Equiforce

by Crack-Fic Casey

The Harsh Truth

Abigail awoke slowly. The unique combination of flaming pain, piercing cold, and the almost physical presence of nothing had been unlike anything she had ever seen. She shuddered, striving to forget the entire experience.

She slowly rose to her feet, checking to make sure that everything was still where it should be. She still had her hat, she hadn’t been transformed into any kind of mystic monster, and despite the perils of her journey, her body felt well rested and maybe even a little stronger. Abigail slowly stretched, testing her limits.

She was inside some kind of combination between a medieval castle and the Fortress of Solitude. It was lit by softly glowing crystals that framed the stone walls and ran down the length of the corridor. There was no dust, no cracks in the walls, and none of the tapestries looked frayed or faded. Abigail felt almost like an intruder, but there was this odd feeling of… belonging that permeated the place. Despite how ornate everything looked, it was welcoming; at least for now.

“Urgh… Is anypony there?” Rainbow asked from around the corner. “Sunset? Weird monkey girl?”

“My name is Abigail,” the southerner responded as she stormed towards the voice. “And you’d better—”

As she rounded the corner, her voice trailed off. When Rainbow had said she was a Pegasus, Abigail had pictured the girl as something large and imposing, still big enough to break the human in half. Never in all her days would she have imagined something so adorable.

The tiny (she’s so tiny) Pegasus staggered to her (itsy-bitsy) hooves, flexing her muscles much like Abby had done. “Have you seen Sunset yet?” she asked.

Abigail shook her head. “Does she look much like you?” she couldn’t help but wonder out loud.

Rainbow scoffed. “Puh-lease. There’s no way she’s half as awesome as me,” she preened

That is the most precious thing I have ever seen in my life, Abigail managed to not say aloud. Instead, she asked, “If we’re in the magic place ya came from, how come I ain’t turned into a centaur or somethin’?”

Rainbow stopped and looked up at Abigail. Then she reared up on her hind legs to try and look her in the eye. She almost came up to the southern girl's chest. “Holy crap, you’re big.” She leaped up into the air, hovering at eye level. “I don’t think we’re in Equestria. Twilight said the Dream Castle was someplace between Equestria and your place, so maybe the magic that forces ponies to turn into other things doesn’t work?”

Abigail shrugged. “So long as I don’t turn into a gnome or—”

Abigail's words were interrupted by the castle itself. The crystals began to move, growing out from the corners and changing to a dark blue. Both girls backed up to the center of the room, ready for whatever would come next.

---

Celestia trotted down the aged stone hallway. It looked so much like she remembered; the gently glowing crystals, the comforting Feel of the enchantments all down the corridor, the aged stone… It was so familiar. The ancient mare had lived a long life, and of all the things she’d expected that to grant her…

I never thought I would get to see my home again.

She shook those thoughts off like they were water, concentrating on the task before her. Twilight brought everypony still in the Everfree Castle with her. Was that an intentional part of her spell? Celestia had no idea how the madmare had managed to do that; she supposed Starlight Glimmer must have had something to do with it. And she still didn’t know anything about Starlight, other than that she had some kind of connection to-

Turning the corner, Celestia froze as she caught another sight she’d never thought she’d see again. A Unicorn, trotting along and not paying nearly enough attention to her surroundings. Her long red mane was carefully styled back, and her hair was immaculately brushed. She moved with an easy confidence that, earned or not, was enough to make even the smartest ponies stop and think for a moment. All of this was familiar to the Queen, aside from the tough-looking short jacket she'd slung over her withers.

“Sunset?”

Celestia hadn’t realized her words were spoken aloud until her former student spun around. For a moment, Celestia could see her eyes flicker with fear before it was replaced with a cool look of determination. “Your Highness,” she replied.

Celestia took a deep breath, holding her trembling emotions in place. “My old student. I’m surprised to see you again. What are you doing here, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Sunset affected an air of cool nonchalance, but Celestia knew that flattering her pride would ease Sunset a little. “Well, you know me. Just curious.”

Celestia did not lash her tail or move her hooves. She needed Sunset’s cooperation, and Sunset wouldn't do anything if they got into a fight. “Did Starlight Glimmer take you here?” She asked, and immediately regretted it. Sunset was immediately on guard again.

“Starlight Glimmer…” she pretended to think. “The name rings a bell.”

“Sunset!” Celestia snapped. Sunset backed up several paces. The queen took a deep breath in. “Starlight Glimmer and Twilight Sparkle attacked Luna several weeks ago,” she said in a very calm tone. “I needto know what they’re planning. I know Starlight forced you to work for her. What were you doing?”

The words, while understated, had enough emotion behind them to bend metal. Sunset looked away. “...She had me watching over a girl named Diane," the young mare confessed. "She said that we could use her to get… here,” she jerked her head towards the surrounding area. “I must have teleported into Twilight’s spell.”

Celestia mind spun, her thoughts carefully sliding into place in an order that would have seemed dizzying to anything that could see it. “So it was Starlight that was behind everything this whole time,” she said, watching Sunset carefully. Oh, please let that be true.

Sunset, naturally, bristled. “She- okay, sure it was her plan, but I did stuff too!”

“Like what?”

Sunset was opening her mouth to speak when her often neglected self-preservation instinct managed to stop her from saying anything. This, naturally, left her with nothing to say and she simply opened and closed her mouth as her mind attempted to come up with something. Celestia pressed on. “Did you know she was going to attack Luna?”

To her endless relief, Sunset looked shocked. “That wasn’t planned! Twilight went off the deep end and Starlight just took advantage of her. We were going to bring her to justice when we found—”

Self-preservation managed to shut her mouth again. This time, it was too late. Celestia closed her eyes. “You were after the Elements of Harmony.”

Celestia had been through an enormous amount of pain over the years. Watching Sunset stammer as she tried to defend her actions wasn't the worst, but she'd need to stop and think about it. “No, — There’s just… I was trying to help you! You said that you wished Starswirl hadn’t hidden the Elements, that if you still had them so much would be easier. I thought if I could bring you them…”

Celestia let out a slow breath. There was no way that was the only thing Sunset had wanted. “So you didn’t just want them for yourself? "

“I… I mean, I would have used them, fine but—” her voice cut out when the queen closed her eyes. “I’m going to give them to you! Of course, I am! I don’t want everything, I don’t! I just want enough power to be important.”

“Everypony is important!” the queen snapped. “Why is that so complicated? Every. Pony. Matters. It doesn't matter how much or how little they have, and you could be so much more if you would just realize that!”

Silence filled the air. Celestia moved to stare through the window, largely to avoid looking at Sunset. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the glass. She could do so much if she was just willing to… humble herself. Why can’t I get through to her?

Clunk!

A low rumbling rapidly grew louder all around them as the crystalline features of the castle began to glow various colors. Celestia smiled, briefly overcome with a sense of nostalgia.

Starswirl and the Royal Sisters had toiled for decades on the Dream Castle, ensuring that each piece of it was perfect. Each enchantment was a combination of several minor spells, cast by three different ponies, working together in a harmony that shouldn’t have been possible. In general, magical workings were better off simplified rather than complex. The more components in a spell, the more likely they were to conflict with one another and cause an explosion. The simplest way to defuse most magical spells was to overload them with magical energy until the inevitable boom occurred.

The three of them had managed to combine so many spells together that even now she couldn’t tell any of them apart. It was as if she was standing in one huge magical engine, with so many different pieces that she could never process them all.

Beside her, Sunset was so caught up in the sight she briefly forgot their fight. Or perhaps she was just eager for a distraction. “Look at this!” she said. “It’s so beautiful! I mean… just look at it!”

Celestia nodded. “The castle’s systems have grown beyond what I remember,” she said thoughtfully. “Starswirl crafted the Dream Castle to grow and evolve over time. I wonder what else-”

A piercing whine emanated from the some of the crystals, which the queen now noticed had grown into a crude bowl shape. Both she and Sunset flicked their ears down at the noise. The pitch lowered, slowly clearing until a voice could be heard.

S-Systems Activated. Intruders De-de-detected. Playing message:

This is a message recorded by the great Starswirl the Bearded. You’re welcome. While I am the greatest enchanter of my age, I am not so naive as to think that will always be the case. I realize that one day, I may not be the one to re-open the Dream Castle’s Vault and release the Elements of Harmony.

Unfortunately, the enchantments I placed in the castle to recognize my allies do not recognize you. As such, the castle will automatically place you in a randomly generated precarious situation with an ironic twist in order to test your character. Should you succeed, you will gain an Element of Harmony. Should you fail, you will die in horrible agony and, assuming I’ve figured out how in the future, be condemned to guard the Dream Castle for all of eternity as a skeleton warrior. I would apologize for the inconvenience, except I don’t actually care.

Good luck. Believe in yourself, and so on and so forth…

As the voice faded away, Sunset turned back to her teacher. “Wait, is he serious?”

“Oddly enough, he very rarely wasn’t,” Celestia said with a tiredness that belied numerous similar encounters. “The castle must be broken if it can’t recognize me. And that likely means—”

The crystals began to grow and shift, forming razor-sharp spikes. Electricity coursed up and down their lengths as they grew longer and sharper, heading for the pair.

“We’re in trouble,” the queen finished grimly.

---

Neither Abigail or Rainbow Dash were screaming. Nor were they running away. They were making a calm, orderly, tactical retreat through a crazy murder castle. The differences were subtle but important.

“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, what do we do now?” Rainbow very calmly screamed as the spikes from the walls began to get closer and closer.

“I don’t know!” Abigail calmly shouted in reply. “This is your crazy world! What do you think we should do?”

“Uh…” Rainbow’s mind flashed over her Royal Guard training. Okay, this place said it wanted to test us, not kill us, so it’s trying to force to a testing place! "First room you see!” she exclaimed. “Hide in it! C’mon!”

They turned a corner, diving underneath the spikes that emerged from the wall. One managed to pin Abigail's jacket to the wall, but she ripped it free. There was a door down on the left, but the spikes were closing in. Rainbow grabbed Abigail around the waist and threw them forwards, slamming them through the door and impacting the far wall.

They lay in a heap on the floor, waiting for the spinning to stop. Behind them, the crystals grew overtop the hole where the door had been, sealing them inside. They were in a dimly lit room, the first one without any tapestries or decorations. In the center, sitting on an elaborate podium, was a large crystal ball.

Slowly, Rainbow and Abby collected themselves and made their way over. “What do you think we’re supposed to do now?” Rainbow asked, carefully poking the ball with one hoof. It felt cool to the touch, but she could see some kind of light shining underneath. The light burned with a sudden intensity, briefly blinding the mare. She staggered back, rubbing her eyes and muttering obscenities.

From underneath, a sound could be heard.

---

Diane coughed weakly as she slowly returned to consciousness. She came to in bits and pieces; Diane was only sort of aware she was waking up and that the world was currently made entirely from pain. She thought she could hear her mother's voice and tried to call for help. Her mother didn’t answer, which was a little troubling. Diane tried again, this time managing to open her eyes.

She was lying in a library of some kind. It was old and almost looked medieval. I guess that fits with the whole demon thing. She frowned as she tried to stand up. Her body point-blank refused and offered some choice words about her request. Oh crap, did they actually steal my soul? How does that work? What do I do now? Did I get turned into a monster?! She blinked. Wait, am I a monster?

She looked down, and much to her own disappointment was still a human being with no powers at all. She’d have been less disappointed if she knew where the monsters that kidnapped her were, and whether they were still inclined to kill her or not.

Outside, she could hear frantic mumbling and an odd grinding sound. With agonizing slowness, she pulled herself to her feet. Diane was forced to lean on the bookshelves for support as she shuffled forwards. “Hello?” she called out. “Is anybody there?”

With a bang, the library doors flew open, and a purple unicorn fled inside and slammed them behind her. “Everything is fine!” she declared loudly through gritted teeth. “There is nothing to be worried about!”

Diane stared at the little unicorn, partly because she was a tiny unicorn capable of speech, and partly because she was a very bad liar. “You don’t look fine.”

The unicorn chuckled a touch maniacally. “Don’t be silly. I’m calm and relaxed, which is appropriate for the situation that we are in, because everything is fine.”

From outside, a gravelly voice made itself heard. According to the Seek-You-Out spell, you have fled into: The Library. Your decision to hide behind books is cowardly and dishonorable, unless you were hoping to uncover a secret to unlocking my security enhancements, in which case I applaud your ingenuity.

“Oh, thank goodness,” the unicorn said, sitting down abruptly.

However, do not think that: The Library is a safe refuge. You will be dealt with most severely if you do not come out. If a single volume is destroyed or stolen, it will be your doom.

The voice cut out, leaving a depressing silence behind. “Jeez,” Diane noted. “This guy is pretty harsh.”

The unicorn glared at her because that was a thing that was apparently possible. “He’s trying to protect his books,” she said harshly. “What’s wrong with that?”

Diane stared at her in befuddlement. Just be nice and act like this is normal. Maybe I can befriend- Holy crap I can have a best friend that’s a unicorn!

“I’m sorry,” Diane said politely. “My name is Diane, what’s yours?”

The unicorn barely glanced at her as she began to magically sort through the collection. “Twilight,” she said shortly. Her magical-sparkly-stuff suddenly flared, the pulse of energy spreading around the room. Fortunately, Twilight managed to drop the book before it was harmed. “Come over here,” the diminutive equine ordered sharply. “I can’t use my magic to look through these books without harming them, so I need your help.”

Diane let go of the bookcase and took a step forwards. Then she was waking up on the ground, with the scarred visage of the other pony very near her own. “Are humans naturally clumsy,” Twilight asked, “or is there something wrong with you?” The words were clinical and precise, not insulting, but Diane felt the bite of it anyway.

“Something’s... wrong,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “I feel like... something's missing, but not in... a dumb emotional metaphorical way, but it’s more like... ‘Am I dying?’” She tried to chuckle. “Sorry to... inconvenience you.”

“It’s no trouble,” Twilight said easily. “The Dream Castle specifically said that the danger it was going to put us in was designed to test character, so this might actually help!”

Diane tried to sit up, but quickly changed her mind and allowed the pain to force her into a lying position. “If you're only doing this... ‘cause you’ll... die if you don’t, then doesn’t that... screw up the whole test?” she joked weakly.

Twilight shook her head. “It wouldn’t have said that it was testing our morality if it wasn’t able to compensate for such an effect.”

“Huh.” Diane winced as she felt a ray of magic pass up and down over her. It was warm, and it made her internal organs tingle numbly. “Can you see... what’s wrong?”

“Feel,” Twilight corrected. “And yeah, it looks like when I stole your innate magic, it had an adverse effect on your body. Huh, I didn’t expect that.”

The words were so bizarre and matter-of-fact that Diane almost missed them. “I- you- what?”

“Your magic— well, you had magic— it’s not important right now, okay!” Twilight huffed. “You should just be happy you aren’t dead.”

“YOU ALMOST KILLED ME?”

“And I didn’t!” An offended Twilight replied. “Look, I had a really good reason, so can we just let bygones be bygones and help each other out?”

Diane stared at the insane unicorn. “...Sure.” She tried to stand up again, but she didn’t have enough strength. “Can you put… whatever it was... back?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not all of it. I might end up needing it for something. I might be able to restore part of it. Hold on.”

Hanging over Diane, a sky-blue ball of energy slowly formed. The hairs on Diane’s skin raised themselves, and she could feel the power pulsing inside of it. “Is this... safe?”

Twilight tossed her head to the side in what Diane was guessing was the equine equivalent of a shrug. “Probably not, but I’m pretty sure the Dream Castle will give me points for trying even if you die.”

The sphere plunged down.

For a few moments, Diane couldn’t feel anything. Her body froze, her vision blacked out, but she could still think and hear. Then all of sudden, pain lashed throughout her body. Her muscles tensed and it was like she’d stuck her hand into an electrical socket. She couldn’t help it; she screamed.

When she awoke again Twilight was still standing over her. “Can you stand now?” The mare asked.

Diane cautiously stretched her muscles. They all hurt, a lot, but a portion of her strength was back. Slowly, she attempted to stand. “...I think so?”

Twilight nodded. “Good. Now hurry, help me look for a secret passage or something before the castle gets in!”

Twilight rushed over to the bookshelf, and looked back to Diane, clearly waiting impatiently. The terrified girl followed. She’s going to get me killed.

---

Rainbow and Abigail watched in a sort of fascinated horror as Diane staggered around trying to do what Twilight said. Twilight herself did try and help, but Diane was left doing most of the work, which wouldn’t have been as bad if she wasn’t clearly in horrific pain.

Rainbow looked away from the Ball, wishing she could shut the thing up. “She wasn’t like this before,” she said hollowly. “She had some kind of mystical accident, and it screwed her head up.”

Abigail remained quiet, watching the scene play out.

“She was so… I don’t know, thoughtful. Nice. And she was smart! But now—”

“Now it's like she there's something in between her and the rest a' the world," Abigail interrupted tonelessly. "She talks like she did before, up 'till she don't, and then ya try and explain to her what's goin' on, and she just don't hear ya, and-" she took a deep breath in, before letting it out slowly. "And it ain't like she's a different person. You can still see her in what she does, except it's all screwed up and twisted around. And no matter how bad it gets, you think 'If I can just explain a little better, she'll get it.' And she never does."

Silence ensued. Rainbow looked at Abigail, who just stared into space. Eventually, she spoke up again. “Ya ever heard of Time Force?”

Wordlessly, Rainbow shook her head.

“They were Power Rangers that defended a city called Silver Hills. My family had a farm a few miles out from the city itself, so even though we’d see them fight monsters and the like, we never had to worry ‘bout actually gettin’ hurt. Sometimes we’d see one when we were in town, but we never got scared. After all, they were Power Rangers, and how could a Power Ranger not save us?” Abigail's words didn’t so much carry undertones of bitterness as much proclaim bitterness as loudly as it could.

“They were fightn’ a monster called the S’muz. It weren’t like the normal mutants they fought, it was worse. A lot worse. I don’t think the villains even had much control over it; even the weird pink haired lady that was in charge of the monsters was afraid a’ it. It nearly grew big enough to threaten the entire city, and it ate people’s emotions. If you were inside a’ it for too long, then it did permanently screwed up your brain.”

The room fell quiet again. Rainbow didn’t have anything to say, and she wasn’t sure she could have said it if she did. Eventually, Abigail could talk again. “My ma was in that thing for nearly an hour. So were a lot a’ other folk. We didn’t figure out ‘till later what had been done to them.

“Ma couldn’t be scared anymore. She couldn’t feel fear, anger, or understand why when she stuck her hand in fire she got hurt.”

Abigail had to stop again. Rainbow watched as the proud farm girl struggled to hold back tears. “She… didn’t get better, even when Pa said she was,” the young woman eventually got out. “Mac and I tried our best to help, but I was in kindergarten, and there was only so much Mac could do. Pa insisted we be the ones to take care of her. It didn’t matter how bad off she was… She was family. We had to be the ones to take care a’ her. No one else would do. Then one day we came home to find out our house had been burned to the ground.”

Rainbow glanced at the Crystal Ball again. Twilight was trying to help Diane search the room, but another flare of magic sent the girl flying backward.

“We were lucky that neither of us were inside when it went down. Pa wasn’t. He died—” Her breathe caught, but she forced the words out, “He died for a lotta reasons, but mainly because he was a stubborn idiot that wouldn't get help.” She turned and faced Rainbow for the first time. “Look, I don’t know nothin’ about magic, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve been wishing I could go back and change things. Say somethin’. But I just let it happen, and I can’t take it back. All I can do is try to make sure it don’t happen again.”

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to look away. There was another lull in conversation. “It’s my fault,” Rainbow finally said. Abigail glanced at her, but didn’t say anything.

“I finally had my dream,” the guardsmare poured out. It felt good to finally confess the things she had never admitted even to herself. “I was in the Royal Guard. I had everything I could ever want, and that meant I didn’t have time for old stuff. Twilight never said anything, but I could see that hurt her. She never would have met Starlight if I hadn’t abandoned her.”

Slowly, Abigail reached out and rested a hand on the guardsmare-in-training’s withers. “I’m sorry,” she said compassionately, “but trust me; if ya don’t do somethin’ to keep her from hurtin’ herself, you’ll regret it for the rest a’ your life.”

The castle rumbled, and both of the girls shot upright. Back to back, they faced each of the walls ready to fight. “Ya know, however long that is,” Abigail finished. They could hear the crystals moving near the door, and the ones visible through the hole in the wall grew in a crude imitation of a loudspeaker.

Well done! Now that you have realized what needs to be done, you: Rainbow Miriam Dash, have claimed one of the Elements of Harmony. Proceed to the center of the castle to claim your prize.

Above them, part of the stone was pulled upwards, revealing another hallway. This one did not have horrible spikes of death growing from every corner, which made it very desirable to Rainbow.

Abigail frowned. “It can't be this easy.”

Of course, we can't have one of the Bearers be weak, now can we?"

Rainbow tensed as the whirring noise associated with a spell being cast sounded across the room. In each corner, four crystals lit up a bright golden color. Their field extended across the floor, rapidly reaching the two girls. With a jolt of power they were yanked off of their feet and slammed against the hard stone.

There is only one way out of this room. If you, Rainbow Miriam Dash, can make it up and out then you have what it takes to be a hero. If not, then you have what it takes to be a corpse. Either way, have fun.

“What’s happin’?” Abigail got out as she staggered upright.

Rainbow didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she grabbed Abigail and tried to dive towards the door before the next pulse of energy. As she neared the door, the crystals next to it lit up in the same prismatic colors as Rainbow’s own magic. The mare was frozen in place before another flare of golden light from behind pulled them back.

The two girls impacted the podium and landed in the center of the room. “Well,” Rainbow groaned out. “Behind us is some kind of gravity spell. It’s used as a security spell in Cloudsdale to keep Pegasi away from places they aren’t supposed to be. Ahead of us is some kind of magic absorbing thing-y that sucks out all the stuff I use to fly when I get near it. Oh, and those pointy things that the gravity spell is pulling us towards are called ‘spikes.’ Don’t get stabbed by them.”

“Gee, thanks,” Abigail grumbled. The crystals flashed again, their glow lasting longer this time. Both of them slid quite a ways down towards their pointy death before scrambling to make up lost ground. Abigail tried for the door on all fours, but another surge of energy dragged her back to the center. She grabbed the podium and held on for dear life.

Rainbow strained, forming a cushion of air behind her back that she used as leverage to cling to the wall. Unfortunately, there was no way she could haul Abigail's gigantic body up with her without killing them both. “You got any more ideas?”

Abigail shook her head. “Not unless you got some way a’ breakin’ them crystals!”

Rainbow shook her head. “If the gravity spell isn’t breaking them, there’s nothing we can do.”

The gravity spells pulsed yet again, yanking them both back. Behind— or rather, underneath— them, the crystalline spikes slowly spread across the wall. They were shorter than the ones in the hallway and didn’t extend more than a few inches up towards the girls. That didn’t matter because every second they were active their pull increased. More and more, the floor was beginning to feel like a vertical plane. The crystals let out another pulse of magic, yanking them down.

Abigail lost her footing and hung dangling underneath the podium. She kicked her legs, frantically trying to climb back on top. Gradually, Rainbow was able to work her way up to the human and boost her upright. She was already sweating from the exertion, but her wings weren’t tired yet. She could keep this up for a few hours. “I’m gonna climb up underneath you, and give you a boost to the door!” she cried.

“How are you gettin’ out?”

“Don’t worry bout me!” Rainbow shot back. “I’ll—”

Abigail shot her a look. “You ain’t plannin’ on gettin’ hurt, are ya?”

Rainbow growled. “Just trust me, okay?”

“I ain’t lettin’ anybody die for me!”

“Yes, you are!” Rainbow snapped. “It’s my job! I’m a Royal Guard, and I swore an oath! To defend the defenseless, to save all that I could, no matter the cost. And if you think I’m gonna break it just because you asked me to, then you’ve got another thing coming! You hear me?”

Slowly, the girl nodded. Rainbow gritted her teeth as another pulse waved across the room, tugging them insistently towards their demise. “Stand up, as much as you can,” she said. “On my signal, I’m gonna need you to jump towards the door. I’ll give you a boost of wind. That should be enough to get you through.”

Abigail nodded. “I’ll do my best to help your friend.”

Rainbow closed her eyes and nodded. “Thank you.” She began to gather as much energy in her wings as she could. “Get ready! You need to jump right after the next pulse, or you won’t make it out the door!”

Abigail crouched low, her body tensed. Rainbow’s muscles strained, but she didn’t move an inch. Steady. Steady…

The gravity spell cast out across the room again. Rainbow didn’t fight it this time. She felt her body being pulled backward, but her concentration didn’t falter. As the light faded again, Abigail leaped into empty space. Rainbow pushedwith all of her strength.

The wind from her wings howled, sending Abigail flying much faster than either had anticipated. The crystals near the door absorbed the magically infused wind almost instantly, but it had done its work. Abigail flew through the door and landed in a heap on the other side.

Rainbow relaxed as she fell towards her spikey death. At least Twilight will be okay, was her final thought before she hit the wall.

Her first thought after she hit the wall was, Wait, this hurts less than it should. Cautiously, she opened her eyes.

There was no blood. Her body was intact. At the last possible second, the crystals had flattened themselves and were slowly losing their luster. The pressure against Rainbow’s body slowly abated. Dizzily, she staggered to her feet, only to fall down as her inner ear refused to quantify which way was up. She lay on the floor, waiting for the room to stop spinning.

If you are confused, then you should know one simple fact: I am a very proud liar. For refusing to abandon your friend, you; Rainbow Miriam Dash, have gained the Element of Loyalty. The previous Element gained was Honesty, currently owned byAbigail Appleby. The Elements of Harmony are located in the center of the castle. I realize you have no reason to believe me. I only hope you realize that I don’t actually care. You can go wherever you like, but it should be noted that your friends have no reason to not believe my words and will be making their way to the Dream Castle Vault as we speak. Assuming they pass their own tests, of course. If you wish to catch up with them, you’d best hurry.

Rainbow lay panting on the floor for several seconds. In the hallway, she could hear Abigail throwing up.

“I really hate this guy.”

Comments

[Crack-Fic Casey]

Starswirl the Bearded is a lot of fun to write. He ended being this 'Cave Johnson with Bob Kelso' egotistical jerk that was just hilarious. Which is, of course, counterbalanced by Abigail's emotionally scarring backstory. I was a little wary of Abigail opening up to Rainbow so quickly, but overall it worked. The idea for both Abigail's past and the test itself came from Dinode.

I re-wrote Twilight and Diane's scene a few times. I was worried that Twilight's mad scientist shtick was too funny and didn't highlight how dangerous she was enough. It's to bad I couldn't do a straight up comedy bit; Pinkie Pie being the straight mare to Twilight Sparkle has comedy potential.

The podium is the actual source of the scrying spell. The Crystal Ball is just a convenient thing to project it on.

The most horrifying cartoon monster in history, and it's named the Smooze.

Abigail didn't correct Rainbow when she said what happened to Twilight was all her fault, because it was perfectly obvious that it wasn't all her fault and that does not alter how Rainbow feels.

This was originally in two parts, but I re-combined them because honestly there wasn't a good reason not too.