//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: My little pony: An Equestrian Journey 
// by Swifteye 
//------------------------------//

The Archmage in all his powers could not defeat the warriors of light. Battle after battle his plans were foiled. Desperate he sought some of the most arcane and forbidden powers that even fellow villains like him would consider a mistake to use. He knew that deep down they were probably right but he could not turn back now and throw away his desire for world conquest so he went ahead with his plans that would promise the decimation of all who stood in his way. The power was indeed great and destroyed many of his enemies but unfortunately he could not take the credit for he was the first victim of its might. 

Chapter ten: Our deep fears

After a couple of days Rainbow Dash completely healed up and challenged Sun Wukong in a contest of skill. Sun Wukong gladly accepted the challenge and the contest was under way. The first challenge was a test of Rainbow Dash's flying abilities. Sun Wukong will create a wind and if Rainbow Dash can touch Sun Wukong then she wins. 	“You can back out while you still can Rainbow Dash. I wouldn't think any less of you if you did. After all, who would look down on someone who surrendered to the monkey king? It is only the smart thing to do.” Sun said as he stretched while a villager held his staff as he stood right next to him. 	“Pft, yeah right, Rainbow Dash doesn't run from anyone or anything!” Rainbow Dash said with a scoff. 	“Very well then, prepare yourself Rainbow Dash!” Sun said as he took the staff from the villager. He began spinning the staff faster and faster creating a gust of wind that started to blow Rainbow Dash back. Rainbow Dash noticing this began flying straight at the monkey king. Rainbow Dash pushed through the wind getting closer and closer to Sun Wukong. 	“Is that the best you got?” Rainbow Dash yelled. 	“Rgh, No it's not!” Sun yelled. He began spinning his staff with both his hands instead of one cranking the wind to incredible speeds. The wind whistled loudly as the air blew, flightless creatures gripped for dear life as the gust took the villagers into the air. Birds were knocked right out of the air. Rainbow Dash meanwhile was still fighting the gale force winds Sun Wukong was producing. Rainbow Dash still was thrown back for a couple seconds but regained and kept flying forward towards moving as fast and trying to maintain an aerodynamic. 
Desperate to win the match Sun Wukong pushed himself to the limit and span his staff at hurricane speeds. The weather around the area began to react to Sun's powers turning the normal calm skies into a thunderstorm. The ground in front of Sun Wukong began to erode and create rubble which would fly through the air at blinding speeds. Rainbow Dash could no longer advance further and just maintaining her place took all her strength. After a stalemate for several minutes both Rainbow Dash and Sun Wukong began to tire, the repetitive task of spinning the staff began to wear on his fingers and Rainbow Dash was becoming dizzy and her eyesight was becoming blurry. She began to lose focus and concentration and in that very moment the wind took her and blasted her away. Sun Wukong seeing that he won lets go of the staff letting it spins off the mountain side as he falls to the ground. 

Luckily Rainbow Dash had just enough strength to make sure she didn't fall clear off the mountain like last time. The villagers picked up Sun Wukong and Rainbow Dash and laid them in a bed to rest off their exhaustion. They got up ready to continue their contest only to see that they woke up in the middle of the night. They decided that they couldn't do the contest at night so they waited till it was daybreak yet again. They awoke to a frantic villager rushing into there tent. 	“What's wrong, can't you see I’m sleeping!” Sun said irritated. 	“One of the villagers was kidnapped!” The villager said with panic in his voice. 	“Kidnapped? Way up here, by whom?” Sun asked confused by the logic of someone successfully kidnapping a person on the mountains. 	“It was a flying creature. But not a bird, it was. A lot like her!” The villager said as he pointed at Rainbow Dash. 	“Typhoon...” Rainbow Dash said. 	“You know this person?” Sun asked. 	“Yeah but he's no friend if that's what your thinking.” Rainbow Dash said. 	“No matter, I shall find this kidnapper and show him the wrath of Sun Wukong.” Sun Said as he got out of bed and stretched. I bet I can find the kidnapper before you can.” Rainbow Dash said as she got out of the bed. 	“Ha! I am one of the fastest creatures this world has ever known! I will find him before you can say Měi Hóuwáng!” Sun Wukong Said boastfully. He then jumped out of the sent and whistled for his cloud ride nimbus while Rainbow Dash ran out and took flight, both of them taking quickly into the air in search of the kidnapper. 
After a bit of searching Sun Wukong found a villager tied up being pulled away by a pony creature, 	“Ha, ha! I found him! And before Rainbow Dash no less. I win again.” Sun said as he jumped off of nimbus and landed in front Typhoon. Typhoon upon seeing Sun immediately fled leaving the villager behind. Sun quickly ripped the rope and removed the gag. 	“Hmph! Coward, He could at least have given me a proper fight!” Sun said as he propped the villager back on his feet. Just then a bubble of energy appeared out of nowhere and revealed two other pony creatures. The muscular dark grey earth pony Big Power and the sickly looking grey unicorn Dunno Maybe. Before Sun Wukong could react Dunno struck him with a blast and Sun Wukong fell to the ground. A talisman wrapped itself around Sun Wukong and immobilized him. Typhoon landed back on the ground and regrouped with the other two. 	“Ha, ha, Chump! You fell for it like the idiot you are! Dunno! Get him out of here!” Typhoon said as he kicked Sun Wukong. 	“Actually, My gut says that we should keep him here...” Dunno said pathetically. 	“I don't remember either of us asking what your stomach thought! Now get that chimp out of here!” Power bellowed. Dunno lifted the monkey king with his magic and floated him away. 
Just then Rainbow Dash came down in front of the three. 	“Well if it isn't my favorite technicolor punching bag! Come around for another round?” Typhoon said with a smirk. 	“I do not take enjoyment in beating up women. You should run while I am gracious enough to give you the chance.” Power said attempting to intimidate Rainbow Dash with his voice and stature. Rainbow Dash looked at Sun Wukong who was being floated away by Dunno. Power then gets in her line of sight. 	“I don't think so rainbow pony.” Power said as he shook his head patronizingly. 	“The name is Rainbow Dash and I'm not afraid of either of you!” Rainbow Dash said as she smashed her hoofs together creating sparks of lighting. 	“Ha! Such big courage, too bad it is in such a small weak body!” Power said. Typhoon raced towards Rainbow Dash to strike her and Rainbow Dash ran towards Typhoon gearing to do the same. Their hoofs smacked into each other hurting both their legs Rainbow Dash ignored the pain and slapped Typhoon across the face with her hoofs sending him tumbling onto the ground. Rainbow Dash then dashes towards Big Power who just continued to stand there patiently for Rainbow Dash to come to him. Rainbow Dash hoof punched Big Power right in the face. Big Power took the punch and quickly counter attacked by head butting Rainbow Dash in the face. This stunned Rainbow Dash leaving her woozy for a couple seconds leaving her open for attack. Big Power then bucked Rainbow Dash sending her spiraling onto the ground. Rainbow Dash came to and just at the right moment as Big Power was set to crush her underneath his hoofs she rolled out of the way nearly missing the crushing force of his stomp. She quickly got up and dashed underneath him tripping him up. She then grabbed him by his tail and swung him right off the cliff. 
Before he could really plummet Typhoon grabs him and drops him on the mountain side where he regains his footing. He quickly darts towards Rainbow Dash. He hoof punches Rainbow Dash right in the gut. Rainbow Dash winces as she grabs Typhoon's mane and pulls him towards the ground smashing his face into the mountain side. Typhoon looked to be out cold but before Rainbow Dash could get a good idea on that Big Power ran up and bucked her knocking her right onto the ground. Power charged her ready to attack yet again but before he could get close enough to attack Rainbow Dash quickly jumped into the air getting out of range for him to strike her and came down on him hoof punching him right on the top of his head. This caused Big Power to lose footing. Typhoon just then grabbed Rainbow Dash and smashed her into the ground pinning her to the ground. 	“Whatever happened to preferring one on one?” Rainbow Dash said as she struggled to get out of his grip. 	“I'm done playing games with you Rainbow Dash! You're nothing but a nuisance. You think your tough like one of the big boys but you’re just a worthless punk who doesn't know there place! I've easily beaten you every time we've fought and this time will be no different!” Typhoon said. He then head butted Rainbow Dash Square in the face knocking her out. 	“Adios Rainbow Dash.” Typhoon said as he let go of her and prepared to make the final blow. Just then someone grabbed his mane and pulled him away from Rainbow Dash. It was Sun Wukong who punched Typhoon right in the face knocking him out in one blow. Sun Wukong grabbed Rainbow Dash and summoned nimbus flying back to the tent to have her looked over. 

Rainbow Dash was treated for her wounds. Most of them were simple injuries that healed up after a night of rest. Sun Wukong went to see Rainbow Dash to check up on her. She just laid there in the bed somber and quiet. Sun Wukong looked confused and concerned as he pulled up a chair to sit in. He waited for Rainbow Dash to say something but she continued to be silent. Finding much discomfort in the awkward silence Sun Wukong decided to say something to end the silence. 	“How's it going Rainbow Dash? Is everything all right?” Sun Wukong said with trepidatiously. Rainbow Dash didn't respond. Sun Wukong sat there for a moment expecting an answer though and when he didn't get one he decided to keep talking. 	“Ya know some people would give a lot to be saved by the glorious monkey king!” Sun said with a smile as he posed. Rainbow Dash was ineffectual to his words Sun Wukong became slightly annoyed as another attempt failed. He thought for a moment on what he should say instead. It took him a moment or two but he finally committed to an idea. 	“So this is how a mighty Pegasus warrior acts? Quit all this moping around! You should be lucky you survived at all! Stop being a big baby and put yourself back together!” Sun yelled hoping the tough love approach would yield some results. Rainbow Dash looks at Sun for a moment. Sun Wukong looks back at her with eager anticipation hoping to get something out of her. She then looked away from him and continued moping. This made him angry and he hopped out of his chair and made a shrieking noise. 	“Speak! Monkey King commands you!” Sun yelled pointing at Rainbow Dash trying to employ as much force and ferocity in his voice as he can fluster. Rainbow Dash remained ineffectual to his words. Sun Wukong became furious with Rainbow Dash. He clawed a piece of the tent apart punched himself in his own head a couple of times and then rubbed his hands across his face in an attempt to calm himself down. 	“Fine, be that way!” Sun yelled as he threw his hands up in the air. He then walked out in an angry frustrated huff. 	
“I'm a failure...” Rainbow Dash said. Sun Wukong quickly darted back into the tent with a confused noise. He sat back in the chair and put his attention on Rainbow Dash. 	“What makes you say that?” Sun asked hoping he would be able to generate a conversation now that she started talking. “Cause I’ve always been a failure.” Rainbow Dash said. 	“How can that be? You said you were the bravest, strongest, fastest flier to ever come out of Cloudsdale.” Sun said. 	“That was a lie. I'm actually far from it. I'm a joke. Most of my flying runs end in me crashing into objects or just making a fool out of myself. People would call me Rainbow Crash and belittle me. I can't even get my own signature move right. I'm nothing compared to the Wonderbolts.” Rainbow Dash said. “The Wonderbolts, Who are they?” Sun asked. 	“They the Cloudsdale elite pegasi, they can fly fast. Maneuver like the wind. And create really fantastic moves.” Rainbow Dash said. 	“The Wonderbolts eh?” Sun said as he tried to come up with something worthwhile to say. 	“Soarin', Spitfire, Dynamo, and a few others. They are much better than I’ll ever be.” Rainbow Dash said. 	“Are they your role models or something?” Sun asked. 	“I've looked up to them since as far as I can remember. That would be a yes by the way.” Rainbow Dash said. Sun Wukong scratched his head in confusion as he tried to make sense of the words Rainbow Dash gave him. 	“I forget. Why do people need role models again?” Sun asked. 	“I want to be the best Pegasus there ever was. And the Wonderbolts are the best. So I would model myself after the Wonderbolts.” Rainbow Dash said. 	“I believe. That was your first mistake.” Sun said with confidence. 	“Wha?” Rainbow Dash said confused by what Sun Wukong said. 	“You treat these people better than you treat yourself. Think about it. They are always better than you. You are always inferior to them. You are working to be as good as they are. You idolize these Wonderbolts but they are no gods! They aren't even me! They are your opponents. Your rivals! They cannot be your friends or allies!” Sun said. Rainbow Dash had a confused look on her face. “The monkey king was like you once. He saw himself as a lesser being. I would work hard to be as good as many of the other powerful warriors that roamed this earth. And I became powerful. In fact I was one of the strongest. But I didn't fit their image. I didn't do things the way they wanted. They refused to grant me my proper rank as great sage leader of the warriors of light. So you know what I did?” Sun said with his voice filled with enthusiasm and zest. Rainbow Dash shook her head no. 	“I left them behind! I am no warrior of light and I will never be but I am the monkey king and the monkey king is great! You may never be a Wonderbolt but I would think it's only because a better rank suits you more! You must cast yourself out of the shadows of these pegasi so you can set your path and make your own rank! But you are no god! You aren't even me! You will need help. You must acquire yourself allies you can trust and depend on. A good ally always leads to inner growth. At least that's the case for people who aren't named Sun Wukong.” Sun said calming down. 	“Allies huh? I had those once.” Rainbow Dash said. 	“You must find them! Reunite so your true destiny can be found!” Sun said. 	“But I, I left them behind. I said terrible things to them too. Especially Twilight...” Rainbow Dash said. 
Suddenly Sun Wukong smacked Rainbow Dash in the head. 	“Yow! Why did you do that?” Rainbow Dash said angrily. 	“You are absolved.” Sun said. “What?” Rainbow Dash asked as she rubbed her head. “You know you did something wrong and you admitted to it. I punished you as retribution for your acts. You are now absolved.” Sun said. 	“Okay, but that doesn't exactly mean that she will just take me back.” Rainbow Dash said. 	“Oh, that's easy. Just say you’re sorry.” Sun said. Sun Wukong walked Rainbow Dash outside to the mountain side. 	“See you later Sun.” Rainbow Dash said as she geared up to take off into the sky. 	“Wait, before you go. I haven't seen my staff since it spun off the cliff. If you see it anywhere let me know okay?” Sun said. 	“Okay then!” Rainbow Dash said. She then took off to the lower ground. 

Rainbow Dash flies back down the mountains and into the Ursa Plains. She circled the area trying to find anything that looked like Twilight or the rest of the group. Instead she sees a traveler frantically running from what appears to be nothing. Curious, Rainbow Dash flew down alongside the traveler to see what the matter was. He was pale looking like the Pixies and Izze but did not have wings or any other animal features but had long spiky hair with eyes that contained no visible pupils. He had pointy ears and his body form was similar to the Orcs although a lot more pleasant and smaller looking. He wore a pair of shorts with gloves and a backpack similar to the one Spike wears. “Hey! What are you running from?” Rainbow Dash yelled to the traveler.” he looked back and saw that nothing was there. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked around. 	“I guess it is gone.” the traveler said. He then fell to the ground as he caught his breath. 	“Are you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked. 	“I'm fine. I just prefer action on the high seas than on the ground. Especially given what was chasing me.” the traveler said as he began to catch his breath and calm down. 	“What was chasing you?” Rainbow Dash asked. 	“I think it was the Ursa Major. When I saw it, I ran. I just now looked back.” The traveler said as he adjusted his backpack and clothes. 	“What's so terrible about this thing?” Rainbow Dash said. 	“It's no ordinary beast mind you. In fact it's the beast to end all beasts! A god walking in the realm of mortals! Normally as long as you don't get in its way or harm its young it won't do anything to you and give you safe passage. Now that I think about it I shouldn't have been worried at all because I’ve stayed out of its way and I haven't angered it one bit.” The traveler said. Rainbow Dash noticed some bright. It looked like a star but it was right behind the traveler on the ground. She tried to focus on it but before she could several more kept appearing. She began to see a creature form from the stars. Its size was unlike any other she's ever seen. It wasn't just big or tall or huge it was colossal. Rainbow Dash began to tremble as the creature towered over them. The traveler looked behind to see the creature right above them. 	“Oh no.....” the traveler said in a whimper.

Twilight and the others left the city and headed towards the body of water. As they were traveling though they ran into yet another destroyed village but this one was different from the others. Rarity looked around with interest as she noted the remnants of what was once beautiful architecture. Pillars, arches, mosaics, and more were so burned and warped that they could never truly be restored and yet they had a familiar quality to them. “This place, it’s hard to say but it kind of looks familiar.” Rarity said as she looked at the place. 	“Now that you mention it Rarity, It is familiar. This place has a similar design to Canterlot.” Twilight said as she started paying genuine attention to the environment. 	“Ponies, Spike, I want to stop here for the night. I want to spend some time investigating this place.” Twilight said as she stopped. 	“Fine with me my feet were getting tired with all that walking around” Spike said as he sat on a piece of stone and rubbed his feet. Twilight spent the rest of the day looking at the place but finding nothing of value. Though there were many structures, there was nothing in the way of books or anything that could have preserved and saved as information of the past. All that was left was rubble. As she walked back to the group she could hear the sound of someone's voice. It was soft and ethereal. 	“You who are not unlike us....” the voice said. 	“What?” Twilight said looking around only to find nothing. “You okay there Twilight?” Spike asked concerned. 	“Lady Amalthea, will be your guide.....” the voice said. 	“Nobody else hears that?” Twilight asked looking around and looking quite bewildered. 	Maybe the sun is getting to ya. How about you take a load off? We can saddle up and keep on walking tomorrow.” Applejack said. 	“Yes. I think I will do just that.” Twilight said thinking to herself that the stress has gotten to her. 

Once the tent is finished Twilight goes inside to rest for the night. At first she sleeps normally but as her mind drifts into a dream like state the voice once again chimes in. 	“You have sought knowledge but it is memories you require. Lady Amalthea will give you what you desire.....” the voice said. Suddenly Twilight awakened and to her surprised she saw the village of rubble looked new and rebuilt. The buildings were ornate and detailed with paintings and statues of the pegasi and the unicorns. The unicorns and pegasi were pristine and white with the pegasi wearing armor that looked similar to the ones Princess Celestia's guards wears and the unicorns not wearing anything at all. Their magical presence could be felt and it was far more powerful than the power of any pony unicorn. Despite there serene and enigmatic appearance creatures surrounded them and pampered them. Another creature much like the unicorns and pegasi could be seen but they were without any powers and mostly contained the colors or brown and black although there were others that had unusual coat patterns on them. They were no doubt the horses Izze mentioned. 
Twilight looked around awestruck at what she saw when suddenly a chill went through her and brought everything to a standstill. The sky turned red and a blood curdling cry pierced the sky. The creatures ran around in a panic. A figure could be seen in the distance. Its eyes bright and yellow, It was a massive creature. Fire burned all around it. Everything it touched burned. Its breath melted bones. Its roars paralyzed though who stood in its ways. It was a four legged creature with huge horns on its head. Its coat was red and its presence otherworldly. Nothing could stop it as it destroyed everything in its path. Young or old nothing would survive and it devoured everything it saw. The pegasi and unicorns tried to fend it off but it nothing it did could harm them and they were destroyed and turned to ash in the blink of an eye. Twilight was frozen in horror as the creature turned to Twilight. It began to walk towards her. The creature looked Twilight right in the eyes. The creature roared in Twilights face and she began to feel her flesh burn. She caught fire and screamed as she was engulfed in flames. Everything went dark and the voice could be heard again. 	“We were lost. But not forgotten. For our future lies in you, the wrath of the Red Bull was our disaster, but your blessing. For your sake, avoid our fate....” the voice said as it faded out. Twilight awakened in a panicked state with everyone else none the wiser to the nightmare that she had undergone.