The Tale of RariDash - Series 1

"Again?" growled the blue pegasus as her eyes slid open to the mess around the room. The sun was a lot brighter at altitude, causing the burning beams to course in through the bedside window of the sky bound home.

"Rarity, can you close the blinds?" came a soft mumble, Rainbow squinting in the sunlight. To her dismay, the white mare was not cradled in her arms. And even if she was, Rarity didn't have her horn for the next few hours. The bed left a crease where she had lain, the sheets emanating that almost spicy scent of the fabulous mare. Daring Do shirt was left on the side of the bed. Blue hoof reached up to feel for the safari hat, grasping at the rim before firmly flicking it at the blind catch. Suddenly, the sheet blind released and the blue material collapsed over the window.

"Hehe, still got it!" sniggered Dash as she turned herself over and sunk lethargically into the pillow.

Rarity had to leave bright and early; she had been told to meet Twilight the day before, to have an update on the entire situation. The treehouse was eerily quiet as the white mare approached, giving a timid knock on the door before pushing it open. She still didn't have her horn back, those newly formed wings giving a twitch, folded to her back as she made her way into the voluminous library.

"Twilight? Are you home?" asked Rarity to the darkness inside, "Spike? Hello?"

It might have been the early morning, but the drawing of the curtains left the once humble library almost feeling like a dark, oaken tomb. Something definitely wasn't right; Twilight was an early riser and could normally be found in the library either studying or writing.

The delicate silence was shattered by the slam of the doorway, cutting off the last source of natural light. Even with the little notches here and there in the ancient bark, the entire innards of the arbor was bathed in a sickening, foul glow. And in the midst of it all, a silhouetted figure stood in the corner.

A little glint of relief slipped itself carefully to Rarity's muzzle, "Oh Twilight, there you are. Are you averted to sunlight now? Not a vampire, are you?"

That figure barely moved, as if it were a pony carved in solid stone, judging silently like a statue. But gradually, menacingly, it began to circle the lone mare, pacing around the room with heavy clops from heavy hooves.

"A vampire?" whispered a plain reply from the circling figure, "Everypony knows monsters don't exist..."

The scene was obviously rather nerve-racking, the elegant white pegasus giving a soft, appropriate laugh to try and draw some warmth from her strange acting friend. Slowly but surely, Twilight began to join in. A sweet, innocent chuckle at first that slowly began to divulge into hysterics. Not only that, but a drop in pitch would take place. An almost...ghostly inflection within the base tone of the laugh, an echo without the space to cause one. That voice began to mature, the age passing that of a mere filly. And it kept going, evolving into an evil, ancient cackle.

Meanwhile, Dash was starting her day, if a bit late, with some cloud busting. She had flopped out of bed, had a quick wash and was out for some work. In such a season, all the pegasi were busy breaking through the thick blanket of clouds that tended to form. Not only was it easy exercise, it allowed many to practice their flying skill and dexterity. Soon enough, Dash was coming back into land, having left the bedroom in it's messy state. She decided to get the cleaning done and out the way, wanting to make sure things were neat if Rarity chose to stay over once again. Teeth would nip at the bed sheets, pulling them into each corner and setting the flat. Curious nose gave a little sniff to the soft fabric, savouring the scent of the white filly she adored so much.

Head would slip up off the covers, taking a quick peek over her room. A short dash over to the window to check if there were any flyers looking in. As soon as she was sure the coast was clear, the blue pegasus pounced into the fragrant bed sheets, pulling them over herself in a big, duvet-dash burrito. Nostrils flared as she smothered herself in the Rarity scented covers.

"Oh Celestia, I'm weird. Like...Pinkie Pie weird," sighed Dash, still shameless indulging in her bed bound bath.

It was sometime before she pulled herself off the bed, the lightning sheets now being more 'dashing' than 'rare'. That happy smile soon turned to a frown as she looked back to the once freshly made bed she had just messed up. "Ah dang it!"

With the bed tended to, Rainbow soared back down to Ponyville to meet up with her partner. She decided to check the Carousel Boutique, having not been left a note indicated where her lover had gone. She hoped everything was okay!

"Rainbow Dash," called the white mare from behind Rainbow as she was about to knock on the boutique's door. A bright smile lit up on her face as she spun round, enveloping her girlfriend in a warm hug, "Rari'! You left pretty early this morning."

"So?" snapped Rarity back, slipping out from the embrace, "I had some business to attend to!"

It was quite an unusual outburst, Dash unsure of what had happened to cause it. The rainbow filly recoiled back a bit, looking a tad guilty of a crime she didn't even realise she had committed!

"I'm sorry Rari'!" bleated the perplexed Dash to her upset partner.

But even with the apology, the venom would not drain from the unicorn's stare, "It's fine. All I need you to do is love me, Dash. You DO love me, don't you?"

It was almost as if Dash was being interrogated, the stern Rarity not showing any compassion in her approach.

"But of course I do, Rarity. You know I do."

"Good, then everything's fine."

Before Rainbow could follow up, Rarity had turned around and trotted off down the road. Although a prideful mare, Dash seemed to respond rather oddly to the rejection and viciousness from her angered girlfriend. She was worried about her, concerned that she let her down in some way. But she loved her even more for it. It was her love that kept her strong all those times before.

For the rest of the day, Dash had not seen sight nor sound of Rarity. It was as if she had disappeared from Ponyville! What had Dash done to make her so upset? Had Dash been in the wrong this time? She couldn't give anymore than she already had done; the sacrifices she had made for Rarity were too embarrassing and numerous to recount. And yet, every time she began to feel hate, the memory of her scent or of the warmth of her lips brought her back into deep feelings of love and compassion. Stranger still, that love almost seemed to drain the over-active, athletic mare, making her feel worn out and lethargic.

Day soon turned to night, leaving Dash laying alone in her bed, the sweet scent of Rarity barely registered in the sheets. All she could do was slump there and stare at the ceiling. Her heart was heavy and her body was weak, a good combination to drift off to sleep. What a roller coaster of a day it had been.

However, sleep brought no refuge. Dash found herself in a nightmare. Darkness was around her, encircling her at every move or shift, as if the very shadow was following her. Dark silhouettes stood barely visible from the unending black. The shapes of unicorns stamping their hooves, screaming in rage, pointing their hooves in blame at the frightened Dash. Only words would burst from the defeating silence: 'freak', 'unloved', 'your fault'. Accusations from the dark figures, that Dash had failed and that she didn't love Rarity enough.

And behind that seemingly unending darkness, stood the grand Princess Luna. She was out of Rainbow's view, looking into the sphere of darkness the rainbow pony was trapped within. A frown took to the royal muzzle. No matter what she spoke, no matter what she did, Dash could not see her presence. She was under a blinding veil from the encroaching shadow. This wasn't a nightmare, it was dark magic.

Meanwhile, far from Ponyville, the darkness of the Everfree Forest seemed to claw hungrily at its borders. Jutting spines of black from the unending tree line cut at the surrounding plains, yielding to neither light nor sight nor the very wind itself. A haunted place that held many secrets and a great many horrors. And in the middle, kept in a thorny crown of a dark glade, three ponies were found. Or, more likely, kept.

The deathly scrub opened from a single track leading in, the entrance a decrepit archway of splintered tree branches and nobbled, rotten limbs. The grove was lit in a sickening moonlight which decayed through the foul canopy above. A dark mist poured from the unwelcome marshes, spewing a chilling stank of smoke and fog, coating the very ground that lay suffocated below. Within this pit of despair and corrupted nature, two gatherings of green slime sat piled high. The nasty muck seemed to act as holding cells, capsules for unlucky prisoners. The front layer was almost clear, showing out and into a reasonable degree of transparency.

Blue-powdered lids would slowly open as Rarity regained her lost consciousness. Within the capsule came an echo, the slow stirrings soon turning to panicked breathing. She looked around for an escape, the walls like cold glue and unbroken rubber. No matter where her hooves pushed, the sickly green mush wouldn't give way. Normally, Rarity wouldn't panic, but after being taken by the monster in the form of Twilight, she couldn't take any chances.

Her eyes would fall upon the cell beside her. Twilight! She could just make out the purple unicorn and Spike, both stuffed into the same gooey prison. Except, for them, the cell was full. Both seemed to be floating about in a thick gel, eyes closed and chest not moving, almost as of they were dead. Rarity prayed they weren't dead.

A figure began to appear on that track, slowly forming from the fog of the marsh. It didn't take long for Rarity to take note of the familiar purple curl, the brilliant white coat and that elegant trot she had perfected herself. She was soon staring at a version of herself, the one in front of her having a nasty grin on her face, rather than the horrified worry that Rarity was sporting.

"You know, I just might keep this look," began the dark imposter as a hoof flicked at her mock mane, "It really does suit me. Your Rainbow seems to think so too!"

No matter how frightened she was, Rarity would not stay silent as this went on, "Let me out of here, you beast! If you touch a hair on her head..."

"You'll do what? Design an unfashionable dress? Force me to do some of your pathetic chores? Stop loving me?"

A nasty smirk plastered itself on the doppelgänger's muzzle, "Can you not feel it? The heat, the passion, the energy! The taste of it, the satisfaction of being wanted."

Eyes would flash a dark green, showing a glance of the creature beneath the disguise, "She treasures you, you know. I was expecting to feed off the friendship of you six little maggots. But the love she has for you...oh, it's more than I could have hoped for! And I thought the Royal Couple were a feast; they're a slim starter compared to this plentiful main course!!"

Rarity had to stop this. She didn't know how she could, but she had to stop this. Hooves dug deep into that goo, clawing at the surface in hopes of breaking through. It may have felt like rubber, but it was resilient as stone. Around her, the slimy walls began to spew the gel that her two friends were suspended in.

"Thing is, I have to keep those two fools here, so they won't get in the way. But I'm not feasting on them anymore." A dark tone slipped into the stolen voice as the false Rarity watched the other panic in her quickly filling tomb, "But you. The bond you and Dash share is what I'm gorging on. I doubt you'll make it a day before you’re nothing but a husk. And then the connection will be broken; Dash will love me. And I will be strong once again!"

The cell was to be her tomb. Beforehand, she cried in anger at the creature that had trapped her there. But now, all she could scream was one name. One solitary name. Barely leaking the walls of her prison, that single name echoed deeper and deeper in the filling capsule. And with the last gasp of air, she gave it to that name. She gave it to her beloved. Rainbow Dash.