Thunder clapped and lightning split the sky, but Cloudsdale’s grand Cloud-a-seum was unphased and untouched above the storm. The massive cloud structure was never truly in the same place twice as it floated freely above Equestria. It was the largest active pegasus arena, and the official home of the Wonderbolts, hosting their many races and airshow spectaculars. However, that was during the day, and at the present hour, it was long past Celestia’s sunset. Soarin, the Wonderbolts commander, was resting on a small section of the Cloud-a-seum’s base cloud, and reflecting on how unpleasant the place seemed when it was empty. He had grown accustomed to the sounds of a cheering crowd, or even the barked orders from his team captain, so it felt eerie to be absent from both. Even the sound of the rumbling beneath him couldn’t shake the uncomfortable silence, as he waited out the storm.
Cloudsdale would never admit it, but they’d been struggling since the infamous drought seven years ago to precisely regulate the weather. Planning and preparing for rain used to be simple and easily scheduled, but even with the most precise timing and ingredients, weather machines seemed to have minds of their own from time to time. Even so, Soarin hadn’t thought much of staying a little late at the Cloud-a-seum that night, until he heard the clap of thunder that started it all. He internally kicked himself for fussing over their Commemoration performance gear, rather than return home like the other Bolts. He wasn’t sure who to be more upset with: the weather workers who promised the storm would strike after the memorial, or the new recruit who forced him and their teammates to endure a grueling practice with her exceptionally high standards. Either way, he was stuck. He could technically fly through the rain, as he had many times before, but his limbs and wings ached from the laborious day. He decided that fighting wind, water, and lightning wasn’t in his best interests, especially before a big performance.
As he waited, Soarin reflected on the destructive nature of the storm. He winced at the thought of all of those perfectly placed outdoor Commemoration decorations ruined by a torrential downpour. But as time wore on, Soarin’s eyes grew increasingly heavy and his head slowly sank towards the fluffy cloud that held him. Before sleep took him, however, something swiftly broke through the layer of storm clouds, and brought with them a gust of icy cold wind. Soarin reared up and gasped out from the sudden onslaught of liquid spraying his coat and wings.
“Soarin? What are YOU still doing here?” Rainbow Dash, the source of that gust, asked in surprise.
“Me?! What are YOU doing here, Crash?” Soarin snapped back, using the nickname he knew she hated.
“I left something in my locker, not that it’s any of your business.” Dash replied curtly, her eyes narrowing in disdain. She could usually take the ribbing from the other Bolts, but Soarin was toying with her last nerve.
“If I wanted to get soaked I’d just fly through this damn storm!” Soarin remarked bitterly, shaking the feathers in his wings to remove any lingering moisture.
“Fraid of a little rain, huh?”
“I’m not stupid enough to race lightning bolts like some ponies.” Soarin replied a little too pointedly as he settled back down on the cloud’s edge.
“Hah! If I were, I’d win that race too. What was our final race time earlier? 15 whole seconds ahead of you, wasn’t it? Guess you’d better hope Spitfire isn’t looking for a new commander after that kind of defeat.” Rainbow chuffed. If Soarin was going to open the floodgates for a verbal sparring, rubbing today’s defeat in his face would be the perfect counter to that ridiculous nick-name. Dash didn’t ask at the time, but she wondered now if defeating every single Wonderbolt in a one-on-one race, on the same day, was some kind of record. She knew that kind of defeat might put some of the Bolts in a foul disposition, but it was worth it.
“I don’t want to hear it, Crash. You drilled us for HOURS over the routine, so it’s not exactly a ‘feat’ to beat us in a stupid race afterwards.” Soarin grumbled, turning away to keep himself from saying something he would regret.
“A stupid race? Try nine ‘stupid’ races. Practice couldn't have been THAT bad if I was still kicking ass! I can’t help it if YOU are all out of shape.”
Soarin grit his teeth and sucked in a deep, shaky breath. It took every ounce of restraint not to start shouting in exasperation and fatigue. Dash wasn’t normally this grating, but for some reason, today she was quickly eroding his resolve. Soarin’s only saving grace was the ebbing of the storm beneath him. After some silence, Dash continued:
“I bet I could do it again. Right now. Even AFTER helping Twilight and that pointless list.”
“You know what? You’re on. I don’t give a fuck if this exhausts you for tomorrow, you need to be reminded of your goddamn place!” Soarin asserted, jumping to his hooves and spreading his wings in preparation. He’d been resting for the better part of an hour now, and was confident that he could finally shut Rainbow up with a well-deserved defeat. “Three laps around the Cloud-a-seum, the entry arch is the finish line.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t argue, her brow furrowing as a smug smile spread across her lips.
“3, 2, 1, GO!” She screamed in rapid succession, taking off like a rocket, and leaving a streak of rainbow behind her. She could hear Soarin angrily shout something in response, but was too focused on the race to pay attention. The cold night air passed through her feathers at a break-neck pace, chilling every inch of her fur. Its icy grip felt as if it penetrated her very bones, adding to the intense fatigue that she fought to keep at bay. Despite her body’s warning signs, Rainbow grinded her teeth, refusing to believe that her ego had written a check that her body couldn’t cash. She was so focused on victory, in fact, that she didn’t notice the storm clouds dissipating beneath her until they were almost completely dissolved. When she was sure that her lead on Soarin was secure, Dash’s attention shifted to assess her surroundings; it was something she did subconsciously when she flew. Something sour permeated on Dash’s tongue as she took in the realization that a heavy mass of trees was directly beneath them. She hadn’t given much thought to the exact location of the Cloud-a-seum that evening, especially since the storm had previously kept her whereabouts obscured. Now, though, a slight fear was trickling up her spine and threatening to ruin her concentration. Could these be the very trees she had avoided for years? Could she be poised just above the only place in Ponyville she vehemently refused to visit again? Rainbow’s breathing quickened even more so than the rigorous pounding in her chest. She tried to block the thoughts that trickled around the fringes of her mind, by focusing on that final lap. It was ridiculous to allow something so inconsequential to deter her from her task. After all, a mass of trees was no threat to her, not when she was soaring hundreds of feet above them.
Success was inching closer and closer for Rainbow Dash. Perhaps that was why her attention ventured beyond the clouds; so assured of her win that she could focus on other things. Her line of sight lingered on those trees, trying to coax herself into believing they were truly inconsequential. That was when a glint of light caught her eye. It was only a glimmer amidst the dark grove, but it sent a paralyzing wave of shock through the pegasus. She seized mid-air, her limbs refusing to move to her brain’s commands. The abrupt halt was too sudden, and too late for Rainbow’s racing partner to avoid, so the pair of pegasi violently collided. Although it was enough of a shock to bring some life back into Dash’s hooves and wings, the sudden confusion of entangled limbs left gravity free to pull the helpless pair towards their demise below. Both pegasi fought to separate themselves; fighting, bucking, and screaming as they plummeted. Dash was able to get one final, clean buck to Soarin's chest, before the pair descended into the trees. Branches reached up to rake across wings and fur, ensnaring the ponies in their matted clutches. The sting of fresh wounds meshed with the choir of snapping twigs and rustled leaves. Finally, Rainbow’s flailing body impacted onto the hard, unforgiving ground. She heard a series of cracks, but couldn't be sure if it had been from within, or from the rain of tree debris crashing on, and around her. She laid on the ground, her chest heaving as she struggled to regain her breath. Her eyes were wide and afraid, barely blinking as they surveyed the scene above her. When the rustling ebbed, she ventured to look around to see if Soarin had landed nearby. Rainbow struggled to right herself, finding her limbs heavy, and any movement increasingly laborious.
“Soarin?” She called out, her voice cracking more than usual as she fought the rising terror in her chest. Dash couldn’t see much from the limited light under the cover of trees, so she flared out her wings to take off in flight. The problem was, only one wing responded. Dash could feel her heart pounding in her head as she slowly turned to find her left wing laying limp at her side. Seeing the marred, twig-encrusted feathered mess was bad enough, but it was what else Dash’s eyes beheld amidst the debris that delivered the worst shock. They were small, red, round, and straight from her nightmares. Dash reared back, every inch of her body screaming to flee.
“Soarin! Where are you? Say something!” Dash demanded, her mind spiraling. She peered back up at the trees but found only obscured shapes of leaves, fruit, and twigs against moonlight. It was a sight she’d seen before, and aside from the damp soil beneath her hooves, everything about this place felt familiar in the worst way.
“Ah told ya… Ah don’t want yer fuckin’ cure.”
Dash swallowed hard. That voice reverberated in her skull, dulling her senses. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath. No, not now. She couldn’t let the nightmares have control. For a brief moment, she lamented turning Twilight away all those years ago. She tried to insist that Dash speak to somepony about that night, but Dash stubbornly refused time, and time again. Maybe if she hadn’t, she’d have some kind of method to utilize now that would keep this phantom out of her thoughts.
“Soarin?” Rainbow meekly called out again, unable to get her voice level above a whisper. A gust of wind rustled the leaves around her, shaking some raindrops loose. The pitter-patter of the droplets on the moist ground sounded like rocks colliding into boulders in Dash’s ears. The musty scent in the air lingered in her nostrils, growing increasingly foul.
“AH AM THE HARBINGER OF FEAR AND THE MESSENGER OF TRUTH YOU SILENCE WITH HOPE!”
Rainbow’s hooves responded to the phantom in her mind, and she bolted in any free direction she could find. She couldn’t stay, what would have been the point? Her fear was already crippling her when she was hundreds of feet in the air; she would be even more useless now that she was grounded. Her eyes scanned for any signs of light, or life, as she tried desperately to outrun her thoughts. So frenzied were her movements, that she tripped and fell over an unseen object. When she hit the ground, she rolled until she came to a stop against something hard. For a long while, Dash remained disoriented, not knowing which way was up or down. When her eyes finally opened, she could assess that she was upright and against a tree, but her eyes fixated on the object that had caused her fall. Dash’s breath went still in her chest.
Even in darkness, the shape sticking out of the dirt in front of her was unmistakable. It was a long shaft with a metal end that pierced the ground to remain semi-upright. Though it was impossible to make out details with limited light, her mind filled in the blanks. Even so, it just couldn’t be possible. She’d destroyed that accursed shovel years ago. She’d watched it blacken and burn in firelight, the metal spade warping from the intense heat of the blacksmith’s furnace. This must have been a trick, a mirage that the phantom in her memories had conjured to torment her.
“And that truth… is that in the end, there ain’t nothin’ at all… ‘cept me”
Dash winced, covering her face in her hooves and shaking so violently she was sure she would lose consciousness. It was all she could do just to fight back the convulsions and gagging. Tears were freely streaming down her cheeks, until finally she pierced the silence by sobbing uncontrollably. Her garbled gasps for oxygen were the only sign that she was even still breathing. Dash gave into the years of suppressed anger, fear, and torment. She wasn’t sure how long she had been inconsolable, when she picked up a faint sound. Her ears swiveled behind her when she heard the movement of twigs and leaves. By Celestia’s grace, Soarin was alive and nearby. At least, that’s what she thought she heard.
“Rainbow Dash…”
The voice was low and ragged. Rainbow hiccuped through sobs that refused to cease, trying to fight through this immeasurable pain to reach her friend.
“Where are you?” She shrieked, choking on her words.
“Here in the orchard of course. Where else would I be?”
The voice was clearer now, no longer obscured by Dash’s cries and whimpers. It was not quite what she was expecting, however. The voice sounded both near and far away at the same time, almost like it was carried on the wind through the trees. The tone was far removed from Soarin’s natural timbre, but Dash chalked that up to the spiral she was enduring mentally.
The branches above her head started to quake.
“I can’t see you! Are you hurt?” Dash responded, a little more conviction in her tone. Focusing on Soarin helped to keep her mind busy from the fearful sights around her.
“I suppose, in a way, I am. Hurt by what you did, or at least what you tried to do.” The voice responded.
Some part of Dash knew the pony she conversed with now, was not the same stallion she would be groveling to for forgiveness later. Nevertheless, she carried on the conversation without allowing her better senses to recognize the potential danger.
“Can you fly? I-I think I popped my wing outta the socket, if you could just pop it back in, we can get outta here.” Rainbow said, realizing that she hadn’t moved and her eyes were squeezed shut to remain focused on the task at hoof.
“Ah won’t EVER go back! And nothin’ you pathetic ponies do or say can make me.”
Rainbow’s eyes popped open to pin-prick pupils. As much as her brain tried to deny it, there was no mistaking the voice now. Word-for-word, just as in her nightmares. Rainbow couldn’t face this; not then, nor now. She had to escape. All hope for rescuing Soarin was dashed as Rainbow leapt to her hooves and took off running again. As before, she didn’t make it too far before she was thwarted. Though it was illogical, Dash witnessed limbs and trees shifting, reaching out for her and impeding her path. Their gnarled branches shot out from decaying trunks, blocking any hope of retreat. Dash didn’t stop running, just changed course. To her horror, the process repeated itself until she was effectively imprisoned within a circlet of trees.
“We weren’t done.” The voice said, though it sounded far less ethereal. Dash whipped her head in its direction and spotted a faint pair of green eyes glaring at her from behind the fence of branches.
“You’re not real, you can’t hurt me!” Dash asserted, digging her hooves into the dirt floor in a readied stance. The eyes she’d stared into suddenly disappeared, and the voice responded to Dash’s left.
“That’s what I liked about you, Dash. The only pony I knew without a lick of common sense, just a whole lotta stupid.”
Dash found the eyes again, only to have them change to a position on her right.
“The only pony who thought she could cure me. Well, ‘You think there’s anything left in here to cure, Rainbow? Do you still believe you’re savin’ me?’”
“SHUT UP!” Rainbow screamed, charging at the trees where the eyes glowered into her skull. She beat against the branches between her and the taunting voice, ripping at them by mouth, and hoof, like she was dissecting trees to make her escape. As before, the eyes disappeared, but Rainbow didn’t deter from her task. If she couldn’t confront the assailant, she could at least free herself. Rainbow’s brow was thick with sweat, and she felt as though every nerve ending was alight with anxiety. Clumps of branches, twigs, leaves, and fruit were tossed over her shoulder during her frenzy. After some time, however, Rainbow let a sickening realization take hold: she wasn’t making any progress. No matter how much she tried, the underbrush never thinned.
Eventually, fatigue wrapped its jaws around Rainbow and she slumped to the ground, hyperventilating. Her breaths were so loud, in fact, that though she heard the voice again, it was unintelligible. Every ounce of her being wanted to collapse there and then, but her unadulterated sheer will refused to relent. If this part of her prison was impenetrable, then she would try someplace else. Rainbow turned around, and finally beheld the massive pile of debris she’d created. Her heart sank, realizing just how much she had fought through to no avail. Still, Rainbow wouldn’t give up. She took a shaky step forward, choosing a different patch of gnarled fencing to try next. By the third step, Rainbow heard something abnormal, a shifting sound beneath the pile before her. She shook her head, rejecting the dread that followed the noise. On the fourth step, the shifting grew louder, and Rainbow could see movement from the corner of her eye. Morbid curiosity caused the pegasus to pause, and see what was coming for her next. Branches were weaving into one another, thickening themselves and casting off their apples and leaves in the process. The discarded leaves braided together their stems, while the apples collected themselves into piles. The sounds it emitted were more than just the snaps and crackles, but also included wet sloshing and squelching. Rainbow then felt the very ground at her hooves begin to quake. She beheld, in shock, a series of roots that slithered along the ground like snakes towards the amalgamation, further strengthening it.
Dash wrenched herself away from the bewildering sight, deciding on a new tactic instead: she would dig her way out through the muddy soil at her hooves. Mud slung in every direction as the hysterical mare fought for freedom. A taunting laughter filled Dash’s ears. She grunted through gritted teeth, frustrated that the mud she excavated would end up sloshing back into place. However, she didn’t stop her fruitless endeavor, until the shovel from earlier whizzed past her, to plant itself into the muddy mound by her side.
“Here, try this.” The voice taunted before resuming its laughter at her expense.
Dash reached for the shovel before turning to see the final conglomerated monster in the center of the orchard prison. The creature was as tall as the trees that bound Dash, though vaguely pony-like in shape. Long twisted roots, branches, and bark made up the limbs and torso, while the leaves cascaded from the creature like a mane and tail. Six apples adorned its wooded flanks. But perhaps eeriest of all were the eyes on the pony-shaped face. Two sunken indents of writhing, controting tree limbs wove themselves in and out of the massive hollow sockets. When Dash lingered on the darkness within them, however, she could make out a faint image. Dash squinted her eyes, leaning forward slightly in hopes that the shapes would manifest themselves clearer in her vision. A strange shimmer, almost like a veil of dew, was reflecting from the darkness. Within that shimmer, Dash watched two smaller ponies take form. The ponies were identical: shying, frightened little mares clinging to their last shred of sanity. Blues came into focus, then reds, yellows, and the whole hue of the rainbow. These mares weren’t real, they were reflections. Dash was watching mirrored images of herself retreating away from her, and further into the darkness. This creature wasn’t just an enlarged pony timberwolf, it was something far more demonic.
At first, the thing appeared rooted to the ground, until Dash gave it the attention it wanted. The left forehoof then lifted itself, roots snapping from place, until it came back down hard, only a few inches from its prey. Dash yelped and bolted, keeping the shovel in her tight grasp.
“Ya wanted to kill me that night.” The voice that Rainbow Dash finally accepted to be Applejack, said. It was coming from beyond the prison of trees, and from the monster, simultaneously. “Welp, here’s your chance Rainbow. Fix your mistake, then.”
Rainbow screamed an agitated, frightened cry as she thrust the shovel into the thicket of branches behind her. Attacking the confinement’s walls seemed a smarter bet than the monster itself. Both monster and pony roared with laughter when the shovel bounced off branch and twig, as if made from a sturdy metal, and not wood.
Rainbow Dash knew there would be no other way out of this hell until she faced and conquered the demon. If Applejack wanted a fight, she’d give her one. With murderous intention, Dash started hacking away at the beast with shovel in hoof. To her delight, the monster was penetrable. Chunks of orchard debris fell off in heaps with every successful attack. The Applejack monster wasn’t remaining dormant, though. Earth-shattering stomps were made by tremendous hooves, each one unsuccessful. The massive head lowered to ram into the small pegasus prey, but it too would find only failure. Rainbow took great satisfaction seeing the beast ram into their wooded prison walls, and large pieces of itself snap and fall away. Even more gratifying were the outcries of anger and pain coming from the beast, as well as the voice from beyond their confinement. As Dash whittled the monster down, her confidence and anger grew. As it said, she should have killed AJ that night. Twilight was a fool to insist otherwise, when they could clearly see the irreversible evil that she had done. It didn’t matter how Applejack got free, or came to be here. It didn’t matter what strange magic she invoked now. This was a gift. This was Dash’s chance to truly save Equestria, the right way.
Dash had almost completely dismantled the orchard monster when she caught sight of something that surged exhilaration through her body: blood. The pony who wielded this behemoth must have been at its core. Dash didn’t hesitate, she took the shovel in both front hooves and pierced it completely through the center of the creature. The monster screamed in bloodied agony, before slumping to the ground, the rest of the flora falling away. Simultaneously, the branch barriers between the trees shriveled and dropped, opening several escape paths into the orchard. Dash was clutching her chest as she tried to steady her breath, relieved to finally be free. That was, until some branches gave way to show an orange earth pony mare standing proud among the trees. Her green eyes glinted in the darkness while an evil smirk played on her lips. Dread filled Dash’s mind. If AJ was there… then who did she…?
Dash knew she shouldn’t look. She knew AJ had played her a fool. She knew exactly what she was going to see when she turned back to look at the remains of the monster. She knew, but she also couldn’t stop herself from confirming it.
No… no, please no…
Rainbow turned her head to see the murderous shovel standing proud in the back of her pony prey. Their eyes were shut, tear-stained cheeks mired in mud. Hooves were splayed behind them, and wings let out a final twinge before falling lifeless on either side of the shovel’s spade. Soarin was gone, and it was Dash’s fault.
“No…” Dash whimpered, prying the weapon from her teammate’s back and spraying herself in his blood. She cast the shovel aside, collapsing on the ground and giving into her violent nausea, which ripped through her in wave after wave of shock and despair.
The sound of Applejack’s delighted and unhinged laughter eventually pulled Dash out of her stupor. Maybe the earth pony anticipated this being the end of Dash’s attempts to subdue her, but she would be wrong. Dash methodically pushed herself back to standing position and slowly reached for the bloodied shovel she had cast aside. She approached the distracted, laughing villain, keeping her hoofsteps as silent as possible as they carefully navigated around debris. Once she was sure of her aim, she lifted the shovel.
“GAHHH!!” Dash screamed, thrusting the weapon at Applejack, who only had moments to avoid the attack. Although she was chagrined to see herself miss, Dash did catch a hint of shock and fear in the earth pony, when she realized Dash was continuing to pursue her. AJ reared and turned on her hooves, racing deeper into the orchard; but this time as prey, and not predator.
“Let’s finish this.” Dash snarled, casually picking up the shovel and holding it aloft in her good wing. Each step she followed, she did so in confidence. One way or another, this was going to end before sunrise.