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// chapter 2: Nightmare Rainbow 
// Story: A Demons Return, The end of day? 
// by JKaneH 
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Rainbow Dash awoke in the middle of the night, her bladder was full and she HAD to use the toilet as fast as ponyly possible. She began to untangle herself from the mass of blankets slowly and groggily. Once she was finally free from the entangling mass of linen she wiped the drool off her jaw and the crusts from her eyes. She began to turn and sit on the edge of the bed when a noise caught her attention. Her door had opened and was quietly shut. She thought to herself, that is not at all how Scootaloo would come in, even in the dead of night she would be obnoxiously loud and greet a still sleeping Rainbow Dash with a flying jump onto the bed with her.. and Twilight had left only hours before, and Rainbow was positive she didn't forget anything since she always made a checklist of things she brought over so she WOULDNT forget anything. So who in Equestria could this person be. Then a loud “CRASH” from the room, told her that Tank had tried to stop the intruder. Obviously hostile in nature. Rainbow Dash thought about her next move. What could she do to stop this pony from killing her. So she decided to play along with the assassin. She covered up slowly and quietly in bed. And let her eyes adjust to the black room even more. She began to make out silhouettes quite nicely/. Just in time since the mystery pony walked into the room, and began creeping almost silently over to the bed where the multicolored pony lay. Rainbow Dash made out the glint of steel in the ponies hoof.
“just wait she thought.” the pony crept closer “wait” a little closer. “WAIT” her muscles screamed to react to the hostile pony now raising the dagger above RD's head. “NOW” she screamed in her mind, just as the figure began to drop the blade towards her Technicolor mane. 
Her wings pushed her towards the foot of, and off of the bed. Before the mystery pony could react Rainbow Dash changed direction of flight from back to forwards, driving her shoulder into the figure's head, with all her wing power. She felt warm blood ooze forth from the contact.
The pony left the ground with the power of the tackle, but quickly recovered landing on its hind hooves pulling two more daggers from the back of its silhouette. Rainbow knew he had the advantage unless she could get to her sword, which was behind him. “WHY DID I PUT SUCH LOW CEILINGS IN THIS PLACE!!?” she screamed at herself in her mind, noting to fix this if she got away.. the dark pony began to charge her, its weapons in an expert stance. Rainbow Dash was pretty sure this was how she was going to die, she was an expert in Ariel combat..but on the ground she was just another soldier. But damn it if she was just gonna give up. She dove to the bed as the genderless figure charged, she missed being disemboweled by less then an inch as it sliced at her with the razor-sharp  blade. She grabbed a bedsheets and threw it at the assailant. Blocking its view of her for just long enough for her to backtrack to the fireplace, where a sharp fire-prod was at hoof. The assassin was clearing the room fast and RD couldn't think of any other way to slow her then to throw the sharp implement as hard as she could. In the background the door opens again, the fire-prod stopped in midair. A yellow glow around it. At that point Rainbow Dash realized ...she was fighting a unicorn..
“FUCK” was all she could say before the prod came hurdling towards her face faster then any pony could throw. But as the point connected with her forehead, her seemly last thought being “damn this son of a bitch has good aim” the prod stopped and hovered again a bright purple aura encompassed the length of it, and it began to slowly move backwards..pulling itself from the Cyan skin and skull of RD. releasing quite a fountain of blood, though nothing to life threatening compared to the alternative. 
“in the name of Celestia, I would like to say, good bye” said a loving voice from the room opening. RD's vision was blotted out by the blood and the fact it was still to dark to truly see, but she could make out a purple bolt striking, and piercing the assassin. 
“I forgot my backup-backup-Rainbow Dash's-house quill” said the life saving pony. Who Rainbow Dash quickly stumbled over to and hugged with gusto. 
:”WOW. Twilight cutting it a biiit close there dontcha think?”
“I admit I was a bit tardy, I'm sorry Dashie” said the purple mare. Her horn illuminating her, and Rainbow Dash's faces. Twilight jumped when she saw the profuse bleeding from Rainbow Dash's skull. 
“ that's alright, better late then never,” said the cyan Pegasus before collapsing onto the floor from the intense amount of blood she had lost  

Rainbow Dash awoke in a cozy bed. Her head in tight bandages, she sat up and looked around, quickly getting quite dizzy. 
“well I know this place to well,” she said as she got out of bed, her four hooves seemed..almost awkward underneath her. “how long was I out!?” she yelled to seemingly no-pony. A white mare with a red cross on her flank stepped into view, before replying 
“keep it down! Some ponies are trying to sleep you know!” herself being quite loud. A complaint muffled by distance caused her to look behind her and blush.
“yoooouu arnt flutt...oooh yeah she went off to kill that dragon with Pyro the other day didn't she?” the last part more of a statement to herself to help her remember that her normal doctor wasn't there to help her.
“ yes, she did, just a few hours ago actually, your friend Twilight brought you here a while ago saying something about you kicking her off the bed” the mare blushed at saying that. Rainbow figured she would. Not many ponies really...supported the relationship that her and Twilight had. “Then she said you ended up flailing around so wildly you hurt yourself. Hence the bandages. But I have to go ch-----” 
Dash didn't let the mare finish, “ mi sorry WHAT. No I was attacked by a random pony in my house! I didn't do this” pointing violently at her cranial injury. “ this was done by some....assassin from the Lunar Republic!”  
“ please Miss Dash. Keep your voice down. I just told you what I know. Your friend” again blushing at the idea she formed in her head. “ is waiting, she said you  would know where to find her.” 
“ OK thank you nurse have a pleasant day” as Dash walked out of the cottage she knew as Fluttershy's she thought of where to find her Twilight, before it dawning on her that she would be on the bridge..whenever she was worried she would always go to that bridge and stare at the sky, or the water.
She began to fly, a feeling that she would always love, the wind in her mane causing it to tickle the back of her neck in a way that made her entire body shiver in delight, the burning sensation in her eyes, she loved it, and the feeling of complete ease on a ponies legs. She sped up, her technicolor trail growing longer and more vibrant with each wing beat. Just before she broke what she had deemed, the “rainbow barrier” she eased her flight. And landed gingerly next to a purple unicorn, obviously zoned out and unaware of her surroundings.  Dash put a wing lightly over her, and pulled her close. 
“ care to tell me what happened last night Twi?” She was genuinely worried about what the unicorn had to say. 
“ I... I don't think you want to know Dashie.” responded the worried mare, “but since I know arguing with you is pointless” she huddled closer to the Pegasus. “ you had a spell cast on you by a pony from the Lunar Republic. But this is no ordinary curse...if I break it. Hay. Even if Celsetia herself were to try. It would kill us., and you.” 
“oh...well, that..kinda blows, what does it do” her voice trembling but she remained strong, trying to appear apathetic to the terrible news. 
“well....” again huddling closer her face now almost buried in the green stripe of RD's mane. “ it makes it, so that whenever you preform a Rain-boom,...you will, well.. do what you did last night. And try to kill yourself in your sleep. Luckily I was there for you last night.” 
“but thatch just it, you weren't! Well. Until later at least, you saved my life from an assassin.” 
“ no, Dash I didn't. The curse causes you to have dreams that vivid, so you feel helpless every time.” 
“..oh..well that REALLY blows..” her voice trailing off to almost a Fluttershy level squeak at the end. “ what do we do?” 
“well it gives me an excuse to spend more time at your house,” said the purple mare implicitly. “but other then me being there to hold you down, and try to keep you from hurting yourself to bad., there is nothing. Except maybe kill the caster. But Dash, I'm worried about you, I dont know if I can keep you from hurting yourself..and Luna knoows you wont stop the Sonic Rainboom,”. Her purple eyes drifted skywards as she continued. “HAY you cant until you teach these ponies how to do it themselves.” 
“Twi, don't worry, it will take more then some silly little magic trick.” her gaze shifted onto Twilight to see if she would find that at all amusing, she didn't. “to kill me, I am Rainbow Dash, the best flier in all of Equestria, and the Lunar Republic. Besides, so long as your with me, nothing bad will happen, nothing ever does.” 
Twilight looked worriedly at her friend. Rainbow was actually terrified of this new found ailment, but she wouldn't let it slow her down, she had a job to do and she was gonna do it, even if it meant waking up with a migraine every once in a while. 
“ come on. “ said the Pegasus. “its about time for practice to start, and I kinda have to be there, you know..to teach them.” she jested  her friend into coming with her, to the practice field. 
They walked along the path in silence, Dash felt comforted by the fact that the pony she loved was there next to her, for the first time in quite a while..Rainbow dash felt safe..if just for a while she savored the feeling. She pulled Twilight in next to her with her wing, and turned to face her, to see her lovely face and get even more joy in her heart from seeing Twilight's smile.
But when Twilight turned to face her, a grotesque image replaced her once beautiful face. The eyes now empty sockets, blood running down her purple checks. The teeth in her smiling mouth, were sharp and jagged, no longer the perfect white, but a dull yellow. She began to speak in a raspy, gargling voice 
“gee Dashie, this suure is a long walk, maybe we could make it a little bit more, FUN!.” The purple “unicorns” head twisted until it was upside down, starting at the technicolor mares chin. She lunged at RD.
Dash fell backwards, and hit her head on the path. A searing headache and a moist layer formed on the back of her scalp. She prayed to Celestia that she didn't give herself a concussion.  She stood up..only to see “Twilight” throwing a large brick, at her head using magic. The same feeling of dread filled Rainbow Dash, as that the night before, when she was positive the fire poker was going to split her head in two...
“WAIT” she screamed in her head. “THIS IS JUST ANOTHER NIGHTMARE!, it hast to be.” she hoped beyond hope that when this brick collided, she wouldn't die. She stood still and let the demon take its aim. Without any hesitation the projectile was sent towards its target and hit home. 
Dash woke up, but this time in the hospital. Not in Flutters cottage. Her head still wrapped in the moist cloth from before, now soaked in the back as well.
“what the hay am I doing here.?” wondered the Pegasus. What worried her more was that the hospital had closed when a pony from the psych-ward completely leveled it. Something about the power of Discord...she didn't know, she knew it would probably cause problems later in life, but nothing she couldn't handle. But this.. the scenery..scared her. 
She began to get up, only to find herself strapped down to the table, her wings spread and her arms and legs held together.
“well then. This is troublesome, buut if Daring Do could get out of this sort of thing! So can I!” referring to her favorite book out of the series, Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone. She just had to fling her hat....”DAMN IT. I really need to ask rarity to make me a hat.” she scolded herself in her mind. She then began struggling on the bindings. But, she found it pointless. Again she felt the disspare of knowing certain death. This time knowing it was a nightmare, wouldn't help. Twilight may have been a figment of her horror filled Psyche but she might have been telling the truth, so she..could actually die in these dreams of hers. The terror took over and she had to struggle against herself to keep from crying. The tears on the corners of her eyes had almost won the fight when a figure blocked out what little light made it through the florescent lights.
“are you ready to begin the operation?!” asked the figure. Taking out a hack saw. “those pesky wings of yours have caused Luna nothing but trouble. Lets fix that shall we?!” the manacle voice spread throughout the room as he lowered the saw onto Rainbow Dash's wing. As he pulled the saw back. Dash could hold back the tears no longer. And she began bailing in pain. Even though the saw had barely broken the skin.

“DASH! DASH ARE YOU ALRIGHT!!?”. The voice sounded familiar, but Rainbow didn't want to see where she had ended up this time. It took  her a while to find the courage to open her pink eyes. But when she did, she noticed immediately that her head, was bandage-less. And that it was in fact. The real Twilight Sparkle standing next to HER bed. In HER house. She felt sure about this reality. But..still almost wary of it. “Dashie please?” the worry in her loves voice was to much for Dash to continue to endure. She jumped on the mare from the bed. Bringing them both to the ground in a heap of  pony. 
“oh Twi, mi fine, I just had a terrible nightmare...that I, I think it will last a while. But don't you worry about me! Ill be fine! I'm RAINBOW DASH after all, what could hurt me?” hiding the all to real fear in her mind behind her normal tough outward show. 
“I'm sorry I woke you, but you kicked me out of bed. And I was worried. And I thought you might be in pain with the way you were screaming. Something about the Lunar Republic, but..i couldn't make it out. So I figured I could wake you and ask?” the purple mare stated worriedly, 
“don't be sorry Twi. I couldn't have lasted another second in that horror show anyway.” trying to cheer her friend up at least a little. “and I'm sorry. I don't remember what I was dreaming about , all I know it was a terrible nightmare.” she blatantly lied to her friend. “ Now come on!,  iv got to go teach some halfwits how to sonic rainboom.” she skipped out of her house, with the unicorn quickly following her. As Rainbow skipped through the town..she saw one pony in a shadow. That just ...didn't seem to belong there. But she blew it off and again made her way to the field where she had shown the ponies yesterday.