Chapter 2: A trapped soul
Written by TheLunarArmy
Edited by Ezn
A cool mist loomed over the streets of Ponyville, as the sun slowly peaked over the hills. The light slumped to reveal the confetti, flowers and balloon-covered roads. The doors of the small Equestrian town started to open as the dawn brought another day to its citizens. It was the morning after the Summer Sun celebration and almost all the ponies were scurrying about, cleaning up the aftermath of a fantastic party.
Rarity was outside her boutique, levitating a consortium of brushes with her magic; ferociously scrubbing the doorway to her shop. Applejack was hauling a wagon in the boutique's direction, seemingly rushed but keeping a steady pace. Inside the cart was a large barrel, securely strapped to the wagon's floor, similar to an armoured truck.
"Morning Rarity," the earth pony opened, "it seems yah still got that gosh darn paint all over yer doorway again. Luckily Mayor Mare allowed me to fetch this barrel of acid to help you scrub it out."
The unicorn took a breather from all the "manual labour" and greeted her friend back.
"Oh yes. For some reason whenever a party is thrown somepony has go around vandalizing the stores with their accursed spray paint. Honestly, Mayor Mare should just ban those bothersome aerosols altogether."
Applejack couldn't help but giggle, which of course made Rarity huff out of frustration. Applejack untied her harness and slowly turned the lid on the barrel until it slid open. The putrid stench of sulphur loomed about the cart.
"You have to be mighty careful with this stuff, Rarity. If one single drop touches your mane it will melt a hole right through your skin."
Applejack snuck off the cart to stand next the unicorn, who used her magic to dip a cloth into the bubbling green liquid. The two fillies stood far clear as the cloth was levitated over and across the ground towards the paint. With a flick of her horn Rarity skilfully started scrubbing again while Applejack trotted off to her next odd job.
More and more doors opened as various earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns leave their homes with brooms and bags to help clear the streets. Twilight Sparkle and Spike, the newcomers to Ponyville, also joined in the fun by picking up the rubbish left by the snack tables. After disposing of the leftover cake and muffin wrappers, Spike caught a glimpse in the corner of his eye: a bush or something moved out of turn.
"Hey, Twilight!" the startled dragon yelled, unaware that she was standing right behind him. "Oops...sorry. Take a look at those bushes next the Quill shop. W-w-w-why did they rustle like that?"
The purple unicorn wittily responds: "I don't know, maybe it's those zombie ponies you've been reading about in your story books."
She was trying to be as obviously sarcastic as possible, but realized that the poor dragon froze in his tracks the second the "z" word was mentioned – the poor boy and his overactive imagination.
"Oh Spike, you know there are no zombie ponies, I was just kidding when I..."
Her words ground to a halt as she realized that he would probably stay like that for the next hour unless she investigated those bushes.
As Twilight approached the flora she too started to develop a lump in her throat: maybe she overdid it with the zombie pony scare. Nevertheless, she reached the foot of the bedding and peered over the leaves. Her vision was blinded by a flash of blue, red, yellow, green, purple and cyan, all at the same time. The unicorn jumped about two feet backward in shock, but quickly breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing what she had found.
"It's only Rainbow Dash sleeping in the bushes, Spike. You can come out now."
She stepped forward and peered over the bush again, but this time her expression changed. No time to think, I have to get unwanted eyes out of the area.
"Spike, stay back, it looks like she's sick. You'd better go find the nearest doctor and get help."
Spike was startled by Twilight's instructions but quickly gets his head in the game and rushed off without saying a word. After checking that nopony was around, Twilight rustled through the bedding to stand over the sleeping pegasus.
"Dash. Wake up. Right now," Twilight said as she levitated a nearby bucket of water over Rainbow Dash and poured its content over her.
"Yeaaaaaah!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
Dash flipped out of her resting spot and toppled onto the floor in front of the bush. She jumped up and flapped her wings, trying to shake off the cold water that was now running along her mane.
"What’s the big idea? I was taking a nap there!"
She stopped upon seeing Twilight's grim expression, but after cautiously staring into her purple eyes for a few seconds Dash finally continued: "What? Who woke you up on the wrong side of bed?"
Twilight's eyes narrowed and her mouth opened. In a low whispered tone she eventually spoke: "Dash, I thought the Princess made it clear that you were to keep your Element hidden. Why are you down here in obvious daylight wearing your ruby necklace?"
Dash looked down and noticed the red lightning bolt ruby neatly harnessed around her neck. Her eyes become fixated on the sparkling jewelry. How did it get there?
"I, uh, I... don't remember wearing this to the party Twi, I promise."
Dash quickly jumped back into the bush before shuffling around, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"I swear I took this thing off before leaving Cloudsdale last night. Don't you remember me arriving without it being on?"
"It's true that you weren't wearing the necklace when we shared that group hug. But after that I don't really remember seeing you at all." Twilight replied.
Twilight could see Spike running closer in the distance, followed by Applejack and what appeared to be a white mare wearing a nurse hat.
"Oh no! We can't show Spike or the mare your necklace!"
In a panic Twilight focused on her horn and with a white sparkle, teleported herself and Dash in a flare of smoke.
"What in tar-nation?" yelled Applejack. "Why would Twilight disappear after calling for help?”
Spike and the nurse unicorn shared a look; all three were now completely confused.
<>--<>
The library was dimly-lit as most of the curtains had been pulled shut by Twilight's magic. The door was locked and everything became quiet: the only faint sound being Twilight's hooves plopping on the wood floors.
After clearing her mind, Twilight walked into the main room of the library where Rainbow Dash was sitting on one of the sofa's pillows, glaring straight down at her ruby necklace, almost mesmerized by it.
"Dash?" Twilight called.
No response.
"Hey, are you okay?"
The pegasus didn't look up or move an inch, as if trapped inside her own body. Twilight was taken back by Dash's unusual lack of response. Maybe she's experiencing teleportation shock?
Twilight circled around the stone-like Dash before finally attempting to snap her out of her concussed state with a nudge. Still nothing happened. The unicorn was now really worried. Maybe the necklace is having an effect.
Her horn glowed as she tries to undo the lock on the back. No use. It was obviously protected by a charm of some kind which prevents weak magic from tampering with it. Twilight reached out with her hoof, slowly reaching towards the back of the necklace. As she grazed along Dash's mane, she finally detected movement.
Dash, still in her seated position, was now glaring at Twilight's mane, now right underneath her chin. Her magenta eyes narrowed, almost as if she was analyzing Twilight's neck in a distorted manner. The unicorn became aware that Dash was staring at her neck. She stopped moving towards the lock and pulled back to look at Dash's face. Their eyes met, but Dash's stern glare did not change.
"Hey... Dash...? Can you hear me?"
Still the pegasus did not flinch. Her eyes continued to track Twilight's. Twilight tried to negotiate with the petrified pony, unaware of what was really going on inside Dash's subconscious.
<>--<>
On a dark and featureless plateau, Dash lays in a pool of black water in a braced position. The pegasus was in a solitary lake, only about hoof deep but spanning the abysmal plane’s width. The only visible thing was a striking orange light in the distance: its bright haze provided ambient lighting across the reflective water. In this colourless and empty void the only persistent aura was anguish.
Ripples started to form around the blue pegasus as she began to stir about in the water. Her eyes opened, only to see the abysmal darkness surrounding her. She mustered her strength and forced herself upright; it felt like the entire world is trying to keep her down. Dash took a moment to stare down into the black pool surrounding her. She could barely see her reflection in the disturbed water, but the bright red ruby illuminating her neck made it unnoticeable.
She looked around, only to see the orange glow near the horizon. It was the only place with actual light present, so, if anything, that's where she would need to go. Dash spread her wings and kicked off into the sky, only to be pulled back down into the water; it seemed the gravity in this place was much stronger than Equestria, hence wings were off-limits.
"Man, as if waking up in dark place wasn't enough?" pleaded the rainbow pony, suddenly remembering how to talk.
In a huff she set off towards the light, dragging her hooves through the murky water, causing a noticeable disturbance. Dash's mind wandered as she made the long trek towards the horizon. What happened after Twilight told me about the necklace? Why am I still wearing this necklace? And why am I stuck in this infernal place?
A chill wallowed up her flank, across her spine and through her wings – causing them to spread spasmodically. It felt like somepony was stroking a hoof through her mane. Dash turned her head back, but saw nothing. With a distasteful grunt, she continued walking, but now cautiously slower, almost as if she was expecting something to sneak up behind her. The ominous feeling of being watched loomed. Somepony is definitely trying to freak me out.
<>--<>
It had been two hours and Rainbow Dash still had not moved from her seated position in the middle of library. Twilight had had to let Spike inside eventually and both the mare and her dragon were searching through ledgers, desperately looking for advice on their friend's predicament.
"Twi, I know you're not allowed to tell me about that necklace around Dash's neck. I can tell you're avoiding the subject. But are you sure she isn't somehow being possessed by it? I mean... that sounds way too... untrue, to be.... uh... true?"
Twilight took a moment from sifting through the large dusty book in front of her to take a good glare at Dash before answering. "There are some things I'm not allowed to share with you, Spike. It really hurts me to keep secrets from you, but it’s for your own good."
She put on the best smile she can, but it was clear that she was very worried about her friend.
Three loud knocks rattled the front door of the building. Spike quickly hopped off the ladder he was perched on and walked toward the entrance. Twilight cast a spell to conceal Dash on the pillow and gave a signal for Spike to open the heavy wooden door. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were all standing outside, gloomy expressions all around. "Heya Spike, can we come in?"
"Well sure, anypony is welcome in the library," he greeted them as they somberly walk inside - even Pinkie Pie wasn't hopping like her regular self.
"Hi girls," opened Twilight. "What's the matter?"
"Twilight, dear, we're quite... worried," said Rarity. "The clouds around Ponyville are amassing and Dash normally keeps them cleared until a scheduled downpour."
"Yeah, we can't find Dashie anywhere. We looked everywhere around Ponyville, even up the trees at Applejack's farm!" said Pinkie Pie.
"I...I... even flew up to Cloudsdale. She wasn't there either," whispered Fluttershy.
"Now I know Spike mentioned Dash bein' hurt or something this morning, but we couldn't find you after you used your fancy magic, so we don't know what’s goin' on." Applejack began as the ponies surrounded Twilight. "Please, we are very worried about her. Do you know anythin' that might help us find her?"
Twilight was stricken with guilt. She knew hiding Dash would just hurt her friends more, and even Spike started to look concerned. She finally gave into her emotions and spoke.
"There is something terribly wrong with Rainbow Dash." Twilight said, her eyes watering.
Twilight did not shed a tear, she needed to be strong for everypony. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy cringed, while Rarity and AJ shared a stern look at the unicorn's face.
"What do you mean... wrong?" murmured Rarity.
Twilight sparked up her horn and in a flash of light revealed Dash in the middle of the room, still perked on the cushion, and glaring at Twilight's eyes.
Pinkie Pie jumped for joy and ran over to give her a big hug: "DASHIE!"
No response. The pink pony took a few steps back, her smile completely wiped off her face. Fluttershy was still cowering behind Rarity and Applejack, but slowly followed behind them as all the ponies gather around Dash.
"Is she...?" opened the farmer.
"No, theoretically she's fine. No injuries or anything. But she won't move," explained Twilight. "No matter what I do she just sits there and glares at me. I've tried every spell I know, nothing is working."
All five ponies and Spike huddled by the pegasus; they felt helpless about not being able to do anything for their stone-like friend. Pinkie and Fluttershy started to whimper, and it didn’t take long for Rarity to feel depressed as well.
"Twi," whispered Applejack. "We can't keep her this way."
"I know..." she responded.
"We have no choice. We must tell the Princess..."
Not the words Twilight was hoping for. She despised telling her mentor of her failures, but her friend's health was in danger. So with a flick of her horn she levitated a parchment and quill into Spike's awaiting hands.
"Spike, take a note please."
Everyone looked at Twilight. She was looking up at the ceiling with closed eyes, tears visibly pouring down her cheeks. After a short pause she continued.
"Dear Princess Celestia. I have terrible news..."
To be continued...