Chapter 5: Escape Here, Escape There
Fly and Buy Inn, Feathersville, The Griffin Kingdom, Gaia, Summer, 1021 C.E.
The knife was about to hit Scootaloo when Rainbow the killer suddenly felt a violent force knock into her. She had been so focused on killing Scootaloo that she hadn't noticed that the front door had opened. The knife flew out of Rainbow the killer's hoof as she found herself staring up into the angry eyes of her double's elder self.
"Don't you dare lay a damn hoof on her, you murderer!" snapped Rainbow the elder. The two Rainbows then proceeded to begin punching each other as Scootaloo looked on in confusion. The Doctor entered the kitchen and was followed by Twilight, Derpy, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Gilda. Rainbow the killer pushed Rainbow the elder away and flew out a nearby window. "Come back here!"
"I don't understand! What's going on?!" Scootaloo asked.
"That wasn't my younger self, Scootaloo. That was the killer Rainbow Dash!"
"Wait. Where's your past self then?"
"She's in an alternate reality. The killer's reality."
"What?!" Twilight and Derpy gasped. Rainbow the elder turned towards the group, making sure to look specifically at the Doctor, Twilight, and Derpy.
"You three must go and save my younger self. It's time that peace was finally brought to that world."
"That's just it. It's practically impossible to travel through dimensions!" the Doctor exclaimed.
"You've done it before."
"Those were complete flukes! Accidents!"
"Doctor, you've told me many times that the TARDIS is alive. It grows. It lives. It learns. Your TARDIS is learning how to worm its way between realities."
"I knew this world was having special effects on my equipment but this is just-"
"Trust me, Doctor. I'm the future version of your Rainbow Dash so I have a pretty good idea about what's going to happen."
"What about killer Rainbow Dash?" Derpy asked.
"I'll take care of her. It's been a long time since I saw her and I think it's time that I finished this once and for all."
"How are we supposed to guide the TARDIS to the reality that our Rainbow Dash has ended up in?" Twilight asked.
"Dimensional rifts always leave trails behind. Right, Doctor?"
"That's correct," the Doctor replied with a smile as he began to piece everything together in his head.
"Then go and let the TARDIS guide its way."
"We'll help you deal with Wob Niar!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she pointed at herself and the others.
"Wob Niar?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah! That's what I'm calling Dashie's nasty double!"
"Fitting," said Scootaloo, whose heart was still beating fast from her near-death experience.
Rainbow the elder turned towards the Doctor, Twilight, and Derpy and said, "Go. My past self is waiting for you."
The Doctor, Twilight, and Derpy then ran out of the room and began making their way back to the TARDIS.
"So what do we do now?" Gilda asked.
"If I remember everything correctly, I believe Wob Niar is going to run into Applejack, Spike, and Rarity next."
"We better get going then!" said Scootaloo. Rainbow the elder nodded and the group made their way out of the room and out of the inn. Rainbow's heart was beating. It was time to finish this.
The Rainbow Factory, Cloudsdale, Equestria, Gaia, Summer, 1002 C.E.
The suited ponies were still confused by Rainbow Dash's outburst. Dr. Atmosphere seemed to be the most bewildered.
"Rainbow Dash. Just put the rod down. You're not feeling well," the stallion stated. Rainbow didn't lower the rod. She kept it aimed at the ponies. She wasn't going to let the suffering continue.
"Let these ponies go or I'm gonna fry your ass!" Rainbow snapped. She made sure to keep Angela held tightly behind her.
"What's happened to you?"
"Nothing. I'm the same as I've always been. Your Rainbow Dash is gone. You know, I take it that Celestia and Luna don't know about what's been going on here for the past 1000 years. I bet they'd both be interested in what I had to say about it."
Several the suited pegasi seemed to shiver at the thought of what Celestia would do to them if she were to find out the secret behind the construction of rainbows.
"You're not going to tell anypony, Rainbow Dash," Dr. Atmosphere said with a crooked smile. "You need help. We'll give you the help you need to relinquish you of your insanity."
"I'm not the insane one here, Dr. Atmosphere. It's all of you! You're all insane!"
"Take her."
Two suited ponies began making their way towards Rainbow and Angela, but Rainbow was ready. She stunned one pony and kicked the other straight in the jaw. Rainbow then flew past Dr. Atmosphere and his guards, making sure to hold on tight to Angela.
"FLY!" Rainbow ordered the colts and fillies. The young pegasi, realizing that they were being liberated, took to the air. The suited ponies charged for them. Rainbow managed to knock out a couple more ponies and made sure to steal their rods. She tossed the rods to a few colts and fillies, who proceeded to stun more ponies and steal more rods. Dr. Atmosphere was not pleased.
"I don't know what's happened to you, Rainbow Dash. But you're not going to get those useless sacks of failure and Spectra out of here. I promise you that," he said with a smug grin. Rainbow had had enough to hear from Dr. Atmosphere. She flew down and jabbed the rod deep into his neck, making sure to turn the rod up to full blast. Dr. Atmosphere fell to the ground and proceeded to shake violently before passing out.
By this point, all of the suited ponies in the room had been defeated with the combined effort of Rainbow Dash and the young pegasi. Angela flew over to Davy, who was revealed to be her younger brother.
"Thank you," Angela said as she turned back towards Rainbow.
"Don't thank me yet, kid. We've still got to get out of here," Rainbow said as she beckoned the pegasi to follow her up towards the balcony. The group of pegasi, which must have consisted of at least twenty children, followed after her. They began making their way through the rustic hallways of the factory. Rainbow tried to find her way back to the white hallways or at least find a window for them to escape from but, no matter many turns they made, they never came across anything of that nature. "There's got to be a way out of here!"
Suddenly, a group of suited guards appeared and charged for them. Rainbow and the foals made quick work of the guards. They eventually found their way to a flight of stairs that led up into a long, white hallway. However, somepony was waiting for them.
Rainbow couldn't believe her eyes. Standing just a few feet from the stairwell was Spitfire. Spitfire looked at Rainbow as she shook her head with disappointment.
"To think, you were such a good manager. We were so proud of you, Dash. I guess, in the end, it was too much for you," Spitfire said. It hurt Rainbow to think that Spitfire, her hero, was also a part of this. But she then thought about how this wasn't her Spitfire. This was the killer Rainbow Dash's Spitfire. This was a Spitfire who was okay with the mass killing of young pegasi. This was a Spitfire that Rainbow wanted to stun. "There's no way out, Dash. Just give those failures up and come with us. We'll turn you back into the mare you were."
A group of ponies began coming up the stairs and more suited ponies arrived to help Spitfire. Rainbow and the foals were trapped.
"I'm not giving up. This ends here! Nopony is going to die in this factory ever again! Celestia's going to be the first to find out about this!" Rainbow snapped.
"Good luck getting to her, let alone getting out of here."
Spitfire laughed coldly as the suited ponies descended upon Rainbow and the foals.
12 Claw Lane, Feathersville, The Griffin Kingdom, Gaia, Summer, 1021 C.E.
"Do ya think they've found them yet?" Applejack asked Spike and Rarity as they walked along the dark road.
"I hope so," Spike replied. "I just hope that both Rainbow Dash's are okay."
"One Rainbow Dash can handle anything. Two of them are unstoppable!"
"Do you two want to head back to the inn to check up with the others?" Rarity asked.
"That sounds like a good plan. Besides, It feels creepy being out here with a killer on the loose."
"And a killer who's an alternate version of Rainbow, no less," Applejack sighed. Suddenly, something rustled in the nearby bushes. "Hello? Is anypony, there?"
A dark figure emerged from the shadows. The trio backed up when they realized what they saw. Rainbow Dash was emerging from the bush with a bloody butcher knife in her mouth. She was covered in fresh blood and griffin feathers.
"Oh Celestia!" Rarity gasped. Rainbow the killer laughed as she began approaching them, the knife held at the ready.