Prologue
Dark Shadow grinned maliciously as all his energy focused on that one spell that would forever change the lives of the Equestrian ponies. As he concentrated, dark magic frothed around his horn and his eyes turned black. A dark gray, large ripple passed through all of Equestria, filling the land with evil, small, dark ponies. Dark Shadow laughed cruelly, watching as a dark storm cloud rolled over the kingdom. Grayness swept over the land, and ponies cried out in fear. It was time for the darkness to commence!
Rainbow Dash sharpened her sword, eying the Main Six cautiously. They could turn against her at any moment. Especially Pinkie Pie...
Pinkie's hair lay flat across her shoulders and her tail drooped. Instead of becoming a cleric, Pinkie chose to become an assassin. She didn't hurt her friends, but was normally in a bad mood. She marched around every now and then, always complaining that they were going to be killed next. Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, always tried to reassure her, and even tried her luck at some reassuring spells, but none seemed to calm Pinkie. Rainbow Dash was afraid that Pinkie Pie would eventually kill her and her friends, she was definitely convinced. If Pinkie didn't free herself of a bad mood soon, who knew what would happen then.
“I'm tired of waiting in the Castle of the Two Sisters!” complained Pinkie. “It's no fun here because I can't throw any parties because the stupid Dark Shadow's minions will come and kill us!”
Pinkie grabbed her knife with her teeth and threw it at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow dodged nimbly out of the way just before it hit the wall behind her. Pinkie Pie charged at the crumbling gray wall and snatched up her knife, scowling at Rainbow Dash.
“You're lucky that didn't hit you!” she hissed. “Next time I'm going to be more accurate.”
The shock of Pinkie's throw and Rainbow's near-death experience had knocked the breath from Rainbow Dash's lungs. Luckily, she was able to regain her breath within a few seconds.
“Pinkie, that wasn't very nice!” challenged Rainbow Dash as she soared into the air and landed in front of Pinkie Pie, narrowing her eyes and frowning an angry frown.
“I don't care what's nice and what isn't,” huffed Pinkie, lashing her drooping pink tail on Rainbow's black-and-gold chest armor. “We'd all appreciate a good laugh around here, that's for sure.”
Rainbow caught Twilight sighing.
“Whoa.” Rainbow Dash flew over to her purple friend. “What's beating you today?”
“My magic, my spells,” murmured Twilight, turning away to face the wall. “They don't work. The princesses are trapped in a dungeon, Apple Jack and Rarity's little sisters are missing, and so is Babs Seed and Scootaloo. Who knows what might've happened to them?”
Rainbow Dash put a comforting light blue wing across the alicorn's back.
“It'll be alright,” the blue and rainbow-haired Pegasus soothed. “We just need time to plan our attack, that's all...”
“I don't think that'll help,” scoffed Twilight. “We need some sort of diversion.”
Rainbow Dash's expression blanked. “That's... not going to help.”
Twilight's head dropped. “Just go away... leave me alone.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged before flying to the roof of the abandoned castle to scout it out. The territory was blank. All she could see was the distant mess of the used-to-be Ponyville.
“We're never going to make it out of Equestria alive,” sighed Rainbow Dash. Her sad violet gaze scanned the forest for any kind of minion invasion. She spotted none. It seemed as though she and her friends were safe here. For now, at least.
“Rainbow Dash?” came a light, airy and thin voice.
“What is it, Fluttershy?” sighed Rainbow.
“You've all been fooled!” the voice grew deeper and Rainbow Dash whipped her head around to see a tall, bedraggled, black creature with sharp fangs.
“Rainbow Dash, help!” Fluttershy was in the jaws of the creature. Blood trickled out of her neck where the minion held on tightly.
“Let her go!” challenged Rainbow. The minion did not reply.
“I said, let her go. NOW!” she screamed, drawing her sword with her mouth. She swung a warning blow at the creature, which dropped Fluttershy. Rainbow's friend curled up into a ball and began to cry as Rainbow Dash's sword cut into the flesh of the minion with each fierce swipe. The minion screeched at her, latching onto her back, its claws and fangs digging into her skin.
“Twilight!” hollered Rainbow Dash as Twilight came flying up blankly. She zapped the minion with thick purple magic. The minion roared in pain as blood oozed out of its side. It detached itself from Rainbow, leaving blood gushing from her wounds.
“SCREASHS!” screamed the minion, lunging for Twilight.
Twilight swiftly teleported out out of the way, only to reappear behind the large, white-eyed creature and continued flashing magic at it.
Rainbow tried to stand up and help, but her wounds where the minion had broke through her armor and reached her flesh weighed her down heavily. Instead, she threw her sword at it, and it ended up slicing it through the head. The minion gurgled on a scream and instantly fell to the floor, writhing in pain before it lay still.
Twilight was breathing heavily, Fluttershy had fainted, and Rainbow Dash was on the verge of passing out herself.
“We'll get you two to Apple Jack at once,” Twilight Sparkle said bravely, hauling both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash onto her back. She grunted with the weight, but managed to teleport off the roof and into the building safely. There, she gently set down Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, when Apple Jack came racing over and began immediately tending to their wounds.
It had been a long, rough day, and Rainbow Dash felt comforted as Apple Jack began to heal her and Fluttershy slowly but surely. Rainbow Dash drifted peacefully into a deep, sleep, dreaming of victory amongst Dark Shadow and his minions. But she knew, apart from her dream, that that may never, ever happen.
