//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Rainbow Comatose // Story: Six Ways, Book 2: Duty // by the_bioXpony_guy //------------------------------// If it wasn’t Twilight’s panic-stricken voice that surprised Applejack, it was the lack of color on Rainbow Dash—who still remained frozen in her own personal gem. For once, the brave horse defined herself through silence—for in her sleep, she made not a single sound. Dumbstruck, Applejack made her way up by Twilight’s side. Fluttershy followed suit. “What’s going on?” asked Twilight, taking a look down at Spike. “Were we also crystallized like this?” Frozen as she was, the once fierce pegasus found herself encased not in white crystal, but in something entirely foreign. Fluttershy, Twilight, and Applejack stood back in awe at such a sight; even the Rahaga didn’t know what to make of it. Brilliant white crystals—and nothing else—surrounded Twilight and the others; for reasons unknown, a small layer of glowing dark energy shelled over Rainbow Dash’s skin, giving her the likeness of one of Chrystalis’ minions. The Equestrians half-expected her to suddenly wake up and stare back at them with two red eyes. Before Spike could open his mouth to speak, Fluttershy cut in. “It feels—so familiar,” whispered Fluttershy, who pressed her nose against the surface of the quartz. “So familiar—and so bad…but I want to know it better. Like it’s a new animal friend.” With that, Applejack and Twilight exchanged a confused glance. “Uh…” began Twilight. “What feels familiar, exactly?” Neither Applejack nor Twilight could seem to solve the riddle, but Spike immediately understood the meaning behind Fluttershy’s words. He looked close at Rainbow Dash’s prison cell and noticed something most peculiar about the way this dark energy reacted to its surroundings. It acted like a rodent—afraid of its surrounding foes, yet knowledgeable of the task it needed to take. A few steps closer, Spike took a good look at the crystal. It’s moving, he noticed. This weird energy is just going back and forth. The way it pulsed in and out from Rainbow Dash herself—who rested in the core of the crystal—reminded him of a beating heart. With every pulse it made, the stronger it became. As time went on, any remaining white in the crystal was replaced by a dark shade of indigo. Anything could happen at any moment. Spike thought he could feel his own heart jump as he stepped in front of Applejack and Twilight. “Guys, stay back!” he exclaimed. “I don’t know what’s up with that energy around Rainbow Dash—but I know you guys didn’t have it!” Applejack and Twilight asked in unison, “We didn’t?” At that point, the Rahaga began to grow concerned, feeling foolish for not taking the situation more seriously. “I think you should listen to the fire-spitter,” commented Kualus. “I could be wrong, but I’m sure that crystal wasn’t like that before—” “It’s the Makuta!” interrupted Norik. “Stay far away from it! If you touch it, you may become infected.” His words seemed to offend Fluttershy, who pulled back, snapped her head in his direction, and hissed, “Infected?” “Yes,” Norik insisted, not seeming to care that he had just upset the Toa of Ice. “If the Makuta gets anywhere on your body, it could very well paralyze you—then corrupt your mind and infect you into becoming a servant for the Brotherhood of Makuta.” As he said this, the darkness of Makuta escaped the heart of Rainbow Dawn’s crystal. Time went on and dark energy pumped, circulated, infected everything it could. Any visible trace of light left in the tower disappeared before the watchers' eyes. Dead silence followed. Norik sighed before continuing, “It may very well be too late for your friend.” “What?!” cried the four present Equestrians, who looked back and forth from the Rahaga to the infected pegasus. Was it really true? While the ponies felt, hoped, prayed for their friend’s life, Spike felt almost certain that the Rainbow Dash they had once known and loved back in Equestria was no more. The dark energy surrounding her body took away all that she once was, stripped her of any loyalty. In his mind, there was no doubt that the darkness had turned her from the element of Loyalty to the element of Treachery. Yet as much as he wished to weep, he could not bring himself to do so. Even as he took note of the horrified, hopeless look upon the standersby’s faces, he could let no further tears out—as if Twilight had already taken them all. He could only stand back and watch in silence as the Makuta ate away at the pegasus’ body piece by piece. “How could this happen?” whispered Norik to himself. “A team of five—and without a Toa of Fire—? What can they do when one of them is gone, infected by the Makuta? How could this happen?” “Norik,” murmured Gaaki, a hand on her partner’s shoulder. “I—I don’t know what to say other than…Toa come and go. Over the years we’ve lost Toa of Magnetism, Toa of Electricity—many uncountable Toa. But this—I honestly wish I could tell you how I feel, but I just can’t.” The Equestrians honored the fallen warrior with a moment of silence. The sleeping spirit silently thanked all of them—all of them except for Fluttershy—who had resumed peering into and pressing her nose against the crystal. Ever the quiet one, she soon found herself with an unanswerable number of questions. Is Teridax the Makuta who did this? she wondered. Is he really responsible for everything that has happened to us ever since I found him? Even without her stone, she Fluttershy knew how she could still communicate with the dark spirit—but would she now, in such a hopeless state? Yet as Twilight witnessed Fluttershy still obsessing over the stone, a strange, familiar noise tickled the back of her ear. The pony’s ears twitched in response to such a sound; she turned her gaze toward the sky—and found a green-and-pink figure diving down through the air. “Wheeee!” the figure cried. A few seconds later, everyone within the vicinity heard as its cries grew louder and louder. Is that Pinkie? After having not seen the Earth pony in what felt like an hour, Twilight had begun doubting she would ever even come back. Yet here she came, spiraling as she plummeted toward Earth. Under normal circumstances, a sight such as this would have terrified her. She grew paranoid even when Spike skipped steps on the way down the staircase in her library; to imagine Pinkie fall from an almost infinite height was unthinkable for her. However, Pinkie’s altitude was achieved by nothing more than a hop, a skip, and a jump. Whether or not Pinkie intended such a feat was beyond Twilight’s understanding, but the fact that she’d even accomplished something so extraordinary at all convinced her that Pinkie would have no trouble landing back down to the ground on so little as a single hoof. It all seemed so silly; and yet, it seemed all to logical—for a pony like Pinkie Pie, anyway. Down she fell like a nuclear missile about to hit its target. Of course, it was nowhere near the velocity of a sonic rainboom, but the Equestrians could tell that the Rahaga had never seen anything travel quite like this. Green horseshoes hit the tip-top of the miniature crystal tower with a great twang! The mere sound made Fluttershy gasp, nearly tripping backward as she stepped a good number of feet away. Her hooves vibrating with the impact, the pink-and-green pony doubled over in a flip and landed upon solid ground on her rear hooves. “Ta-da!” Of the lot of them, Iruni was the only Rahaga to immediately respond—and of all ways, by clapping. But within seconds, he ceased his applause, leaving a wave of embarrassment to fall over him. Just as well, the bright smile on Pinkie’s face disappeared as she turned her gaze to her left. Only then did she realize the damage she had done. “Uh…” she began, her wide eyes locked on the crystal. “Uh-oh.” A horrible, deformed crack ran from the top of the tower to its ruptured base. Meanwhile, Rarity awoke from her sleep and yawned, “Oh dear—what on Equestria just happened?” The unicorn shook some of the dirt out of her pelt and sneezed. Rubbing her nose, she looked over her shoulder, caught a glimpse of the crystal, and gasped. “Is that—?” The question barely even managed to escape her jaws when a violet light shot out from the crystal’s apparent imperfections. Just one more step backward and Twilight found herself tripping over one of the crystal shards. Oh no! Unsure of what to do, she covered her eyes with shaking hooves. As time went on, she could sense the light growing brighter and brighter. Is it going to blow up? She hoped to Equestria that the apparently impending blast wouldn’t hurt, much less kill her. The vibrating under her back suggested nothing but death to come; she hoped to Celestia that her blue armor would protect her. But instead of a blast, Twilight heard a minute pop from within the tower’s core. Hearing this, she uncovered her face. Was that it? she thought. Twilight picked herself back up, her concerns nearly laid to rest. It wasn’t until taking a look up when she realized the crystal had let loose what looked to be a stream of liquid. At first the dark energy seemed to have died out—but Twilight was quickly proven wrong. In an instant, the energy went from covering just Rainbow Dash to spreading out across the ground, daring to drown the trove of Equestrians now standing before them, helpless and confused as they were. Already on their toes, the Rahaga all prepared to evacuate from the impending darkness. “Quick, everyone!” commanded Norik. “Let’s grab the Toa and get back to the tower!” But before they could even prepare for liftoff, the forgotten implosion woke up after an overdue hibernation. Once more, everybody present upon the beach turned their unprotected gazes from the violent scene before them. In ordinary conditions, Twilight would have been furious to be wrong about the impending blast suddenly leaving her plane of existence—yet here it came, in nearly full-force. Like Spike before her, she found herself surprised to realize that the shards had caused minimal damage to her skin. The aftermath of the blast left no physical scar on the beach, yet it still managed to transform the once-pleasant atmosphere. It took no more than a heartbeat for the warm, inviting air to dip into one of chilly and unwelcoming conditions. The dark energy seemed to bring with it a freezing wind reminiscent of Ko-Metru. Quick waves of pain washed over the Rahaga leader as he felt the unfamiliar air seep in. Any flame of hope within him died out at that moment. Somebody had blown it out—some faceless fiend he knew he could never reach. “No,” said Norik, his voice barely above a whisper. “It’s too late.” Like snakes released from a cramped crate, the darkness of Makuta seeping into whatever it pleased. Like paint, it plastered onto everything it touched, moving forward toward the beings of light: the beings it hoped to infest. To Twilight's surprise, the paint serpents of Makuta slithered not toward her, the one closest to the gem, but toward Fluttershy. The vermin took no moment to hesitate, no moment to wait for Fluttershy to open up and expose her weakest links to them, no moment to kill the pegasus’ rationale before killing the pegasus herself. Yet in the time it took for the serpents to make their way forward, Fluttershy felt as if she could already feel herself being immobilized more and more by the second. The fingers of Makuta touched her foot, piercing like icicles. A shiver spun up her spine as Teridax’s presence caressed her, privileged to relieve her of all the sweet memories she’d had back home. All that time she’d enjoyed with her best friends, all that time she’d spent nurturing helpless creatures—all of it stood on the edge of disappearing, yet she wondered if she could even care less. New memories would come to take over, after all. Those memories of being the third wheel to whoever thought they were better than her. Wishing secretly to go in first place, but letting somebody else take the honor. Staying quiet as others pushed her aside. She could give them up. I’m ready, Teridax, she beckoned. Anything he had to give her way, anything he had to offer, anything to relieve her of this life of hers—she was ready for it. The voice of Teridax sounded in her head. Be part of my power. I can do it. She realized. I can join him and follow his shadow forever. I can hold a position with the Makuta as a loyal, servant to the darkness. What reason had she to refuse? Those memories she’d shared with the Elements of Harmony. Finding consolation under the guide of Magic. Sharing picnics with her animal friends. She could drive a stake through their hearts. No! Inner strength began to pulse from the pegasus’ heart and soul as she finally took a step against Teridax. She stared down at the slithering, hissing shadow-snakes and prepared to defend herself from what was yet to come. Even now in the face of great danger, Fluttershy met the threat with her own inner bravery, ready for any incoming threat. Yet by the time she could even react, Makuta travelled up her hooves, up her legs, and around her torso. The longer time ticked on, the faster they became. She said once again: No! The serpents came inches from running past her upper legs, up to her neck, and there they came to a sudden halt—much to Fluttershy’s surprise. He actually listened to me? she wondered. Confused, disappointed, relieved, she looked down at her hooves and noticed the shadow servants retreating back from where they came. The others who’d nearly come in contact with the snakes found themselves nothing short of relieved. Meanwhile, the shadow of Makuta retreated into the crystal—into the sleeping Rainbow Dash, whom they had almost left behind. “Rainbow Dash!” yelled Twilight. In her moment of panic, the unicorn squeezed her eyes shut and began chanting incantations in her head, but shortly thereafter realized something was missing—something small, but all too important. Upon realizing this, Twilight flicked her eyes wide open. “My horn! Wh-where is my horn?” Come to think of it, Twilight couldn’t recall seeing a horn on Rarity or wings on Fluttershy, either. I’m practically useless without my magic! Yet in her panic, Twilight looked back up toward the violet crystal and blinked, her mouth agape and eyes nearly blinded by the dazzling concoction of energy. However, the situation was not as she had first thought—for the darkness did not attack Rainbow Dash; the darkness fed her. But—is that a good thing or a bad thing? wondered Twilight. Had the darkness managed to corrupt her friend’s mind, or had her friend managed to push past the evil it held at its core? For a brief moment, the former unicorn wondered if the Rahaga knew what was happening or going to happen—yet the six of them appeared just as much at a loss for words as she. Just as well, Rarity looked as if she would faint again, Applejack looked more frightened than Twilight had seen of her in a long time, and Pinkie actually looked rather terrified for the first time that whole week. Before she could even catch a glimpse of Fluttershy or Spike, Twilight witnessed as the last of the darkness receded into Rainbow Dash—not dead, but living and leeching. Having absorbed all the dark energy Makuta had to offer, the pegasus finally revealed herself standing on her rear hooves, her eyes closed as she appeared before all the others. Any strength she had when confronting Roodaka disappeared as her limp body hit the dusty ground. “Rainbow!” cried the Equestrians in unison. The lot of them rushed up to the sleeping creature, realizing the red armor covering the majority of her body, but caring about nothing but the mere sound of her breathing. From behind, Norik noticed this and exclaimed under his breath, “A Toa of Fire!” He could make a step in her direction or a step back, yet he stayed still. And the armor on this one…it’s very dark—much darker than Spike’s armor, in fact. Gaaki wasn’t certain, but when she glimpsed over in Norik’s direction, she thought she could see a light, yet nervous, smile crossing his face. “Rainbow Dash!” said Twilight, her hooves set and shaking her shoulders. “are you—?” She gulped at the thought of speaking the next word. “—dead?” “Nuh-uh!” said Applejack. “Ain’t no way she is, Twilight. Don’t you dare suggest that she is!” “Well," Fluttershy butted in, “Not just any Toa can handle Makuta like that.” The four ponies and Spike exchanged confused glances with one another, as if to ask, Why is she already starting to talk like the people here? But as those thoughts entered their heads, the two ponies felt as though they could see a glint of Makuta in her eyes.