal space, only to find her legs refused to move.
"But...but you won't let them, Dashie. You're...you're gonna go out there and stop...stop Nightmare and I'm scared you won't come back."
Pinkie moved in closer, shoving her face against Dash's neck.
"I just...want you to know that, you're the best friend I've ever had. When I look at you, Rainbow, my chest feels like a hundred little ponies are having a party and my breathing speeds up like I just saw a giant cake and everything feels so warm and I don't want you to go."
And then time slowed down as Pinkie pulled back and kissed Dash straight on the lips. Dash couldn't even describe what it was like before she pulling back forcefully. Something disgusting built up in the back of her throat, and she coughed violently to get it out. Between fits, Dash managed to catch brief glances at Pinkie; who was staring horrified. Eventually, the fit stopped and Dash pulled her head back up while wiping blood from her mouth.
Almost immediately, Pinkie was at her call. "Oh, oh, I'm sorry, Dashie. Please don't be mad, don't be mad. Are you hurt? I didn't mean to...it was suppose...are you fine?"
Dash shoved past Pinkie hastily. She couldn't think straight, everything seemed too large or small or far or near. Some things were flashing and some weren't and other things shook and moved and the ground felt rumbly and her legs were weak and flimsy as she walked. She stumbled clumsily over to the door, trotting through it easily. A quick look told her where the stairs were, and Dash threw herself onto them.
The feeling in her gut was back and she couldn't deny it any more. Something was wrong. Breathing out in an attempt to calm her nerves, Dash struggled to put together everything that had happened.
Pinkie had...had kissed her. Dash ran a hoof through her mane. Pinkie had kissed her, that was a thing that happened. What did she do now? Was she suppose to go back and comfort Pinkie? Did she forget it happened? This was a good thing right, it meant Pinkie felt the same way, didn't it? Dash wasn't even sure she felt that way, and Pinkie pulls something like this?
Dash heard something behind her and watched carefully as Pinkie walked back into view. A look of false determination sat on her brow as she walked closer to Rainbow. "I'm sorry, Dashie."
Rainbow stared at her friend, trying to make sense of the rush of thoughts clashing in her head. She didn't know how to respond. No, that wasn't right. She didn't want to respond. Not until she was, until there was no doubt. She got one chance, she wasn't going to ruin it like back in the Doctor's lab. She needed to be sure.
"Lets...lets just go. No time to waste, Pinkie." Dash said, jumping to her feet. Not even looking back to see if Pinkie was behind her, Dash rushed up the stairs.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, it occurred to her that this was it. All the pain, all the fear, all the deceit; it ended now. No more mistakes, no more injuries. This was it. Nightmare was going down.
Somewhere else in her mind, Pinkie's words echoed back into her ears. This wasn't a trap, it couldn't be. She knew herself and she wouldn't lie like that. At least, she hoped she wouldn't. It was just so hard to wrap her head around. How would she act in her clone's position? Surely she would try to stop Nightmare, regardless of the cost.
These two voices had been arguing with each other the entire time Dash was climbing the stairs. She'd lost track of how many there were, between her own nerves and Pinkie's constant apologies, it was impossible to remember how long they'd climbed anyway.
Placing her hooves on the large metal door, Dash ran through her thoughts one final time. Focusing mainly on why she was here. It wasn't too late to run after all, once she left the game was over, right? Nightmare would let them run back to Ponyville, and they could warn Celestia. Or the others.
And how trustworthy was her mascot anyway? How much did she really know, how much of what she was told were lies? What if it was all a lie? There was no danger, no clones, no freaky dream monsters; just a single long lie, designed to bring her to this point for...what, exactly?
Why was she the one needed? It came as a shock that she had never bothered to ask. How did she play into all this? What was her role in Nightmares plan?
Dash pushed these questions out of her head. She needed to focus. The trust she'd found in the mascots was sincere, regardless of what Pinkie might say. With a single push, the doors swung open in a wide arc, coming to rest softly against the walls.
Dash hadn't noticed how stressed she'd gotten in the short walk up the stairs or the adrenaline that had rushed into her body as a result. Everything seemed slow, just enough that it was noticeable. Grinning, Dash took advantage of this to scan the room, taking in everything she could.
Nightmare wasn't in the room; or at least, not in Dash's vision. There was nothing in the room in fact, save for a giant stained glass window directly opposite Rainbow. Through the patchwork of colour and paint, Dash assumed she and Pinkie must have been nearly six stories high.
Taking a step forward, Dash glanced around the room. There was nothing, nothing! Just a perfectly circular room with a door and a window. A sliver of panic began to creep into Dash's mind.
That single spark flared up when a loud slamming echoed through the room. Dash spun herself around quickly, calming quickly when she realized it was only the door closing. She chuckled slightly at her own nervousness.
"Pinkie, you...you're still fine?" Dash asked.
"Yep."
Dash sighed in relief. She was over reacting. Of course the room would be empty, why wouldn't it be? She'd stumbled across it randomly, only a complete idiot would assume that someone like Nightmare had time to waste sitting in an empty room. In hindsight, Dash should have asked for more instructions, asked more questions. That would have been better than shooting into the dark.
At that moment, another sound began to ring out through the room.
It was a slow, methodical clapping.
Dash licked her lips and slowly turned around. To her surprise, a large throne had appeared in front of the window. The dark black rock of the seat however paled in comparison to the colour of the pony sitting on top of it. A pony that demanded absolute attention, absolute loyalty and absolute control.
Nightmare Moon, a sinister grin glued to her face, clapped her front hooves together, waiting for Dash's attention to fall on her.
"Well, this was certainly surprising. I had expected more sport from you, Loyalty."
Dash took a step back, glancing around the room again. A smarter pony would have figured out something to say in response, but Rainbow simply fumbled her words.
"Really, it amazes me that you would come here. That you would even know to come here. But that's not the question is it?" Nightmare said, standing up.
Slowly, she moved across the room, an air of confidence following behind her. "Why are you here? You can't possibly think to defeat me, you can barely stand."
Dash grit her teeth, stepping backwards again as Nightmare came closer. Dash tried desperately to pull the words she needed out of her mouth, stopping only when Nightmare continued.
"Perhaps you've come to beg than? Not a bad choice, maybe I'll choose to spare you. Though that isn't very 'you,' is it Loyalty?"
Something clicked into place, and Dash found the words she'd lost. "No way. I'm here to take you down. You can't just sweep in here and kidnap my friend and expect to get away with it."
"Yeah, that's what meanie pants do! Get 'er Dashie."
Nightmare moved impossibly fast, leaving a trail of shadow as she dashed forward. Dash barely got time to blink before Nightmare was in her face. Dash tried to move her face out of the way, but Nightmare forced her to remain still.
They traded a long stare into each others eyes; Dash could feel her opponents gaze burning in the back of her eyes. Slowly, Dash regained the control of her head, long enough to see Nightmare walking away from her, tendrils of shadows tucking neatly into her mane. "My my, you're serious. You actually think you have a chance here. Hmm..."
The room became silent. Dash had to spin her head around to make sure that Pinkie was still there, struggling to figure out the cause of the silence while she did. Nightmare was speaking, but the sound of her words disappeared into the air and fell into empty air.
"I wonder why?"
With those words, the sound rushed back into the room. The sheer force of it pushed against Dash's body, blowing her mane into the air. Dash blinked the air out of her eyes, focusing back on Nightmare just in time for her to elaborate. "Why is it you fight me, Loyalty?"
Nightmare cocked her head sideways. "Is it your pride that forces you? I had noticed that, that small voice in your head that forces you to step forward when no others will. You're not one to back down ever, if memory serves. A whole pony, built around the idea of being the greatest. To fly the fastest, to fight the strongest, to be more famous than any other, how can you chase this dream? The realization would have crushed any other pony, except for you," Nightmare paused for a moment, pulling her head straight again, "Or is that you never actually thought about it? How there is always somepony better? How no matter how much you train, there will always be somepony better. Does it not anger you? I am your better, Loyalty. I am everything you will never be. I am the strongest, the fastest, the smartest and you will never compare."
Dash shook her head hastily. "Shut up!"
Nightmare simply grinned. "But that's not the reason, is it? Perhaps it's the same anger I just ignited in you, the same fire to hurt me. I did more than kidnap your friend, Loyalty, I stole her from you. How angry does that make you? You want revenge? Another reason you are so interesting to me. No other pony I've found can match the pure heat running through your blood, no other pony contains the very basic urge to hurt as much as you do. And in the end, how does that make you better than myself? I hurt nopony. All I ask for is loyalty, plain and simple. Those who have loyalty are safe within my walls and those that don't have no reason to complain about their danger. I am helping ponies, and you are hurting them."
Dash couldn't move her head faster. "You're lying! I've seen you hurt ponies."
"Am I, Loyalty? Or is this the honest truth? You can't deny the anger within you. So embrace it, throw the first punch, let me be done with you already. But before you do, consider one final thing. I know why you're here." Nightmare said, stepping off her throne. Her steps were dainty, carrying a thin illusion of delicateness as her mane wrapped around the alicorn's body. Dash rushed forward, seconds too late to stop Nightmare from disappearing with a sudden green flash.
Dash sat still for a moment, tracing through the smoke in the room with her eyes. It was barely a second before Nightmare appeared again, pulling herself out of the mist filling the room.
Appearing right behind Pinkie Pie.
Dash was on her feet in an instant, preparing another lunge at Nightmare. She could already see it was too late though. A dark green aura was already surrounding her friend, binding her in the air. Pinkie struggled against Nightmare's magic uselessly, before admitting defeat and simply staring at Dash with pleading eyes.
Nightmare opened her mouth to comment further, but Dash wouldn't even give her the chance. A quick twist of her wings and she was already on a head first charge towards Nightmare. Or was, until the same magic spell holding Pinkie materialized around her.
Dash struggled hard. She wasn't going to give up now, too much was at stake. She just needed an edge, or advantage or something. Where the hell was her mascot? This wasn't part of the plan.
Nightmare clicked her teeth together, making a hollow rattling sound. "How rude. Not even letting your princess finish her speech. Still, rude interruptions aside, do you know why you found yourself here? Not because of your pride, not because of your anger, but for one predictable reason. Her! Why her? What is it about her that makes you go through so much to keep her safe?"
Finally stopping her struggles, Dash simply resigned to listening. Her teeth carefully ground against each other as she waited, hating every moment of her imprisonment.
"I've obsessed over this, Loyalty. I've been watching you, watching her. Every second of every minute of every day, I've been watching, trying to answer a single question. Why her? And as I watched and thought and questioned, I came to a conclusion. You love Pinkie. Admit it."
Dash chuckled lightly. "What? No. Sure, Pinkie's a laugh but I don't...I mean, I wouldn't..." Dash's tongue suddenly stopped working mid sentence, trying desperately to catch up with the thoughts in her head.
She needed to make a choice. It may not have been the best time to make it, but clearly there was no choice. Nightmare expected a response, any response. Why couldn't Dash give her one? All it would take was a single sentence and it would all be over with. No more lovey dovey, no more confusion, just the shining light of certainty.
And yet, Dash couldn't do it. She needed to say no, everything she knew about herself was telling her to say no, but she couldn't bring herself to say the words.
So the answer was obvious then. If she couldn't say no, then yes was the only remaining answer. Or it would be, if yes didn't sound plain wrong. As much as Dash tried to force it, yes was always unsatisfying, never living up to what she truly wanted to say.
Dash sighed, releasing the tension she had built up in her body. She had no clue what to say, she needed more time.
"I don't...I don't know."
Nightmare's grin dropped. "What's that? You don't know? What a terrible answer. That is not what I want to hear, Loyalty. Perhaps you need a bit of reminding then? A little jolt to jog your memory of this no doubt fantastic mare." she said.
A second passed as a flash of light crossed over Nightmare's horn and a loud gagging sound echoed through the room. Pinkie grasped at her throat, desperately trying to suck in air. Despite her efforts though, a faint blue tinge coloured her face as she struggled.
Dash had been confused before when Nightmare had said how angry she was, but now...now she could understand completely. If she was given the chance, Nightmare wouldn't just die, she would die as slowly and painfully as possible.
"Stop it! Stop that now!" Dash shouted.
"Then admit it, Loyalty! Admit you love Pinkie. Or, maybe she's just another expandable pony to you."
"Fine, fine, I love Pinkie, now please, just let her breathe."
Nightmare replaced her smile with an angry sneer. "With passion, Loyalty. Let it be the truth."
Pinkie slowed down, losing control of her legs as she ran out of air. A dark shade of purple covered her face as Dash sighed heavily. Make it real. "Pinkie, I know this is sudden but, I think I may love you. I may say this about a lot of things, like the Wonderbolts or Tank, but this is something more. When I look at you, I want to spend every day near you. You're more than a friend to me, more than a pony I like to hang out with. And when we're done here, and I've kicked Nightmare's ass, you and me are going to sit down, and I can finally tell you about all the ways I feel about you."
A shiver ran down Nightmare's spine as she sighed heavily in ecstasy. Pinkie dropped to the ground, gasping loudly while Nightmare loomed over her. Dash was released a moment later, rushing to her friends side quickly. Nightmare could wait until Pinkie was safe.
Nightmare however, hadn't even noticed that Dash had moved. She struggled to maintain a grip on reality; shaking her head from side to side powerfully. Another shiver rocked through her body, and Nightmare stopped her struggles.
And she grinned a grin that could only be found by those that had complete confidence in themselves, the kind that could only be found on the end of a person that had planned and schemed and deceived until finally, everything came together.
"Heh, good work Rainbow. I'm impressed."
Dash pulled her attention away from Pinkie, content that she was going to be fine. Injured, but unarguably alive and okay. Carefully, Dash stepped over Pinkie, stretching her protesting wings in preparation. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on her target, standing there smiling and laughing; she was going to knock that smile right off.
Nightmare was unfazed. "Really, I was worried when you found your way here, but I can see now that everything went as expected."
Dash felt something drop in her gut. "Shut up! Enough of this talk about me, this isn't a case study. Fight me!"
Nightmare stepped forward, a new purpose behind her step. "You really are thick, aren't you? Don't you get it? You can't win. You could never win, from the moment you entered this park, you had lost. And it was so very easy."
"I said stop talking!" Dash shouted.
"Did you never stop to ask why Vinyl was out the front handling tickets? Or why Trixie was running a game stall? Or the Flim Flam brothers, the Wonderbolts, Octavia, Derpy, how could you never once just ask what they were doing here? Did you think they were here because they enjoyed it? And the tunnels, did you think they were made naturally? You used them to come here, and still you couldn't grasp their use. They were here for one purpose, this whole park is here for one purpose."
"So what was the purpose? Me beating you?"
Nightmare raised an eyebrow. "Pinkie?" she asked, nodding slightly.
Pinkie was back on her feet in an instant, ignoring the bruises growing around her neck. "Oh oh, I know this one! See Dashie, the prickly point of this pretty park is to make us fall in love."
Dash was forced to lower her guard for a moment as a train of thoughts rushed into her head. Most of them collided together uselessly, with only a handful actually reaching her mouth.
"Pinkie, how do yo--"
Dash was stopped as a loud crack tore through the room. It sounded like a great explosion of thunder just above the ceiling. It was loud enough to cause Nightmare to stop her monologue; directing her attention to the window across the room. Through the cracks of the stained glass window, a huge purple dome was rapidly covering the park.
Nightmare pushed past Rainbow, simply staring at the magic spell sealing her in.
Dash couldn't tell what she was thinking, though she did note that Nightmare's smug smile slowly drained from her face as she comprehended what was happening. Turning around though, another emotion flashed across her face for a split second. Dash couldn't tell whether it was concern or confusion. Frankly, Dash didn't even care anyway.
The mascots weren't lying to her.
A new hope running through her body, Dash stepped forward, completely forgetting her question before. "What's wrong, Nightmare? Something the matter?"
"How are you doing this? Tell me!"
Dash opened her mouth to tell Nightmare that she could take any explanation and shove it up her dark side of the moon, until Pinkie shoved her to the ground, bouncing in the air excitedly.
"Oh, I know. I know again! Pick me. Pick me."
"Yes, 'Pinkie?'"
Pinkie stopped for a moment, raising her hoof in a cheap imitation of Twilight. "It was the mascots, miss. Dashie was all 'Pinkie, the mascots are on our side now,' and I was all confused because the mascots are on our side and then she said Twilight was casting a spell that would dome us all and that didn't sound smart so I tried to trick Dash, but she was just sooooooo trusting. Didn't listen for a second. Don't even get me started on--"
A cyan hoof swiftly lodged in Pinkie's mouth, stopping her constant stream of conciseness. Dash's lips soon found themselves pressed Pinkie's ear. "What are you doing, Pinkie? You'll get us killed!"
"Hmm, the mascots. How odd. I suppose the process was always flawed."
"Trust me, Dash. Just trust me."
"Really, something like this was inevitable. There's only one solution then."
"What? Pinkie, I don't see how...I just..." Dash sighed, "Just don't tell her anything important. We need to get out of here."
"As much as I hate to leave my plans waiting, it seems there is more important things to take care of first."
"Don't worry, you can trust me, I'm Pinkie Pie."
Nightmare clapped her hooves together. "It would seem I have some troublesome workers to hunt down, so I'm afraid that I won't have time to fight. Pinkie, if you would."
Dash didn't even see the attack coming. It happened with the speed of someone who ate candy for a living and smoked raw sugar. The world spun around impossibly fast, stopping suddenly when Dash's head collided with the ground. She tried getting back up, pushing against the floor powerfully, but Pinkie stopped her attempts with another kick. The physical pain was only slightly more than the mental.
Gathering her thoughts back into one place, Dash finally gave up. She didn't care anymore. If someone was going to fight her, she was going to kick their ass. Pinkie, Nightmare, herself, it didn't matter. No more trusting Dash.
Or at least, that was the plan. It probably would have stayed the plan, had Dash not noticed a familiar sound hastily racing towards her. The sound of burning, of pride and mystery and speed, all charging directly at her. Dash pushed Pinkie off of her just long enough to brace herself.
Dust and debris fell from the roof as a familiar machine rushed to the ground. Turning its rockets off with a faint click, Rainbow's mascot fell to the ground heavily, immediately sliding itself between Rainbow and Nightmare. Dash's joy quickly turned to confusion though, as another pony leapt off the mascots back.
Pinkie landed on the ground harshly.
"Get!"
The strange device attached to Pinkie's hoof hummed ominously as Pinkie pulled it into the air. It took Dash far longer than she'd care to admit to realise that it was the same machine Pinkie had used against Twilight. What did she call it, the candy cannon, that's right.
"Off!"
The barrel started to spin up, rattling the contents of the tube.
"My!"
Pulling the contraption up to her eye, Pinkie focused on her target, the false Pinkie standing over Rainbow. She ran a few steps closer, drawing on all her power of balance to stay upright.
"Dashie!"
A sound like a thunder clap ripped through the room as Pinkie's gun went off. Unlike before, where the candy had come out in a single orderly line, this was more relatable to a sudden cone of rock hard pellets. Fingernail sized pieces of candy flew in every direction, with the majority directed at the Pinkie standing near Rainbow Dash. She never even had a chance to dodge, not that she could.
Miraculously, Dash was entirely untouched by the wall of oncoming pain. Pinkie was quickly picked up by the attack and thrown across the room, smashing into the stone wall of the tower painfully. She wasn't moving, so Dash assumed she was unconscious. Or worse.
Then her vision was blocked by a bright pink hoof. "Up you get, silly. It's not a very good time to sleep right now. It's time to go."
Dash refused to move, simply trading glances between the Pinkie in front of her and the one on the floor. Despite the danger, her confusion and her surprise, Dash just wanted everything to slow down. "No, no. Who are you? Who is she? What is going on? Are you Pinkie?"
"Of course I'm Pinkie! I'm pink aren't I? Unless..." Pinkie gazed at her hoof for a second, before continuing with a smile, "Nope, still pink. Though you're not blue anymore, well, mostly not blue. You're more purple than Twilight at the moment." she said, poking Dash lightly.
Rainbow winced. "Then who was that? What was that?" Dash asked, pointing at the fake Pinkie.
A second of silence sat between the two as Pinkie processed the question. When the implications hit her though, Pinkie's hooves found themselves at her mouth, hiding her shocked expression. "You don't know? No no, that's bad. Dashie, tell me you know. Tell me you didn't say anything to her!"
"Who is she?" Dash asked, panic cracking her voice.
"You don't know. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Dash, we need to go. Right now. That thing...it isn't...I mean, how do I explain this softly? Oh, I know. Dashie, Nightmare isn't Nightmare."
"What?"
"Nightmare isn't Nightmare! She's actually--"
Pinkie was interrupted by a sudden explosion, ducking just in time to avoid being crushed by Rainbow's mascot. It flew through the air, narrowly missing crashing into the two idling ponies. The machine was smoking badly and stray sparks of electricity popped out of the massive hole torn in its side. And through the hole, past all the intricacies and wires, something twitched. That wasn't the important thing though. Standing triumphantly in the place where the mascot was standing rose something different.
At a distance, one might have confused the creature for another pony. After all, four legs, a horn, pony face, what else could it be? Then one would notice the transparent bug-like wings springing from the things back and the many holes cut into its body. After that, the chitinous shell around the creatures midsection would serve as another warning that something was out of place. Finally, they would notice two pointed fangs sticking out of a grinning maw and never be heard from again, another pony lost among the thousands.
Dash was a bit smarter in this regard. She was able to recognize the creature instantly.
Pinkie however, was the one to put the creature to words.
"Chrysalis."
And suddenly, everything clicked into place. Dash ran through her memories; more and more pieces connecting together. Slowly, the gravity of the situation hit her. Just as she was reminded of what she'd done.
She'd fallen in love with a changeling. And that was very, very bad.
"Well, that saves me the trouble of having to hunt down six troublesome drones."
Chrysalis stepped forward, slowly advancing towards Pinkie and Rainbow. "I must say, it was a wonderful attempt. Turning the mascots against me, casting Shining's shield spell, confronting me. You nearly even had a chance. But how did you handle it? You threw it away, handed yourself to me on a silver platter to save...nopony. Not a single pony. But now, now I have everything I need. Your love, Rainbow. The love of somepony with such rebellion in their heart is a very potent thing, and I must thank you for providing it."
Chrysalis stopped directly in front of the duo. Her tongue lingered on her lips as she simply stared, trying to figure out the most efficient to handle the situation. A green glow radiated off her coat as her horn lit up. For a second, nothing changed, until a ring of green fire spread around the edges of the room, painting the walls black with heat.
Dash's eyes ran through the room. She needed an edge, an advantage, something she could use to get out of there. Why was there nothing in this room? All it would take was a single sliver of leeway and they could get out of here. The plan was still in effect right? All she had to do was get the other elem--
Dash's thoughts broke slightly as Chrysalis' aura glued her head forward, directly into the waiting eyes of the queen.
"It's a shame your services are no longer needed."
The magic surrounding Dash's head started to spread, flowing down her body like caramel. It felt like caramel too, all sticky and thick and completely unmovable. She tried to fight it, pulling back with all her might against the magic, but she was forced to remain still as the glow engulfed her.
And then Pinkie was there, swinging her empty cannon at Chrysalis' head. It connected with a satisfying thunk and for a split second, the magic holding Dash wavered. Her hopes hit rock bottom again as Chrysalis redoubled her efforts. Pinkie only got a chance to make a pained squeal as Chrysalis swept her hoof sideways, swatting Pinkie across the room. It was only by pure luck that Pinkie managed to avoid falling into the flames.
Chrysalis' hoof felt cold against Rainbow's chin as she was pulled into the air. The magic stretched her body as she moved, bringing back the pain Dash had nearly forgotten.
Air was difficult to grab, and Dash was reminded of just how final everything was again. This was her last moment. All she'd done, everything she'd accomplished, it ended here, all because she was unable to stop Chrysalis. All because she wanted to help Pinkie. She didn't even feel her heart beating through her chest anymore, or her breathes coming out in ragged gasps. Strangely, she didn't even feel angry at Chrysalis. There was no regret, no tears, no final questions. She simply felt hollow. For the first time, she felt defeated.
Chrysalis smirked, her horn flashing again, and Dash found the wind whistling through her mane as she flew backwards. Fast. A sudden pain exploded out of her entire back as she smashed into something, accompanied by a sharp crack. She'd been lying if she said this wasn't the worst pain she'd felt yet. Something was broken, she was sure. Her entire back was numb from the pain, and heavy black blotches filled her vision.
Fighting to stay awake, Chrysalis flashed her horn again, smiling in glee as Rainbow went flying again. Through her fading vision, Dash could see the remains of Chrysalis' throne; a large hole now torn through the space she smashed through. Dash was prepared for the next collision though, bracing herself for another bout of pain. She couldn't even figure out why she bothered.
Her bracing was pointless anyway, as her next crash caused her to fly clean through the window.
Dash forced her eyes back open, not caring if glass managed to sneak its way in.
Everything seemed slow though, or at least slower than it normally was. A shard of jagged glass, deep green, flew past her face impossibly slow. It seemed like she could just reach forward and snatch it out of the air. The glass drifted past her head, knocking against her ear as it flew, only to be replaced by an entire windows worth of glass rushing towards Dash.
Chrysalis walked as if she was wading through water, slowly and with great difficulty. It would take ages for her to reach Rainbow at that pace, much too long.
Out of the corner of Dash's eye, something pink stood up. If she could, Dash would have turned her head to better focus on Pinkie, but for some reason she couldn't move fast enough to do that. Maybe the world had slowed down?
And then everything sped up to normal speed again. Dash couldn't bring herself to flinch as the glass smashed into her person, leaving small cuts along her body. She did manage to watch them fall to the ground though, so many stories below her. Like little pieces of snow.
When she pulled her head back up, lacking the energy to do anything more, Chrysalis was already in her face. Her shattered hoof stretched forward, taking a firm grip beneath Dash's chin. Confident with her grip, Chrysalis released her magic, letting it fade away into the air and taking Dash's full weight in her arms.
"I had such high hopes for you, Rainbow. You were suppose to do better than this."
All Chrysalis was met with an defeated stare. Chuckling to herself, she continued, "Why, I was planning to give you a throne at my side, surely you would have earned it had you went with the plan. But this? All this backstabbing and deceit, why would you do it? None of what you did is what you truly wanted."
Dash remained silent.
"And what was the trigger for all this? Trust one who knows, Rainbow, it was love. And that was where you went wrong. You can't change who you are for love, it doesn't work like that. You were so caught up in trying to protect your little marefriend that you let it get in the way of what needed to be done. You needed to kill me, Rainbow, and you were so distracted trying to...what's the slang? 'Rut' your friend that you ignored every advantage I gave you. And now, it is too late."
Dash didn't dare speak, but her brain was whizzing away busily trying to comprehend what Chrysalis was trying to explain. Surely she was wrong, Dash had acted the way she always would...she would have done the same regardless of Pinkie's involvement. Chrysalis was wrong, it wasn't about love.
Twisting her hoof, Chrysalis gave Dash a look of the entire park. Or, what was the park.
Where before there had been stalls and tents, there were now dark green mounds. The paths running through the park took their true form, melting into hard packed dirt. The occasional plant could be seen peaking out of the roads, but they were engulfed by the lines of green that crisscrossed the black dirt. Occasionally, a loud scream would break out from the ground and Dash would quickly lock onto a single pony sprinting down the roads, a hoard of changelings in pursuit. A familiar pony actually, not that it mattered now. And then Derpy was gone, pulling the crowd of insects behind her. Dash stared further, noting the huge dark spires that reached into the sky.
Not a tower, a spire. Dash made the connection easily. She was never in a tower, it was always a spire. And with that, the whole masquerade fell apart. The whole terrifying truth came out.
There was never a park at all. There was no place called Smiles Land, it was all a trap. It was a beehive disguised as a honey pot, designed to lure in the gullible. Dash's mind boggled at the amount of power needed to maintain an illusion of that power for so long, she doubted Twilight would be able to do it.
Chrysalis twisted her hoof again, bringing Dash back into her eyes. "The hive will spread, Rainbow, thanks to you. We are unstoppable now, a force of nature instead of a mere colony. All of Equestria will be covered by our homes. None shall be spared, those that we can't use will be removed. All because a single insignificant mare couldn't keep her feelings to herself. How does that make you feel?"
Dash choked on Chrysalis hoof for a second, before coughing out her reply, "If I'm so insignificant, then why did I apparently come so close to winning?"
The grin ran away from Chrysalis' face, replaced by an angry sneer. She took a moment to compose herself, pulling Dash close to herself. "I suppose you'll never know."
And with those words, Chrysalis angled her hoof downward. Gravity quickly overtook Rainbow, pulling her out of Chrysalis' hoof. There was a brief moment when Dash hung in the air, with nothing tethering her to the ground until reality realised she wasn't suppose to do that and dropped her.
Dash could almost grin in joy. Chrysalis was an idiot, who in their right mind would try to kill a pegasus by dropping them? A quick flick threw her wings open as Dash prepared for the sudden deceleration, along with being careful not to scrape herself against the walls of the spire. This was her zone, she was the queen of the air.
And then her grin ran away when it became apparent she wasn't slowing down. No no no, this was her zone, nothing goes wrong in Dash's zone. Rainbow twisted her wings, grasping desperately at the slivers of air that rushed through the holes in her wings. She winced as she moved them again, pain rocketing through her back. Why was there pain? The air shouldn't bring pain.
The spire sped past her as she picked up speed. No, this wasn't happening, this was another crazy dream, that's all. Dash twitched her wings through the sky, surely she was just doing it wrong. It didn't matter if something like this was simple, clearly she was doing it wrong. If she was doing it right, she wouldn't be falling. But she wasn't falling, of course, this was all just a dream.
Falling, the word lingered on Dash's mind. Oh god, she didn't want to die. Not like this. A pegasus should never fall to their death, that was the first thing you learnt. Only rejects and the injured fell to their death, Dash wasn't a reject. She just needed to find the right airwaves, that's all.
Tears started to spring into her eyes. She was falling, in a dream, maybe? Or was it reality? No, of course not, she wouldn't fall in reality, she was better than that. She was Rainbow Dash.
She was going to join the Wonderbolts, save the world, maybe write a book, if that wasn't too hard. She couldn't actually die yet, there was still so much to do. Pinkie was still waiting for her to return, to tell her the truth. Dash couldn't die yet.
The ground was coming awfully close now. Breathing deeply, Dash tried to calm down. Her useless wings snapped against her side, obviously pointless at this point. Determination crossed her face.
She was Rainbow Dash. She needed to protect her friend. Nothing was going to stop her, nothing.
The ground rushed closer. Adrenaline kicked in, reading her body for the impact. At the same time, her brain kicked into overdrive. She needed to do something, anything. Maybe if she grabbed the spire? Or maybe if wished really hard something would swoop in and save her? Or she could try flying again, clearly she was doing something wrong. Or maybe...maybe she could...there must be something...
There had to be something. She was Rainbow Dash! She was the fastest flier in Equestria! The air was her domain, no one else's. She was...she was...
She was kidding herself.
It was all Dash could do to close her eyes before her body smashed into the grass. A single loud crack echoed through the park as she crashed. The glass peppering the ground dug into her body, bringing what little blood was left out to the surface. Who was actually convinced by her act? This was it; she'd lost it all. Pinkie, Equestria, the fight and finally her life.
The fire behind her eyes faded as Rainbow gave in to the pain.