The weather outside was reflective of a day of serenity. A crisp blue sky was dotted with some sporadic puffy clouds, each one making rounds in dimming the sunlight to a more tolerable level. Soft yet sturdy breezes rolled in from the northwest, just enough to provide a tingling yet pleasurable feeling to every single hair on the body.
To many, it could be considered a perfect spring day.
Nearly 50 feet underground, the beautiful weather conditions were completely unknown to most lifeforms, this including a pair of ponies.
Down a masterfully carved shaft, complete with a durable ladder, was a rather huge room which was easily twice the size of the large bedroom Twilight Sparkle slept in peacefully every night. However, her bedroom was much more inviting and bright than the room she was currently in, not that she was paying any attention at the moment. In fact, she seemed to show no care whatsoever in her surroundings.
The cave the unicorn was currently residing in was as bleak as one could imagine in terms of your stereotypical dark scary cave. Large stalagmites dotted the outer edges of the room, the rest being removed carefully for multiple reasons. First, Twilight needed space to move around in the cave without fear of being injured. Second, one can’t just go around and start smashing rocks in a cave. Anypony with common sense obviously could figure out that avalanches could result, or even worse, the entire collapse of the cave.
As for furnishings, there were some large metal cabinets scattered around the room, although most of them were situated on the end of the room farthest from the exit. These cabinets contained a variety of items, including health supplies like IV bags and needles, to other common everyday items like rope and paper towels. Each single cabinet seemed to tower up to the ceiling, their stark gray color giving the appearance of the kinds of cabinets one would see in a horror movie set within a hospital. Other items included an old leather couch and chair, a table, a sink, and a couple of rather bright lamps, their bulbs pulsing energy out to illuminate the entire room in a magnificent swash of white light.
Twilight carefully went over each item and made sure everything was accounted for, as the unicorn desired the element of perfection in what she was doing. Any slip up, any singular mistake no matter how substantial or insignificant, was critical to the task at hand and she knew this errors couldn't be tolerated. After all, the task was one of the utmost importance not only to her, but to all of Equestria, as everybody would be affected drastically by the outcome. For there was one last piece of equipment in the room…
… this was a simple steel chair which had been magically fused into the rock below.
Chained by the wings and legs to this chair, was the nearly limp body of Rainbow Dash, who already showed signs of struggle, evident by the visible wearing away of the fur in which the chains were attached. The pegasus had just about used all her strength to try and break free, but with no avail, as Twilight had cast a spell which increased the overall durability and strength of the steel in the chain to levels that eclipsed nearly every material known to all ponies. Rainbow’s hooves and wings definitely held truth to this, as tears in her skin were also visible in the shackled areas, some of the remaining fur becoming bloodstained as a result.
Twilight was already prepared for such a response from the warrior like Rainbow Dash, knowing that the pegasus was as much of a fighter as anypony she knew. However in terms of overall power, Rainbow’s physique was nothing compared to her magic, and the spell was plenty enough to keep the pegasus in line. It was difficult to teleport her underground against her will, and this alone took much more energy than Twilight had anticipated, resulting in the rather early dose of muscle relaxant she had given Rainbow. The drug did its job rather fast, causing the pegasus to slump over in the chair in mere moments, also showcasing just how powerful the single dose was. Twilight made sure she got the best stuff, and had enough doses to last about a week, which was exactly the amount of time she would need for her master plan, as she accounted for 14 12 hour doses.
The drug had one interesting side effect of it which all the others lacked, and the one reason Twilight chose the specific type she did.
Normally a muscle relaxant drug of this strength would render anypony completely unresponsive, thus also putting them to sleep or even in a coma in some extreme cases. However, this drug accomplished all of the above while also keeping the patient alert of what was happening. So in short, Rainbow Dash was in a situation in which she had no control over, a situation she had never experienced, nor had any knowledge of what do to.
She was helpless.
Twilight slowly circled the defenseless Rainbow, examining her body in every way possible, marveling at how nearly perfect every single muscle was. She continued, going up to her flawless wings, putting her hoof on them and slowly stroking each one softly, admiring how silk-like and beautiful each one was while at the same time taking in just how strong they really were. They didn’t call Rainbow the fastest flyer in Equestria for nothing.
She took her hoof off and replaced it with her face, continuing to admire the softness of Rainbow’s wings while also taking in the pleasant aroma the pegasus gave off, an aroma which was almost giving Twilight a light airy feeling. The unicorn felt even a bit sexually enticed by Rainbow Dash, especially her scent, and in reality she could probably do whatever she could imagine to her without consequence. After all, the muscle relaxant was in full effect and how can you defend yourself when one is immobile.
Twilight strolled back in front of the Rainbow pegasus, stopping in the spot where her eyes currently were looking. She knelt down so her own violet eyes were level with that of Rainbow’s and stared straight into them, searching for all the emotions radiating from the seemingly endless pools of violet. She could easily sense fear and sadness, however it wasn’t the most prominent emotion Rainbow was giving off. This title was given to the dynamic duo of betrayal and anger.
“Oh Rainbow Dash… Rainbow Dash… I wouldn’t expect any less of you,” Twilight cooed, her voice smooth and full of weakness, a mocking gesture to the current helpless state the pegasus was in.
“You can’t hide anything from me Dash, I can see right through you like a pane of glass,” Twilight continued, slowly running her hand down Rainbow’s face, collecting the small remains of tears which lingered on her cheeks. “Glass… glass is an interesting thing isn’t it?”
The unicorn left Rainbow’s gaze for a second, as she walked over to one of the large gray cabinets on the other side of the room. Worth mentioning is that for security purposes, each one had a special lock which had only one way of being opened. This, was a rather simple spell which acted as a key, and in turn made the cabinets completely pegasus proof, considering that Rainbow Dash had no magic by which she could use. In essence this could have been viewed as overcompensation, but then again, a pony with the fortitude of Dash’s couldn’t be underestimated or taken lightly, and Twilight knew this.
She took out what looked like a simple glass test tube, one of many which lined one of the cabinet’s shelves. With one swift motion she hit it on the edge of the icy cold metal table, doing so at just the right angle to cause the test tube to break into two nearly equal pieces. Each one of these possessed a dangerously sharp edge, which could easily cut and draw blood if not handled properly.
Twilight walked back over to Rainbow, again kneeling so her eyes were on the same level, as Rainbow was too weakened by the drug to lift her head at all. As she showed the shard of test tube to the pegasus, she could quickly sense the fear growing in her eyes, and smiled deviously.
“Oh no worries, I don’t plan to cause you any pain,” Twilight responded, her words acting as salt in the wounds towards Rainbow, as she knew the pegasus didn’t believe her in the slightest. “… Not yet at least,” she added. This comment got Rainbow’s eyes to widen in even more fear, something not going unnoticed by the unicorn.
“But back to glass. Glass is a pretty amazing object isn’t it,” Twilight started, a hint of wonder in her voice as she held up the broken test tube piece between her and Rainbow’s eyes. “A little heat and pressure can turn millions of grains of quartz into something so beautiful. It’s sort of like anypony in a metaphorical sort of way. Each grain of quartz can represent an idea, uniqueness, or a trait. Every one of us is a combination of these sorts of things, so each one of us is a piece of glass.”
Twilight moved the test tube piece around a bit, and watched at Rainbow’s eyes continued follow said piece.
“Each piece of glass is special all on its own, however they all have the same problem. They are all so brittle, and can break with the smallest amount of mishandling.” As she finished the sentence Twilight let the test tube piece drop to the floor below, watching as she and Rainbow observed it as it shattered into hundreds of small nearly invisible shards which scattered across the concrete floor.
Twilight got back up from her knelt down position and went over to the table to grab the other remaining piece of the test tube, bringing it back to where Dash was tied down. Again, she knelt down at eye level, presenting the lone piece of the test tube so both their eyes could see it.
“And now Rainbow, you’re as fragile as this piece of glass I hold in my hands. Whether you live or die is currently in my control, and it eats away at you.”
The unicorn slowly rose and again circled the weakened Rainbow Dash, again examining her vulnerable yet nearly perfect form.
As she looked again into her eyes, Twilight could see the white hot, fiery liquid hate radiate from Rainbow as she watched the unicorn, knowing that as of right now, she was powerless. Twilight knew that she was going into territory anypony normally would consider off-limits when it came to Rainbow Dash. The unicorn could tell that Rainbow hated any question of whether or not she was in control of herself, and wasn’t used to a situation where her own fate, or her own destiny, wasn’t somehow in her control. For the time being, it was Twilight who had the keys to Rainbow Dash’s mind. It was only a matter of figuring out which ones went where.
“Don’t try to hide it, I can see it clear as day. You finally realize that you’re in a situation where there is nothing you can do Rainbow,” Twilight said, her tone bordering on pure mockery of the pegasus, knowing that every single line was prodding deeper and deeper into realms of Rainbow’s mind, places where many never had gone. “You've become powerless... scared… just like a little filly.”
Rainbow growled, and gritted her teeth together in pure hatred of the words which continued to flow out of Twilight’s mouth. The other interesting side effect of the muscle relaxant is that it took about an hour or so for the patient to retain the ability to speak and move their mouth. Twilight found this particular side effect rather peculiar, yet interesting and decided to make use of it. Once Rainbow regained the ability to speak, the unicorn thought about abandoning the belittling and mind prodding for the time being, but her overwhelming feelings of power continued to beckon, and Twilight decided to continue.
“It’s no wonder you always tried to make yourself look like the strongest of all of us. It was to hide your weakness. You’re as emotionally unstable as any of us,” she continued to coo, much to Rainbow’s dismay.
“Sh… shut up!” Rainbow tried to scream, although it came over more as a croak due to her overall weakness.
Twilight lowered herself so that her face was mere inches from Rainbow’s right ear, her lips so close to Rainbow that the pegasus could feel the warm humidity of the unicorn’s breath invade the privacy of her ear canal.
“Sometimes you think you know a pony so well… when in fact, you barely know them at all. It’s a really interesting conundrum, isn't it Dashie?” Twilight had barely spoke, but rather breathed into Rainbow’s ear seductively, toying with the infuriated pegasus.
Dash’s anger began to fade slightly on the outside, although the mention of such a nickname would have riled her back up usually. While Rainbow’s overall feelings of anger and betrayal continued to flourish within her, she knew that her overall energy level was low enough to where wasting it on pitiful attempts to scream at the unicorn before her wasn't the best idea.
“What… what do you want from me?” Rainbow questioned, almost in a pleading sort of manner as she began to give up trying to understand what Twilight wanted. On her part, Twilight remained in the same position as she answered the
question.
“Dashie… I could conjure up a lie to make you feel more at ease, but that would be rather customary of anypony trying to avoid the situation at hand. Me, well I happened to love the situation at hand thank you very much,” Twilight spoke, getting up and back into a kneeling position, eyes level with that of Rainbow’s. “Besides, I’m not going to spoil the surprise!”
As soon as she said surprise, Twilight hopped up and began prancing around the room joyfully, almost mirroring the random antics of Pinkie Pie, much to the rather surprised look of Rainbow Dash.
“What is the surprise?” Rainbow asked, trying to hold her composure of being the tough fearless she always was, although she sensed that Twilight really could see straight through her at this point, making the efforts useless.
The unicorn’s demeanor seemed to change within an instant, and gone from her expressions and body language was that element of joy she seemed to be experiencing not too long ago. Twilight’s blood seemed to boil at the mere thought of ruining the perfect progress that had been made, even though there was no way she would let Rainbow Dash know the surprise. After all, it isn't a surprise anymore if you tell said pony what the surprise is.
Twilight grabbed the broken piece of test tube which had been placed back upon the table and walked purposely up towards Dash, an icy cold glare filling her eyes. Rainbow’s pupils shrank in pure fear as she watched Twilight approach her with the possible weapon, and could only gasp and croak in pain as Twilight made a long cut down her front left leg, although shallow enough to not cause any lasting damage to the pegasus.
Any ounce of toughness which Rainbow tried to radiant was eliminated within an instance, as she began to realize the situation. Twilight was the one in charge here, and it was made perfectly clear by that action. What also was made clear is that any wrongly done action or spoken word would have consequences, and Rainbow began to regret ever opening her mouth.
Trickles of bloods cascaded her wounded leg, pooling at the base of her hoof, much to the dismay of Rainbow, who tried ever so hard to avoid looking at her own blood. Normally the pegasus wasn't afraid of a little of her own blood, but the current situation magnified everything, especially any of her fears.
Twilight seemed indifferent about the pain she had inflicted on Rainbow, if not a bit regretful herself about having to cause the rainbow maned pegasus any sort of residual damage. This was not part of her plan in any way, and resorting to any action not planned beforehand was causing self-anger to brew inside the unicorn. In response, she threw the remains of the test tube across towards the other side of the room, the object shattering into thousands of tiny glass fragments upon impact with one of the metal cabinets.
She looked back over at Rainbow, who now had her eyes stuck shut, and smiled in relief now knowing that Rainbow hadn't seen that moment of weakness. Twilight walked back over to her side, and gently tried to comfort the pegasus, much to her dismay and bewilderment, not that it mattered. Twilight hugged her chained up friend, and nuzzled her nose into the soft fur of Rainbow’s neck, as Rainbow experienced this in pure disgust.
Slowly, Twilight loosened her hug, and went back yet again to the kneeling position from before. She tilted Rainbow’s head towards her own, their eyes meeting yet again, although the emotions in said eyes were much different than merely minutes ago.
“I know that you’d like to know the surprise I have for you, but I can’t go and tell you that right off the bat. It would make it less enjoyable for either of us,” she began, now speaking in her normal voice as she observed the mare before her. “However, I will make you a promise that I will keep.”
Twilight wandered back over to one of the cabinets, and used the same spell to activate the specially designed lock. Searching around, she found the object she was looking for, which happened to be a simple hourglass, although the duration of said hourglass was much longer than a mere hour. The unicorn trotted back to Rainbow, and sat down gently on the solid rock ground, holding up the hourglass for both of them to observe.
“This hourglass is special, in that when I turn it upside-down, it lasts a full week before running of out sand. Interesting isn't it?”
Twilight walked back over to the metal table, and turned the hourglass so that all of the sand was now on the top half of the device.
“My promise, is that in one week… I’ll tell you what the surprise is.”