• Published 4th Dec 2013
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Rainbow's Quest - Zetriax



Rainbow Dash is having a lazy day when Pinkie Pie gives her a strange stone. Through many trials and discoveries, she embarks on a quest like never before.

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Fear of the Darkness

Chapter 20- Fear of the Darkness
"You may enter," said a guard.
The three ponies stepped between the two massive wooden doors that led into Queen Twilight's audience chamber. The lavender alicorn was seated on the throne that was once occupied by Princess Celestia. She lifted her purple gaze to her approaching subjects.
"Ah, Shadow. I did not expect your arrival. Is something wrong in Ponyville?" the Queen asked. Then her eyes darted to Rainbow Dash. A worried look crept into her eyes. "She still hasn't returned to her time. Isn't there any way for her to get back?"
"There is. That's why we have come here," Shadow replied to his mentor.
Twilight Sparkle cocked her head. "Really? I've searched the libraries for time spells. The trouble is that they're all temporary. I've also looked up alternative time travel methods, but came up empty-hoofed. What could I have over-looked?"
"Rainbow knew of this book called Relics and Artifacts. We read up on the Fate Stones and found something that suggested that Starswirl had a second Fate Stone. When he hid it, he died before having the chance to use it. He died when he was living here in Canterlot Castle," Shadow explained.
Twilight pondered for a moment. "So, you're saying that the Fate Stone may be hidden in the castle? This place is really big, it could be anywhere."
"Maybe," Rainbow spoke up, "Starswirl hid it among his personal belongings. He obviously found the artifact dangerous. I doubt he would hide it where anypony could stumble upon it."
"You may be correct, Rainbow. However, most of his stuff is on display in his former room. There certainly wasn't a Fate Stone among his collection of relics. At least not that I saw."
"It may be disguised," Scootaloo suggested, "If he's as great a wizard as everypony claims, I wouldn't put it past his ability to cast a spell to make one thing look like another."
"Alright, I'm convinced," said Twilight. "Come on, let me take you to his old bedroom."
Together, the ponies marched out of the audience chamber and into the corridor, Rainbow hovering alongside the group. They trotted through so many hallways and passages that, before long, Rainbow was hopelessly lost.
"So, has Dash improved on her attitude since last we met?" the purple mare asked Rainbow.
"No. She's… changed. And not for the better. She doesn't even look like me anymore. I don't bother with the cloak disguise much anymore. The deranged pegasus tried to kill me! Twice! I've come far too close to death for comfort because of her," Rainbow replied, cringing at the bitter memories.
"She even looks different? How so?"
"Her pelt and mane has gone pitch black and her irises around her eyes are red. I'm not sure how it's even possible but it happened."
"Hmm," said Twilight. "It sounds kind of like the time all of us faced off against Discord. When we stopped being true to ourselves, we all turned grey. Has she gone so far past her true self that she's turned into the opposite of her true self?"
Rainbow was a bit confused. "I thought Discord had made us the opposite of ourselves back then. We didn't change to black."
"Discord only made us behave the opposite of ourselves," Twilight explained. "Deep down we were still ourselves. I think Dash may have changed who she actually is."
Though understanding slightly better, she was still pretty much confused by the whole idea. The ponies lapsed into a thoughtful silence. Twilight navigated the twisting hallways with ease, the other three blindly following her lead. Eventually, they stopped at a well adorned door. A sign hung from the front of it, reading: Starswirl the Bearded.
The room inside was neat and homey. A canopy bed was nestled in one corner beside an elaborately carved wardrobe. A telescope was set up at the window. Nearby was a desk that was probably, long ago, piled high with papers and notes. There was also a wall lined with glass display cases. In the cases were all sorts of trinkets, tools, and oddities. Rainbow scanned through the cases, looking for anything that resembled the small white stone that had brought her here.
"What was in this?" Scootaloo asked from the end of one of the display. Twilight cantered up to the display the orange mare had indicated, Rainbow close behind. The glass had been shattered and the shelf inside was empty.
"I believe that contained Starswirl's stopwatches. He had two of them. One of them was a normal watch one would wear around their neck. The other one was silver and wouldn't open. There was this slip of paper attached to it that said something like: 'Will not open unless the end draws near'. At least, that's what I think it said. It was stolen about a year ago, right around the time the princesses went missing," Twilight responded.
Rainbow stood rigid for a second. Could it be? "Did the watch look like this?" Rainbow showed Twilight the watch that had appeared in the library on her first day. She had been wearing it around her neck but Twilight obviously hadn't noticed until Rainbow pointed it out.
Twilight looked at the watch. "How did you get this?" the purple pony asked incredulously.
"It appeared out of nowhere on the desk in Shadow's library. It came with a note telling me that the end was near, signed by Ragnarok."
"Really?" She opened the watch and gazed inside. There were only six days left. The alicorn queen swiftly snapped the watch shut and handed it back to Rainbow.
"So that's what it was. And, do you think the other one was…"
Shadow turned to look at his mentor. "Are you suggesting the other watch was actually the Fate Stone?"
Twilight nodded. An icy chill swept over Rainbow. Now what where they supposed to do? Once again the stone had eluded them.
At first, Rainbow had thought the chill was simply her own dark realization of the truth. But then the other ponies shivered a bit. The light around them began to grow dim. No. Not again. A black mist rose from the ground and began to coalesce in front of them. Rainbow was frozen with terror as the Fallen materialized right in front of her. Up close, she could tell it was taller than she had originally thought; probably rivaling Celestia's height.
"RUN!" shouted Shadow Flare.
The Fallen let out a demented shriek and bolted after them. The four ponies darted out of the room and into the vast maze of hallways. Though Rainbow, Scootaloo and Twilight all flew, they had to slow down to allow Shadow to keep up on hoof. The Fallen had no trouble keeping up with them.
The ponies rounded the corner and suddenly stopped. It was a dead end. The four doors on either side of the hall were all locked. The Fallen found that they were trapped and advanced slowly.
"Stay back!" Twilight Sparkle ordered the others. As they obeyed, an aura began to surround her horn. As the spell gathered power, the aura grew brighter until Rainbow had to shield her eyes to keep from going blind. Suddenly, Twilight released the spell. A ray of pure, concentrated light shot at the shadow horse. The Fallen roared in agony as it dissipated into nothingness.
Twilight sank to the ground, unconscious. Shadow Flare and Scootaloo raced to the queen's side, but Rainbow stayed where she was. She was gazing at the spot where the Fallen had once stood. The shadows began to rise once more from the ground. Only, this time they weren't shadows. The fog was white, like mist. The vapors came together into a solid form. It was a green filly with a pink mane. Rainbow recognized her. It was the same filly that disappeared on the train.