Chapter 27- The Penultimate Journey
Rainbow didn’t want to leave where she was, sitting with Shadow and overlooking the dawn as it crept over the distant Everfree Forest. However, she knew Shadow had to send that letter to Queen Twilight as soon as possible. With great reluctance she forced herself to part with him.
“You go ahead and see to that letter,” Rainbow said. “I’m going to see how Scoots and Jade are.”
Rainbow lifted off into the sky. It was not long before she found the two ponies huddled over the body of another. Was that Rose?
“Oh no.” Rainbow drifted down to her friends concern showing on her face. Jade was sobbing into Scootaloo’s shoulder as the orange mare comforted her. It broke Rainbow’s heart.
“I hate him,” Rainbow heard Jade mutter, her sobs dying down. The green filly lifted her head out of Scootaloo’s feathers and to look at Rainbow. “He’s gotta die now. I already lost my father and now Chrono took my mother. You’ll help me, right?” The calmness in Jade’s voice creeped Rainbow out a bit.
Rainbow wasn’t sure what to say. The young filly’s sudden anger and lust for revenge was unexpected. But Rainbow also understood what it was like to be an orphan. If she had known what had happened to her parents, would she have tried to exact vengeance? It was likely. “Of course. I have a few bones to pick with that green-maned freak myself.”
Scootaloo nodded her agreement. “And after we take care of old Chrono, you can stay with me at my house. How does that sound?”
Jade wiped some of the dampness from her cheek and nodded. “I’d like that.”
Now, only one question remained: where had Chrono gone? There were no leads anymore. All the clues as to what to do next were gone. All that was left were four determined ponies and nowhere left to turn. Only fate could show them where to go next.
Rainbow turned to the hill where Shadow still sat. He was gazing up at the sky at five blazing stars. Wait. Stars? No stars should be visible anymore. The stars shot down in a magenta tinted flash. Where they landed were the five ponies that had been Rainbow’s best friends ten years ago, all bearing the Elements of Harmony. Well, the remaining five.
Rainbow, Scoots, and Jade cantered over to meet the ponies on top of the hill with Shadow.
“You did it!” Queen Twilight praised them. “I knew you all would pull through. I have no idea how you managed to pull it off, but either way, I am greatly indebted to you. You have saved my kingdom and my life.”
“It was nothing, really,” Rainbow said, reverting to the modesty she picked up during her time in the future. She was sure that came from hanging around Shadow Flare so often.
“It sure was something! You should be proud,” Rarity said.
“Yeah!” Pinkie said, bouncing in front of the white unicorn. “In fact, we should throw a victory party or something. We could have lots of fun and play games and… and… and have fun!”
“As great as that all sounds, we still have to find Chrono,” Shadow objected. Pinkie simply shrugged.
“Speaking of which, where’d that creep run off to?” Applejack asked. Nopony had an answer for her.
“Maybe he’s in there,” Jade suggested, pointing in the direction of the rising sun. Rainbow followed her gesture and saw what she was referring to. Towering out the Everfree Forest was an eerie rust-colored castle. Steam billowed out of smokestacks placed at awkward angles. The turrets and spires dwarfed the Canterlot Castle even from this distance. There was no doubt about it, if Chrono were anywhere, he’d be in there.
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The band of ponies fought through the excessive undergrowth of the Everfree Forest toward the distant castle. Rainbow always hated going through the dark trees, knowing that at any time there may be some new and dangerous monster. At least Fluttershy was here to set any feral creatures straight if it came to that.
Already the shadow of the monumental structure was looming over them and they were still miles from the castle. Rainbow feared what such a building could house. Especially considering the fact that it was most likely the result of a Temporal Distortion.
“So what was that spell you used to teleport to the field back there?” Shadow asked Twilight as they walked.
“Oh, that was a spell I recently discovered. It’s a group teleportation spell,” the queen replied.
“Do you think you could use it again to take us to the base of the castle?” Rainbow suggested.
“It’ll take a while before I’m able to perform the spell again. It would be convenient but unfortunately not something I can do right now.”
“Mind if I give it a try?” Shadow asked.
Twilight gave him a quizzical look. “It’s a pretty advanced spell. You think you could manage it?”
Shadow nodded determinedly. “Okay,” Twilight resigned. “So, here’s what you do…”
Rainbow turned to Jade, who was trotting along beside her. “You okay? It’s a pretty long walk.”
Jade nodded energetically. “I’ll be fine. We haven’t been walking that long.”
“Yeah, but there are still miles ahead of us,” the cyan pegasus pointed out.
“Scootaloo will help me if I get tired, right?” Jade said.
“Of course I will,” Scoots said, ruffling Jade’s pink mane with a wing.
Rainbow was happy to see the two of them bonding. Scootaloo was obviously protective of the young filly, and Jade trusted her a lot. She wouldn’t be surprised if Scoots decided to adopt the young filly. It would be good for the both of them.
Suddenly a bright, green light surrounded the nine ponies. Before Rainbow knew what was happening, the world was warped around her. It lasted mere seconds but when the world returned, the pegasus was sick to the stomach. When she regained her ability to stand, she looked straight up. Looming above them was a mountain sized castle made of rusted metal, the tip disappearing among the clouds. Pipes ran all along the walls of the building and gears could be heard whirring inside.
Rainbow made her way to the front of the group. “You ready for this?” she asked. Everypony nodded. This was it. There was no turning back. Rainbow made for the giant dark metal doors. They towered above her menacingly. Twilight and Shadow both used their magic to pull the doors open. Steam flowed out onto the grass among the group of ponies. Then they entered.
The cavernous entrance hall reflected the foreboding that the outside possessed. The floor was grated and gears could be seen spinning below. The rusted walls were crisscrossed with old pipes that spewed steam into the air, creating a hazy atmosphere illuminated by a yellow light that originated from somewhere below the floor. Chains dangled from the distant ceiling and the remains of fractured chandeliers hung by the ends of a few of them.
Rainbow led the group further into the castle. As soon as the last of them entered, the doors swung shut behind them. Rainbow turned to see the doors firmly closed, the mist swirling in the draft. There was no sign of anypony else there; the doors probably shut of their own accord.
The cyan pegasus opened her silver watch. Less than four days remained. It seemed as if they would need all the time they could get to navigate through this castle. Rainbow led the band down the corridor and up the small flight of steps at the end. A staircase led off to either side and directly ahead of them was a thick iron door engraved with intricate swirling designs.
“Through the door, then?” she asked of her teammates.
None of them said anything. They all seemed to be too afraid to speak, but refused to turn back. The company was definitely determined to see this through to the end. Twilight trotted up to stand beside Rainbow.
“I think it’d be best if you lead us,” the lilac alicorn stated. “We need your courage right now more than anything.” Everyone else nodded. Rainbow’s gaze locked with Shadow’s for a short eternity. She could see the support in his beautiful green eyes.
“Okay. Let’s go,” said Rainbow, turning back to face the door. The door creaked loudly on neglected hinges as she shoved it open.
Inside was a room similar to the first, though the ceilings were much closer and a few hallways diverged from the main hall. A pipe travelling the ceiling length of the room spurted out a waterfall of steam, creating a curtain that prevented Rainbow from seeing anything beyond it.
The blue pegasus stepped through the foggy veil, her friends close behind. On the other side was a lone figure in the middle of the room, her back facing them. Her black feathers were ragged and her tail swished angrily back and forth.
“I see you’ve come Rainbow,” Dash said turning to face her with those hate-filled scarlet eyes, “And you brought my old friends.”
“Dash?” Twilight asked, stepping forward, “Is that you?”
“What do you care? Rainbow has certainly taken my place among you,” she shot at the purple alicorn.
“Now listen here, Dash,” Applejack spoke. “Rainbow here would never replace you. She hasn’t been through all the same thing we all went through together. No matter how much she’s become our friend, she’s not the same Rainbow Dash you are.”
“Ha! And here I was thinking you’d never tell a lie,” Dash mocked.
“Come on, Dashie. We were always best buds, remember? We still can be,” Pinkie said.
“You don’t get it!” Dash spat. “I am through with you. As soon as Rainbow here showed up and started making me look bad, you’ve all looked down on me! Now I stand on my own, swearing loyalty to none!”
“What about Chrono?” Fluttershy whispered the question. Dash shot her a look so harsh that Fluttershy yelped and ducked behind Rarity.
“I’m only helping him because of his promise to me.”
“And that is?” Shadow demanded.
“Love, you’ll see when the time comes.” Dash shot a smirking glance at Rainbow. So, Dash knew of Rainbow’s feelings for Shadow and was trying to get under her skin. Rainbow resisted the anger threatening to seep into her heart. If she was enraged, she would become reckless. But she couldn’t let the black pegasus get the better of her.
“Is that an Element of Harmony?” Jade asked from behind Scootaloo’s wing.
Rainbow was so surprised by Dash’s appearance that she had missed the gold necklace tied around her neck. In fact, she had been so preoccupied by the war that she had forgotten Dash had stolen it in the first place.
“Hey! That’s ours! Give it back!” Rarity demanded.
“Says the Element of Generosity,” Dash retorted. “If you want it come and get it.”
Dash spread her night black wings. Rainbow shot forward to tackle her, but it was too late; Dash was already in the air. The black pegasus shot down a hallway to the right. “After her!” Rainbow shouted as she launched into the air. The chase was on.