Chapter 28- The Clockwork Tower
Rainbow was on Dash’s tail, weaving through the misty hallways and dangling chains and stray pipes. Steam blasted across her path a few times, causing her to be temporarily blinded, yet she never lost sight of her target.
She had no idea if the others were following her, but she couldn’t let Dash escape. Rainbow was the fastest of the group and had the greatest odds of catching the black pegasus. They would just have to catch up later.
“Can you keep up?” Dash taunted, throwing a glance over her shoulder.
“You bet,” Rainbow replied wholeheartedly.
“Oh, we’ll see about that.” Dash stopped for a split second and kicked a pipe that ran up the wall, then she shot off again. Rainbow heard pipes start to groan and creak overhead.
“That can’t be good,” she muttered. Pipes began to burst, a thousand jets of steam exploding in the cyan pegasus’ path. Rainbow flew blindly through the thick, white vapor, unsure of her surroundings. Suddenly, there was a loud clang behind her as the pipe collapsed from the ceiling. She backwinged just as another came plummeting down directly in front of her. In a panicked frenzy, she hurtled forward as the pipes crashed from the ceiling all around her.
Then she spotted the door at the end of the hall as Dash disappeared behind it. Heartened, Rainbow put on an extra burst of speed. She was nearly to the door when a large pipe fell from above and landed across her back, slamming her into the floor and driving the breath out of her lungs. She was pinned to the ground as rubble continued to rain around her.
“RRRAAAGH!” Rainbow howled, more out of frustration than pain. Dash was getting away and she was here about to be buried alive. What kind of end would that be? She just had to catch Dash!
“I thought I told you to stop putting yourself in situations that could get you killed,” came a matter-of-fact voice from behind. Scootaloo struggled to lift the rusty pipe with her hind legs. It rose just enough for the cyan mare to squirm out from underneath.
Rainbow turned to Scoots with gratefulness brimming in her eyes. “Thank you. How did you get here so fast?”
The orange mare smirked. “I’ve been hanging out with the fastest flier in Equestria my whole life. You didn’t think I’d go all that time without learning a few flying techniques?”
“You certainly are fast.”
“You better be faster if you’re going to catch Dash. Get going before we both wind up being crushed by the ceiling!” Scoots urged.
Rainbow nodded her farewell and took off in pursuit of the black pegasus once more. Rainbow Dash was confused. Behind the door was a circular room about the diameter of two pegasi standing next to each other, wings extended. The floor was grated like in the other parts of the castle, but a large gear dominated the center of it. Then the ceiling…
“Oh…” said Rainbow, realization dawning on her. There was no ceiling, at least, not a visible one. The room was a giant cylinder that faded into the darkness far above.
Without warning, the gear in the floor began rotating, slow at first but gaining acceleration. Then, the floor itself began lifting. Rainbow landed and down as the lift began to gain speed. It went faster and faster and faster. Rainbow could see other exits flying past on the walls at dizzying speeds, even for her. The rattling of the elevator was now a loud cacophony of noises like piston hissing and engines straining. Wind whistled sharply in her ears as she soared skywards. The lift was now going so fast it was difficult for her to move from where she was, crouched on the floor.
Suddenly, there was a loud screeching and the lift began decelerating. The elevator skidded to a halt perfectly at another doorway. Dash was standing in the entrance waiting for her.
“Enjoy your little ride?” she asked, her black feathers bristling.
Rainbow said nothing, but instead tackled Dash. This was her opportunity to unleash all the hatred she felt towards the dark mare. She raised a hoof and brought it down into Dash’s face. Rainbow prepared to strike again, but something held her back. This was herself. She hated this pegasus under her with a passion, but it was her.
“You know they want you back,” Rainbow said. “I can never be who you are to them. And they could never be the friends from my time. I am not a replacement. So why are you still so bent on attacking me.”
Dash was quiet for a long moment. The silence that hung between them was only broken by the sound of running machinery and spouts of steam. The black pegasus spat out blood and grinned.
“Because being this is far more fun!” The Element of Loyalty suddenly shifted from its red color to a dark hue and a bolt of energy fired right into Rainbow’s chest. She flew off landing in a heap on the other side of the room. Dash stood up and brushed dust from her shoulder as if she hadn’t just taken a brutal blow to the face. “You know, I thought you would be smarter than that. But just you wait, you’ll see. The End of Time draws near, then you will see everything clearly.”
Rainbow staggered to her feet and glared at Dash. “Why don’t you just tell me why he’s trying to end the world?”
“Oh, but that would spoil everything!” Dash turned and walked away up a small flight of steps that led to a grand door made of tarnished gold in the middle of the room. Rainbow hadn’t even noticed it before. Dash went through the door and slammed it shut. Rainbow bolted to the door and pulled on the handle with all her strength. It was locked. The enraged pegasus shouted and slammed a hoof into the golden door.
Screeching came from behind her in the elevator shaft. The other eight ponies that made up Rainbow’s party entered the room dust-covered but uninjured.
“Did you find her?” Shadow asked.
“No,” said Rainbow, distraught. “She’s on the other side of the door.”
“Is that where Chrono is, too?” Jade asked.
“Not sure,” Rainbow replied. “It’s possible.”
“Wait a sec,” Pinkie Pie spoke up, “It looks like there are pictures of the Elements of Harmony engraved on the door.”
Rainbow looked up and sure enough. Six glyphs were carved into the door’s golden face. Rainbow smiled. It was just like when Pinkie pointed out the carvings on the Fate Stone back in her time. It was certainly ironic.
“But if Dash is in there with the Element of Loyalty, then how are we supposed to open the door?” Fluttershy asked.
Nopony had an answer for her.
“We go to the past.” Everypony turned to look at Shadow Flare.
“What d’ya mean?” Applejack asked.
The red-maned unicorn stepped up stand beside Rainbow. “We could go back in time. Queen Twilight said she found a few temporary time spells back in Canterlot. If we had one that lasted long enough, we could go back in time and ‘borrow’ the Element of Loyalty.”
“But wouldn’t that change the past and, therefore, effect the present?” Rarity questioned.
“The damage has already been done to the timeline. Creating one more distortion wouldn’t make the slightest difference to us. We lay in the heart of the distortion. It’s like we have our own timeline that defies the laws of time. It doesn’t matter what happens because if we succeed, it’ll change the past to its original, intended state. And if we fail, time is forever ruined anyways.”
The ponies seemed to accept this. Rainbow noticed satisfaction in Shadow’s gaze, but when he met her eyes, that same weird expression from the train crossed his face. What was that?
“Alright, we go back to the past,” agreed Twilight. “However, I’ll only be able to send one pony. Who wants to go?”
“ME!” Rainbow and Shadow both volunteered at once.
“I’m sorry Shadow, but I’m going to send Rainbow. She’d be more likely to convince the past me to let her use the Element.”
Shadow turned to face Rainbow again. “You be careful, okay?” Worry was shining in his eyes.
“Okay.” The cyan pegasus promised. She turned to stand before the queen and bowed her head. A bright light surrounded her, then she was gone.