Chapter 5
Rainbow Dash lay on the comforting bed that Pinkie had made for her in Sugarcube Corner. As she rested her hooves behind her head, she intently thought about the events that had happened to her lately. She thought to herself to why these memories kept coming to her and why they seemed so real. As she tried to clear her mind, Fluttershy’s voice interrupted her.
“Dash! It’s…umm…time for dinner if you’re ready.” she said. Dash thought about her voice. It chimed through the door and sang in her head, echoing long after she had stopped talking. As Dash swung the door open, she was taken aback by the vivid image that was before her.
It was still Sugarcube Corner, but it was dark and distorted. The halls and stairs were covered in pulsing tentacles, that also decorated the walls. Dash could hardly believe what she was witnessing. The tentacles pulsated with a bright flashing light, that seemed to emanate from within them. As the flashed and flickered, it bathed the only path with a sickly, flesh colored light that seemed to guide her.
Dash curiously stuck her head out of the door-frame and craned her neck around the corner. As she gazed on, the dim, dark corridors were being illuminated in short intervals. When Dash had thought it was safe to leave, she precariously took a step into the hallway. Detecting no sudden danger, she cautiously worked her way down the stairs and was careful not to step on any jagged debris that was strewn apart on the ground.
“Fluttershy?” Dash called out loudly. No answer. Dash was becoming very scared and stopped to contemplate if this was a good idea. All of a sudden, she heard a small pained whimper. Dash knew who made that sound and immediately ran towards her helpless friend.
As she rushed down the dark stairs in need to help her friend, she stumbled and fell face first, badly bruising her face and her ribs. Even though this was a dream, the pain was very much real to the fallen mare.
----+----
“Uh, Twi? What’s that?” Applejack pointed her hoof at Rainbow Dash’s coat, where a dark clot of blood was forming, becoming more obvious among the bright fur.
“Oh no.” said Twilight in a hushed voice.
“What does it mean?” asked Applejack, obviously scared.
“It means that she is running out of time. Her dreams are becoming more real to the point that physical damage can happen. This also speeds up the deterioration process. If she doesn’t solve the conflict in her head, she will lose herself in her own mind.”
Applejack looked towards R.D.’s lifeless body. “C’mon Rainbow! I know you’re stronger than this. Fight it off!” As Applejack said this, a tear ran down her face. She didn’t want to lose one of her best friends.
----+----
Rainbow struggled to get up, but she was hurt very badly. As she looked up at a nearby wall, she could see that there were words beginning to form.
“How far would you go to defend those you care for? How long would you fight to protect the ones you hold dear?” A shrill voice rang out of the air that made Dash wince in fright.
“I’m…I’m not afraid of you!”
There was no response, but the air became chilled and Rainbow started to see her own breath as it came out of her mouth in puffs of steam. Dash knew she couldn’t afford anymore time. She needed to keep moving, and she needed to now.
Dash sprinted down the dark stairs once more, not caring for the voices in the darkness or the obstacles in her way. She desperately just needed to get to Fluttershy. As she nimbly sprinted downward, the harsh voice echoed out more.
“You’re not going to make it.” it said.
“You’re running out of time.”
“SHUT UP!!” yelled Dash in persistence.
Dash increased her speed and charged straight forward. Just as she was going fast enough to lose sigh, so fast that the wind seemed to whistle in her ears, a door appeared in the distance. She skidded to a halt in front of it and inspected it carefully. The door was chained shut and was covered in the same menacing tentacles that covered the walls.
Dash had no mind for such trivial things and just bucked at the door. Behind the door, the same pained whimper from before was heard.
“Don’t worry Fluttershy! I’m coming!” Dash yelled as she gave one final buck at the door, which gave way and let her enter. As she ran into the small, damp room, she gasped at the horrible sight before her.
Fluttershy was heavily chained to the floor by her hooves and stomach. She was covered in cuts and bruises, bleeding and looking very frightened. As Dash took a step forward, Fluttershy looked up.
“No Rainbow Dash! Don’t--” She was cut off by the door slamming shut loudly behind her. Dash quickly turned around, expecting to see somepony, but nothing was there. When Dash turned to face Fluttershy again, she gasped as a horrid sight met her gaze..
“We didn’t expect you to get here so fast.” said Infrared, his eyes were locked on to Dash’s, the blood red color locked into her mind.
“Too bad you weren’t that fast to save you sister!” Said Ultraviolet, as she came up behind Dash, letting out a high-pitched laugh.
Dash snarled as a tear ran down her face. “You know that wasn’t my fault. I wasn’t even with you when it happened. It should have been you to save her! Not me!”
Both Ultraviolet and Infrared laughed as they gave Dash nasty looks.
“We know. You were in this shit hole, wasting your time away. You’re nothing but a failure and waste of space.” spat Infrared, his grin like acid to Dash’s eyes.
“How dare you! You let Fluttershy go. All you want is me anyway right!?!”
Ultraviolet cooed at Dash,“Oh no. You couldn’t have been more wrong. You see, Fluttershy was the key to getting you here. We knew you would try to save her. After all, you do love her right?”
Dash looked towards the ground, pain in her eyes. Why couldn't she admit it to herself? What was she trying to prove? What was she going to do? These were questions she had always asked herself. Questions that she didn’t have the answer to, questions that loomed eerily in her mind, questions that had brought her here. Rainbow looked up at the distorted illusions of her parents, and she knew it was time to find the answers, the answers that she had needed all along.
“You know what? I do love her! I was a fool for not saying it earlier, but I do. I am willing to fight for her safety.” Dash raised herself even higher “Even if it means my death.”
----+----
“Hey! Twilight! Wake up!” Pinkie’s high pitched voice was loud enough to spring Twilight from out of her slumber and back to reality.
Twilight sat up groggily, “Wha- What’s going on?”
Applejack pointed a hoof at Rainbows coat.
“She’s gaining her colors back!” yelled Rarity.
Twilight looked towards Rainbow and noticed that the colors were slowly gaining brightness and becoming much more vivid in sight.
“C’mon Rainbow! Push through it!
----+----
“As you wish pest.” said Ultraviolet flatly.
Without warning, Ultraviolet and Infrared simultaneously lunged at Dash. But as this was happening, something very strange happened. As soon as they were a pony distance away from Rainbow, they struck an invisible barrier. They were instantly thrown backward and into the wall behind Fluttershy.
“What the!?” yelled Infrared in surprise. He immediately walked up to the peculiar barrier, which he touched cautiously.
The feeling of the shield caused a burning sensation on his hoof and made him pull it back in painful agony.
“GAH!” He yelled angrily as he pulled away. Filled with rage he unleashed a flurry of attacks towards the barrier. Ignoring the pain, he beat at the protective shield, unable to cause damage to it.
Finally, tired of the relentlessly energy used in his attacks, he stopped the barrage. Scowling, he looked down at his hooves, which were sprouting a dim light from holes that had mysteriously appeared.
“What is happening!?” he yelled.
As he stepped back, the corrosive holes began to expand until he imploded with a flash of blinding light. Only floating ashes were left, sitting in his wake.
“What did you do!?” Ultraviolet screamed questioningly as she ran to where her husband was. He was now only a pile of embers and ashes, blowing around the room.
Rainbow Dash looked up with confidence in her new found power. she slowly walked towards the ghastly image of her mother. With each step she took, her mother cringed with heavy fear.
“Stay back!” she cried desperately. Rainbow didn’t listen and continued until invisible death shield was almost upon her. Ultraviolet starred on helplessly in horror. With one last scream, Rainbow closed her eyes and pressed forward courageously, as she deteriorated her copied mother into a cloud of dust and more dark ashes. As the clouds of dirt and soot fell to the ground, Rainbow stopped and looked at Fluttershy.
Fluttershy lay on the floor in pain, whimpering and cowering. Rainbow quickly ran to her and picked her up.
“Are you ok ‘Shy?” Dash said as Fluttershy looked up with a small smile on her face.
“I’m fine now that you’re here.”
Tears began to pour uncontrollably out of Dash’s eyes.”I’m so sorry ‘Shy! I should have known that I was in love with you. I was so stupid then. Will you forgive me?”
“You don’t have to tell me silly. I’m only part of your dream. You should leave now so you can tell the real me how you feel.”
Dash looked down and understood what she meant. As if on cue, a white light came down in a beam on Dash. Dash looked up and said goodbye to Fluttershy, as she entered the light’s warm glow.
Author's note: I'm sorry this took so long to get out but I've been busy with other projects. But now it's here and for your enjoyment. I will write one more chapter after this to complete this story so thank you all the fans of this because it was a fun story to write. Big shout out goes to my friend Askfoxxy for editing m story and making it all sparkly and clean!