Darkness Abound

by thefulkboy1

9- Rainbow Dash

“You seem to have been causing a bit of trouble, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia sighed, staring outside from the entrance of the cave. “We must work together to bring down Equilarsous. We need the six elements once again to even stand a chance against him.”

“Yeah, well, you’ll just have to find another element of Loyalty. I’m not working for you anymore.” Dash spat. While she was still trying to get over the fact that Celestia and Luna were here, in the Foal Mountains like Stormfax had said, she had to hide her awe. She was no longer loyal to the princesses. She was loyal to Equilarsous.

Celestia smiled softly. “I was afraid you would say that. In fact, I’m afraid all of you will say something of that sort. Time has worn us all down, Rainbow Dash. Even the elements are unable to withstand such a drastic change.” Rainbow wanted to agree with her. All of this change had transformed her in a way. She had forgotten about the life before Equilarsous. Hell, she had even forgotten about her cloud home, even the now nonexistent Cloudsdale. As her thoughts drifted to the city, she remembered watching it burn from her room in Canterlot Castle. Equilarsous had told her it was caused by a revolution in the population.

“We have to send the Pegasi a message, Ms. Dash,” Equilarsous had told her as they watched. “A message that says no one should defy a ruler.”

Rainbow Dash had agreed.

But now, as she listened to Celestia talk, Rainbow Dash felt like something was missing, that Equilarsous was… lying.

“… But, why are you rebelling? You willingly stepped down from the throne! You gave it up to Equilarsous! You let this happen to Equestria!”

At these accusations Celestia stepped forward, her horn and eyes glowing. “HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF LETTING MY PEOPLE SUFFER! WE, THE LAST REMAINING ALICORNS, WOULD NOT GIVE THE THRONE TO SOME PATHETIC UNICORN! IF YOU BELIEVE THAT WE LET THIS HAPPEN WITHOUT RESISTANCE, YOU ARE SORELY MISTAKEN, RAINBOW DASH!”

Rainbow Dash backed into a wall as Celestia, her whole body emanating a bluish glow, drew nearer. After the alicorn stopped speaking, Dash whimpered and closed her eyes. She had never seen her use her powers like that, not even when the Changelings attacked Canterlot.

The glow disappeared, and Celestia gently placed a hoof on the terrified Pegasus’ shoulder. “Oh, Rainbow Dash… you must believe me when I say Equilarsous is evil! No, we did not leave our throne willingly. Luna tried to fight him… but she was injured by his magic. Now she is unable to fly, and may never use her wings again. But I know the magic Equilarsous used was not true magic. It was false magic, a kind only witch doctors use.”

Rainbow Dash glanced up at the princess. “You mean like what Zecora uses?”

“Yes, much like what she uses, but more powerful. I don’t know how, but I have a terrible feeling he managed to obtain the Alicorn Amulet. While I didn’t see him wearing it, I could feel it’s power emanating from his body.” Celestia turned away from the Pegasus. “But there is something else as well. Equilarsous is not whole. He has chords for veins, metal for skin… he is a cyborg.”

Rainbow Dash stared at the ground. “A cyborg…? But how is that possible? Who could have possibly meshed together flesh and steel successfully?” But Dash felt like she already knew the answer.

“The two brothers who started this industrial revolution. Flim and Flam.” Celestia smiled softly. “Strange, isn’t it? Two con artists managed to save the life of a dying pony by binding his flesh with parts of their unwanted technology. And therefore, they controlled him.”

“So Equilarsous isn’t the real enemy?”

“We’re not sure,” Celestia sighed. “I came up with the idea that it was Flim and Flam who built Equilarsous, but they haven’t been seen in Equestria for more than ten years. Luna believes that their just hiding somewhere- with the Changelings was her guess- but I have the terrible feeling they’re dead. It makes since. Nopony has ever been able to create a cyborg successfully, but the Flimflam brothers managed to do it. But that doesn’t mean they were able to fully control him, now does it?”

“You think Equilarsous killed them, stole the Alicorn Amulet, and then overthrew you.” Rainbow Dash stated. Celestia nodded, but remained silent.

Dash ground her teeth together. Damn, it all made sense! She had no choice but to accept these facts. Equilarsous was evil! But there was one question that she wanted answered…

“The Wonderbolts, did they really… um, kill Scootaloo?”

There was the sound of hooves hitting the stone floor of the cavern, and Dash heard a familiar voice. “No, we didn’t.” Rainbow Dash turned and saw Spitfire, her idol and past instructor at the Wonderbolt Academy. She stood proudly, although she looked extremely tired. “Nice to see you again, Rainbow Dash.”

Dash stared at her for a while before saying, “Are the others here too?”

Spitfire nodded. “Most of us, at least. We’ve lost a couple over the years, but the core group is still around.”

“… And you guys didn’t kill Scootaloo?”

The orange Pegasus let out a short laugh. “Scootaloo, dead? Is that what the ponies told you all those years ago? She’s not dead, Dash. No matter what anypony tells you.”

“So… she’s still alive? Where is she?!” Rainbow Dash hadn’t felt this happy in years.

“Calm down there,” Spitfire said, chuckling. “She’s out in another cave, resting. While she wasn’t killed, she was badly injured. No one save for Celestia, the other Wonderbolts, and I know she’s even alive. C’mon, I’ll take you to her.”

As they began to leave, Dash turned and said to Celestia, “Thank you for explaining things to me. And… I’ll gladly become the element of Loyalty again.”

Celestia nodded and watched the two Pegasi leave. They had three of the elements now. Only three more left.

Then Celestia got an idea. She pulled a piece of parchment and a quill over to her and began to write.

Dear Twilight Sparkle…

Author's Note:

Two words: Badass Celestia.