//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Where Loyalty Lies // Story: Heart of Raven Black // by Vin Diesels Go-Kart //------------------------------// "What's in the coffin?" Twilight demanded. The ponies stared at Daniel in fearful suspicion, still listening to the soft whimpers emanating from the casket. "Is my sister in there!?" Applejack asked with both fear and anger. "I can assure you she isn't." the Zealot promised. "Then what is inside?" Rarity questioned. The Crow glared at them. "That's not something you need to concern yourselves with." he elbowed the coffin hard. "But if it doesn't stop complaining, then it will be severely punished." he mumbled harshly. The whimpered noises abruptly stopped and silence befell the ruins once more. Applejack took a step closer to him. "Open it, now!" "What was that?" he asked, his anger quickly rising. "You filthy heathens must be insane if you think you can stand there and give me orders." "Enough stalling. If you wont open it, then I'll make you open it!" Rainbow Dash shouted, flying at the Crow. It didn't take but a moment for the pegasus to reach Daniel, but just as she was about to connect, the Zealot vanished into thin air. Rainbow stopped mid-flight, initially confused about what had happened, but then the crows appeared out of nowhere and began to attack. All at once they ambushed the pony, pecking and scratching at her from every angle. The mare yelled in both pain and frustration as she could do nothing to defend herself but cover her face. "Rainbow!" Twilight screamed, charging up her horn and letting loose a fury of attack spells. Several of the crows were struck by the incoming fire and flew away in a hasty retreat, the others regrouped and formed back into the Zealot. "Ah, I see you have some tricks as well." Daniel laughed, happy this would be more interesting than he anticipated. "Stand down!" Twilight ordered in her most authoritative voice. The Zealot smirked under his mask. "Where's the fun in that?" Daniel once again turned into the birds, and the flock of crows made there way over to Twilight's position. The princess shot more beams of magic at the incoming creatures, but it was no good. Just as they came within striking distance of her, the Zealot reformed and promptly slashed at the alicorn with lightning fast agility. Twilight was barely able to dodge the incoming attack as the sword flew past her head. A few locks of her mane fell to the floor, but other than that, the princess was uninjured. However, she had no time to recover since Daniel was already gearing for a second attack. Another violent swing of his blade ensured he would hit his target, but the weapon never made contact with the princess. Pinkie Pie had jumped in the way just as the blade came down, hitting the earth pony in the chest. The sword struck her Elemental charm just to the side of the blue gem that decorated the middle. A loud clang of metal on metal echoed through the ruins, causing several onlooking crows to take flight from their hidden perches. Daniel took a few steps back, completely taken by surprise at the pink mare's intervention. He looked up to see all of the ponies, including Spike, surrounding their princess protectively. All but Trixie, who was still standing at a distance, unsure of how to proceed. "Thanks Pinkie, are you okay?" Twilight asked gratefully. "Yeppers, didn't even feel a thing." Pinkie replied, though the blade had left a faint mark on her necklace. Twilight was grateful for her friend's sixth sense, but knew it probably wouldn't save her from the Zealot a second time. "You ponies are full of surprises, I'll give you that." Daniel admitted. "But I have a few of my own." Suddenly, the Crow came up with an idea that he found quite enticing. He looked from pony to pony, studying each one carefully. His eyes eventually landed on the rainbow maned one who originally had the audacity to strike at him, and thoughts of sweet revenge soon occupied his mind. He was about to teach these ponies a lesson in respect, using this hot head pegasus as his instrument. The Zealot pointed his hand at the group and let loose a large murder of crows. The birds assaulted the ponies with swipes and pecks, temporarily stunning the group. Twilight's horn lit up and she sent a wave of magic through the air that startled the birds and caused them to retreat, but they had already done their job. There was now a sizable distance between Rainbow Dash and the other Elements. Daniel smiled as his hand changed its physical appearance and a new vigor began to activate. Rainbow Dash cautiously got to her feet, a bit scratched up, but otherwise unharmed. However, no sooner did she stand up than Daniel charged his left hand and pointed it at her. The ponies looked on as his hand turned an ethereal green and he let loose his vigor. A green phantom-like woman shot out from his hand and soared through the air like a bullet. Rainbow Dash didn't have any time to protect herself as the phantom made contact, causing the battered pegasus to fall once more. "Dashie!" Pinkie cried out, fearful for her friend's condition. "Let's run a little experiment, shall we?" Daniel said menacingly. The ponies glared at him with anger, but then looked back to Dash as she began to move. Slowly, Rainbow Dash got back up, but this time something was very wrong with her. There was a green aura surrounding the pegasus, and a strange ghostly figure floating beside her. As Twilight looked into her eyes, she couldn't see her friend anymore, instead an empty shell of the pony that had once been there. Rainbow looked around for a moment, bewildered at first and seemingly lost. Twilight and the others looked on in horror as their friend finally laid eyes on the Zealot. When she spotted Daniel, relief overcame her and she briskly trotted over and stood by his side, nuzzling up to him affectionately. "It seems even I can make friends here." the Crow teased, gently running his fingers through her rainbow mane, not out of compassion, but in a display of dominance and control. The pegasus looked up at him with loving regard, but when she looked over to her friends, an expression of anger and hatred appeared on her face. "Dashie, what's gotten into you?" Pinkie Pie asked. Rainbow looked back up to Daniel expectantly. "Yes my dear, go have your fun." Daniel said, knowing exactly what her intent was. Rainbow Dash lowered her head and readied her body, setting her sights on Twilight. The green aura that surrounded her remained strong. "Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?" the princess asked with concern and confusion. Without speaking, Rainbow Dash charged at the alicorn with a speed and ferocity that only she herself could ever match. The cyan pegasus closed the gap between her and Twilight in less than a second. With a primal yell, the Element of Loyalty gave the princess a hard buck that sent her flying backward. Twilight landed on the ground with a thud. She didn't recover as quickly as she should have, dazed by both the massive blow to her midsection and the terrifying behavior of one of her best friends. Unfortunately for the alicorn, Dash was in a much clearer state of mind. Almost immediately, Twilight found herself being bucked senseless by the crazed mare. Hit after hit struck the princess hard and all she could do was raise her hooves in defense. After several more blows to the legs, instinct kicked in and Twilight shot a beam of magic at the attacking pegasus. Rainbow Dash was briefly knocked on her rump, but it gave Twilight enough time to distance herself from the mare. The other ponies quickly took advantage and regrouped on the princess, creating a protective barricade around her. It was at this point that Daniel decided to get involved as well. He walked over to Rainbow Dash, who had just righted herself, and pointed his sword directly at the princess. The green phantom continued to whisper into Dash's ear seductively, and the blue pegasus charged at her friends, mercilessly slamming into them and knocking them over like bowling pins. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Spike, and Rarity quickly got back up and tackled Dash to the ground, while Fluttershy hid under her hooves. Daniel saw his opening and moved to strike the alicorn, but Twilight was ready this time. As Daniel swung his blade, the princess caught it with her magic and attempted to tear it away from his grasp. The Zealot held fast though, and the two quickly found themselves in a deadly tug-of-war. The Crow dispersed into birds just as Twilight finally wrenched the sword free. She promptly tossed it away before turning back to the crows, who dive bombed the princess with exposed talons. "Everypony, get behind me!" Twilight commanded. She ran over to a stunned Trixie and began charging up a powerful spell. Applejack, Spike and Pinkie Pie sprinted to Twilight while Rarity grabbed Fluttershy's tail with her magic and dragged the terrified pegasus over to the meeting point. Daniel took the opportunity to reconstitute and grab his sword, then he and Rainbow Dash charged in once again. However, before they reached the group of ponies, Twilight released her spell and conjured a large bubble around them. The two advancing adversaries stopped at the bubble's edge and struck it. The force field rippled out from the point of impact, but remained steadfast. "Get out here and fight, you cowards!" the Zealot barked as both he and Dash started to batter the shield with combined blows of sword and hoof. The bubble rippled at each hit, but never faltered. Daniel struck the shield harder and harder, each ineffective hit causing his anger and frustration to grow. He thought of all the things he was going to do to these ponies for causing him such grief. "Look!" Pinkie said, noticing the phantom woman disappearing and the green aura around Rainbow Dash beginning to blink. The Crow looked over and smiled as he realized the vigor's effect was waning. Calmly, he ceased his assault on the force field and patiently waited for Possession to wear off. Soon enough, the aura around Rainbow Dash completely disappeared, causing the pony to stop her assault. Twilight felt a wave of relief wash over her, thinking that whatever wretched spell had been placed over her friend was now gone. "The voices.....the voices! Make the voices stop! Please!" Dash began screaming. She looked around in every direction as dementia corrupted her mind. "Filthy, filthy, filthy! It writhes in filth, it basks in filth!" the pegasus' eyes landed on the Zealot's sword and she jumped at it, trying desperately to grab the weapon. "No more love, no more love, the demons bask in the fires!" Daniel kept her away from the sword with one hand while holding the blade in the other. "What's wrong with her!?" Twilight screamed. "An unfortunate little side effect of the Possession vigor. Once the initial effects of Possession wear off, the victim doesn't quite know what to do with themselves anymore." he laughed, allowing Rainbow Dash's hoof to get a few inches closer to the sword. "More often than not, they will succumb to dementia and attempt to end their suffering, by any means necessary." The princess stared at her friend in fear and disbelief. Daniel let her hoof come dangerously close to the weapon. "If you do not yield in the next ten seconds, I will let her have my sword, and you will have to watch as your friend commits the sin of suicide." he hissed. "Cut the lines, cut the thread, I only wish that I were dead!" the pegasus babbled. Twilight looked at her disturbed friend. It only took her three of the ten seconds to disable her shield and surrender. "That's a good girl." the Zealot smiled. In a single motion he sheathed his weapon and ran his glowing green hand over Rainbow Dash's face. She immediately stopped struggling and fell into unconsciousness. Daniel gently laid the sleeping pegasus on the ground where she was instantly surrounded by her friends. "She'll be fine." the Crow assured. "Though she might wake up with a slight headache." They all looked at Daniel with a hatred that none of them had ever experienced before. "So this is how the rest of the day is going to work." he started, addressing Twilight. He pointed at Trixie. "This one tells me that there is an ancient castle in the Everfree Forest. However, she failed to know its exact location. Do you know where this castle is?" "Yes." Twilight reluctantly said through gritted teeth. "Good. Then we are going to take a little trip to this castle, right now." he commanded. None of the ponies moved, so the Crow raised his sword and let it come to rest just below Twilight's chin. "I only need one of you alive to show me the way, so I suggest you not test the limit of my patience. Now move!" The ponies all got up and started walking toward the Everfree. Twilight lifted Rainbow Dash with her magic and put her on her back, using her wings to support her. "You think she'll be alright, Twi?" Applejack asked. The princess looked at the Zealot behind her. "She better be." As he passed Trixie, Daniel put a hand on her and coaxed her to walk along. The two followed close behind the others as the group made there way to the forest.