“Come on, Twi, you couldn’t find anything on Big Shot? Nothing that connects Grand Cargo to any criminal activity?” Rainbow asked, flying in circles impatiently in the library as she discarded another paper that had no useful information for her.
“As I told you the last five times, Rainbow, there’s nothing. He’s keeping his tracks covered really well.” Twilight answered, exasperated with the pegasus’ constant prying. "And Grand Cargo has, like Pony of the Year material in terms of how clean a record he's got any time a paper cites him."
“Well the punks I beat up in Manehattan were dead ends as well. They’ve never met Big Shot, they just get orders through him. Took out some totally lame excuse of a villain called the Condiment Colt who was holding up a diner as well… got nothing but mustard on my costume, Rarity about blew her stack when she saw it complaining I smelt like cookout when I came in to get it cleaned.
“Sounds lovely.” Twilight said flatly, wrinkling her muzzle in disgust. Rainbow always seemed to come back with the most unusual stories when she did standard patrols.
Growling in anger, Rainbow landed and slammed her hoof on the floor. “We’re getting no where, not to mention I’ve done another sweep of Fillydelphia, still no sign of Decepto either. The authorities haven’t found him either, who knows if he’s hiding out or left town after we did. Who knows if somepony will get hurt because these guys are still out there or when they’ll make a move again, it’s driving me crazy!” She fumed, letting out a furious snort.
“Rainbow, how about I make you some tea, because first of all I really think you need to calm down.” Twilight said, heading towards the kitchen.
“Tea’s not gonna do it, Twi. I’ll calm down when we catch one, the other or both!” The pegasus said, her tail flicking in irritation as she started to pace about again.
The unicorn ignored her, setting things up to cook and returned to her stack of new newspapers till one finally got her notice. “Okay, here’s one. Those two stallions who go to places they say are haunted… the Spook Searchers? They were just at the Hollow Shades apparently. Now they’re in Fillydelphia Hospital. They were found wandering the woods completely scared out of their minds, apparently weren’t expecting real ghosts.” She explained, reading it off. Rainbow just rolled her eyes.
“Those attention horses’ll do anything to get readers.” She scoffed. Sure the Hollow Shades were infamous for a lot of creepy rumors around why the whole population just vanished one day, it was before Celestia’s time so even the Princess herself didn’t know… but still, some of them were pretty ridiculous, like the one about the blank flank cult that was punished for their prejudice against ponies who got cutie marks or the one about the tall faceless pony in the black suit who stalked and ate anypony who ventured in. Nopony really knew anything about its history. Then again… place like that…
“That’s near Fillydelphia, I fought Decepto there. Twi, I think there’s a good chance I know where he’s hiding!”
“You think he’s hiding in the Hollow Shades?” Twilight asked.
“Why not? Place with that much superstition and old mares’ tales around it, who’s gonna be bold enough to look there for him when he’s been missing this long?” She asked with her usual cocky smirk. “Aside from me, obviously.”
“Rainbow, it could be dangerous, I don’t know if you should go alone.” Twilight said.
“Don’t tell me you believe that stuff about the Slendermare or the Blanks.” The pegasus said with an eyeroll as she was already pulling the costume out of her saddlebag and began to get dressed.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Rainbow. Slendermare was made up by a journalist in a contest for Nightmare Night four years ago and the Blanks have no foundation whatsoever aside from some old made-up stories to scare arrogant fillies like Diamond Tiara out of bragging about their cutie marks.” Twilight said. “I’m just worried because Decepto’s probably got traps around to deal with anypony who comes in, especially you because by now I’m sure he’s smart enough to have something that’s suited for handling more then some journalist stallions looking for a good story.”
“Point made, Twi. But you also remember, he’s exactly what his real name implies.” Rainbow said, sliding the mask on.
“Smokin Mirrors?” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow.
“Exactly. Smoke and mirrors. Illusions. Nothing real.” Rainbow said, adjusting her hat. “They never faced him before, I have. I gotta deal with him before he changes addresses again.”
“Rainbow, I think your obsession with getting results on Big Shot is clouding your judgement.” Twilight warned, but the pegasus was already in full costume and at the window.
“Mare Do Well stops villains, Twi, she doesn’t sit down and let them get away.” Rainbow said in an annoyed tone, and sped off before Twilight could magically restrain her.
~
Flying through the darkening sky at high speeds just below the necessary levels for a sonic rainboom, the costumed pegasus flew over the Everfree Forest and the mountains that followed. At this pace she’d be there in no time. No way was she gonna let Decepto escape when she had a good idea where he was, rumors or not. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Everfree clouds building up, filling the skies quickly. There had been warning of a nasty thunderstorm brewing from the forest, and given there were overcast weather plans already in effect around the kingdom it’d be spreading across most of east Equestria and make the night a lot more interesting.
How appropriate for a place like Hollow Shades to get stormy weather She mused. Spying a clearing up ahead, she knew she was near her destination. Flying downward, Mare Do Well slowed herself down to prepare for a soft landing, not wishing to give her arrival away; the dark of the night and a thunderstorm forming rapidly would already provide her some cover.
Looking around, the superheroine couldn’t help but admit the place had an extremely creepy vibe to it. The homes were run down and in ruin, abandoned and covered in overgrowth, the only illumination was a few strange, glowing fungi here and there and the moon before the clouds began to shroud it away. Wandering about for any clue of where Decepto could be, Mare Do Well peered inside the more intact huts for any sign of activity, but still nothing. She considered turning on one of her glow gems Twilight had added to her costume’s utility belt, but chose against it, any illumination could give her away.
A mist drifted about the area, and suddenly blew towards her unexpectedly. Taken off-guard, Rainbow coughed under her mask and continued searching. Why did she feel like she was being watched… did Decepto already know she was here? Was he expecting her after having dealt with those Spook Searchers? Either way she’d make him sorry before he pulled any tricks. Rain slowly began to fall, thunder could be heard above as the Everfree-affected clouds continued to drift over.
Suddenly, she saw some movement heading to the left of her. Turning sharply, she spread her wings and flew after it, lightning flashed and she soon found her way to the abandoned town’s cemetery. “Come on out, Decepto! I know you’re here!” She shouted angrily, glaring as she searched the stones and the large crypt caught her attention. No wonder this place had its rumors. Approaching she noticed a figure sitting atop it, looking down at her. “Did you really think I’d never come looking for you?” She asked.
“I believe that’s my line, wouldn’t you agree?” The figure asked, its voice instantly recognized by the pegasus, who shuddered when lightning flashed, revealing the voice’s owner. It wasn’t Decepto at all.
It was Gilda, wearing her Razorbeak costume, tossing her metal mask up and down in her claw like a softball before throwing it at the ground, its sharp beak embedding in the soft earth at Mare Do Well’s hooves. She came into the light, showing herself not to look any worse for wear, appearing as she did when she and Rainbow had their final fight in Cloudsdale’s weather factory. “So, miss me, Dash?” The griffon asked, a sinister gleam in her golden eyes and a cruel sneer on her face.
“How… it’s impossible! I saw you die in the explosion!” Mare Do Well said, unable to move as the shock of seeing her former friend whom she’d thought deceased for some time now standing there alive and well.
“Oh please, I got away right as the sonic rainboom went off. Don’t you recall closing your eyes just as it was forming? Perfect getaway!” The griffon said with a laugh, her wings spread. Lightning flashed, and she was suddenly right in front of Mare Do Well and claw-swiped her, knocking Mare Do Well off her hooves and tumbling into a tombstone.
“Pretty cool place, huh? ‘Specially with all the rumors what’re the odds somepony’s gonna come here? Perfect hideout to wait for you to come along, did my little message with those idiot documenters tip you off this place wasn’t as empty as some think?” Gilda asked.
“Decepto… what about him? It fits his M.O…” Mare Do Well said, getting up.
“Pheh, scared that lame little showpony out soon after he came. Who can say where he is now.” The griffon answered with a laugh. “I’ve been itching for the chance to get you back for ruining my plans for Cloudsdale, but, for the sake of our old friendship, I’ll give you a choice…” She explained. “You get one chance to decide the order I kill your loser friends in, that way you get the chance to say goodbye to each of them. Say no, I pick and choose on my own. What’s it gonna be, Dash?” She asked, sneering.
“GO TO TARTARUS!” Mare Do Well shouted, the griffon’s threats immediately draining whatever patience the pegasus had left after the frustrating week she’d had following dead-end trails and leads. She flew straight at the griffon, hoof drawn and swung. Much to her surprise, Gilda easily avoided her, grabbing her hoof just as she passed, then did a spin, flinging her into another tombstone. Growling angrily, Mare Do Well immediately got back up and galloped at her, jumping for a tackle attack, thunder and lightning crashed across the sky and the griffon rolled out of the way and side-kicked the pegasus the moment she landed, then grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up and flying off the ground, using her other claw to punch her twice in the chest.
“As you can see, I haven’t been letting my chill time go to waste, Dash. Too bad I can’t say the same for you because I was honestly hoping for a more epic fight then this.” Gilda observed, narrowing her eyes and frowning slightly. Mare Do Well attempted a hoof strike to the griffon’s face but Gilda’s claw reached it first, in a vicelike grip that pushed back till the pegasus grunted in pain. “What. A. Disappointment.” Gilda said, punctuating her words to emphasize each one before turning in the air and slamming Mare Do Well into the ground, standing over her as she pinned her down.
Mustering her strength, Rainbow raised her hind legs and bucked the griffon in the stomach as hard as she could to knock her away. As she’d hoped, the griffon went flying backward and into a nearby tree. Landing on her feet and glaring at the costumed pegasus, the griffon seemed more inconvenienced then harmed.
“Mare Do Well? Where are you?” Twilight’s voice called out somewhere in the distance behind Mare Do Well, causing the pegasus to look back for a second, then back at the griffon, who cocked her head then returned her attention to Mare Do Well.
“This isn’t over, Dash. I won’t stop till everypony and everything that matters to you is gone. And you’ll live just long enough to see all of it happen.” Spreading her wings, Gilda took a flight stance, and lightning struck again a few times, and the griffon was already gone and Mare Do Well collapsed to the floor, shaking as the rain fell around her. She heard Twilight’s voice again, and saw glowing magenta light approaching, and the unicorn was soon at her side.
“Rainbow, I teleported in as soon as I found my Equestria map. Are you alright?” She asked softly, her eyes widened when she saw the pegasus was shaking all over. It wasn’t the weather as it was still fairly warm. Was she… whimpering? “What’s wrong? Talk to me!” She protested to her friend.
“Gi… Gil….. Gil… Gilda…” Rainbow stammered, falling into shock.
“Gilda?” Twilight asked, confused.
“S-she’s… she’s back… she was j-just here…” the pegasus answered. “I s-saw her, we fought, she—“ She froze as she noticed Gilda standing a few feet away behind Twilight, wings spread and watching her with that same cruel smirk, raising up a claw and making a shushing gesture, followed by tracing a horizontal line in the air in front of her neck with her talon. Thunder struck and the griffon flew off before Twilight turned around, wondering what her friend was looking at.
“Rainbow, we need to get out of here, you look like you went through Tartarus…” She said, noticing how roughed up the costumed pegasus looked. Closing her eyes and focusing, her horn glowed as light enveloped both. With the illumination, the last thing Rainbow saw before they were gone was the griffon’s silhouette perched atop the crypt, watching her.
~
“Well, that’ll have to do for now. Seriously, Rainbow, you’re a mess.” Twilight observed as the final bruises started to fade while she magically healed them. “Now explain what happened.”
“I TOLD you, Twi, GILDA happened! She’s back, she was there, ran Decepto out awhile ago. She was waiting for me and beat my flank into the ground!” Rainbow protested angrily, causing the unicorn to flinch. “She’s playing for keeps, and she’s way stronger then last time!”
“How so?” Twilight asked.
“As in I could barely get a hit on her, and any time I did she took it like she barely even felt it!” The pegasus said, her tone still tense.
“We’ll look into this tomorrow. The storms’ll probably be here all night.” Twilight explained.
“NO! WE CAN’T!” Rainbow cried out, jerking up in a panic. “She threatened to kill you all, one by one! I can’t go to sleep now!”
Twilight shook her head. “There’s no leads whatsoever on her, and not to mention we’re miles away. You got there before the storms hit, this is after, it’d be a lot harder for her to make it over this way in that weather, or at the least it’d take her a lot more time if she wanted to make it over safely.” She explained, looking out the window. Everfree storms mixing with overcast Cloudsdale clouds always meant bad weather all around.
Groaning in annoyance, Rainbow stared as Twilight levitated several pillows into the den. “Look, if you’re that worried, just stay over the night.” The unicorn said. Tank flew down from the upstairs balcony and landed next to the cyan pegasus, apparently in agreement to the idea.
“Just don’t snore, okay?” Spike asked from upstairs, having overheard the conversation and having heard from Rarity that Rainbow could wake the dead on the occasions where she did snore.
Sighing, Rainbow gave a nod. “Fine, whatever.” She said, flopping down on the pillows and a sheet drifted down over top of her.
“That’s more like it. Goodnight, Rainbow.” Twilight said with a small smile, heading upstairs to her bed.
Two hours passed, Twilight and Spike were already sound asleep but Rainbow Dash was no closer to following their example. Every sound, every shadow, every moment lightning lit up the room, Rainbow flinched, waiting for Gilda to suddenly be there to pick up where she left off.
“Ugh, what am I doing… I’m acting like a filly.” Rainbow grumbled. “The most awesome superhero and fastest young flier in Equestria doesn’t act like this!” She said angrily to herself. Her eyes suddenly widened in horror as she suddenly saw Gilda inside, right by the upstairs window. Oh no. TWILIGHT! Rainbow jumped out of bed and galloped up the stairs as fast as she could, finding the griffon standing by Twilight’s bed, where the unicorn slept peacefully.
Spreading her armored talons, Gilda glanced over at Rainbow. “Your friend here really underestimates me. Tell me, Dash… wanna flip for how she dies?” She asked. “I call heads.” With that, she raised her claw up, preparing to slash them down where the sleeping unicorn’s neck was. Before she could, Rainbow leaped into the air in a fury, knocking Gilda into the window, pushing it open, and landing on top of Twilight before jumping out after the falling griffon and landing on the ground below.
“Rainbow, what in Equestria is WRONG WITH YOU?!” Twilight yelled angrily from the window, more then a little cranky from the rough awakening.
“GILDA! She’s here! She—“ Rainbow gestured in front of her but found she was otherwise alone outside. The unicorn held a hoof above her eyes and looked about, conjuring a brief flash of light to help her see for a few seconds, but saw nothing unusual.
“Rainbow, there’s no one out there. You were having a bad dream.” Twilight said, calming down as the light spell faded out.
“Twi, I wasn’t! I swear, I saw her here!” Rainbow protested, getting more and more drenched by the moment.
“Gilda’s not here! I told you, there’s no one out here, aside from a very wet pegasus named Rainbow Dash who should really come back inside before she gets sick.” The unicorn answered, giving Rainbow a rather stern look.
“Fine, but I’m staying next your bed for the rest of the night.” Rainbow said, flying back up and through the window. Twilight’s horn glowed and the water flew off the pegasus’ coat forming a blob that then floated outside and fell to the ground with a splash.
“Whatever helps you go to sleep, Rainbow.” Twilight said, closing the window. Just as she was, however, Rainbow noticed the griffon standing outside, then flying away just as Twilight turned around again.
“What now, Rainbow?”
“…Nothing.” Rainbow lied, figuring Twilight had made up her mind already and earning a look from her unicorn friend as Spike rolled up into his bedcovers to go back to sleep.
“Rainbow, if we had an intruder, Owlowiscious would have noticed.” She said, gesturing to her owl.
“Who.” The owl said.
“You, genius.” Spike muttered, letting sleep take him.
“Can’t we just put up a protection barrier or something?” Rainbow asked, hopeful, gaining an annoyed look from the unicorn.
“That’d take me pulling an all-nighter at full concentration, Rainbow, which if you haven’t noticed, I’m currently capable of neither of those things after all that’s happened.” Twilight answered. “I can put up a temporary one that’ll last maybe twenty minutes without my attention, so—”
“GET AWAY!” Rainbow suddenly screamed out, shoving Twilight aside and over the balcony and rushing at Gilda, who had just entered behind Twilight, claws spread for a killing blow. The griffon weaved out of the way and claw-swiped Rainbow, grazing the pegasus’ right wing, then grabbing her and flinging her into Spike’s bed and then into a bookshelf, which promptly toppled over onto the pegasus and juvenile dragon. Peering through, Rainbow saw Gilda sneering at her.
“Rainbow…!” Twilight called out down below, and it sounded like she’d been hurt from the fall. The griffon gazed over at the window and pushed open, climbing into the frame with her wings spread. Lightning flashed in the room again, and she was gone.
“Hey, Dash…your flank’s in my face.” Spike’s muffled voice said from somewhere behind her. Groaning in pain, Rainbow pushed the now empty bookshelf up and rushed to the window, pushing it all the way open and looking frantically for the griffon.
“Thanks.” Spike remarked dryly, pushing the bookshelf up again and letting himself out from under it as Twilight returned to the bedroom and looking a little roughed up from the fall.
“You’re out of control, Rainbow!” The unicorn said, having had it with her friend’s hysteria. “What happened to your wing?” She asked, noticing the scrapes on it.
“Gilda. She was about to claw the back of your neck open!” Rainbow protested, looking out the window again. “Is this your big plan, Gilda?! Make me look like a madmare in front of my friends?!” She shouted furiously.
“I’m taking you to the hospital. That scrape and the bookshelf falling on you got you banged up and I’m too tired and out of patience to deal with these kind of antics all night.” Twilight answered. Before Rainbow could protest, they both vanished from the library, leaving an irritable dragon and the owl to clean up.
“Rainbow owes me a gem buffet for this.” Spike muttered, missing the times Rainbow caused a mess from crashing into the library. “Still, she looked totally spooked. She needs a break from all this, you know?” He asked the owl.
“Who.” Owlowiscious hooted.
“Not now.” Spike grumbled.
~
“She wasn’t easy to handle.” Dr. Stable said, recalling all the struggling the pegasus put up and making the light-brown unicorn doctor wish he’d not gotten the night shift this time. “But we got that wing taken care of...thankfully not nearly as bad as the last time she was here, just some bad scratches. We’ll keep her overnight, gave her some medicine to help her sleep.” He explained. “ She kept screaming about somepony named Gilda. How long has she been like this?”
“Ever since earlier tonight, doctor.” Twilight answered, sighing. “Just keep her strapped down, she’s been acting really weird, went hysterical over nightmares, literally ever since—“ She paused, as if something came to mind. “Oh, stupid stupid stupid!” The unicorn muttered. “Just keep her drugged. I’ll be back later.”
“What are you talking about—“ The doctor began, but Twilight was already gone before he could finish. Sighing, he went off to check in on what had to be his most unusual patient other then Screw Loose.
~
Hyperventilating and trying not to fall asleep, Rainbow lay strapped to a bed, alone and surrounded by dark walls, the window outside providing the only light. Dr. Stable seemed less then willing to believe her protests and it took all her willpower not to come clean that she was Mare Do Well and Gilda was back from beyond the grave as it’d probably just end up in a room with padded walls. Sighing, she hung her head, unsure what to do.
Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of screams, and the door slowly creaking open. A figure flew by, too fast for her to see but she could tell it had wings. Struggling, Rainbow attempted to break free of the bindings, finally pulling them loose and freeing herself. Her injuries hurt, but they didn’t matter. Hopping to the floor, she galloped out the door and down the hall, searching for the griffon she knew had somehow followed her here.
Gem lights flickered, and up ahead, Rainbow saw chunks of wall and ceiling torn away, windows broken, and ponies laying about on the floor, staff and patient alike and a distant barking could be heard in one of the closed rooms down the hall. “Gilda… why…” She muttered, chills running through her body as she felt guilty for them. Turning a hallway, the pegasus shuddered. There stood Gilda, holding the filly trainee nurse by the neck in an iron grip before flinging her aside, Rainbow was unsure if the filly was alive or not as the griffon smirked at her.
“Hello, Dash. It wasn’t hard to guess where your lame-o little nerd friend would take you. My plan to mess up your chances of her believing you that I’m back went great, wouldn’t you say?” The griffon asked with a laugh. “Call this your preview.”
Rainbow grit her teeth angrily. “I’ll end you right where you’re standing, Gilda.” She said, her tone completely livid now.
“Riiiight, Dash. What’re you gonna do? You hardly stood a chance against me at your prime, what do you expect to do with an injury? Bore me to death with an even easier kicking of your flank?” The griffon asked with a smug sneer. Just as she finished talking Rainbow lunged at her in a fury, but the griffon dodged, causing the pegasus to tumble across the ground and crash into a wheeled table behind where Gilda stood. Growling with rage, Rainbow got back up and charged, attempting a flurry of hoof strikes. Gilda moved backward, blocking and dodging every one of them till one lucky hit managed to get her in the chest, causing her to stumble backward a little but otherwise appeared completely unharmed.
“Really, Dash, you’re lamer then ever now. Maybe a little motivation’ll help, check out my work of art!” She said, reaching into one of the pitch black rooms and pulling out Twilight’s limp body. “Why did you let her kill me so horribly, Dashie? Whyyyy?” The griffon asked, mimicking Twilight’s voice in a whiny tone as she shook the unicorn’s body in her grip.
~
Screaming, Rainbow jerked up out of her hospital bed, only to be pulled back down by the restraints. Taking several breaths and looking around the dark room, hearing only the wind and occasional thunder outside, Rainbow looked downward. “A dream… just a dream…” She muttered.
“About time you woke up…” Gilda’s voice said as the griffon stepped out of the shadows. “I was waiting for you to come to, so I could enjoy a little alone time, Dashie.” The griffon explained, spreading her armored talons on her right claw as she hopped onto the bed, pinning Rainbow down. “So how shall we go about this before I go after your friends? Maybe I can see if these come off?” She mused, tracing a talon along Rainbow’s left flank, where her cutie mark was. “Or maybe I’ll make sure you never fly again…” She considered, chuckling as she grabbed Rainbow’s injured wing and squeezed it tightly, causing the cyan pegasus to cry out in pain. “Or maybe something worse, so many cool ideas, Dash.” She said, her beak barely an inch from Rainbow’s muzzle as the pegasus struggled.
Finding the strength, Rainbow pulled her left hoof free and swung it as hard as she could at Gilda’s chest, knocking the griffon off her and onto the floor. Immediately, she leaned over and tugged the other restraint loose and freed herself. Gilda meanwhile, stood back up and darted out the door.
“You’re not getting away this time, Gilda!” Rainbow shouted furiously, galloping after her and past several surprised staff. Stopping at a stairway in the darkened hall, Rainbow looked around for any sign of the griffon. The storm raged on outside, distracting her for a second, then Rainbow turned back around, only to be greeted by Gilda’s claw as the griffon dropped from the ceiling and smacked her hard enough to knock the cyan pegasus off her hooves and tumbling down the stairs. Reaching the bottom, Rainbow Dash lay sprawled across the floor for a moment, aching all over from her tumble as she tried to stand, only to get dive-bombed by the griffon again, sending her crashing into a wall.
Tears forming in the pegasus’ eyes, Rainbow curled up in a ball. I can’t beat her… I can’t win… I’ve failed… the words echoed in her mind. It was like all her worst nightmares had come true now. “Go on, just kill me…” She whimpered. Normally she’d hate herself for acting this way, but by now, she felt as though all hope abandoned her and it all ending felt like the only relief in sight.
“Aw, come on, Dash… what would be the fun in that?” Gilda asked with a laugh, approaching then grabbing the pegasus by the throat and shoving her up against the wall. “I'm just gonna bring you to an inch of your life and finish off your friends while you’re recovering, unable to stop me.”
Rainbow struggled at the threats, but found no strength left. “You’ll never be rid of me, Dash. Even if you end up in a nuthouse for the rest of your life, I’ll be there, just to haunt you the entire time, like you deserve for betraying me...”
Rainbow closed her eyes, and she suddenly heard a door, and Twilight’s voice.
“Rainbow Dash!” Everything was blurry when she opened her eyes, Gilda’s vice grip was inescapable but she could see Twilight standing behind the griffon.
“…Twi…” Rainbow muttered, struggling.
“Rainbow, listen to me, there is no Gilda! She’s NOT REAL! You're imagining her!” Twilight shouted out firmly as hospital staff began coming down the stairs.
“She’s… right here… I… I can’t breathe…” Rainbow choked out, feeling the griffon’s grip tighten.
“No, she’s not!” Twilight shouted as she approached, looking at the pegasus who now was unknowingly pressing her own hooves against her throat, strangling herself. “It’s a hallucination! You’ve been poisoned! She’s only in your mind!”
“If she comes any closer I won’t hesitate to tear her throat out first, Dash...” Gilda warned, her golden eyes narrowing dangerously at Rainbow’s own.
“No…” Rainbow said, her once defeated expression fading as the final, repressed traces of the determination she lived by began to surface. “You’re not real. YOU’RE NOT REAL!” She shouted, throwing the griffon off of her. To Rainbow’s surprise, the griffon fell through Twilight, like a ghost while the unicorn approached, completely unaware of Gilda’s presence. Gilda dug her talons into the floor to stop herself and approached again.
“Your memories, and the fact that with every little hero outing you take, you’re going more and more crazy, Dash. Admit it, you’re such a lame, messed up loser it’s only a matter of time before you’re as insane as you think I am! That all makes me very, very real!” The griffon said in a venomous tone.
Rainbow drew in breath, letting air back into her lungs as Twilight levitated a small vial from her saddlebag and floated it over to the pegasus. “Drink this. Now. She ordered. The griffon screeched angrily and spread her wings, flying right at Rainbow Dash as the pegasus quickly drank the liquid contents down, and the apparition evaporated into black smoke that faded into nothingness right before reaching her and Twilight.
Collapsing to the ground, Rainbow felt all that overwhelming fear seem to fade along with her imaginary assailant. Taking a few breaths, she looked up at Twilight. “Hey, Twi… how's it going?” She said with a smile, before falling sound asleep and the doctors rushed over to tend to her.
~the following evening~
Decepto paced about in the crypt he’d made into his headquarters in the Hollow Shades. His new gear would be ready soon enough and with Mare Do Well by this point a broken, self-injuring mental case he had nothing standing between him and making a big comeback performance. “A more appropriate end for her I couldn’t have imagined.” He said, smirking under his helmet.
Right as the words left his mouth, the doors burst open and Mare Do Well dive-bombed him into the wall. Thrusting his hoof out, Decepto glared at the costumed pegasus.
“Nullae satisfactionis—“ He began chanting but was immediately hoofed in the face, cracking the massive green eyeball his helmet resembled. Another blow and it busted open, revealing Smokin’s terrified face.
“How did you…?!” He asked, shocked to see her as healthy as ever.
“Clever trick, Decepto. A panic-inducing hallucinogen introduced into the mist around the village?” She asked, recalling how Twilight had summed it up for her. “Luckily I have a friend who figured it out, and knows somepony who knew this particular poison and how to brew a cure for it!” She said, delivering a hoof to the costumed villain’s chest, knocking the wind out of him. “I’ll give you credit, you had me thinking I was haunted by old ghosts for awhile. Came real close to winning, too.” She said, promptly flinging him into the table where he’d laid his gems and beakers.
“If you had any more of it, I’d feed you every last drop of it, but unfortunately I’m no egghead, so I wouldn’t know it if I saw it, and I’ll settle for beating you senseless and making sure you end up in Alkatrot this time!” She said. Before the unicorn magician could answer, Mare Do Well slammed her hoof as hard as she could into his face, knocking him out cold.
~
“He’s out.” Mare Do Well said, emerging from the crypt with the unconscious Decepto slumped over her back as she was greeted by Twilight. “I wish I could have done worse, I really meant it when I told him I’d have loved to give him a taste of his own medicine, it’d have been the perfect payback to send him off to Alkatrot with.” She said.
“Just be glad it’s over, Mare Do Well.” Twilight said, looking around with a smile.
“Yeah, some of what Gilda told me, though… Twi, do you think there’s a chance I’m crazy for doing all this? Or that I could go crazy from it?” Rainbow asked, sliding up her mask.
“Rainbow, you’re a loyal and dedicated pony. That was all in your head thanks to Decepto's poison, you can’t trust what it said, it’s what Decepto wanted you to think.” Twilight said, assuringly.
“I guess… but still, I really thought Gilda had somehow come back, I guess I still… I dunno…” Rainbow answered, shaking her head.
“Some unresolved grief you want to talk about, Rainbow?” The lavender unicorn offered, concerned.
After a pause, Rainbow shook her head again. “Nah, I’m fine. Let’s just get this piece of garbage to Alkatrot before I decide to do anything else to him that’d require a lot of surgery.” The pegasus said bitterly.
“If you say so. I suggest you write Celestia about it later, though. She'll want to know how you're doing...” Twilight said, closing her eyes and preparing the teleportation spell, and soon, the ghost town known as the Hollow Shades was once again deserted.
~
Dear Princess Celestia
If there is one thing I can admit to having always been afraid of, it’s that fear of losing, of failure. No other time do I ever feel so helpless, and that’s the worst feeling in the world for me.
Decepto had found a way to bring that out of me, I was drugged and started having hallucinations of someone who was once my best friend, but grew into my worst enemy. Gilda hurts me on a level none of my other enemies truly understand and I hope they never do. She reminds me of what I did, and what I could have done to have possibly made things different. I feel guilty for her death, but I had to protect Cloudsdale. My friends told me she was never a real friend, and I was better off without her, but was she better off without me? Did I stop her from stooping to some of the things she did after we stopped being friends?
I don’t know. But when I thought I was facing her again, I didn’t stand a chance. She threatened to kill my friends who I swore I'd protect, and I was helpless against her every time I tried to stand up to her, my worst fear, that my loyalty to my friends and those I care for won’t be able to save them. It was Twilight’s dedication that helped save me, when I was able to realize it was all in my mind, I found enough strength to fight back again and save myself when seconds ago I had felt truly beaten. I don’t know what I’d do without her, or any of my friends, and I don’t ever want to find out. I would give my life to protect them, and everypony from any threat, anywhere. It’s what Mare Do Well does, and what I have to keep doing.
Your faithful subject,
Rainbow Dash