Casualties of War

by Deathscar

Chapter 9.5: Memories Long Forgotten

“Never. Ever. Cross me.” The words were the last Fluttershy heard as she felt her captor’s grip release on her. She felt herself falling, tearing through the skies as she descended to the Earth below.

‘Fly. Come on! Fly!’ The voice in her head shouted but she could not muster enough energy to even open her eyes, much less move. Everything felt like a dream, the passing gusts, the flowing of her mane. After what seemed like forever, she felt the ground on her shoulder before everything dissolved into darkness.

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Fluttershy’s eyes slowly opened, taking in the darkness that surrounded her. The only source of light was in a small area around her, everywhere else was completely drenched in black. Pushing herself up on her hooves, she felt neither pain nor exhaustion. The first emotion that immediately took over her was fear.

“H-Hello? Anypony here? Hello!?” But the only reply that came was the endless echo of her own voice.

“T-Twilight!?” Her voice started to show her fear. “A-Applejack!? Rarity!? Rainbow!? Rainbow where are you!?” She ran as fast as she could into the darkness, the small spot of light following her. She ran straight ahead, tears filling her eyes and hoping she might hit a wall or any indication of where she might be. “Help! Where am I!? Anypony answer me!”

After a few seconds, Fluttershy stopped running. Her hooves failed her as she collapsed onto the floor, her eyes filled with tears and her body frozen with fear. “P-P-Please…anypony...” As she pleaded, a huge white light engulfed her without warning, blinding her temporarily and feeling her surroundings change.

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The still night brought about a fresh scent which lingered in the air. The surrounding trees and grass made sure the air was as pure as it could be. The call of the crickets and sound of rustling leaves were the only sounds that were present. Small gusts of wind blew silently across the forest, bringing with it the cooling touch of the breeze.

At the base of a tree, a small yellow Pegasus lay down, her hooves covering her face and tears filing her eyes. She contributed to the third sound in the seemingly lifeless forest, the sound of her heartbroken sobs.

Suddenly, the distant noise of a pony’s joyful humming filled the air, clashing with the devastated sobs of the foal lying at the bottom of the tree. Soon, a small pink Earth Pony bounced through the tightly woven trees, her mane puffy and messy and she wore a huge grin on her face. Hearing the soft sobs of the Pegasus caused the small filly to stop bouncing as she approached the odd pony a short distance away.

“Hello?” The Earth Pony asked and immediately, the yellow pony turned her head up, her face full of fear upon gazing at the odd pink filly in front of her. Her sobs turned into deep and heavy breaths.

“W-Wait! I’m not gonna hurt you! I promise!” The pink pony took another step forward and the yellow filly reacted by pushing herself against the tree as far as she could go.

“P-P-P-Please! I’ll do anything just don’t hurt me!” The butter-colored Pegasus managed to beg through her sobs.

“No! I’m not going to hurt you! I’m Pinkie Pie!” The pink pony lifted her hoof to the Pegasus, who lifted her hoof up to her face on reaction.

“F-F-F-Fluttershy…” The yellow Pegasus’s meek voice said. To every other pony it would have been inaudible but somehow, Pinkie Pie heard it clearly.

“Fluttershy? That’s such a cool name!” Pinkie yelled out, bouncing around. “Why are you here in the forest so late at night? And why are you alone?” The questions only reminded Fluttershy of the events that unfolded mere hours ago, filling her eyes with tears again.

“Oh no please don’t cry! I’ll get you home! Where do you live?” Without answering in words, Fluttershy lifted her hoof in the direction of Cloudsdale, directly above her, which seemed distant and small from where they were at. “Huh!? From Cloudsdale!? How’d you fall?” Turning back to the Pegasus she could see that her words were only causing the filly to cry more and more. “Isn’t anypony going to help you get back up?” The yellow Pegasus shook her head softly.

“Hmm… Not much I can do for now. Its getting late, why don’t you get some sleep?” Pinkie suggested.

Fluttershy again responded with a furious shook of her head.

“Afraid somepony might hurt you?” Fluttershy nodded lightly. “Hmm… I know! Why don’t I stay with you? That way nopony will be able to hurt you!” The suggestion seemed to soften Fluttershy’s sobs as she slowly opened her eyes to the grinning pony in front of her.

“Okay so it’s decided! Come on,” Pinkie stepped aside, leaving an area for Fluttershy to lie on, “go ahead!”

Fluttershy lay on the grass, her mind completely confused on why such an odd pony would be so kind to her.

“A-Aren’t you going to sleep too?” She asked, concerned.

“Hmm? Oh I will later, you go ahead first. I promise I’ll be here when you wake up.” Pinkie assured the worried filly. Fluttershy felt strangely comforted by Pinkie’s words. As she rested her head on the soft grass, the exhaustion of what had happened today took over her, quickly departing her away to dream land.

Pinkie sat quietly, staring intently at the shy pony in front of her eyes. She leaned forward to the sleeping pony, lifting her hoof and lightly poking the coat of the filly in front of her.

‘So this is what a Pegasus pony feels like!’ Pinkie thought in her head.

Pinkie sat, unmoving, her eyes locked onto Fluttershy. As time went on, the moon had slowly started to disappear with the first rays of sunlight but Pinkie didn’t budge from her spot. Suddenly, a large Pegasus descended from the skies above, landing quietly next to Fluttershy. The Pegasus had a long flowing red mane with a pearl white coat.

“Thank you kindly, Earth Pony for taking care of this young filly. I shall be taking her back to Cloudsdale now.”

“W-Wait! Fluttershy’s not even awake yet! Couldn’t we wait until-” The Pegasus leaned down to pick up the sleeping filly, lightly biting her coat and sitting the yellow foal onto her back. Fluttershy continued her peaceful sleep, unknown to the events happening around her.

“I’m truly sorry Earth Pony but we must make haste to Cloudsdale. I hope that your path and hers will cross again in the future. Many thanks for taking care of this fragile little filly.” With her words, the Pegasus took off high into the sky, leaving Pinkie alone on the grass floor as she watched her new found friend disappear into the morning clouds.

“Goodbye, Fluttershy…”

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The world shattered around her, dropping her into the black abyss of nothing.

“W-What was that!? What’s going on!? I didn’t even get to say goodbye to her!” Her questions went unanswered and once again, she felt a large light engulfing her. This time, however, it felt different. It felt…warm.

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Fluttershy’s eyes slowly fluttered open, her mouth moving slightly.

“W-Where am I?” Fluttershy asked in a soft tone. Glancing around, she saw the familiar sights of the top of the monument and felt the heavy storm raging around her, she was on but her memory lay in tatters. She remembered ascending the steps and seeing Rainbow, however, the events that unfolded after that were left broken in her mind.

“Flutters!!” Fluttershy glanced down to see Pinkie, crawling with tears in her eyes towards her. Upon reaching, Pinkie wasted no time in wrapping her hooves around her neck.

“P-Pinkie!?”

~~~~~~~~~~

“G-girls! She’s waking up!” Applejack’s voice seemed distant to Rainbow, who had fell unconscious. Her mind was brought to in tatters. She couldn’t remember what had happened and even the memories she recalled she couldn’t place them in order. Rainbow moved slightly and was given a sharp, stabbing reminder of her state.

The agony that surged through her body was unbearable, causing her to scream at the top of her lungs. The pain immediately sent the memories flying back into her mind. The memories of her under the effects of the strange syrum. The memories of her hurting her best friend.

“F-F-Fluttershy…” Rainbow tried desperately to stand but the searing pain only caused her to release another ear-piercing scream. She couldn’t see who surrounded her and she wasn’t even sure if the voice she heard mere seconds ago was truly from Applejack. Her ears picked up the sound of the pouring storm and the sound of a pony trotting closer to her.

“Rainbow! You know where Fluttershy is!?” The voice was distinctly Applejack’s but Rainbow’s mind refused to believe so. However, her mouth muttered the words without any thoughts.

“T-T-They got her.” Rainbow took a short breath. “A-at t-the temple. They got her…and it’s all my fault.” She could feel tears forming at her eyelids, the thought of what she had done to Fluttershy tore away at her already injured heart, her defenses weakening with each word she spoke.

“Temple? You mean the same temple we found you!?” Rainbow couldn’t identify the voice, it sounded like Twilight’s caring tone but she couldn’t be sure. The cyan Pegasus responded with a soft nod before feeling another surge of pain rush through her, this time managing to stifle her screams a little but the resulting yell was still relatively loud.

“I abandoned her. I was weak.” Rainbow felt the surge of energy she had drain out of her, reducing her voice to a mere squeak. Her mind had not thought of the words she was speaking, resulting in an hypnotic chant as she spoke.

“Rainbow, don’t give up on me, you hear” The injured Pegasus could feel a warm, hoof placed over her shoulder. She wanted to push the hoof away in rage, anger filling her heart, but the thought of another striking of pain from every inch of movement stifled her actions.

“I’m not loyalty…” She could feel the last of her energy sapping away, barely being able to squeak out her words. “I’m no friend…” Finally, her vision went dark. Pain was no longer present and the previous sounds of the world around her went mute.

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When Rainbow opened her eyes once more, she saw herself next to a pond in a large open field. The moon hung high in the night sky, decorated with the diamonds around it. Trees were nowhere to be seen as she lifted herself onto her hooves. The pond was still even though weeds and lilypads adorned the lake. Leaning forward, she saw her own reflection in the water.

“W-Where am I?” Rainbow suddenly noticed that the pain she felt had completely disappeared, she threw more glances to the area around her but there was neither sign nor indication of where she might be.

“Well it’s about time you came!” A voice rang out from behind, startling Rainbow and causing her to jump and turn around in surprise. At first, Rainbow thought her eyes were playing tricks on her for in front of her stood…herself.

It was an almost identical twin, same height and mane. However, there was one distinct difference. Most of the color of the mare in front of her had faded to a shade of grey. The only colors remaining were a light blue and a yellow in her mane and tail.

“Who are you!?” Rainbow asked the imposter in front of her but was met with a laugh.

“Aw come on! Its no fun if I tell you now is it?” The doppelganger replied.

“So what, you’re going to make me guess? I’m really not in the mood for this.”

“Well, yeah! Come on, it isn’t that hard!”

“I’m not playing your game whoever you are. Just tell me where in Equestria I am right now!” Rainbow demanded.

“Wow am I really that short tempered?” The copy asked, a smile on her face.

“Answer me!”

“Not before you guess who I am!” The other Rainbow answered immediately, as if expecting that response.

Silence engulfed the two mares; Rainbow’s anger could be felt from meters away as her nostrils flared with each breath she took.

“I couldn’t care less who you are.” Rainbow responded coldly.

“What about your friends?”

“Friends? Hmph. They’ve probably abandoned me after I told them what I did to Fluttershy. They’ve probably left me to rot in the forest, to lie there in a pit of mud where nopony will find me.” Rainbow turned around, showing her flank to her copy. “And I don’t blame them. I’d rather die then face her again.”

“Aww come on Rainbow. You know Fluttershy doesn’t-”

“Doesn’t what!?” Rainbow spun back around, tears in her eyes and her face flushed with rage. “Doesn’t hate my guts for leaving her to die!? Doesn’t think I’m a horrible friend!?” She shouted heartlessly towards her copy. “D…Doesn’t want me…dead?” Her voice descended into a whisper. Almost as if she didn’t want the mare in front of her to hear.

“Come on Rainbow! Your friends care for you! They won’t leave you!”

“What friends?” At these chilling words, the second Rainbow closed her eyes and with a tear, the light blue in her mane and tail drained away, shocking the original Rainbow Dash.

“I guess you really have no idea how much they care for you, do you?” Rainbow didn’t dare answer the question, biting her bottom lip. “I’ll show you.” With a flash, Rainbow suddenly felt a huge sharp pain shoot into her body. She lost all energy in her hooves, collapsing onto the soft grass below. The screams of agony echoed through the field but her doppelganger paid no attention.

“W-What are you doing to me!?” Rainbow managed to force out in between her screams.

“I’m simply waking you up.” The copy said with an emotionless expression. The yells and screams continued as more and more pain engulfed her.

“H-Help me! I don’t want to be alone again!” Rainbow pleaded and begged but the pony in front of her simply stood and watched as she collapsed on the floor, her vision fading away completely.

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When she reopened her eyes, she saw nothing but the heavy rain pouring in front of the forest. She felt a odd feeling through her Shadowbolt suit, one that felt soft and thin but she thought nothing of it, still assuming that she was left alone in the forest at some remote area.

“A-Alone again.” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself, not aware of the pony sitting beside her.

“No, Rainbow. You ain’t alone. I’m here.” Applejack’s voice struck something within Rainbow. Both shock and sadness filled her heart.

“Applejack?” Rainbow asked weakly.

“Yes, sugercube. I’m here. No worries now.”

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“It-It hurts. The guilt, it hurts so much. I wish it would just all go away…” Rainbow’s voice trailed off into an inaudible mumble as she again, felt the familiar feeling of the last of her energy drain away.

When she awoke, she was once again at the pond’s edge. Nothing seemed to have changed as she felt her wounds disappear again.

“So, convinced now?” The voice made Rainbow jump again and just as she remembered, there was the grey her, standing with only the yellow color left in her mane and tail.

“Convinced about what?”

“That they still care for you silly!” The grey Rainbow Dash’s cheerful demeanor returned in an instant, a huge smile on her face.

“Applejack cares… but what about the others?”

“That I’m afraid I can’t show you. But now will you guess who I am?” No response came. “Okay I’ll give you some hints. I was something you treasured a lot. I was something you believed in everyday of your life, something you would never abandon and I made you about 20% cooler than other ponies.” Her arrogant expression angered Rainbow.

“How are those hints!?” Rainbow shouted angrily.

“Hey, don’t scream at me! Okay one last hint for you then you take all the time in the world to guess until you’re right! We have time to kill anyway. Last hint. I start with the letter L.”

“L-Loyalty?” Rainbow answered on instinct.

“Oh finally! Took you long enough!” Her clone said as she rolled her eyes.

“W-What do you mean you’re loyalty? That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Well, I’m not really up for explaining things, too boring. How about I just try to show you?”

“S-Show me? What-”

“Too many questions! Rainbow you need to take it easier. I know you! You’re the last pony to ask how something works if it just…does! And now I can-” A sudden rumble interrupted the grey Rainbow’s words. As soon as the rumble ended, the expression on her face changed to one of pure horror. “Oh no. Rainbow. Whatever happens, never forget th-”

The copy disappeared into thin air without warning as the world around her shattered into fragments like glass. Rainbow desperately looked around her. She now stood on an invisible floor with pure white space all around her.

“W-What’s going on!? Anypony!?” She yelled out into the empty space but only found the distinct reply of her own voice. “Hello!? Somepony!? Anypony!?”

Suddenly, she heard a rattling sound echo near her. She froze in fear, recognizing that rattling sound instantly.

“No! No I won’t let you take me!” Rainbow screamed, running as fast as she could away from where she thought the sound was coming from. However, mere seconds later she felt something wrap around her back-left hoof, tightening it till she felt pain going through her body. Her screams were only intensified when she felt the same cold metal wrap around her back-right hoof, immobilizing her on the ground she stood.

“No! Stop! Please! I’ll do anything!” However, her begs were turned quickly into tears when two long, rusty chains shot out from the light, wrapping around both of her forehooves and slamming them to the ground. “No! I-I don’t want to hurt anypony anymore!” However, it was too late. Her tears and her broken tone did nothing except making her feel even more helpless.

Rainbow struggled as best she could but the more she tried to break free, the tighter the chains seem to get. All of a sudden, a large tear appeared in front of Rainbow’s face in the air, creating a huge hole for her to gaze through. The hole showed her rising from the fabric she had slept on in the harsh reality with the storm still raging hard.

“T-That’s…That’s my view. That’s through my eyes!! Stop it! Don’t you dare hurt-” The vision through the tear showed ‘Rainbow’ turning around, facing a shocked Applejack.

“No. Applejack run! Run away from me! Leave!!” She screamed into the tear in front of her, struggling against the chains so hard that it had almost started to cut into her skin. But it was no use, she could only watch with tear filled eyes and a guilt ridden heart as ‘Rainbow’ leaned down to pick up a razor-sharp rock…

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Credits
How Pinkie Pie met Fluttershy Inspiration: http://sycharge.deviantart.com/favourites/49154217#/d4ckq7d

Comments

[chewyrainbow]

oh my god how has no one posted yet? this ones is like, crazy!

[BloodLustShade]

This story inspires me so much.