//------------------------------// // Verse 1: Stable of Evil, the Bronc and the Broodmare // Story: Rainbow Dash 'n' Ghosts 'n' Stuff // by Jenohart //------------------------------// An impenetrable fog clouded Rainbow Dash’s vision. The air was dense and smelled of decaying leaf litter. She found herself standing once again on the other side of a broken bridge in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Rainbow… Rainbow… “I ‘aint scared of you! Show yourself!” The azure pegasus reared onto her hind legs, kicking at the fog with her forehooves at some unforeseen threat. We’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flyer in Equestria… Rainbow Dash peered into the fog, not suspecting a response like that. Who would be waiting for Spitfire in the Everfree Forest? Were the Wonderbolts secretly training here? Wait, what if they were talking about Soarin’? Rainbow Dash had often wondered who the best flyer amongst her idols was. Perhaps this voice held the answer. “Who?” Why, you, of course! “Really!?” It took her a moment to realize the voice was complimenting her. “I mean, Oh yeah, me!” It was nice to know she had fans even in this Princess-forsaken cesspit. Perhaps with a large enough fanbase the Wonderbolts would finally take notice of her. “Hey, uh, you wouldn't mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would ya? 'cause I've been trying to get into that group for like, ever.” No, Rainbow Dash. We want you to join us, The Shadowbolts. She heard the sound of hooves in full gallop. Three pegasi emerged from the fog and slid to a stop in front of her. The leader a white mare with a sky blue mane grinning proudly, flanked by two colts with darker coats and navy blue manes who wore stoic expressions on their face. Their full-body suits were reminiscent of the ones The Wonderbolts wore, but were black and purple. Their emblem a winged skull, reminding Dash of her favourite band; Avenged Sevenfoald. As if some unknown force was reading her thoughts, The Shadowbolts struck new poses as the monstrous guitar riffs of Synyster Gaits and Jacky Vengeance roared out from all over the forest, sending skull-headed bats screaming out from the unseen canopy line. The sound swirled in a cacophony of noise before coalescing into the familiar chugging riff of The Shadowbolts’ theme, one of Rainbow’s favourite songs. The song faded enough for her to hear the leader of The Shadowbolts speak. “We're the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon we will be the greatest in all Equestria.” The leader suddenly flew up and hovered next to her ear. “But first, we need a captain…” Dash’s face lit up as the (curiously seductive) voice whispered into her ear. Her eyes glistened as she took in the magnitude of what the voice was saying. A chance to lead her own flying team! Even if she never heard of this team before, with her at the helm she would turn the team into a breakout act, and gain enough popularity to attract more fans, more sponsors and may even lead to a tour with The Wonderbolts themselves! Maybe once she’s proven her skills, won a few awards, she would get the chance she was waiting for her whole life; a chance to join The Wonderbolts. In the back of her head, another voice spoke, the sneering yet equally seductive singing voice of M. Skyros. There's more than meets the eye round here, look to the waters of the deep… Rainbow Dash felt something change in her mind at that moment. A sudden crack in the fog encapsulating her stagnant mind, letting in a rush of air. The aromatic smell of freshly baked goods filling her senses as she entered a certain bakery. A wave of clarity dawned on her, along with a powerful feeling of familiarity, as if she’d already experienced this moment. For the first time in her memories, certain things occurred to her about the situation she was reliving. “The most magnificent-“ “Wait a second!” The Shadowbolt leader was surprised at the interruption, and flew back between the other two members. “NOPONY lives in the Everfree forest! How can you be the best aerial team in a place without any other ponies? If you’re as good as you say you are, how come I haven’t heard about you in Aerial Aces Weekly? They always run stories on even new talent from everywhere, even in Gryphomanum. From the customized skysuits I’d say you already have funding, yet how can you not have a captain? Why were you waiting for me here of all places? And most importantly, why is your offer of team captain only valid if I abandon my friends? It’ll take all of five seconds to fix this bridge and if you’ve made it so far without a captain, I don’t understand why you guys can’t just wait a minute for me to finish my business. If you knew I’d be here, you should know what I’m doing and why it’s more important than anything. Why were you waiting for me anyway? Isn’t it protocol to first forward an official letter through the Olympus Aerial Guild? You are registered there right?” The Shadowbolts were left dumbstruck by the sudden onslaught of questions. Rainbow Dash looked at the now slack-jawed pegasi with suspicion. The leader opened and closed her mouth, desperately trying to formulate some response, until she suddenly turned to her compatriots with a look of anger. “PLAN B! PLAN B!” The three pegasi suddenly collapsed into a pile of cosmic smoke. It began to churn in on itself, growing darker and larger with each violent movement. The remaining pegasus stepped back as the swirling vortex grew higher than the forest canopy, belting forth black winds that dissipated the fog and threatened to send her into the ravine. The background music reached a chaotic crescendo and howled above the sounds of the reshaping darkness. In an instant the winds stopped and the black mass erupted in a primal scream, the form of an almighty black dragon unfurled from the darkness, sickly green flame oozing out from its giant maw. It spoke in a voice as deep and fierce as a manticore’s roar. "Your friends can’t protect you from me forever. In your heart, there is darkness just waiting to be awakened." Fear ran through azure mare’s body. This dragon of darkness was far more threatening than the red dragon she and her friends banished, the gaze of its flaming eyes was like staring into Hades itself. “I… I don’t know if I can do this on my own…” "You won't ever be alone sugarcube…” Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder at the origin of the new voice. Behind her stood Applejack, clothed in a green vest and baggy yellow leggings, her Stetson accompanied by red goggles. A round blue shield was strapped to her right hoof. “It's always been the three of us and we stick together, ah-yup..." The earth pony smiled and motioned to her left. Next to her, trying in vain to hide behind a crystal rod was Fluttershy, wearing a blue jacket and matching beret. “Oh… um… quack?” She smiled at her friends and turned back to face the black dragon. The thought of her friends behind her was enough for her to face down the looming darkness. "That's not true! The heart may be weak, and sometimes it may even give in. But I've learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out!" She pointed a giant key at the beast which was joined by the rod and shield of her friends, now standing by her side. “My friends are my power!” The dragon howled in laughter at the ponies’ pathetic display. "You poor, simple fools! You think you can defeat me?! ME, the mistress of all evil?!" The dragon landed on all fours and barrelled towards the three ponies. Bracing themselves, they galloped to meet the beast. As they drew close, Rainbow Dash took to the air, giant key clenched in teeth, and aimed to strike down on the head of the beast. It raised its head to meet her and prepared to launch a torrent of green flame. “WAIT!” A shrill voice took the attention of all those involved in the battle and even the dragon stared in confusion as a pink shape came bouncing out from the trees. The pink mass came to a halt in front of Rainbow Dash, who had lowered herself back to the ground. She met the newcomer’s face to see huge puppy-dog eyes. “How come they’re your best friends Dashie? What about me? What about all the fun things we did together? All those special moments we had? How come I don’t get to be a part of this?” Pinkie Pie was on the verge of tears at being completely left out of her best friend’s dream. Rainbow Dash grasped for a response, but was halted by the sudden realization that she had no idea what was going on. Fortunately, Applejack was the first to respond to this new awkward situation. “Consarn’ it Pinkie! Y’are too part o’ this!” Applejack pointed a hoof behind the dragon at the decrepit tower where the Elements of Harmony were held. From one of the top windows of the tower a pink pony reached out, dressed in some sort of school uniform, holding a short improvised banner that read: ‘SAVE ME RAINBOW DA’. At the sight, Pinkie Pie’s sad expression was swept away by one of pure joy. She leaned in close to the confused pegasus (who shared a confused look with the dragon she was supposed to be slaying) with a teasing expression. “I’m the love interest!? OooooOOOOooooohh Dashie, I didn’t know you thought of me that way…” Before she could reply, she found her lips tasting Pinkie Pie’s strawberry flavoured tongue. In her panicked struggle to free herself from Pinkie’s lustful embrace she fell off her haunches and now found herself smothered under kisses and inappropriate touches from the hyperactive party pony. “Oh Dashie! Our love makes the whole earth move!” “Um… I don’t think that’s coming from you two…” She managed to push Pinkie off her and looked to Fluttershy, who herself had stopped hiding her eyes in embarrassment and was now staring fearfully in the direction Pinkie originally appeared from. Rainbow Dash followed Fluttershy’s eyes through the trees of the forest and noticed a blinding white light in the distance, growing larger with each second. She realized that the ground beneath her was beginning to shake violently, and the white light was the source of it. “Um… Pinkie?” Fluttershy slowly turned to the pink pony. “How… how did you get in here?” “Like I usually do,” Pinkie said with a joyful hop. “I just found Dashie’s dream and let myself in!” A howling wind began to whip up around them, forming a great vortex that pulled everything in the vicinity. The entire forest seemed to disintegrate before Rainbow Dash’s eyes. Trees began uprooting, the soil they stood on unravelling, even the dragon appeared to be dissolving into a wave of speckled blue smoke that was drawn out in a long spiral towards the light. With a roar the dragon collapsed into a plume of cosmic dust and was swept away in an instant. The swirling matter concentrating at the hole in her dream gave the appearance of a galaxy drifting off into space, like the ones Twilight pointed out when the group went out stargazing. Behind her the sound of cracking stone signified the forgotten tower crumbling away, sending the other Pinkie into the light. “Darn’ it Pinkie, what did I tell you ‘bout closin’ the door behind ya!?” Applejack yelled over the deafening roar of wind, digging her shield into the ground in an effort to resist the pull of the swirling vortex. Rainbow Dash could just make out a high-pitched squeal of terror as she saw Fluttershy tumble through the air behind Applejack. “Ah’ told ya, ya damn filly! Ah’ told ya about makin’ dream holes!” “It keeps happening!” Pinkie yelled back. She still had her hooves wrapped around her new love, while Rainbow Dash struggled to remain on the ground. Her forehooves wrapped around a large rock that fortunately was embedded far enough into the ground to not give way. The strong winds lifted the two off the ground and Dash had to struggle to maintain her grip. “What the hay is going on!?” She tried to yell above the noise over her shoulder. As she readjusted her grip she saw Pinkie Pie’s face; a mask of pure joy, as if their whole predicament was just some sort of game. But then, perhaps it was? What other reason was there for what was happening? That one second they hung in the air seemed to slow to an eternity for Dash as she looked towards her joyful pink friend. Who couldn’t help but envy that unshakable carefree attitude? It was one that seemed as if it could lighten any situation, brighten the darkest nights and lift one’s spirits to the stars above. It was something that reminded Dash a lot about herself. “Don’t worry Dashie, this is my favourite part of dream hopping! It may seem scary but it’s really fun, just take my hoof and let it come!” There was something about the way Pinkie responded that laid all of Dash’s fears to rest. Her hooves slipped off the rock as she was pulled into the swirling vortex. Suddenly, things didn’t seem so scary anymore. She didn’t care about the chaos that tore up the world around them, only the laughing friend at her side. What was there to worry about? She had always lived her life one day at a time, with her goal hanging high in Celestia’s sun. She wasn’t worried about what tomorrow held, she’d just let it come… let it come… let it… --- Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to a blinding view of white, causing her to shut them again almost immediately. She blinked a few times until her eyes adjusted. Before her was an infinite expanse of white. A few feet away from her sat her pink friend, still dizzy from the sudden transition. “That was the BESTEST DREAM ENDING EVER! It’s like a super fun roller coaster that’s gone off its tracks! Just like that one time at the Ponyville Fair! I don’t care what dream-Applejack says, I’m gonna do that in EVERY dream!” “That’s great ‘n’ all Pinkie, but I’d prefer you not do that in my dreams” Dash said, trotting up to sit next to her still-hyperactive friend. “What exactly DID you do anyway?” “I just came and visited you Dashie! It's been SO long since I've been out of my body with you. I always wondered what you’re dreams are like. I didn’t think you’d dream about black-snooty ‘cuz she’s all mean ‘n’ stuff, but you looked like you were having lots of fun fighting her! Oooh, I hope she comes back when we go back on air so we can all go fight her again and have lots of FUN doing it!” She threw up her hooves to accentuate the “fun” in her rant. Rainbow Dash was on the cusp of pushing for further clarity of their situation, until she considered just who she was dealing with and decided not to press the issue, resorting to her standard response to the pink pony’s antics. “Pinkie Pie, you are SO random.” An indeterminable amount of time passed by with Pinkie Pie humming a song she was thinking up on the spot while Dash simply laid down on the indescribable white floor, as if trying to go back into her dream. Growing bored of having nothing to do anymore she sat up and turned to Pinkie. “So, what do we do now? And no, we are not going to make out again.” She added, seeing Pinkie Pie give her a suggestive look. The pink pony rested her head in her hooves for a moment, before reaching into her puffy pink mane and pulling out a baking tray and a hacksaw. “Wanna make cupcakes?”