In the once fertile plains outside Canterlot, the cyan sheen of a metallic Pegasus, possessing a holographic mane of many colors, glinted in the glow of the midnight sun. Rainbow Dash sat wings hunched like a gargoyle; ready to spring into action at any moment, as she watched the fillies playing in the massive lava flow.
Her display read 11:00 PM, but that was of little concern. The day and night cycles hadn’t existed for a long time, and the moon never shone in the sky, while the sun never set. The ponies simply recharged when low on power, and went on with their activities until it was time to recharge again.
Rainbow was elated as she watched Scootaloo slicing through the molten waves, and having a good time. Her eyes went wide as Scootaloo, flapping her tiny wings, slowly rose out of the lava; lifted by a hoof rising from beneath the waves.
Seemingly effortlessly, a Unicorn mare used her hoof to lift Scootaloo a few feet above the waves as she rose from the superheated depths. She laughed, as Scootaloo continued flapping her wings.
“Look how high you’re flying, Scootaloo!”
Still flapping her wings rapidly, Scootaloo giggled, while Applebloom and Sweetie Belle cheered; splashing about, clapping their hooves at the sight and calling out.
“Me next, me next, Chrysi!”
“I wanna fly too!”
Rainbow Dash allowed a rare smile to grace her face; it wasn’t often the fillies got to have an outing, and to top it off, that new Unicorn was really meshing well with them.
According to Rainbow’s sensors, the lava flows were just under 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, not that it really mattered. Since the metal their flesh consisted of was completely immune to the detrimental effects of the liquifying temperatures, they felt nothing but the fluidity of the molten rock.
Watching over them, as they were splashing about, Rainbow Dash thought about the conversation the Elements had with the three fillies earlier.
***
“Play with a mare? As in, an adult, sis?”
Looking at her friends, Scootaloo wore a confused expression as she spoke to her adopted big sister; Rainbow Dash.
Remaining silent, Rainbow Dash just nodded, her brow furrowed in furious thought, while Rarity stepped forward and spoke up.
“Darling, it’s not as simple as that. You see, the mare in question is special needs.”
Now it was Sweetie Belle’s turn to be confused as she looked from Applebloom to Scootaloo.
“What’s ‘special needs’ mean?”
Applejack stepped forward and tried a more direct approach.
“It means she has PTSD, Sugarcube.”
Sweetie Belle blinked.
“What is PTSD?”
Just as Rarity and Applejack were about to answer, Rainbow Dash held up a hoof, stopping them. She spoke softly, barely more than a whisper, but it carried such authority it was heard by all present.
“I’ll handle this, girls.”
Raising the volume on her words, Rainbow Dash spoke gently, her voice lacking the normal static-filled rasp it usually carried. For those who knew her, it was clear she related heavily to the subject at hoof.
“Scootaloo, do you remember when Cloudsdale was annihilated by the Overlord?”
All present, stiffened as Scootaloo’s eyes went wide and she lowered her head towards the ground, her flightless wings limp and drooped on her back. Turning from her, Rainbow looked pointedly at Applebloom.
“And do you remember when your brother and grandmother died protecting you, while Applejack carried you out of Sweet Apple Acres?”
Applejack spoke up as Applebloom looked down and pawed at the charred ground.
“Rainbow, what are you-”
But Rainbow Dash wasn’t done, turning her attention to Sweetie Belle.
“And when your Boutique went up in flames, tell me, do you remember?”
This time Rarity’s eyes went wide as Sweetie Belle gave a whimper.
Applejack angrily stamped her hoof.
“Rainbow that was completely uncalled for!”
Ignoring her, Rainbow looked at all three and her eyes narrowed coldly.
“It hurts doesn’t it? The memories of those events. Believe me, I know that agony well. Now take that pain you feel and multiply it by a thousand; that is what that mare is going through every moment of every day.”
The three fillies stopped scuffing at the ground with their hooves and looked up, their eyes dimmed and a concerned expression on their startled faces.
“W-what?”
Rainbow knelt down and wrapped the three in a gentle hug with her wings.
“You three lost some really important things, but she watched as every creature and everything she ever cared about was taken from her, forever. She has no one and nothing because it was stolen from her. Her mind replays that over and over and though she may appear to be a mare, she’s nothing but a scared, insecure filly right now and she needs your support. After all, how would you feel, if you had no friends to help you when you were saddest?”
Applebloom shivered and looked at her two friends, shaking her head at the thought.
“Th-that’s horrible!”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded furiously in agreement.
“Y-yeah.”
“I can’t even imagine such a thing.”
Rainbow sat back down her brow once more furrowed in thought, as Applejack stepped forward.
“That’s why we need you to play with her; treat her like a regular filly. Can you do that for us, Sugarcubes? We would really appreciate it, and I bet she would too.”
Applebloom grinned.
“Yeah, what do you say girls?”
As three hooves connected in a hoofbump, the little Unicorn, Pegasus and Earthpony shouted as one to the heavens.
“The Cutiemark Crusaders are on the job!”
While the three fillies cheered at the idea of making a new friend, Applejack and Rarity simultaneously placed a hoof on both of Rainbow Dash’s shoulders. The two of them spoke tenderly to her.
“We’re here for you, Sugarcube.”
“Yes, Darling! We aren’t going anywhere.”
***
Her thoughts interrupted by a sudden noise behind her, Rainbow Dash gave a grim smile; slowly turning around while flaring her metallic wings to their full width. I know your pain, Chrysalis. I was alone when I came to this world too. What she did next, only Chrysi observed; just happening to turn at the right moment, to witness Rainbow Dash’s speed as she tore apart what appeared to be a living black skeleton with her bare hooves.
Even though she saw it, she was almost certain her sensors were playing tricks on her; in just the span of the time it took to blink, Rainbow had dispatched the figure and was sitting in the exact same perched pose she had been.
Chrysi, however, had no time to process what she had seen, as all around the lava bank, the same black skeletons rose out of the ground. There were dozens of them, causing the fillies to scream as they scrambled to get to a safe area. Rainbow Dash had gone into overdrive, darting around at a speed, their receptors could barely follow; tearing into the skeletons with an almost predatory ferocity.
Chrysi felt paralyzed. She couldn’t move as she stared at one of the black skeletons; and watched the viscous black ooze that coated the decaying bones, dripping off them onto the scorched earth with a sizzle. No. It couldn’t be, Chrysi thought, as it slogged its way through the lava towards her.
***
As Twilight was pulled into the slimy substance, she gave Chrysalis a magical shove into the portal, crying out.
“Please…Don’t forget us!”
***
That moment flashed before her eyes; running rampant in her core memory files and seizing control of her thought processes. Not again. I won’t forgive. She watched, unable to move as one of the skeletons turned towards Scootaloo. She closed her eyes. Not again! She wanted to scream. That ooze, that horrible slime that took everything from her. Not again, you can’t, I won’t forgive you! It was back to take it all away again.
From her horn erupted a glowing bright green glow. Not again. Chrysi’s eyes flew open as the green glow enveloped her body, causing her to slowly rise out of the lava. Never again! Tilting her head back, she screamed as a bright green glow exploded outward.
“Never again! I won’t forgive you! You can’t have them!”
Her metal contracted and expanded, as she grew to forty times her own height. Her head grew larger, flattening to a point, while her mouth was filled with hundreds of fanged metal teeth. Her forelegs became elongated and ended in fearsome hooked claws, while her hind legs became reaching legs ending in flesh-rending talons. Her eyes took on a sinister serpentine gaze, as countless blackened scales of an unidentified metal erupted across her form, covering her body.
Chrysi let out a fearsome roar and took flight. She circled the lava banks from the air, disintegrating the entire skeleton army in the unholy glow of her emerald flame; Her long tail slammed down as she blasted the banks, again and again.
Rainbow Dash tore the skull from the last skeleton, shattering it in her hooves as she stopped and stared in disbelief at the sight. That’s amaz-…wait. Horsefeathers!
Chrysi, the black dragon, was thrashing around in a rage; blasting the area with a wreath of green fire, over and over, with no awareness of her surroundings.
Using her blinding speed and unnatural strength Rainbow grabbed the three fillies' unconscious bodies, each possessing mysterious scorch marks across their metal plating; courtesy of the emerald flames. She’s completely out of control. I have to get the Princesses!
Flinging the fillies onto her back, Rainbow Dash frantically spread her wings and took off for the camp at top speed; behind her the tormented roars of the rampaging dragon echoing across the devastated landscape.