The Dark Side
A My little Pony Fanfic by Lord Xaos
Chapter 10

Just moments before, she had seen the unthinkable. While being apparently invisible, Dash watched as a copy of her had attempted to kill Pinkie Pie…and then, as her clone wept, Pinkie had suddenly sedated her, and revealed that she wasn’t harmed at all, thanks to a hidden armor vest/Blood packet suit. And then, after Pinkie strapped the doppelganger to a plank, Rainbow Dash was discovered!

Rainbow had flown away into the sky, trying to get away from those soulless eyes! She turned around to gaze at the bakery. No sooner had she done so then a Pink blur tore out of the door.

Rainbow was shaking…not really sure what to do. She could keep flying, but she had to land somewhere, sometime…and whenever she ran from Pinkie, that was usually the time that Pinkie appeared right beside her.

Wait! If I’m visible now, then I can just get the attention of some other ponies to be wit...ness...ses…what? WHERE ARE THEY?

“WHERE’D ALL THE OTHER PONIES GO!?” Dash Screamed. Indeed, the streets of the bizarre Ponyville where empty. And the Fog from the forest was back. Suddenly she remembered who was following her, and her eyes darted back to the ground.

“Rainbow….” Pinkie’s voice spoke hauntingly. “Rainbooooow….” She locked eyes with the pegasus. Rainbow didn’t like the look she was giving her. Like she was hungry.

Rainbow darted to hide above a nearby rooftop. She poked her head over the side.

“Come down right this instant, young lady! Before you hurt yourself!” Pinkie spoke the motherly command with lots of playful intent, but no warmth or actual concern at all.

“No!” Rainbow shouted petulantly. Arrrg. Don’t respond like you’re her two-year old filly, moron! “What’s going on with your eyes!? WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR FAAAAACEE?”

“I have cupcaaaakes…yummy, yummy cupcaaakes.” Pinkie offered in a sing-song voice.

“…NO! Crazy me didn’t want those cupcakes, and neither do I! What’d you do to them? Poison them?”

“Grr…is NO pony going to willingly try my baking today?” Pinkie mumbled to herself. “Guess I’ll have to make you eat one. They’re really good today!”

Rainbow pointed at Pinkie “Look, you can’t get up here anyway, so you might as well just give up the other Rain-“

“UMPH!” Pinkie landed right next to Rainbow, whose eyes were wide with fear and astonishment. “Hi.” Pinkie moves her lips slowly, to over pronounce each syllable. “Daaa. Sssssshhheee!”

Rainbow stepped back. “No…h-how?!” Pinkie advanced, smiling confidently. “IS THERE NOTHING YOU CANNOT DO!?” Rainbow’s voice was raising, betraying all sorts of weakness. But she couldn’t help it.

“This game didn’t last very long. I’m disappointed, but I got a lot to do.” Pinkie mused. “Say, Dashie…would you like to help me?”

“h-help you? With what?” Dash’s ears had flopped behind her head, her voice was cracking.

“P-pinkie, you know I’m not that good at baking.” Dash could hear her own heavy breathing…she needed to calm down so she could fly…and to do that she needed to get away from this Pinkie and her creepy aura…and to do that she needed to calm do so she could fly.

“Don’t worry, Dash.” Pinkie smiled. “I’ll be doing most of the work. You just have to lie still.”

Rainbow’s rump bumped into something. She had been backed, no herded, into the wall of the neighboring building’s roof. Rainbow had already been crouching to just get further away from Pinkie, and now the Pink Mare towered over her.

Pinkie leaned her head in behind Rainbow’s face, to where she could whisper (and breathe) into Rainbow’s ear.

The words shot through Rainbow’s entire being. It was shocking, revolting, confusing, frightening, maddening, soul-crushing, the mess of emotions defied Rainbow’s ability to explain…but one awakened feeling rose to dominance.

“Cos I want to fu-“

“RAARRRGG!” Rainbow bounded forward and HEAD BUTTED Pinkie.

Rainbow got unsteadily to her hooves and massaged the forehead she just used as a blunt instrument. She was still looking unsure, but had a definite fire glowing in her eyes.

Pinkie was holding a hoof over her face. “Ow…my eyyyee…Dashie, you hurt me.”

“Serves you right! You tricked and chained up that other Rainbow, and now you’re trying to dominate me and do…whatever it is you’re planning to do!”

“….heh. But I already told you what we’re going to be doing. I sang it to you in your sleep.”

"Well, here we are at last,
You always were a pleasure
Are wondering why you're in a vice?
Oh how we laughed and laughed
Except...you're not laughing?
What's the matter, Rainbow Dash?
Am I not being so nice?”

whaa…where did I hear this…song? Rainbow convulsed, her bravery leaving her as nightmare images flooded her mind.

“Why do they call it a Hacksaw? Hacking is what I was doing with the knife.”

Rainbow shook her head, as if trying to physically knock out the image of her battered wing, hacked tendons, and skinned flanks from her mind. “Wha…WHAT WAS THAT?”
“I’m busy still explaining, you silly filly! Let me give you the final verse. Ahe-he-hem.”

“You'll be baked into Cupcakes!
That's what I'm planning on.
I want you inside of me!
Oh, I'll feel sad when you're gone
Nopony will know you're gone
Oh we will soon be as one..."

Rainbow had a few more forgotten memories come through her, but they were less potent than last time. She got two very important pieces of information from what she left of her clarity of mind.

2-Pinkie was quietly but rapidly approaching while she sang, and Rainbow was not nearly as high as she needed to be, especially with Pinkie’s incredible Jumping skills.
Pinkie gave her best Dragon’s “RAAARRR!” as she leapt, Rainbow tried to ascend, but Pinkie successfully grabbed her hind legs.

“Get off! GET OFF!” Rainbow kicked her legs back and forth furiously, but she had nothing to brace against up in the sky.

Pinkie was starting to climb Rainbow like a ladder, but more distressing than that was the syringe she was holding in her mouth. Where’d she been hiding that?

In desperation, Rainbow flew at top speed towards the nearest roof at an angle that she hoped would hit Pinkie but not herself.

Pinkie made a squeaking noise and she released Dash’s legs just as some debris pelted Rainbow in that same moment, making her give out an audible “ouch!” and crash on top of the roof.

Rainbow took great gasps of breath and looked over herself…she didn’t think she got stuck.

“Although the Dark side and nightmares of the grove can be deceptive of whose they are,
Should you identify Pinkie Pie’s you must retreat and stay back very far.
For Pinkie Pie’s sake, as well as that of your own.
Think hard before Slaying Pinkie’s Dark Side, lest you endanger Pinkie Pie
Also, unlike your own shadow, Pinkie’s will rip your flesh and bone
Your nightmares must slowly break ALL of your spirit to win,
but other Shadows need only one killing blow and you will die.
This is why there will be no reinforcements, why only you will go in.”

uh…she said…”Something, something, something that rhymes with something, and only mess around with your own nightmare or Pinkie might die.” Shit.

“AAAAIIEEE!” Rainbow shrieked in horror as she leapt into the air and started flying again. Barely dodging Pinkie as she leapt at her from around

Sneaky, sneaky…Why haven’t I run away yet? I’m not even allowed to get violent.

“Dashie. Come. Here.” Pinkie ordered after she spat out the syringe. She was waving her hoof again. She was looking angry.

…I don’t know. Zecora, why’d you have to be so vague? Its almost as if you were afraid of outright telling me “Everything in the Grove is just trying to trick you, grab the real Pinkie and avoid everything else.”

Rainbow’s heart hurt from the jolt of surprise. Her entire body ached from the sudden interruption…but she kept flying.

She looked down at Pinkie, heart still racing, but she frowned at Pinkie. And made a declaration.

Blood was pumping in her veins. It was time to wrap this up. Rainbow could almost hear a power-up song playing in the background. She needed a theme song.

“NO! YOU CAN JUST GO AHEAD AND GIVE UP ON THAT STUPI-“

“RRRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRR!”

Her wings immediately stopped flapping and with a whiplash sound, they retracted themselves and became all but glued to her body.

Pinkie jumped off the roof and trotted to catch Dash off guard before she could get away.

Rainbow, after much twitching helplessly to try and warm up her muscles, rolled back onto her stomach as the syringe came down. Once again, she had just barely escaped. She leapt to her hooves when she was right-side up again.

Pinkie smiled. That’s more like it…Run, little Dashie. Run. Maybe I’ll have more fun chasing you after all.

Then…she examined the Syringe. It wasn’t quite as full as she remembered it. She smiled.

Pinkie Pie (who was busy trying to stitch her tail back on by using the hindlegs she curled behind her body as she lay on the bed of the hospital facing a mirror…and in no way chasing Rainbow Dash. The one that was chasing Rainbow Dash had her tail intact, did we mention that? You have been keeping up with the story, haven’t you?) began to wonder about her circumstances.

Such as…where exactly was she? Why did none of the ponies here see you unless they wanted to kill you? And also OW! …Why had she thought this was a good idea?

Equestria Ponies, as opposed to Earth Ponies (er…PLANET EARTH Ponies, that is), had remarkably flexible legs, and even hooves that had the ability to wrap around items. Indeed, Ponyville was recorded to have been built by Earth ponies, and built by Earth Ponies it was! Pony legs and hooves couldn’t do everything a human hand could do…but at the same time they could actually do some things hands couldn’t do!

Doing the equivalent of bend your leg backwards or use your FEET to stitch something together for example.

And yet, despite all that, Pinkie had to admit that bending her legs back AND sewing your own flesh with her hind hooves was really, really hard. It didn’t help that she rarely used her BACK hooves for anything and had no medical training whatsoever.

“Sigh…Pin the Tail on the Pony isn’t very fun when it’s your tail.” Pinkie complained. Not whined, complained. It’s VERY important to keep that distinction clear should you ever have to deal with a certain prissy white unicorn. “And..grr…umph…ARRRG! AND THESE STUPID BANGS KEEP FALLING IN MY FACE!”

Half an hour ago, Pinkie had observed her wound. It actually wasn’t very deep, and she though she even saw some hair trying to grow back already. But it was humiliating to be going around tailless.

She had placed a bandage on top of her wound and it…it…Pinkie supposed she should’ve laughed it off. And it wasn’t like anypony around would notice it to be in a position to laugh at her but…

It was humiliating. It…it just was. That big, white “X” on her behind. Reminded her of some ragged, patched up, abandoned, stuffed toy. Actually, her entire body fit that description after her fight with Rainbow and her flight through the storm.

Her image in the mirror…okay, foal’s toys tend not to get bloody and bruised like she was, but…she didn’t recognize the pony looking back at her.

The fallen bangs…she had no idea why, but her mane just didn’t seem to have any life to it whenever she was sad. The last time she wore her hair like this, she had falsely believed her friends had abandoned her and didn’t want to be with her anymore. Pinkie was glad to be proven wrong, but ever since that day, she had begun to equate that hairstyle with certain parts of her personality she didn’t like. Her bitterness, her distrust, unhappiness itself…and they were damned annoying in of themselves.

The rest of her body did not remind her of herself. The cuts, the bruises… And that hideous bandage was the worse of the lot. It did make her look broken. And although today had been terrible beyond words, she just couldn’t take looking so defeated. So, she tore it off (yelping with pain all the way as some of the hair had gotten mixed with the blood and the bandage) and decided to do something about her tail at least.

And even though none of the ponies at the hospital would help her, Pinkie found that she could easily take some medical supplies and attempt to fix her own tail. She tore the bandage off her wound.

And yet, in giving up, Pinkie realized why it was that she wanted to look like herself again.

She was lonely. And she wanted her friends. She was worried that, if she let herself fall to pieces like that…she really would just become some other pony and no one would recognize her.

Ever since meeting her doppelganger and dying…she didn’t feel like Pinkie Pie anymore. She was looking more and more like….like….Pinkamena. From before she got her cutie mark…

The three happy little balloons that represented her wish that everypony could share in the smiles and laughter she had ever since Dashie’s Rainboom erupted into her life. The thought alone brought a smile to her face. No matter what, Meanie Pie was never going to get them…ever again.

As soon as that quick little wave of happiness washed over her…something clicked in Pinkie’s mind.

What’s been happening to me? I mean…how much time have I wasted in here, worrying about my stupid looks when there could be a Sweetie Bell or even a Rainbow Dash in danger!

I was supposed to just get somepony’s attention, and see if they thought I needed immediate attention, and while they were at it, some other pony would get the towns’ attention to save Sweetie Bell from my …”Imposter”…and failing that, I was supposed to leave after checking to my wound. I was supposed to forget about my stupid tail.

But instead, I take one look at my appearance, and I’ve wasted 40 minutes in front of this mirror! Stupid, stupid Pinkie!

“But…” Pinkie said out loud, “I suppose I was worried not that they wouldn’t see me, but rather that they’d see another side of me. The side that yelled at all of them at the surprise party.

The side of me that called a bunch of inanimate objects my ‘real friends.’”

“Shut up! SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!” Pinkie stomped her hooves as she railed against the darkness of her own mind.

“SHUT! UP! STUPID! TURNIPS!” Pinkie continued screaming at the air around her “I ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH INNER DEMONS MANIFESTING INTO FLESH TO DEAL WITH HERE, I AM *NOT* PUTTING UP WITH ANYMORE!

A gloomy void of pitch black had covered the mirror, all except for Pinkie’s reflection. Pinkie’s reflection was in the form of a mare drained of all color, so that she appeared Gray and not Pink.

“Can’t you make room for just one more?” Grayamena Diane Pie spoke. The darkness of the mirror began to stretch out like tendrils of smoke into the real world…

Hyperventilating, Pinkie stared at the ruins of the mirror. “Am I going crazy? Or…is this just normal for mirrors to do now?”

She ran out the door, not really sure where she was going (after all, she still had no idea where to find Sugarcube corner.) She ran through a very confused Nurse Tenderheart, who had come running and was wondering how in the world that mirror got broken.

Pinkie wasn’t sure if what she saw was even real or not…or if anything was real.

Try as she might, her wings wouldn’t move. Her body was still chilled with fear. She was getting some blood pumping through her body, but her body still wasn’t moving right.

It wasn’t just fear. The fog that had covered Ponyville was freezing! It made her feel like her wings were actually sticking to her body. Was this what had happened to Fluttershy on the way up the Dragon’s mountain?

Rainbow had scoffed at that, and thought that Fluttershy was just causing trouble for Applejack when AJ had to take her around the mountain. But right now…

She’d take it back. She was stupid. Dragons are terrifying! And they are even worse when they are…

“RAAAARR!” Pinkie roared once more. It was her normal voice, but it still made Dash’s heart stop.

Especially when you factored in that she had somehow gotten in front of Rainbow. Again!

Dash swerved and tried to turn away from Pinkie’s path, and she darted forward as soon as righted herself once again. She was breathing heavily…she didn’t waste any time on screaming or talking.

Rainbow shook her head. Her vision was getting hazy again. It was hard to tell with all this fog, but…something was obviously wrong.

Rainbow couldn’t think straight. Rational thought escaped her entirely. She had become as a frightened animal…the wolves were coming for her.

But, Rainbow couldn’t run anymore…her legs were burning. So, she took her last stand. Using all the rest of her strength to put her back to a nearby wall…and dart her head around, waiting for Pinkie to come for her…

It was a girlish little giggle, but it seemed to come from both everywhere and nowhere at once…where was she?

And she definitely wasn’t coming from behind or below…those were blocked off.

Rainbow heard another giggle, and realized there was one direction she hadn’t looked yet.

“Ooooh! Very good!” A Pink smudge was there, clapping her hooves against the roof. “Bravo! Bravo! Dashie is smart!”

It wasn’t like Dash had a choice. She was completely shocked by this move AND her legs her locked out from standing in place.

Her victim had begun to curl into a little ball…shaking. But she was doing it verrrrry slowly…

“F-Fluttershy….help me….” Was all Rainbow could say as she gazed into the eyes of the Smiling Dragon looming over her.

“The sedative seems to be moving through your system pretty quickly. I guess you helped it spread into your blood stream by running so much, although it is kind of chilly out here, too.”

“You just curl up and go to sleep, Dashie. I’ll take you home. Just leave it all to your Auntie Pinkie Pie!” She bit Dash’s tail…and began dragging her away.

Rainbow, her vision fading, saw the wall she was standing against travel away from her as she was dragged through the dirt…

The Dark Side

by Lord Xaos

Chapter 10: The Pink Dragon