CYCLED

by The REAL Mister Pkmn

Rthö Bjæfuf- Ego Dash: Part Two

Maestro blinked rapidly. “Well. That’s different.” He shook himself off, and turned to the others. “Alright, we all know how fast she is- it’s likely we’ll have to outmaneuver her and hold her down in order to get her to listen. Now, Flutters- you are our only other natural flier, so you’re going to have to keep her from getting too far.” She was understandably under quite a bit of pressure, but she gave a timid nod and started off into the sky. Maestro turned to the others. “Rarity, Jacks, and Pinks, you three work together to corral her towards the library. Sparks and I will be waiting to spring the net.”

The three of them ran off, and Twilight followed Maestro back to the library. She tilted her head a bit. “Maestro, are you sure that this will work?”

Maestro shook his head. “I don’t know, honestly. But what other choice do we have? We can’t talk her down if she’s flying circles around us. This plan should tire her out enough so that restraining her is simple. Hopefully we can find the source of these problems soon, though. I’d rather not deal with all of these Nightmare forms if we can stop them from coming.”

Twilight sighed deeply. She understood that Maestro was frustrated a bit. He was anxious to find a way to stop the cycle from continuing on forever. Though, his idea might not work. She considered something. “What about the Marvelous Mare Do-Well? Her costume-”

Maestro shook his head. “We don’t have time to make that again. I know you don’t exactly like it, but time is of the essence. Maybe if we had prepared it beforehand, we could. But…” A sigh came from him. “Nevermind. Just ready your magic, Sparks. I can hear Rai approaching.”

Sure enough, Rainbow soon came into view. She was running on fumes as she drew close to the library. Just as she landed, Maestro and Twilight used their magic to tie her up in a net. Rainbow growled as she struggled. “Cheap! Once I get outa this, I swear that I’ll-!”

Maestro interrupted, concern in his voice. "Rai, this isn't like you! Sure, you do like attention, but this is getting out of control! The Rai that I know wouldn’t be so careless to endanger people! Think about how you talked down Gilda! Did that mean nothing?"

A small change in flashed in her eyes for a split second, but she seemed mostly unchanged. “Stuff it! I deserve adulation and glory! I will be the forefront of the Wonderbolts, and-!”

Applejack shook her head. “Do ya think that they’d take ya like this? You’re so driven for success that yer worse than Lightning Dust! Surely you didn’t forget what almost happened to us thanks to her?”

Rainbow struggled a bit, trying to push the thought away. Seizing opportunity, Rarity spoke up. “Recall that time I asked to fly with wings of my own? I would’ve fallen due to their crumbling had you not pulled off the Sonic Rainboom to catch me! Does that not ring a bell for you?”

The darkness ebbed slightly as Rainbow continued to struggle to get out of the net. Fluttershy held her down, gently but firmly as she tried her hoof at reasoning with her. “Remember all the times you stood up for me back as children? How you didn’t mind if your ego got bruised to help me? Don’t you recall that?”

Rainbow’s struggling started to wane as Maestro got ready to catch the nightmare essence. Pinkie pulled out a mirror from her mane and held it up to Rainbow’s face. “Look at what you’ve become, Dashie! This isn’t the friend we know, and I sure hope that it isn’t what you wanted to be, either!”

The whisps tried to cling to Rainbow as her colors tried to reassert themselves. Just one more push is all that was needed. Twilight took a deep breath, and went for it. “Rainbow, you’ve been there for all of us. But remember that we’ve been there for you, too. Remember when you went to the hospital when you injured your wing? You thought we would make fun of you actually reading something, but we only encouraged you to explore your interests like we did. Point is, Rainbow. You’ve been there for us, and we’re here for you now and always. So come back to us.”

The darkness jumped from Rainbow and Maestro put the new sample in a fresh jar. Rainbow rubbed her head. “Ugh. That… was entirely unpleasant.” She took a glance at the jar as Maestro worked his magic through it. “So, what’re you doing with that? Gonna destroy it?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m trying to use this new sample as a compass of sorts. The last attempt didn’t go over so well, and the sample escaped. Nasty stuff. It’ll likely take some time to figure out where this is coming from, but… I have a hunch as to where it might lead us once It’s finished.”

Twilight sighed. “Why would somebody do this, anyway? What could they gain by corrupting our friends?”

A hush went throughout them as they all considered what one might gain. It was Maestro that finally answered Twilight’s question. “If I had to guess? Data. Strengths, weaknesses, everything. As for ‘why’?” a shudder went down his spine. “Let’s hope that we don’t have to find out.”

---

Inside the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters, the formless creature looked upon three glowing tubes containing strange liquid. It looked to Echo, a mixed look on its visage. “Your experiments with the Heroes of Harmony have failed, and yet succeeded. Though, it seems that they’re onto us…” A sigh escaped its massive form, and it glanced to the four empty tubes. “We mightn’t have the time to go as slowly as I’d like… Maestro’s ramping up the pressure, hm?” A dry chuckle let out. “Let him. This’s starting to get interesting…”

Author's Note:

The plot thickens...