This time when I woke up Fluttershy had her arms wrapped around my waist, squeezing my organs into paper and breaking my spine. Eh who needs those anyway, right?
I pulled her off gently and felt my intestines return to their normal size. In my hand I felt the pendant and looked at it for a bit. Psycoshy is in here and Pinkie’s negative emotions. I wonder what it’s like in there. Is it like a jail with prison cells that hold every emotion behind bars, or is it an empty wasteland with nothing but the emotions it absorbs? I kind of wish it’s the first one, which would mean Psycoshy can’t harm negative Pinkie.
I got up and fell to the ground. Fluttershy’s death hug cut of some circulation to my legs. Everyone helped me back up and in two minutes I was able to walk some what normally.
“Alright now we just have to wake up Rainbow Dash and we… Go after Adagio I guess.”
“You guess?” Applejack questioned.
“I’m not going to lie A.J. I didn’t expect Adagio to have this under her sleeve and I’m not entirely sure how to stop her.”
“Why not use her own weapon against her?” Twilight suggested. “Think about it, she put us under these sleeping spells so maybe we can do the same then we can dive into her mind and stop her from there.”
“But how? She has a pendant too, she can probably wake herself up.”
“What if…” Twilight was cut off by the long missing burst of static, this time coming from all our ear tags.
“That’s it! I don’t know how you are all doing this but I won’t let you go any further!” Down the hall the sound of many foot steps began to echo. “Good luck escaping…” The sound of a loud thud came from the speakers.
“Sorry Adagio.” Aria’s voice boomed from the speaker. “Better wake up your last friend she just sent like twenty guards your way.”
Immediately A.J. threw the last door open. We all crammed ourselves in and closed the door. On the bed lay Rainbow Dash, she didn’t have any restraints on her but tears were flooding out of her eyes and small whimpers escaped her mouth. I felt myself starting to cry. I should have come here first damn it!
Without hesitation I placed my hand on Rainbow’s forehead and fell into the void. I’m coming Rainbow, I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner.
* * *
Before my eyes opened I felt a chill run across my body, but I remember this kind of chill all too well. It was the chill you get from being directly under the schools AC vents. I opened my eyes and found myself in that one really messed up dead end hallway of the school, standing both in the shadow of the dimly flickering light and under and AC vent.
Hu, I actually don’t remember if principal Celestia ever got that hallway fixed. I walked out of the hallway and I looked in the first classroom, if memory serves right this should be a biology class. When I looked in it was empty of students. I did expect that, the only ones that should be here are Rainbow, the emotion spell, and myself.
I kept on walking, after three minutes or so the eerie emptiness started to creep me out. I eventually made my way to the front entrance of the school, memories of when I destroyed it and then rebuilt it came back on sight. Took less time to rebuild it than you would think, it was only… like four months? Yeah, four.
I walked outside and the town was empty as well, except for one thing very out of place, the staff R.V. It was parked next to the portal and had a big ‘Keep Out’ sign on it. What could be in there? Upon opening the door just a crack and was met with a literal symphony of moans that made be blush hotter than this worlds and Celestia’s sun combined. What the…?! I shut the door and tried to process that. “Are those… did they… EACH TIME?!”
Sonic’s and Rainbow’s choice of hiding place for sex aside where to look next? Think Damnit think, where… no wait actually what is torturing Rainbow? All of the others were practically announcing themselves but what’s going on here, its way too quiet. Think Sunset think other than… the R.V. where else could Rainbow or this thing torturing her be?!
I ended up sitting next to the portal, scratching my head at this one. Rainbow is literally crying out there but in here there’s nothing but the R.V. where else can I look? Think Damnit thi… what the hell? In the distance I saw a small green dot moving at a pace that would make a crippled ant look like an athlete. Tank?
I ran over to it and yes it was Tank in all his Shelly glory.
“I can kind of understand you being here but why exactly are you here?” Tank gave a slow turn of his head back to the school, then back to me. “What back there? No ones in there?” He gave a slow nod saying no, or maybe wrong? “Alright then. Here let me carry you, it will make this faster.” I picked up Rainbow’s beloved pet and walked back in.
As soon as we entered Tank pointed his head forward and I moved that way. Still this has got me a bit weirded out with Tank’s sudden appearance but it is kind of like Angle in Fluttershy’s mind, only this is Rainbow’s mind and I like tank cause he’s not a doosh.
The trend of go strain, turn right, turn left kept on till we were at the sports field. The grass was all weeded and overgrown, one of the few things that tic’s Rainbow off more than anything. Then I spotted the reason why Tank brought me here, on line five of the track, laying on the ground was Rainbow.
“Shit! Thanks Ta…” I looked back at my arms and Tank was gone as if he was never there. “… Rainbow!” Guess it was like back in Fluttershy’s mind. I ran down to the track and the closer I got the more I could hear a slightly muffled crying. “Rainbow?”
All I could hear come from her, other than muffled crying was “Why” .
“Rainbow?”
“Why… WHY!”
“Rainbow what’s…”
“WHYWHYWHYWHYWHY!”
“Rainbow!” I pulled her off the ground and was met with a pair bloodshot eyes. “Rainbow what is going on?!”
“Su…Su… Sunset!” Rainbow grabbed me into, yet another rib crushing hug. Seriously, I’m gonna need my mental rib cage fixed after this! “Sh… she’s gg… gone.”
“Wha? Who’s gone?”
“S….Sssss… Sonic.”
Rainbow’s worst fear is Sonic leaving her. I wrapped my arms around Rainbow and gave her my most sincere hug back. “It’s okay Rainbow, its just a nightmare.”
My head jumped up when the sound of a snort him my ear drums. Across from where Rainbow and I were standing was, Sonic? No, not Sonic this girl has red hair Sonic’s is white. She lifted her hand up and Rainbow vanished into thin air.
“Rainbow! Where is she?!”
“Well then I wouldn’t be doing my job any good if I told you now would I?”
“Who and what are you?”
“Isn’t it obvious I’m Soni… *psst*, I’m sorry I just can’t. Names Depression.”
“Depression, like in…”
“Yes that thing that does all those bad things to a person. I unlike other emotions am strong, the last body I was in they dosed that guy with more meds than I even care to count to keep me under control.”
“So what are you the queen of negative emotions?”
“Oh I like that, I might just use that. Well if I had more time.”
“More time?”
“I’m sure you saw her physical state out in the physical world right, she’s breaking down. When that woman poured all of her negativity and magic into me I discovered so many new possibilities. Normally when I try and kill someone I have to do it slowly and warp their mind so they kill themselves but now.”
“You’re not going to lay a finger on Rainbow, got it!”
“I don’t have to dear, her body is going to do it for me. I’ve pumped all of Rainbow’s negative emotions with this magic and they’ve been put into overtime, all that negativity is causing her body to pump adrenaline into her veins, into her heart and then soon that thumping in her chest will turn into a pop.”
“You sick little!”
“Insults get you nowhere dear.”
“Doesn’t matter, Rainbow’s an athlete and from the amount of missing time she and Sonic make her heart is used to being overworked!”
“Normally I would agree. Her memories have proven that much but with all this negativity in her mind and my just being here and alterations of her memories she’ll give up on her own.”
“NO!” Depression looked unimpressed. “Rainbow is not a quitter, she won’t give up! There’s only one person Rainbow’s never beat, but she never lost to her either and those two have a happy future together and I’m not going to let you ruin it!”
It felt like my body was on fire when I finished. Wait a minute I am on fire… I’M ON FIRE?! I started to pat myself but I noticed the fire didn’t hurt, wasn’t even lukewarm.
“Tha… That’s impossible.” Depression stuttered. “This isn’t your mind you can’t have power here.”
Now I was smiling. “Normally yes but you forget, you’ve seen Rainbow’s memories you know she has magic in her as well. Well guess what so do I!”
I Ran with all the speed and might I had and gave Depression one hard punch right across her cheek. She fall to the ground with a burn mark of my knuckles on her cheek, it sparked then caught fire; engulfing her body in seconds.
“Nooo! This can’t be happening!”
“It is that’s life!”
“You can’t! Please I don’t want to die!” Depression started to pat and roll around to try put out the fire. It didn’t do anything.
“Then you should have thought about that before you tried to kill my friend!”
“But you’re not a murderer! I’ve seen her memories!”
“You’re not a person, it doesn’t count.” Depression gave one last scream of pain before she became nothing but a smoking pile of ash. I calmed down and the fire around my body went away. I felt a poke at my foot and Tank was there. “Where did you go?”
He pointed his head over to the other side of the track. Rainbow was sitting there in a fetal position. “Thanks ta…” When I looked back down he was gone again. I didn’t think about it, I just walked over to Rainbow.
I barely touched her shoulder and she looked at me. “S… Sunset?”
“Hey.” I kneeled down to meet her at eye level. “Bad dream?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to wake you up.” I took a breath and sang.
In this world so old we have a common goal.
We wish to find someone to whom we can hold.
And on that fateful day you found the one that can hold you too.
Never again have you two felt alone since that day.
Every time you had the chance you’ve spent it together.
Always wishing that you two could hold each other forever.
When the day is set and done the both of you have won,
The hearts of your true love.
And that’s all that matters for you to make this old world new.
Rainbow gave me another hug, a much gentler one than before. Everything turned white.
* * *
When light came back to my eyes I was with Rainbow in the room but the others were gone.
“Girls?”
I got up and started walking towards the door.
“Sunset.” I turned and saw Rainbow with bloodshot eyes, dried tears on her cheeks, and dry drool on her chin. “Don’t let anyone know I was crying in there alright?”
“Don’t worry you were already crying in your sleep when we got here.”
“Damnit.”