Army Of Shadowsby lordcurly972ChaptersBad Moon RisingSkeletonsJadedFrom FinnerBad Moon RisingRainbow Dash coughed up blood as she fell to the ground. She cringed in pain as she tried to roll over onto her back. Her body was battered and broken, everything ached. She placed a hoof on her chest and inhaled deeply. Her lungs flared up in pain, it felt as if she had been stabbed several times in the chest. She continued to lie there, looking around at her surroundings. Fire and ash rained down from the sky. What was left of Ponyville was left to burn. All of the businesses and homes destroyed and set ablaze. She rolled and looked up at the sky, she was just about to cry when she heard a noise in front of her. She darted her head upright hoping it wasn’t who she thought it was. As the figure grew closer her fears were confirmed. A fiendish grin spread across the figures face when the figure noticed the fear in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. Rainbow Dash tried to put on her best brave face as the figure grew closer. “Come back to finish me off?” Rainbow Dash said gulping down the lump that had formed in her throat, she never thought she would be afraid of Scootaloo, but ever since Shadow Dash had possessed her she had become an absolute tyrant. “On the contrary,” Scootaloo said chuckling a little, “I’ve come to offer you a proposition.” “So you think you could nearly beat me to death, burn down Ponyville, kill all my friends and then expect me to listen to anything you have to say,” Rainbow snapped straightening up into a sitting position. Her bones creaked and groaned as she sat up, “you must be denser than I thought.” “Look Rainbow, I didn’t enjoy doing all of those things, I was just following orders,” Scootaloo said sitting down beside Rainbow Dash and throwing her foreleg around her shoulders, “And I’d appreciate it if you would just hear me out.” Rainbow Dash turned away indicating she wanted no part of it, but Scootaloo continued anyways. “I’ve come to ask you to join our side, to join my side,” she said, “Imagine it; you and I having ponies bowing at our hooves as we pass, everypony fearing us. We could have anything we want.” Rainbow Dash turned to look her in the eyes, causing Scootaloo to continue onwards. “Just think, you could have the Wonderbolts performing for you every day and night if you wish. Heck! You could even become one! So, what do ya say?,” Scootaloo stopped and waited for Rainbow to respond. “Go to hell,” Rainbow muttered under her breath. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Scootaloo said leaning in closer to Rainbow. “I said, go to hell!” Rainbow shouted sending a powerful right hook to the side of Scootaloos head. The action caused her entire body to ignite in pain. She fell back on her back, as her breathing began to grow more and more troubled. That hit had taken all she had left; she hoped it was a good one. She rolled her head over to see if she had knocked Scootaloo out. To her horror, Scootaloo was picking herself up. Rainbow knew she was in for a world of hurt. She watched as Scootaloo wiped blood from her mouth, her look growing more and more grimace. She slowly trotted over to Rainbow. “So that’s how it’s going to be huh?” Scootaloo asked standing over Rainbow Dash, “Any last words?” Rainbow Dash cleared her throat and spit into Scootaloos eye. Scootaloo growled with anger and didn’t say another word. She kicked Rainbow Dash over onto her stomach and placed a hoof at the base of her neck. “Equestria could have been ours to own,” she said as she leaned closer to Rainbow’s ear, “It’s just too bad.” Scootaloo mashed her hoof down as hard as possible, causing Rainbow’s neck to snap. “AHHHHHHH!” Rainbow Dash screamed as she awoke from her nightmare. She was drenched in sweat, so much so she could feel her mane sticking to her forehead. She reached up to brush it aside, but realized it wasn’t her mane stuck to her forehead, it was a bandage. Wait, why was she even alive? Last thing she remembered was Scootaloo leaving her to burn to death in her house. Her heart sank at the thought of Scootaloo. She couldn’t believe what had happened to her. She sat up right against a head board behind her. Where was she? She looked around the room, this wasn’t her house. The room was only illuminated by a single candle to the right side of the bed she was in, so it was hard to see anything that would indicate to who’s home she was in. She looked to her left and noticed a few crooked hanging pictures on the wall. She threw the covers off and walked around the bed to get a better look. There were two ponies in one picture, a filly and I suppose the other was her dad. The colt was a unicorn with a curly brown mane, a light brown coat and green eyes. The filly next to him looked a bit familiar, but she couldn’t recall where she had seen her before. The filly was also a unicorn with a long red mane, freckles, an eggshell white coat and purple eyes. She continued to stare at the photos when suddenly she remembered where she had seen the filly before. She was one of the ponies that found her in Scootaloos house and brought her out just before it collapsed in on itself. She was just about to look at another one of the pictures when she heard the door creak open. She turned to see the same filly from the photos walking in with a tray of food in her mouth. She placed the tray on the floor to speak. “Oh good, you’re awake,” She started, “Daddy and I were growing worried that you wouldn’t wake up.” “Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have if you guys hadn’t have saved me,” Rainbow Dash said rubbing the back of her head out of nervousness, “Thank you, I owe you my life.” “Don’t mention it, it’s not like we could’ve left you there,” she said as she picked the tray up again and placed it on the bed, “I’m Eleanor Rose by the way, but you can call me Ellie. And my dad’s Curly Q.” “Well hello Ellie,” Rainbow Dash said as she walked over beside her, “And I don’t mean to be rude, but is this food for me because I’m starved.” Ellie nodded and stepped out of Rainbows way so she could eat. “I’m Rainbow Dash, but my friends just call me Rainbow for short,” Rainbow Dash stated as she began to chow down. “It’s very nice to meet you Rainbow Dash,” Ellie stated with a chipper tone in her voice, “Do you think when you’re finished eating you could go and introduce yourself to dad, he would be so glad to see that you’re okay.” Rainbow nodded as she continued to slurp down food. Ellie gave her a quick smile and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Once Rainbow had finished eating she walked out of her room and into the hallway. The rest of the house outside was just like her room, only lit with various candles placed around the house. . Their power must’ve been out. She also began to notice that all the windows were boarded up, she couldn’t find a viable explanation for this. They seemed like nice enough folks, so there had to be a reason for it. She continued to walk through the house until she noticed two shadows dancing on a wall at the other end of the living room. She could tell one was Ellie; the other must’ve been Curly Q. She walked to the end of the living room and saw that they were standing in the kitchen. “Ah, so you are awake,” Curly Q exclaimed when he caught sight of Rainbow. “What? Did you think I was lying?” Ellie asked in an angry tone. “No honey, I just…I don’t know… you do tend to lie often,” Curly Q said jokingly. Ellie smiled and gave him a playful shove, “I never lie!” “Oh please! I could already see your nose growing,” he responded. Ellie squealed in surprise and reached up to grab her nose. “Gotcha,” Curly teased. Rainbow giggled at this sight, she could truly see that they cared for each other. It made her think of her and Scootaloo. Her expression saddened and Curly must’ve taken notice. “I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to leave you out,” he said, “you could come and joke with us if you want.” Rainbow laughed, “No that’s fine I was just thinking about somepony special to me.” “Is it Scootaloo?” Ellie asked. “Yeah, how’d you know?” Rainbow asked shocked that Ellie knew about Scootaloo. “You kept mumbling her name in your sleep,” Ellie responded, “Who is she?” “Eleanor Rose!” Curly scolded, “Don’t prod; it’s none of your business. You could clearly see she was hurting.” “No, no,” Rainbow Dash responded, “It’s quite alright. Scootaloo was an orphan I took under my wing and loved like a sister.” “What happened to her?” Ellie continued to pry. Curly shot her a displeased look. “We were throwing a party at her house when a pitch black pony that kind of looks like me attacked,” Rainbow continued, “She came through the ceiling and possessed Scootaloo. She turned her against me and Scootaloo and I fought, she knocked me out, leaving me to burn in her house. And that’s when you guys saved me.” A deathly eerie silence fell upon the house. Neither of her saviors wanted to speak, but Ellie decided that it would be her to talk first. “Sweet Celestia, that’s horrible!” she exclaimed. All Rainbow could do was hang her head in agreement. “We’ve had a run in with her as well,” Curly Q started, “She almost got Ellie here, that was moments before we found you.” “I would be a goner if my dad hadn’t have been there to save me, “Ellie exclaimed jumping up onto Curlys back to give him a hug. Rainbow Dash looked at how happy they were, she couldn’t imagine what either of them would go through if something happened to the other. She began to think back to how happy they looked in the pictures and noticed something odd. “I noticed that Ellies mom wasn’t in any of the pictures in my room,” Rainbow Dash stated. Ellies joking attitude ceased, she jumped down of her dads back and ran out of the room crying. She ran into a room in the back of the house and slammed the door shut behind her. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Rainbow Dash clambered, “I didn’t mean to upset her.” “I know, I know,” Curly sighed, “its ok you didn’t know.” “I know, but I shouldn’t have pried,” Rainbow Dash said truly feeling like an ass for what she had done, “Like you told Ellie earlier, it was none of my business.” “You were just curious is all,” Curly said calmingly sitting down at the kitchen table, “Don’t worry she’ll be fine in a couple of hours, she just needs to be left alone for a while.” “So what happened to her, did Shadow Dash get to her?” Rainbow Dash asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. “Who’s Shadow Dash?” Curly asked, shooting Rainbow a confused look. “I’ve decided to call the pitch black pony that,” Rainbow Dash explained, “You know, because she looks so much like me. “Basically like your shadow,” Curly Q said catching on, “Any way, Ellie’s mother died when she was very young, causing her to be orphaned. She was put into a home and I adopted her when she was about four. We’ve been inseparable ever since.” “I feel so bad for bringing it up,” Rainbow stated hanging her head, “but she’s lucky to have you as a father, you two look so happy together.” “Yeah, I don’t know what I would do without her,” Curly chuckled to himself, “She truly is my best friend.” Suddenly Rainbow Dash remembered her friends, she didn’t even know if they made it of Scootaloo’s. “I’ve gotta go find my friends!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she took off towards the door. “Wait! Stop!” Curly shouted after her. She opened the door to step out and was horrified at the scene that lay outside. Ponyille was set ablaze. Buildings were burning and crumbling to the ground, just like in her nightmare. Author's Note After a long leave of absence I'm finally back with the sequel of Shadow Dash. I will post each chapter every wednesday (hopefully.) Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. I can only better myself by you guys telling me whats wrong. I hope Army of Shadows is to everyone's liking. SkeletonsRainbow Dash continued to stare in horror at the devastation that lay beyond the doorway. She was set in a trance; she just couldn’t believe what had happened to Ponyville. The only thing that broke her out of it was suddenly being tugged back into the house. “What do you think you’re doing?” Curly Q asked throwing Rainbow back into the house and slamming the door behind him, “You trying to get yourself killed?” “What… what happened?” Rainbow stammered, “What happened to Ponyville?” “Shadow Dash’s army happened to Ponyville,” Curly responded peeking through a space in one of the boarded up windows, “You’re lucky nopony spotted you.” “Wait, army?” Rainbow Dash asked standing up, “The last I remembered it was only Shadow and Scootaloo. She has an army now?” Curly sighed, “You’ve been comatose for several weeks now. You suffered quite the head injury and the smoke inhalation didn’t do you any favors. We kept under constant watch and you finally pulled through. But, while you were out the mare you call ‘Shadow Dash’ wreaked havoc on Ponyville. Anyone she caught sight of she possessed and forced them to join her army. Many banded together to form a resistance, but we thought it better to try and stay out of sight and remain safe.” Rainbow Dash stared at the floor to let all this information soak in. “If you say a group of ponies got together and formed a resistance, my friends are most likely with them,” Rainbow Dash stated as she started for the door. “What makes you so sure,” Curly said as she intersected her at the door, “I know you care for them Rainbow, but you don’t know what it’s like out there. There’s a chance Shadow’s already gotten to them.” “They would do the same for me, they’ve never given up on me,” Rainbow stated sternly, “And I’m not about to give up on them.” “Okay, I’ll let you go,” Curly said finally stepping away from the door. As Rainbow Dash stepped forward, he grabbed her by the shoulder, “But I’m not letting you go alone. You’ve been out of it for so long. I imagine you could use some assistance.” Rainbow Dash smiled, “Thanks, but I don’t want to put you guys in any danger.” “I insist, we’ve been hiding away for so long, it’s time we finally took action and fought back against Shadow,” Curly responded, returning Rainbows smile. “Alright!” they heard Ellie shout from behind them, “It’s about time we go and kick some shadow mares ass!” Curly laughed, “Where’d you learn to talk like that?” “From you of course,” Eleanor responded, “You should hear him when company’s not over.” Rainbow Dash chuckled, “Thanks, I really appreciate your assistance. But are you completely certain this is something you want to do?” Curly pondered for a moment,” No, but life’s full of uncertainties, sometimes you’ve just got to go against your gut feeling.” “I’m glad, but I only have one question,” Rainbow stated. “Yeah, and what would that be?” Curly asked beginning to pack a saddlebag for their journey. “Does anypony know where this resistance is holding up?” Rainbow Dash responded. Curly didn’t say anything, but Ellie spoke up, “I do.” “How do you know where they are?” Curly asked quizzically. Ellie shrugged, “I get around.” “Shhh, get down,” Curly whispered and ducked down behind a water trough. They got down just in time to see three shadow possessed ponies walk by on patrol. Rainbow poked her head over the trough to see if she could figure out who they were before Shadow Dash got to them. One was a pegasus and the other two were earth ponies. She waited tell there cutie marks came into view and was shocked to find out who the pegasus was. It was Derpy, it nearly brought Rainbow to tears. Derpy was so innocent, and now she’s been transformed into some destructive monster. Rainbow continued to watch as the group passed by the muffin shop. Rainbow wanted to see if there was still any of Derpy left in her. Derpy paused in front of the muffin shops door and kind of cocked her head sideways like a dog. Then a fiendish grin spread across her face and she took off full speed into the shop. Rainbow could hear glass breaking and pots and pans being tossed around inside. Within a few minutes the shop suddenly burst into flames and out came Derpy. Not a single muffin in her mouth or hoof, she destroyed the shop for the mere sense of destruction. “Come on,” Rainbow said turning away, “Let’s find the resistance.” They continued to trudge through what was left of Ponyville for another fifteen minutes before finally stopping in front what Rainbow believed used to be Berry Punch’s drink shop. “Is this it?” Rainbow asked Ellie. Ellie nodded and motioned for them to approach the door. Curly and Rainbow got on either side of the door and prepared for somepony to attack. Curly signaled Ellie to open the door. Ellie pushed it open and peered inside. “All clear,” she told her protectors. The group proceeded inside and began to look around. “It appears to be empty, are you sure this is where they’re supposed to be hiding out?” Curly asked. “Yeah, how’d you find out they were supposed to be here anyways?” Rainbow Dash chimed in as she continued to search the room. All she could find were several broken wine bottles and a few bills of sale. “I heard some ponies talking outside my window one night about the resistance. They said they were heading back to the safe house, so I followed them. They went in here but I didn’t come inside. One turned to the window I was looking and I ducked down to avoid her sight. When I looked back inside they were gone,” Ellie explained. “You followed strangers to an abandoned building when you knew that ‘thing’ could’ve snatched you up?!” Curly said in a loud whisper, “She could’ve taken you away and I wouldn’t have known what happened to you.” “I’m sorry, but we needed to know where this place was. We needed to stop hiding and take action,” Ellie responded beginning to raise her voice. “But there is nopony here!” Curly shouted. He immediately realized what he had done. Everypony stopped breathing and listened intently for any signs of danger. After what felt like an eternity, Ellie finally spoke up. “I know they’re here, they couldn’t have just vanished into thin air,” she said, her voice returned to a whisper, “There’s got to be a secret compartment or hideaway in here somewhere. Suddenly, Rainbow remembered seeing something odd. Only one wine bottle on a shelf on the left side of the shop was not broken and still had its label. And in every Daring Do movie meant that it was a lever that opened a secret entrance. She walked over to the bottle and tried to pull it off the shelf. It didn’t budge, so she pulled it downwards. There was a click and the sound of cogs turning. There was a sliding noise from behind her, she turned around and sure enough, a shelf was sliding out of the way to reveal a hidden door. Meanwhile, Ellie and Curly were still arguing about anypony actually being here or not, “Um, guys.” Ellie and Curly turned towards Rainbow. “I think I found the entrance,” she said with a smug look on her face. Curly turned towards Ellie and gave her a weak smile. She stuck her tongue out as if to say I told you so. Rainbow pressed herself up against the door and held a hoof to her mouth, signaling the others to keep quite. She turned the knob a slowly opened the door, she peered inside. Torches lined a hallway, illuminating it. She motioned for the others to follow her. They crept through the hallway until finally coming to a large open room. A large round table sat in the center and at least eight chairs sat around it. Rainbow was just about to walk into the room to get a closer look when somepony grabbed her from behind and held a knife to her throat. “What do y’all think yer doing in here?” a voice called out from behind her as the knife pressed harder against her throat. “We’re sorry, we were just looking for the resistance. We don’t mean any harm we just…,” Rainbow trailed off, “Wait, I know that voice. Applejack?” “Rainbow Dash? Is it really you?” Applejack asked as she lowered the knife from her throat, “You’re alive!” Rainbow Dash turned around to get a better look at her friend and noticed two other ponies had Curly and Ellie in a head lock. “Uh, Applejack, could you tell your friends to release my friends?” Rainbow asked pointing behind Applejack. “Oh, right,” She said signaling for them to release Ellie and Curly, “Sorry ‘bout that.” “I couldn’t believe you couldn’t recognize me,” Rainbow Dash said, “I’m like the only pony with a rainbow mane, kind of hard to miss.” “Oh yeah, about that,” Applejack said as she stepped out of the shadows. She had an eye patch covering her left eye, “I can’t see as well as I used too on account of this eye patch.” “Oh man, what happened?” Rainbow Dash asked. “When that shadow menace attacked Scootaloos and set it ablaze, I suffered third degree burns to the left side of my face,” Applejack said as she lifted her eye patch, revealing several layers of scar tissue that cover the majority of the left side of her face. “Sweet Celestia!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Applejack laughed and quickly covered her eye back up. Curly and Ellie returned to Rainbows side and their two captors stepped out of the shadows. They were ponies Rainbow Dash had seen around Ponyville, but never really got to know. One was a unicorn with an aquamarine mane with white highlights and a light green coat. She had some sort of musical instrument as a cutie mark but Rainbow Dash didn’t know the name of it. The other was an earth pony with a purple and pink mane, a tan coat and three pieces of candy as her cutie mark. “Girls, I’d like ya tah meet Lyra and Bon Bon, my two best scouts,” Applejack said motioning towards the other two ponies. “Hey what’s up, I’m Lyra and this is Bon Bon,” Lyra said as she approached Rainbow Dash and the others, “Sorry we kind of held you captive.” “Yeah, what the hell was that about anyways?” Ellie shouted, “We don’t even remotely look like Shadow Dash’s goons.” “Just because most were possessed doesn’t mean that others didn’t just join her side out of fear of being possessed,” Bon Bon said, “You can never be to safe.” “Hold a knife to my throat again, and you’d wished I was possessed!” Ellie retorted. “Boy, does she have a mouth on her,” Curly said pushing Ellie behind him, “We’re sorry; we’re just a little high strung. I don’t know who we can trust right now, but you folks seem nice enough. So let’s start over, I’m Curly Q and this is Ellie.” “Nice to meet you two and we could use a brave kid like you in the resistance,” Lyra said, “That is what you guys are here for isn’t it, to join?” “You betcha!” Ellie shouted, jumping over her dad to be in front, “I wanna kick the living snot out of that no good son of a…” Curly cut her off, “Yeah, we’re here to join.” “Good, I’ll give ya the run down,” Applejack said motioning for them to leave the hallway, “And boy howdy the others are gonna be rip roarin happy to see you’re okay Rainbow.” “I knew they were alive!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed doing a flying backflip, “So where are they now?” “They’ve run over to Twilights to gather a few spell books we made need,” Applejack said sitting down at the table; she motioned for the others to join her. “Oh wow! This is so exciting,” Ellie piped up, “We’re like the knights of the round table, except we’re fighting a demon pony instead of a dragon.” The group sat around the table for several minutes just catching up and being briefed on what the resistance hoped to accomplish. Rainbow also informed Applejack at how Ellie and Curly save her and took care of her. Everypony was having a good time until they heard the front door of the shop open and close. Applejack shushed the room and walked to the secret door. She pressed her right ear against the door and held her knife high above her head. “What are you doing?” Ellie whispered. “Listening fer the secret knock, now shhh,” Applejack responded never removing her ear from the door. Everyponys heart stopped beating, no pony made a sound, no pony breathed. They could hear whoever was outside the door walking around. They walked over to where Applejack was and then there was five really fast knocks on the wall followed one last knock. Applejack opened the door, “Took you guys long enough, did ya bring the whole tree with ya or something?” “We would’ve been done faster if some of Shadow Dash’s goons hadn’t have shown up,” Twilight answered as she stepped inside, “Gave me a chance to use my freezing spell though, so I guess it wasn’t that bad.” “Yeah, I guess you could say Twilight had a hankering for…,” Pinkie began, everypony could tell she was about to crack a joke, “…shadow-cicles!” Twilight rolled her eyes and walked into the main room, she stopped dead when she caught a glimpse of Rainbow. “What, what is it Twilight?” Rarity asked as she and the others stepped in behind Twilight, her questions were soon answered. “What? Surprised to see me?” Rainbow asked as her friends all caught sight of her. And with that they all ran at each other and met with a big group hug. Applejack soon shut the door and joined them in their moment. “I’m so happy to finally see all you guys,” Rainbow said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. “Well isn’t this just a touching sentiment,” a voice shouted from behind them. Everypony turned towards the hallway, and assumed attack position. “I thought I froze you two?” Twilight said menacingly. “Well here’s a fact nimrod, ice thaws,” one of Shadow Dash’s minions responded, “Just because its magic ice doesn’t mean it doesn’t act like regular ice.” “What do you brutes want?” Rarity chimed in. “What we want is to remove the thorn in our masters side that is the resistance once and for all!” the front minion shouted, “FUCK ‘EM UP!” Author's Note I finished chapter 2 early, so I decided to upload it early. And remember, if anyone see's anything wrong, or something that doesn't make sense or something that they don't like, let me know and I will try and fix it. Thank you and enjoy. JadedThe room erupted into violence. A group of shadow minions charged full sprint into the room, head long into the eight ponies willing to protect themselves at any cost. Curly ducked Eleanor down under the table. “Stay under here, don’t move,” Curly told her. “Dad, I’m scared!” she said, beginning to cry. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you,” he responded, kissing her on the forehead and ducking out from under the table to help his new friends. He came out just in time to see Applejack grab one by the head and twisting, snapping his neck. He was too caught up in watching this that he didn’t see the minion come up to him. He felt a sharp pain in his side. He screamed in pain and quickly retaliated in a devastating left hook. He clutched his side, he felt the warm sensation of blood on his hoof, but he didn’t have time to worry about himself. He needed to make sure Ellie was safe. He hobbled over to Twilight. “Do you have a plan?” he asked helping her fight off the attacking hoard. “Yeah, but there’s to many for me to focus my magic, I need you guys to protect me,” Twilight responded. “You work on that spell and leave the rest to us,” Curly said jumping into the brawl with the rest of the ponies, “Twilight needs us to hold them off as long as possible so she can cast a spell. We must do anything we can to make sure she can cast that spell!” “Curly, you’re hurt!” Lyra shouted as she stabbed a shadow minion in the chest, and then slit her throat. “I’m fine, it’s just a scratch,” he said through gritted teeth, “I won’t let anything happen to Ellie!” The group nodded to him and charged the remaining shadow minions. Applejack grabbed one by the mane, dragged him to the table and violently slammed the minions head against the table, knocking him out cold. The body falling to the floor startled Ellie, causing her to back up further under the table. Pinkie grabbed a bat from the corner and cracked it across one’s legs, shattering the bat into two pieces. As the minion fell to the floor clutching her broken knee, Pinkie took one of the broken pieces and jammed it into her eye socket. “A few more minutes,” Twilight instructed. “We may not have much more time,” Applejack shouted back as she took as surprise blow to the head. She fell back against the wall and the minion was just about to land the finishing blow when Bon Bon broke a chair against his back. The minion slumped over at Applejacks feet and Bon Bon reached out a hoof to help her up. You’re not getting out of this that easily,” she said pulling Applejack to her feet. Applejack gave her a smile and noticed Twilight behind her. She was levitating off the floor, and purple waves were pulsating off her body. The brawl ceased as everypony stopped to see this spectacle. A white orb suddenly appeared above her head and began growing in size with every second. “Everypony get behind me!” Twilight shouted as the orb grew bigger than her. Not a second was wasted, everypony jumped behind Twilight just as she released the orb. Sending it hurdling towards what was left of the mob. There was a burst of white light as the light collided with the shadow minions. Everypony ducked down and shielded their eyes. When the smoke had finally cleared and the only sound being heard in the room was their breathing, they all looked up to see what had happened. The room was empty; there was a scorch mark at the front of the room where the minions previously were. Nothing else was left. You vaporized them,” Rainbow Dash stated as she walked out from behind the bookshelf she was hiding behind. Twilight picked herself up off the floor and kind of wobbled before finally getting her balance. It must’ve taken a lot out of her. “There not dead, I just sent them someplace else,” she said rubbing her head, “Now, could you guys keep it down, I have an extremely bad headache.” “Well, where’d you send them?” Lyra asked. Twilight gave her a groggy look, “I have no idea; the only thing I could control is the spell. For all I know they could be just right outside our door.” They remained quiet; nopony dared speak anymore after seeing what Twilight just did. A door creaked open at the back of the room and Fluttershy poked her head out and looked around. “Are they all gone?” she asked. “Have you been in there the whole time?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy stared at the floor and slowly walked out of the closet, “No.” Ellie crawled out from under the table and hugged her father. Only for him the yelp in pain and her hoof landing the blood that had nearly coated his side. “Oh my god, dad you’re hurt!” she shouted as she stared at his wound then at the blood on her hoof. “No, I’m fine… it’s just a…” he trailed off as he collapsed on the floor from lose of blood. Twilight quickly jumped up from her seat and ran over to him to check his pulse. “He’s still alive, but he’s lost a lot of blood,” Twilight exclaimed, “We need to get this wound disinfected and stitched up fast. Fluttershy grab the med-kit from that closet you were hiding in.” “Daddy!” Ellie cried as she tried to run up to him. Rainbow stopped her and held her. “Don’t worry, you’re dad’s going to be fine,” she said hugging her tighter. “There’s only gauze and a little antiseptic left,” Fluttershy said as she brought back what was left of the med-kit. “Damn,” Twilight cursed, “Well were going to have to make do with what we have. Applejack, apply pressure to his wound while I find something to seal it.” Applejack quickly took Twilight’s place as she got up to find something to seal his wound. She came back with a thin metal rod. “What do you plan to do with that?” Applejack asked as Twilight kneeled down beside her a Curly. “Hopefully the wound has had enough time to clot,” Twilight began explaining, “If I heat up this rod enough I can seal the wound by scarring it closed. Fluttershy pour a little antiseptic on a piece of gauze and hand it to me.” Fluttershy did what she was told and handed the gauze to Twilight. She dabbed Curly’s wound with the gauze then proceeded to heat the end of the rod using her magic. She waited until the tip beganto glow a bright red. She turned to Ellie, “Look away sweetie.” Ellie turned away just as Twilight began to slide the rod along Curly’s wound. Curly let out a blood curdling scream as the wound was sealed shut. The bleeding stopped and Curly fell back down against the floor. He was now wide awake. Rainbow Dash let Ellie out of her grasp and she ran over to Curly and gave him a hugged him as tight as she could, tears streaming down her face. “Shhh, it’s okay,” Curly said comforting, stroking her mane, “I’m okay, I’m not going anywhere.” Ellie sniffed and looked her dad in the eyes, “I don’t want to lose you. Promise me you won’t get hurt again.” “That’s a promise I can’t keep,” he said looking back into hers, “But I want you to know. I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. I could take hundreds more of these injuries just as long as I know you’re protected. Do you understand?” Ellie began to choke up, “Oh, dad.” Ellie hugged him once more then helped him up. He almost fell over but she was there to catch him. “Thank you for saving me,” Curly said as he leaned against the table. “No problem, after all, what are friends for?” Twilight responded giving Curly and Ellie a smile. Author's Note Sorry that this chapter is so short and sappy, but It's how I saw it playing out. From FinnerAs Applejack fixed the secret entrance, the rest of the ponies cleaned up the blood and moved the bodies outside. It was kind of sad, as Shadow Dash’s hold wore off of them, you could see who they were before. It was tragic that this was the way it had to be, but it was all about survival. Twilight was currently looking for a way to break them free of Shadow’s possession. During the squabble Applejack had knocked one out using the table. This shadow minion was spared from Twilight’s transportation spell, Twilight had hoped that she could use said minion to experiment on and hopefully be able to find the cure. The minion was currently tied up and passed out in a curtained off area of the hideout. Twilight had hoped to begin testing on him as soon as possible, but she needed certain supplies before she could begin. “Alright you guys gather around,” Twilight began, pulling out a map of Ponyville and motioning for everypony to sit at the table, “I’m going need everypony, but Curly and somepony else to help me watch him, to go out and gather supplies. I need somepony to go to the hospital and gather needed medical supplies, such as gauze, antiseptic, aspirin, and anything else we may need. Do I have any volunteers? “I’ll go,” Rainbow Dash said sitting up from the table. Twilight nodded, “Anypony going with her?” “Rainbows been out of the game for so long, I think she could use my help,” Applejack said putting her foreleg around Rainbows shoulders. “Good, now I’m going to need three of you guys to go to Zecora’s hut and bring back as many herbs and potions as you possibly can,” Twilight stated handing Rainbow and Applejack two saddlebags for the supplies. “Bon Bon and I’ll go with Pinkie Pie, after what she did to that minion with that bat, I’d love to have her fight by our side,” Lyra stated give Pinkie a playful punch in the shoulder. “Ahhh, It was nothing,” Pinkie said blushing. “That leaves Rarity, Ellie, and Fluttershy here with me to help keep an eye on Curly,” Twilight stated, handing three more saddlebags to Lyra’s group, “Now, I know I really don’t have to tell you guys this after what you’ve all been through, but please be careful.” The five going out nodded as they strapped their saddlebags to their backs and prepared to set out. They gave one last wave goodbye and then left. Rainbow and Applejack had been walking only a couple of blocks, but it felt like an eternity because neither of them had spoken a word. There seemed to be a certain tension between them all of a sudden, as if this was the first time Rainbow had met Applejack. “Applejack, what’s wrong?” Rainbow asked, “You seem distant.” Applejack stopped walking, “Look Rainbow, we’ve been through a lot. I have had to kill ponies, ponies that used to be my friends. This new world we live in has changed us, and I’m worried that if Twilight does find a cure if ah’ll be able to return to way things used to be.” “Applejack, you’re strong. You can take anything the world throws at you,” Rainbow said comfortingly, “It may take a while to get used to things when they’re normal, but like anything that takes time, it will get better soon and you will be fine.” Applejack began to sob, “You don’t understand! Things can never be normal, not like they used to be.” “Applejack, it’s ok. What’s wrong, what do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked. Applejack stared at the ground, she continued to cry. “Applejack, come on. Tell me what’s wrong,” Rainbow said lifting Applejacks head up with her hoof. “I had to kill Big Mac!” she shouted, bursting in to sobs again, “Shadow Dash got to him a few days after the attack on the party. We had gone to the apple farm to gather a few personal belongings when she swooped down and possessed him. He had resisted for as long as he could, but he knew he couldn’t hand on any longer.” Rainbow listened intently; it was hard to believe what Applejack was telling her. “He lied on the ground and told me that living under Shadow Dash’s tyranny was not a life worth living,” Applejack continued as tears streamed down her face, “So he told me to end it. ‘I don’t think I can’ I told him. But, he told me the exact thing you just said, he said, ‘Applejack, you’re a big girl. You can survive on just will alone and are as stubborn as an ox. But, you can’t let this world get the better of you. Anything it dishes out, you have to just come back fighting twice as hard.’ I looked him in the eyes one last time, told him I loved him and put him out of his misery.” Applejack stopped sobbing and looked up a Rainbow Dash. She wiped the tears off her face and waited for Rainbow Dash to say something. “Applejack… I’m so sorry,” Rainbow said giving Applejack a big hug, “But, he was right you know. You can’t let anything stop you; you have to keep moving forward if you don’t want this life to bring you down. He wanted you to keep fighting, and he will always be with you, in your memories.” Applejack smiled, “Don’t you go getting soft on me now. But thank you, you truly are a good friend.” They were about to get going again when they heard somepony or something bump a trashcan behind them. They quickly spun around and scanned the area for anything dangerous. Rainbow spotted something at the back of the street. A bit of red was sticking out from behind some rubble, a knocked over trashcan right beside it. Rainbow knew exactly who it was. “Ellie, what the hell are you doing out here!” She shouted in a loud whisper, “Aren’t you supposed to be inside with your dad?” Ellie stepped out from behind the rubble and walked up to Rainbow and Applejack. “I wanted to come with you guys,” Ellie said, “My dad got hurt trying to protect me. I don’t just want to sit in there and be useless, I want to help gather supplies. I want to actually make a difference.” “What, by getting yourself hurt or worse?” Rainbow said, “Your dad is going to be worried sick, we’re going back now. You can’t come with us.” “Rainbow please,” Ellie whined, “Wouldn’t you do the same if it was Scootaloo?” Rainbow stopped, she was taken aback that Ellie would try and use that against her. “Uh pardner,” Applejack said putting a hoof on Ellie’s shoulder to silence her, “Rainbow would do anything for Scootaloo. But, that’s different.” “How is that different? This is my dad and he said he would fight against the world to protect me, and wantto do the same for him,” Ellie said removing Applejack’s hoof from her shoulder and stepping in front of Rainbow Dash, “Now, you either let me help you guys, or I’ll go off on my own and do it myself.” Rainbow stared her in the eyes and gave her a smug smile, “You’ve got spunk kid. You’re lucky you’re cute or I’d have to beat the tar out of you.” Ellie smiled back, “Yeah, but I bet I could take you. You don’t look so tough.” “Oh really now,” Rainbow exclaimed grabbing Ellie playfully by the neck and messing her mane up. “Uh, guys ah’d hate to interrupt,” Applejack said pulling the two apart, “But, no one’s going to be saving anyone unless we get moving.” “She’s right,” Rainbow said clearing her throat, “Let’s get moving. Lyra and Bon Bon were watching Pinkie Pie bounce happily through the Everfree forest. “Pinkie your chipper attitude is simply astounding,” Lyra said, “How come you’re so happy all the time?” “I don’t know,” Pinkie answered as she stopped bouncing, this was the first time she had stood still ever since they left the hideout, “I guess I’m always looking on the bright side of things.” “Well, what do you see the bright side being about our current situation?” Bon Bon asked quizzically, “Equestria has fallen prey to a dark clone of one of your friends, Curly Q was injured in a skirmish and there is the possibility we may not all make it back to the safehouse. I’m really having trouble seeing the positive spin on all this.” Lyra stared at Bon Bon, “Wow! Let’s take it easy there Edgar Allen Pony. First off Equestria is not completely lost; I have complete and utter faith that we can save the day. And second Curly Q was only injured, he’ll pull through. His injuries could have been a lot worse. And why all of a sudden do you have this fear that we aren’t all going to make it. You act like this is our first time scavenging for supplies.” “I just have this nagging voice in the back of my mind that keeps telling me something terrible is going to happen,” Bon Bon said as they started walking again. “Bon Bon you really need to take a chill pill,” Lyra said shoving Bon Bon jokingly, “You could learn a lot from ol’ Pinkie here.” “Ohh, ohh,” Pinkie said spinning around to face Lyra and Bon Bon, “You want me to sing you guys the ‘Giggle at the Ghosties’ song? It may help us feel better.” “No,” Lyra and Bon Bon said in tandem. Applejack, Rainbow, and Ellie finally reached the hospital. The silence was deafening, the only thing that seemed to make a sound was the sound of wind blowing through the gutters, creating an awfully eerie whistling sound. Not only did it seem to quite, but there entire journey to the hospital they didn’t run into a single shadow patrol. No one was complaining, but it just made everything seem like it was a trap. Before entering the hospital, Rainbow Dash stood on the steps and made sure there wasn’t anything behind them. She made sure scan the surrounding area well in case anyone was lurking. She finally felt comfortable enough and went inside with the others, slowly closing the door behind as to not make any unnecessary noise. Applejack and Ellie were waiting in the lobby, searching various suitcases and purses for anything they may need. “Hey guys, look what I found,” Ellie said shining a light in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “Ahh,” Rainbow cried as the light it her in the eye, “Watch where you point that thing kid.” “Sorry,” Ellie said turning the light away from Rainbow and aimed it down the hall. Gurneys and wheelchairs gleamed as the light passed over them. Shadows danced on the wall at the end of the hall. The dank hospital air filled there nostrils, it smelled off stale air and bleach. They continued down the hallway until they found the first room that wasn’t locked. Applejack pulled out her knife and pressed her ear against the door and listened for anything on the other side. Finally she motioned that it was clear and opened the door. A cool breeze hit them in the face as soon as the door was completely opened. It felt nice compared to the stagnant air in the rest of the hospital. There were two beds in the room and somepony had left the window open. Applejack walked to the window and closed it. A bed side table sat beside one of the beds with several glass bottles sitting on top of it. Applejack walked over to the table and picked up one of the bottles. It read Morphine sulfate inj., USP 5 mg. She opened her saddlebag and scraped the table’s contents into it. They continued searching the room, finding various things such as clean needles, gauze, and bandages. They still needed to find some antiseptic. Applejack motioned that they were done with this room. Applejack opened the door a crack a peered out, she looked down both ends of the hallway and saw no one. They left the room and moved on to the next. They went from room to room finding various medicines such as aspirin, more morphine, and vitamin c pills. But they had yet to find a single bottle of antiseptic. Finally they came across a door labeled DR. REDHEART RN. Rainbow reached down and tried the knob. “Locked,” she whispered, “I bet if we were to find any of the good stuff, it would be in there.” “Yeah, but how do we get in without making too much noise?” Ellie asked, “You got a key?” “No, but I reckon that they had to keep a spare somewhere in this hospital. We might want to try back at the front desk, maybe the receptionist kept the spare,” Applejack said starting back to the front of the hospital. She was just about to round a corner when she saw two shadows appear on the wall. She motioned for everyone to back up and for Ellie to turn off her light. The shadows were getting closer and she could her them talking. It didn’t sound like anyone she knew. She tried the knob closest to them. Locked, she motioned for them to move further down the hallway and go back into the first room they were in. They went into the room and shut the door behind them. “Get as low as ya’ll possibly can,” she instructed sitting down against the bottom of the door. She stood up a bit and peered out the window. Down the hallway she could see the owners of the shadows. They were two of Shadow Dash’s minions. They were trying the door that they were previously at. Once they found out it was locked they continued down the hallway, trying every door along the way. Soon they would reach Applejacks door and find them inside. She reached up and tried to lock it, but found it needed a key. “What kind of shit head makes a door that needs to be locked with a key from the inside!” she whispered turning to Ellie and Rainbow, “Okay, no one panic. But, they’re making their way to us. Ellie hide under that bed there and Rainbow you come over here and squat on the other side of the door. When they open it, you grab one and I’ll grab the other.” Ellie cowered under the bed; she could feel her heart racing. She couldn’t help but thinking that this would be the end. She buried her head in her hooves, closed her eyes and waited for the sound of the door opening.
Bad Moon RisingRainbow Dash coughed up blood as she fell to the ground. She cringed in pain as she tried to roll over onto her back. Her body was battered and broken, everything ached. She placed a hoof on her chest and inhaled deeply. Her lungs flared up in pain, it felt as if she had been stabbed several times in the chest. She continued to lie there, looking around at her surroundings. Fire and ash rained down from the sky. What was left of Ponyville was left to burn. All of the businesses and homes destroyed and set ablaze. She rolled and looked up at the sky, she was just about to cry when she heard a noise in front of her. She darted her head upright hoping it wasn’t who she thought it was. As the figure grew closer her fears were confirmed. A fiendish grin spread across the figures face when the figure noticed the fear in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. Rainbow Dash tried to put on her best brave face as the figure grew closer. “Come back to finish me off?” Rainbow Dash said gulping down the lump that had formed in her throat, she never thought she would be afraid of Scootaloo, but ever since Shadow Dash had possessed her she had become an absolute tyrant. “On the contrary,” Scootaloo said chuckling a little, “I’ve come to offer you a proposition.” “So you think you could nearly beat me to death, burn down Ponyville, kill all my friends and then expect me to listen to anything you have to say,” Rainbow snapped straightening up into a sitting position. Her bones creaked and groaned as she sat up, “you must be denser than I thought.” “Look Rainbow, I didn’t enjoy doing all of those things, I was just following orders,” Scootaloo said sitting down beside Rainbow Dash and throwing her foreleg around her shoulders, “And I’d appreciate it if you would just hear me out.” Rainbow Dash turned away indicating she wanted no part of it, but Scootaloo continued anyways. “I’ve come to ask you to join our side, to join my side,” she said, “Imagine it; you and I having ponies bowing at our hooves as we pass, everypony fearing us. We could have anything we want.” Rainbow Dash turned to look her in the eyes, causing Scootaloo to continue onwards. “Just think, you could have the Wonderbolts performing for you every day and night if you wish. Heck! You could even become one! So, what do ya say?,” Scootaloo stopped and waited for Rainbow to respond. “Go to hell,” Rainbow muttered under her breath. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Scootaloo said leaning in closer to Rainbow. “I said, go to hell!” Rainbow shouted sending a powerful right hook to the side of Scootaloos head. The action caused her entire body to ignite in pain. She fell back on her back, as her breathing began to grow more and more troubled. That hit had taken all she had left; she hoped it was a good one. She rolled her head over to see if she had knocked Scootaloo out. To her horror, Scootaloo was picking herself up. Rainbow knew she was in for a world of hurt. She watched as Scootaloo wiped blood from her mouth, her look growing more and more grimace. She slowly trotted over to Rainbow. “So that’s how it’s going to be huh?” Scootaloo asked standing over Rainbow Dash, “Any last words?” Rainbow Dash cleared her throat and spit into Scootaloos eye. Scootaloo growled with anger and didn’t say another word. She kicked Rainbow Dash over onto her stomach and placed a hoof at the base of her neck. “Equestria could have been ours to own,” she said as she leaned closer to Rainbow’s ear, “It’s just too bad.” Scootaloo mashed her hoof down as hard as possible, causing Rainbow’s neck to snap. “AHHHHHHH!” Rainbow Dash screamed as she awoke from her nightmare. She was drenched in sweat, so much so she could feel her mane sticking to her forehead. She reached up to brush it aside, but realized it wasn’t her mane stuck to her forehead, it was a bandage. Wait, why was she even alive? Last thing she remembered was Scootaloo leaving her to burn to death in her house. Her heart sank at the thought of Scootaloo. She couldn’t believe what had happened to her. She sat up right against a head board behind her. Where was she? She looked around the room, this wasn’t her house. The room was only illuminated by a single candle to the right side of the bed she was in, so it was hard to see anything that would indicate to who’s home she was in. She looked to her left and noticed a few crooked hanging pictures on the wall. She threw the covers off and walked around the bed to get a better look. There were two ponies in one picture, a filly and I suppose the other was her dad. The colt was a unicorn with a curly brown mane, a light brown coat and green eyes. The filly next to him looked a bit familiar, but she couldn’t recall where she had seen her before. The filly was also a unicorn with a long red mane, freckles, an eggshell white coat and purple eyes. She continued to stare at the photos when suddenly she remembered where she had seen the filly before. She was one of the ponies that found her in Scootaloos house and brought her out just before it collapsed in on itself. She was just about to look at another one of the pictures when she heard the door creak open. She turned to see the same filly from the photos walking in with a tray of food in her mouth. She placed the tray on the floor to speak. “Oh good, you’re awake,” She started, “Daddy and I were growing worried that you wouldn’t wake up.” “Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have if you guys hadn’t have saved me,” Rainbow Dash said rubbing the back of her head out of nervousness, “Thank you, I owe you my life.” “Don’t mention it, it’s not like we could’ve left you there,” she said as she picked the tray up again and placed it on the bed, “I’m Eleanor Rose by the way, but you can call me Ellie. And my dad’s Curly Q.” “Well hello Ellie,” Rainbow Dash said as she walked over beside her, “And I don’t mean to be rude, but is this food for me because I’m starved.” Ellie nodded and stepped out of Rainbows way so she could eat. “I’m Rainbow Dash, but my friends just call me Rainbow for short,” Rainbow Dash stated as she began to chow down. “It’s very nice to meet you Rainbow Dash,” Ellie stated with a chipper tone in her voice, “Do you think when you’re finished eating you could go and introduce yourself to dad, he would be so glad to see that you’re okay.” Rainbow nodded as she continued to slurp down food. Ellie gave her a quick smile and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Once Rainbow had finished eating she walked out of her room and into the hallway. The rest of the house outside was just like her room, only lit with various candles placed around the house. . Their power must’ve been out. She also began to notice that all the windows were boarded up, she couldn’t find a viable explanation for this. They seemed like nice enough folks, so there had to be a reason for it. She continued to walk through the house until she noticed two shadows dancing on a wall at the other end of the living room. She could tell one was Ellie; the other must’ve been Curly Q. She walked to the end of the living room and saw that they were standing in the kitchen. “Ah, so you are awake,” Curly Q exclaimed when he caught sight of Rainbow. “What? Did you think I was lying?” Ellie asked in an angry tone. “No honey, I just…I don’t know… you do tend to lie often,” Curly Q said jokingly. Ellie smiled and gave him a playful shove, “I never lie!” “Oh please! I could already see your nose growing,” he responded. Ellie squealed in surprise and reached up to grab her nose. “Gotcha,” Curly teased. Rainbow giggled at this sight, she could truly see that they cared for each other. It made her think of her and Scootaloo. Her expression saddened and Curly must’ve taken notice. “I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to leave you out,” he said, “you could come and joke with us if you want.” Rainbow laughed, “No that’s fine I was just thinking about somepony special to me.” “Is it Scootaloo?” Ellie asked. “Yeah, how’d you know?” Rainbow asked shocked that Ellie knew about Scootaloo. “You kept mumbling her name in your sleep,” Ellie responded, “Who is she?” “Eleanor Rose!” Curly scolded, “Don’t prod; it’s none of your business. You could clearly see she was hurting.” “No, no,” Rainbow Dash responded, “It’s quite alright. Scootaloo was an orphan I took under my wing and loved like a sister.” “What happened to her?” Ellie continued to pry. Curly shot her a displeased look. “We were throwing a party at her house when a pitch black pony that kind of looks like me attacked,” Rainbow continued, “She came through the ceiling and possessed Scootaloo. She turned her against me and Scootaloo and I fought, she knocked me out, leaving me to burn in her house. And that’s when you guys saved me.” A deathly eerie silence fell upon the house. Neither of her saviors wanted to speak, but Ellie decided that it would be her to talk first. “Sweet Celestia, that’s horrible!” she exclaimed. All Rainbow could do was hang her head in agreement. “We’ve had a run in with her as well,” Curly Q started, “She almost got Ellie here, that was moments before we found you.” “I would be a goner if my dad hadn’t have been there to save me, “Ellie exclaimed jumping up onto Curlys back to give him a hug. Rainbow Dash looked at how happy they were, she couldn’t imagine what either of them would go through if something happened to the other. She began to think back to how happy they looked in the pictures and noticed something odd. “I noticed that Ellies mom wasn’t in any of the pictures in my room,” Rainbow Dash stated. Ellies joking attitude ceased, she jumped down of her dads back and ran out of the room crying. She ran into a room in the back of the house and slammed the door shut behind her. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Rainbow Dash clambered, “I didn’t mean to upset her.” “I know, I know,” Curly sighed, “its ok you didn’t know.” “I know, but I shouldn’t have pried,” Rainbow Dash said truly feeling like an ass for what she had done, “Like you told Ellie earlier, it was none of my business.” “You were just curious is all,” Curly said calmingly sitting down at the kitchen table, “Don’t worry she’ll be fine in a couple of hours, she just needs to be left alone for a while.” “So what happened to her, did Shadow Dash get to her?” Rainbow Dash asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. “Who’s Shadow Dash?” Curly asked, shooting Rainbow a confused look. “I’ve decided to call the pitch black pony that,” Rainbow Dash explained, “You know, because she looks so much like me. “Basically like your shadow,” Curly Q said catching on, “Any way, Ellie’s mother died when she was very young, causing her to be orphaned. She was put into a home and I adopted her when she was about four. We’ve been inseparable ever since.” “I feel so bad for bringing it up,” Rainbow stated hanging her head, “but she’s lucky to have you as a father, you two look so happy together.” “Yeah, I don’t know what I would do without her,” Curly chuckled to himself, “She truly is my best friend.” Suddenly Rainbow Dash remembered her friends, she didn’t even know if they made it of Scootaloo’s. “I’ve gotta go find my friends!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she took off towards the door. “Wait! Stop!” Curly shouted after her. She opened the door to step out and was horrified at the scene that lay outside. Ponyille was set ablaze. Buildings were burning and crumbling to the ground, just like in her nightmare. Author's Note After a long leave of absence I'm finally back with the sequel of Shadow Dash. I will post each chapter every wednesday (hopefully.) Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. I can only better myself by you guys telling me whats wrong. I hope Army of Shadows is to everyone's liking.
SkeletonsRainbow Dash continued to stare in horror at the devastation that lay beyond the doorway. She was set in a trance; she just couldn’t believe what had happened to Ponyville. The only thing that broke her out of it was suddenly being tugged back into the house. “What do you think you’re doing?” Curly Q asked throwing Rainbow back into the house and slamming the door behind him, “You trying to get yourself killed?” “What… what happened?” Rainbow stammered, “What happened to Ponyville?” “Shadow Dash’s army happened to Ponyville,” Curly responded peeking through a space in one of the boarded up windows, “You’re lucky nopony spotted you.” “Wait, army?” Rainbow Dash asked standing up, “The last I remembered it was only Shadow and Scootaloo. She has an army now?” Curly sighed, “You’ve been comatose for several weeks now. You suffered quite the head injury and the smoke inhalation didn’t do you any favors. We kept under constant watch and you finally pulled through. But, while you were out the mare you call ‘Shadow Dash’ wreaked havoc on Ponyville. Anyone she caught sight of she possessed and forced them to join her army. Many banded together to form a resistance, but we thought it better to try and stay out of sight and remain safe.” Rainbow Dash stared at the floor to let all this information soak in. “If you say a group of ponies got together and formed a resistance, my friends are most likely with them,” Rainbow Dash stated as she started for the door. “What makes you so sure,” Curly said as she intersected her at the door, “I know you care for them Rainbow, but you don’t know what it’s like out there. There’s a chance Shadow’s already gotten to them.” “They would do the same for me, they’ve never given up on me,” Rainbow stated sternly, “And I’m not about to give up on them.” “Okay, I’ll let you go,” Curly said finally stepping away from the door. As Rainbow Dash stepped forward, he grabbed her by the shoulder, “But I’m not letting you go alone. You’ve been out of it for so long. I imagine you could use some assistance.” Rainbow Dash smiled, “Thanks, but I don’t want to put you guys in any danger.” “I insist, we’ve been hiding away for so long, it’s time we finally took action and fought back against Shadow,” Curly responded, returning Rainbows smile. “Alright!” they heard Ellie shout from behind them, “It’s about time we go and kick some shadow mares ass!” Curly laughed, “Where’d you learn to talk like that?” “From you of course,” Eleanor responded, “You should hear him when company’s not over.” Rainbow Dash chuckled, “Thanks, I really appreciate your assistance. But are you completely certain this is something you want to do?” Curly pondered for a moment,” No, but life’s full of uncertainties, sometimes you’ve just got to go against your gut feeling.” “I’m glad, but I only have one question,” Rainbow stated. “Yeah, and what would that be?” Curly asked beginning to pack a saddlebag for their journey. “Does anypony know where this resistance is holding up?” Rainbow Dash responded. Curly didn’t say anything, but Ellie spoke up, “I do.” “How do you know where they are?” Curly asked quizzically. Ellie shrugged, “I get around.” “Shhh, get down,” Curly whispered and ducked down behind a water trough. They got down just in time to see three shadow possessed ponies walk by on patrol. Rainbow poked her head over the trough to see if she could figure out who they were before Shadow Dash got to them. One was a pegasus and the other two were earth ponies. She waited tell there cutie marks came into view and was shocked to find out who the pegasus was. It was Derpy, it nearly brought Rainbow to tears. Derpy was so innocent, and now she’s been transformed into some destructive monster. Rainbow continued to watch as the group passed by the muffin shop. Rainbow wanted to see if there was still any of Derpy left in her. Derpy paused in front of the muffin shops door and kind of cocked her head sideways like a dog. Then a fiendish grin spread across her face and she took off full speed into the shop. Rainbow could hear glass breaking and pots and pans being tossed around inside. Within a few minutes the shop suddenly burst into flames and out came Derpy. Not a single muffin in her mouth or hoof, she destroyed the shop for the mere sense of destruction. “Come on,” Rainbow said turning away, “Let’s find the resistance.” They continued to trudge through what was left of Ponyville for another fifteen minutes before finally stopping in front what Rainbow believed used to be Berry Punch’s drink shop. “Is this it?” Rainbow asked Ellie. Ellie nodded and motioned for them to approach the door. Curly and Rainbow got on either side of the door and prepared for somepony to attack. Curly signaled Ellie to open the door. Ellie pushed it open and peered inside. “All clear,” she told her protectors. The group proceeded inside and began to look around. “It appears to be empty, are you sure this is where they’re supposed to be hiding out?” Curly asked. “Yeah, how’d you find out they were supposed to be here anyways?” Rainbow Dash chimed in as she continued to search the room. All she could find were several broken wine bottles and a few bills of sale. “I heard some ponies talking outside my window one night about the resistance. They said they were heading back to the safe house, so I followed them. They went in here but I didn’t come inside. One turned to the window I was looking and I ducked down to avoid her sight. When I looked back inside they were gone,” Ellie explained. “You followed strangers to an abandoned building when you knew that ‘thing’ could’ve snatched you up?!” Curly said in a loud whisper, “She could’ve taken you away and I wouldn’t have known what happened to you.” “I’m sorry, but we needed to know where this place was. We needed to stop hiding and take action,” Ellie responded beginning to raise her voice. “But there is nopony here!” Curly shouted. He immediately realized what he had done. Everypony stopped breathing and listened intently for any signs of danger. After what felt like an eternity, Ellie finally spoke up. “I know they’re here, they couldn’t have just vanished into thin air,” she said, her voice returned to a whisper, “There’s got to be a secret compartment or hideaway in here somewhere. Suddenly, Rainbow remembered seeing something odd. Only one wine bottle on a shelf on the left side of the shop was not broken and still had its label. And in every Daring Do movie meant that it was a lever that opened a secret entrance. She walked over to the bottle and tried to pull it off the shelf. It didn’t budge, so she pulled it downwards. There was a click and the sound of cogs turning. There was a sliding noise from behind her, she turned around and sure enough, a shelf was sliding out of the way to reveal a hidden door. Meanwhile, Ellie and Curly were still arguing about anypony actually being here or not, “Um, guys.” Ellie and Curly turned towards Rainbow. “I think I found the entrance,” she said with a smug look on her face. Curly turned towards Ellie and gave her a weak smile. She stuck her tongue out as if to say I told you so. Rainbow pressed herself up against the door and held a hoof to her mouth, signaling the others to keep quite. She turned the knob a slowly opened the door, she peered inside. Torches lined a hallway, illuminating it. She motioned for the others to follow her. They crept through the hallway until finally coming to a large open room. A large round table sat in the center and at least eight chairs sat around it. Rainbow was just about to walk into the room to get a closer look when somepony grabbed her from behind and held a knife to her throat. “What do y’all think yer doing in here?” a voice called out from behind her as the knife pressed harder against her throat. “We’re sorry, we were just looking for the resistance. We don’t mean any harm we just…,” Rainbow trailed off, “Wait, I know that voice. Applejack?” “Rainbow Dash? Is it really you?” Applejack asked as she lowered the knife from her throat, “You’re alive!” Rainbow Dash turned around to get a better look at her friend and noticed two other ponies had Curly and Ellie in a head lock. “Uh, Applejack, could you tell your friends to release my friends?” Rainbow asked pointing behind Applejack. “Oh, right,” She said signaling for them to release Ellie and Curly, “Sorry ‘bout that.” “I couldn’t believe you couldn’t recognize me,” Rainbow Dash said, “I’m like the only pony with a rainbow mane, kind of hard to miss.” “Oh yeah, about that,” Applejack said as she stepped out of the shadows. She had an eye patch covering her left eye, “I can’t see as well as I used too on account of this eye patch.” “Oh man, what happened?” Rainbow Dash asked. “When that shadow menace attacked Scootaloos and set it ablaze, I suffered third degree burns to the left side of my face,” Applejack said as she lifted her eye patch, revealing several layers of scar tissue that cover the majority of the left side of her face. “Sweet Celestia!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Applejack laughed and quickly covered her eye back up. Curly and Ellie returned to Rainbows side and their two captors stepped out of the shadows. They were ponies Rainbow Dash had seen around Ponyville, but never really got to know. One was a unicorn with an aquamarine mane with white highlights and a light green coat. She had some sort of musical instrument as a cutie mark but Rainbow Dash didn’t know the name of it. The other was an earth pony with a purple and pink mane, a tan coat and three pieces of candy as her cutie mark. “Girls, I’d like ya tah meet Lyra and Bon Bon, my two best scouts,” Applejack said motioning towards the other two ponies. “Hey what’s up, I’m Lyra and this is Bon Bon,” Lyra said as she approached Rainbow Dash and the others, “Sorry we kind of held you captive.” “Yeah, what the hell was that about anyways?” Ellie shouted, “We don’t even remotely look like Shadow Dash’s goons.” “Just because most were possessed doesn’t mean that others didn’t just join her side out of fear of being possessed,” Bon Bon said, “You can never be to safe.” “Hold a knife to my throat again, and you’d wished I was possessed!” Ellie retorted. “Boy, does she have a mouth on her,” Curly said pushing Ellie behind him, “We’re sorry; we’re just a little high strung. I don’t know who we can trust right now, but you folks seem nice enough. So let’s start over, I’m Curly Q and this is Ellie.” “Nice to meet you two and we could use a brave kid like you in the resistance,” Lyra said, “That is what you guys are here for isn’t it, to join?” “You betcha!” Ellie shouted, jumping over her dad to be in front, “I wanna kick the living snot out of that no good son of a…” Curly cut her off, “Yeah, we’re here to join.” “Good, I’ll give ya the run down,” Applejack said motioning for them to leave the hallway, “And boy howdy the others are gonna be rip roarin happy to see you’re okay Rainbow.” “I knew they were alive!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed doing a flying backflip, “So where are they now?” “They’ve run over to Twilights to gather a few spell books we made need,” Applejack said sitting down at the table; she motioned for the others to join her. “Oh wow! This is so exciting,” Ellie piped up, “We’re like the knights of the round table, except we’re fighting a demon pony instead of a dragon.” The group sat around the table for several minutes just catching up and being briefed on what the resistance hoped to accomplish. Rainbow also informed Applejack at how Ellie and Curly save her and took care of her. Everypony was having a good time until they heard the front door of the shop open and close. Applejack shushed the room and walked to the secret door. She pressed her right ear against the door and held her knife high above her head. “What are you doing?” Ellie whispered. “Listening fer the secret knock, now shhh,” Applejack responded never removing her ear from the door. Everyponys heart stopped beating, no pony made a sound, no pony breathed. They could hear whoever was outside the door walking around. They walked over to where Applejack was and then there was five really fast knocks on the wall followed one last knock. Applejack opened the door, “Took you guys long enough, did ya bring the whole tree with ya or something?” “We would’ve been done faster if some of Shadow Dash’s goons hadn’t have shown up,” Twilight answered as she stepped inside, “Gave me a chance to use my freezing spell though, so I guess it wasn’t that bad.” “Yeah, I guess you could say Twilight had a hankering for…,” Pinkie began, everypony could tell she was about to crack a joke, “…shadow-cicles!” Twilight rolled her eyes and walked into the main room, she stopped dead when she caught a glimpse of Rainbow. “What, what is it Twilight?” Rarity asked as she and the others stepped in behind Twilight, her questions were soon answered. “What? Surprised to see me?” Rainbow asked as her friends all caught sight of her. And with that they all ran at each other and met with a big group hug. Applejack soon shut the door and joined them in their moment. “I’m so happy to finally see all you guys,” Rainbow said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. “Well isn’t this just a touching sentiment,” a voice shouted from behind them. Everypony turned towards the hallway, and assumed attack position. “I thought I froze you two?” Twilight said menacingly. “Well here’s a fact nimrod, ice thaws,” one of Shadow Dash’s minions responded, “Just because its magic ice doesn’t mean it doesn’t act like regular ice.” “What do you brutes want?” Rarity chimed in. “What we want is to remove the thorn in our masters side that is the resistance once and for all!” the front minion shouted, “FUCK ‘EM UP!” Author's Note I finished chapter 2 early, so I decided to upload it early. And remember, if anyone see's anything wrong, or something that doesn't make sense or something that they don't like, let me know and I will try and fix it. Thank you and enjoy.
JadedThe room erupted into violence. A group of shadow minions charged full sprint into the room, head long into the eight ponies willing to protect themselves at any cost. Curly ducked Eleanor down under the table. “Stay under here, don’t move,” Curly told her. “Dad, I’m scared!” she said, beginning to cry. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you,” he responded, kissing her on the forehead and ducking out from under the table to help his new friends. He came out just in time to see Applejack grab one by the head and twisting, snapping his neck. He was too caught up in watching this that he didn’t see the minion come up to him. He felt a sharp pain in his side. He screamed in pain and quickly retaliated in a devastating left hook. He clutched his side, he felt the warm sensation of blood on his hoof, but he didn’t have time to worry about himself. He needed to make sure Ellie was safe. He hobbled over to Twilight. “Do you have a plan?” he asked helping her fight off the attacking hoard. “Yeah, but there’s to many for me to focus my magic, I need you guys to protect me,” Twilight responded. “You work on that spell and leave the rest to us,” Curly said jumping into the brawl with the rest of the ponies, “Twilight needs us to hold them off as long as possible so she can cast a spell. We must do anything we can to make sure she can cast that spell!” “Curly, you’re hurt!” Lyra shouted as she stabbed a shadow minion in the chest, and then slit her throat. “I’m fine, it’s just a scratch,” he said through gritted teeth, “I won’t let anything happen to Ellie!” The group nodded to him and charged the remaining shadow minions. Applejack grabbed one by the mane, dragged him to the table and violently slammed the minions head against the table, knocking him out cold. The body falling to the floor startled Ellie, causing her to back up further under the table. Pinkie grabbed a bat from the corner and cracked it across one’s legs, shattering the bat into two pieces. As the minion fell to the floor clutching her broken knee, Pinkie took one of the broken pieces and jammed it into her eye socket. “A few more minutes,” Twilight instructed. “We may not have much more time,” Applejack shouted back as she took as surprise blow to the head. She fell back against the wall and the minion was just about to land the finishing blow when Bon Bon broke a chair against his back. The minion slumped over at Applejacks feet and Bon Bon reached out a hoof to help her up. You’re not getting out of this that easily,” she said pulling Applejack to her feet. Applejack gave her a smile and noticed Twilight behind her. She was levitating off the floor, and purple waves were pulsating off her body. The brawl ceased as everypony stopped to see this spectacle. A white orb suddenly appeared above her head and began growing in size with every second. “Everypony get behind me!” Twilight shouted as the orb grew bigger than her. Not a second was wasted, everypony jumped behind Twilight just as she released the orb. Sending it hurdling towards what was left of the mob. There was a burst of white light as the light collided with the shadow minions. Everypony ducked down and shielded their eyes. When the smoke had finally cleared and the only sound being heard in the room was their breathing, they all looked up to see what had happened. The room was empty; there was a scorch mark at the front of the room where the minions previously were. Nothing else was left. You vaporized them,” Rainbow Dash stated as she walked out from behind the bookshelf she was hiding behind. Twilight picked herself up off the floor and kind of wobbled before finally getting her balance. It must’ve taken a lot out of her. “There not dead, I just sent them someplace else,” she said rubbing her head, “Now, could you guys keep it down, I have an extremely bad headache.” “Well, where’d you send them?” Lyra asked. Twilight gave her a groggy look, “I have no idea; the only thing I could control is the spell. For all I know they could be just right outside our door.” They remained quiet; nopony dared speak anymore after seeing what Twilight just did. A door creaked open at the back of the room and Fluttershy poked her head out and looked around. “Are they all gone?” she asked. “Have you been in there the whole time?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy stared at the floor and slowly walked out of the closet, “No.” Ellie crawled out from under the table and hugged her father. Only for him the yelp in pain and her hoof landing the blood that had nearly coated his side. “Oh my god, dad you’re hurt!” she shouted as she stared at his wound then at the blood on her hoof. “No, I’m fine… it’s just a…” he trailed off as he collapsed on the floor from lose of blood. Twilight quickly jumped up from her seat and ran over to him to check his pulse. “He’s still alive, but he’s lost a lot of blood,” Twilight exclaimed, “We need to get this wound disinfected and stitched up fast. Fluttershy grab the med-kit from that closet you were hiding in.” “Daddy!” Ellie cried as she tried to run up to him. Rainbow stopped her and held her. “Don’t worry, you’re dad’s going to be fine,” she said hugging her tighter. “There’s only gauze and a little antiseptic left,” Fluttershy said as she brought back what was left of the med-kit. “Damn,” Twilight cursed, “Well were going to have to make do with what we have. Applejack, apply pressure to his wound while I find something to seal it.” Applejack quickly took Twilight’s place as she got up to find something to seal his wound. She came back with a thin metal rod. “What do you plan to do with that?” Applejack asked as Twilight kneeled down beside her a Curly. “Hopefully the wound has had enough time to clot,” Twilight began explaining, “If I heat up this rod enough I can seal the wound by scarring it closed. Fluttershy pour a little antiseptic on a piece of gauze and hand it to me.” Fluttershy did what she was told and handed the gauze to Twilight. She dabbed Curly’s wound with the gauze then proceeded to heat the end of the rod using her magic. She waited until the tip beganto glow a bright red. She turned to Ellie, “Look away sweetie.” Ellie turned away just as Twilight began to slide the rod along Curly’s wound. Curly let out a blood curdling scream as the wound was sealed shut. The bleeding stopped and Curly fell back down against the floor. He was now wide awake. Rainbow Dash let Ellie out of her grasp and she ran over to Curly and gave him a hugged him as tight as she could, tears streaming down her face. “Shhh, it’s okay,” Curly said comforting, stroking her mane, “I’m okay, I’m not going anywhere.” Ellie sniffed and looked her dad in the eyes, “I don’t want to lose you. Promise me you won’t get hurt again.” “That’s a promise I can’t keep,” he said looking back into hers, “But I want you to know. I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. I could take hundreds more of these injuries just as long as I know you’re protected. Do you understand?” Ellie began to choke up, “Oh, dad.” Ellie hugged him once more then helped him up. He almost fell over but she was there to catch him. “Thank you for saving me,” Curly said as he leaned against the table. “No problem, after all, what are friends for?” Twilight responded giving Curly and Ellie a smile. Author's Note Sorry that this chapter is so short and sappy, but It's how I saw it playing out.
From FinnerAs Applejack fixed the secret entrance, the rest of the ponies cleaned up the blood and moved the bodies outside. It was kind of sad, as Shadow Dash’s hold wore off of them, you could see who they were before. It was tragic that this was the way it had to be, but it was all about survival. Twilight was currently looking for a way to break them free of Shadow’s possession. During the squabble Applejack had knocked one out using the table. This shadow minion was spared from Twilight’s transportation spell, Twilight had hoped that she could use said minion to experiment on and hopefully be able to find the cure. The minion was currently tied up and passed out in a curtained off area of the hideout. Twilight had hoped to begin testing on him as soon as possible, but she needed certain supplies before she could begin. “Alright you guys gather around,” Twilight began, pulling out a map of Ponyville and motioning for everypony to sit at the table, “I’m going need everypony, but Curly and somepony else to help me watch him, to go out and gather supplies. I need somepony to go to the hospital and gather needed medical supplies, such as gauze, antiseptic, aspirin, and anything else we may need. Do I have any volunteers? “I’ll go,” Rainbow Dash said sitting up from the table. Twilight nodded, “Anypony going with her?” “Rainbows been out of the game for so long, I think she could use my help,” Applejack said putting her foreleg around Rainbows shoulders. “Good, now I’m going to need three of you guys to go to Zecora’s hut and bring back as many herbs and potions as you possibly can,” Twilight stated handing Rainbow and Applejack two saddlebags for the supplies. “Bon Bon and I’ll go with Pinkie Pie, after what she did to that minion with that bat, I’d love to have her fight by our side,” Lyra stated give Pinkie a playful punch in the shoulder. “Ahhh, It was nothing,” Pinkie said blushing. “That leaves Rarity, Ellie, and Fluttershy here with me to help keep an eye on Curly,” Twilight stated, handing three more saddlebags to Lyra’s group, “Now, I know I really don’t have to tell you guys this after what you’ve all been through, but please be careful.” The five going out nodded as they strapped their saddlebags to their backs and prepared to set out. They gave one last wave goodbye and then left. Rainbow and Applejack had been walking only a couple of blocks, but it felt like an eternity because neither of them had spoken a word. There seemed to be a certain tension between them all of a sudden, as if this was the first time Rainbow had met Applejack. “Applejack, what’s wrong?” Rainbow asked, “You seem distant.” Applejack stopped walking, “Look Rainbow, we’ve been through a lot. I have had to kill ponies, ponies that used to be my friends. This new world we live in has changed us, and I’m worried that if Twilight does find a cure if ah’ll be able to return to way things used to be.” “Applejack, you’re strong. You can take anything the world throws at you,” Rainbow said comfortingly, “It may take a while to get used to things when they’re normal, but like anything that takes time, it will get better soon and you will be fine.” Applejack began to sob, “You don’t understand! Things can never be normal, not like they used to be.” “Applejack, it’s ok. What’s wrong, what do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked. Applejack stared at the ground, she continued to cry. “Applejack, come on. Tell me what’s wrong,” Rainbow said lifting Applejacks head up with her hoof. “I had to kill Big Mac!” she shouted, bursting in to sobs again, “Shadow Dash got to him a few days after the attack on the party. We had gone to the apple farm to gather a few personal belongings when she swooped down and possessed him. He had resisted for as long as he could, but he knew he couldn’t hand on any longer.” Rainbow listened intently; it was hard to believe what Applejack was telling her. “He lied on the ground and told me that living under Shadow Dash’s tyranny was not a life worth living,” Applejack continued as tears streamed down her face, “So he told me to end it. ‘I don’t think I can’ I told him. But, he told me the exact thing you just said, he said, ‘Applejack, you’re a big girl. You can survive on just will alone and are as stubborn as an ox. But, you can’t let this world get the better of you. Anything it dishes out, you have to just come back fighting twice as hard.’ I looked him in the eyes one last time, told him I loved him and put him out of his misery.” Applejack stopped sobbing and looked up a Rainbow Dash. She wiped the tears off her face and waited for Rainbow Dash to say something. “Applejack… I’m so sorry,” Rainbow said giving Applejack a big hug, “But, he was right you know. You can’t let anything stop you; you have to keep moving forward if you don’t want this life to bring you down. He wanted you to keep fighting, and he will always be with you, in your memories.” Applejack smiled, “Don’t you go getting soft on me now. But thank you, you truly are a good friend.” They were about to get going again when they heard somepony or something bump a trashcan behind them. They quickly spun around and scanned the area for anything dangerous. Rainbow spotted something at the back of the street. A bit of red was sticking out from behind some rubble, a knocked over trashcan right beside it. Rainbow knew exactly who it was. “Ellie, what the hell are you doing out here!” She shouted in a loud whisper, “Aren’t you supposed to be inside with your dad?” Ellie stepped out from behind the rubble and walked up to Rainbow and Applejack. “I wanted to come with you guys,” Ellie said, “My dad got hurt trying to protect me. I don’t just want to sit in there and be useless, I want to help gather supplies. I want to actually make a difference.” “What, by getting yourself hurt or worse?” Rainbow said, “Your dad is going to be worried sick, we’re going back now. You can’t come with us.” “Rainbow please,” Ellie whined, “Wouldn’t you do the same if it was Scootaloo?” Rainbow stopped, she was taken aback that Ellie would try and use that against her. “Uh pardner,” Applejack said putting a hoof on Ellie’s shoulder to silence her, “Rainbow would do anything for Scootaloo. But, that’s different.” “How is that different? This is my dad and he said he would fight against the world to protect me, and wantto do the same for him,” Ellie said removing Applejack’s hoof from her shoulder and stepping in front of Rainbow Dash, “Now, you either let me help you guys, or I’ll go off on my own and do it myself.” Rainbow stared her in the eyes and gave her a smug smile, “You’ve got spunk kid. You’re lucky you’re cute or I’d have to beat the tar out of you.” Ellie smiled back, “Yeah, but I bet I could take you. You don’t look so tough.” “Oh really now,” Rainbow exclaimed grabbing Ellie playfully by the neck and messing her mane up. “Uh, guys ah’d hate to interrupt,” Applejack said pulling the two apart, “But, no one’s going to be saving anyone unless we get moving.” “She’s right,” Rainbow said clearing her throat, “Let’s get moving. Lyra and Bon Bon were watching Pinkie Pie bounce happily through the Everfree forest. “Pinkie your chipper attitude is simply astounding,” Lyra said, “How come you’re so happy all the time?” “I don’t know,” Pinkie answered as she stopped bouncing, this was the first time she had stood still ever since they left the hideout, “I guess I’m always looking on the bright side of things.” “Well, what do you see the bright side being about our current situation?” Bon Bon asked quizzically, “Equestria has fallen prey to a dark clone of one of your friends, Curly Q was injured in a skirmish and there is the possibility we may not all make it back to the safehouse. I’m really having trouble seeing the positive spin on all this.” Lyra stared at Bon Bon, “Wow! Let’s take it easy there Edgar Allen Pony. First off Equestria is not completely lost; I have complete and utter faith that we can save the day. And second Curly Q was only injured, he’ll pull through. His injuries could have been a lot worse. And why all of a sudden do you have this fear that we aren’t all going to make it. You act like this is our first time scavenging for supplies.” “I just have this nagging voice in the back of my mind that keeps telling me something terrible is going to happen,” Bon Bon said as they started walking again. “Bon Bon you really need to take a chill pill,” Lyra said shoving Bon Bon jokingly, “You could learn a lot from ol’ Pinkie here.” “Ohh, ohh,” Pinkie said spinning around to face Lyra and Bon Bon, “You want me to sing you guys the ‘Giggle at the Ghosties’ song? It may help us feel better.” “No,” Lyra and Bon Bon said in tandem. Applejack, Rainbow, and Ellie finally reached the hospital. The silence was deafening, the only thing that seemed to make a sound was the sound of wind blowing through the gutters, creating an awfully eerie whistling sound. Not only did it seem to quite, but there entire journey to the hospital they didn’t run into a single shadow patrol. No one was complaining, but it just made everything seem like it was a trap. Before entering the hospital, Rainbow Dash stood on the steps and made sure there wasn’t anything behind them. She made sure scan the surrounding area well in case anyone was lurking. She finally felt comfortable enough and went inside with the others, slowly closing the door behind as to not make any unnecessary noise. Applejack and Ellie were waiting in the lobby, searching various suitcases and purses for anything they may need. “Hey guys, look what I found,” Ellie said shining a light in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “Ahh,” Rainbow cried as the light it her in the eye, “Watch where you point that thing kid.” “Sorry,” Ellie said turning the light away from Rainbow and aimed it down the hall. Gurneys and wheelchairs gleamed as the light passed over them. Shadows danced on the wall at the end of the hall. The dank hospital air filled there nostrils, it smelled off stale air and bleach. They continued down the hallway until they found the first room that wasn’t locked. Applejack pulled out her knife and pressed her ear against the door and listened for anything on the other side. Finally she motioned that it was clear and opened the door. A cool breeze hit them in the face as soon as the door was completely opened. It felt nice compared to the stagnant air in the rest of the hospital. There were two beds in the room and somepony had left the window open. Applejack walked to the window and closed it. A bed side table sat beside one of the beds with several glass bottles sitting on top of it. Applejack walked over to the table and picked up one of the bottles. It read Morphine sulfate inj., USP 5 mg. She opened her saddlebag and scraped the table’s contents into it. They continued searching the room, finding various things such as clean needles, gauze, and bandages. They still needed to find some antiseptic. Applejack motioned that they were done with this room. Applejack opened the door a crack a peered out, she looked down both ends of the hallway and saw no one. They left the room and moved on to the next. They went from room to room finding various medicines such as aspirin, more morphine, and vitamin c pills. But they had yet to find a single bottle of antiseptic. Finally they came across a door labeled DR. REDHEART RN. Rainbow reached down and tried the knob. “Locked,” she whispered, “I bet if we were to find any of the good stuff, it would be in there.” “Yeah, but how do we get in without making too much noise?” Ellie asked, “You got a key?” “No, but I reckon that they had to keep a spare somewhere in this hospital. We might want to try back at the front desk, maybe the receptionist kept the spare,” Applejack said starting back to the front of the hospital. She was just about to round a corner when she saw two shadows appear on the wall. She motioned for everyone to back up and for Ellie to turn off her light. The shadows were getting closer and she could her them talking. It didn’t sound like anyone she knew. She tried the knob closest to them. Locked, she motioned for them to move further down the hallway and go back into the first room they were in. They went into the room and shut the door behind them. “Get as low as ya’ll possibly can,” she instructed sitting down against the bottom of the door. She stood up a bit and peered out the window. Down the hallway she could see the owners of the shadows. They were two of Shadow Dash’s minions. They were trying the door that they were previously at. Once they found out it was locked they continued down the hallway, trying every door along the way. Soon they would reach Applejacks door and find them inside. She reached up and tried to lock it, but found it needed a key. “What kind of shit head makes a door that needs to be locked with a key from the inside!” she whispered turning to Ellie and Rainbow, “Okay, no one panic. But, they’re making their way to us. Ellie hide under that bed there and Rainbow you come over here and squat on the other side of the door. When they open it, you grab one and I’ll grab the other.” Ellie cowered under the bed; she could feel her heart racing. She couldn’t help but thinking that this would be the end. She buried her head in her hooves, closed her eyes and waited for the sound of the door opening.
