Hùndùn

by LoZLttP13

II-VI. The Challenge

Rainbow Dash knelt under the distraught, stunned gaze of her father for a full half minute, during which time the tension that hung in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. Rainbow Blaze could not comprehend, nor was he willing to accept, that he had just received such an absurdly gargantuan and overwhelmingly ominous request from his daughter. What made this all the more surreal was that Dash should have known better. After all, as impulsive and hotheaded as she might be, she wasn't stupid, and she had a deep enough knowledge of the scope and intricacies of combat that she had achieved masterhood in her martial arts career. Furthermore, she was incontestably the finest kung fu practitioner of those who were her age; like Blaze, she was nothing less than a martial arts prodigy whose natural talent was second to none.

But the fact remained that, though Dash was undoubtedly extremely talented and her father couldn't have been any more proud of what a strong, driven, and passionate fine young woman she had become, she was still nothing more than a little, fifteen-year-old mortal girl. Rainbow Dash was barely more than a child. It seemed only yesterday that Rainbow Blaze had been changing her diapers, watching her take her first steps, and rocking her to sleep. It had been barely a decade since Dash had gone on her first playdates, thrown tantrums over having to eat green vegetables, and run sobbing to Blaze's bedroom to be comforted after being woken up by scary dreams.

Dash was still smaller than most other girls her age, she was still not finished growing up, and she still had much left to learn. Though she might have been a fearsome warrior of legendary proportions among her fellow teenaged martial artists, Dash had still never defeated her own father in one-on-one combat, and he wasn't even a full Grandmaster. And even the handful of mortal kung fu Grandmasters were no match for even the least skilled of the Gods.

Word had swiftly reached Rainbow Blaze after his daughter had attempted to fight Nightmare Moon when she was released on the night of the last Celebration. He thought he almost had a heart attack then, as he was absolutely sure that Dash would have been swiftly and effortlessly killed by the just-unsealed dark Goddess. The messenger quickly assured him that Dash was still alive, though her duel with Nightmare Moon had been as short and one-sided as Blaze had immediately assumed it was. He was baffled that his daughter had survived, and was utterly convinced that she only did because Nightmare Moon was deliberately holding back to make sure that she didn't kill her, which Dash later confirmed to him. Scorpan might have been a far less competent warrior than Princess Luna, but this had about as much significance to mortal Beings as the fact that cats are much smaller than horses would for mice, and it was clear that Scorpan had none of the self-restraint or mercy his elder sister posessed. Rainbow Dash had already battled a merciful and kind-hearted Goddess, and had lost very decisively; she should have known that a duel against a cruel and merciless God would be literal suicide.

Suicide. That was the correct word. Rainbow Blaze felt exactly the same at that moment as if Dash had just asked him to give her a loaded revolver with which she could blow her own brains out. He was so completely and overwhelmingly shocked and terrified that he was utterly speechless, and had absolutely no idea what to do. This must be the very worst a parent could ever feel, he thought. He was unable to breathe. Blaze might have been about to lose his little girl. His baby. Rainbow Blaze had already lost one daughter, which had been enough to make him hate his ex-wife to the point that he never told Dash about her, and hoped that she'd never see her again.

Blaze had already had one of his children taken away from him. He was not going to lose his other one.

Blaze's eyes narrowed with burning, infernal fury; the fury only a father in danger of watching his child lose their very life could have. He folded his arms across his chest, and he uttered a single word. Dash had never heard the word, nor the firm, intensely harsh tone in which it was spoken, ever uttered to her by her father in her entire life until then:

"No."

Rainbow Blaze said the word very softly, but it rang as clearly as if he had shouted it. It was the only word that could even begin to convey all of his thoughts at that moment, and it held a finality and decisiveness that no other word could. Rainbow Blaze had never invoked his status as Rainbow Dash's father until he muttered that word, and all fifteen years of his stockpiled unspent parental authority were behind it; there would be no arguing. There would be no appeal.

An unstoppable force collides with an immovable object.

Dash remained prostrated before her father, and several more moments of long, tense silence fell between them. Blaze waited for his daughter to stand back up throughout that time, but she was as motionless as a statue.

Blaze's terror and anger built up within him, reddening his face and driving him to clench his jaw, grinding his teeth together. At last his fury and impatience came to a head, at which point he said, "Get up, Dash."

"Teach me, Father," Dash said.

"No."

"Please."

"No."

Dash looked up at her father, returning his glare. "Teach. Me. How. To. Defeat. Scorpan," she said. It was not a request.

"NO!!" Blaze shouted. Though his answer was short, it was loud and fearsome enough to be a roar.

Rainbow Dash continued glaring at her father for a few moments, then she closed her eyes. "Very well," she said. She stood up, turned around, then began walking to the dojo's exit.

"Where are you going?" Blaze said.

"To fight Scorpan," Dash replied.

"No, you are NOT!" Blaze barked, marching towards his daughter.

"Yes, I am," Dash replied. "If you're not gonna help me, I'm as ready as I'm gonna be."

Rainbow Blaze grabbed his daughter's wrist, stopping her. "Rainbow Dash, YOU LISTEN TO ME!!" he roared. "You are absolutely fucking NOT gonna fight A FUCKING GOD!!"

Dash turned around and began attempting to jerk her arm out of her father's grip. "You can't FUCKING STOP ME!!" she screamed.

Dash threw a punch at her father's face, which he caught in his palm. She then attempted to kick him, which Blaze dodged before lifting up the arm he was gripping and twisting it, causing Dash's glare to vanish as she cringed and cried out at the intense pain it caused.

There was a second or two more of struggling, but Rainbow Dash's father swiftly subdued her, keeping her arm twisted so hard that pained tears welled in her eyes. "I will break your fucking arm, Dash," Rainbow Blaze said, his voice quite soft once again.

Dash let out a small sob before screaming through the tears pouring down her cheeks, "Go ahead! Break my legs, too, for all I fucking care! I'll crawl on my fucking hands and knees to fight h-him!"

Blaze was now weeping, as well. With a few well-placed grabs and twists, he wrestled his daughter to the ground, pinned her legs beneath his knees, then delivered a very hard slap against her cheek. His face was contorted with unbearable grief and terror.

Dash's cheek felt like it was on fire, causing her own tears to flow even harder, but her resolve was utterly unshaken; she looked defiantly up at her father and shouted, "You can't stop me, Dad! You can cut off my wings and chain me up in a dungeon, but I'm still gonna fight Scorpan! I don't care if you won't help me, and I don't care if you won't let me!"

"YOU CAN'T BEAT HIM, RAINBOW DASH!!" Blaze screamed. He was completely hysterical at this point. "He will KILL YOU!!"

"I. Don't. CARE!! Rainbow Dash screamed back. She began to struggle to escape from his restraint again as she sobbed, "I know he's gonna kill me, and I know I can't beat him, but I gotta try!!"

Blaze's expression softened and he relaxed a little as Dash continued sobbing, "I h-have to try, Dad! I can't just stand by and do nothing while Scorpan has Scootaloo! I have to save her! Do you fuckin' know what they're gonna do to her?! I... I-I can't...."

Rainbow Dash swallowed, caught her breath, then gave her father the most heartbreakingly pleading look he had ever seen as she whispered, "I can't let them hurt her. I can't. Wouldn't... wouldn't you do the same if he had me?"

Rainbow Blaze's expression was completely blank. His eyes were wide and unfocused, as though he was staring at something in the far distance. His chest felt as though it were filled with lead; a deeper and more oppressive fear than any he had ever known had settled upon him, and its weight was so great that his psyche shattered under it. At that moment, he realized a terrible, devastating truth:

Rainbow Dash was right.

Blaze could see now that there really was no possible way he could prevent his daughter from dueling Scorpan. It was easy to see that her love for Scootaloo was every bit as powerful as Blaze's was for her, and that she would therefore go to any lengths to prevent her from meeting the horrific fate that awaited her. Besides, someone had to try to stop the God of Storms, even if they had no chance of succeeding; they couldn't just sit back and do nothing while that despicable despot of a Prince performed unspeakable crimes against innocent young children.

Rainbow Dash was going to get killed. Almost certainly. Her father was too horrified and devastated by this fact to show any emotion for quite a while, though he released Dash from his restraint and stood up as he allowed it to sink in. Seeing how completely distressed her father was, Rainbow Dash said concernedly, "Um- Dad? Are... are you alright?"

Blaze thought frantically for a few seconds, desperately searching for some other way- any other way, to attempt to save the children Scorpan had taken prisoner without putting his daughter's life in danger. He thought of trying to convince one of the free Gods to duel Scorpan instead, but he knew Scorpan would never agree to it. He thought of asking a Grandmaster to fight Scorpan in Dash's place, but he knew there was no way in the Seven Hells he'd be able to convince one to; the odds of their survival in said suicide mission were barely better than Dash's. He even thought of volunteering to fight Scorpan himself, but he quickly realized that he wouldn't have enough strength or drive to make up for his inability to match Scorpan's skill.

However, with this last observation, Blaze's eyes widened as an idea struck him. He looked back at Rainbow Dash, and gazed thoughtfully at her for a few moments. Though she was far less competent than Blaze at martial arts, she did have an intense, burning passion about this task that no one else could. Furthermore, though she wasn't yet a high-level master, she could still reliably handle sparring with him. This was because her basics and techniques were excellent; all that was left was fine-tuning the details and increasing their efficiency and precision. Though she didn't have highest-tier speed or strength at any of her forms yet, she still knew how to react to any given situation within the context of a one-on-one battle.

Rainbow Dash also had an extremely similar personality to Scorpan, at least so far as their passion and impulsivity went. And this was no coincidence. Perhaps Dash really did have a chance, albeit a tiny one, to defeat Scorpan after all.

Rainbow Blaze sighed with heavy resignation. "Alright, Dash," he muttered. He offered his daughter his hand, which she reluctantly took before he helped her back onto her feet. He then turned towards the dojo's exit and said with a nod, "Come with me."

Confusedly, though with her determination completely intact, Rainbow Dash shook her head and said, "I told you, Dad, you can't stop me-"

"I know I can't," Blaze replied wearily. "Since there's no way to convince you not to duel Scorpan, my best chance at ensuring your survival against him is to train you to fight him."

Dash's eyes widened with shock. "Wait- you're gonna do it?" she said astonishedly.

Blaze nodded. "Yes," he said. "However, I cannot begin your training here. There is a lesson I must teach you first. A story, more specifically."

Even more baffled but now deeply intrigued, Dash obediently followed her father back out of his dojo.

Rainbow Blaze led his daughter to his study, which was a highly cluttered collection of old magazines and accounting books piled on top of wooden bookshelves and a dark oaken desk. Rainbow Blaze sorted through the codexes, tossing them aside for several minutes until he found an ancient, rectangular lidded bamboo box that was closed with a brass latch and bore the Rainbow family name in black-inked, brush-stroked ancient Elvish kanji.

As he unlatched the box and opened the lid, Blaze said to his daughter, "Sit, Dash."

After a moment of hesitation, Dash nodded before kneeling on the ground as her father carefully lifted an extremely old parchment scroll from the wooden box.

"Let me tell you the story of our family," Rainbow Blaze began. He leaned against his desk and folded his arms before continuing, "This scroll contains a genealogy of our ancestral line, and its records reach as far back as the Divided Age."

Dash's eyes widened. "Wait- over a thousand years?!" she said disbelievingly.

Blaze nodded. "That's right," he said. "Our ancestors have diligently recorded our family line for many, many generations. They have done so because ours is a truly proud heritage."

Dash smirkingly scoffed. "Well, duh," she said. "I mean, we're descendants of Commander Hurricane, aren't we?"

"We are," Blaze replied. "However, it was not her that inspired our forefathers to begin recording our line; after all, she was a great commander, but she was not a noble. In those times, no matter how great a commoner was, their name did not grant any prestige to their children. However, Commander Hurricane did carry within her the blood of nobility. Two nobles, in fact. Of course, she was a bastard, so her parentage still didn't grant her any status amongst other Beings; however, her ancestry was still so exceptional that she and the rest of our family vowed to pass our knowledge of it down to our descendants, so that at least they could appreciate the glory that flows in our veins.

"The story of our family began with a young Asgardian Angel farmer-girl named Silent Owl. She was a gardener and pegasus milkmaid who lived rather close to the Royal Palace. She was a child and an orphan, but she was a very diligent worker and was said to possess such great beauty that it could even rival that of Goddesses.

"Every day, after she had finished tending her master's gardens and milking his pegasus mares, she would bring an earthen pot to the city market and wash herself in the fountain at its center. After she had stripped and was pouring the fountain's water over herself one day, the Prince Scorpan passed over her while riding a chariot pulled by two of his own pegasi. He spotted Silent Owl, and was so taken by her extraordinary beauty that he immediately captured her and carried her off to his palace."

Rainbow's mouth was slightly open, and her expression was a mixture of intense anger, fear, shock, and despair, as she had already guessed where this was going.

"He kept her in his dungeon and raped her every night," Blaze continued. "Silent Owl watched as he captured other children and did the same to them, as well. However, unlike the other slaves, Silent found that she remained alive for several years; Scorpan would often grow bored of the other children within a few days or weeks, at which time he would have them beheaded and fed to his dogs. Silent, on the other hand, did not meet this fate like the others did; Scorpan told her that this was because she was so beautiful that doing so would be incredibly wasteful, and so he would keep her until she lost her beauty. As a result, she grew old enough that she was able to bear him a daughter, who she named Firefly."

Rainbow Dash began to feel ill. "Did..." she said. She took a deep breath, then tried again; "Was Firefly... I mean, did Scorpan...?"

Though Dash was afraid to complete her question, her father understood it; he nodded and replied, "I'm afraid so. Firefly was too gifted with exquisite beauty, and so Scorpan subjected her to the same fate as her mother."

Rainbow Dash thought she might vomit; she swooned, bent over, and placed her hand on the floor. "Oh, Celestia...!" she muttered in a horrified whisper. "His own fucking daughter...?!"

Rainbow Blaze said nothing as his daughter took a few deep breaths, desperately attempting to calm herself before she got sick out of horrified disgust. Truth be told, he was feeling more than a little nauseated, as well, though it was largely displaced by his own even-more powerful fury. Nothing made Blaze so frothingly livid as other men exploiting their children in such sickening fashion merely for their own twisted pleasure. He'd immediately ended his closest friendship after learning that his best mate was such a man before sending the Royal Gard after him, so powerful was this conviction.

"How could he?!" Rainbow cried astonishedly once she was sitting back up. Her eyes were narrowed with newly-rekindled white-hot rage. "How fucking could that piece of dogshit do that?!"

"Because he is a God," Rainbow Blaze replied simply. "There's really not anything more to it than that."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Oh! So you're telling me that all Gods rape their kids?!"

"No, I didn't say that," Blaze said, frowning firmly at Dash. "It wasn't his reason so much as his excuse."

Rainbow raised a brow in puzzlement. "What the hell does that mean?" she said.

"Because Prince Scorpan is a God, he has no inhibitions," Blaze replied. "He is immortal, so he does not fear death. Physically, he is perfection, so the adverse consequences that plague mortals engaging in incest do not apply to him. But most importantly, his power is so great that almost none can hope to stop him from doing whatever he pleases."

Dash's eyes narrowed with anger again. "But Celestia could. Why didn't she stop him before he started fucking his daughters?!"

"I don't know, Dash," Blaze replied. His voice was chiding and firm. "Do not condemn our Princess so hastily. There are a great many possible explanations for why Celestia did not act sooner than she did; perhaps she didn't know. Perhaps she had other, even more pressing matters to deal with at the time. Or it might even be that she perhaps cared so deeply for her little brother that she wanted to avoid eternally damning him if at all possible, and doing so was her absolute last resort after trying many other ways to convince him to stop of his own will. But the fact remains that she did eventually Seal him, and so she ultimately did perform her duty to defend us, whatever mistakes she might have made before then."

Taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash nodded before sighing, "I understand, Father."

Rainbow Blaze gazed silently at his daughter for a moment before continuing, "Back to my story, Firefly was as stunning as her mother, if not more so; fitting, considering that she had a God for a father, I should think."

"Wait- what race was she?" Dash interrupted him. "Was she an Angel, like Silent was?"

Blaze nodded. "Yes, Dash," he said. "If a God sires children with a mortal, their child will be the same race as their mortal parent."

Dash nodded. "I see. Sorry for interrupting you."

Waving his hand dismissively, Blaze replied, "No trouble. Anyway, Firefly's beauty was so great, in fact, that she caught the attention of Prince Horus."

"Ugh! Are you fuckin' kidding me?!" Dash shouted. "Not only did her dad take advantage of her, but her goddamned uncle did, too?!"

"Be still, Dash," Blaze said firmly, to which Dash obediently fell silent, meekly nodded, then returned to her formal sitting position. Blaze then said, "Yes, Firefly's uncle Horus had a physical relationship with her, much like her father Scorpan did. However, there is a key difference between the two; she hated Scorpan and resisted his attentions, while she welcomed those of Horus, and loved him quite dearly."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. "W-what?!" she said astonishedly. "How in the Seven Hells...?!"

Dash held her head and was silent for several moments, then her father said, "Horus was quite kind and considerate to her. He gave her anything she asked, though she didn't dare ask for her freedom. At least for a while. But she saw that Horus truly was sorry for her, and he truly did want to help her, though he was either unable or unwilling to."

Dash's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Well, which was it?" she said.

Blaze shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "Our family has been asking ourself that same question for thousands of years. Horus never explained the reasons behind his reluctance at freeing Firefly, though she suspected that it had everything to do with Scorpan, and what he would do if Horus went through with it."

Rainbow was quite shocked. "Scorpan... had that much power over him?" she asked. "I thought they were complete equals...."

Blaze shrugged again. "They might be," he said. "Or they might not. We may never know."

Dash nodded. "Alright. So what happened next?" she said.

"After a few years, Firefly built up the courage to ask her uncle for aid. She begged him to free her; he replied that though he couldn't release her, he could help her escape.

"He began training her in the art of combat for many, many nights. Her natural talent and the skill she came to possess was beyond that of any mortal man he had ever seen; even his own personal Guardsmen. She became so strong that he knew she would escape his brother's clutches on her own, and so he gave her her cell key upon the completion of her training. That night, after she unlocked her cell, she fought her way through the Asgardian Royal Guard and fled far from the royal palace. She never encountered either Prince again.

"However, she soon learned that she was carrying Horus's child. She had no doubt that the father was Horus, as Scorpan had taken a band of followers to pillage and raid faraway lands during the period of time that their child could have been conceived in. The child Firefly bore her uncle turned out to be a girl, as well, and Firefly bestowed her and Horus's daughter with the name 'Hurricane'."

Rainbow Dash's mouth was agape, and her expression was one of simultaneous amazement and horror. Blaze finished, "Hurricane was trained by her mother as her mother had been trained by her father, and she grew to become a warrior every bit as fearsome as her parents; she is the same Hurricane who rose to become the Commander of the fearsome Amazonian Army; co-founded Equestria with Princess Platinum, Chancellor Puddinghead, Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia; and was the general of Celestia's armies in her campaigns against Princess Chrysalis and Princess Sonata during the Second War of the Gods."

Upon completing his story, Blaze stood and handed the scroll he was holding to Dash. Dash unrolled it, and read the words written in its header aloud:

"The Lineage of the Rainbow House; the Proud Clan Bearing the Blood of the Gods and Princes of Asgard Scorpan, Lord of Storms; and Horus, Lord of the Skies."

"It is no accident that our family has such a long history of great warriors and legendary fliers, Dash," Blaze said, folding his arms and softly smiling. "Most mortals have divine blood within their veins, but it is a rare thing indeed for a mortal to be born with a God for both a parent and a grandparent. This is because mortals with so much divinity within them are born with exceptional power and potential- not enough to match a God, but still beyond that of any other mortals. A God can only sire truly divine children with another God, but a mortal with two Gods for close ancestors comes so near to this that they were nicknamed 'demigods' in olden times, as their intelligence, beauty, and strength seems 'half-godlike'. The Gods fear this power, and so go to great lengths to ensure that this never happens, lest their children turn on them and wield the strength to potentially usurp them."

Rainbow Blaze placed the tip of his index finger in the center of his daughter's chest. "Furthermore," he said, "though the majority of a Being's apparent strength is in their blood, we often forget that there is an even greater source of power within all of us."

Blaze grinned. "A Being's Chi can be drawn from their nourishment, their strength, or even from the energy and world around them. But there is yet another source of Chi that all Beings can draw from, which cannot be exhausted, and is therefore a wellspring of limitless power: our emotions. Therefore, it is our hearts that are our greatest weapons, for there is nothing is all of the universe that is more powerful."

Rainbow Dash gazed concernedly at her father. "Uh, that's great, Dad..." she muttered. "But, um... I can't exactly use my feelings to cast spells, considering I'm not an Elf-"

Blaze burst into booming laughter. "I'm not talkin' about spells, Dash! I'm talking about your passion. Your determination. Have you ever asked yourself- how in Tartarus did Celestia and her brothers and sisters defeat Discord, the very King of the Earth and Spirit of Chaos? It is said that Discord's power outstripped that of his children as much as his children's power outstrips ours, Dash. They sure as shit didn't beat him with nothing more than the power of their Magic."

"So..." Dash said, "... their determination was great enough that they could match his power?"

"That's my theory," Blaze said, smirking. "And with all the determination you have to save Scootaloo, I'd say your odds are about as good as theirs was."

"But they still only barely defeated him, didn't they?" Dash said.

Blaze stopped smiling. "If you want to back out now, I urge you to," he said calmly.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "It's not gonna work, Dad," she said firmly.

Blaze sighed. "That's how it is, then, huh?" he said. "Alright, then. Since you're going to duel Scorpan, that's how you're gonna have any hope of beating him. What is the path to victory, Rainbow Dash?"

Dash sat up straight and dutifully recited, "You must turn your weaknesses into strengths, and use your strengths as weapons against your opponent. You must make your foe suffer for their weaknesses; and take their strength, and use it against them."

Blaze smirked. "And what is your greatest weapon?" he said.

Dash made a small gasp, suddenly understanding. "My heart," she answered quietly.

Rainbow Blaze grinned triumphantly. "Therefore, what must you do to defeat Prince Scorpan?!"

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, smirking. "I must rely upon it, and turn his heart against him."

---

It had been two days since Rainbow Dash had vanished from Avalon, and Pinkie was beginning to grow worried. It wasn't terribly uncommon for Rainbow to go off alone for long flights or to hit nightclubs, but never before had Pinkie not seen her friend for several days without explanation.

For this reason, when Twilight and Fluttershy entered the Sugar Shack in the early evening of the second day since Rainbow's disappearance together, Pinkie immediately cried to them, "Twilight, Fluttershy- have either of you seen Rainbow Dash?!"

Twilight shook her head. "No, I haven't," she said. "Sorry, Pinkie."

"I haven't either, sorry," Fluttershy added nervously.

Pinkie, who had been wiping off the selling-counter, lifted her hands up to her face and curled them as she placed them over her mouth. "Where is she?!" she wailed, tears beginning to well in her eyes. "I'm so worried! Something might've happened to her; she could've gone after Scorpan, or-!"

"I don't think she did," Fluttershy gently interjected. "I've seen her do things like this before. Usually, when she's gone for several days, it's because she went to visit her dad."

Pinkie turned surprisedly to Fluttershy. "You mean in Asgard?" she said quietly.

Fluttershy nodded.

Pinkie asked, "What does she do there?"

Fluttershy shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I imagine she goes there to talk to him."

Pinkie blinked a few times, then frowned angrily. "Hmph!" she huffed. "Well, she should at least tell us when she goes off like that! She shouldn't frighten us like that!"

Fluttershy nodded. "I agree," she said. She then turned towards the door and added, "I think we should go to her dad's, just to make sure she's there and that she's alright."

Pinkie blinked, then grinned and replied, "Great idea! My shift ends in twenty minutes, so let's go then! But... how will we get there?"

Fluttershy smiled. "We can ride a pegasus there," she said. "They don't cost too much to rent, one will get us there more quickly than the train, and Rainbow Blaze has stables we can keep it in."

Beaming, Pinkie nodded. "That's perfect, Fluttershy!" she said. "How much do they cost to rent? I could split the price with you!"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, that's alright, Pinkie; it's not a problem," she reassured her.

Pinkie said gratefully, "Thanks so much, Fluttershy. You're the bestest friend ever."

While Fluttershy was off renting a pegasus, Twilight purchased an ice cream cone for herself and one for Spike before returning to the library and leaving Pinkie to finish closing up the bakery. Once her shift was completed, Pinkie went outside to find Fluttershy standing beside a large, brown pegasus fitted with a two-person saddle. Fluttershy was holding its reigns with one hand and gently stroking its neck with her other, which it received with great enthusiasm.

"It's beautiful, Fluttershy!" Pinkie gasped. "What's its name?"

"Caramel," Fluttershy replied, smilingly feeding the pegasus a carrot. "The stabler told me that he was very friendly, and very fast. It was definitely half-true, at least."

Pinkie beamed. "Awesome!" she cried.

Fluttershy mounted Caramel and slid her feet into his front stirrups, then turned to Pinkie and said, "Shall we go, then?"

Pinkie grinned and replied with a salute, "Yes, ma'am!"

Giggling, Pinkie hopped on behind Fluttershy, then gripped her around the waist as Fluttershy took Caramel's reigns and urged him forward. After galloping for a few meters, Caramel flapped his wings and took to the air, rapidly climbing high into the heavens.

True to his owner's word, Caramel was quite fast. He took Pinkie and Fluttershy to Asgard in little more than an hour, at which time Pinkie gasped upon seeing it. "This is Asgard?" she said, stunned at the shining white Sky Marble skyscrapers jutted from the clouds. Each building had a large, unique, billowing flag flying from its top, so that each could be identified no matter how much their foundational clouds shifted and moved between each other.

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes," she said.

Pinkie Pie beamed. "It's so beautiful!" she cried.

A pang of familiar ache pulsed through Fluttershy. "It is," she said. If only it were as beautiful on the inside as it is on the out, she thought to herself.

It wasn't too long before Fluttershy found the flag marking the manor of Rainbow Blaze, which was emblazoned with his prismatic bow and arrow Mark. Fluttershy steered Caramel towards its front door as Pinkie said, "This is where Rainbow used to live? It's just like a castle!"

"Well, it is modeled after castles and temples from the central mainland of the Dragon Empire," Fluttershy replied. "Rainbow's grandfather immigrated to Asgard from there, actually."

"I see," Pinkie said as Fluttershy landed Caramel on the Sky Marble front porch. She and Pinkie slid off of their pegasus, then Fluttershy knocked upon the ornately-carved front doors.

The door was promptly answered by Matt, who gasped elatedly upon seeing Fluttershy. "Flutters!" he cried, catching her in a tight embrace, which she smilingly returned. "It's been forever, sis!" he added.

"It's good seeing you, too, Matt," Fluttershy replied as they pulled apart.

Matt turned and smiled to Pinkie. "You her friend, sweetheart?" he said kindly.

Pinkie grinningly nodded. "Mm-hmm! I'm Pinkie Pie!" she said.

"Nice to meet you," Matt said, offering Pinkie his hand.

Pinkie shook it, saying, "So, are you Dashie's uncle or something?"

Matt laughed before replying, "No, no, I'm just her family butler. Come in, girls; I'll take your horse to the stables for ya."

"Thank you, Matt," Fluttershy replied, handing Matt Caramel's reigns before leading Pinkie into the mansion.

Within a few minutes, Matt returned. After he had closed the front doors again, he said, "So, what brings you here this evening, girls? Would you like some tea or something?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, thank you, Matt," she replied politely. "We're here to see Rainbow Dash. Is she here?"

"She is," Matt replied cheerfully. He then turned around and beckoned to them, adding, "She's training with Blaze in the dojo. Come with me, please."

Pinkie and Fluttershy obeyed; they followed Matt up the mansion's grand staircase, down its eastern hall, and eventually came upon an ornate set of bamboo doors; from the other side, they could hear a man's voice shout:

"... harder, Dash!! I'm not your dad; I'm the motherfuckin' God of Storms!!"

They heard this answered with a hearty, "HYAAHH!!" from Rainbow Dash, accompanied by a painful-sounding SMACK!

"Good work, D!" Blaze shouted. "Now, keep defending! He's not gonna make a lot of openings-!"

Matt interrupted Blaze, however, by smartly knocking on the door and opening it, revealing Rainbow Dash and her father garbed in their combat uniforms and assuming battle stances while they heavily panted and their faces shined with sweat.

"Sorry about botherin' ya guys," Matt said apologetically. He nodded towards Pinkie and Fluttershy, adding, "Dash's got visitors."

Rainbow relaxed and stood up straight, turning to her friends surprisedly. "Pinkie! Flutters! What're you two doing here?" she said.

Pinkie frowned and folded her arms. "We were worried about you, Dashie," she said sternly. "You didn't even warn us you'd be gone so long."

Blaze lightly smacked his daughter upside the head. "What the dick, Dash?" he said admonishingly. "You're tellin' me you just dropped your friends and flew off into the blue without a word?"

Rubbing her head and looking away remorsefully, Dash said quietly, "Yeah, you're right. I guess I just didn't think about it. I'm sorry, guys."

Fluttershy smiled softly and closed her eyes, replying, "I forgive you, Dashie."

Pinkie sighed, then grinned, as well, as she said, "Yeah, I forgive you, too." She then frowned and pointed at Dash as she added, "Just don't do it again, alright?"

"I won't, I won't," Rainbow Dash said, holding up her hands and chuckling nervously.

Rainbow Blaze made a small, intrigued smile and as he turned to Pinkie and held his chin. "'Pinkie,' wasn't it?" he said.

Surprised, Pinkie turned to Blaze and said, "What?"

"That's your name, isn't it?" Blaze said. "'Pinkie,' right?"

Pinkie grinned, then replied, "Yep! It's 'Pinkie Pie', actually!" she then offered her hand to Blaze as she said, "You're Dashie's dad, right?"

"The same; the pleasure's all mine," Blaze replied, taking Pinkie's hand and shaking it.

However, once Blaze had released her hand, Pinkie's smile faded slightly as she saw him look her figure up and down. "So, you're friends with Dash, right?" he said. "Have you ever spent the night with her?"

Pinkie's eyes widened with shock at the highly personal question, and both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flinched as they detected what was coming. "N-no...." Pinkie said.

"Really? That surprises me," Blaze continued, a smirk forming on his lips. "You're a real cutie and a babe. So, you must not be into chicks, then, huh?"

Pinkie frowned. "Um... eww," she said, taking a step away from Blaze. "I'm fifteen, bro."

Blaze shrugged. "Oh, cool, so you're legal, then," he said with a small chuckle.

"Gross," Pinkie said contemptuously. "Not. Happening."

With mock disappointment, Blaze sighed, shrugged, and shook his head. "Well, that's a shame," he said. "Worth a shot, though."

He then walked towards the dojo's exit, waving offhandedly as he called back, "I'm gonna hit the hay. We'll keep training tomorrow, Dash; you're almost ready. Catch ya later, girls."

Once Blaze was out of earshot, Pinkie gave an affronted look to Rainbow Dash and said, "That's your dad, Rainbow? I can't believe that guy...."

"He's not usually this bad," Fluttershy said to Pinkie. "He really is a good guy...."

"Yeah, he usually only gets like this when he's, like, really stressed or worried."

Pinkie groaned, then said, "Well, what is he worried about?"

Rainbow looked nervously away from her friends, then Pinkie's eyes widened as she remembered something. "Wait- what was that about him being the 'motherfucking God of Storms' earlier?"

Rainbow sighed frustratedly, then she said, "Pinkie, Flutters... I'm gonna fight Scorpan."

Rainbow's friends were stunned to the point of speechlessness for a few moments. "... What?" Fluttershy said quietly.

"You heard me," Rainbow muttered, frowning.

There were a few seconds of still, tense silence, then Pinkie and Fluttershy immediately began shouting over the top of each other. Rainbow began quickly shouting back, arguing with them as they both began tearing up.

"... Rainbow, you can't-!"

"-He'll fucking kill you, Dashie-!"

"You two can't fuckin' stop me-!"

"-Please, please don't do this-!"

"-So help me, Rainbow Dash-!"

"ENOUGH!!" Rainbow barked, frightening the other two into silence again. She then muttered, trembling and clenching her fists, "I am going to fight Scorpan. Period. And there's not a goddamn thing either of you can do to stop me."

With that, Rainbow shoved past her friends, marched to her bedroom, then slammed it shut once she'd entered it.

---

Rainbow was lying across her bed, over her covers, completely awake. The circular, brass mechanical alarm clock on her nightstand told that the time was one thirteen, and yet Rainbow could still detect no signs of any tiredness.

Her hair was still lightly damp from the shower she had taken in her personal bathroom, which was connected directly to this bedroom. She was wearing a soft white cotton tank top and a pair of hot pink panties, but nothing else. She was resting the back of her head on the palms of her hands and staring up at her bedroom's ceiling, which was rather well-lit by the half-moon shining outside her window.

Rainbow had always wondered what it was like to know that you were about to die. She'd always imagined that such a time would be filled with crying, whining, drinking, and a lot of last-minute sex, but she found that experiencing it was significantly different than just wondering about it.

When you were about to die, as it turned out, you actually spend most of your time thinking. This was quite a surprise for Rainbow, honestly.

But you didn't think about anything fun or awesome or cool. All your thought were consumed with all the regrets of everything you hadn't done, and all the things you loved that would be suddenly gone forever.

What was it like, to be dead? To simply not exist anymore? Contemplating this was paradoxically quite terrifying, since all evidence suggested that there was nothing frightening about it; after all, it probably wasn't like anything. It wasn't something you experienced, because there was nothing to experience.

Rainbow decided that the reason it was so terrifying was not that she had anything to fear once she had died; rather, she was afraid because of all the things that she cared about now, while she was alive.

If Scorpan killed her during this battle, she would never know what would happen to Scootaloo. She'd never know if she was alright, or if she were able to somehow escape, or if she'd meet the most terrible and tragic demise imaginable. She'd never know the consequences of her failure, nor be there to protect her any longer.

Celestia, why did she decide to do this?

There was a soft knocking on the door, startling Rainbow and causing her to jolt before sitting upright and calling out, "Who is it?"

"Hey, Dashie," Rainbow heard the soft voice of Pinkie reply. "It's Pinkie."

Rainbow blinked, then groaningly rubbed her eyes. "Come in," she said, loudly enough for Pinkie to hear.

The door quietly creaked open, then Pinkie stepped into Rainbow's bedroom. She was wearing pastel-pink panties and a bright orange hoodie, and she had her hands in its front pockets. "Did I wake you?" she said apologetically.

"Nah, I couldn't sleep," Rainbow replied.

Pinkie closed Rainbow's door again as Rainbow said confusedly, "What're you still doing here, Pinkie? It's past midnight...."

"It was getting pretty late, so Blaze told me and Fluttershy we could stay here for the night."

Rainbow nodded, sighed, then rubbed her head as she said, "Look, Pinkie, about what I said when I stormed of.f..."

Pinkie shook her head. "It's alright, Dashie," she said. "There's no need to apologize."

Rainbow nodded. "Alright..." she muttered. She and Pinkie were silent for a few moments before she asked, "So... what do ya need, Pink?"

Pinkie remained silent. Her head was bowed downward, so Rainbow couldn't see her eyes, and her hands were balled in fists at her sides. "Um... Pinkie? You alright?" Rainbow said worriedly before crawling across her bed a bit closer to her.

It was difficult to see, as the only lighting in the room was from the moon and stars, but Rainbow thought that she could see Pinkie trembling, and... blushing?

"Um... Dashie...." Pinkie said quietly. "You remember.... You remember, um... when your dad asked about...?"

Rainbow groaned, then said, "Look, I'm sorry about that, Pinkie. I'll ask my dad not to do that anymore-"

"But... Dashie...." Pinkie said quietly. "Do... do you want to?"

Rainbow's eyes widened with shock as her mouth opened slightly.

Pinkie raised her trembling fingers to her hoodie's zipper. "I... I don't know how much I'd be worth to you, Rainbow Dash...." she said. She gently took ahold of the zipper as she continued, "I mean... I've never, um... d-done, um, anything like... l-like this, before, and...."

Pinkie then tremblingly sighed as she slowly began pulling her zipper down. "B-but, I'm told that I'm pretty sometimes, so maybe that's enough...."

"Pinkie-" Rainbow began worriedly.

Pinkie began trembling harder as she suddenly pulled firmly on her zipper, quickly undoing the rest of it. Rainbow could now see that she was wearing nothing underneath it. Rainbow's face was burning so hotly it should have lit up the room. "B-but... maybe an inexperienced girl would be a... treat for you," Pinkie continued. She was now beginning to pull her hoodie off, slowly exposing her chest, belly, and the sides of her breasts. Pinkie then looked up at Rainbow, revealing that her eyes were quite tearful. "Rainbow... if you just promise me that you won't do this... you can take me. You can have my virginity. No strings attached."

Rainbow found that her eyes wandered down to Pinkie's partially-exposed torso for a fraction of a second, though she clenched her eyes shut and turned away, saying firmly, "No, Pinkie."

"I'll do whatever you want," Pinkie said, her voice growing desperate. "Do-do you want me to do this again? You can have me whenever you like, and you can do whatever you like, too."

"Pinkie-!"

Pinkie had started sobbing. "And- and there won't be any rules! If you want to humiliate me in public, or see other girls, or chain me up-!"

Rainbow grabbed Pinkie by her arms and shook her. "I'm not gonna do that, Pinkie!" she shouted, stunning Pinkie into silence. She then released Pinkie's arms and said quietly with a weak smile, "I've gotta do this. For Scootaloo. You understand, right?"

Pinkie's eyes widened. "This is... for Scootaloo?" she said surprisedly.

Rainbow scoffed. "Yeah. What, you think this was for the glory of besting a God or some shit like that? Yeah, I'm not that stupid."

Pinkie blinked. "So... you know that Scorpan is going to kill you?"

Rainbow shrugged with resignation. "Probably, yeah," she muttered.

After a few more moments, Pinkie fidgeted with her fingers as she said, "Then... then I make the same offer to you, Dashie, except...."

Rainbow's eyes widened, and she gazed astonishedly at Pinkie as she fell silent for a few moments. Pinkie then looked tearfully up at Rainbow, sobbing, "But if you won't promise me you won't fight Scorpan, at least... at least promise me that you won't die!"

Rainbow had to admit, she desperately wanted to. Not just to take Pinkie up on her offer, but also to assure herself that she would live to see the day after her duel with Scorpan ended.

With a sad, apologetic smile, Rainbow said, "I'm sorry, Pinkie. I can't promise that, either."

Pinkie's face twisted with deep despair, then she ran weeping out of Rainbow's bedroom and back to her own, quietly sobbing all the way.

Rainbow climbed back into her bed, then began silently sobbing, as well, until she cried herself to sleep.

---

It had been about three days since Scootaloo and her peers had all been thrown into this forsaken prison. Their shackles had all been removed shortly after Scorpan brought them all to the surface; he explained to them that doing so, like taking away their gags, was a "reward" for their "good behavior". Which, of course, was referring to the fact that they had resigned to their fate and were no longer resisting.

Fortunately, none of the children had been violated since they had been locked in this cage, by the strict orders of Prince Scorpan; Scootaloo had overheard that this was because Scorpan intended to put up the privilege of breaking each one of them in for auction individually. For this purpose, Scorpan had ordered his men to set up a massive, ornate tent to perform the auction in, which they had then filled with fine oaken dining-tables and cushioned chairs so that the prospective auctioneers might be provided food and comfort as honored guests while they placed their bids.

Scorpan had funded all this with the tribute he had extorted from the children's parents. With this tribute, he had also established a temporary inn and a temporary brothel with several more tents, as well as many more carts of fine furniture and decorations. He'd also had his men set up a temporary kitchen by placing open-air grills and iron shelves beside a well in their campgrounds; meals were being prepared there now for their customers by a few of the hostage children, who had been chosen for their cooking skills, taken out of the cage, and were being closely monitored as they worked by Scorpan's followers.

Once they'd established a makeshift inn with some of their tents, it was swiftly filled with tenants from all over the world; they didn't have to advertise, as the customers had been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to engage in consequence-free tourism such as this for quite a long time. The prospective bidders all wore full-body concealing clothing, masks, hats, hoods, and other such articles with which they might hide their identities while they were outside of the camp's many tents.

During this time, the imprisoned children were provided with sufficient food and water, as well as a wooden outhouse that had been installed in the side of the cage. They had also all been given cheap, rough cushions and blankets for sleeping, though their main source for warmth and comfort throughout the long nights was each other; the children had all formed small groups that slept together in small, compact huddles.

Scootaloo had grouped, of course, with Dinky, Aura, Rumble, and Pipsqueak. During her entrapment, Scootaloo had attempted to approach Diamond Tiara to personally thank her for trying to protect her, though Diamond immediately brushed her off with the same hostility she had always shown her. So even now, they couldn't be friends. Scootaloo had to admit that she was quite saddened by this, as she had been hoping that they could be. Heavens knew they all needed any friends they could get right then.

On the noon of the third day since their entrapment, the tent their cage stood within was entered by Noir, who grinned nastily at them. "Good afternoon, worms," he said before chuckling cruelly. "Lord Scorpan asked me to thank you all again for your patience, and let you know that you're gonna start work shortly, but that he's gonna say a few words to you first."

Before Noir could leave again, however, Dinky stood up and tearfully called out to him in a meek voice, "Um... Mister...?"

Stopping, Noir turned around and looked annoyedly at Dinky. "What?" he said harshly.

Dinky swallowed fearfully before tremblingly begging as tears streamed down her cheeks, "P-please let us go, mister. I... I'm sure my mommy's worried about me, and that the others' mothers-"

"Just your mommy, sweetheart?" Noir said, a smile spreading over his lips. He turned back to the cage and slowly approached it, eliciting a flinch from the children as he continued, "What, isn't your daddy worried about you, too?"

"I... I don't have a daddy..." Dinky said, shrinking under Noir's predatory gaze.

"Really?" Noir said, gleefully placing his hand on one of the cage's bars. "Well, then, I guess I'll just be your daddy, then."

Even though she was surrounded by many other children, Dinky felt completely alone as she felt Noir's frightening stare upon her. She tearfully whispered, "N-no, that's okay, you don't have to..."

"What a naughty girl you are, asking to be let go," Noir interrupted her. Scootaloo felt as though ice water was being poured down her back; she could hear the twisted excitement building in Noir's voice. He then muttered, almost in a growl, "You're pretty adorable, though, so I might just do it. But you have to ask again...."

Her trembling now almost uncontrollable, Dinky said again, "P-please let m-me go...."

"Daddy," Noir said, his grin now seeming to reach to his ears. "'Please let me go, Daddy.'"

Whimpering in terror, Dinky obediently repeated, "P-...p-please let me g-go, d-...d-Daddy...."

Noir chuckled perversely. "What a naughty little girl," he said softly. "Asking daddy to let her go again, after daddy already told her not to. Maybe daddy should spank her for being such a bad little girl. But daddy might forgive her, if she sits on his lap and-"

"That's enough, Noir," Scorpan said, entering the tent with two more of his followers.

Grunting in frustration, Noir turned to the Prince and said, "Oh, please let me have this one first, My Lord- she's such a hot little cutie-"

"No," Scorpan said firmly. "You know the bidders are entitled to the first taste, Commander."

Noir scoffed, then said, "Fine. I'll just win the little Elf babe at the auction, then. How much was my cut of the gold, again, My Lord?"

"A quarter of a percent," Scorpan replied. "So two hundred twenty-five gold pieces from the tributes, as of now."

"I'll have to get some gold from my own purse, too, then...." Noir muttered as he dutifully exited the tent.

Once Noir had departed, Scorpan smirked down at the children as he said, "Hello, again, little guests. Once again, I thank you for your patience. The auction begins in an hour; after it's completed, your new routines will properly get started. Once you all begin servicing our customers, there will be certain expectations of you, and rules that you must follow.

"The first of these rules, of course, is that none of you are permitted to attempt to escape. Anyone caught doing so will be punished.

"Your second command is that you must do absolutely anything that your clients ask of you, without question. Regardless of whether or not you want to. Like attempting to escape, refusing the requests of your clients will result in punishment.

"Now lastly, know this: you can lay some of your fears to rest, as there are several things that your clients will all not be permitted to do to you. Under no circumstances will they be allowed to kill, maim, or otherwise inflict permanent serious injuries upon you. Under most circumstances, they will neither be allowed to inflict more minor injuries upon you; meaning, they cannot strike you, choke you, whip you, or otherwise cause you terribly significant amounts of pain."

Scorpan then smirked as he added, "However, this will not always be the case; after all, you will have some clients with tastes for such things, as well as pockets deep enough to pay for them." His cruel smile widened. "Of course, if you are good little children, obey the rules, and do as we say, you will have nothing to fear; you will not have to serve such clients. However, if you're bad, and disobey us, then serving such clients will be your punishment."

He turned his gaze to Scootaloo, and then to Diamond, who paled and trembled under his merciless eyes. "And fortunately, two of you have kindly volunteered do demonstrate the consequences of resistance and disobedience for the rest. One lied to me, and the other dared to attack me. When they return, let their tears serve to warn all of you against rebellion against the authority of the Lord of the Heavens."

Scorpan then smirkingly spun around and said, "Take the short-haired Angel and the heiress Human to my chambers, gentlemen."

Scootaloo and Diamond tearfully protested and desperately begged Scorpan's two followers to spare them as the door was opened and one of the men chained them up while the other aimed a pistol at the doorway, ensuring that none of the other children attempted to escape.

Once Scootaloo and Diamond were locked in the iron restraints, their captor roughly shoved them out of the cage and the tent before locking the door behind them.

The two girls fell face-first into the dirt, then they were pulled back onto their feet by Scorpan's followers, who dragged them towards the grandest and most ornate of the residential tents, which Scorpan was smilingly standing behind.

Barely able to speak as she wept in terror, Scootaloo whispered as she was forcedly inching closer to the entrance of Scorpan's bedchamber, "Please... please don't...."

Once she was within his arm's reach, Scorpan softly laughed as he slowly lifted his hand towards Scootaloo's throat.

"HEY!! You keep your hands OFF of her, asswipe!!"

Scorpan's smile vanished as he turned towards the sudden, raspy shout, which had come from a small teenaged Angel girl with rainbow-colored hair and large, sky-blue wings whose magenta eyes were glaring at him with deepest rage and loathing.

Scorpan glared back at Rainbow Dash. "You dare insult the God of Tempests?!" he shouted angrily. "Men, silence her!!"

Two of Scorpan's followers charged towards Rainbow Dash; however, she efficiently made a leaping kick against one's forehead, knocking him out. She then swiftly caught the other's punch, flipped over him, then twisted his arm, badly breaking it.

As Rainbow's second assailant writhed and howled in agony on the ground beside her, Scorpan and his followers gazed astonishedly at Rainbow. After a few seconds, however, Scorpan's eyes narrowed again as he began to advance on her, growling, "Why, you little-!!"

"Shut the fuck up, you sniveling, worthless pig," Rainbow snarled, folding her arms. "I came here for you, Shithead, and you are gonna listen to what I have to say."

Too stunned at her sheer brazen defiance to answer her, Scorpan remained silent as Rainbow continued, "I hereby challenge you to a duel, Motherfucker. A contest of honor, 'tween you and me. No tricks, no weapons. Skill against skill alone."

After a few more moments of silence, Scorpan and his followers all burst into mocking laughter. "Oh, really?!" Scorpan cried contemptuously. "Isn't this just rich! This scrawny little whore stands before me, the Lord of Lightning, and challenges me to a duel!"

There was another round of laughter, then Scorpan waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Go back to tending kitchens and sucking cocks, where you belong."

Rainbow smirked. "What? You too much of a little chickenshit to face me?" she said.

Scorpan flinched, then turned back to Rainbow. "What?" he said. His voice was incredibly soft, but there was more fury in it than there had been until that point.

"You heard me," Rainbow said. "You're too much of a fucking coward to fight me. I'm not surprised, considering you're hiding behind all these little kids."

Scorpan's eyes and Marks glowed with Ether, thunder boomed from far above them, and electricity began to faintly crackle from his fingertips. "Why, you...!!" he muttered, stepping towards her.

"Yeah, go and kill me now," Rainbow said, spreading her arms and casually stepping away from him. "'Cause there's so much honor and glory in that, right? Kill the tiny little mortal girl while she's surrounded at all sides by your thug cultists. Nothing pathetically cowardly about that."

Scorpan flinched, hesitated for a few moments, then looked around at his followers. They were all looking at him; watching him.

Barely holding in an enraged roar, Scorpan growled through grinding teeth, "You've just made a grave mistake, you little cunt. Very well. I accept your challenge. I could win it with both of my arms tied behind my back. In my sleep. Name the time and place that would be most convenient for you."

Rainbow smirked again, folded her arms, and nodded with satisfaction. "Tomorrow at sunset, in this field," she said.

With a wild, bloodthirsty grin, Scorpan muttered, "I cannot wait to hear you howlingly beg me to let you die, Angel."

Comments

[Crimson Dawn]

Well Pinkie that was certainly using some drastic measures to try to save Dash. I am hoping Pinkie wlil somehow help in the fight now. We will also have to see if Pinkie will later give a chance to Dash just because she wants to.

[Marauder15]

Hope everything works out.

[Starlight Nova]

Blaze shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "Our family has been asking our self that same question for thousands of years. Horus never explained the reasons behind his reluctance at freeing Firefly, though she suspected that it had everything to do with Scorpan, and what he would do if Horus went through with it."

Why not just ask him?

[LoZLttP13]

8304785 The Rainbow clan already tried. No dice.

[LoZLttP13]

8305298 "There's no incentive to telling you, so I'm not going to."

[ElCazadorDeHistorias]

Well, this was amazing!

[Yami Vizzini]

It was a little awkward how Twilight showed up with Fluttershy and then almost immediately dropped out of the conversation and everything that followed.

A lot of intense conversations here. And no wonder, in a situation like this there are really no good options. We'll just have to see how this plays out....

[LoZLttP13]

8306374 Twilight was actually on a (very) casual date with Fluttershy at the time. And she can smell Fluttershy and Pinkie's crushes on Dash from a mile away, so she decided she didn't want to get involved. But if I said all that within the fic, it might've been a bit of a spoiler of the things to come (to the uninitiated, of course; for veteran readers of my works such as yourself, it's pretty apparent how things are gonna play out, I should think).

[He23t]

Damn that is really hardcore for Rainbow Dash.

[DullMobbins]

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Look son, a good Fanfic!

[Dorath]

Rainbow Blaze had already lost one daughter, which had been enough to make him hate his ex-wife to the point that he never told Dash about her, and hoped that she'd never see her again.

That puts an interesting light on Dash's parents ...

Do not condemn our Princess so hastily. ... Taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash nodded before sighing, "I understand, father."

Well I don't understand! Maybe, maybe Celestia didn't know about Firefly, but she sure as hell new about enough of Scorpans other victims and she did nothing.