The darkness is everywhere. The shadows begin to spread. The deadly dance continues. And this time... there will be no mercy.
Some wounds take time to heal. Some wounds never heal completely. Some heal easier than others. And there are some wounds that just can't heal at all. Luckily for Twilight, she has all but forgotten the wounds that blighted her nightmares for so long. She has healed. However, while it is true that some things are best left alone or forgotten, the darkness that almost took her life was not one of those things. The memories will return, but by then it will be too late to stop the coming darkness. The hands of the black mist reach out, the shadows swirl and writhe, expanding away from the very light that casts them, reaching dangerously for their prey. The deadly dance of shadows began... But it never ended.
“Wow. We got done fast...” Rainbow Dash muttered absently as she went over the weather schedule for that day on the clipboard she was holding. Clear skies was scheduled for the rest of the day. Glancing left,right, up and down, the airborne Pegasus couldn't spot a single stray cloud within their work areas. The Everfree Forest had a few clouds looming over it in the distance, but that was outside of just about all of the weather teams range of influence, save for the emergency reserves in the towns that rested around the Everfree.
“Hey! Stormchaser!” Rainbow called down to the Pegasus below her.
“Yes?” Stormchaser answered, glancing up.
“I've got a few things to take care of. Come get me if something goes wrong, alright?”
“You got it, boss!” Stormchaser turned and zoomed off to a position where she could keep a better eye on things. With that, Rainbow tilted in mid-air, and made a swift descent, landing gracefully on the ground. Rainbow Dash looked around, and a single, solitary question entered her mind. It was an important question, so she simply decided to voice it.
“Well... now what?” She looked around a bit more, and discerned where in Ponyville she was. It was a quieter part of town, she would have to give it that. The buildings were small two-story abodes, and the streets were a little tight. The cobblestone road was a little dirty, and a couple of ponies were nearby on a bench chit-chatting away. Dash recognized them as Lyra and Bon-Bon.
There weren’t many other ponies out on the street right now, given the hour. Rainbow figured that they were all likely working on making dinner. Rainbow sniffed slightly, and did catch a slight whiff of cooking food. She was a bit hungry, she noted, but she could satiate that later. She was actually fairly close to Scootaloos house, now that she thought about it. With that in mind, Rainbow started trotting without any immediate destination. She looked around mindlessly, just letting her thoughts wander. At one point, she heard the sound of a breaking pot in a nearby alley as she moved by. She turned her head to look, and saw a shadow retreating around the corner.
“Foals.” Rainbow muttered, rolling her eyes absently. The minutes ticked by until Dash came up to Scootaloos house. Simple yet well decorated, Rainbow had to admit, even if she didn’t normally care. She paused in front of it, thinking for maybe a second before shrugging. “Ah, what the heck.” She knocked on the door without a second thought.
“Coming!” She heard called by the little purple and orange filly from the other side of the door. Dash assumed a casual stance, given that she was no longer on immediate flight duty. She didn't realize it till now but she was pretty tense. There was a lot to do today, she supposed, and they got it all done in record time. The door popped open, pulling her thoughts back to reality. Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash, and her eyes widened for a moment, before she came to her senses.
“R-Rainbow Dash?!” She yelped in joyous surprise, her wings buzzing slightly.
“How are ya, Scoots?” Rainbow asked casually, ruffling Scootaloos mane with her hoof.
“I’m doing great! What about you? I thought you had weather duty?”
“Yeah, but I finished early. I figured I’d chill with you until I hafta head home. That cool with you?” Rainbow asked, smiling broadly at the now ecstatic little orange filly.
“Is it cool? It’s AWESOME! Come on in!” Scootaloo practically squealed as she stepped aside to let her idol in. Rainbow smiled at her as she entered.
“So, where are your folks?” Rainbow asked casually, looking around. The place was neater than when she was last here.
“They’re out for the time being. They ought to be back by tomorrow morning.” Scootaloo replied, jumping up on the couch that rested against the far wall of the room.
“Works for me. So, what’cha wanna do?” Rainbow asked, causing Scootaloo to brighten up even more.
“I’ve got a few ideas…”
<><><><><>
“You sure you gotta go?” Scootaloo asked miserably, basically begging Dash to stick around a bit longer.
“Yeah, sorry. It's almost night, and I need to catch some Z's. But don't worry, I'll drop by tomorrow.” Rainbow replied as she headed for the door.
“Oh, okay. See you then, Dash!” Scootaloo called, sounding much more chipper now then just a moment ago.
“Alright, see ya around, squirt.” Rainbow Dash called as she trotted out of Scootaloos house. The sun was setting on the horizon, shrouded slightly by clouds, casting a dim orange glow on everything. Rainbow breathed in the air, enjoying the summer freshness that always seemed to invigorate her. After several moments of standing still, Rainbow started a slow canter in the direction of her cloud house. It was just on the outskirts of Ponyville, and normally she’d fly to get there, but she’d let her legs go a bit this week. She figured that walking until she came underneath her house would be sufficient Exercise
The sun inched its way closer and closer to being set, and with every moment, the shadows it cast from the mountains expanded out further. Rainbow began to bounce slightly with her steps, even if only because she just got done having a really nice visit with Scootaloo. The moon was started to rise on the other horizon, mixing with the fading glows of the sunlight to create the dusk hours. Rainbow continued her trot, but came to a sudden stop when she caught movement to her left.
Glancing that way, she saw somepony's shadow drawing back behind a house. Rainbow quirked an eyebrow, and tilted her head curiously. She was about to go look into it when logic got the best of her. “Just some foals, I guess.” She mumbled, before continuing on her way. As she went, the shadows behind the house grew dark for a moment, before lightening back to normal.
The shadows in the alleys started moving, swimming silently between the buildings, following Dash as she made her way to the edge of Ponyville. Dash came to a stop at the edge of town, smiling upwards at her home. Perfectly white, as always. Having a house made of clouds was a nice reminder of Cloudsdale. “Ah, home sweet home.” She muttered to herself. She spread her wings, and was ready to take flight when an unfamiliar sensation tingled across her forelegs and belly. The feeling vaguely reminded her of insects crawling under her fur and on her skin. She shuddered from a bad memory, before glancing down.
Her eyes widened as she saw shadows spreading rapidly up from her belly, and also up from where her hooves connected with the grass. “What the?!” Dash exclaimed, and flapped her wings hard. But much to her horror, nothing happened. She stayed rooted to the ground. Vulnerable. In the next moment, the shadows covered her entire body, and her vision darkened. She thrashed frantically, about ready to panic as she felt her belly starting to split open, along with her side. It split so easy, as though cut open by a razorblade.
She tried flapping her wings again and again, and every time she was met with no luck. She growled in frustration as she tried to move her legs, only to find that they too were paralyzed. She thrashed again, when suddenly she heard a sickening snap from her back, followed almost instantly by another. Her pupils shrank as a tidal wave of pain flooded her system. Her wings had been snapped.
“HELP ME!” She screamed, unable to move, and completely unable to think straight. The moment her mouth opened, the shadows darted in there too, flowing easily down her throat. It felt as though she had just swallowed burning tar, just without the sticky sensations. The burning in her throat was indescribable, but her voice still came freely. She let out an agonized, terrified scream before she fell silent. The shadows retracted, and let her fall limply to the ground. Rainbow coughed once, a splatter of blood leaving her mouth before the shadows retreated completely, seeming to fade away into the surrounding night time environment.
Rainbow could feel blood in her throat. A lot of it. She coughed again, blood flying freely from her mouth as she started to spasm, unable to breathe. Lights were flickering on in the nearby houses, not like she noticed. Her vision was starting to tunnel, colors fading out. She gurgled in agony, trying in vain to get herself to scream out again. Another series of violent, bloody coughs assaulted her.
Through what little vision she had left, Rainbow could see ponies crowding around her. Somepony called out for help, before all sound faded away. Moments later, Dash fell silent and still.
<><><><><>
Nurse Redheart looked over the unconscious Pegasus with concern. Rainbow Dash was in pretty bad shape. Her throat had a small hole in it, but it was in such an exact spot that she almost bled-out before they got her here. Her belly had a sizable gash in it that looked like the skin had been shredded, same with the side of her barrel, along with several other minor injuries. Whoever did this was good at being quick, and must have been damn strong. Nopony, with maybe the exception of Applejack, was capable of matching Rainbow Dash as far as Nurse Redheart was concerned.
Redheart checked Dash’s bandages, and determined that they would hold until morning. She groaned quietly as she went to a counter on the other side of the room to start setting up some pain medication and laying out the mornings bandages and gauze. None of this made all that much sense. Rainbow Dash wounded outside of an accident, and the severity of the wounds, plus no signs at the scene of the attack that could give any possible ideas on who or what attacked.
Returning to Rainbows side, Redheart looked carefully over the report on the clip-board, trying to see if she missed anything. It was almost as if Dash had just randomly started growing wounds. Redheart knew there was something familiar about these wounds, she had seen them before, she knew it. She just couldn’t remember from where. With a heavy, frustrated sigh, she made sure everything was going to be good until morning, and then stepped out into the hallway, flicking off the light switch as she closed the door, plunging the room into darkness. Nopony saw this, but off in one of the corners, a single, reptilian yellow eye blinked once, then faded away into the shadows.
The castle of the royal pony sisters was coming along nicely with the repairs, Twilight had to admit. She stretched her wings tiredly, sighing happily as a few satisfying pops could be heard from the limbs. Standing straight again, Twilight's horn was enveloped in magical lavender light as she began to shove some boulders off to the side. She groaned slightly, struggling with the weight of the large chunks of rock. Despite the weight, she exhaled with relief as the boulders moved off completely, settling into the corner where Twilight and the others had been storing them until they could either be removed or used to restore more of the castle.
She wiped her brow, then turned her head as she heard clacking footsteps from a hall off to the right. The door swung open, and Spike walked in, carrying a bag full of smaller rocks and stones over his shoulder. He walked slowly to the pile, and threw the entire bags worth of rocks into it before turning a worn out eye on Twilight. “Please tell me this the last of it.” He said with barely any energy in his voice. Twilight nodded sweetly.
“It's the last of what we're dealing with today.” Twilight replied, trotting up to Spike, who looked about ready to pass out. At hearing this, a content smile passed over the baby dragon’s expression.
“Okay, that's good. I need some rest.” Spike replied, slumping forwards against Twilight's foreleg, causing Twilight to giggle slightly at his antics, before lifting him up onto her back in a magic aura. They had come out here alone today, so they didn't need to go by hoof, or wait for any other ponies to wrap up what they were doing. As Twilight stepped out into the refreshing summer air, she couldn't help but rub her face a little bit with her hoof, blinking slowly afterwards. They had been here since before sun-up, so she admitted mentally that getting in a good nap wouldn't be a bad idea.
Spreading her wings, Twilight knelt for a moment, and then sprang up, taking to the air leisurely, keeping herself at a swift but relaxed speed. Spike could be heard snoring lightly on her back, causing Twilight to smile back at him for a moment. She loved that sound, probably because she found it to be absolutely adorable. Spikes snore had never changed in all the time he’d been in her life. The minutes ticked by ever so slowly as they went, the only sounds being Spikes snoring, the rushing air, and Twilight's flapping wings. Soon enough Ponyville came into sight, and Twilight's eyes picked out the Golden oaks library without a hitch among the multitude of houses, shops and market stalls.
Setting herself down gently in front of the library, she couldn't help but feel satisfied with how this morning had gone so far. Got to the castle nice and early, and made some great progress cleaning the place up. But now, she had a checklist and a mug of coffee with her name on them. Pulling the door open, she stepped inside.
<><><><><>
Twilight shot up in surprise as a loud, rapid knocking came to her front door, jarring her rather rudely from her nap. Twilight groaned slightly as she realized that she had fallen asleep at her table while writing stuff down. Yawning and stretching tiredly, Twilight slowly made her way to the door as another series of harsh knocks hit it. “I'm coming, jeesh.” Twilight opened the door with a flick of her magic, revealing Pinkie Pie standing there, looking surprisingly nervous. “Oh, hi Pinkie. Do you need something?” Pinkie didn't respond straight away, and almost instantly Twilight knew something was wrong.
“Twilight, Rainbow Dash is hurt. Like, badly.” Pinkie said, her tone sounding almost scared. All of the pink pony's normal bubbly energy was gone, replaced with worry and fear.
“What happened?” Twilight asked almost instantly, stepping forward a bit. Pinkie sighed heavily, and glanced over her shoulder as though worried somepony was listening.
“I’m not sure. Dashie's at the clinic right now. When I left she was showing signs of waking up, but they aren’t sure. The nurses asked me to get you to them as soon as possible. Something about figuring out who did this.” Pinkie replied, dipping her head slightly as she finished.
“Okay, um... Give me just a minute, alright?” Twilight requested as she backed into the Library slowly, already working her magic to bring out a sheet of paper and a quill from the shelf.
“Okie-dokie.” Pinkie replied, turning slightly. Twilight closed the door part of the way before rushing back to the table and starting to scribble out a note to Spike. As soon as she had it written down, she rushed up stairs to where the baby dragon was sleeping, and lay it down next to his bed. He stirred slightly, but didn’t wake. Satisfied that he'd be able to handle himself until she got back, Twilight stepped back downstairs, and out the door with Pinkie. She used her magic to shut the curtains on the windows before closing the door.
<><><><><>
The clinic was dead quiet Twilight noted, save for the rest of the girls in the waiting room whispering worriedly amongst themselves. They all looked up as the door slid open, Twilight and Pinkie entering slowly. Fluttershy smiled weakly, but Twilight could tell it was forced. Twilight could also tell by the way her mane was that Fluttershy was taking this really hard. Rarity herself was looking around the room absently, seeming to not know what she wanted to focus on, if anything. Applejack was pacing anxiously, casting glances at the door that led to Rainbows room every so often.
Pinkie made her way to Fluttershy, sitting down next to her, and wrapping a hoof around her for comfort. Applejack slowly approached Twilight. “Yer here to look at Rainbow, right?” Applejack asked quietly.
“That’s right, Applejack, but I only just heard about this. Do we know what happened?” Twilight asked, looking over Applejacks shoulder at the door that would lead her to Dash’s room.
“I wish, then I’d know who to knock senseless!” Applejack snarled, stomping her hoof for emphasis. Her eyes burned with anger, but worry and fear took over her expression as she exhaled heavily, before glancing back up at Twilight. Fluttershy approached quietly, face hidden partially behind her mane.
“I just don’t know why anypony would hurt Rainbow, but she’ll pull through… right?” Fluttershy said, shrinking slightly towards the end.
“I’m sure she will. Rainbow Dash has been through some pretty rough treatment.” Twilight replied gently, resting a hoof comfortingly on Fluttershy’s shoulder. Rarity cleared her throat, and all eyes turned to her.
“Perhaps, but I don’t know if she’s ever had injuries this bad, before.” Rarity said, earning a whimper from Fluttershy and a glare from Applejack. “I’m sorry, I’m sure she’ll make it. I just don’t know if the dear will be the same…”
“RD’s made of tough stuff, Rares,” Applejack said, snorting slightly. “She’ll be back on her hooves faster than y’all can say horse apples, Ah know it!”
“What kinds of wounds does she have, anyway?” Twilight asked, glancing around. Silence dominated for a moment.
“She had a large gash in her stomach and side. Both have been bandaged up, luckily. The part that is the worst would have to be her throat. The nurses speculate her voice might not work right for quite some time.” Rarity said, sounding grossed out. At this, Fluttershy paled considerably.
“We’ll catch the ones that hurt Dashie, right Twilight?” Pinkie asked, voice quiet. Twilight bit her lip, and nodded.
“I’m sure we will.” Twilight said, before they all heard the door behind Applejack sliding open. Nurse Redheart was at the door a moment later, looking over a clipboard before looking up into the room. Spotting Twilight, she waved her hoof in a gesture to approach. Twilight looked nervously to all of her friends in the room, who looked at her almost expectantly, as if hoping for her to do something miraculous. She hardened her expression and nodded before stepping through the door with Redheart into a long hallway. Doors were on either side as they went down, and Twilight could tell which one they were going to from here, as it was the only one with a light over it.
The silence was dreadful as they approached Rainbows room. Twilight found herself dreading whatever it was she was about to find as they came to a stop at the door that Rainbow rested behind. Redheart pulled open the door, and stepped inside, Twilight following closely. There was a large curtain surrounding where Twilight assumed Dash was resting, as she could see a pegasi’s silhouette shadowed in the curtain.
Redheart stepped forward and pulled back the curtain, standing aside to let Twilight in. Twilight swallowed nervously before stepping forward. Rainbow Dash was still out, and had both of her wings bandaged up and at full extension. They had been broken, and pretty badly by the looks of it. Twilight's jaw dropped at the condition her friend was in as she trotted up to her. Redheart slowly followed, eyes lingering on the sleeping Rainbow Dash. “The doctor found trace amounts of magic in her wounds, but couldn't identify them.” Redheart said quietly.
“So, a unicorn did this?” Twilight asked, turning her gaze back to Nurse Redheart, who in turn shook her head.
“It wasn't unicorn magic. That much he could easily figure out.” Redheart said, sighing afterwards. “According to him, It wasn’t focuses or channeled. It feels completely different from what unicorns can do. That's why we called you here. You have a great deal of experience with the unusual, so you might be able to at least start us in the direction of finding out what is responsible.”
Twilight nodded, stepping closer to dash, somewhat apprehensive. A moment later her horn lit up with a soft glow, and she began scanning every inch, nook and cranny on Rainbow Dash’s form. She felt it, alright, the faintest trace of magical residue. It was dark, sinister and evil feeling, but at the same time it felt almost noble, and kind. It was almost like two different mindsets had joined into one when casting the spells that harmed Dash.
She examined the residue closer, finding something oddly familiar about it, something she couldn’t quite place. A chill ran down her spine as she got a feel for how the magic operated, and almost let go of the scan spell when she felt the nature of the magic. It was disgusting, but also fascinating in a way that Twilight couldn’t stand to admit aloud. The magic residue was almost like acid left behind from claws that dripped with the stuff. It shredded skin, and burned away at what it touched.
Twilight felt sick thinking about it. Such corrosive magic was beyond a normal Unicorn to cast, as it took a lot of concentration to make the magic have the dissolving effect. “So, does anypony know exactly what happened to her? Nopony saw it happen or anything?” Twilight asked, tilting her head to Redheart slightly.
“I’m afraid not. Some ponies brought her in here just after ten o’clock. They reported that they just found her in the middle of the street, bleeding out and coughing up blood.” Redheart replied, shrugging slightly.
“Where in Ponyville was this?” Twilight pressed, deciding she could investigate when she was done here.
“Just under her house. Some ponies said that before she was attacked she was walking home.” Redheart said as she went back to her clipboard.
“And you said this was just after eleven?”
“Yes.” Redheart confirmed. Twilight paused for a moment. That would have been just after sunset. That rang a serious bell with her, but from where? Twilight released her spell and looked confusedly at Nurse Redheart.
“I’m honestly not sure what to make of any of this. It all feels very familiar, but it’s in such trace amounts that I just can’t pin it down. Whatever it is, you were right; we aren’t dealing with a unicorn.” Twilight deduced, eyes narrowing slightly.
“Well, we’ll keep Rainbow here for a while, and I guess we can just ask her when she wakes up.” Redheart reluctantly conceded, shifting uncomfortably.
“You do that, but we need to know what this thing is before it hurts anypony else. I’ll do some research at the Library, and get back to you if I find anything before Rainbow wakes up.” Twilight said before making her way for the door.
“Okay. Take care.” Redheart answered as she started tending to Dash’s bandages again. Twilight was deep in thought as she exited the room and went back out into the hallway. She knew she was familiar with that magic energy, she just knew it. The only problem was that she couldn’t confirm from where, which frustrated her to no end. Twilight sighed as she stepped back out into the main waiting room and was assaulted by her friends with questions in worried tones.
“What’d ya find? What rascal did this?!”
“Please tell me Rainbow Dash will be okay.”
“Will the dear be alright?”
“Who hurt Dashie?”
Twilight shook her head violently to clear the confusion she was feeling before speaking up. “Quiet, please. I need to think.” Everypony promptly fell silent as Twilight started pacing, her movements clearly indicating she was processing information at high speeds. After several seconds, Twilight sighed heavily. “Alright, look. I don’t know who or what did this, but what I do know is it wasn’t a unicorn. I’m going to do some research back at the Library, and I’ll fill you all in with what I find if Rainbow hasn’t woken yet.”
“What happens when RD wakes up, then?” Applejack asked, looking worriedly back at the door.
“Then Rainbow Dash will tell us exactly what happened.” Twilight replied, looking out the window absently. With a new determined look on her face, she started walking towards the exit.
“Yes, Rarity. I need to find out everything I can as quickly as possible. Send somepony to get me if there are any major changes.” Twilight said, before stepping back out into the noonday sunlight and towards the Golden Oaks.
<><><><><>
Nothing. Twilight had found all of nothing since she started her search for information. She snarled in frustration as she turned to the last page of the book she was flipping through, which was entitled The magic of the unknown: A guide to all un-channeled magic. Twilight figured this book would have something, at least a bit of theory or something. The magic used to hurt Dash came from a non-unicorn, which meant it wasn’t channeled. It was more limitless, but also harder to control and more chaotic. A unicorn’s horn allowed the unicorn to be far more precise with their magic by channeling it.
But she couldn’t find anything that even remotely sounded like what she had seen and felt within Rainbow Dash’s wounds. It made no sense. She had never heard of magic that was sent from what felt like two mindsets, and apparently neither had the author of this book. Twilight slammed the book shut before hurling it across the room. It crashed violently into a small stack of books, knocking them all over. She had been at this for hours with no luck whatsoever. Another angry snort escaped her as she looked at the shelves again, trying and failing to find a more recent book on the same subject matter.
What made this all so frustrating wasn’t the lack of information; she’d dealt with that before. No, what made this so frustrating was how the answer felt like it was right there, just on the tip of her tongue, begging to be rolled off of it. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t remember the right words. She sighed in defeat and let her face fall directly onto one of the stacks of paper she had brought out, sending sheets flying in all directions.
“Twilight?” she heard Spike say quietly, worry and confusion in his tone. Twilight turned an eye to him without lifting her head.
“What is it, Spike?” She mumbled, aggravation evident in her tone. Spike fidgeted slightly with his claws, and looked away. Twilight’s ears slowly drooped, and she sighed wearily, lifting her head back up. “I’m sorry, Spike. This whole mess is just getting to me, I guess. I know what this is; I’ve seen that kind of magic and wound before. I just can’t remember what exactly it is or from where.” As Twilight said this, she felt her stomach twinge slightly, very light pain dancing across it. She groaned and looked up as Spike cleared his throat.
“Go ahead and take a break. It’s almost night time, and you need to get some food and rest.” Spike urged softly as he started to pick up the stray sheets of loose paper. He glanced up at twilight occasionally with a pleading, worried expression.
“But I need to find out what happened to Rainbow Dash. I just need to find the right book…” Twilight said, looking up at her selection of books tiredly.
“You won’t be able to do much more before you drop. Go on, get some rest. I’ll handle things here.” Spike said, turning to Twilight with what could only be described as puppy-dog eyes.
“Okay, you win Spike…” Twilight said softly, standing up from her seat and stretching tiredly. A long and fairly impressive yawn escaped her as she did this.
“I’ve already made you something for dinner. It’s on the table downstairs. Nothing fancy, I’m afraid, but-“
“Its fine, Spike. Thank you” Twilight interrupted, smiling pleasantly down at him before patting him atop the head. Spike nodded enthusiastically, seeming to be energized by the reply, and quickened his pace of cleaning up the papers. Twilight stepped down the stairs, taking it slowly as she thought things over a bit. As she hit the bottom she dismissed the thoughts before spotting a beautifully made sandwich on the table. Her mouth watered at the aroma, and she realized Spike had pulled no punches with this.
Setting herself down in front of her dinner, Twilight slowly started nibbling away, wanting to enjoy her food. She looked out the window occasionally as the sun began to disappear beneath the horizon. The shadows cast by the mountains and hills began to expand as the sun dipped behind them, giving Ponyville an interesting appearance as the light steadily faded. All too soon, her sandwich was gone. She stood up and made her way upstairs, wanting nothing more than to get some rest.
It had been a long day. Twilight flipped out the light and slipped beneath the covers, her eyelids already getting heavy. “Heh… I’m willing to bet that when I wake up, I’ll remember what it was that hurt Dash…” She absently mused, a pleasant smile spreading across her face as she fell deep into sleep. Spike was off to the side, smiling at her. She was so tired she hadn’t even really noticed him as she came back up the stairs. With an amused chuckle, Spike settled down into his own bed, not noticing as Twilight began to fall into a cold sweat.
Twilight felt as though she had been running through the dark, empty and endless streets for hours. She had multiple orbs of bright magic light surrounding her on all sides as she ran. This couldn't have been Ponyville; there were no landmarks that she was familiar with, and there seemed to be no end in sight. Her breath came in quick, ragged gasps, and her brow was covered with sweat. She'd never galloped this much before in her life she thought as she made a sharp left and entered into a somewhat wider street. The buildings here were decrepit, and looked like they hadn't been tended to in ages. Broken windows, torn roofs, holes in the walls, and mud everywhere.
As she ran, Twilight couldn't help but notice that things seemed darker than they should be. In fact, they were getting darker. She looked around, and realized that her orbs of magic light were fizzling out. She instantly picked up the speed, trying to reassert her will over the orbs to restore them. Her eyes widened in terror. Her horn wasn't working. No magic was escaping from it at all. She looked over her shoulder as the second to last of her lights went out. There was only one orb left, and it was directly in front of her.
Looking back, she saw exactly what she feared she would. The shadows directly behind her seemed to become darker and darker, following just at her rear hooves. She looked desperately to her only shield, that last orb of light, silently begging it to stay lit. But, much to Twilight's despair, that light too fizzled away into the darkness. Twilight kept running all the same, praying silently to Celestia that she could find a way out of this.
It was a false hope. As soon as she was plunged into darkness, the shadows swirled around her, forcing her to stop. She was surrounded. She took a step backwards, and her hoof landed in the shadows. She felt the bottom of her hoof split wide open, and she screamed, collapsing to the ground. The shadows took this opportunity, and charged in. Twilight screamed again as the shadows flew up her body, but was suddenly silenced when her vision lurched to the side, accompanied by a sickening snap.
She slumped limply, no longer having any feeling in her body. Her vision was starting to darken even though her eyes were wide open. She wanted to cry, scream, resist, or do something that would keep her alive. As the darkness enveloped her vision, she saw a single, yellow reptilian eye glaring at her, narrowing before it too faded away into the black.
<><><><><>
Spike sat upright as he heard a loud scream coming from Twilight, one which caused his blood to freeze. He had never heard her scream like that before, ever. It was a terrible noise that chilled him to the cores of his bones. He flopped out of bed, stood up and quickly made his way to the side of Twilight's bed, where he watched as she tossed and turned, letting out terrified grunts and pained cries. She was having a nightmare, and a bad one at that. Spike looked outside briefly, trying to get a gauge of the hour. It was almost time for the sun to come up, if the tint in the sky was any indication.
He turned his attention back to Twilight as another loud scream tore from her throat. She jerked and thrashed violently, the blanket flying off of her and onto the floor next to her bed. She’d had nightmares before, but none had ever been this bad. Spikes brow began to get wet with sweat. What was he supposed to do? Normally, she would have woken up by now, but she continued to thrash. When she screamed again, he knew he had to wake her up.
Spike hesitated, then reached out and grabbed Twilight's shoulder tightly, giving her a hard shake. “Hey, Twilight!” He called, hoping this would be sufficient. Twilight froze the moment his clawed hand connected with her shoulder, and she fell silent for a second. Spike prayed to the princesses with all of his heart that Twilight had calmed down. Her breathing suddenly sped up, and a stray hoof lashed out and collided hard with Spike's nose. He yelped and let go, backing away quickly while clutching his claws to his nose, which was now bleeding.
Now he was scared, his young mind starting to fathom scenarios in which Twilight could never wake up. His heart fell into his stomach at the thought, and he tried hard to think of a way he could wake Twilight up. Twilight suddenly rolled, and fell with a loud thud to the floor, crying out. Spike turned and darted downstairs, almost tripping multiple times as he went. As his clawed feet touched the bottom, he broke into a sprint for the kitchen.
Upstairs, Twilight screamed again, this time sounding like it was a scream of pain instead of fear. She clutched at her stomach with one hoof, the other reaching out as though to grab onto something and she started whimpering. “Help me... please...” She managed to choke out, her voice hoarse from all of her screaming. She started curling up into a ball, shivering violently as though she were freezing. Spike came running up the stairs at this point, a cooking pot full of cold water in his claws. Without any hesitation, he threw the pot's contents over Twilight, and let it do its work.
Twilight gasped in surprise from the chilling water, and sat straight up almost instantly, breathing heavily. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her mind was reeling as memories started coming back to her.
“Please don't hurt me!”
“You have done something.”
“I... I don't understand. What did I do?”
“You have done something!”
“Please, stop! What did I do?! I don't understand! PLEASE, I'M SORRY!”
Twilight started visibly trembling again, that yellow eye coming back to the forefront of her memory. She felt at her belly, and closed her eyes tightly as she remembered the horrible sensation of having it split open so easily. She whimpered slightly, trying to banish the horrible memories. Moments later, something wrapped around her foreleg in an embrace. She jumped and looked down, opening her eyes.
Spike was staring up at her with scared eyes, and he looked like he was about ready to cry. “Twilight, what's wrong?” he asked, voice trembling and only slightly above a whisper. Twilight blinked, then slowly wrapped her other foreleg around him and returned the hug.
“Just a bad dream spike… What happened to your nose?” She asked, tilting her head up slightly to look.
“You hit me while thrashing in your nightmare.” Spike replied, sniffling slightly. Twilight nodded, her horn lighting up and levitating over a tissue box.
“I’m sorry,” She said as she wiped away the blood, then set the box to the side. “Just keep your head tilted back for a few minutes, okay?”
“Alright.” Spike replied, starting to look a bit better.
“It should stop bleeding after that, then you can just…” she stopped mid-sentence. Something clicked instantly, and her heart skipped a beat. Rapidly, her heart turned cold with realization.
“Just what?” Spike asked, burying his face into Twilight's leg fur after sniffling.
“I just...I think I know what it is that hurt Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said, her voice dripping with dread. Spike looked up at her with surprise.
“You do?”
“Yeah... and if I'm right, then we're in a lot of trouble.” Twilight muttered, looking out the window as the sun came up. Another memory sparked through her, and she slowly stood up from holding Spike, and approached her desk. Her horn lit up, and one of the drawers pulled out to reveal a sizable stack of papers. She pulled out the entire stack, and started going through them. They were stray papers, notes she had finished with, old letters she decided to not send, and other things.
Her eyes scanned each paper quickly, looking for a certain couple of words. “Please tell me it’s not in here.” She muttered, hoping it was just a lapse in her memory. Sadly, she found it, and her eyes widened. It was an old letter she was going to send to princess Celestia after she was attacked by the Shadow Dancers for the first time. It was written almost four months ago, before Twilight became an Alicorn. Twilight studied the letter carefully.
“Dear Princess Celestia,
About a week ago I was hospitalized by Shadow Dancers. I have no idea what I did to make them attack me, but it was a close call. Rainbow Dash was barely able to get me away and to the clinic before I could bleed out from my wounds. I'm writing this letter to let you know that I was released from the Ponyville clinic earlier today, and that I should be back on the job with my friendship reports any time now.
But I do have a question; what do you know about the Shadow Dancers? I know they're as old as you and Princess Luna, if not older, and exist in shadows. I also know that they aren't normally so violent. Do you have any idea what made them come after me?
I eagerly await your response,
-Twilight Sparkle.”
This made no sense. Why would Twilight neglect to send a letter like this? How could she forget? As it was, the letter had been sitting idly in her drawer for just shy of four months, collecting dust. She sighed heavily and placed the note back in the stack before returning it to the drawer. She needed to have another look at Rainbow Dash, she decided. After all, now she had a possible suspect of the assailant. “Spike, I’m going to look at Rainbow Dash one more time. You stay here and stay safe, okay?” She said, the slight tremble to her voice easily detectible.
“Stay safe?” Spike asked, looking at Twilight worriedly.
“Turn on all of the lights, and make sure there isn’t a single spot with a shadow. That should at least help…” Twilight said, sounding unsure of herself on the last few words. Spike looked at Twilight fearfully.
“How will that help?” he asked, clutching the end of his tail tightly.
“They can’t exist in the light.” Twilight replied, before trotting downstairs. She hesitated as she came to the door, but not for long. Swallowing down her fears, Twilight opened the door, and stepped outside.
<><><><><>
Rainbow Dash snapped her eyes open, a loud gasp escaping her, causing her throat to ache. Where was she? What was going on? For a moment, she had no clue on either of those questions. She looked around, realizing she was in a Ponyville clinic room. What type of room, she was unsure at the moment, but she did know that she was hooked up to a heart monitor. How had she gotten here? She tried to think and bring up her most recent memory. She remembered a burning in her throat, She remembered blood...and shadows.
The thought of shadows sent a spike of fear through her, and she involuntarily shivered. She heard voices outside her door, drawing her attention. She leaned forward slightly to hear better, but had to slowly lie back down at the pain it caused her torso as well as her wings. The door popped open, and she recognized Nurse Redhearts voice, along with Twilight. “Has she woken up yet, though?” Twilight asked.
“Well, we’re about to find out.” Redheart replied, pulling the curtain back. Dash smiled weakly as she saw her friend approaching.
“Dash! You’re awake! Oh, thank goodness.” Twilight heaved a sigh of relief, and smiled warmly at Rainbow. Okay, Dash decided, time for some answers.
Rainbow tried to speak, but in place of her normal voice all that came out was an odd sounding mumbling slur. Twilight couldn’t help but compare it to what she imagined a mummy might sound like, if it were alive and speaking through a mouth full of cotton balls that are starting to get wet with saliva. Dash felt at her throat, then glanced to Redheart for answers.
“Rainbow, I’m sorry. We poured a healing tonic down your throat, which is still healing. The tonic numbs your vocal chords, so you should try to refrain from speech for the time being.” Redheart said in a soothing tone. Rainbow nodded silently, looking down.
“I didn’t know the damage was that bad.” Twilight muttered, looking at rainbow sadly.
“We didn’t think she’d wake up for another twenty four hours, at least.” Redheart added, walking over to Rainbow’s side to check her bandages. Twilight sighed and sat down next to Dash on her other side.
“Dash, I think I know what hurt you, but I need you to answer some questions. I’ll make them all yes or no.” Twilight said gently, cringing slightly as Rainbow looked at her with pained eyes. In response, all Dash could do was nod. “Okay. First thing, it was night when you were attacked?”
A nod.
“And when you were hurt, was it like the shadows themselves were moving?”
Another nod.
“Did you see anything related that day? Moving shadows? shadows that were darker than they should have been?”
One more nod.
“Lastly, did you see a yellow eye?”
A pause, then a shrug.
“Dash, it has to be either a yes or a no. Either you saw it or you didn’t.” Twilight pressed gently, rubbing comforting circles into Rainbow’s shoulder. Dash looked at her, then gestured to her other side. Twilight glanced over, and saw that Rainbow was pointing with her hoof at the clipboard. “Bring her some paper, I guess.” Twilight said, looking up at Redheart, who nodded. Redheart soon brought Rainbow a sheet of paper and a pen.
Dash nodded her thanks and started scribbling away at the paper with the pen in her mouth. After several moments, she had spelled out her answer.
Maybe. I saw it in a nightmare I had.
“Nightmare?” Twilight asked, knowing exactly how those could go. Dash nodded. Twilight slowly stood, and nodded as well. “Then it’s true.” She said, a tremor of anxiety in her tone.
“What is?” Redheart asked as she reached into a cabinet to pull out some supplies.
“Rainbow Dash was attacked by Shadow Dancers.” Twilight replied, looking out the window. “Which means that no matter what, you need to keep this room lit. Don’t leave a single shadow in the room.”
“Twilight, that's practically impossible. We'd need walls made of lights for that, and even then, Rainbow herself would still have shadows on her.” Redheart said, looking at Twilight with a frown.
“Fine, then just light up what you can. Shadow Dancers travel by and can only exist in shadows. If we can keep the area lit, that should at least keep them at bay.” Twilight said, before turning her eyes completely to Rainbow. “I hate to go, but I need to write to the princesses. They'll know what to do here.” Twilight then turned her attention to Redheart. “By the way, how long do you think until Dash will be able to leave?”
“Hard to say. The doctor called in a healing magic expert, so as long as he shows up this week, I estimate Rainbow could be going home somewhere between seven to ten days from now.” Redheart replied hopefully, and Twilight smiled.
“Alright. Rainbow, I need to get moving. I'll see you soon.” Twilight said, turning and heading for the door. Rainbow felt the urge to say something, but knew that with her throat in its current state, she was bound to silence. She let her head drop as Twilight stepped out of the room.
<><><><><>
Twilight started processing information and thinking rapidly the second she stepped out of the clinic. The Shadow Dancers came after her the first time, and Rainbow Dash was the one that saved her that night. So, this time they came after Rainbow Dash first, which likely meant that they were eliminating potential threats. Twilight's bones chilled as the realization dawned on her that she was likely next. With Dash hospitalized, there were very few ponies, and probably none in Ponyville, that would be able to help her when the Shadow Dancers struck.
Twilight spread her wings, knelt down, and sprang up into the air. She started flapping, and was soon on her way to the Golden oaks library. She scanned the ground under her as she went, looking for any shadows that were too big or too dark. None stood out, but Twilight was unsure if that was supposed to make her feel any better. She soon came to a landing in front of the library and swung the door open. She stepped inside as fast as she could before closing the door behind her. The library was well lit, at least. Spike was off a little ways mopping the floor.
Twilight smiled over at him, before making her way upstairs. She had a letter to write, and waiting to do so would be foolish. Soon enough she was upstairs, setting up her desk with a blank sheet of paper, a quill and some ink. Setting herself down, she paused for barely a moment before starting on the letter.
It took a few minutes, but she finally got it all down. She looked over the letter carefully, before nodding to herself and turning to the stairs. Spike was standing there, looking nervously at her. Twilight smiled at him before walking forwards and giving him a tight hug. “I promise you now, Spike. We’re going to be okay.” She said quietly, rubbing his back. Truth be told, she wasn’t hugging him to comfort him, but to comfort herself. She knew only a part of what the Shadow Dancers were capable of, and even that was enough to chill her veins.
She remembered the cold oh so clearly. She remembered how easily the Shadow Dancers were able to split open her stomach. She remembered the feeling of the blood running down her side. She remembered the sensation of being pulled at from all sides, feeling like her legs would be pulled right off. She involuntarily shuddered at the horrible memories, pulling Spike closer. His body heat warming her freezing limbs was nice, but she knew that the comfort from this embrace was temporary.
She just hoped that she was right. Shadow Dancers were dangerous when they were against somepony. There was almost no way for one to fight back or defend themselves. If a Shadow Dancer was able to leap to them, it would all be over for the victim. Twilight gulped as she realized that so far, she and Rainbow had been nothing but lucky. Twilight’s own words started ringing doubtfully in her ears over and over again. We’re going to be okay…
It was only a week after Twilight's last visit to her that Dash awoke to the sound of a soft knocking on her door. Her throat felt dry, warm and a little tender as she groaned slightly. She wasn’t feeling any pain, luckily. The door swung open a few seconds later, and Dash looked to see Fluttershy stepping in with a gentle smile spread on her face. “Good morning, Rainbow. How are you feeling?” She asked warmly as she came up next to the bed.
“I feel like I just got over drinking hot tar.” Rainbow replied, taking joy in the fact she could legitimately speak again. “But aside from that, just peachy.”
“Well, at least you’re speaking well again. Now then, the doctors wanted me to make sure you make it home safe and know what you need to do.” Fluttershy explained as she reached out to help Rainbow out of the bed.
“Wait, why aren’t they going to handle all of that themselves?” Rainbow asked, sounding a little confused.
“They’re dealing with an emergency case elsewhere in the building, and are a little under-staffed today. They think I should be able to handle this fairly easily, so they asked.” Fluttershy replied as Rainbow sat up. Rainbow nodded slowly, before carefully stepping out of the bed and down onto the hard floor. She stretched gently, trying not to cause pain anywhere.
“What kind of emergency?” Dash asked, starting her slow walk for the door.
“A Pegasus crashed while on weather duty and sustained life-threatening injuries. She’s lucky she’s still breathing. Oh, the poor mare…” Fluttershy said sadly, voice lowering slightly.
“Who was it?” Rainbow pressed, deciding she should know who was out of commission when she got back on the job.
“I think it was Stormchaser.” Fluttershy replied, shivering slightly. The situation must have been pretty bad, Rainbow guessed. At this point they were in the hallway heading for the lobby, falling into silence as they continued on their way. Soon enough, they were in the lobby and checking Rainbow Dash out of the building. Rainbow stared at the door for a moment apprehensively. “Come on, now.” Fluttershy urged gently as she started for the door.
Rainbow nodded and followed Fluttershy. The door slid open, causing Dash to squint as she stepped out once more into the bright sunlight. Taking a moment to let her eyes adjust, she smiled and took in a deep breath of fresh air, refreshing her system. She was already feeling invigorated again as she continued after Fluttershy. “So, how's everypony hanging?” Rainbow asked as she came up next to Fluttershy.
“Well, Rarity's been doing well, I suppose. She got a fairly sizable order, so luckily that's been keeping her mind busy. Applejack's been really worried, but she knows you're strong, so that helped her keep her mind on track. Pinkie Pie's managed to get back to her normal self after Twilight relayed that you'd be out soon, and I'm just glad you're going to be okay.” Fluttershy explained, smiling slightly at Dash, who in turn raised an eyebrow. There was something in Fluttershy's eyes, an uncertainty that stood out.
“And Twilight? How's she doing?” Rainbow asked, voice taking a more serious tone.
“Oh, um, well, you see... She... that is...” Fluttershy started to rapidly mutter, growing quiet quickly.
“Come on, Flutters, spit it out. What's up?” Rainbow pushed, looking at Fluttershy with curiosity.
“Well, um... Twilight's actually been the real cause of most of our worry for the past few days.” Fluttershy said, shrinking down slightly.
“Huh? What, did Twi get hurt too?” Rainbow asked, sounding a little confused.
“No... She's just... acting strangely.”
“Oh, yeah? Bet she isn't being as strange as Pinkie normally is.” Rainbow said jokingly, trying to cheer Fluttershy up.
“Rainbow, this is serious. She hasn't left the Library since telling us you were going to be getting a healing magic expert. The lights are always on, and she's refused every single visitor she's gotten.” Fluttershy said, looking over towards the library as they walked by.
“Really? She's refused everypony?” Dash asked, surprised. That was definitely odd, alright.
“Yes. Nopony is really sure what's going on with her. She hasn't told any of us anything.” Fluttershy said, worry lining her voice as the library faded from sight behind them. Rainbow found herself legitimately curious, now.
“Well, I guess I'll stop by the library later and find out what's going on, if I can.” Rainbow muttered, shrugging absently.
“I don't know what you'll get, but good luck.” Fluttershy replied, a smile returning to her face.
“I guess I'll need it.” Rainbow said, taking note of her surroundings. They were getting close to where she was attacked last time. It was the middle of the day, and from what Twilight had said about the Shadow Dancers, that meant she should be safe.
Rainbow and Fluttershy, soon enough, were flying up to Dash’s house. Rainbow had to take the flight slow due to the remnants of pain in her wings slowing her down. After a couple of minutes, they were inside. “Thanks Fluttershy. So, what all do I need to do?” Rainbow asked as she looked around her home. Just as she left it, thankfully.
“Just try to refrain from anything more than a leisurely flight speed when using your wings. If your throat starts to feel sore, stop talking for a little while and let it rest. Aside from that, just get plenty of rest and relaxation and you should be back to a hundred percent in no time.”
“Alright, thanks Flutters.” Rainbow said, smiling broadly. Fluttershy nodded before trotting out through the front door. Silence filled the room, and Rainbow found herself wondering what to do next. Well, first thing was first, she guessed. Get some decent food, feed Tank, then go down to Twilight’s library and find out what was going on.
<><><><><>
Twilight groaned heavily as she looked at herself in the mirror. With a tired grunt, she levitated a nearby comb and evened out her rather messy bed-mane. She hadn’t slept well in a couple of days, having been subjugated to more nightmares. The constant light didn’t help her sleeping efforts much, either. But it was necessary, she knew, to keep her surroundings lit at all times. After straightening out her mane, Twilight pulled a book from a nearby shelf and landed it in front of her on the desk.
Flipping the book open to where she was last, she continued reading. She hadn’t even been reading for five minutes when the frustration from last night began to rear its ugly head. She had gone through three books already, and none of them really told her anything about how to stop the Shadow Dancers. The fact that she didn’t even know where they were distressed her even more. She slammed the book shut and set it down a bit more quietly in front of her.
Twilight almost jumped out of her skin as a loud knock came to the door downstairs. “Not this again…” She muttered, making her way in that direction.
“Twi, it’s Rainbow Dash! I’m out of the clinic! Can I come in?” She heard Rainbow call from the other side as she approached. Twilight froze mid-step.
“R-Rainbow…?” She asked quietly, and then sighed with relief. “Good to know you’re okay, Dash. But… I’m afraid I can’t exactly let you in right now.”
“Huh?! Why not?” Rainbow asked incredulously, the sound of her shifting slightly barely audible through the door.
“I don’t want to put anypony at risk. You’re already putting yourself in danger just by standing out there talking to me.” Twilight replied, a heavy edge of sadness and nervousness to her voice.
“Why would I be put at risk for talking to you? Seriously, Twi, even for you, that sounds a bit extreme.” Rainbow said, the sound of her hoof coming down hard for emphasis being heard.
“Rainbow, please! I know more about the Shadow Dancers than anypony else in Ponyville, but I don’t know enough. Until I can figure out how to get rid of them, nopony comes in here. Any interaction with me marks them as a potential target.” Twilight said, her voice growing desperate. “I don’t want you to get hurt… Not again.”
“What about the princesses? They practically know everything! If anypony knows how to stop these Shadow Dancers, it’s going to be them!” Rainbow persisted, narrowing her eyes. “Have you even sent them a letter about this yet? You’d think they’d want to know.”
“The problem with that is that my messages haven’t gotten through. At least, I don’t think they have…” Twilight said, sighing slightly.
“Why not?”
“I haven’t gotten any replies. Nothing but silence.” Twilight said, anxiety in her voice.
“…Twilight, let me in.” Rainbow said with conviction.
“I can’t-”
“You can! And you will! Did you forget who you’re talking to?” Rainbow said, voice going low with frustration.
“Rainbow, now is not the time for-“
“I’m Rainbow Dash! And even if I don’t have the awesome necklace anymore, I’m still the element of loyalty, and you had better remember that!” Rainbow said, voice rising almost to a shout. Twilight fell silent. Finally, after several moments, Rainbow Dash continued, “Twilight, I’m not gonna leave you hanging. Nopony will leave you like that.” There were several seconds of silence.
“I’m sorry, Rainbow.” Twilight said, and the door clicked open.
