//------------------------------// // Animal // Story: Meltdown // by Fabulosity Personified //------------------------------// Darkness. Overwhelming, crushing, suffocating darkness. Rainbow, used as she was to open skies, had to choke back a cry of panic. The sound echoed in the blackness and alerted Rarity and Applejack to the new presence. Rainbow heard a scuffling sound to her left, as though two ponies were moving away from each other in alarm. At least, she assumed they were ponies; who knew what Twilight-not-Sparkle had in store for her? Nervously, she cleared her throat. “Who… who’s there?” “Rainbow, is that you?” A cautious voice piped up near to Dash, only a few feet away, its Southern twang unmistakable, even in the short sentence. “Of course it’s me. Who else would it be?” “Well, gee, I didn’t realise that ya made a habit of visiting magical prisons in ya spare time, funnily enough.” “I thought the aura of awesome that I have would have made it obvious.” Applejack facehoofed. Even in the most dire of situations you could trust Rainbow to keep her bravado, particularly in front of the orange Earth Pony. “Enough small talk Rainbow; how in the name of Equestria did ya end up here?” “Twilight. Duh.” “But…” Applejack tailed off and thought, before continuing, “Why you? What had you done?” Rainbow was quiet and Applejack got the distinct impression she was deciding quite how honest she was going to be. “Twilight… she’s mad at all of us I think. Something about us not being there for her when she needed us.” “I think ‘mad’ might just be the understatement of the century. She’s banished three of her friends into a magical dungeon, in the pitch black, with no hope of escape, for Pete’s sake.” “Three? Someone else is here?” “Oh, yeah, me and Rarity have been here for a while,” Applejack said, nudging the Unicorn who was now leaning on her shoulder. Rainbow was bemused that she hadn’t heard a single word from the fashionista since her arrival. “Wait she’s here? You’re together?” There was a frightened and most unladylike squeak from a few inches past Applejack and a panicky, yet refined voice filled the prison. “Not together, oh no, not together. What gave you that idea Rainbow? Honestly, going around accusing ponies of things like that, you should be ashamed.” “Uh, Rarity, I think she meant together in here.” There was a pause. “Oh.” Rainbow leant back against the wall and sighed. “Well, whatever I meant, I think we’re going to be ‘together’ in here for a while.” *** Pinkie and Spike had arrived back at Sugarcube Corner and had moved into the rooms above the shop. Pinkie’s bedroom was certainly very… pink, Spike thought. She’d practically ordered him to take her bed for the night, while she slept on the couch in the room next to the kitchen. How he was meant to sleep with his stomach rumbling like it was, was anyone’s guess, given how the whole building smelled delicious. Spike had no idea how Pinkie wasn’t much chubbier than she already was. Pinkie, predictably, giggled as his stomach growled again, and grinned. “All you have to do is ask, Spike.” Spike ran a claw over his scaly stomach and then curled his fist defiantly. “No! Twilight and Rarity are missing, I can’t sit around eating! Oh,” he suddenly looked guilty, “And Applejack. Can’t forget her.” “Especially after the time you almost kissed her,” Pinkie winked. Spike looked mortified. “Rarity had just been kidnapped by those dogs! I was thinking about her, I promise.” “Yeah, Spike, just a tip, but ‘I was thinking about you the whole time’ doesn’t really fly.” Spike opened his mouth to protest again, but Pinkie ploughed on. As usual. “And anyway, there’s no point us worrying. They could have gone for a walk for all we know. Besides, it’s late, and baby dragons need their sleep. And cake,” she added, pulling a gem-covered cupcake from nowhere and handing it to him. “Now, go to sleep and we’ll worry about them in the morning, ok?” Spike shoved the cake into his mouth and swallowed it with barely a chew, before climbing under the covers of the bed and curling up. It wasn’t any use arguing with her. Pinkie smiled at the dragon and turned, moving to the door and turning out the lights as she left. If anypony could have seen her face then, they would have seen the mask of worry that covered it. She knew perfectly well that Twilight, from what Spike had told her, had been terribly upset. Otherwise Rarity and Applejack wouldn’t have dropped everything to go and see her. In the best case scenario they had cheered her up. In the worst case, Twilight would still be sad, which was enough to worry the pink pony. Most of all though, neither scenario explained why there was no trace of three of her friends. She could scarcely believe Spike had bought for a minute that they might have gone for a walk in the dead of night, without telling anypony or thinking about him. Pinkie would have cried, but she knew there was little point. Sure, there was no real reason for their disappearance, but it might not be for any reason as horrible as what she was imagining. Besides, crying would change nothing, and she had to stay strong for Spike. Pinkie settled onto the couch and tried to clear her mind. In the morning she and Spike would look around, ask some questions and try and find out what the buck was going on. At least Spike seemed to have been put at ease by her prattle. Upstairs, Spike tossed and turned, unable to sleep. *** Twilight felt incredible. It was like the day she had got her cutie mark, or when she had harnessed the Elements of Harmony; magic and power were coursing through her. Only this time it was untapped, uncontrolled, free to roam and permeate every cell in her body. Unlike those other times, there was no brake, no restraint, in the form of ‘friendship’ or ‘love’ or anything so ridiculous. Her body was magic, her very essence like electricity, tempered into form by hatred and shadow. Somewhere deep inside her, a small voice yelled at her to stop, but it was too faint and too far away to bother taking notice of. Why should she stop? She was the most powerful being in Ponyville and probably in Equestria; Celestia wasn’t looking as untouchable as she had before Chrysalis’ attack. Besides, she felt so alive. She laughed, the chilling sound verging on a cackle; not to mention that she was having fun. Rainbow Dash had been amusing. The look of hurt and pain on her face was joy for the shadow. Far inside her, the part of her soul still intact and untouched flinched at the memory, but its cries were swept away by the tide of anger that now swirled through Twilight. They’d all deserved what they’d got. Her ‘friends’ had practically abandoned her, leaving her to deal with the stupid requests, the too-tight jar lids, the burst pipes, the cats in trees, whatever it was that the local ponies needed fixing that day. Killing them would have been too easy. They needed to suffer, like she had, with nothing behind or ahead but darkness. The cat… it had been sick a while back… Twilight smiled. What was to come would be even more fun. She was still standing in Rainbow’s house, the adrenaline of the confrontation making her pant, but now she turned and with a burst of light from her horn, vanished. *** A solitary fox stalked through the Everfree Forest, the scent of its prey driving it forward. Suddenly, a flash of light lit the clearing, and with a bloodcurdling scream the fox leapt into the air. Frightened out of its wits, the creature ran from the shadow that stood among the trees, malice diffusing into the air around it. Striding towards its target, with as much focus as the fox after its meal, Twilight stepped out of the trees and gazed at the cottage in front of her. So picturesque, even in the dark, with only the moon and the stars shining on it. A solitary light shone in the window of the second floor bedroom, and it spilled into the back garden, gathering in a golden pool. The shadow avoided it. With a smile, in which pain and suffering were writ large, Twilight pointed her horn at the door and sent forth a small proportion of her power, blowing the door off its hinges. She moved forward, pleased by the panicked cries of the wounded animals, which streamed out of the cottage, swimming against the tide of black that swept through the ruined entrance. Twilight advanced up the stairs and moved towards the door, which was ajar, a crack of light showing its location. Slowly pushing it open, Twilight confronted her next victim. Fluttershy lay, eyes wild with panic, paralyzed by fear, a romance novel lying face down on the floor beside the bed where it had fallen. Finally in the light, the ruin of the once brilliant Unicorn was visible. Fluttershy took in the darker purple of her coat, the swirling magical energy that revolved around her body and the manic, unhinged look in her eyes and squeaked. “Twi...Twi…Twilight?” “Pleased to see me?” Twilight grinned and moved towards the helpless Pegasus. “I was in the neighbourhood. Just thought I’d drop by to see my good friend.” “Oh, erm… nice to see-” “Shut up Fluttershy and let me finish. It’s rude to interrupt a villain’s monologue. The thing is, then I realised that I didn’t have a good friend after all. I had another selfish sponger, who cared more about her animals than about her friends.” Twilight leaned over Fluttershy. “Because that’s true isn’t it? You don’t really care about another pony do you? Just your animals. Oh, of course you’re oh so kind, and meek, and helpless, but it’s a show, to manipulate us into doing what you want, into protecting you, into letting my glory trickle its way down to you.” She paused for dramatic effect. “It was actually difficult for me to justify banishing you, you know? Because after all, I’m not totally heartless and for a while I bought the whole act. Then I realised that anypony who thinks a rabbit is more important than me, when I’m clearly not coping, probably isn’t worth sparing. Oh, and the fact that you looked after Mittens when she was sick last month, and I bucking hate that cat. So, to summarise my key points, I’m banishing you because, at the end of the day, you’re a massive bit-“ “No.” Fluttershy lifted into the air, wings flapping, hooves on hips, eyes wide and angry. “You’re not my friend and you’re going to be quiet.” Fluttershy’s voice dripped with power, her gaze like lasers, boring into Twilight. The fragment of Twilight Sparkle deep in the shadow cheered at the sudden turn of events, as Twilight recoiled and trembled under the force of The Stare. The hatred and anger flared upwards within Twilight; it wasn’t going to end like this. With a yell of effort, she lifted her head and met the Pegasus Pony’s eyes, purple magic filling her own and welling over like tears. The two Stares met and a battle of wills and power commenced, swinging one way, then the other, as the two forces collided. Fluttershy held on for as long as she could, as she fought for and against her friend; but alone her power was little match for Twilight’s and with a gasp of shock, her will broke. “I guess I win, Fluttershy. Looks like you really are totally useless.” Twilight’s horn flashed and Fluttershy was gone.