//------------------------------// // Chapter Eighty Nine // Story: HiE - A Hollow in Equestria // by Charlie_K //------------------------------// Chapter Eighty Nine Try as she might, Rainbow Dash simply couldn't deny the facts; Raindragon was unbelievably tough! Far tougher than she'd ever thought it possible to be, considering how much good it'd done her when she'd used it, which had been pretty much none. But now here she was facing off against it, utterly dumbfounded by the sheer amount of performance it was capable of. Just the fact that it could physically grapple her was bad enough in its own right, but the inclusion of the sharp talons that could slice her up just made it even worse to deal with up close. And unfortunately for her, it seemed to favor the up close approach above all else; she had enough cuts and scratches on not only her skin, but also her armor, to prove that fact quite well. Even just breaking free from its hold on her had been a struggle in itself. Making matters all the worse was the simple fact that she was just a pony, facing off against what was a dragon for all intents and purposes. Her hooves may have been shod for greater impacts, but that didn't do much good against an opponent who could grab her leg, restrain it, and just as easily fling her like she was a frisbee; something Scratchy had done to her as well. She was starting to sense a pattern there. There was also the fact that Raindragon was fast. Despite the bulk that its frame had, that didn't seem to impair its speed one bit. That just made the grappling factor all the worse, since it could easily engage her in short order, even over an extended distance. That put her on the defensive, as she tried to avoid being grabbed, clawed, bit, or even just plain slapped. That meant they were right back to their aerial maneuvers all over again, only with their offensive and defensive positions being swapped. "I can keep this dance up all night long," Raindragon taunted as they circled one another, "what about you? You must be getting tired by now. Maybe you'd like a little nap?" "Who, me? You must be talking to somepony else," Rainbow Dash panted. "I'm just getting warmed up. I can keep dancing until dawn," she shot back. "Well then, perhaps it's time to drop the waltz and proceed with something more serious!" Raindragon stated. The midair dance quickly concluded as Raindragon went on the offensive, jets of flames quickly entering the equation with a frightening speed that sent Rainbow Dash into evasive maneuvers to avoid being incinerated in the process. Time to reevaluate the situation. Raindragon was potentially much faster than her, tougher than her, had claws to aid in close range grappling, and could now exhale large jets of flames at medium ranges for the simple purpose of burning her alive. Unfortunately even that didn't look like it was going to help her out of this one. Every time she dared to glance back, Raindragon was following her. Every swoop, every dive, every twist and turn she completed, her adversary was still there, proving herself to be just as nimble and maneuverable as herself. "This is so bad," she thought to herself as she broke into a steep dive towards the ground, only to pull up at the last possible second, hoping the other couldn't do the same. Unfortunately she did the same, and quite effortlessly too. Had she known this thing was going to be used against her, she never would've created it in the first place. Why'd she even have to go and create something that could breathe fire? How did a fog monster even breathe fire to begin with? Didn't those two cancel each other out and.... That... cheating... bitch! Enraged, she immediately broke off her escape, and whirled around to face Raindragon head on, her eyes narrowing in a hard glare at her adversary. She didn't even offer up a statement, before breaking into a charge directly at her. Raindragon merely grinned at the show of bravado, before exhaling a huge jet of flames in her direction to break off the charge. Except it didn't work out like that. Rainbow Dash didn't break off her approach, but rather flew right through the jet of flames, plowing right through them and exiting the other side, slamming her hooves into Raindragon's midsection with all the force of a wrecking ball, immediately doubling her over with the impact. Without hesitating, Rainbow Dash immediately broke into a series of vicious blows to her opponent's midsection and face, not leaving an opening for retaliation, before unleashing a mighty kick with her hind leg underneath the chin that propelled her upward. Quick as a flash, Rainbow Dash was above Raindragon and slammed both her front hooves down on top of her head to send her falling back down again. This was followed up with a swooping dive on her part as grabbed the scaly tail and pulled her to a stop, and began spinning in place like a top, dragging her opponent into the spin with her, before finally letting go and flinging her at the ground, which she soon collided with at high speed, landing in a less than dignified manner on her back. The next indignation to befall Raindragon came as Rainbow Dash performed a sudden, fifteen-foot drop straight down, slamming her back hooves straight onto her scaly rib cage, eliciting a painful groan. "C'mere you!" What followed next was a bit of impromptu wrestling, which quickly led to Raindragon's forelegs being pinned against her body in a way that robbed her of leverage, and held down as Rainbow Dash firmly stood on her claws to keep them in place, thus allowing her to freely and furiously deliver a savage beating with both hooves against her scaly face. The beating didn't last nearly as long as Rainbow Dash would've liked, however, as she felt something muscly and scaly wrap tightly around her neck, before pulling her back and flinging her away, forcing her to flare her wings to break her impromptu flight and regain control, allowing her to set down on the ground again. "Well now. I honestly didn't expect any of that," Raindragon commented as she sat up, and wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her claw. "Flying right through my fire just to get a shot in at me. You're either really brave, or downright insane." Rainbow Dash's tail flicked as she snorted in response. "After everything you've put me though, it's probably both. But what it really comes down to, is just plain being smarter than you!" Now it was Raindragon's turn to snort dismissively. "Water boils at about two hundred degrees, and fog evaporates at way lower than that. Maybe you can condense water vapor enough to be razor sharp, but even you can't make fire with nothing but water, I don't care how much magic you try and do it with," Rainbow Dash stated firmly. "No fire means no fear, and no fear means Nightmare Moon doesn't get any stronger off of me as a result." Raindragon just looked at Rainbow Dash, before climbing back to her feet, acting as if nothing had happened. "Well then. If you're going to be smart, I'll just have to switch it up a little!" Rainbow Dash didn't even have time to blink before Raindragon took off and flew right at her. Instinctively she reared up and threw her forelegs in front of her for protection, her front hooves being ensnared by her opponent's claws as she was shoved back by the forward momentum, her rear hooves scraping against the hard ground, kicking up dust in the process. "I don't care how smart you are, that doesn't make you right! You're nothing but a weak little pegasus who's all alone out here, and going to be made to know what true fear is!" Raindragon roared. Unlike the last time they were in this position, Rainbow Dash wasn't horribly overpowered this time around. She dug her hooves in as hard as she could, and managed to skid herself to a complete stop. She just barely had the time to see the stunned look on Raindragon's face, before swinging her leg upward to kick her right in her scaly belly. The force of the impact shook her body, before another kick was delivered, and another, and another before disengagement was achieved. Rainbow Dash didn't even hesitate to take the opening to move back, putting some much-needed distance between the two of them. "How," Raindragon grunted as she cradled her abdomen, "how can you still be this strong!?" "I've got friends. That's what makes me strong," Rainbow Dash replied as she set down on her hooves again. "Friends huh? I don't see any friends out here with you. Looks like you're all alone to me," Raindragon commented as she looked around in a mocking fashion. "What, are they wearing camouflage or something? Or is all that blood of yours clogging your vision?" Rainbow Dash just frowned. "Just because they're not here doesn't mean I'm all alone. See, that's something you'll never understand, because unlike me, you don't actually have any friends. You're all alone out here; you don't even know what it's like to have friends. Even allowing for Scratchy, you're still all alone. You're all nothing but puppets for Nightmare Moon, so even if he were here helping you out, it's no different than one body part swatting at mosquitoes biting another one. I'd actually feel sorry for you, if you weren't such a horrible monster that needed to die." "You know, if all you're going to do is talk and be rude, I can suggest a much better use for your tongue," Raindragon quipped as she climbed back to her feet. "If you insist on verbal jousting, I'm gonna have to go and find a new plaything to entertain myself with. So let's do this; would you be more upset if I went after Fluttershy, or Scootaloo? If you had to choose between them, which do you think losing would hurt you worse?" she asked with a sadistic grin. The response she received came in a veritable explosion as she found herself tackled by Rainbow Dash breaking into a flying sprint, before finally coming to a stop from being slammed into a tree behind them with a loud crunch sounding at the point of impact. But that fact aside, her current position afforded her an unobstructed view into Rainbow Dash's eyes, allowing her to observed all the hurt, the suffering, and the rage held within as she seethed through clenched teeth. The golden sheen of the sight enhancing enchantment she wore did nothing to hide the fact that there was so much pain to behold in those orbs. It was absolutely glorious! It was exquisite to behold so closely! But the rage was still restrained! Just barely, but still restrained nonetheless. Some tiny facet was still in control, keeping whatever was inside from getting loose. What could possibly be keeping it in check? And what exactly was being kept in check? Not knowing filled her with the urge to see what else was there. She needed to push this pegasus further, and see if she would crumble all over again. "Well if you're not going to play along and suggest a victim for me, then I'll just choose for myself. Let's see now. Eenie, meenie, miney, moe, catch a pony by the- GURK!" Raindragon's taunt was interrupted by a sudden stabbing pain tearing right through her midsection. Looking down she saw that the pointed tips of Rainbow Dash's armored wings were slammed full force into her barrel, buried several inches inward through her rib cage, and more or less leaving her pinned to the tree in place of forelegs. Out of shock and disbelief, she weakly grabbed at the wings to try and extract them from herself. And then the real pain started as Rainbow Dash began pummeling her with her front hooves all over again. But this time it was far different all the others. This time around she could tell that Rainbow Dash was holding absolutely nothing back in her blows. This was no longer some egotistical pegasus she was facing, who was intent on pounding her like a tent stake simply for being a villain. She was going all out with everything she had, delivering blow after blow as hard as she could, as fast as she could, doing everything she could to show that she had now been pushed too far, she wasn't going to stand for anymore, and she was totally committed to what she believed was necessary. That left Raindragon helpless to do anything but weather the blows she was being subjected to, as they went far further than any beating she'd taken previously in this skirmish. This was the type of beating delivered by a pony who had been pushed well beyond the breaking point, whose sanctity for life had been driven right out of them, and been driven into a pure primal fury that societal niceties tended to keep in check, hidden away from prying eyes. This was the type of beating delivered when the intent was nothing short of killing. It was also the type of beating that accelerated exhaustion, as the one delivering it tended to burn through their resources, because they made no conservative efforts whatsoever. This case proved to be no different, as the quality of Rainbow Dash's assault soon began to suffer. The spirit was strong, but the flesh was oh so weak. Despite her best efforts, she simply couldn't keep up with her own frantic pace, and it was only a matter of time before her blows started coming both weaker and slower, gradually becoming worse and worse, reaching the point where it was taking several seconds at a time for each particular blow to be thrown. Finally it reached the point where it took more and more effort just to raise her hooves, as her forelegs began to feel like they were made of solid lead. She was exhausted, she was weak, and she could barely move as she panted for air, leaning forward with only her wings to keep her from falling right over on her face. "So that's it then. That's the best you can hope to do against me. Pitiful," Raindragon commented, utterly unimpressed by her efforts, and equally uninjured. Tightening her grip on Rainbow Dash's wings, she pulled them loose from her body, a blue shimmering light shining from the delivered wounds before they completely closed over. She gave a shove, sending the pegasus toppling over onto her back before she could even attempt to right herself. "Now it's my turn." She reached over and grabbed hold of the front of Rainbow Dash's armor, effortlessly pulling her up off the ground, and holding her aloft so that her rear hooves dangled. "Let's see how much of a beating you can take..." In hindsight, perhaps disabling the beacon prior to teleportation hadn't been the best of ideas for Luna to act on. Without it to act as a, well, a beacon to guide her approach, the best she could hope for was arriving in the generalized area of Rainbow Dash's last known location upon her arrival in the fog. And what fog! She had no idea of its scope previously, but by the time she'd arrived, a good portion of the entire forest was completely draped in it. It was even creeping well above the treeline, making visual confirmation all the more difficult. This was in no way natural, and she knew it; she could practically taste it. This fog was tainted with an evilness that was very perfectly befitting of Nightmare Moon's wicked essence. "Your affairs had best be arranged and in order, Nightmare Moon, because I swear that I am straight up murdering your ass on sight," she grumbled to herself as she began her descent into the fog, hoping that actually entering it would serve to improve visibility whereas the contrast was failing her. Such hopes became dashed almost immediately. Visibility inside the fog was just as bad as outside. She could vaguely make out the canopies of the trees, but that was it. She may as well have been looking around with her eyes closed for all of the good her sight was doing her right now. Silently she vowed that if she had to trek through the forest to look for Nightmare Moon, the foul demon's fate would simply be much worse for her when the time came. Just saying aloud some of the things that would be done, would be enough to earn even her a warrant for her arrest for possibly committing several felonies. "Where could they be?" she asked herself as she looked about, flapping her wings to keep her in a hover as she tried to observe her surroundings, squinting in an effort to better focus her eyes. There had to be some trace somewhere, she just had to-- light! Down below, there was a faint hinting of light shining through the fog. It could've easily been overlooked if one wasn't cautious enough, but the contrast was just enough to be seen by her prying eyes. Immediately she broke into a dive, swooping down onto its position in hopes of finding somepony. She landed loudly, her shod hooves slamming into the ground as a result of her excitement -with a cratering effect under her shoes, she was certain- as she looked about. However her excitement was tempered when she realized that there was nopony around to be either greeted or rescued. The only thing present was an old kerosene lantern with a metal frame covered in a fading green paint, and a short, fat globe was showing signs of soot buildup from the intense flickering of the flame being left improperly adjusted for far too long. "Could there be somepony else out here in need of rescuing?" she asked herself as she reached out with her magic and lowered the flame to a more manageable level. She really didn't like that prospect one bit. There was enough trouble with all of the foals, Rainbow Dash, and Ulquiorra to contend with, without another adult pony unwittingly thrown into the mix. It was impossible to discern the significance of either its placement or presence out here currently. Instead she concluded that she was far more in need of light right now; if for no other reason, than to let others know that she was present should they be in the same area. She would take it with her, just as soon as she determined which direction she should set out on. "Luna!" Luna easily recognized the voice as belonging to Rainbow Dash, and immediately turned to meet it her. She was quite thankful to hear her speaking, as it meant she was still very much alive. But the tone of her voice left her feeling concerned, as it sounded like she was in quite a lot of pain at the moment. And as she turned, she was horrified by what she saw. Rainbow Dash was indeed alive, but she had no idea how long that would be the case. Her armor was gone, and she was covered in so much blood as she slowly dragged herself forward on her forelegs, gasping for air with each movement, her left hind leg likely broken and useless to her at the moment. Her left eye was missing, gouged out and leaving nothing but a gaping socket behind in its place. And her right wing... it was completely gone! It was ripped completely off of her body, a flap of skin hanging limply at her side as blood trickled freely! "Rainbow Dash!" The distance between the might've only been a few paces, but to Luna it might as well have been a hundred miles that had to be crossed on hoof. Even the minor second or two it took to reach Rainbow Dash, and pull her into an embrace felt like an eternity to her right now! "Rainbow Dash, whatever happened to you?" she asked frantically, mentally kicking herself now for having not done more research on medical magic, unlike her sister had been doing as of late. She certainly needed those skills, and that knowledge now. "Nightmare Moon!" Rainbow Dash stated as she struggled to breathe, her chest rapidly rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath, only to find herself coming up short of doing just that. "I tried," she panted, "I tried to stop her. B-but she was too strong. I couldn't do a-anything," she said as she swallowed hard, her efforts for air going unrewarded. "What of the foals? What of Ulquiorra Cifer? Did you by chance encounter any of them?" Luna asked, trying desperately to keep herself from going completely to pieces as she held the broken and bleeding pegasus in her forelegs. She'd known that letting Rainbow Dash proceed on her own had been a bad idea, and now she held proof positive of that fact. Rainbow Dash attempted to shake her head, before learning that the motion caused her far too much pain. "They're gone... they're all gone," she whined. "S-she left me alive, so I could tell you that she's on her way to Ponyville now. S-s-she's gonna kill everypony!" By now Rainbow Dash's labored efforts at breathing had increased, combined with her spasming as Luna held her close. "Cold... so... so cold..." she muttered, before going completely limp in Luna's forelegs. "No.... no please," Luna muttered as she gently shook Rainbow Dash in an effort to rouse her. But no matter the degree of shaking, nothing would seem to make Rainbow Dash wake up. Frantically she felt around her body, trying to find any trace of a pulse, but could find nothing. There was no trace of life left in her little body. "No... please no," Luna pleaded, refusing to acknowledge the truth in front of her. Rainbow Dash was merely unconscious from exhaustion, her absence of a pulse easily explainable by her lack of medical knowledge, that was all. There was no way she could've lost so much blood that her body had shut down, that simply couldn't be the case! Frantically she started shaking Rainbow Dash harder in a desperate effort to jostle her back into a state of consciousness. "Rainbow Dash, please wake up! Please wake up!" she begged. But ultimately it was useless. No matter how much she was shaken and jostled, or how much Luna pleaded otherwise, Rainbow Dash was showing absolutely no signs of life in her broken, battered body. Why? Why did she consent to allowing Rainbow Dash to run off into a dangerous situation as she had? Why had she not more forcefully objected to the inane idea of her presence being able to do some good? "I am sorry, my friend, I am so sorry," she wept as she cradled the limp body in her forelegs. "I should have departed myself. I should never have let you set out on your own. I am so sorry!" "Wow! Everypony you get close to winds up dying horribly! Must really suck to be you!" Luna looked up, that voice hauntingly familiar to her. Immediately she found the source of the voice behind her, and nearly fainted in shock at seeing the owner of the voice had a face that was just as familiar. A young pegasus filly with a pale blue coat, and white mane and tail. "This... this cannot be..." she stated. "More like it must suck to be her friend." To her left, another familiar foal -an earth pony colt- was emerging from the fog. "Maybe you should become a recluse up on some mountain, far away from anypony who could get hurt by being around you." Yet another familiar foal was approaching to her right. And this unicorn colt was hardly the last, as more and more of them began to join suit. Looking around she soon realized that she was surrounded by foals; six unicorns, six earth ponies, and five pegasi. The realization of who they were made her feel sick, as she recognized them as the first victims of Nightmare, and by extension, herself. These were the seventeen foals the foul demon had forced her to watch be killed. "This cannot be! You cannot possibly be alive!" she stated. "Well you'd be the expert on that." "Yeah, some friend you turned out to be." "Yeah. She told us we were going to make a new colony in Equestria. And what does she do instead?" "She takes us behind the Castle of the Two Sisters and sucks out our souls! What kind of Princess does that to a bunch of foals anyway!?" "Never mind foals, what kind of Princess does that to her subjects period?" "She should do everypony a favor and just kill herself. Equestria got along just fine without her for a thousand years. Whadda we need her for anyway?" "Yeah, that's a good point! Kill yourself!" "Kill yourself!" "Kill yourself!" "Kill yourself!" All around Luna, those assembled had joined in morbid unison in calls for her to end her life. No matter where she turned, there was no respite from those present. The fact that it was old friends long gone only made it hurt all the worse. As if her own nightmares and memories over the incident weren't bad enough already. All she could do was close her eyes and hang her head. She was now beginning to comprehend the depths of despair that Rainbow Dash and the others had to experience for themselves, and the motivation that drove some of them to take the actions that they had. In the face of this burden, she couldn't say that she didn't agree with their decisions. "Why won't you just go down already!?" That was the question Raindragon found herself asking, equally perplexed and angered by the way things had been developing. She had led Rainbow Dash to exhaust herself in delivering a futile beating against her, bringing her to the point she couldn't retaliate any further. And then she'd followed up by unleashing a brutal beating all her own to the pegasus. But despite the pounding that she'd taken, Rainbow Dash was still standing up on her hooves. She was shaky, and looked like a stray wind could tip her over, but regardless of that she simply refused to fall down and stay down. How was that even possible? What was still keeping her upright? What phantom source was giving her the ability to defy her!? "Oh. You know," Rainbow Dash panted as she slowly lifted her head to look Raindragon in the face. "Heroic resolve. Indomitable willpower. Enough adrenaline to trigger a fatal heart attack. The certainty that if I fall down, I'm never gonna get back up again," she wheezed as she struggled to crack a grin. "But besides all that, why would I wanna go down now? I've got you right where I want you right now." Just the fact that Rainbow Dash had enough energy to even smirk at her was enough to enrage Raindragon further, never mind the fact that she had the audacity to claim to have the upper hoof in all of this! This mare was far too cocky and arrogant for her own good, and far too stubborn to admit that she was broken. "You can't fly. You can barely even stand up. What makes you think that you're in control of any of this? You know that I can kill you without even trying, right? I could snap your neck with a good slap, and you'd be dead before you could blink!" "And yet I'm still alive," Rainbow Dash pointed out as she made an effort to stand herself up straighter. Raindragon snorted at the poorly disguised efforts of antagonizing her. She must've hit the pegasus harder than expected, and made her delusional in the process. She didn't even bother with offering a response, before storming over to where Rainbow Dash stood, grabbed the front of her armor to lift her up off the ground, and slam her down on her back, pinning her against the forest floor. "You think this is some sort of game? I can assure you it's not," she stated firmly. "You're nothing but a bother that's not needed. I'm gonna kill you, slowly and painfully, and then I'm gonna throw your severed head at Scootaloo's hooves, just so I can see the look on her face when her fragile mind snaps at the realization that her idol isn't coming to rescue her!" Raindragon had expected to hear any number of verbal retorts in response to her statement. Pleas of mercy in some misguided hope that she could be talked out of her plans. Death threats if she dared to lay a claw on her intended victim. Obscenity in every form and color. She had expected it all. All that is, except for laughter. Much to her confusion, the mater on the ground had burst into all-out laughter as if she'd just been told the funniest joke in the world, her stomach quaking underneath all the armor she wore. "What's so funny? Did I break your feeble mind already?" she asked. "No!" Rainbow Dash wheezed in between laughs as she struggled to shake her head. "I'm just imagining the look on Nightmare Moon's face, when she realizes just how badly she fucked herself over!" Raindragon frowned as she glared down at Rainbow Dash's prone form. "What exactly are you going on about?" "If I die, then Nightmare Moon dies like five minutes after me!" Rainbow Dash cackled, desperate for air at this point, but unable to stop laughing long enough to be able to breathe. "She needs me to stay alive, because that's the only way the Element of Loyalty stays out of commission. If I go then somepony else gets it, and that's all she wrote! So go ahead and kill me if you really want to, it'll be so worth it, knowing that you cut your own throat!" Raindragon stared in disbelief, before outright glaring down at the quaking form of the laughing mad pegasus. So that had been her game plan in coming here. She hadn't been arrogant in thinking that one little pegasus could hope in taking down Nightmare Moon all on her own. No, this went far beyond that. She'd planned all along on sacrificing herself like a pawn, in order to get to the queen. All the while, her laughing continued unabated. "Just shut up already!" she roared as she kicked Rainbow Dash in the side to silence her. But all she got for her efforts was a temporary reprieve as she groaned in pain, before she started laughing all over again. "I said shut up!" "Or what? You'll kill me?" Rainbow Dash cackled, realizing that she had her doppelganger over a barrel now. Raindragon, however, didn't share her outlook on the situation at all. "Oh you're not getting out of it that easy. I'll leave you alive, but you won't like it one bit..." Rainbow Dash suddenly became aware of a heavy weight pressing down on her barrel, even through the armor plating covering it. Coming out of the haze she'd been in, she saw Raindragon straddling her, a sharp talon extended as she dragged it along the surface of her armor, leaving a bright scratch behind as it removed the black coating. "If you hadn't spoken up, your plan might've worked. But now that's neither here nor there," Raindragon commented as she ran her claw along the same scratch mark for a second pass. "Luckily enough, you don't have to die in all this. You see, I know all about pegasus anatomy; such as where every blood vessel is just below the skin. So long as I'm careful in what I do, I can cut you apart, and leave you alive throughout it all," she explained as another pass was made. Rainbow Dash gulped nervously, her throat feeling much tighter than before. This hadn't been a part of the plan. "First I'm gonna cut through your armor, every pass no deeper than the thickness of one of your mane hairs. Then I'm gonna do the same to the rest of your body, cutting you just a little deeper each time, to insure that you get the full experience of pain. I'm gonna flay the skin from your bones while you lay there, helpless to do anything about the fact that you're gonna stay alive for a long, long time, suffering more pain than you can possibly imagine," Raindragon chuckled darkly as the scratch in Rainbow Dash's armor grew deeper. "If you leave me alive, you'll regret it even worse," Rainbow Dash warned in an effort to regain some control of the situation, as well as regaining the breath that Raindragon's weight was starting to rob her of. "Not nearly as much as you will," Raindragon retorted right back as she scraped her claw along the ever-growing scratch, the sound of metal scraping easily audible as she did. "You were real bold earlier. Storming in here all hot to trot, bragging about how having friends made you stronger than Nightmare Moon. Well where's that bravado now? Where are your friends that give you strength, when you need them right now?" Rainbow Dash tried to offer up some sentence in response, but it came out far too mumbled to actually understand. Maybe the adrenaline rush was subsiding? Equal parts curiosity and sadism got the better of Raindragon, and filled her with an urge to find out what was said? "Say what now?" Another mumble followed, but it was still too incoherent. "Once more, with clarity," Raindragon insisted as she leaned in closer to listen better. "Look... behind... you..." Rainbow Dash wheezed in her ear. Now it was Raindragon's turn to laugh. "You think I'm gonna fall for an old trick like that? Not a chance," she said as she resumed dragging her talon along the ever-deepening scratch in the front of the armor plating in front of her. "Seriously, what sort of simpleton do you take me for, using the oldest trick in the book?" she asked. "The kind that is not long for this world, foul demon!" Raindragon ceased her actions in mid-scratch as she heard the voice, blinking on confusion. Looking up and over her shoulder, she saw a very enraged looking Princess Luna standing right behind her, seething through gritted teeth, with a glare that could cause a fire to extinguish itself out of fear of having to actually face her. "I could've sworn you were overcome by grief and despair just a moment ago," she commented, not really seeing how this was possible. "I very nearly was after what I experienced. But that was before I remembered the suffering of everyone else, and understood what you were doing. After that it was just a matter of making you see what I wanted you to see," Luna explained firmly. "You of all ponies, Nightmare Moon, should know never to trust a skilled illusionist," she added. "Well now if that isn't as cryptic as all get out," Raindragon muttered to herself, although making no effort to hide what she was saying. "You're as dumb as your little friend over here, which is certainly saying something. Storming into the domain of Nightmare Moon, thinking that you're going to persevere your way through all of this, and escape to see another sunrise. Well I'm here to tell you, that's not how things are going to play out." Luna watched as Raindragon climbed down off of Rainbow Dash, stepping off to the side just far enough to allow her to witness her scaly tail wrapping around Rainbow Dash's neck, and squeezing down with enough force to make her gasp and struggle in response. "You're going to submit yourself to Nightmare Moon, and do whatever you're told, no matter what it might be, obediently and without question. If you don't then I'll squeeze your little friend's neck with such force, her head will pop off like a champagne cork," she stated firmly, leaving no room for it to be misunderstood, or misinterpreted as possibly being a request, or even a suggestion. It was nothing less than a statement of fact about what was going to happen. Luna scowled in response, furious at what she was being presented with, and also horrified. It was true that she would do anything to protect Rainbow Dash, or any other pony for that matter, without so much as a second thought. But... but this? Putting herself at the mercy of Nightmare Moon, forced to do whatever she wanted? Even if it might mean becoming her host once again? completely unable to control whatever actions she was forced to carry out? That was hardly a choice she could accept, considering how much damage she could be forced to partake in. "Don't think that I won't either," Raindragon warned as she tightened her tail further around Rainbow Dash's neck. "You might have something in mind in the event she dies, but her soul will still belong to Nightmare Moon. Just like all the others that went before her. And not even the Elements of Harmony will be able to change that, or set her free. You of all ponies should be very aware of that fact," she stated with a sadistic, toothy grin. Luna was horrified by the thought. But she didn't even have time to consider the weight of what was being presented to her, before Raindragon let loose a surprised yell/roar of pain. Looking past her scaly carcass, she saw that Rainbow Dash had managed to bite down on their adversary's tail with great force, and was holding on tightly; likely the only example of opposition she could offer up under these circumstances. "You little nag! This isn't satire! And that isn't a chew toy! Lemme go!" Raindragon yelled as she tried to pull her tail loose, only to find that Rainbow Dash was holding on for dear life, and making herself dead weight. All she wound up doing was dragging the rebellious mare a few inches along the ground as he tail uncoiled, while causing her to clamp down all the harder. This just served to enrage Raindragon further, motivating her to ball up her fist in preparation of beating the unruly nag until she finally learned some obedience, and stopped biting her freaking tail! But before she could actually deliver a single blow, she found her limb paralyzed in place, in a very uncomfortable position. "What the?" she asked as she looked up, and saw that her limb was bound by a band of glowing blue magic wrapping around it, and holding it in place. Blue magic that coincidentally belonged to Luna. "You are far too tense," she heard Luna practically whisper in her ear from behind, the tone being enough to send chills up and down her spine. "Perhaps you should 'chill out' as they say." She realized far too late that it wasn't Luna's predatory approach that was causing the chills along her spine. Instead it was her body being frozen into a solid block of ice, leaving her paralyzed in the form of a centerpiece, unable to verbally curse out the alicorn's existence, or even so much as scratch her nose. And now that such a thought had crossed her mind, she realized it was something that really needed to be done now... Luna released a breath. With their adversary currently reduced to little more than an evil-flavored popsicle, she could now focus on Rainbow Dash, who was still doing her best to try and bite through said popsicle's tail. Dedication at its finest. "Rainbow Dash, it is alright, you may disengage now," she said as she stepped over to pull her away. Thankfully Rainbow Dash put up little in the way of struggle before relinquishing her hold. That made it far easier to look over the scope of the damage she'd suffered, and be horrified by it. "Whatever happened to you?" "I went full burn," Rainbow Dash croaked out. "Never go full burn..." Luna just shook her head, reasoning that it was ultimately a stupid question to ask. She opted to simply remain silent as she sat down on her haunches, and gently cradled the limp, panting pegasus in her forelegs. "I am so sorry that I let you go out on your own." Rainbow Dash weakly shook her head. "You didn't really have much choice in the matter. I wasn't gonna just sit around and do nothing," she stated. She was going to make her way out here one way or another, no matter what was said or done. "By the way, the armor's been holding up great so far. I'm still in one piece." The next thing Rainbow Dash saw, a clear plastic bottle filled with what looked like a green sports drink appeared in front of her. She didn't even stop to question where Luna had acquired it, before reaching out to grasp it as the top was unscrewed, and greedily start gulping it down, uncertain if she was even tasting it as she downed it. She knew from significant experience that such a drink was good for rehydrating and restoring electrolytes lost from an intense workout. And while it wouldn't be able to totally reinvigorate her, it'd certainly be enough to make her stop feeling like she was standing on Death's welcome mat. Had it not been for the need to stop and breathe -as well as belch- she would've chugged the entire bottle in one go, rather than just under half of it. "These things are made out of fog," she commented, before going back to downing her drink with all the desperation of a pony dying of thirst out in the hot desert or the wastelands. She couldn't be bothered with stuff like etiquette and such, or other things that would slow her down, even if her frantic pace was causing some of her drink to spill down her front. "I am aware. I found that fact out on my own upon first arriving in this mess. That is why I was able to turn your dragon-themed doppelganger into an oversized ice cube," Luna explained, glancing back at the aforementioned chunk of ice, and the sour expression that it wore. But right now it was of little interest to her. All she really cared about right now was getting Rainbow Dash somewhere safe; preferably somewhere away from this fog where she could get the medical attention and rest that she so badly needed. Once she had Rainbow Dash safe, she would come back and clean up this mess personally. "That hit the spot," Rainbow Dash replied with a sigh of relief as she dropped the empty bottle, feeling a lot better than she had been just a couple of minutes ago. She actually felt like she could stand up without needing to lay back down again. "C'mon, we've gotta go get the foals. Ulquiorra thinks they're somewhere north of here," she added as she moved to get back up again. But before she actually could get up, she found herself being held down by Luna. "All in good time, Rainbow Dash, and right now is not it. You were not fit for combat even before coming here, and even less so now. You need rest, and you need medical attention," Luna explained as she let go and stood back up again, a soft glow emanating from her horn as she did so. The next thing Rainbow Dash knew, she felt her whole body tingling, and found herself being levitated off the forest floor and set back down Luna's back in an awkward straddling position. "Once I am certain that you are safe, I will return for the foals and Ulquiorra Cifer. I cannot, in good conscience, leave you here in your state. I should not have even let you come out here in the first place," Luna explained as she began trotting off, back in the direction that would lead them to Ponyville. "And yet you did! Some friend you turned out to be!" Luna and Rainbow Dash both stiffened up at the sound of the voice. It sounded so much like Rainbow Dash herself, and yet it was evident that it wasn't. That really left only one source to be addressing them. A source that was supposed to be frozen solid... They both looked back to the frozen form of Raindragon just in time to see it be shattered, as a new and completely unfrozen Raindragon landed hard on top of it, sending its pieces flying everywhere as all four claws touched down. "Oh come on! How're you still even alive!?" Rainbow Dash demanded from where she sat perched atop Luna's back. Raindragon incredulously quirked a scaly eyebrow at Rainbow Dash's question, before waving a sweeping claw before them. "Seriously? You're wondering how a fog construct is still around in a fog bank? Especially with more than fifty gallons worth of fog present? Did I beat you in the head too hard or something? Or are you normally this stupid?" Rainbow Dash growled in annoyance. "Seriously. Do not make me come over there!" she warned. "Oh, yeah, I'm real scared," Raindragon replied dismissively, before giving a mock tremble of nonexistent fear. "Didn't we already establish that you can't hurt me? What're you gonna do, lick me to death?" "Let's see how bold you're talking after I cram one of these horse shoes so far up your ass that you choke on it!" Rainbow Dash stated as she angrily waved a hoof in her direction. Raindragon chuckled in response, amused by Rainbow Dash's threat. "It's mighty easy to talk tough when you've got an alicorn protecting you to hide behind." Rainbow Dash frowned in response, before flapping her wings to aid in leaping off of Luna's back and landing in front of her, before crouching in preparation of a charge. "Round three. Bend over!" Luna didn't know just how to respond to what was unfolding in front of her, because she honestly didn't know what to believe. Rainbow Dash was actually issuing threats to Nightmare Moon, in the midst of the two trading rivalry banter? Even the guards she and Celestia had weren't so bold as to do something like that. How was something like this even possible? How did something like this actually transpire? Before Rainbow Dash could actually make good on her move to advance, Luna quickly enveloped her in her magic and pulled her back, leaving her hanging -and squirming- in midair as she cursed the unexpected development. "Stand down, Rainbow Dash," Luna commanded as she turned the irate pegasus around to face her. "As I have explained once before tonight, we are not going to allow Nightmare Moon to lure us into acting without thinking. She wants us to charge in blindly, too infuriated by her barbs and taunts to think things through clearly. The very fact that she is resorting to such, is evidence of the fact that she knows she is too weak to be a genuine threat," she explained, expertly turning the taunts back against the taunter. Getting mad was of no benefit here, so she might as well get even. "Well if she's so weak, let's just kick her ass already!" Rainbow Dash stated as she squirmed, trying to get loose from Luna's hold, only to find herself getting nowhere. "Come on, her fire isn't even real! Let's give her the wetworks right now!" Raindragon's left eye twitched. There was no way in Equestria that Rainbow Dash should still be so ornery after the beating she'd taken; to say nothing of the beating she'd given! Both of them had been vicious and totally savage, and should've taken the wind right out of her sails. She'd been stomped nearly to death, and had barely been able to stand just a couple of minutes ago, so where was all this fight coming from!? Obviously she just hadn't gone far enough yet. "If you're seriously that anxious to get your butt kicked again, feel free. One at a time, or both at once, I don't really care," she stated. Rainbow Dash glared in anger, even though Raindragon wouldn't be able to see it with her back turned to her. "She's mocking us," she pointed out. Luna returned an equally displeased glare. "Then let us give her an appropriate response." Raindragon never even saw what hit her before she was sent flying backwards, hit with enough force to spin her ass over head as she sailed along, before coming to an abrupt halt with a loud thud as she slammed belly first into a tree, bits of bark flying off from the impact. "Ow..." Using her right claw to peel her face away from the tree, she looked back at where she'd been standing to try and get an idea of just what had hit her. What it had been was still a mystery, but considering Luna had forged herself a sizable clearing that was totally devoid of any fog, she had a pretty good idea of what sort of pressure wave she'd been smacked by. And the shimmering patterns indicated a force field being erected to ensure the fog stayed out of the clearing. "That's your game plan? You're just gonna hide behind a force field like some scared little foal, too afraid to face me?" she asked in both disbelief and indignation as she pried herself off the tree and made her way back to the edge of the clearing. "What, are you waiting for the rest of your friends to show up before making a move?" "Anytime you wanna go, just say the word!" Rainbow Dash yelled angrily, all the more furious that she couldn't face forward. "The word," Raindragon taunted and smirked. Once more, Rainbow Dash squirmed in an effort to break loose, or at least turn around and face who was mocking her. And once more, she was reminded of the fact that it simply wasn't possible under the current circumstances. Or at least not until she felt herself being set down on the ground. "What the?" "Rainbow Dash." "Luna?" she asked in response and looked up. "You have done a commendable job of lasting as long as you did on your own. Truly it is something few can lay claim to. But now it is time for you to stand down, my dear friend," Luna stated. The next thing Rainbow Dash knew, there was a flash of bright light in front of her. When it cleared, she saw a number of bottles of colored sports drinks in front of her, and a number of protein and other assorted energy bars in front of her. She didn't have a clue where they had come from, or how Luna had gotten all of this, but the sight of it was enough to send her stomach growling, and remind her of the fact that she was more or less starving. "Rest yourself and recover your strength as best you can. I will tend to this matter myself," Luna added, her tone carrying a hard, firm edge to it; one that sent unintentional chills up and down Rainbow Dash's spine. Before Rainbow Dash could even offer up a response, Luna had already disappeared from view, teleporting out of the force field, and appearing in front of it to confront Raindragon herself once again. She wanted to protest this course of action, arguing how there was strength in numbers, but despite her best efforts she simply couldn't find the words she felt would be adequate in this situation. And even if she could, she doubted Luna would heed to pleas for a different course of action. "Just... just be careful, okay? I don't wanna be the one to explain to Celestia that things went wrong," she offered up feebly, before sighing in defeat and reached for the protein bars, prepared to make the best she could of the situation. With Rainbow Dash safely behind the barrier, shielded against any errant attacks that might come, Luna didn't have to concern herself with dividing her focus between her friend and their current threat. She wouldn't be hindered by having to defend the both of them, and could instead focus on combat in a much more effective manner. And considering it was Nightmare Moon that she was facing, she was going to need that focus. Raindragon just continued smirking in an amused fashion. "I don't know whether it's cute or pitiful that you think you can protect your little friend from Nightmare Moon with that puny force field of yours." Luna ignored the effort at getting a rise out of her. She was not going to give in. "Since when have you become so fond of referring to yourself in the third pony sense of address?" she asked instead. That had gotten very annoying, very fast. Raindragon just cackled in response. "Oh we're gonna have a lot of fun, you and me. That featherbrained pegasus you're friends with might've booby trapped herself so she can't be killed, but you can't exactly do that yourself. That means I don't have to be gentle in dealing with you. I can really cut loose with you!" "That suits me just fine," Luna commented as she popped her neck, limbering herself up in anticipation of whatever was going to come. "As much as you have pissed me off the past few weeks with your antics, I am looking forward to some adequate stress relief," she elaborated, scratching at the ground with her left front hoof. Despite making herself ready for a fight, she hadn't been ready enough. Before she even knew what had happened, her opponent had delivered the first blow, her right claw curled into a fist as it landed right between her eyes. To say she was unimpressed would be putting it lightly. She had certainly felt it, but it was hardly debilitating to experience. "I am sorry, I thought you were going to engage me in combat. Did you change your mind already?" she asked. Raindragon growled, her lips pulling back to display her full set of sharpened teeth in annoyance, before pulling back to throw another punch. But before she could actually follow through, she found her entire upper body being tightly constricted. Her front legs as well as her wings were squeezed hard against her body, leaving her immobile. Looking around frantically for the source of the restriction, she found that it was a long tendril extending from Luna's mane, and made up of the same material. "Uh oh," she croaked out. "Indeed," Luna replied as she easily hoisted Raindragon off the forest floor, and left her dangling high enough that even the tip of her tail couldn't touch it. "I have seen your opening salvo. Now it is my turn." Wordlessly another tendril of night sky mane extended itself, before slapping Raindragon right across the face, the sound of the impact much like the sound of a whip being expertly cracked and producing a sonic boom. the force of the impact snapped her head to side, a look of bewilderment crossing her face, before a storm of slaps quickly followed, each sounding just like the first one. "I do not know what your game is, Nightmare Moon, but I am not about to play by your rules. Whatever you are up to, I intend to beat it out of you, one way or another!" The slapping immediately stopped, giving Raindragon a moment of respite. But it was a short moment, as the next thing she knew, she found herself being slammed against the ground, only to be picked back up and slammed back down again. And again. And again. Not simply on her back, but also on her head and her butt, depending on which way she was swung and slammed down. Each wild swing brought about yells of terror with it, but they fell on deaf ears as Luna showed no signs of stopping for anything. Or at least not until Raindragon found her head slammed right into the ground, now leaving her doing an impression of an ostrich. "You have been a very bad dragon, Nightmare Moon," Luna stated as a third tendril extended from her mane. "Let us see about correcting that, shall we?" she added and proceeded to bring both tendrils down in a rapid, alternating pattern, literally spanking her adversaries exposed backside, motivating her to scream incoherently with her head stuck underground, thrashing her tail and hind legs about in a desperate attempt to break free and avoid the lashing she was being subjected to. But ultimately it was all for naught, as the assault simply continued relentlessly, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, found it necessary to stop wolfing down protein bars before she choked to death, because she was laughing far too hard at watching Raindragon get her ass spanked, to eat and breathe at the same time. As it was she could barely laugh and breathe at the same time. It was all just way too much for her to take at the moment. It pained Zecora to see Twilight in her current state. Throughout everything that had been happening the past few weeks, she had been doing her best to hold everything together, and keep some semblance of order going. Twilight was largely the reason she was here and able to focus like she was; when the terror fog had struck her in her own home, she had instinctively fled to the one pony she felt she could rely on in her frightened state. It was because of her and her friends that her mind hadn't turned into complete custard. She would be forever grateful for that fact. And now she found herself in a situation where she could no longer rely on Twilight's strength to see her through it, for the unicorn had no strength left even for herself. The disappearance of Princess Luna, and the uncertainty of the fate of her friends had been more than she could stand to bear. It was in a situation like this, that she realized she needed to demonstrate her own strength and stand on her own four hooves, rather than leaning on the strength of others for support. And with that thought in mind, she did the only thing she could think to do; that being to go over to where Twilight sat, and wrap her forelegs around her from behind, hugging her for all she was worth in an effort to calm her. "Please do not succumb to despair, Twilight. With the Princesses on task, I am certain that it will be alright," she stated. Although if she were being honest with herself, she truly didn't believe her own words right now. Even with the diarchy, she had doubts that the situation would be resolved all that easily. Even in her land, Nightmare Moon was the stuff of legends. And if even half of the legends were true... well she really didn't want to think about that right now. Right now she'd much rather focus on the offer of hope, questionable as it might be, than Princess Luna's announcement that she was going to kill Nightmare Moon in no uncertain terms. Just the thought of it was sending chills up and down her back, as the implied violence clashed with the friendly, caring image that the younger ruler seemed to have about her. Really it was almost too terrifying to think of something like that. Over where she stood, Celestia tried desperately to try and sort out her thoughts, and figure out just what to do. Luna was gone, Rainbow Dash was gone, Ulquiorra was gone, the foals were missing, the Elements of Harmony still weren't working, Twilight was going to pieces right in front of her, Luna was plotting the death of another -even if said other did deserve it- and she still wasn't entirely stable yet, despite her best efforts at pulling and holding herself together. This was quite the mess to find herself in without any support and... Had Luna planned this out from the beginning? Had she intentionally left her here to her own devices, knowing that everypony present would naturally look to her for guidance and support, in order to force her to get her act back together? If that were truly the case, then her sister was quite devious in how she went about conducting herself, and demonstrating tough love. Nonetheless, Luna was so going to get it when she got back. "What's she gonna get?" Celestia flinched in surprise and turned to see Pinkie standing behind her, a curious look upon her face as she stood with her head tilted -perhaps just a bit too far to look comfortable or natural- to the side. "I'll let you know once I figure that out myself," Celestia replied in a soft tone, before standing up straighter and clearing her throat. This served the purpose of not only helping steel her nerves as she prepared to speak, but also get the attention of everyone so they would focus. "Now isn't the time for despairing, my friends, we haven't lost control of the situation just yet." "I'm sorry, Celestia, but I'm just not seeing what you're saying," Rarity spoke up as she approached. "How exactly is the situation going in what would be considered our way? On top of plotting death, Luna took the map with her when she departed to ensure we can't follow after her. And with Nightmare Moon being on the loose, and there no telling what's happening to all of our friends, how exactly do we still have control here?" she asked. "Ah was wonderin' the same thing. Although ya phrased it better than Ah could," Applejack added and turned to look at Celestia. "So what've we got goin' in our favor right now?" More voices of curiosity soon followed, each wanting to know what it was that Celestia knew about what was going on. "In simple terms, what we have that leaves us in control of the situation, is our friendship with each other. Nightmare Moon failed at breaking that, despite her best efforts. She couldn't separate us from one another, physically or otherwise. We aren't facing this matter alone and vulnerable. In fact I'd dare go and say that we're more united than ever before; Nightmare Moon may have made the situation worse for herself than for us," she stated with a grin. She didn't truly know if that was the extent of the situation. But that was how she currently saw it. And until she got a second opinion that suggested otherwise, it was what she was going to believe in. As she looked around the room, she confirmed that her message was having the desired effect on the others, and lifting their spirits. As long as they had elevated spirits, there was still hope for success. "Luna taking the map with her when she departed might have served to slow us down, but it's hardly enough to stop us from finding her and the others. It'll just take a little more effort is all," she explained further. Perhaps such a tactic would've served to hinder a normal pony, but she was nothing of the sort. Even if she wasn't here right now, Twilight could hardly be considered a normal pony either, given her skill and overall aptitude in all things related to magic. If she weren't here to oversee things, she had no doubt that Twilight would've eventually come up with a method of tracking down Luna and the others on her own. Considering some of her past exploits when she was still in school, such a course of action wouldn't be as unreasonable expectation for her. "While I'm tending to such, the rest of you need to spend the time figuring out what you're going to do," she stated in a firm tone. "What're we gonna do about what?" Spike asked, not understanding what she was talking about. "The Element of Loyalty still isn't resonating with Rainbow Dash," she started as she glanced towards the glass case, the red gem still clearly pulsating brightly. "If this matter isn't rectified soon, we may have little choice but to kill Nightmare Moon. Villain or not, this is an extreme course of action to engage in, and some of you may not be comfortable with setting out on a mission to do such, even if you aren't playing a direct part on it. I would suggest all of you think long and hard about what course of action you wish to take, and what your level of comfort is with it. None of you will be forced to come along. But if you do so, know what you'll be getting yourselves into..."