> Shadow Dash
>  by Wr1tingN3rd
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: Escape
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You all know King Sombra. Made of pure evil, King of the Shadows? You probably didn't know that he had a daughter. Yeah, a daughter. Pretty surprising for someone so almighty and evil. Her name was Shadow Dash. She lived in Sombra's castle, as did all his servants, sitting in her own room most of the time. She was a cyan colored pegasus with a rainbow mane, not really living up to the whole 'Shadow' part of Shadow Dash. Of course, her father insisted on calling her that. He hated colors. He hated joy. Light. Anything that wasn't dark and shadowy wasn't good enough for him.

Shadow hated her father. She had nothing to do in the damned castle. Even with all the space. All the open hallways, rooms, dorms, kitchens... there was nothing to do. She wasn't allowed to fly. Her father, of course, had to hate flying. He was a unicorn, he stuck to magic. And with his hatred of flying came his hatred of pegasi. Pretty unlucky for Shadow, who was a pegasus herself. Sometimes she would wonder why her father hated pegasi so much and how she turned out to be one herself.

Sometimes she wished she was never born in the first place.

It was nearing the end of the day, tomorrow would be her birthday. Her 5th birthday. You'd think a father would be proud and would attend said birthday, right? Well, for Dash, it was quite the opposite.

"Hey dad?" little Shadow tapped on her father's side. He was much taller than she was, he was an adult. It made sense.

"What annoyance do you bring to me this evening, Shadow?" her father grumbly replied. He was in the midst of signing papers of some sort. He didn't even bother to look up from his parchment. Just signing away, approving and stamping parchments. He was the leader of this Empire, of course.

"Dad, I was thinking. Since tomorrow is my birthday, could we do something? Just you and me?" Shadow asked quietly. She knew it was a long shot, but she still wanted to try.

"No. What kind of ridiculous question is that? Birthdays are pointless. Just celebrating that we are one year closer to death," Sombra replied, eyes still glued onto the papers.

"But, Dad, please?" she pleaded. Slight tears forming in her eyes. She nudged her father.

He growled and set his pen down before turning towards Shadow. "What part of no don't you understand?!" he shouted. "Get out of my sight, I'm busy right now! We can talk later, but preferably not," he shooed her away like a fly.

Shadow stumbled backwards and tears streamed down her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, only sobs. She ran back to her room and slammed the door behind her.

She just wanted to have a normal life. Normal friends, normal hobbies, heck, she'd even take being a boring old librarian over this whose only job is to stack and organize books. At least normal people would come into her place then. Of course, she could only dream. How could she escape from this place? It was her home, she'd have nowhere else to go. Even if she did have a home outside of this castle, what would she do then? She only knew life within the castle walls, she didn't know what the outside world was like. What normal ponies were like. For now, she would sit in the corner of her room, crying the night away, hoping that she wouldn't wake up in the same place the next morning.





It had been a while since that incident. A few years later, Shadow kept avoiding her father. Her resentment grew. She would start shouting at the guards, her anger not directed at them, but at Sombra. Even just thinking of his name made her spit in disgust. However one day, Sombra approached her. It was surprising, to say the least. Would he finally talk to her? Give her the love and attention she deserved?

"Daughter," he spoke. They stood in her bedroom. "I believe you are old enough to learn to rule besides me."

A volley of emotions cycled through her. Confusion. Anger. She shouted, "Why in Tartarus should I rule besides you?! All you've done my entire life is ignore me! Ignore me and push me down! Now you want me to rule besides you?!"

"You know nothing of what you speak, child, now either you will learn to rule besides me, or I will lock you in this room myself!" Sombra growled.

"I don't want to rule, Dad! I want to go out in the world! I want a normal life! I want friends! Lots of friends so I can talk to someone when I'm bored!" Shadow cried out.

"You want friends? Friends are for the weak! They only bring you down until they stab you in the back! Betray you! And if they don't? They'd only slow you down!" Sombra argued. He stomped his hoof on the ground.

"Why can't I have a normal life, Dad? Why can't I have a normal family? Someone who cares for me and helps me up when I'm down? The only loving family I ever had was mom! Mom was twice the parent you wer-" Shadow was cut off.

"WE DO NOT SPEAK OF MOTHER!!" he roared, his eyes flaring out purple. The room dropped fifteen degrees in temperature. Dash crumbled down to the ground in fear like a piece of paper. "You know NOTHING of what mother did when she was around. We do not speak of her EVER. If I catch you even WHISPERING about her, I will banish you into the dungeons myself! Am I clear?!"

Shadow weakly nodded.

"Good. And if you are not grateful with the life you have now, let me remind you that I brought you into this world and I can take you out. You're grounded Shadow. I will unlock this door when you feel ready to rule," he finished and slammed the door, dust flying out from underneath. She heard a click sound coming from the door.

Then silence.

Shadow got up. She stood there for a bit, tears streaming down her face, before she clenched her eyes shut and screamed as loud as she could before kicking the wall in front of her. The wall shuddered upon impact. A frame hanging on the wall, one of the only pictures held up in her room, shook side to side before eventually falling and cracking both the frame and the glass covering. A loud RRIIIIP sound was heard as it fell.

Dash yelped in surprise when the frame hit the floor. "What?! NO!" Dash rushed over to the fallen picture and picked it up in her hooves. Small glass shards fell onto her legs, giving her small cuts, but she didn't care. She shook the picture a bit, getting all the other small bits out before carefully picking up the picture held within, careful not to rip it further. It was a drawing that was made a while ago. In the middle, there was a shakily drawn picture of a smiling blue pony with a rainbow mane. She seemed happy. Besides her was a grey unicorn with black hair and a horribly drawn set of armor on top of him who also held a smile. And on the other side of the blue pony was a white pegasus, wings outstretched. She had a beautiful mane colored rainbow, just like the blue pony's in the center. They stood in a castle background, all smiling together. Much like a family photo. And to top it all off, there was a large pink heart drawn around them. They were all happy... joyful.

The state the ponies were in almost made it feel... foreign to Shadow. And yet, she hugged it tightly, crying softly into the paper. Then, she muttered something quietly, so that not even a mouse nearby would be able to hear. Eventually, she stopped hugging the paper and looked at it again. She wiped the tears from her eye and a new spark of energy brewed within her. One of determination.

Quickly, she grabbed her saddle bags, stuffed her toiletries, clothes, and other various items into the bag. Eventually, it was nearly full, and she went back to the piece of artwork. She picked it up, examining it closely. She looked at the picture, and wondered if what she was doing was the right thing to do. But then she looked up at her bedroom door. And back at her paper. Then at the door. The paper. And then her mind was set. She neatly folded the picture up, kissed it lightly on top, and safely secured it in her saddlebag.

She approached the only window in the room. One that was small. With no doors to open it. Only able to see the world which she could not reach. Shadow attempted to move it in anyway possible, but it would not budge. She shouted in anger and punched her hoof through it, making the planes shatter clear off, leaving some glass shards imbedded in her hoof.

"Ow!" she yelped in pain. She ripped out the shards with her teeth. Blood started pouring out. She covered it with her other hoof and carefully flew through the small gap she made.

Then it hit her. A gush of wind. The smell of plants. The chirping of crickets. Freedom! At last!

She flew up in the air and spun around, whooping in cheer. Then, she blasted off away. Just away from the castle. Away from her prison. That damned castle that she had dared called a home. Now she was off. Anywhere was better than here.

She flew as far as her wings would take her. Well, of course that wasn't that far. She was still a filly after all. She decided that it was okay to take a quick break, so she landed on a nearby tree and tried to get comfortable. And damn was that tree comfortable. Now, it was time to enjoy a nice sleep, away from the nightmare.


* * *


Shadow woke up. Fully rested, too! She smiled as a new day was to be had. Eventually, she saw a city nearby, filled with tons of ponies! The way the sun shined on the city made it glow like it was something straight from heaven!

It was such a bright day, Dash could sing her heart out right now! The aroma of flowers and baked goods came from the city below. Those who were down there could be seen smiling, chatting, talking with others, sharing meals with each other. Giving each other hugs.

Excited, Shadow dashed down to the center of the city, looking around at the sights around her. An ice cream shop! A painting store! A... war camp? Why would they need a war camp here? She looked besides it and saw... 'Tom's Armor & Weapons'. Wait, that's not right. Dash continued to look around.

Bows & Crossbows

Lots and Lots of Axes!

Scool's Skull Shop

Barn's Bloodspill

Screaming and Screaming!

War and DEATH

The sky started to turn dark, the clouds turning crimson red. Thunder crackled down and it started to rain blood.

Shadow's eyes widened. She started to hyperventilate. She began to walk backwards, away from the madness, but ran into a pony. When she turned around to look at the them, she saw evil green eyes staring into her soul. Purple flaring out with extreme power. It spoke to her. "Friends are for the weak! They only bring you down until they stab you in the back! Betray you!" it spoke in her father's voice.

She ran in the opposite direction, but tripped on a branch, falling face first into the concrete. When she got up, all the ponies were gone. Replaced by replicas of her father. All staring at her.

"Rule besides me!" they all spoke in unison before cackling with evil laughter.

"No!" Dash screamed. She turned around again, but this time it was yet another clone of her father, grown to the size of fifty ponies, towering over her.

"Join me!" it roared.

"NEVER!" Shadow shrieked. She looked all around her and the clones started to close in on her. One step at a time, closing the circle around her.

Shadow curled into a ball and sobbed into her legs. "GO AWAY! PLEASE! LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Then there was silence.

Dash tried to uncurl herself, but she was trapped in a small box. It was pitch black all around.

"M-mom? D-dad? Anyone?" she whimpered. She couldn't move. She was stuck. Her breathing increased in tempo. "D-dad?! Anypony! Help! I don't want to be here anymore! Please! I'll go back to your castle! I'll rule by your side! Anywhere but here!" she shouted. But only darkness was returned. Dark shadows that surrounded her.

Her breathing quickened even more in pace. The room started to run out of oxygen. Her vision began to fade, until eventually, it turned completely black.


* * *


"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Shadow screamed. She bolted straight up. Her body was covered in cold sweat. She felt her face and it was covered in tears. She had been crying for hours.

Carefully, she stood up and wiped her face. She brushed the leaves out of her mane and coat and slid the saddlebags over her back once more.

"More travel time... yay," she said unenthusiastically.

She took to the sky, soaring slower this time. Her mind still on the dream the previous night. She shook her head. It was just a dream. Nothing more. He's wrong. I will never rule with him.

Eventually, she came across a small town. Looking down, she could read that it was called Ponyville. It looked like a good place to settle down. Not a lot of ponies here. Mostly just Earth Ponies and Unicorns. Maybe she could stay here?

Just then, she looked up to the sky and saw a huge towering cloud. "Woooah!" she exclaimed and took off towards the top.

It was a giant cloud city! Pegasi were flying all over the place! And there was a school?! She could learn all kinds of new things there! The little filly was excited, like she had just eaten an entire pack of gummy bears by herself. She raced towards the school and saw kids her age flying around and having fun. Playing catch, racing, and other interesting activities.

That was until she saw one pony that was separate from the rest. It was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. The difference from everyone else? Shadow saw two older pegasi talking down to her. What kind of cruel joke is this? She flew down to investigate.

"Haha! What was that flying, Klutzershy? My baby brother can fly better than you!" one of them laughed.

"You should just quit and be an Earth pony, since you love the ground so much!" the other teased.

That's it. Shadow had had enough. She flew down from the roof she was perched on and directly in front of the cowering yellow pegasus.

"Leave her alone!" she shouted at them.

"And who are you?" the first bully questioned.

Shadow thought to herself for a second, but then continued, "The name's Rainbow Dash. What's it to you?"

"Hah, probably just as bad as a flier as Klutzershy over here!" he laughed.

"Yeah, Rainbow Crash," the other added while also laughing.

"Hey! I'm not a bad flier!" Shadow defended herself.

"Oh yeah? How about a race a week from now? Just you and us. A race to the other side. If you're so good at flying like you said, you should be able to easily beat us!" the first bully challenged.

"Unless you crash," the second snorted.

"Challenge accepted, losers. Prepare to go down!" she smirked.

"If you say so, Rainbow Crash," both started laughing again and walked away.

Shadow growled and got out of her defensive stance, before turning towards the shy mare she was protecting. "You okay?" she asked, offering a hoof to help her up.

"Y-yeah..." she answered quietly. She accepted the hoof and was pulled up. "T-thanks Rainbow Dash." She looked down at the floor.

"Don't sweat it," Dash said, giving her a quick hug. "Those guys don't mean nothin'."

Some time went by and neither of them spoke. Finally, Dash broke the silence, "So, what's your name? I don't wanna call you Klutzershy. Unless that's your actual name, no offense."

The mare fidgeted with her hooves. "It's, uh... F-fluttershy," she stuttered.

"Nice to meet you Flutters," Dash held up a hoof to shake. "Ya don't mind if I call you Flutters, do you?"

Fluttershy hesitantly shook her hoof. "N-no. I don't mind."

"Well then, it was nice meeting you, but I've got some places to be. Cya around?" Dash asked.

"Okay... bye. Thanks for the help, again," Fluttershy responded.

"Like I said, don't sweat it. Cya around Flutters!" Dash zoomed off into the distance, away from the city. She'd have to come back sometime. Maybe she'd even enroll in the school. For now, her eyes were set on Ponyville.
> Chapter 1: Old Friend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash bolted straight up. Her forehead was sweating profusely, the cold sweat coating not only her face, but her entire body. She looked around at her surroundings, trying to verify that she was still home. Well, her bed was there. Her room door... and Tank was there. She sighed in relief, thanking Celestia that she wasn't in her horrible dreamscape anymore.

"Damn dreams," she muttered to herself as she dragged her body out of bed. Slowly, she approached her tortoise companion, who was still peacefully sleeping. Something I haven't had in a while... Rainbow thought to herself. "Well, at least you're sleeping alright." She yawned loudly and opened her bedroom door, walking over to her clouded kitchen where it was mostly baren, save for a few fruits in a bowl and a couple of drinks in the fridge.

You know what would really make this morning? she thought to herself. A nice cup of coffee. With a new goal in mind, she approached her cabinet. It seemed to tower over her, it's shadow looming over her body, carrying the contents she so greatly desired within. She was too tired to fly or to get a stool, so she did the next best thing.

Carefully, she looked behind herself, making sure no one was around. Then, when the coast was clear, she started to glow. Actually, glow isn't the right word. Instead of giving off light, she seemed to emit the opposite of light. It was shadows. They seemed to flow around her body, much like an aura, before a slight grunt was heard from Rainbow. Suddenly, all the energy was focused to her hoof, which instantly turned a few shades darker. Satisfied, Rainbow looked up at the ever growing cabinet, and with a swing of her hoof, the door opened. And shortly after, a bag of beans levitated out, held in a dark aura, nearly completely black. Then, with a content smile, she levitated the bag towards her and used her magic to open the bag of soon-to-be-coffee beans. With a wave of her other hoof, a machine on the other side of the counter glided over to her and landed gently. She levitated the beans into the machine. With a press of a button, it started to whirr. Rainbow grabbed a cup from nearby and put it under the nozzle. The soon-to-be-coffee beans were now soon-to-be-coffee dust. Perfect!

After a quick dusting, and by dusting I mean levitating the remaining grounds of coffee into a nearby trashcan, she set aside the grinder and grabbed a second machine which sat next to it. It was her coffee brewer, already filled with water, ready to be boiled and sifted through her freshly ground beans, making her a nice cup of hot coffee. She poured the dust into a paper filter that sat within the brewing machine and placed her cup underneath the output. After a few seconds of waiting, sweet, hot liquid poured from the tip into her cup. The aroma of coffee filled the air.

Happy with the results, she grabbed the mug in her magical aura and walked towards her coach, where she lazily sat down. She grabbed the cup physically with her hooves and slowly took a sip. The taste was hot and bold. Just the way she liked it. It was a relaxing feeling. The steam would come up from the hot brew and coat her face. She could live like this forever. Just her and her coffee. Nothing could ruin this moment.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Okay, maybe something could. Rainbow groaned loudly and set her cup down on the coffee table in front of her. This better be good she thought to herself. She made her way towards the front door and opened it.

When the door creaked open, nothing could've prepared her for what she saw.

"Gilda?" Rainbow asked. She blinked several times to make sure she was seeing things correctly. A brown griffon with white fur surrounding her neck and head. Purple fur outlining her eyes and covering the ends of her hair on top. And a very recognizable face.

"Hey, Dash," Gilda mumbled. She looked down at the floor, kicking cloud dust into the air. "It's been a while, huh?"

"What are you doing here?" Rainbow said irritably. Great, I get interrupted from my perfect morning to this? 

Gilda, in response, rubbed the back of her neck. She spoke quietly, almost nervous, which was something that Dash usually didn't see. "I, uh, I'm here to say sorry. For, ya know... stuff." Her eyes met with the multicolored mare in front of her.

"What kind of stuff?" Rainbow asked. She stared daggers into the griffon's soul.

"You know what I'm talking about!" Gilda said defensively, crossing her arms.

"No. I actually don't. Please, enlighten me," she growled. 

"I'm sorry for, ya know, talking to your friends like that," Gilda scoffed when she said the word. "We haven't talked in a while, I was wondering what you were up to."

"You're sorry?" Rainbow spat. "Sorry?! Oh really? For verbally assaulting my friends and then asking me to abandon them, you sure seem pretty sorry to me," she snarled, taking a step forwards, entering a defensive position.

"It's not my fault that they were being a bunch of bitches!" she also took a step forward, decreasing the distance between the two to only a few inches. Okay, now she really crossed the line.

"Excuse me?!" Rainbow yelled. "I wasn't the one who got so overworked over simple pranks! Those weren't even meant for you! You just happened to trigger all of them!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Dash!" Gilda fumed. "Your friends are a bunch of good-for-nothings anyways!" she shoved Rainbow forwards, who caught herself on her doorframe. "You've gotten soft, Dash. When will you learn that your friends are just slowing you down?"

"My friends are the best thing that could ever have happened to me! They took me in when I didn't have a home! They cared for me!" Rainbow raged. "If anything, you were the one who slowed me down!" She shoved back. The griffon stumbled back a couple of steps.

"So I slow you down, huh? Dash, most of your friends can't even fly! The only one that can is Fluttershy! And, let's face it, she's a wimp!" Gilda argued.

Somewhere deep inside her, a fire started brewing. "Say one more thing about my friends. See what happens," Dash threatened.

"Is that a threat? What'll you do, huh? Shove me off your house? I can fly, you know," she shouted. "You should've come with me, Dash. You can still come with me! Join me, Dash. Leave those losers behind!"

Then, all of a sudden, the world started to grow dark. Rainbow growled as Gilda's sentence rang through her mind like a mantra.

Join me, Dash.

Join me.

Join me.

"Uh, Dash? Anyone home? Helloooooo?" Gilda waved her claw in front of Dash's face. She was unresponsive.

Instead, the air suddenly dropped in temperature. Rainbow's eyes turned dark, her shadow aura flowing out from the sides. An energy built within her, almost like a bolt of lightning. Unstable and ready to burst. No... The mantra kept repeating in her mind. The words 'Join me' repeating for what seemed like an eternity. No! She couldn't do it. She would never. Her aura enveloped her body. She started to shake uncontrollably.

"NOOOOO!!" she screamed. Without warning, the energy surged through her entire body and shot out with incredible force. It was made of pure energy, and that energy just so happened to ram straight into the unsuspecting griffon standing in front of her. With a loud BANG! she was flung away like an insect, flying away multiple meters away, having a trail of smoke follow behind her before she, inevitably, dropped.

Rainbow's mind was cloudy. The shadows that previously enveloped her vision started to creep away, letting her see the damage that she had done. Realizing what she had just done, the shadow aura around her quickly returned to its owner, hiding itself away as Rainbow started to freak out. "Gilda?!" she shouted before diving after her at full speed.

She sliced through the air like a bullet, tears filling her eyes. I lost control again. Damn it, Dash, you just had to lose control, didn't you?! she mentally scolded herself. But scolding herself would get her nowhere. Gilda had nearly reached the ground. Not wanting to lose her old friend, she zipped through the air with ferocious speed, positioning herself atop Gilda to firmly grip her before setting her down on the floor. When she got up again, she inspected the damage she had caused. The griffon's chest was completely scorched, blood pouring out of a large cut that scraped across her body. She was still unconscious.

"Gilda! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm so, so, sorry!" she hugged her tightly around the chest, shaking her to try and wake her up.

Then, wisps of energy expelled itself from Rainbow and into Gilda's body. The griffon's body shuddered. Slowly, her eyes opened.

"G-Gilda?" Rainbow asked through sniffs. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked down at the feathery mess.

But she did not see Dash anymore. She only saw darkness. One that had consumed a pony to become a monster. One that had come to finish what they had started. Her eyes were overcome with fear. She scrambled backwards to get away from that... that thing! "Stay away from me!" she shouted as she struggled to come to her feet.

"W-wait! I'm sorry, Gilda! Come back!" the monster tried to lure her back. It stood up on its feet, motioning slowly for Gilda to come over.

"Listen, I'm so sorry! I'll leave you alone! I wont tell anyone I-I swear!" Gilda tried to plead with the thing, but it didn't seem to care. It started to approach her.

"Gilda, listen to me! Please!" it took another step towards its prey. Nothing were to stop it now. It was going to kill her. And Gilda was not about to let that happen.

"Stay away from me, y-you MONSTER!" she shrieked. And with all of her energy, she used her legs to kick the monster in the stomach, to which it stumbled backwards. It seemed to do the trick, as the monster had completely stopped.

It seemed to be in deep thought. 

Rainbow struggled to stand properly. Thoughts flooded her mind. Was that really what she thought of her? A monster? She wasn't a monster. She just was just a pegasus! She's saved Equestria before! She was no monster! Or... was she? I attacked her... Rainbow started to cry. I lost control. I tried to kill her! She collapsed onto her knees. Maybe I am a monster. Just a stupid MONSTER that hurts others! Through her tears she managed to see Gilda managing to get to her feet before flying away as fast as she could, quickly disappearing in the distance. Rainbow fell to the floor, sobbing loudly. 

No! I can't let anypony see me like this... She flew back up to her cloud house sloppily. She swayed to her sides as she flew. When she reached her doorstep, she slammed the door behind her and fell onto the floor again, all her energy sapped out of her.





"Dad, it was one time!"

"Well, Shadow, that one time was one time too many! You will learn to control yourself, daughter!"

Little Shadow walked besides her angry father figure. They went through the long halls of the castle which seemed to go on endlessly. Rooms passed by them as they continued to walk.

"Dad, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt Midnight! I was just overworked, that's all!" she pleaded. He did not respond. They just kept walking forwards, to an unknown destination. Eventually, they arrived at a staircase.

"Down here," her father said sternly and motioned Shadow to follow him. They walked down the steps, the rooms getting increasingly darker until eventually becoming completely dark.

"Where are we going?" Shadow asked. She clung to her father's side.

"To the dungeons," he answered. His horn glowed and shot out dark flames, lighting up nearby torches on the wall, illuminating the room.

The room was filled with all sorts of torture devices. It had a giant guillotine, a basket laying beneath it. There were chairs strapped with electrical wires and nails. There were two boards with metal chains attached to it, a wheel to the side meant to be turned to stretch the boards apart. Iron cages lined the walls. The lit torches gave off an ominous dark glow.

Shadow gulped. "W-why are we here?" she asked. Her father did not respond.

Instead, he opened one of the cages on the side and dragged it over towards the two. "Get inside," he demanded. "Now."

"W-what?" Shadow asked, cowering away from the cage.

"You heard what I said. Or do I have to REPEAT MYSELF?!" he shouted at the filly.

Shadow scrambled into the cage and sat inside. The door slammed shut behind her. Her father spoke, "Now you are to remain there until you learn to control your emotions. Understood?" She nodded. "Good. Now I will come back when I see it fit to do so. Enjoy your time here in the dungeons, daughter."

And with that, he snuffed out the torches and left the room, heading upstairs to continue his duty. With the only source of light gone, it was completely pitch black. The darkness seemed to close in on Shadow. She tried to back away, but her back came into contact with the back of the cage. She couldn't escape. The cage seemed to get smaller and smaller. The darkness seemed to get thicker and thicker until it broke her. Her hyperventilating turned into cries. And those cries turned into short-lived screams of terror. She rolled up into a ball and closed her eyes shut, trying to escape the darkness. But it never left.

It seemed to last for hours. Hours and hours of never ending torture. Until a noise was heard. The sound of hoofsteps walking down a staircase. The walls lit up with orange flames. Was dad back?

Shadow looked over to see who was causing all the ruckus. What she saw wasn't her father. It was a grey unicorn. Her mane was colored dark green with strips of midnight blue flowing through. Her cutie mark was a dark blue flower blooming with tiny white stars speckling out of the sides.

She spoke aloud, "There you are, Shadow. I was worried for you! Come, before your father realizes I'm gone." The lady opened the cage and picked up Shadow before setting her down besides her. She cringed slightly when she saw the state she was in. "Oh, you're a mess! Well, nothing a warm bath and a good night's sleep won't fix. Come with me, dear." She patted the filly off and started to drag her upstairs.

"M-midnight? What are you doing here?" the youngling asked, staring up in confusion.

"What does it look like? I'm getting you out of this hell hole," she looked down to the child walking with her.

"Y-you're not mad at me?" Shadow quivered. Midnight looked back at her and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Of course not, dear. Everyone makes mistakes. Even your dad," Midnight patted Dash on the head. "I brought up a sensitive topic, that's on me. And sure, you may have messed me up a bit, but I'll walk it off. Plus, how could I stay mad at such a cute little filly?"

And for the first time that day, Shadow smiled.





KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Rainbow? Are you in there? It's me, Twilight! It's important!" a voice called through the door.

Rainbow groaned as she got up from her living room floor. It had been a few hours. She had stopped crying, at least. "Give me a sec!" she shouted out and went to the bathroom to tidy herself up. She couldn't be looking like this in front of her friend.

A few splashes of water later, Dash opened the door, to where a worried looking purple unicorn stood on the other side. "Rainbow! There you are! Listen, I've gathered the girls at the library, something ser- oh!"  Twilight stopped when she saw Rainbow. "Rainbow, are you okay? What happened? Do you need any help? Did anything bad happen? You're not hurt are you?" She started to use her magic to grip Rainbow's body to examine for any injuries.

Apparently she had not done a good job at hiding her current state. "Twi, I'm not injured or anything. I'm perfectly fine," the rainbow mare said, to which Twilight released her hold on her.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You don't look fine. Have you been crying?" 

Rainbow hesitated before speaking. "N-no... I mean- No! Why would you ever even think that?" she lied, looking away to try and hide her face. Twilight wasn't buying it.

"Hey, it's okay. You can be honest with me. Do you want to talk about it?" she rested a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, giving her an empathetic look. Dash teared up slightly, but quickly wiped the tear away and shrugged her arm off.

"It's nothing. Just something stupid. I'll be fine. What is it that you wanted to tell me about? That you've gathered the girls for..?" she said, trying to switch the subject.

Twilight sighed. "Yeah, we're going to have a meeting to talk about something important. Get there as soon as you can, alright? But, try to clean yourself up first. You look like a mess." She waved her hoof around Rainbow's body as emphasis before quickly turning away. "You can always talk to me, Dash. If you ever need anything, I'm here for you." And with a bright purple flash, she was gone.

Rainbow stood there, tearing up slightly. I want to tell her, but it's just... She fought with herself internally. I can't. It's too risky. She sighed and went back into her cloud house to take a shower.
> Chapter 2: The Talk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Rainbow approached the library, she couldn't shake the moment from earlier that day from her head. It stuck in there, mocked her. I hope Gilda's okay... Then, her eyes snapped to reality when a tree branch came out of seemingly nowhere, slamming her face straight into it. She fell onto the grass, thankfully not sustaining too much damage, as being a pegasus had its perks. Including crash resistance.

She stumbled inside the library with a twig still stuck in her hair, before shaking it out and viewing her surroundings. There sat her friends, all sitting around a coffee table, and a very worried looking Twilight. She was crying earlier and now this? What's going on? Twilight thought to herself, deciding that questions should wait until later. There were more important things to discuss.

Twilight cleared her throat. "Alright, now that everypony is here, we can finally talk about why I dragged you all here today. And it's not going to be pleasant," she began. "Yesterday, I was asked to see Princess Celestia regarding urgent matters, and after an important discussion, she decided that we will be venturing out towards the Crystal Empire!" 

When she was met with confused looks from her friends, she clarified, "You all probably haven't heard of the Crystal Empire. And neither did I when I asked the princess. And, if you tried to look up what the Crystal Empire is through books and scrolls, you'd find nothing, because the city's been gone for over a thousand years."

"Say what now?" Applejack said, confused. "What do ya mean gone? A city doesn't just up an' vanish," she asked. Murmurs of agreement were heard from the others.

"I was getting to that," Twilight said before continuing, "Over a thousand years ago, there was the Crystal Empire. A thriving city filled with crystal ponies who lived happily and peacefully. In fact, the city worked almost like a projector, projecting the citizens' happiness across all of Equestria." She was met with a long 'ooooh' from Pinkie Pie. "However, one day, a unicorn by the name of Sombra used dark magic to take over the kingdom, putting the kingdom into peril where he held them as slaves for his personal use." She was then met with a long 'awwwww' from Pinkie.

Rainbow felt a shiver run up her spine. S-Sombra? She thought to herself. No, it can't be possible. It couldn't be possible. She wouldn't believe it.

"Thankfully, the princesses took down Sombra and sealed him away into the ice of the frozen north. However, he was so powerful that he took the empire with him, and it's been gone ever since. Up until now. Since the princesses can no longer wield the elements of harmony, she has sent us on a mission to the Crystal Empire to stop Sombra," Twilight finished her retelling of the story, leaving her friends in fear.

This did not help at all with Rainbow's thoughts. No, no no no no... I can't fight my dad! What if he recognizes me? He'll throw me in the dungeons! I can't let him see me! I'll have to stay here. Rainbow panicked internally, her breath quickening in pace. But I have to go, Equestria needs us. I'll find some way around it, I always do. She calmed herself and manually slowed her breathing.

"Any questions?" Twilight's asked everyone. Pinkie raised a hoof.

"Yes, Pinkie?"

"Do they have any desert places? Or, or any cool new candies to try?! I mean, the empire's been sealed away for so long! There's bound to be something new and cool there! Do you think that mean old King Sombra will even let us try them? He's a big McMeanie Pants, so I don't know. But you can't say no to desert. Nopony says no to desert! Plus, all the ponies would have been gone for over a thousand years! They must be starving, I'm sure there can't be too much food there. If there's not enough food then they starve, and if you starve, you can't turn down desert! Do you think if we give Mr. Sombra desert that he would be nice again and stop ruling the kingdom? I think it could work. And if that doesn't work then I could throw him one big surprise party! I think he would like that! That would surely cheer him right up!" Pinkie rambled on and on about some stuff that no one was listening to.

Twilight face-hoofed. "We're not going to throw King Sombra a party, Pinkie," she said to which she received another 'awww' from the pink party pony. "Any other relevant questions?" This time Rarity raised a hoof.

"Twilight, dear, you said that this King Sombra uses dark magic right? What exactly is dark magic?" Rarity asked.

"Um, I'm not entirely sure, although Princess Celestia said it was pretty dangerous-" she was cut off short.

"Dark magic is a form of magic similar to the type that Twilight uses, just more dangerous. When somepony like Twilight uses her magic, she taps into positive feelings and focus in order to transform it into whatever she desires. However, because she's using positive feelings, it has restrictions. For example, it'd be extremely hard for Twilight to cast a spell that would kill because she's thinking happy thoughts."

"However, let's say you, I don't know, take that restriction away? Use negative emotions for a change. That's what dark magic is," Rainbow explained. Then she immediately shut up, realizing what she just said. How can I be so stupid?

Everyone in the room stared at her, jaw agape. Twilight was the first to speak, "How do you... know all of this?"

All eyes were on Dash. She sweat profusely. "Um well, you see.." She came up with a bullshit excuse on the spot. In surprising speed, impressing even herself. "My parents worked in the magic industry. They studied stuff like this and told me about it from time to time." Hopefully they believe that. Rainbow thought to herself worriedly. They seemed to buy it.

"Uh huh. Well, thanks for the important knowledge! Any other questions?" Twilight asked. No one moved. "Good! Now we can get out of here and start packing." Chatter began and everyone began to clear out. Rainbow just sat there uncomfortably. Uh, I should probably head out. She was stopped when Twilight walked up to her.

"Hey, Dash," Twilight said softly, blushing as she sat besides her. "You never told me you had parents who worked in the magic industry. You should introduce them to me sometime. I think we'd have a great time talking all about magic," she joked.

She didn't get much reaction out of her pegasus friend. "Yeah," she muttered, clearly in thought.

Twilight frowned a little bit before having a more sympathetic look. "Hey, you okay? Are you still thinking about earlier?" Dash nodded slowly. "You want to talk about it? It'll help you feel better."

"I..." she hesitated. I can't tell you. "It's nothing," she measly responded.

Twilight reached her hoof over to Rainbow's, causing her to look over. They locked eyes for a moment. "Rainbow. You know you can trust me, right?" Dash nodded once more. "Then talk to me."

Rainbow looked down to the floor, thinking heavily to herself. I shouldn't tell her.

You can't keep her in the dark forever.

I don't want her to worry about me. Plus, won't she find out that Sombra's my dad if I tell her? Then she'll hate me. Probably lock me up in Celestia's personal dungeon...

You know that's not true. She's your friend. Plus, if you don't tell her, she'll just worry more.

... I can't.

Not saying anything will only make it worse. For both you and her. Plus, Twilight's one of your closest friends. She wouldn't lock you up. She'd hear you out, I'm sure of it.

She looked back up at her purple friend, who still held a sympathetic smile. Fine. "Promise me you won't think I'm uncool for this?" Rainbow asked. She got a nod from her friend. She gave a heavy sigh, preparing herself for what was to come. "It's about my dad."

Twilight's eyes widened in surprise. Rainbow continued.

"To make a long story short... We don't have good history. He's always been a bitch to me. Bringing me down, telling me that my dreams have no chance of coming true. Locking me away in a room whenever our opinions didn't match. He was the worst." Glints of tears came to her eyes. She looked at Twilight with fearful eyes. "A-and... I think I'm starting to become like him," her voice cracked, tears finally shedding, freely pouring down her cheeks.

"What?!" Twilight practically yelled. Then she stopped herself and repeated it at a much smaller volume. "I mean, what? Come on Rainbow, you're probably one of the nicest ponies I know. You're not like your dad." She scooted closer to her friend, wrapping a hoof around her. She was pushed away.

"What do you know?! You haven't even met him before!" she argued and stood up from her chair. "You didn't even see what happened earlier today!"

Twilight argued back, also standing up from her chair. "Well, I know enough! I know that you're always there for us, taking others as priority over yourself, sacrificing so much for our safety! You're kind, giving, and have a loving heart!"

"Oh yeah? What about what happened today?! Did you know that Gilda came over to my place today? That she was there to apologize? And instead of accepting her apology, do you know what I did?! I hurt her! I made her scared of me! Do you know what it takes to make someone scared of you? It takes a lot! And it was Gilda, too!" Dash yelled.

She was too stunned to even speak. Rainbow wouldn't do something like that, would she?

"I didn't even get a chance to say sorry because she ran away from me!" Rainbow cried. Her legs gave out underneath her as she fell to the floor sobbing. "I'm a horrible pony."

Silence fell upon the two, only filled by Rainbow's sobs. Great. Now she probably hates me. And she's going to tell everypony else and then they're going to hate me to. Then I'll be alone again. They'll probably cast me out. Throw me into the everfree forest-

She was interrupted as she saw purple hooves wrap around her body, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Don't say that, Rainbow. Don't ever say that. You're a good pony. A loving pony who cares for others. You care for Scootaloo like a sister. You're loyal to all your friends. And you have ponies who care for you. So don't you dare say that you're a horrible pony, because you're not," she cried into her shoulder.

What? Rainbow was confused. How- why doesn't she hate me?

Because she's your friend.

She looked at the mare who had a bear-tight grip around her waist and cried. Twilight cared for her. Overwhelmed with the feeling of being able to talk to someone, she returned the hug, crying harder into Twilight's shoulder. They sat there in each other's embrace as minutes passed. Rainbow didn't budge until her cries became sniffles. Eventually, she pulled away.

"T-Thanks, Twi, I really needed that," she wiped her eyes with a hoof. "Sorry, I messed up your coat..."

"It's okay, I was going to take a shower anyways," Twilight quickly replied, relieved to see her friend was feeling better. "Are you going to be okay? I can stay here longer if you need me to."

She shook her head. "Nah, I'll be okay. Do you mind if I use your shower though? I don't want anypony seeing me like this... Totally uncool."

"It's not 'uncool' to show your feelings, Rainbow. And yes, you can use my shower. You can go first if you want," Twilight offered.

"Wha- really? I don't want to stop you from taking a shower or anything, you can go first," Rainbow refused.

"No, I insist. Really, it's fine," Twilight insisted.

"Alright, if you're sure," Rainbow took up the offer this time, standing up to head over to the bathroom. "Thanks again, Twi. For everything."

"It's no problem. Anytime," Twilight smiled warmly at her as she headed off to take a shower.

That shower was probably the best shower that she'd ever taken in her life. For once, she felt free, relieved. And for the first time in months, she got a decent night of sleep, waking up feeling fully refreshed with no nightmares. And as she sat on the train with her friends, on her way to the Crystal Empire, she sat ever so slightly closer to Twilight. Things were going to be okay. For the first time in forever, she felt that everything would be alright.
> Chapter 3: Close Call (V1.1.1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sounds of a train running along its tracks could be heard. Inside the train, in one of the little compartment areas, sat Rainbow Dash, looking outside the window as snow fell softly onto the ground. Besides her was her best friend, Twilight Sparkle. It was just the two of them, not that she minded.

"You alright, Rainbow?" the purple unicorn asked. Dash turned her head to look at the mare.

"Yeah, I'm doing great," she responded. "Especially with you around," she blushed and avoided eye contact.

Twilight, in response, rolled her eyes and leaned forwards to snuggle with her pegasus friend. Rainbow flinched in response, but slowly relaxed as she let her friend lay on her. Is this what normal friends do? She looked over to the unicorn as she saw her breaths slowly fall into a small, rhythmic pattern. She felt the soft fur from the side of Twilight's head leaning on her shoulder. Her hair swaying with the train as it bumped up and down through the tracks.

Rainbow smiled. She didn't mind the current situation at hoof. In fact, she thought Twilight looked cute resting on her, sleeping peacefully as they rode to the Crystal Empire. And as she observed the mare lightly snore away the day, she decided to join her, resting her head on the window frame as the world slowly faded away.

BEEP!

You have arrived at Destination #143. If this is your designated stop, please leave the train. I repeat: If this is your designated stop, please leave the train. The train departs in five minutes. 

*Click*

Rainbow groaned as she slowly opened her eyes, rays of sunlight blinding her as she quickly shielded herself from the light with a hoof. "Ugh, what time is it?" she groggily asked as she stood up from her chair.

"It's 'bout 7:30 PM. Now get your flank up, RD, it's time ta leave," Applejack answered as she assisted Dash in lifting herself up.

She looked around the room as the world became clear again. All her friends were there. Except for Twilight. She sighed. "Hey, uh, AJ, where's Twilight?" the pegasus asked, stretching her wings.

"Ah, she decided ta head out a bit early ta make sure that we're at the right place n' all," AJ responded. She stood at the door frame. "Now hurry up, sugarcube, we ain't got all day. Ya heard the train operator, we got five minutes." She gestured for her to follow as she exited the room, making her way towards the exit. Rainbow quickly followed behind.

As they exited the train, they looked around and examined their surroundings. There was practically no train station even in sight. There was what? One area for passengers to get off, marked by some stone, but other than that? Nothing. Nothing but one stray light that illuminated the area they were standing on.

And as they looked out from the train station, there was a thick forest that stretched far out into the distance. Snow blew through the howling air, covering both the trees and the ponies deciding to cross through. There was so much snow that it was difficult to see. And the winds were too strong to fly.

"This is it!" Twilight shouted, wind whipping through her hair. Her horn shined through the blazing storm, illuminating their path. "It should be just up ahead! Follow me, the snow should start to clear the further up we go!"

And fortunately for them, she was right. The wind eventually slowed down to that above a crawl as they made their way through the ever darkening forest. If it wasn't for the purple light shining that came from Twilight, they would be stuck walking through a pitch black environment. Every so often, one of them would accidentally step on a branch, causing everypony to stop and look, thanking Celestia that it wasn't anything dangerous. They kept going straight ahead, trying their best not to go off track, as if they did, they would not notice due to their surrounding environment looking like the insides of a cave.

Occasionally, a rustle would be heard from a bush nearby, only making the woods ever more scary. The walk seemed to go on forever, and it was enough for even Pinkie to keep quiet.

As they treaded forwards, a strange feeling passed through them. Strange, but barely noticeable. The feeling was only noticed by Twilight, who felt the sudden surge in magical power, stopping in place for a good few seconds. "Did you guys feel that?" she asked aloud.

"Feel what?" Rainbow responded suspiciously, reexamining their environment to ensure their safety.

Twilight turned back to look at her friends, who all just shrugged. She decided to go with it. "Eh, it's probably nothing," she concluded, continuing her pace onwards. Unbeknownst to them, they were passing through a magical barrier, invisible to the naked eye. One that once you walked through, you would not be let out.

As their trek continued, the forest around them only seemed to be getting thicker by the second. "How long will we have to tread through this horrid forest? My hooves are getting cold," Rarity complained.

Twilight responded, "I don't know, Rarity, Celestia just said to walk straight ahead, North, without changing direction. I'm guessing it's another mile or so?" to which she got a loud groan from the unicorn.

Then, a rustle was heard from a bush nearby. Probably some small animal, making their way by the group. They kept onwards.

Then, another rustle was heard, this time much louder than before, and much closer too. Everypony stopped in their tracks. "Ya'll heard that too, right?" Applejack asked to which she was met with a 'shhh!' from everyone else.

Their eyes scanned the forest around them, and they backed into each other, forming a tight circle, looking out for any danger. Carefully and slowly, they each leaned an ear forwards to listen for sound.

Crunch... A small step was heard nearby. Crunch... Another. The steps quickened in pace. It seemed to be circling the group as they all huddled together. Crack! The loud sound caused a nearby crow call out and fly away into the distance, drawing the group's attention.

That was their worst mistake.

Behind them, a creature came lashing out into the air straight at the group, much too fast for anyone to get a good look on. Thankfully, Twilight's quick reaction let her put up a shield just in the nick of time. As they looked back to see who the attacker was, it was already gone.

Quickly, she shot a flare into the ground to keep their surroundings illuminated.

No one moved a muscle. Twilight kept her shield up. A good thing too, as another attack was deflected where they weren't paying attention, directed right at the backs of their necks. And as they turned to look again, it was gone once more. "It's attacking us where we aren't paying attention. Huddle up into a circle," Twilight commanded and everyone followed. They carefully examined their surroundings, looking for the smallest hint of danger. Then, a low growl was heard and their attacker stepped out into the open, revealing themself.

"I-Is, t-that a w-wolf?" Fluttershy squeaked. An easy mistake, considering the creature did resembled the look of a common wolf. Except instead of having white fur and white eyes that shined in the moonlight, it was completely see through. Like a shadow. There were darker shades of its shadow-y-ness that made its outline, which was, as you'd expect, looked like a wolf. The mere presence of the shadow substance radiated off of itself, fading into the environment around it. It's eyes were not visible. You could barely see the wolf itself. Could you even call it a wolf at this point?

Then Rainbow made eye-contact with it. Her pupils shrank as she gulped and muttered, "Oh, no." She knew exactly what it was.

The shadow wolf growled louder and reeled itself back as more dark energy surrounded it. It's charging its attack... Rainbow realized. "Look out!" she yelled and shoved her friends to the side of the shield. Just in the nick of time, too. Right then, a loud bark was heard as their attacker pierced right through Twilight's shield, shattering it in an instant, causing her to collapse in pain.

The shadow wolf landed smoothly on its paws and circled back around to view its prey. Applejack quickly got up and shouted to her friend, "Fluttershy! See if ya can talk to it! Imma help out Twilight!" She dove to Twilight's side and lifted her head off the floor. "Ya doing alright their, Twilight?" she asked. The pony in question started to stir.

Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes, met with a spinning world, making it extremely difficult to stand. Eventually, it subsided to a tolerable level and she stood up, using Applejack's hoof as support.

As Applejack helped Twilight up, Rarity was using her magic to deflect any attacks dared to be sent at them, protecting Twilight with her greatest efforts. Rainbow tried her best to distract the shadow wolf by flying around it, taunting it, and dodging any attacks that came close to hitting her. It was successful, too. This gave Pinkie Pie enough time to pull out a- full sized party cannon?!

Gunpowder fired confetti into the air, dazing their attacker and giving Fluttershy a chance to approach. Slowly and carefully, Fluttershy made her way over to the stunned wolf, talking to it softly, "Hey there, buddy, it's okay. You're safe." She looked into its eyes for any signs of sympathy or emotion, but what she found left her paralyzed with fear.

It was empty. It was no animal. It didn't even seem to have a soul. 

Rainbow Dash noticed her hesitance and shouted out, "Fluttershy! What's wrong?"

"I-It... I-... I-It's..." she stuttered, walking backwards in fear.

"C'mon Shy! Spit it out!" 

"T-That's not an animal!" she shouted and sprinted backwards, away from the beast. Along with spreading a small state of panic to everyone in the group.

Seeing its prey running away with its back turned, the shadow wolf took this as an opportunity to strike. It jumped forwards, attempting to bite at Fluttershy's neck. She shrieked in fear and closed her eyes in fear when, all of a sudden, a blast of purple knocked it back. She looked over and saw Twilight weakly standing, the magic in her horn flickering on and off before eventually stopping all together. She fell to her knees again, struggling to stay in the battle.

The shadow beast easily picked itself up and locked eyes with Twilight. Clearly it was just pissed off, the magic leaving no trace of damage on it. Immediately, it launched itself at her, breaking through Rarity's attempt at a shield and pinning her to the ground. Applejack ran over and bucked the shadow wolf straight in the jaw. It was dazed slightly, but then swept its tail in a wide circle, knocking everyone back and resuming its attention on Twilight. 

As Twilight looked up at her attacker, she struggled to keep her hooves up in an attempt to have some sort of guard to defend herself. And as the beast reeled back, baring its teeth and growling, she knew that this was the end. It launched forwards at her.

"NOO!" Rainbow shouted. Her body was surrounded with a flow of dark matter as she skipped through the air like a bolt of lightning, kicking the monster mid air, sending it flying away, crashing into a nearby tree. The animal yelped in pain, but Rainbow showed no remorse as her soul was consumed by rage, growling at the beast. "Stay away from my friend!" she yelled out. Her voice seemed to boom and amplify in volume, causing the shadow wolf to whimper in fear.

She dashed forwards, screaming in rage, and sucker punched the wolf in the jaw, sending it straight through the snow on the floor and into the dirt. As if that wasn't enough, she repeatedly kept beating the wolf like she was trying to pound it to a pulp.

The only thoughts racing through her mind were to protect Twilight. No matter the cost. The thoughts fueled her as each blow applied more force than the last, the cries of the wolf getting louder and louder until a loud CRACK! was heard, the wolf's ribs shattering from the pressure.

Rainbow let out another roar as she tossed the wolf aside as if it was nothing, causing it to grind across the ground. "Get out of here if you know what's good for you. NOW!" she commanded, the last word echoing. Without delay, the wolf quickly scrambled to its feet and ran away, back into the darkness.

Her friends stared at Rainbow in fear. Her body was shaking as she stood there taking heavy breaths. She was still growling, as if a primal instinct had taken over. 

As Rainbow stood there, she continued to shake, thoughts still present on the wolf and any other dangers lurking around. She had to protect Twilight. She had to keep her safe. She had to-

Then, she was tapped on the shoulder. Without thinking, she swept her legs behind her and tripped the attacker to the floor as she got on top of them, pinning them to the ground, ready to strike. She stared into the eyes of the attacker and-

"R-Rainbow! It's me! It's me!" Twilight shouted. Rainbow's eyes widened as she realized what she was doing. The world quickly rushed back to her and tears flooded her eyes. She immediately jumped off.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I thought you were something else and I didn't want you guys to get hurt or anything! Please forgive me!" she said quickly, matching Pinkie Pie's speed of rambling.

"Rainbow!" Twilight cut her off. "It's fine. I get it. I forgive you," she said as she leaned forwards and pulled her pegasus friend into a comforting hug.

Tears streamed down Dash's face. "I'm s-sorry! When I saw the wolf was about to jump at you I-I didn't know what to do! I didn't want you to d-die! So I did the first thing that came to mind a- and-" she was interrupted by Twilight squeezing her tight and stroking her hair.

"Shhhh, shhhh. It's alright. I'm here," she softly whispered as she held her friend in a tight embrace. "You saved my life. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Rainbow sniffled. "T-Thanks, Twi..." No one said anything as the Twilight comforted the crying pegasus.





Inside a dark castle with torches illuminating the halls, Sombra sat on his throne. Papers held in front of him in a magical grip, like usual. Of course the citizens had complaints. Complaints that he had to attend to. Stupid citizens and their stupid complaints.

Unfair guard conditions? Starving ponies? Need to expand? Sombra groaned loudly. It was all the same stuff! Over and over, the same complaints and worries from all the ungrateful citizens that lived there. And all of it pissed him off.

Of course, there was the occasional message from outside his kingdom, but that was highly unlikely. After all, he had made sure that no one would know of his empire's existence. Especially from those two insufferable sisters.

Then, without warning, something bursted through the door. Limping and whining. It was one of his minions. His eyes widened when he saw it. "My, my, what has happened to you now, Hades?" he called to his pet. The wolf whined and clawed in the air, giving a clear message to Sombra. "Intruders? Where?" The wolf whined some more and gestured out the window, towards the forest. "Well, mark my words, I'll make sure that they pay for what they've done to you," he growled.

"Come here, boy," he waved the wolf to come towards him. It obliged. "Here, you'll feel better after this." He waved his hoof over the wolf as his horn glowed brighter. After a few seconds, the wolf was happy, smiling up at his master as he pet him. "Good boy."

Then, his voice boomed as he called down the hall. "Guards! There has been note of some trespassers nearby in the forest. Flush them out! I want them here now!"

The guards saluted and responded, "Sir, yes sir!" and quickly made their way out, formed in a straight line. Each step in sync as they marched out of the castle.

"Good. Now we wait."
> Chapter 4: Going Deeper (V1.2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nopony said a word, the events from earlier still lingering on their minds. They all slowly walked in a direction, not one that was chosen, they just walked. The fight from before left them not knowing which way they were going in, so they decided to just pick a random direction and head there. 

Was it efficient? No. Did Twilight approve of this? No. But they didn't have any other choice. They could barely see and they were too far to notice any hoofprints. Only the ones right beneath their feet. The wind had also begun to pick up in pace again, blowing the travlers' hair in the wind. Unfortunately for them, this wind also blew around snow that both blinded them slightly and covered up previous tracks left on the snow. 

As they walked, Rainbow was the most distant of the six. Her head hung low as an occasional sniffle was heard. Luckily for her, each time a sniff was heard, Twilight would comfort her slightly. Not verbally or anything, it'd be something small, like a pat on the back or a quick nuzzle. The two walked considerably close to each other while everyone else hung in the back of the group, watching for signs of activity.

Thoughts plagued their minds as they walked. How the heck did Rainbow Dash manage to beat up that shadow wolf? What was that black stuff coming off of her? How did she move so fast? Of course, while they had their suspicions, none of them thought much of it and defaulted the strange sights to 'their surroundings being dark'. 

Soon, however, the snow from beneath their hooves started to decrease and the trees started to thin out. Filled with hope, everyone trekked with a slightly faster pace than before. And by some miracle, a pathway was made known. Now all they had to do was follow it. Finally, they had some sense of direction again, and this boosted the morale of the group, even having Rainbow starting to lift her head up high again as she walked instead of staring into the cold ground below.

Then, a wisp of a light was seen in the distance. What looked to be like some sort of fire, swaying side to side as it moved across the icy pathway. "Hey, I think that might be somepony!" Twilight said excitedly and called down to the moving light source. "Hey! Down here! Can you help us? We're a bit lost!"

Suddenly, the source of light had stopped moving. Whispers were heard coming from the location, but it was barely audible. Then, the light continued down on its path towards the new found group of ponies who were relieved to finally see some for of life that wasn't an animal of sorts.

"Thank Celestia, I need to rest my hooves after all of that walking," Rarity commented, fixing up her hair from the long trip through the forest.

"For once ah'm with ya on that, Rares," Applejack agreed. She relaxed her muscles and watched as the lights got closer and closer.

And as the light rounded the corner, it was revealed that it had in fact been a pony carrying a torch! Actually, it had been a group of ponies that were lit up by said torch. And the group of ponies were guards. They held shields, spears, swords, and armor along with a sick mask to go with it!

Quickly, the guards formed into a square and stood evenly in front of the tired travelers. Then the leader drew his weapon. "Under orders of King Sombra, you are ordered to come with us. Resist, and be met with lethal force," he said in a monotone voice as he lifted his spear, pointed straight at Twilight, since she was in the front.

Well that was quite unexpected. Twilight backed up and tried to talk with them. "I think you have us mistaken. We're just looking for the Crystal Empire. We've been wondering for quite a while and we're all getting really tired," she tried to reason. It was to no avail though as the spear was shoved right next to her throat.

"Do not resist," the guard spoke sternly. The guards behind him drew their weapons as well. "You will be coming with us."

"Heheh, alright, we're going, we're going..." Twilight smiled sheepishly and backed away again before turning to her friends and shouting, "RUN!" In a flash, they all sprinted away.





"Ugh, I'm bored!" Shadow groaned to herself. She was laying by herself in her bedroom, as per usual, tossing a ball up and towards the ceiling and watching as it falls back down into her hooves. "There's nothing to do around here! All these stupid rules from stupid Dad. I can't do anything with my life!" she whined. She was stuck in her room with nothing to do. She wasn't allowed to go outside, talk with the guards, or do anything for that matter. It was like her father was paranoid or something. Didn't want her escaping from her pen or something among those lines.

Then, she had a brilliant idea. Quite the genius one, if she did say so herself. It had been so obvious! Who was keeping her in her room after all? For all she cared, she could just leave! Just sneak past some guards, easy-peasy! How hard could it be? 

She threw the ball into the air one last time and this time let it fall besides her onto the bed. She sat up and started to think. She would need a plan to get out of here, after all. It's not like she could just walk out and about, there were guards patrolling the halls. She needed somewhere to go...

Then an idea sparked in her mind. She could visit Midnight Bloom, her personal maid assigned to her by her Dad. She never did much other than deliver her food, so she spent most of her time in the garden. And better yet, no one ever goes to the garden. It's mostly just Midnight, tending to the flowers and plants.

So now she had a plan. Now she just had to execute it.

Quietly, Shadow poked her head out of her door and looked left and right, scanning for anyone coming close. Thankfully, it was empty. Quick to make sure she wasn't spotted, she dashed up towards the ceiling and hovered in place. No, this won't do. I'll get spotted instantly. She let out a puff of air. Let's see if I remember how to do this...

Thankfully, being the daughter of Sombra gained her some pretty cool powers. Focusing on herself, she closed her eyes and thought. A shadow... I am... a shadow... She could feel energy being pulled from within her, covering her entire body in a tingly feeling. Slowly, she opened her eyes again and looked down to her hooves. A grin grew across her face. They were transparent, radiating dark magic out into the atmosphere.

While she could easily be seen in a brightly lit room, being in the shade provided the opposite effect. Knowing this, she stayed in the shadows, carefully making her way through the halls and checking every corner before continuing onwards. 

Well apparently, she didn't check enough.

After turning one of the corners, she was met face to face with a guard, who was thankfully looking away from her. She gasped in surprise and quickly retreated into a dark shadow in the corner of the room. The guard turned his head towards where Shadow was just standing.

"I think I heard something," the guard muttered and trotted over to investigate the sound. He walked over, weapon drawn and got into a battle ready position as he turned the corner, only to be met with... nothing. The only thing there was the stupid vase that was obviously off-centered on the damn table and it pissed him off! Well, now was the time for action.

He grunted in annoyance and grabbed the vase, rotating it a couple of degrees and setting it back down on the middle of the small, wooden drawer. With a smile of satisfaction, he went back to his usual patrol.

After a couple of seconds, Shadow let out a the air that she had been holding in her lungs, taking in deep breaths to gain back the lost oxygen. This time, she double checked to make sure no one was around the corner before continuing towards onwards. After not much time, she spotted a double door which had a sign next to it labeled 'Garden'. 

She smiled and sighed in relief while transforming out of her shadow form, taking the next few steps towards the door. Then all of a sudden, she heard a shout from her left.

"Hey! What are you doing out of your room? You're not allowed out here, Shadow! Go back to your room!" It was a guard. And he did not seem happy. 

Well, crap. Shadow groaned and turned to look at the guard approaching her. "Dad gave me permission to wander the halls," she attempted to lie. The guard just stared at her.

"Uh huh. Yeah, that's not working on me, kid. C'mon," he reached forwards to grab her, but she quickly stepped away.

"Nope! You never saw me here!" She quickly turned around and bolted backwards, hoof steps loudly echoing down the hall. But only one pair of hooves? That's not right.

She turned back around to look at the guard, who just stood there, staring blankly ahead and muttering in a monotone voice. "I never saw you here."

"What?"

He walked forwards straight past Shadow and into an adjacent room, not even bothering to bat an eye towards her. The doors creaked as it swung closed and left Shadow alone once more.

"Oooookkaaay?"





The six of them dashed through the forest, a trail of guards following them. Thankfully, they were quite slow, wearing all that heavy armor. In an attempt to lose them, Twilight turned around and lit her horn as she summoned a large magical barrier and pushed it outwards towards the onslaught of ponies, toppling them onto the ground and leaving them dazed.

This was taken as an opportunity to escape. "Quick, hide!" Twilight whispered. Everyone scrambled deeper into the woods before diving behind a bush or tree, with Rainbow taking to the air and testing her luck with the tree branches. 

It was just in time, too, because their pursuers easily got back up on their hooves and went down the path that they just took. Just as they were about to pass by, the leader raised a hoof and stopped, examining his surroundings. He bent down onto the floor and brushed his hoof over a snow track. "The trail stops here. They must be hiding." He stood up and shouted into the dark forest. "Show yourself! We know you're out there!"

He looked around once more, not seeing anyone in his sight. With a grunt, he bent back down to re-examine the tracks. His eyes traced along the hoofsteps from before, following them up towards a bush. He locked eyes with it and drew his weapon. Slowly he approached, weapon raised high.

Twilight's horn started to glow, preparing to start a fight. Rainbow, however, acted quickly, lighting up her hoof and waving it towards the guard, entering his mind. "There's nopony there," her voice echoed through his mind.

The guard stopped, strapping his spear onto his back. "They're not here. They've escaped. I want you eight to search this side of the forest, the rest of you with me," he commanded. The others saluted and shouted in unison, "Sir, yes sir!" before forming two separate squads and continuing on their search.

After they left, everyone stepped out of their hiding spots. Twilight walked out of the bush and brushed herself off, followed by Fluttershy and Pinkie, who was bouncing out of the hiding spot instead of walking. Rainbow sighed in relief too, thanking Celestia that they weren't spotted. She glided down and landed near Twilight, shaking the leaves off of herself.

Rarity and Applejack were the last to leave their hiding spots, Rarity in particular having a hard time. "Dear Celestia! There's twigs and leaves stuck in my hair!" she frantically weaved her hooves through her hair in an attempt to get the sticks out. "Where's a brush when a lady needs one?"

"Quit your complainin' miss, we still got a ways to go," Applejack chuckled, helping her pluck out the twigs from her mane. "Now ah reckon we should go ta where they came from 'cause that's probably where this Crystal Empire is," she suggested. 

"That's a good idea, Applejack," Twilight agreed as she finished brushing herself off. "Is everypony okay?" she asked, to which everyone nodded. "Good. Now if you're all ready, we can get going. We don't have time to lose."

They retraced their steps with haste, eventually making their way towards a large clearing where the trees opened up to reveal the back of a large castle. 

"Alright, everypony, I'm guessing this is where King Sombra is. Stay close and watch out for guards," she whispered to her friends as they approached the back entrance, making sure no one was nearby before doing so.

Walking in, they were welcomed with a large hall, much like the one from Princess Celestia's throne room, which held paintings and artworks that lined the walls, marking the history of the Crystal Empire. Twilight's jaw dropped to the floor, gaping as she examined all the art pieces, all the artifacts, that were present. 

"Oh wow, a bunch of paintings," Rainbow said sarcastically. Twilight stumbled on her words and looked at Dash.

"How can you say that? This is the most important discovery since 1968 when a stallion found civil war era gold coins in his backyard!" she squealed in excitement.

"Yeah, Twi, we get it. You like history," she snickered and was met with a glare from Twilight.

"Are you being serious right now? Not even Theodore Maiman's invention of the laser tops this!" she responded. "Just look at these historical art pieces! They show the order of history that happened here! Pictures of war, troubles, and leaders! Look!" she pointed to one of the pictures. "This is Sombra coming to rule! And this one!" she pointed to another picture. "This one is of his defeat from the princesses! And this one!" she pointed to, once again, another picture. "This one is about- wait a second..."

She studied the painted wall. It showed of Sombra with another pony, having a heart above their heads. And below them, a tiny pony. The art showing that it was a female. "Wait, Sombra had a DAUGHTER?!" she practically screamed. She calmed herself down, speaking at a quieter tone. "Sorry! I mean, Sombra had a daughter?! This is such an important historical moment! Wait, if Sombra had a daughter, then where is she, I mean-"

Twilight's voice was drowned out by Rainbow's thoughts. She began to slightly hyperventilate. Oh my gosh, I'm so screwed. They're going to find out everything! They're never going to be my friends again! They'll think I betrayed them! They'll hate me! They'll-

"What do you think, Rainbow, isn't this just wonderful?" Twilight was jumping up and down, much like Pinkie. Rainbow tried to calm herself down.

"Uh- yeah! Very exciting..." she mumbled. Twilight didn't seem to notice. She was too focused on running around the room in excitement of her historical discovery.

"Ah hate tah interrupt you, Twilight, all excited n' all, but we need to move. Sombra ain't gonna stop himself, ya know," Applejack interrupted.

"B-But!" Twilight tried to plead, met by Applejack glaring at her. "Fine. You're right..."

Twilight silently gave her goodbyes and proceeded onwards into the next room. As they opened the door, the room was revealed, opening up from the side, showing a large throne room fitted for that of a king. The walls had paintings much like the ones from the previous room, except this time framed in a gold seal. Torches were also lined on the walls, illuminating the room, giving it a warm color. And in the middle of the room hung a chandelier filled with glistening glass and torches that must've cost a fortune. Red carpet lined the floor, starting from the main entrance and making its way over to the main attraction, the throne. It was lined with gold jewels and gems colored red and blue. And on top of that throne sat Sombra himself.

Twilight's mood instantly turned south as she began to panic internally, quickly attracting the attention of the dictator that was signing papers, as per usual. He sat on top of his throne, glaring down at them with an annoyed look on his face until his annoyance turned into anger.

"It is you! You intruders have broken into my empire and have harmed my precious Hades, thinking you'd go unnoticed? Such fools! How did you get past my guards? I had sent them out to look for you? You know what? It doesn't matter. I'll have them properly trained and disciplined after this. Now explain yourself," Sombra's voice boomed.

Trying to find the right words to speak, Twilight fumbled, "I-, uh, W-We've come to stop you, Sombra! You've led this kingdom into despair! Kept it away for over a thousand years!" Twilight very skillfully announced, stomping her hoof in front of her to emphasize her point, still not managing to look serious at all.

"What are you, a child? Stop with the lies! This kingdom has only stood for 300 years! Only recently have I come to rule!" Sombra growled.

Twilight furrowed her eyebrows. Wait, that doesn't add up... "But that doesn't make any sense! Princess Celestia said she banished you into ice over a thousand years ago! No pony even knows of the Crystal Empire's existence anymore!"

This time it was Sombra's turn to be confused. "Impossible! Those foolish sisters never banished me! I was merely casted away, though those fools didn't expect me to take my kingdom with me!"

"That doesn't matter! What does matter is that you've been enslaving ponies through your rule and we're here to put an end to it!" she pointed a hoof at Sombra who just sat there, amused.

"You and what army? What can you possibly do that would defeat me?" he laughed.

Twilight smiled smugly and looked to her friends before taking out the elements of harmony and strapping them on. "This is your last chance, Sombra. Back down now or face the elements of harmony!" she threatened.

Sombra's eyes widened. Impossible! I thought only the two sisters could wield them! He looked around quickly for a solution, before smiling.

"Uh, Twilight, why is he smiling?" Applejack asked.

Twilight kept her poker face on, although she was also concerned. "I don't know, just keep your guard up," she whispered.

Suddenly, the ground below them rumbled and darkened before having black crystals shot out, grabbing the elements and trapping them in its grip while also encasing the wielders each in their own crystal cage. Sombra laughed at them. "You foolish ponies. Did you really think you could stop me with those petty little elements?" 

Twilight tried to teleport out before being thrown back onto the floor, her magic proving ineffective. "My magic! It's not working!" She tried banging on the cage, but no progress was made.

Sombra continued to laugh as he floated down towards their cages. He grinned devilishly until his eye made contact with Rainbow Dash. She quickly looked away, as if trying to hide herself from the situation. "Wait a minute. You! I recognize you," he spoke as he flew down and landed in front of her.

Oh no... This cannot be happening! Rainbow panicked, trying to force her way out of the cage. Sombra stared at her before his eyes went wide and he backed up, growling.

"Oh. It's you," he snarled. "I only know two ponies with that rainbow hair of yours. Why did you come back here? To try and take over my kingdom with those good-for-nothing friends of yours?" Rainbow kept quiet.

Her friends turned over to look at her. "Rainbow Dash! What is he talking about?" Twilight asked.

Sombra laughed. "You didn't even tell them either? And Rainbow Dash?" He shrunk the crystal cage with his magic and dragged the mare over to him. "That's the name you came up with? This is all too good."

Applejack raged, "Just what in tarnation are you talkin' about? That right there is Rainbow Dash, our friend! Tell 'em, RD!"

Rainbow tried to say something, but nothing came out. Sombra pulled her cage closer to himself. "Yeah, Rainbow Dash," he spoke with a tone of disgust. "Why don't you tell them? Or will I have to?" he growled. She tried to back away from Sombra, but the cage was too small to do so.

"Fine. So be it," he spat out, getting saliva on her face. "So you don't want to talk? Guess I'll just tell them myself, Shadow Dash! They deserve the right to know, don't you think?" he spoke with increasing volume. Rainbow stayed quiet, knowing what was about to come. "Now I will ask again!" he shouted in her face. "Why do you come back to my kingdom, daughter?" His voice was deafening.

Her friends all gasped. No, it can't be... can it? Twilight thought to herself, closing her eyes and looking away. The pieces all clicking together in her mind.

"Hey, it's okay. You can be honest with me. Do you want to talk about it?" she rested a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, giving her an empathetic look. Dash teared up slightly, but quickly wiped the tear away and shrugged her arm off.

"To make a long story short... We don't have good history. He's always been a bitch to me. Bringing me down, telling me that my dreams have no chance of coming true. Locking me away in a room whenever our opinions didn't match. He was the worst." Glints of tears came to her eyes. She looked at Twilight with fearful eyes. "A-and... I think I'm starting to become like him," her voice cracked, tears finally shedding, freely pouring down her cheeks.

"NOO!" Rainbow shouted. Her body was surrounded with a flow of dark matter as she skipped through the air like a bolt of lightning, kicking the monster mid air, sending it flying away, crashing into a nearby tree.

Thoughts plagued their minds as they walked. How the heck did Rainbow Dash manage to beat up that shadow wolf? What was that black stuff coming off of her? How did she move so fast? Of course, while they had their suspicions, none of them thought much of it and defaulted the strange sights to 'their surroundings being dark'. 

"What do you think, Rainbow, isn't this just wonderful?" Twilight was jumping up and down, much like Pinkie. 
"Uh- yeah! Very exciting..." she mumbled. Twilight didn't seem to notice.

It all made sense.

Twilight looked back tearfully into Dash's eyes. She didn't know how to feel. She felt confused, afraid, angry, but most of all, she felt betrayed.

"Rainbow. Is this true?" she asked.

Rainbow backed away. "I...I-," her voice trembled, tears swelling in her eyes.

"IS IT TRUE?!" Twilight shouted. Rainbow started to cry. "WELL?!" The crying mare nodded slowly as she crumpled into a ball in a corner of her cage. Twilight also began to cry. "I... I trusted you..."

Sombra was enjoying every bit of this. "Well now your friends know. What was it I said again? Friends only bring you down? Until they stab you in the back? Seems like you learned your lesson," he spat. He looked at the group of six broken friends. "Such a disappointment. You're not worth my time," he said as he used his magic to thrust all of them through the main entrance and down a large staircase behind it, breaking them free from their prisons in the process. Then a large black cloud of smoke was summoned besides Sombra and quickly evaporated, leaving guards standing where the smoke once was. "Kill them. Don't leave anyone alive." And with that, he walked away.
> Chapter 5: Survival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Kill them. Don't leave anyone alive," Sombra commanded the shadow guards and left the room, leaving the main six to fend for themselves.

The guards quickly rushed downstairs towards the broken cages and surrounded the group, spears raised. And while Rainbow could've easily overpowered them... she didn't. Her mind was stuck in a loop. All the stress, Twilight yelling at her, them all being attacked, it was just too much for the poor pegasus as she sat there, frozen in tears as she stared at the threat that came after them.

Twilight was also distraught, her mind replaying the most recent events before she shook her head, realizing that they needed to move. Without any further delay, she shouted to her friends, "There's too many of them! Let's move!" She quickly pushed back the guards on their side and ran through a hallway in order to escape, half of the guards chase after them.

The other half stayed with Rainbow. They charged forwards, stabbing at her abdomen. That got Rainbow to snap out of her trance and move. With speed, she jumped up in the air, leaving a shockwave of dark magic to push the enemies away, and flew in the opposite direction her friends went in, entering an adjacent hall.

In her escape, she clumsily flew through the air, knocking down a few dressers and vases along with smashing a few mirrors, leaving the guards behind her to have to jump over the mess, which they had no problems doing. The real problem were the pegasi guards chasing after her, quickly catching up in little to no time at all, even with the heavy armor they wore.

Get yourself together, Dash! She mentally scolded herself as she straightened out her flying and tried her best to plan ahead. C'mon, you know this castle! You should be able to outfly them! She ducked through a door frame. In her head, she came up with multiple different escape routes before deciding on one and taking it. As she went into the next room, it opened up to be a pantry, filled with many different foods and ingredients with two doors in front of her.

With ease, she baited right, going right before she hit the door and then using a burst of magic to propel herself to the left door, slightly clipping her wing in the process. She yelped in pain and tried to focus on her plan. Painfully, she steered upwards and did a U-turn back towards where she came from, except this time gliding above the roofs. As she looked down, she could see a slight opening leading back to the ballroom she was just in.

With seemingly nowhere left to go, a thought crossed her mind and she quickly acted on it, diving down, making a quick turn right and stowing herself away behind a hidden staircase that only she knew about. Her body let off a faint glow and she transformed into her shadow body, holding her breath and watching as the guards flew by. 

As she watched, she allowed herself to slip into her thoughts and replay past events. Now her friends knew that she was Sombra's daughter. And they had reacted just as horribly as Rainbow thought they would. She felt saddened. Hurt. And... betrayed? Twilight had hurt her more than the others had, she felt betrayed from what she had done. But why? Her other friends are just as important to her as Twilight, so why would she matter more to her? 

She let herself ponder on that thought for a few moments, watching as group after group of guards passed by the hidden staircase. Twilight was her closest friend. She had stuck with her through thick and thin, but seeing her break away from her so quickly was... heartbreaking. As the reality of the situation set in, tears started filling her eyes once more. Her closest friends had all left her. They hated her. They didn't want anything to do with her. She began to sob quietly.

No, she couldn't let the guards hear her. Deciding it wasn't safe outside, she took her chances with the cold, dark rooms below. She glided down, transforming herself back to normal as she examined the new area. And after one look around the room, her heart dropped. She was in a dungeon, almost completely dark except for a couple of torches with coals still glowing from their recent use. And, most recognizably of all, her cage. One that she remembered all too well. 

A floodgate of memories poured through her head. It was too much. The stress, her friends leaving her, her father, this stupid ass room! It was overloading her brain. Instantly, her breath started to shake, causing her to force down a gulp of air as she closed her eyes and looked away from the cage. Away from the bad memories, not helping at all in stopping them. The stress getting the better of her, she quickly left the room.

As she ran, her breath quickened and her steps became unbalanced as she stumbled through the path in front of her, using the wall as a side support. Her heartbeat raced, her body started to glow with dark magic. The farther she ran, the quicker her breaths became, the more dizzy she got, and the darker the world seemed to be. It was getting hard to see. The corners of her vision were dark, everything else was blurred. All the while the stress only seemed to build, further increasing the symptoms and making her run faster.

In no time at all, she went from running to flying, making her way through the underground dungeons, eventually turning to a cave-like structure. Her surroundings constantly reminding her of him, causing her rapid breaths to turn into rapid hyperventilation, making her feel lightheaded.

And as she flew down the never ending cave biome, she quickly reached a dead end, making her turn around to go back the other way. However, when she did so, she was met with complete darkness. She stood there, paralyzed, whimpering quietly and backing into the wall. She heard something in the shadows slowly approaching her. It's not real, It's not real, It's not real... She told herself repeatedly like a mantra, closing her eyes. The aura around her body thickened.

The shadows grew thicker, the walls seemingly caving in around her, making her feel even more trapped than before. Her throat seized up, making it difficult to breathe. Now random spurts of energy shot out from her body, hitting the rocks on the wall, causing them to fall onto the floor and shatter.

The only thing she could hear was the thumping of her heart. 

...

No...

I need to stop Sombra. Get yourself together, Dash! She mentally slapped herself and opened her eyes. Looking around, the environment around her was completely normal. Sure, she was still in some sort of cave, but that was just how it was naturally. There was no shadow. There were no enclosed spaces. She was just in a room. 

Slowly, her breath slowed down to a normal pace, her heart started beating normally, and she could finally breath again. She gave a huge sigh of relief and took a deep breath in, calming her body.

Gathering what little courage she had left, she picked herself off the floor and wandered through the caves, a new goal set in mind.





Twilight and the others panted, sprinting down the hall. They passing by a larder, causing them to feel nauseous as they ran by. Fluttershy gasped as she passed by and started crying as she ran past, refusing to further look at the hunks of meat that hung from the ceiling.

Soon, they passed through an opening, finding themselves outside once more, inside of a pen filled with livestock like sheep and cows. Twilight blocked the entrance with her magic and they hopped the fence, leaving the cattle to fend for themselves while they escaped.

The forests seemed darker than before, making it a good place for the guards to loose track of them. They ran on the outskirts of the trees, wanting to keep the castle in sight as to not get lost again before they spotted a garden, one filled with flowers of all kinds with no creature in sight. They quickly made their way over and hid behind a couple of crates, catching their breath.

"Ah think we lost em'," Applejack said, panting.

"We better wait just to be sure," Twilight said, also panting. After they had a moment to calm down, Twilight was lost in her thoughts. 

She thought about the previous events and how Rainbow- no, Shadow's secret had been revealed. "How did I not see it sooner?" she said aloud.

"What do you mean, dear?" Rarity asked.

"Rainbow- I mean Shadow- I mean- ugh! I don't even know what to call her anymore!" she clenched her eyes shut and put her hoof to her head, crying softly. "I trusted her... How could she lie about something like that? How could she lie about her own name?" she asked.

"Darn tootin'! I can't believe she would lie about her past like that! We've been friends for years! Ya don't just keep something like that hidden away!" Applejack growled.

"Hey girls! Cheer up! I'm pretty sure she meant no harm!" Pinkie chimed in.

"Pinkie, she had a secret identity for most of your life! She didn't even tell her closest friend!" Applejack pointed at Fluttershy. "Unless you just didn't say anything. Is that why you're being all quiet, Fluttershy?" she stared at her accusingly.

"N-no no no no no! I wouldn't do such a thing! I'm just... thinking," she quickly answered. After a bit of thought, she added on, "I agree with Pinkie here, I don't think Rainbow would do anything to hurt us. At least not on purpose."

"What are ya, dense? I think you're just biased 'cause she's your oldest best friend!" Applejack argued.

"I think you should listen to Fluttershy and... Pinkie was it?" a new voice popped in. Everyone stopped talking. It was Midnight Bloom, although none of them knew who she was. She was also quite a bit older. Her hair had gone slightly grey since the last time Dash had seen her. Everyone quickly got to their hooves. "Now before you go leavin', I'll tell ya I'm not your enemy. The name's Midnight Bloom, but you can just call me Midnight." She extended a hoof towards Twilight, beckoning her to shake her hoof. She reluctantly shook it.

"Uh, hi Midnight... who are you exactly?" she asked. "You're not with Sombra, are you?"

Midnight frowned at the name Sombra. "Technically, I'm his servant. However, I was your friend Shadow Dash's maid of sorts before she ran away from home. I heard ya'll calling her Rainbow Dash? Fits her, she hated her name anyways."

"Hold on now just a sec'. You're telling me that ya used ta be Rainbow's servant?" Applejack asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes. She was quite the energetic little filly. So full of life," she looked up as she reminisced on the past, smiling. "I'm glad she managed to make some friends after she left. You should give her a second chance, you know."

"Now hold on, miss Midnight, but how the heck did ya get here? Ya kinda just appeared. That's a bit suspicious, don't ya think?" she interrogated her, but Midnight remained calm.

"You girls were so distracted that I walked up to you all and you didn't even notice me," she chuckled. "I tend these gardens, so I was just around the corner when you five arrived. It's how I got my cutie mark, after all." She beckoned towards her cutie mark, which did resemble that of growing flowers.

"Don't think yer getting off easy, lad-" Applejack was cut off.

"Why, hello there, miss Midnight, was it? I just wanted to thank you for taking care of our dear friend for so long, but couldn't help but hear that she ran away? Could you elaborate on that?" Rarity interrupted, smiling kindly at the gardener. Applejack face-hoofed.

"Why, yes! Most certainly. You see, when she was just a little filly, she always wanted to go and explore the world. Much like her mother, who she inherited her colors from. However, her father as you all know well of seemed to dust her off as just a mere filly who would only take his attention off of work," she frowned once more. "Her father hated everything about her. Her looks, her goals, even her race. She was born a pegasus, which he considered less superior to the other races. So one day, she got tired of it and left. It seems like she made the right decision."

"Aww, that's so sad!" Pinkie blew her nose into a cloth that she pulled out of mid air.

Applejack hesitated to speak up. "Ah... ah never knew..." she spoke slowly.

"Oh my..." Rarity said.

Fluttershy was simply crying, borrowing a tissue from Pinkie, who thankfully had a whole box stored inside of her mane.

"Girls..." Twilight spoke. "I think we owe Rainbow Dash an apology."

Midnight Bloom smiled. "I'm glad you all feel that way. Although you should probably hurry. If I know her, she's probably off trying to solve this predicament by herself. A fool, she is."

Yeah... that's Rainbow alright... Twilight thought to herself, smiling softly. Oh Rainbow... I'm sorry for not trusting you. I'm coming for you, Rainbow.





She had to stop Sombra. That was the only thing that mattered now. Her friends? Gone. But all of the Crystal Empire would be too if she didn't act soon. Her thoughts went back to Twilight, on how mad she was, how much she hated her. I'm sorry, Twilight. I'll make up for it, I promise. 

She walked through the caverns until she reached the exit, making her way outside, which was an entrance to a cave that was just outside of the castle grounds. Thankfully, after years of living there, she knew her way around. She easily made her way back to the castle and went into 'stealth mode' (AKA just her shadow form).

Alright, I need to take out my dad, but I can't have any guards around while I do that, otherwise it'll be impossible to take him out. She stopped for a second. Am I really about to kill my dad? She shrugged it off. It's for the greater good. She reassured herself.

Even though Rainbow didn't possess much skill in sneaking around, her powers made it quite easy to go by. A few guards? Easy, just sneak around them. Can't sneak around them? Just mind control them to think that there's something that's not there. It was as easy as pie. With ease, she made her way towards the back area of the castle, where she saw an open window, easily recognizable to her. It's my room. She realized.

She quickly hopped up through the window and peaked out the hall, not seeing her dad anywhere in sight. She left and went to check the master bedroom, but there was nopony in there. Then, she made her way towards the throne room, but he still wasn't there. Where the heck is he? She thought to herself.

That was when she heard cackling from all around her. "You fool! Did you really think you could sneak up on me? You're so easy to read, Shadow," her father's voice range throughout the room.

"Show yourself!" Rainbow yelled out, looking all around her, which got another laugh from her dad.

"You still haven't mastered your abilities, I see. Well, that will make this quite easy, then," he spoke before clones of himself appeared, circling around Dash. "Don't worry, I won't bore you with my guards. This'll be too easy."

Rainbow's blood went ice cold as she stared at all the clones. Quickly, she shot a beam at one of the clones and it dissipated into black smoke, quickly disappearing into the air. Crap... There was about 15 of them- actually- 14, after she had taken out one. Guess I'll have to do this the hard way.

All of the clones charged her at once, completely surrounding her in a matter of seconds with seemingly nowhere left to run. In response, Rainbow focused her energy to her legs and jumped at one of the clones, punching through them before switching targets, punching the nearest clone after that. She did that a couple of times over while at the same time throwing magical blasts to another clone as she was taking care of one. As soon as she took down the last clone, she looked around, not seeing anyone else there.

Then, without warning, she was tackled on her back, getting thrown to the floor before she looked up at her attacker and saw him charging his horn, about to strike. She pushed through the air at lightning speeds and dodged out of there and off the floor, now hovering in the air. She shot a blast, but it was easily countered by a shield spell, deflecting it to the side.

Realizing that her ranged magical attacks would be useless, she went in for brute physical force, hoping that her enhanced strength could pierce through the barrier. Readying herself, she blasted forwards as fast as she could and went in with a swing, impacting... nothing.

Eyes widening, she looked to her side and saw Sombra smiling, horn glowing. Just then, a square-shaped crystal shot out of the floor and impacted her in the chest, sending her flying across the room and impacting the nearest wall. The hit took away her breath, leaving her to slowly recover off the ground, giving Sombra another opportunity to strike.

Another crystal was summoned and launched straight through the air and onto her wing, pinning it down as it pierced through it and imbedded itself in the wall, slowly spreading outwards and solidifying its connection to it. Rainbow screamed in pain, unable to move her wing away as she saw Sombra slowly walking towards her, taking his dear, sweet time.

Just as he got close, she shut her eyes and yanked her wing out, ripping it through her muscle and bones in the process. Thankfully, her wing was pinned on a thin area of her wing, not of extreme importance, leaving minimal damage. Using this opportunity to escape, she kicked off the floor and rolled onto her side, recovering quickly and onto her hooves once more.

Sombra simply stood in place, staring at Rainbow with that same sinister smile, unphased. I don't think I can beat him... Thinking quickly, she devised a plan to catch him off guard. I'm his daughter right? That means that I can do what he does! Her whole body was enveloped in a dark aura and then she disappeared from sight, making Sombra actually wonder what the heck happened.

Before he had a chance to think, Rainbow reappeared above him, smashing down on his horn and knocking him to the floor. She went in for another punch when he turned into his shadow form and her hoof went right through. He quickly backed away. "It seems I have underestimated you, daughter," he growled. "Don't, worry, I won't make the same mistake twice."

He rushed forwards and swung at her, to which she did something much similar to her father, turning into smoke and moving out of the way as he phased through her. "I got all your moves, old man. Better stop now before you hurt yourself," she quipped, smirking.

He merely laughed and continued on. "I have decades worth of more experience than you do, daughter. Skills and careful planning beat brute force and ability." Then he rushed forwards, causing Rainbow to turn into a shadow again, except this time his hoof was glowing. Instead of it going through her, it made contact, immediately forcing her out of her shadow form and onto the floor, coughing.

She wheezed as she stood up again. "Is... Is that all you got?" she asked, bringing up her hooves again in a battle stance.

Then, a blade tore through her abdomen and her father disappeared in front of her into smoke. She saw the blood pour out of the wound, her ears were ringing. The blade was made of the same dark crystal that was seen earlier. Then, she heard him whisper in her ear.

"Tut, tut, daughter. Looks like experience wins after all. Don't worry, I won't kill you. I'll throw you in a dungeon and lock you up for the rest of your life as you watch your friends from before be executed in front of your very eyes. Then, maybe you'll learn to obey me for once," he snarled. 

Her vision started to go blurry and the world started to spin.

"Goodnight."

She lost consciousness right before she hit the floor.
> Chapter 6: Rescue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash bolted upright, sweat pouring down her forehead. She immediately regretted doing so, feeling the immense pain coming from her abdomen. She looked down to see a large wound, covered with dried blood. Moving had caused it to crack open again, leading to blood dripping out again. 

Frowning, she set her hoof on top of the wound and drew magic from her reserves and channeled it to her side, causing it to glow and slowly heal. Rainbow winced in pain as the wound closed itself - for good this time. In place of the wound was a large scar, which wouldn't be going away any time soon.

After she was done healing, she took time to examine her surroundings. She was in a prison cell, surrounded by enchantments of sorts marked by carvings in the walls. It was obviously specifically meant for her, so she wouldn't get out. She groaned in frustration.

"Ah, you're up," a voice spoke up from behind her. She quickly scrambled away and saw her father, staring back at her. She bared her teeth and backed away. Sombra merely chuckled at the sight. "Don't worry, I'm only here to make sure you aren't dead yet."

Upon seeing no change in reaction, he added on, "Here, I even brought you some water." He used his magic to bring forth a bucket filled only a quarter way with water. "It should suffice. Now drink," he commanded, opening the cell door and shoving the bucket inside, smacking Dash in the leg.

Rainbow growled. "I'd rather die," she spat out. "You took away everything from me. My life. My friends. I have nothing else to live for!" she shouted, water swelling up in her eyes.

Sombra frowned. "I'm afraid I don't remember asking." His horn lit up and grabbed her face, shoving it in the bucket, causing her to accidentally inhale water. When she was released, she backed away, coughing up the water from her lungs. She looked up to her father, who's face had not changed. Reluctantly, she grabbed the bucket and took a small sip.

"There, ya happy now?" she asked, coughing again from the water that still remained in her lungs.

"Drink all of it."

Rainbow scoffed, lifting up the bucket again and letting the water pour down her throat. This time she left no water inside. "There. Anything else you wanted to say? Or are you just here to annoy the fuck out of me?" she growled.

Sombra's smiled in satisfaction, before speaking. "No, that is all. I must go upstairs quickly. After all," he added with a smirk, "You left quite a lot of blood from your little 'fight'. Now I must go make sure it gets cleaned up. Goodbye, daughter," he said before leaving.

"I hope my blood permanently stains your carpets!" she shouted as he left, gripping the bars from the prison door. He paid no attention. "Fuck..."

She laid her back against the wall in the corner of her cell and thought back to her life choices she made to get here. She sighed, tearing up. "I'm such a failure..." she muttered to herself, curling into a ball and silently sobbing to herself in a room with no one else around to hear.





"Come on, girls! We need to find Rainbow Dash!" Twilight spoke as they quickly ran through the halls of the castle, being careful not to attract any attention from the guards. To aid in their trek, she cast an invisibility spell around them, working much like a force field, making anypony inside completely invisible. With much haste, they ran through, quickly reaching the throne room they had been in before, now slowing their run to a crawl as to not make too much noise.

They peaked around the entrance way to said throne room and saw Sombra, only this time he wasn't sitting on his throne. Rather, he was talking to a set of surprisingly normal looking ponies - save for the mask - and giving them orders on an extremely stained room filled with blood and cracks in the wall. Her eyes widened at the sight.

"Get that spot too, I don't want her blood staining my carpet," she heard him speak with a tone of disgust. "And repair that wall while you're at it, too. I want my throne to be in top notch shape." He turned around to speak to a much smaller and more feeble looking unicorn, who also had a mask on. "Bring water to my daughter," he spoke. "After all, I don't want her dying on me. I'm sure she didn't get enough during our first session. She practically spat out half of the bucket. Though, I suppose that's my fault. Doesn't matter. Bring her the water."

With a quick nod, the small servant scurried away making his way towards the sitting group of ponies, still disguised by the invisibility spell. "Shoot! Move it, move it!" Twilight shouted while whispering, slightly shoving her friends out of the way to get them to move. It was just in the nick of time, too, as the small individual made his way down the stairway, quickly taking a left turn.

"He's going to Rainbow Dash. Come on," Twilight spoke quietly, making sure not to alert the pony they were trailing.

As they followed the unsuspecting colt, he stopped abruptly in the middle of the hall before turning towards a white marble fountain engraved in the wall. Without a word, he pushed a side panel besides it and the wall seemingly popped out a bit, making the group gasp as he opened the door and went inside, closing it behind him.

They waited a few seconds before replicating what was done, to make sure that he would not see them.

Inside was a large spiral staircase, going down multiple floors before finally ending up in a dungeon sort of area. The quickly and quietly ran down the steps, trying to catch up with the water boy. As they went down, they heard the sound of soft sobbing in the distance, along with the hoofsteps of, assumingly, the pony they were following. When they reached the bottom of the stairwell, they stopped, looking out.

Their assumptions were correct. They saw the pony approaching a cell before stopping and turning to look inside. He spoke with hate in his voice. "Shut up, you stupid pegasus. I brought you some water. The Lord seems to think you didn't drink enough of it. Now drink."

Twilight felt enraged inside. How dare he talk to MY Rainbow Dash like that?! She attempted to move out before Applejack grabbed her. "What in the hay are yah doin'?!" she mouthed to her. "You're gonna give us away an' then the whole place will be on top o' us!"

The sobbing from the cell stopped, followed by an unstable, raspy voice. "T-tell your 'Lord' that he can kiss my flank."

The water carrier grew angry. "You dare insult the Lord's mercy towards you? What a disgrace of a pony you are! To think even for a moment that you were once his daughter is a disgusting thought."

Rainbow growled. "I have nothing left to live for. Tell him he can kill me for all I care. His attempt at 'mercy' is a fucking punishment!" she yelled at the servant. "He took away my friends... my life... and now he's forcing me to sit in here for the rest of eternity! At this point, death would be mercy!"

Rainbow... I... I'm so sorry... Twilight thought to herself as she watched the situation unfold.

"Is that so? Well in that case, I hope you rot in this cell. You deserve it, you worthless excuse of a pegasus."

Twilight grew with anger. 'Blow our cover' my flank. I'm going to give that bitch a piece of my mind. She shoved Applejack to the side, making her yelp out a 'What the-', and ran out at full force, yelling a battle cry as she did so. He was caught off guard. 

"Stay away from her!" she screamed, horn flaring with enough magic to make any normal unicorn cower in fear. And unfortunately for the guard, he was the main target of that raging power. A large blast of magic shot out from her horn, immediately launching the guard across the room multiple yards, knocking him out in the process.

She quickly ran up to the cell door and looked inside, seeing a broken pegasus sitting on the concrete floor, eyes bloodshot and her body completely covered in scars. "Rainbow!" Twilight shouted, trying to open the door. "I'm going to get you out of here!" She tried her magic on the door, but to no avail.

"T-Twilight?" Rainbow's eyes widened. She slowly got off the floor. "Wha... Why are you here?" she asked.

Twilight looked up from the door and locked with Rainbow's magenta eyes. She grinned slightly. "Didn't you hear me the first time? I'm getting you out of here."

At this point, the rest of the group had caught up to the unicorn. "Ahm also here," Applejack spoke out between breaths. "Damn- Sugarcube, ya run pretty fast, ya know that? And ya say ya don't work out..."

"I have to concur... I don't think I've ever seen you run so fast in my life. Even when you participated in the Running of the Leaves," Rarity added on, also panting.

Pinkie bounced up behind them quickly after, not even phased. "I don't know what all the fuss is about. Running's fun!" she exclaimed.

Fluttershy approached last, hiding her face behind her mane. "Hi, Rainbow Dash..." she spoke quietly.

Rainbow stood there, stunned, trying to process what was happening. "Y-you all don't hate me?" They all grew silent, except for Pinkie, who was still bouncing, just slightly less than before.

"Of course we don't hate you, silly filly!" Pinkie giggled. "Just because you're the daughter of evil-meanie-mcmeanie-pants Sombra doesn't mean that you're a bad pony!" She gave Dash a heartwarming smile. "We still love you for who you are, and we won't let your party pooper dad stop us!"

Applejack took off her hat and spoke, too. "We haven't been the most... open about your situation. Ahnd ahm deeply sorry for that," she looked down with guilt.

"I'm sorry too..." Fluttershy spoke up quietly.

"And I'm also sorry. Darling, we heard about your childhood from your friend... Midnight Bloom, was it? I'm sorry you had to go through such troubling times. I sincerely apologize," Rarity added.

Rainbow looked at all of them, eyes watering before they landed on Twilight, who was looking uncomfortable, one hoof wrapped around her other foreleg, looking away from her before she finally spoke. "Rainbow..." she started, tearing up. "I-I'm so sorry! We pushed you away, no, I pushed you away and left you to fend for yourself..." she sniffed. "What kind of friend does that to another friend? I'm sorry... You probably won't ever forgive me- I-"

"Apology accepted," Rainbow said, smiling as tears streamed down her face. "Just don't do something like that again, okay?"

Twilight was at a loss for words before she smiled too and laughed. "Thank you..." she said silently.

"Hey, I appreciate you all coming here, but uh, I'm still locked up in this cell... A little help?" she asked, drawing a laugh from her friends.

After the laughter died down, Twilight tried to open the door again, but had the same results. She tried again and again, but the door wouldn't budge. No spells in her arsenal helped to open it. "That's weird... I can't open the door," she spoke aloud.

"Oh yeah... about that," the pegasus said sheepishly. "There's a whole bunch of enchantments on the cell. Ya know. For me."

Her friends grew silent.

"Yeah... you should expect some anti-dark magic and normal magic suppression enchantments."

Twilight furrowed her eyebrows. "This'll be tougher than I thought. Sit still for a moment while I try to work this out..."





Meanwhile...

Sombra watched as his workers cleaned up the carpets stained with blood. He wondered to himself, Where the hell is that damn water pony? It doesn't take that long to shove water down someone's throat... After a few moments, he groaned in frustration. "Guards!" he called out. A troop of five ponies dressed in full iron armor stepped out of seemingly no where.

"We have arrived, sir!"

"Go check the dungeons. I want to make sure that my idiotic daughter hasn't somehow broken out. Stupid water ponies..." he grumbled the last part.

"Sir, yes sir!" The lead pony saluted and marched off with his comrades, heading straight to the dungeon undergrounds.





"Damn!" Twilight shouted, pounding the cell door with a hoof. "These enchantments are too strong! I'd need the power of either the original caster themself or the power of the princesses! This is impossible!" she groaned.

Then, suddenly, an idea crossed Dash's mind. "Yo, Twi?" she spoke out, getting the mare's attention.

"Yeah?"

"Uh, I could like, try to give you some of my magic-" she started to speak, but was interrupted.

"I almost completely forgot! Yes, if you can, please transfer me some magic, it would make this so much easier!"

Rainbow facehoofed. "Twi, you gotta let me finish..." The mare in question smiled sheepishly and muttered a 'sorry!'. "Listen, I can transfer you some magic, but uh, it has some... side effects," she continued, cringing as she remembered what had happened the last time she gave her magic to someone else. It did not end well.

"I don't really know exactly how it works, and I'm pretty sure I can stop it, I just don't know how, but uh, whenever I transfer magic over, it makes the pony... or griffin... terrified of me. Like, they see me as a monster of some sort," she tried to explain.

Twilight shrugged it off. "Come on, I would hate you or anything! You're my best friend, I would never act like that towards you. Plus, it'd be nice to see the side effects of dark magic!" she added on a happier note in an egghead-y sort of way.

"Are you sure?" Twilight nodded and gave her best reassuring smile. "Hmmph... Okay, give me your hoof," she said, getting up and approaching the gated wall. They linked hooves and her body glowed black as energy was transferred to Twilight.

As the energy transfer took place, Twilight took note. "This... feels... weird..." she barely spoke out as her eyes turned dark. The world around her started to spin ever so slightly and her heart rate started to increase. Then, her surroundings started pulsing in and out of vision, making her quickly close her eyes and shake her head to get the effect to leave. When she opened them, she was met with a dark world. Filled with moving shadows and things coming out from the corner of her vision.

"Twilight? You good?" a voice rang out from besides her. It was raspy, but had a large reverb effect behind it, making it sound ghastly and faint, like a past memory. When she turned to look at who was speaking to her, she shrieked and jumped backwards.

It was a creature radiating with dark energy, looking like a monster straight out of Tartarus. Too horrid to put into detail. "Twilight? It's me, Rainbow Dash," it spoke.

Then, memories came rushing back to her and her head was clear once more. It was indeed Rainbow Dash. These were just side effects. She was imagining things. Fascinating. She would have to look into it later. "Y-yeah! I remember now," she spoke out.

"Alright! Sweet! Now get me out of here!" it spoke again. It was weird. Even though she knew it was Rainbow Dash, everything about the creatu- Rainbow, Twilight quickly corrected herself, made her fight-or-flight response kick into overdrive. Her mind was screaming at her to move forwards with the unenchanting, but her body was screaming just as equally NO.

She took a step forwards. "D-Dash? It is you, r-right?" she spoke uncertainly. The creature nodded.

"Yeah! It's same old me! If you don't believe me, ask AJ, she's like right there," the creature spoke again- Rainbow spoke again, she corrected herself once more.

Looking to the side to see if Applejack was there, she was met with complete darkness. It was only her. Her and the mon- RAINBOW. She practically screamed at herself. "R-Rainbow? No one's here..." she said, breath quickening. She couldn't help it. The effect from the magic was too much.

The monster stared blankly at her. "What do you mean she's not ther- you know what? It's fine. Just get me out of here!" it spoke again.

Hesitantly (even though she hated herself for it), her horn flared to life and easily rid the cell of the enchantments and opened the gate. All of a sudden, the energy radiating from the monster spread across the entire room, surrounding her and covering the room in a thick fog. She scrambled backwards, hyperventilating.

It's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real, IT'S NOT REAL! She was starting to cry. "It's not real, it's not real, it's not real..." she started speaking to herself aloud. Then something touched her shoulder and she screamed in fear and swung in the air, making contact with nothing.

The monster approached her. "Twi, I'm going to take my magic back, okay?" it said, trying to lure her in with a reassuring voi- IT'S RAINBOW DASH! STOP!

"O-o... o-kay..." she barely got out.

"You trust me right?" Twilight nodded. "Okay... I'm going to approach you now, okay?"

Twilight screwed her eyes shut and curled into a ball, not wanting to open her eyes in the slightest, knowing that if she did so, she wouldn't be even remotely okay with what was going on and would probably assault her friend and run out of the room, screaming.

She didn't know how long she sat there, but it felt like eternity. Eventually, she heard a voice.

"Okay, I think I got all the magic out. Are you okay, Twilight?" Rainbow's recognizable voice reached her ears. She looked up to see her prismatic friend glancing worriedly down at her. Tears swelled in her eyes. "Are you still scared? I can back up if you wan-" she was instantly cut off by Twilight tackling her and pulling her into a hug.

"So much for 'being able to take it'," Rainbow chuckled. 

The purple unicorn squeezed her tighter and muttered, "S-shut up." She cried into Rainbow's shoulder. Although it wasn't a cry of fear this time, but rather, a cry of relief. "T-that magic really packs a p-punch..." she laughed weakly.

"Remin' me never tah get on your bad side, RD," Applejack chuckled. "Welp, up n' at em'. We need tah keep movin', they've probably sent an entire squad after us."