//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: Turn It All Around // Story: Abstracted Spectrum // by Abstract Spectrum //------------------------------// Fluttershy cringed, then suddenly sprang up from where she sat, chasing after Applejack. "Applejack! Please wait!" Applejack stopped without turning around. "Look, she's sorry okay! We need to stick together, we can't keep falling apart like this!" "I wanna hear it from her!" Applejack demanded, still not looking back at her shy companion. Rarity slowly approached the two ponies, not caring about her mane getting messed up in the dusty wind. Pinkie followed. "I am sincerely sorry, Applejack. It was very impolite of me to act the way I did." "Ah forgive ya, Rarity." "Listen Applejack, please, we all need to stay together if we want to get Rainbow Dash and Twilight back! I don't mean to underestimate your power, but I don't think you can do it alone..." Applejack sighed, and brushed her hoof lightly on the dirt ground. "Ah'm sorry too, Rarity. Ah was just... so angry 'bout losin' our friends so quick that I... I couldn't control myself." There was a short pause with the sound of wind before Applejack spoke up again. "Fluttershy's right... ah would've never been able to do it without you gals..." "We need to get back to the tardis if we wanna catch up with them, they looked like they were heading toward Fillydelphia, so let's head that way!" suggested Pinkie. All 4 ponies rushed back to the Tardis to reach their friends before they got too far to chase. MEANWHILE, IN FILLYDELPHIA... The Tardis faded into the visible world, as each of the 4 ponies stepped out and looked around anxiously for their friends. "Do y'all see anythin'?" "Nothing! It looks just like Las Pegasus!" "Uh... g-girls... t-turn around..." Fluttershy squeaked. Behind them was a giant tower that stood over their whole world. It looked to be the Shadowbolt's new headquarters, where they'd plan to take over Equestria for themselves. I large circular hatch opened in front of the 4 remaining ponies, blowing out air while scattering dust and dirt everywhere. When the hatch opened, their friend Rainbow Dash was revealed. She appeared to be in an isolation state, the Shadowbolts are already abusing her energy to bring back their creator. "Rainbow Dash!" The 4 ponies shouted. They were then approached by a dark-costumed mare attached to the tower by wires of dark, purple vines, who laughed in their frozen, shocked faces. "Yes, I've possessed your dear friend, Rainbow Dash. And now she is MINE TO CONTROL! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" "WHERE'S TWILIGHT?" the puffy-haired pink pony demanded. With one gesture of a hoof, Twilight came down on a rope of smoke in her own little bubble. "OH NO!" Fluttershy yelled. "Yes, and there are 4 more for the rest of you as well!" Shiva announced, summoning the 4 other bubbles. "QUICK! SCATTER!" Rarity shouted, running off in 1 direction as the rest did the same. "Running won't help you!" Shiva yelled, as she chased Applejack with a bubble. While Applejack kept her busy, the rest of the friends were chipping away at Twilight's control bubble, trying to break it. However, Shiva felt this, and took the bubble away from them, foolishly smashing it on the ground as an attempt to crush the 3 ponies who picked at it. "NO! Get away from there!" Shiva demanded. "Twilight! Twilight, wake up! We need your help!" the yellow pegasus yelled at her unconscious purple friend, attempting to shake her awake. Shiva laughed evilly as she sent several of her minions to dispose of the intruders. Dodging their every attack, a minion managed to fly by an hit Twilight hard enough that it woke her up. "Huh... what's... WHAT THE HELL?" Twilight shouted, zapping a minion that flew in front of her, nearly hitting her again. "You guys, what's going on here?" "No time to explain, Twilight! Help us defend!" Applejack shouted over the heat of war. With a zap here and there, the minions were quickly disposed of. "Quick Twilight! Try and break Rainbow Dash out before it's too late!" Twilight rushed over to Rainbow Dash's cell. With a spark of her horn, a powerful beam of energy shot at the bubble, but was barley doing anything. Shiva cackled menacingly at Twilight's feeble attempt at breaking Rainbow Dash out of her cell, and slapped her away. Twilight, however, was relentless. She stood right back up, charged her horn and blasted it at the bubble once more. This time, Twilight demanded that her friends try to protect her. With Shiva occupied, Twilight increased the power of her magic to it's maximum, unfortunately, it wasn't doing a single thing to the impenetrable shield. Before long, it was too late. Rainbow Dash's eyes shot open, they glowed red with vengeance as she began to rise in the air. "HA! YOU'RE TOO LATE, FOOLS! Your magic completely charged the energy we needed to do THIS!" Shiva shouted religiously. There was an incredible bright glow, the 4 friends with 1 reunited shielded their eyes from it. When the light faded, the mare that stood before them was very familiar. Nightmare Moon. But there was something different about her. She didn't have blue eyes like before, but instead she had Rainbow Dash's ruby eyes, along with the same cutie mark, but colored to match the new Nightmare Moon scheme. "YES!" Shiva exclaimed. "She's finally complete! There's nothing you can do to stop her now!" the dark costumed pegasus exclaimed again as Rainnightmare Moon rose higher in the sky. As she rose, Twilight felt something. From the looks on her friend's faces, they could feel it, too. The same feeling that they had the first time standing below this wicked mare of darkness. The spark. Twilight looked up, and right before Rainnightmare Moon began her attack and reign over Equestria, she heard Twilight call her name below. "Rainbow Dash! Wait!" Rainnightmare Moon lowered herself closer to the ground to listen easier. "Rainbow Dash... please... I know you're in there, I know you can get out of this! You're being controlled, you can't let that happen! You have to fight it!" Twilight yelled. "B-b-b-but T-t-t-t-twilight. I-i-i-i-i- K-k-k-k-k-k-killed S-s-s-s-s-s-soarin'." A demented voice inside the mare spoke. It was deep, but also light. It sounded like Rainbow Dash over a broken radio. RNMM shook her head out of the transit, preventing Rainbow Dash from breaking through her spell. "Rainbow, it's okay! We're your friends, we're here for you, sugarcube!" replied Applejack. "B-b-b-b-b-b-but w-w-w-w-w-w-what a-a-a-a-a-about m-m-m-m-m-m-my p-p-p-p-p-p-parents? T-t-t-t-t-they a-a-a-a-a-a-are d-d-d-d-d-d-d-dead!" The inner Rainbow Dash stuttered. "We'll help you through it, darling! No matter what it takes!" Rarity added. "I-i-i-i-i'm a m-m-m-m-m-m-monster..." "Look, Dashie, we all make mistakes! What you did was an accident, and your parents deaths were inevitable! No matter what happens, we'll always be your friends!" Pinkie said. "B-b-b-b-b-but y-y-y-y-you a-a-a-a-a-all d-d-d-d-d-don't..." "WE'RE SORRY, RAINBOW DASH! WE LOVE YOU!" the 5 friends shouted in sync. "W-w-w-w-w-wow... t-t-t-t-t-thank y-y-you guys..." Rainbow Dash said, as a tear fell down her cheek. "I love you guys too..." "ENOUGH OF THIS FOOLISHNESS! Nightmare Moon, BEGIN YOUR ATTACK!" Shiva demanded, stomping her hoof on the ground. "I don't think so, Shiva." Rainbow Dash said. A large ball of energy built up around her chest, and ran through the wires that connected her to the Shadowbolt's tower. Before too long, the tower was completely glowing white, and with one quick, and incredibly bright flash that could be seen all around Equestria, the tower was destroyed, along with Rainbow Dash's Nightmare Moon form. Shiva was obliterated in the process, Dash thought she heard her screaming when she began to overtake the tower. Rainbow Dash stood suspended in mid-air, until she began to fall. She was slightly unconscious, heading straight towards the hard, concrete ground below. Before she nearly managed to crack her skull open, her friends stepped underneath her to break her fall. "Thanks, you guys. You're... you're the best friends I've ever had." Rainbow Dash said faintly, rolling off her bed of soft friends onto the ground next to them. The world around them felt peaceful, different. It wasn't the forgotten wasteland it was when they'd gotten there. It looked as though the bright flash that happened when Rainbow Dash broke the spell made everything normal again. Rainbow Dash loved it. She could smell the clean air, feel the tranquility, and taste the peace. She slowly began to close her eyes, as she fainted. Her friends, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity, all carried her to the hospital, as they looked over what was now a clean Equestria once more. It eased Twilight's mind that the Shadowbolts had been defeated, never to be seen again.