7: Nothing Happened, by Kai Creech (Rainbow Dash)
Chapter by: Kai Creech
“Are you sure about this?”
Rainbow Dash lashed her tail irritably. “Ditzy, we’ve had this conversation twice. I’m even surer now than I was when we started.”
Ditzy glanced down, and Rainbow bit her lip. “Look, I promise I’ll be as careful as I can be.” She paused. “Which isn’t super careful, because I’m letting an evil… whatever in my brain, but still! Pretty much careful.”
Ditzy used her Motherly Gaze™ on the other mare, which Rainbow managed to ignore through sheer practice. Spending most of her time around Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had allowed her to build up a limited immunity to maternal disapproval.
“Look,” she said, “I’m sorry I’m disappointing you, but what do you want me to do? Everypony I know is going through this, and what kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t help?”
Ditzy reluctantly nodded. “I guess you’re right, but still… I just don’t want you to breeze in like you usually do, thinking that you’re going to fix everything in a second. It’s harder than you think it is.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Aw, give me a break! At least once a year, sometimes twice, I fight monsters that can end the world! This isn't any different!”
“Of course it is!” Ditzy snapped. “Dash… look, I know it won’t do any good, but will you promise me to take this seriously?”
Rainbow sighed. “Ditz, I promise.”
Rainbow Dash breezed into the room with the casual gait of somepony who was very committed to everypony noticing her casual gait. “Alright, guys; who's ready to get this done?”
The guards stared impassively at her. Rainbow flicked her ears and ignored them. “Whatever,” she grumbled. She strutted up to the podium and put a hoof on the Amulet. “How long is this gonna take?”
“No idea,” the one on the left replied. “It depends on the pony. For somepony as brave as you, it could be awhile before anything happens.”
Rainbow frowned. Was that sarcasm? “Well, it’d better have something big planned. I’m not gonna betray my friends.”
“Sometimes the biggest challenges aren’t the most dangerous.”
“Whatever.” Rainbow picked the Amulet up and poked it carefully. “Is it broken already? What’s taking it so long?”
The guard didn’t respond. Just as well, he wasn’t very helpful anyway. Rainbow held the Amulet in front of her face and peered into the jewel in the center. Maybe it’s gonna try and hypnotize me?
Nothing happened. Rainbow frowned. “Think it just gave up?” she asked. When the guard didn’t respond, she turned around to complain some more, but they had both left. Whatever, she said to herself, not like I needed them anyway.
Rainbow lifted the Amulet and whacked it against the podium a few times. Is it broken? Did it die already? Rainbow sat down and waited for something to happen. The room felt a lot more cramped than it had a moment ago. She tried to stretch her wings, but the tips of her feathers brushed against the walls. She stretched her legs, and unkinked her neck, and felt her head brush the ceiling.
After a while, Rainbow started to feel twitchy. “C’mon, what are you waiting for? Show me a giant monster, or zomponies, or that weird plant thing from that one musical that nopony else is afraid of! Do something!”
Nothing happened. Nuts to this. “Hey Twi,” she called, “I think there’s something wrong with the thing! Can you let me out?”
Silence greeted her. Slowly, Rainbow stood up and began looking around for the door. “Hello?” she shouted. “Is anypony there?”
Nothing happened. Rainbow frowned. “Hold on, is this my nightmare? You’re boring me into submission? What kind of a lame fear is that?”
Unable to find the door, she turned back to face the Amulet. Stuck to it was a small note that hadn’t been there before. It only held one short sentence.
You are alone.
Rainbow paced back and forth in the small room. It had been days. Her muscles tingled, her eyes drooped. She had laid down countless times, hoping to fall asleep, but sleep never took her. Her stomach rumbled and groaned and gurgled like it was trying to eat itself and failing. Each time she took a breath, the smell of dust and sweat mixing together made her want to gag. Every time she moved, she bumped into a wall.
It should be an easy test. She just had to do nothing; a task she had spent her entire life practicing. It was just all these little things, the muscle cramps, the hunger, that made her feel like she was going mad.
Rainbow tried to stretch her neck, and the top of her head bumped the ceiling. She ground her teeth together. “What are you waiting for?!” she snapped. “For me to let my guard down? Is this just a set-up for something? Are the walls gonna turn into spikes, or start to crush me or something?”
There was no reply—the seamless walls simply reverberated her words back at her. A mocking echo of her own voice rang in her ears.
“Well, it’s not gonna work,” she said. “My friends will figure out a way to save me. I’m gonna get out of here, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”
She tried to turn around, but couldn’t work around the podium in the middle of the room. Growling, she tried to shove it over, but it refused to budge. Rainbow sank back against the wall and let herself briefly rest. What am I supposed to do?
Something that felt like paper crackled behind her back. Grimacing, Rainbow moved forwards and awkwardly stretched her wings around to try and grasp it. After several tries, she managed to shift the sheet in front of her. Squinting, she pieced together the awkward hoof-writing.
You’re right, of course. Your friends will free you. What you should be scared of is how long it could take.
Rainbow frowned. “ ...What do you mean?”
The words remained still, but Rainbow could hear an odd scratching sound from somewhere behind her. Awkwardly, she twisted around and saw the second note.
I’m referring to your friends. I can’t stop them from freeing you, it’s just that it’s irrelevant.
“Well, great. That clears up just about everything,” Rainbow said crossly. “Why is that irrelevant? What are you gonna do to me?”
She felt a piece of paper gently fall on her muzzle from somewhere above. She tried to snatch it but hit the wall with her knee. She flinched, biting down a grunt of pain as she tried to maneuver the note around to where she could read it.
Do you know how long you’ve been here already?
“A few days,” she replied cautiously, “give or take.” She suddenly felt uneasy. Why is it taking so long for anypony to notice me? She looked around for the next note, but saw nothing. Rainbow worked her way around the podium to search for the next note. It was harder than she would have expected, given the small size of the room. It didn’t appear for several minutes, and she had trouble shifting her body to fit inside the awkwardly confined space. Rainbow eventually found the next note crumpled up in a corner, and flattened it out eagerly.
You’ve been here for less than one minute.
Rainbow blinked. She rubbed her eyes and tried to read it again, but it still said the same thing. “What? But… That’s…” There’s no way. It’s gotta be lying to me, to freak me out. What else could—
Another note fell on her face, and she managed to snatch it out of the air. Several other pieces of paper fell near her, but they all said the same thing.
I’m doing this the same way I create normal illusions, just applied in a different way. I’m in control of your perceptions, from your ability to tell time to physical sensations.
As she read the note, Rainbow felt a chill pass through her, and she shivered. No way. It had to be longer than that. It’s just messing with my head.
A torrent of notes began to fall. Her ears flicked with a troubled annoyance as paper crunched underhoof every time she took a step. Uneasily, she grabbed one of the loose sheets and began to read.
Of course I’m messing with your head. That’s the point. This room, these walls, these letters, it’s all in your head.
Rainbow recoiled, slipping on the papers and hitting her head on the far wall. She shook her head, waiting for the stinging pain to recede. It’s reading my mind?
The notes fell faster now.There were almost enough to cover Rainbow completely. She fought her way out from underneath them, but it didn’t matter as the onslaught just kept falling. Rainbow struggled against the unending cavalcade, fighting just to breathe as more and more paper fell.
Rainbow shouted for help, but nothing happened.
Rainbow once again tried to shove her way free, but she could barely move. Everything was black. She could barely breathe. The weight bore down on her, leaving a bruise across her entire body. She hadn’t been able to move in…
How long has it been?
However long it had been, it felt like an agonizingly long time. Cramps stretched her wings, making her gasp in pain. Any sounds she made were muffled by the tons of paper all around her, forcing her down and holding her in place. What am I gonna do?
“Oh, let me help.”
Rainbow hissed as light suddenly flashed across her vision. All at once, tension fled her body, and she could relax. Her mane fell against her neck instead of her shoulders, and when she reached up to feel it, it was drawn up in one of the few styles she liked. She blinked the spots from her eyes and looked around.
Rainbow was sitting in an outdoor cafe, one she’d frequented back when she lived in Cloudsdale. The sun’s golden rays were disappearing over the horizon, and the pleasant coolness of night was just settling over the land. She didn’t see anypony, but she could hear the clopping of hooves somewhere behind her.
She leaped out of the chair and spun around to see Ditzy, dressed as a waiter and holding a large covered plate. Rainbow fought to control herself as she tried to not pull the mare into a bone-crushing hug. It’s not her, it’s not Ditzy, that's the Amulet messing with me, don’t you dare hug it, don’t lose it, not now—
The Ditzy Doo facsimile trotted over and set the plate down before Rainbow. Cautiously, Rainbow lifted the lid. Inside was the Alicorn Amulet. Rainbow gave the waitress a harsh look. “Was that supposed to be funny?”
The mare’s face fell. “Aw, wasn’t it? I’m sorry, I’m not very good with humor.”
Rainbow scooted back from the facsimiles body, unnerved. There was something wrong with it, something that made it eerie instead of comforting, but she couldn’t think of what. “So, you’re still the Amulet, right?”
“Yep,” the Amulet said cheerfully. “I thought looking like this might help put you at ease.” She smiled just a little too wide. “Is it working?
A piece of Rainbow wanted to say yes, wanted to pretend for just a moment, that she wasn’t all alone. But she couldn’t ignore how unsettled she was. She tried to scoot further away from the Amulet’s body, but her chair refused to move. The Amulet’s grin didn’t shift an inch. “Soooo…” it began, “what’s a mare gotta do around here to get some cooperation?”
Rainbow glared at it. “Well, you could try letting me go.”
The Amulet snorted and shook its head. “I already told you how to leave.”
“But that’s not fair!” Rainbow snapped. “You won’t set me free, you’ll just make me go crazy like you did to everypony else!”
“Oh, those weren’t my fault,” the Amulet said dismissively. “I just give ponies power, what they decide to do with it is up to them.”
“That’s nuts! What about the vision you showed the real Ditzy? You tried to steal her daughter! You drove Trixie crazy!”
The False Ditzy didn’t stop smiling, but whatever it was that was wrong with it, was growing worse. Is it her eyes? The way it was sitting looked odd, almost like it had frozen in place. The scene around the two trembled slightly, twisting a little around them like Rainbow was looking through a fisheye lens.
“H-having a Bearer is my function,” it said stiffly. “I will do w-w-whatev-v-v—” Rainbow jumped backward as the entire scene folded up on itself. She momentarily had the sensation of becoming flat, of watching the colors bleed away and the brief vision of nothingness.
As quickly as it came, it was gone. The fake Ditzy smiled gently at the now-terrified mare. “I told you, I don’t make ponies go crazy. They do that on their own.”
Rainbow backpedaled frantically to get away from the thing. “What the hell was that? What is wrong with you? Let me out!”
“Not until I get what I want.” The Amulet’s voice was a perfect imitation of Ditzy’s own, but the polite tone made her threats all the more creepy. “I’ve decided to try being honest with my Bearers. I won’t hurt you; I’m not sure I directly can. But you will not leave until you agree to use me.”
The room disappeared with no warning, and Rainbow found herself back in the test room. It was completely empty, but still utterly tiny and cramped. Rainbow sighed, and started trying to pace again. There was nothing to do now but wait for somepony to come and save her.
Nothing happened.
The room was a little larger than it had been. It was probably big enough to fly in, but it didn’t matter. Rainbow had long since lost the strength to so much as shiver. Feebly, she tried once more to shift her legs, to huddle tighter around herself, but she couldn’t manage it. Her body had grown thin, almost skeletal. Her mane had started to fall out in patches years ago. Her hair had begun to turn gray, and her skin had shrunk around her bones until she looked like a skeleton. I never thought I’d be dying from old age.
Somewhere overhead, she heard the scratching of chalk on stone. She forced her head up and pried her eyes open. The words were still blurry, but she could just make them out.
Don’t you want to see them again?
Rainbow didn’t bother responding. She closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing. In and out. Each breath had to be forced out of her lungs like she had to pry the air out. The cold bit her, stinging as it passed through her mouth. She wondered if one day soon, she would just... stop.
The scratching carried on, despite Rainbow’s efforts to ignore it. The sound grew louder, grating against her ears until eventually she just gave up and looked again.
I understand this isn’t the best time to talk, but we’re not likely to get one again, so I wanted to give you one last chance.
Rainbow didn’t say anything. Slowly, the words erased themselves and began a new sentence. This time, the words were written silently, and it was easier to make them out.
It’s near the end. Your mind is deteriorating. Your friends have officially failed. You don’t have any options left.
Rainbow didn’t say anything. She couldn’t; she was worried her voice wouldn’t work after so much time. Despite her best efforts, her mind hovered over the Amulet’s offer. Is it really too late for me?
Just let me help you. I can make you young again, give you strength beyond imagining. You don’t have to do anything at all; just accept me.
Rainbow could feel a small surge of strength pass through her decrepit limbs, and she was able to lift her head. The Amulet lay in front of her. It was so close, and she could feel warmth flowing from it. I don’t want to die.
You don’t have to die. Just reach out. Just touch it, and we will both live.
Rainbow could feel the fear in her, pushing her foreleg forwards.Just one touch…
“No.”
The words were small, but it was enough. The world around her seemed to shiver, and Rainbow found the strength to stagger to her hooves. “No, I don’t care if I die. I’ll stand for my friends forever.”
WHY
The words were jagged and seemed to float off the wall for a moment before they blurred and returned to normal.
Why? Your friendship has failed to preserve you. What do you get out of it?
“What are you talking about?” Rainbow asked. “I don’t get anything out of it. I’m doing this because they’d do the same for me.”
Don’t be absurd. Despite all their kind words, everypony I’ve ever met was just one bad day away from abandoning all they’ve claimed to stand for.
“Until today, you mean?”
No new words answered her, and Rainbow smiled to herself. “I don’t know about those other ponies you’ve met, but my friends are better than that. Ditzy didn’t give in, Twilight didn’t give in, and nopony else will either. It doesn’t matter what you do; you’ll never win.”
Rainbow shouted in pain as the Amulet suddenly bore down on her, wielding feeling and emotions like weapons. Rage burned her, loneliness ripped out her heart. She screamed as the pain tore through her body, before she finally, mercifully, passed out.
Rainbow awoke slowly, coming back to life in small pieces. No part of her was in any sort of pain, which was new, and she didn’t feel anything holding her down. Heart hammering, she forced open her eyes.
The room she lay in was large and spacious. It looked like a hospital room, with stark white colors and monitoring equipment. The machine next to her bed lit up, sending magical pulses down the hallway to alert whoever was on duty as to her status.
Rainbow looked down at her hooves. They were still thin, but not the skeletal remains they had been a second ago. She wasn’t freezing cold anymore, and her mane no longer felt like that of a wild animal. Is… did it…
Slowly, she got up and walked to the window on trembling hooves. Opening it, she could see Canterlot in all of its glory. Crowds of ponies and various other species milled about, rushing to go about their business. She breathed deeply, smelling food carts and restaurants and flowers and everything that wasn’t sweat. She could hear ponies shouting at each other, hawking wares and ordering each other about. I did it.
I’m free.
Behind her, the door slowly creaked open. “Rainbow,” Ditzy— the real Ditzy— called out. “Are you awake? I’m sorry the other’s aren’t here; Twilight has to monitor the test, and most of the girls had already gone back to Ponyville before they heard...”
Ditzy’s voice trailed off as she saw the look on Rainbow’s face. She approached the Dash carefully, like one would when trying not to spook a wounded animal. “Rainbow, you’re shaking.”
It’s real, right? This isn’t another dream?
Rainbow shook her head weakly, trying to play it cool but unable to hide her fear. Ditzy took another step closer, and she shied back. “Rainbow, it’s okay.” Slowly, Ditzy moved forwards, and Rainbow held herself still. Cautiously, Ditzy folded the younger mare into a hug. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered.
Rainbow waited for something to try and hurt her, but nothing happened.
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Well that was rather dark, disturbing, and unexpected
Yikes.
Look, Amulet, i get where you are coming from, but maybe if you used your advanced AI features to provide a copy of your source code then maybe you could actually reach a functional compromise that allowed you to survive, or fulfill your purpose, either-or, its your choice, while you still have a "you" to decide it with.
interesting. but I kinda feel like something was skipped towards the end- an explanation of why rainbow woke in the hospital, specifically. I feel like there should've been a bit where she first passes out in front of the amulet while the guards are shouting, or else ditzy should've mentioned how worried everyone was when rainbow passed out after touching the amulet. because without that, I honestly thought it might be just another layer of the trick.
8532344
The fact that you aren't 100% sure that she's out of the vision is probably the point.
There's no horror like existential horror.
I think I caught a 'The Killing Joke' reference in there. Disturbing having your senses messed with like it did, but ultimately futile it would seem.
So having failed to gain by temptation, failed to gain by coercion, the amulet has now stooped to psychological torture. The story has earned its dark tag.
Hooboy.
That last line though... made it all worthwhile, in a deeply satisfying way.
Getting desperate, aren't we? Step up the tortures? No longer messing with the host, just inflicting excruciating pain till they snap?
We've already established the amulet is a pathological liar. Considering all the lies it used to compel others, there's zero guarantee it will leave the bearer any shade of free will. Or that it has enough power left to reverse its effects... or any intention to do so. All it can do at this point is to torture the victim to the point they will be willing to commit suicide through wearing it, going through death of mind and surrendering the body to the amulet.
I don't think the experiment should be continued... and I think Twilight ought to look for ways to destroy the amulet as it is, without letting it influence anypony ever again.
8532465
Yes, indeed. Reason can be argued with. Temptation can be resisted. But it takes a whole different kind of courage and resolution to stand up to something like this. I would have gone mad.
8532344
Well is a few days is a minute Then however long she was there could have ended up with her not moving for like a day or something
8532661
8532344
I did the maths and assuming 3 days in the amulet = 1 minute in real life that means 50 years in the amulet is about 1.7 days in real life. And since in the other experiments were near instantaneous (IRL) almost two days must have been a really big deal, and caused a lot of worry.
8533390
Great story! I'm just going to curl up in a corner and cry for a few days now.
8532661
8533390
Okay, but my point was that it should've been shown in the chapter, it shouldn't have been something we had to puzzle out. Now that I think about it, the ending feels very... Rushed.
8533395
:c
8533543
Not everyone’s perfect
Some people like things different
Some people do things different
You know, that kind of torture would probably be even worse for a herding species like the ponies.
8532515
Yeah... I'm pretty sure the amulet won't try the same thing again, just for the sake of narrative variety, but if this was actually being done, I would be going
The amulet is evil? I'm shocked!
Just how long was Rainbow out, if she's managed to lose enough body mass to be noticeable? That's huge, compared to anything else the Amulet has done so far.
8532515
This is currently the only way available to destroy the bloody thing.
8533956
She hasn't lost body mass; she was sent to the hospital because she passed out.
8532344
I didn't realize it would be distracting. To late to change now, but I'll remember that going forwards.
8533778
I hadn't thought of that, but I'm going to pretend it was all part of the plan the whole time.
8532316
8532317
Thank you!
8532465
Thanks, I was really proud of that!
8533523
...Thank you?
8534200
This *was* the only way available while it was at full power. Currently it's been drained a good several times. Never mind, if Celestia lobs it into the Sun, it may not be destroyed but it would be mighty difficult to retrieve.
8534514
Yeah, but there's no proper way of doing that, without risk of the Alicorn Amulet somehow making a connection and somepony becoming corrupted by it and stealing it away.
8534514
That could have made for an interesting chapter had we thought of it in time. Oh well.
um
Another one I read, and perhaps the best way to try to get to Dash. It still didn't work—odds are nothing would—but offering the world to a mare who wants to earn it with her own two wings wouldn't have gotten the Amulet anywhere. Instead we get some fantastic psychological horror and some haunting moments of glamour failure. The Amulet's starting to suffer itself, and this amount of time dilation didn't help matters.
8535765
Senpai noticed me.
But seriously, I'm glad the glitches in the illusion worked, I was worried that it wouldn't make sense.
8535115
Uh?
8535765
Thinking about it, the best way to get the Rainbow might have been to present itself as somepony in need of rescuing-- but I didn't think of it in time, that might have been a little to dark anyways, and I suppose the Amulet is starting to get scared.
Wow, the amulet is clearly weakening, but it's getting mean. Make the volunteers suffer enough, and maybe those that follow will be too scared to resist, or to even try.
8534206
But why did she pass out? If the comment-science is correct about her experience taking 1.7 days outside of the illusion, that would mean that she stood there for over 40 hours touching the Amulet. Given the other trials' length of time usually being seconds to a minute, taking more than 10 minutes would already be a sign that something is gravely wrong to the observers, much less the entire amount of time up to the 40 hour mark.
9948828
Well, first both Rainbow and the Amulet are speaking colloquially; Rainbow doesn't have any way of telling time and guesses that it's been a few days, and Amy doesn't mean that exactly one minute has passed.
Second, Rainbow passes out because the Amulet has a breakdown and attacked her, not because of exhaustion.