Rainbow Of Fate

by Lord Drayvon22

Cat and Mouse

After fifteen minutes, eight ponies and a dragon grow worried when an answer isn't forthcoming. "You don't think Rainbow could have..."

Twilight shakes her head. "Of course not, there's no way she could completely defeat both of the Princesses. They must just be busy organising the defence of Canterlot in case we can't stop Nightmare Moon here. For the time being, we're on our own."

She then looks at her friends sadly. "If we get separated, we rendezvous at the train-line at 5PM and make our way to Canterlot as fast as possible. If we aren't there within ten minutes, assume the worst. Stop at nothing no matter what, we can't afford to let ourselves be captured for the sake of Equestria." She looks down with a tear in her eye. "No matter what they do to our family and friends, we can't jeporadise the safety of the entire world under any circumstances."

Realising the truth in what she says, Scootaloo's head drops as her friends comfort her."Wh-what'll happen to Rainbow Dash?"

Twilight looks at her sadly. "I'm sorry but we have to do whatever it takes to save Equestria. Rainbow Dash would want us to stop Nightmare Moon at all costs even if we have to banish her. N-no matter how much it may hurt." Scootaloo's eyes go wide with realisation as she nods sadly.

Turning to her other heartbroken friends, Twilight nods mournfully. "If we get separated, Spike will go with Rarity and Applejack can take the Crusaders. Spike and Rarity make an excellent team and Applejack is the strongest of us. Knowing Nightmare Moon, she'd use any opportunity she can get to lure us out." She turns to the Crusaders. "If anything happens to AJ along the way, bolt for the railway lines." They nod and the group very quickly but quietly leave the Boutique.

No-pony notices the unnaturally dark shadow from under the dressing table form into a familiar silhouette. The creature chuckles eerily before flying out a window.

The Golden Oaks Library

Night-time Flare is planning the next move with Shadowfright when she feels Nightmare Moon re-merge with her. How’d it go?

Everything is going according to plan. If we attack, they'll split up and head for the railway lines just outside town.

Flare smiles proudly. "Is everything ready, Shadowfright?"

"Yes my Queens."

Night-time Flare nods. "Excellent, you may begin but no injuries."

He bows his 'head.' "Yes your majesties."

Flare turns to leave but looks back for a moment. "And leave the Crusaders to me. They're scared enough as it is."

Shadowfright chuckles. "Thinking about creating your own little Nightmare Princess?"

The monarch glares at her second in command though it is accompanied by a cheeky smile. "Don't push it."

A few minutes later, near the center of Ponyvile

The small group slowly sneak thier way through the backstreets with Spike riding on Rarity's back in case they need to quickly flee. Every now and again, they are forced to hide in the darkness from the shadowy beings that they have overheard call themselves the Nightmare Shadows. Every time they have to hide, which is quite often as it turns out, they swear that the Shadows see them but then pass by with nary a turn of the "head." The fact that they can see thier friends and neighbours walking the streets almost gives them some small comfort even if the Shadows are everywhere.

Soon however, they reach the edge of town where there is no cover whatsoever and several Nightmare Shadow fly around the perimeter. They may not have wings but they can drift through the air disturbingly quickly; much more quickly than most ponies can run or fly. Clearly, Nightmare Moon anticipates thier escape but Twilight prepares to teleport as far away as possible.

"Hello again." Thier blood runs cold as they look back to see Flare flanked by no less than five Nightmare Shadows including one in particular that looks like a wolf. Immediately, the Element Bearers close in protectively around Spike and the Crusaders. Even so, thier "friend" gives them a welcoming grin as if she were Pinkie at the beginning of a party. "Come on girls, you know me. I couldn't hurt a fly."

None of her friends respond but start slowly backing away towards the fields. With a sigh, Flare gestures her head toward them and Nightmare Shadows swarm in from overhead. Twilight immediately recognises the dark magic they're trying to cast. "Scatter!"

They do so but Flare stops her army with a smile. "Let them go and stick to the plans. Fighting them will only make things harder."

Once they speed off, she allows herself to relax slightly with a sigh. Why must we do this? You know my way is much quicker and easier.

"Your way is quicker but I'd rather not traumatise my friends and family unnecessarily. Even after this is all over, the Crusaders especially will have nightmares for quite a while. This takes longer but may help ease them into this and I refuse to alter thier minds and make them accept this. Even if they hate us forever, we will have done what is best for Equestria."

Nightmare Moon groans. You always insist on doing things the hard way. It's a miracle you ever defeated me in the first place. With a chuckle, Flare heads in the direction that Applejack and the Crusaders went. I'm sorry for doing this guys but it'll all work out in the end.

---

Rarity and Spike race back through the center of town, hoping to lose anything that chases them through several sudden and sharp turns down alleyways. Unfortunately for them, the Nightmare Shadows are too fast and agile to miss corners or for them to get far enough ahead to vanish. "Hold on, Spike." He does so as she dives into her Boutique and slams the door before the two brace it with thier backs. To thier surprise, they just hear the Shadows walk over before growling and walking off.

"Now what? There's no way we can go back out there." Rarity pants for a few moments before walking over to a pretty but otherwise unremarkable rug. "Uh, Rares? This isn't the time to redecorate."

Rarity chuckles and throws aside the rug to reveal a trapdoor. "A little something that Twilight had me install after the Canterlot invasion. If we were ever to be caught off guard by an attack and are unable to use the Elements, me and Sweetie were to use a secret escape tunnel to get help. It leads us to directly beside the Royal Guard barracks."

Spike stares at the trapdoor incredulously for a long moment. "Why didn't we just use this earlier?"

Rarity looks at him worriedly. "Because we have yet to properly prop it up which I was going to ask Twilight to help me with this afternoon. There's no guarantee that the tunnel won't collapse on top of us."

Spike gulps. "What choice do we have? It's that or we let those things get us."

She looks at him sadly. "We don't. I just hope that dreadful tunnel doesn't ruin my hair. I spent an hour on it, you know." Spike fondly rolls his eyes before they enter the tunnel and firmly shut the trapdoor.

Below

Led only by the light from Rarity's horn, the two slowly make thier way along in silence. Fortunately, the tunnel is wide enough that they are able side by side which helps them feel slightly safer. Before they reach the half-way point of the tunnel, they stop for a moment but Spike's eyes widen in horror. "Uh, Rarity? We're standing still, right?"

She turns to him. "Of course, darling."

"Then why are our shadows still moving?" Sure enough, thier shadows are quietly creeping towards them from the wall so the two bolt for the end of the tunnel. In doing so, they often trip and fall on the uneven ground; getting coated in grime and covered in small but bleeding cuts. Oddly, the Shadows make no attempt to pursue and follow at a casual canter.

"Why would they sto-OOF!" Spike is thrown back as he slams into an invisible mass though Rarity manages to stop in time.

"What was that?!" She presses her hoof against the mass and it shimmers to reveal a crimson energy shield in front of them. Just from the raw power radiating off of it, they can tell that it isn't being cast by the Shadows behind them. "So the reason they didn't chase us into the Boutique was..."

The two exchange a look of horror as they realise the trap that they have been led straight into. Spike immediately throws himself in front of his crush and adopts a fighting stance despite how un-intimidating a baby dragon looks. "If you want her, you'll have to go through me."

The Shadows just chuckle before turning into dark grey mist much to the two's horror. Rarity desperately tries to teleport herself and Spike above ground or fire energy blasts but finds herself unable to do either as the dome's immense magic is interfering with her own.

As he sees his inescapable end slowly approaching, Spike turns to Rarity. What do I have to lose? It's not like I'm going to live long enough to regret this. "Rarity, I have to tell you something." Rarity looks at him as the Shadows seem to pause. "Ever since I first met you, I've always known that you are the most beautiful and elegant pony in Equestria. Since that day, I've always had a crush on you but have always been too afraid to admit it. Now that we are about to die, it doesn't matter anymore."

As he blushes hard at the admission, Rarity takes a moment to respond. "In all honesty, I'm not surprised. I've always suspected something since you help me without payment or even a proper thanks and you're always the first to offer help when I need it. I always though that it was just a friend helping a friend but after your birthday last year, I've known for certain." The two hug for the final time although what Rarity says to him next is drowned out as the Shadow Mist finally consumes them.

A few minutes ago, the Royal Guard Barracks outside Ponyvile

With preparations in Canterlot for the worst case scenario completed, the Princesses and Shining Armour teleport to the nearby Barracks where they set up a command post. Once they do, a dark green Pegasus in a captain's uniform runs up and salutes. "Acting Commander Light Brigade reporting for duty, your majesties. Our Commandant was in Ponyvile when the dome appeared so I'm the commanding officer in his absence."

Princess Celestia nods proudly at the nervous soldier for having taken such a responsibility. "Have we gotten anywhere with the dome, Commander?"

Light Brigade shakes his head. "Negative, your majesty. All attempts to penetrate the dome have failed. Energy blasts harmlessly fizzle out on contact, flyovers have proven that it encompasses the entire town and stops on the far side of the Everfree Forest, attempts to tunnel under it have been met only by the barrier continuing underground indefinitely and teleportation spells just make us reappear where we started."

Nodding, Princess Celestia turns away on!y for her legendarily calm demeanour to be replaced by a look of mourning. "Auntie?"

"Princess Celestia, what's wrong?"

Luna says nothing but gives her sister a reassuring nuzzle as she snaps back to her more stoic demeanour though the sadness remains in her eyes. "Rarity is gone."

The looks that pass over the others' faces are stomach turning and the Royal Guard Commander completely faints. "How can you be sure? She could still be-"

Shining Armour stops himself as he sees the pain in the Princess of the Sun's eyes. "After Nightmare Moon was defeated, I placed a monitoring spell over the Elements of Harmony to alert me if they are touched or if something about them changes. The Element of Generosity has gone dark and it only does that when its Bearer is lost." The four rulers exchange a worried look.

Meanwhile, near the center of Ponyvile

Instead of heading straight for the railway line, Pinkie Pie bolts for Sugarcube Corner as fast as she can. I have to get the Twins out of here. I... I know what Twilight said about stopping for others but if anything were to happen to them... I... Pinkie doesn't let herself finish that thought and keeps her hopes up since the area seems to be abandoned. Something that’s been kept among her small group of friends had been that, shortly before the Twins were born, she’d more or less become thier godmother. However, this was never officialised due to complicated legal reasons; largely because of the Cakes not being able to prove in court that she was a responsible enough mare for quite obvious reasons. It went over with Rainbow Dash about as well as you can expect but it’s the thought that counts.

Her breath catches in her chest as she sees the front door of the bakery blown open but is relieved to find the interior much like how she left it not 45 minutes ago. As she walks towards the stairs, nothing appears to be wrong aside from the dead silence surrounding her. Not hushed whispers, no hurried sounds to hide; nothing but the sound of her own hooffalls. "H-hello? Is anypony there?" She hissed so quietly that, even if there is, nothing would hear her anyway. Before she can worry much more, she finds herself outside the Twin's room and enters after taking a moment's breath.

As with the rest of the house, it is unchanged from how she left it but more worrying is that she can't hear the Twins breathing. M-maybe they got out in time. Maybe I'm worrying about nothing and can be on my way. As she turns to leave however, she freezes and her heart stops for several seconds at what she sees. No! Please, please, please no! In a cot, laid side by side, are Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake very clearly not breathing. There are no sign of injury or foul play on them; it's as if they have just sent for thier early afternoon nap.

P-please, I'll do anything. J-just p-please bring them back. As the twins continue to lie there motionless, Pinkie feels her heart shatter as her mane becomes completely straight. "I-I'm s-so sorry! I-if I had known, I-I'd have..." She can't bring herself to speak as she finally breaks down. What use to Equestria are you if you can't even look after those you love?! You don't deserve your friends!

After several minutes of mourning, Pinkie Pie walks to the door. I can't do anything for them but I swear that Nightmare Moon will pay for this. As she is about to open the door though, she hears a sound that makes her heart skip a beat. "N-no, I'm just hearing things. There's no way-" The sound gets progressively louder; the sound of babies waking up. Hardly able to believe it, she turns with a massive smile as her mane regains some of its poofiness. "Hey guys! Aunt Pinkie is ba-" She stops as she sees that the Twins are both sitting bolt upright, staring right at her with thier curious eyes. Thier slitted, intimidating and bio-luminescent eyes.

NOPE! Pinkie immediately backs out of the room to find Carrot Cake leaving his room. "Pinkie? Is that you? Thank Celestia, we've been so worried. Ever since the Sun disappeared, we've been hiding and thought that they got you too."

Pinkie relaxes slightly at the realisation that Carrot is normal. "Y-yeah, we've had a hay of a morning."

Carrot Cake chuckles. "I'm sure, now come on. Let's tell Cup Cake know that you're safe and we can get out of here together. The sooner that we're away from Nightmare Moon and her Shadows, the better."

He turns and beckons Pinkie into the room but she stands there with a horrified expression. "Pinkie, what's wrong?"

"How did you know what they are called?"

Pinkie can see Carrot Cake try to invent a lie as she backs closer and closer to the stairs. As she does so, the shop owner's face falls as Pinkie's mane goes completely straight and she starts shaking. "Pinkie, it's not what it looks like." She turns and bolts for the front entrance and he watches on sadly as he hears her crash into something downstairs. Before returning to his wife, he directs a nod into the twins' bedroom.

---

Downstairs, Pinkie picks herself up after being stunned for several moments by her latest escape attempt of body slamming the front entrance. With the key missing, she's tried bucking where the door used to be and smashing windows but both are enchanted and she just bounce right off like they're made of rubber. Even the back door, the sink, the oven, the utensils drawer, the kitchen cupboard, the space between the oven and the wall, the sofa cushions, the freezer, the dresser and all of her other escape routes have this effect so she is completely trapped.

As she starts to contemplate what to do, she picks up some terrifyingly familiar wing buzzing and she looks up to see Pound Cake flying down at her. Despite everything that has happened, she can't help but smile proudly at him even as he begins to turn to mist. They've come so far and are so smart for thier age. They no longer need thier Aunt Pinkie.

Presently

As the four royals walk towards the dome in full battle armour, Princess Celestia again looks down sadly and the others immediately halt. "Princess? What's wrong?"

"They got to Pinkie Pie." Luna, Cadance and Shining Armour hang thier heads. Pinkie Pie was the kind of pony that can make any dire situation brighter just by association. The kind of pony that only comes around once in a generation.

After taking a moment to recover from the loss of another friend, Celestia looks at the others determinedly. "The best way for us to honour them is for us to make sure that we break through the shield and defeat Nightmare Moon once and for all. Thier sacrifices will not be in vain." Appreciating her stoicism in the face of such tragedy, they continue though Luna stays close to her sister in case she needs a moment.

None of them notice a familiarly coloured, barely visible mane as it peers down from a cloud house above. They truly have no idea what we've done, do they?

Flare chuckles. "No, they really don't. They're going to have one hay of a shock later." With that, they teleport back inside the dome to continue the chase.