The Mirror’s Blade
Chapter I – Entering the Twilight Sparkle Zone
Rainbow Dash was pacing, waiting for her delivery. She loathed the fact Derpy was the one handling a B1,600 mirror, as no one wants a wall-eyed pegasus in charge of the safety of a mirror that cost 1,600 bits. Rainbow Dash heard the ding-dong of her doorbell at long last, and opened the door, to see the ditzy little cross-eyed pony with the mirror, intact.
Derpy said with a vapid cheeriness to her voice, “Hi, Rainbow Dash! Here’s your delivery!”. Rainbow said, “You are late. But I’m just happy you didn’t break my delivery.”. Rainbow whistled, and two contractors she had hired earlier picked up the mirror, and when inside to install it in the den of her house. As Derpy flapped away clumsily, Rainbow sat outside on her “lawn” of cloud, patiently waiting for the installation to be finished.
When the contractors left, Rainbow went in her house, and proceeded upstairs to see the new mirror, just a little bigger than her in frame. She looked on it from the doorway of the den, and said, “Pretty small for the money I paid for it…”, but she decided the concept it could expand or contract to fit her needs was good enough. Vain as it may seem for her to buy a full size mirror, it was the only mirror she had at all.
Rainbow walked up to it and stood in front of it, but it remained the same… no reflection. Rainbow said angrily, “Aw, feathers, this mirror’s useless! Wait, hold on a second…”. She noticed it wasn’t her den being shown. It was a wrecked building, walls a dark red, debris and planks of wood, fairly dim lighting, much like that of her den. Whatever she was seeing, she had no clue where in Equestria it was.
A voice said, “Hello, is somepony there? I heard shouting…”. A colt walked in, a late teen, as could be discerned by his lack of bulk, and the fact his head was more like a cross between a mare’s and a young stallion’s than normal. His coat was a light cyan, he had deep turquoise hairs in a hairstyle not unlike Rainbow’s, and most notably, he had on a black leather suit.
Rainbow couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She was looking at a different world in this mirror, and she had so incredibly many questions to ask. Rainbow asked in confounded awe, “Who are you?”, which earned the reply, “My name is Vinder. Who are you?”. Rainbow said, “I’m Rainbow Dash.”.
Vinder said, noticing Rainbow’s scanning of his attire, “It’s just a battlesuit. Things aren’t exactly a walk through the clouds, you know.”, as he stretched out his sore wings. Rainbow said, still reeling, “I… have… so many-“, and Vinder finished her sentence with, “Questions?”, as he smiled.
End of Chapter I
Chapter II – From whence the shadows came
Rainbow and Vinder had laid down, talking and asking questions for some time. Yet as many as she had answered, so many were left. After all, they were barely past the formalities, and the real questions were coming to the surface of their minds. Neither could believe it. Neither knew why it was happening. Both knew their eyes were now blown open.
Rainbow asked Vinder, “So, what happened to your world? WHAT is your world?”. Vinder said, “It’s a land called Nega-Equestria. We are oppressed by The Darkness, and must fight to survive in this inhospitable land.”. Rainbow said, “The Darkness?”, and Vinder responded, “The Darkness is a monster. It is a cloud of sin and lies and madness. It is said there is a place called Equestria, and whenever somepony does something wrong, wisps of dark energy add to The Darkness.”.
Rainbow Dash said, “The place I live in is Equestria. It’s odd The Darkness would have power. We don’t do much wrong here…”. Vinder asked, “Do any of you fight? Is there envy or jealousy? Spite or bitterness? Purposeful or not, I am fairly sure there are wrongs done.”. Rainbow said, “Well, yes… but we aren’t perfect!”.
Vinder said, “The reason you can love, the reason being good comes so naturally to you… The Darkness takes your evils, keeping thoughts from poisoning your minds and your hearts. Everything evil is contained in The Darkness. Being around these sins, the ponies of Nega-Equestria must fight their temptations to sin. Some, like me, decide to do so. But many do not, and as such, we often must fight.”.
Rainbow said, “Where are you now?”. Vinder sighed and said, “In a run-down building. This mirror was just lying in the basement. I have to stay here during the nights. The streets are way too dangerous then.”. Rainbow said, “Shouldn’t you be with your parents?”.
Vinder said, “My parents were killed. Murdered in an alley, for all of B20. Everypony is tired, scared, hungry, and poor. I’m 15, and I have to fight in the midst of shattered glass, bombs bursting, and frays of bullets.”. Rainbow said, “Sounds terrible…”. Vinder turned his head slightly and said, “Spare the pity. I don’t want it. I just want my parents back. I want my life back. I want to stop seeing the blood, I want to stop hearing the sirens, I want to stop hearing the agony. The carnage is so great… and I want out.”.
Rainbow said, “I’m afraid I can’t help… This is a mirror, not a wormhole.”. In the distance, sirens started to slowly wail, and Vinder became alert as he got up. Vinder said, “I’ve got to move. The city is about to be bombed.”. As Vinder ran towards the stairs, Rainbow packed up the mirror and ran full gallop out her house, and jumped to the street.
As Rainbow ran, she reopened the mirror and snatched some wheels she happened to pass, putting them on the mirror and giving it a push. Rainbow saw Vinder, galloping as carpet bombs burst and debris flew every which way, and when Rainbow caught up to him, she yelled out, “Where are you going?”. Vinder shouted, “Beyond the city limits! Just follow me!”. Rainbow kept with the mirror, and it wasn’t long before she was far out of Ponyville.
Vinder said mere seconds later, “You can stop.”, and Rainbow stopped the cart on a dime. As the faint whistle of bombs dropping and explosions rang forth, Rainbow saw a look on Vinder’s face she could never forget. On his face, Rainbow saw the most indescribable shock and horror, and, though she couldn’t see what he saw, she could tell Vinder was witnessing the most violent carnage possible.
All she could do is helplessly stare as Vinder stood and watched what must have been the most unbelievable tragedy of his life unfold before him, his mouth wide open in terror. As Rainbow saw the colt shed a slowly trickling stream of tears, she too cried, for she knew she couldn’t go into that world and comfort him… she could only watch him be terrorized by unspeakable death. And Vinder laid down, burying his head in his hooves, and wept, as his only home went in flames.
End of Chapter II
Chapter III – Through Fire and Ice
Rainbow and Vinder walked, neither knowing where they were going. All Vinder wanted was a home. Rainbow looked to Vinder and said, “I feel so helpless, knowing all you are going through, but not being able to do a thing…”. Vinder said, “It’s okay… I’ve been alone for a long time. I’ve been taking care of myself for some time now.”.
Rainbow said, “I just wish I could offer you a home… I may be dismissive, but I’m not heartless.”. Vinder said, “It’s alright… I’ve just caught a glance of a house in the distance.”. The two continued to walk, until they got to the house, or to Rainbow, a hollowed tree trunk. Though, Vinder didn’t find much of a house either.
It was a roofless shack, cluttered with brooms, mangled in cobwebs, with wooden planks and beams lying against its sides. It was a mess. Rainbow said, “Vinder, this isn’t very much a house…”. Vinder said, “I’ve been a vagrant for seven years. When you’ve been homeless for that long, you learn to be more grateful for the little you get.”.
Rainbow said, “You’ve been like this since you were eight? Wow, it really makes me think… think about just how good Equestria has it. Yet sometimes, we complain about the small stuff.”. Vinder said, “Life is very hard here, Rainbow Dash. We fight for mere stalks of wheat and hay as if we see those stalks as our lives. We don’t have beds. More often than not, we sleep in the cold, wet rain in puddles of mud. The lucky ones usually get the grass.”.
Rainbow said, “Wow, if only my friend Rarity saw your world. She couldn’t last a second!”. Vinder said, “The more you have, the less thankful you tend to be.”. Rainbow testily said, “You act as if we are rich!”. Vinder said bitterly, “Do you not have food whenever you want? Do you not have beds, and homes, and families? Do you not have everything you could ask for to satisfy you? In my book, that is rich.”.
Vinder said, “We are poor, homeless, kinless ponies. We scratch at the ground for seeds and we kill for even a stalk of grain. We live in huts and barrows and we sleep in the mud. Our families have died and our friends take arms against us. We have NOTHING! All we wait for is to die, cold and alone. We want to be free from this desolate Hell, to be unshackled from the chains of poverty and disease. We have nothing to live for, and nothing to lose.”.
Rainbow couldn’t think of an answer. When the reality of Vinder’s cold world hit like a ton of bricks, she just laid down and said, “I’m sorry… I guess I have no right to argue this point.”. Vinder took nestled on the broken pile of wood in the corner of his house, and laid down, saying, “If you lived in my world, you’d want to die too…”.
A peal of thunder rang out, and Rainbow looked above, and, seeing nothing, looked back to Vinder. Slowly, rain started to fall in Vinder’s world, soaking the colt. As the icy rain made Vinder shiver, he forced his eyes shut, and as hard as he tried to hold back his tears, he just couldn’t keep from crying.
Rainbow Dash had never seen this kind of life before. Suddenly, she began to realize how blind she was because of how fortunate her life was. She had never had to struggle for food, let alone kill anypony for even the smallest morsel of it. As exhausting as this experience seemed, she couldn’t fall asleep. She saw right before her a tradegy: A colt fighting with all his soul to stay alive, alone and scared in a world of hatred and violence.
But what made Rainbow the saddest was the fact she knew she could never help him. She would always be stopped by the mirror. She looked at the colt, a chilling expression of hurt on his face as he slept, and touched her hoof to the mirror, as if in a hope she somehow could have gone through, to comfort him. She felt helpless, because she wanted to care, and she could do nothing but watch the pain.
End of Chapter III
Chapter IV – Division by Rainbow
Rainbow awoke to see Twilight standing in front of her. Twilight said, “What in Equestria are you doing sleeping in the middle of a forest, Rainbow? With a mirror, no less?”. Rainbow got up and said, “Oh, hey, Twi. Meet Vinder.”, as she pointed to the mirror. Vinder got up and said, “Oh, hi. You a friend of Rainbow Dash?”.
But Twilight just saw a blank, glossy silver rectangle with a frame around it. A mirror was all she saw. Twilight awkwardly smiled and said, “Er… there isn’t anyone there…”. Rainbow said, “Twilight, are you BLIND? There is a colt right there, plain as day!”. Vinder touched the mirror and said, “What is this thing? Why is it here? What does it do?”.
Twilight was concerned for her friend. She had never seen Rainbow Dash this obsessive over something so… trivial. She would have expected Rarity to obsess over a mirror, if anything. After all, that Tom incident was still fresh in her mind. Twilight said, “Rainbow, nothing is there. You’re delusional!”.
Rainbow snarled at Twilight, “I’m not abandoning him! I can’t bear to watch somepony so young helplessly die!”. Twilight said, “You really believe something is there, don’t you?”. Rainbow said, “Yes…”, as she turned to Vinder. Rainbow continued, “He’s as real as anything to me. I see every hair on his mane, every scar on his body, and I see all the pain and fear in his eyes…”.
Twilight could see Rainbow’s distress, and said, “Wait… maybe Zecora knows what this is! She’s very knowledgeable about mystic artifacts like this.”. So Rainbow asked Twilight to push along the mirror with a follow spell, and Rainbow and Vinder walked forth.
When Rainbow got to the edge of the Everfree Forest, Vinder stopped and said, “Um… this might not be the best route.”. Rainbow said, “Why?”, and that met with Vinder becoming fairly vexed and pointing his hoof forwards. Vinder said, “Turn the mirror…”. Rainbow turned it towards where he was pointing, and saw a bubbling sulfur field. Rainbow turned the mirror back and said, “We’ll fly over theb… You a good flyer?”. Vinder said, “By now, yes.”.
Rainbow and the mirror took to the skies, while an understandably confused Twilight simply followed on the ground. Rainbow spotted Zecora’s hut, and dove down with the mirror. Twilight followed and said, “Maybe we can find some answers to this insanity…”.
End of Chapter IV
Chapter V – Twin Souls’ Stair
Twilight, Rainbow, and the mirror got through the hut door, and Twilight said aloud, “Hello, Zecora, are you here?”. Zecora came into the main room of the hut and said, “Hello, child, what a pleasant surprise, what desire in your heart lies?”. Twilight took a quick second to decipher the riddle, and answered, “This mirror. We wish to know what it is. I don’t see anything but a blank silver slab in a frame, but Rainbow Dash says she sees some other world, and there is a colt she is following.”.
Zecora looked at the mirror, blank to her too, but knew exactly what it was. Zecora said, “The “Soul Mirror” it called by the one who at it first does stare, but it will to only them show the true world that is there.”. Twilight said, “Huh?”. Zecora stated, “The first two who use mirror are set free, to be unbound from their rut and established in their iron destiny.”.
Rainbow said, “How can I get others to see? What is this ‘destiny’? Can I even get in there… to feel for myself what it is like?”, as she looked into Vinder’s eyes and touched her hoof to the mirror, her barrier… her foe and her ally all the same. Zecora stated, “To answer the first, hold out your hair, and let this world be seen to another mare.”.
Zecora took a knife, and cut off of some of Rainbow’s hair. Rainbow yelled, “Ow! What’d you do that for?”. Zecora said, “Patience, my dear, for enlightening’s hour draws near.”. Zecora dropped the locks of rainbow hair, and many herbs and plants, into her cauldron, and brewed an absolutely vile looking potion, which see poured up for her and Twilight.
Twilight near retched while getting down her portion of the concoction, whilst Zecora drank hers with ease, probably due to how used to these potions she was. Twilight and Zecora both felt strange, as their vision sharpened and as they walked forward and looked in the mirror, sure enough, they saw Vinder and his world, plain as day.
Twilight said, “Oh, hi… sorry we couldn’t see you before.”. Vinder smiled and said, “It’s okay… I just hope I can get some answers.”. Twilight mumbled, “Same here, kid…”. Rainbow asked Zecora, “Is there any way I can go… there?”. Zecora said, “The gates are shut, and I know not the way, I cannot tell you, for I know not what to say.”.
In the distance, unsheathing of blades could be heard, and Vinder said, “I’ve got to go!”, and he galloped off in panic, ponies thirsty for blood following him. Rainbow said, “We’ve got to follow him!”, as she started the mirror on a roll and bucked open the door forcefully, before dashing off full speed for where she saw Vinder running.
She caught up, and when he looked her way, he tripped over a rock, giving the ponies in suit time to pounce on him. Rainbow screamed out, “Nooo! Vinder!”, as she saw him being mercilessly stabbed and nearly killed. The ponies stopped when they had brutalized him to the point where his blood flowed in dark streams and his suit was torn to shreds.
Twilight and Zecora caught up, and saw Rainbow weeping and the edge of the mirror. Never in her life had she seen such cruel and thoughtless violence as the mirror had shown her. Rainbow said as she cried, “Why? Why? Why am I to see this? Why can’t this mirror let me through to help? Why is this happening to me? Why is this happening to him?”.
End of Chapter V
Chapter VI – Island Closest to Hell
Rainbow looked to Vinder and said, “Are you okay?”. Vinder didn’t respond, and the only thing that came was tears. A life of pain lay before Rainbow, deepening her understanding of this nightmare world she saw. Before, she only knew of a happy utopia, never in famine or war… She had everything she could possibly want. And before her laid someone who had nothing… nothing to wait for but to be set free from their terrifying chains.
Vinder said to Rainbow, “I’m sick of the pain… I’m sick of the hurt… I’m sick of living day not knowing whether I’ll live or die. Most of all, I’m sick of living… I just want to pass away, ebb into nothingness as I am nothing already… I pray that someone will land a lucky hit, and that Tartarus will take me!”.
Rainbow thought a second, but then said, “Wait, did you say Tartarus? Tartarus exists here too!”. Vinder said, unaware of where Rainbow was going with this, “Yes, where everypony goes to die.”. Rainbow said, happy for once, “No, you don’t understand! I can get to you through Tartarus!”.
Twilight said, “Err, before you get too excited, you might want to think… we don’t even know how Tartarus is linked to his world… and we may not even get in there.”. Rainbow said, “I don’t care. I’m going one way or the other.”, packing up the mirror. Twilight feared what she thought Rainbow was saying and asked, “What is the ‘other’ way?”.
Rainbow gave a serious look to Twilight and moved her hoof in a line across her throat. Twilight now realized the grim reality she was presented with: Help Rainbow through Tartarus, or Rainbow would take matters in her own hooves by killing herself. Twilight made her decision quickly and said, “I’ll get us there. Teleportation to there will be the best way.”.
Twilight’s horn glowed and in a flash of brilliant light, they were gone: Rainbow, Twilight, and the mirror. When the two could see again, they stood at a cliff, over the swirling winds that loomed over the opening to Tartarus. Rainbow said, “Twilight, get on my back. It’s going to be a rough impact.”.
Twilight did so, and Rainbow dove right into the portal to Tartarus, the mirror in suit. A short fall later, they landed, but Twilight said as she got off Rainbow, “Wait, we’ll need to be invisible to get past Cerberus.”. Rainbow gave a sardonic look and said, “Um, you’re the one with magic…”. Twilight said, “Oh… right.”, as she fired off a spell and cloaked the two, along with the mirror.
The two ponies and the mirror easily slipped through the gate Cerberus was guarding, and were soon in the middle of Tartarus, amidst the lake of Cocytus. Rainbow said, “Now how do we do this…? Wait… let’s just try walking through a few tunnels. One of them has to work!”. Twilight said, “Um, look around, Rainbow Dash…”. Rainbow looked around to see there were more holes in the enormous basin of Tartarus than in Pinkie Pie’s logical. Rainbow yelled in frustration, “AW, FEATHERS!”.
End of Chapter VI
Chapter VII – Void’s Grazing
Rainbow said, “We’ll never get there at this rate!”. A voice said in the distance, “Get where? You’re not seriously considering wandering here, of all places, are you?”. A stallion walked up to Rainbow Dash and Twilight, and Rainbow said, “We are trying to get to somewhere called ‘Nega-Equestria’.”.
The stallion said, “You’re kidding. Why would you want to go there of all places?”. Rainbow said, irritated by the needless question, “It’s a long story. Do you know how to get there or not?”. The stallion said, “It’s at the end of the river Lethe. It’s a few days’ worth of travel.”.
Rainbow smiled and said, “Heh, I can just fly there.”, as she leapt, flapped her wings to fly, and fell right back down to the ground. The stallion said to Rainbow Dash, “Pegasi cannot fly in Tartarus. Their flight is taken from them so that they cannot escape.”. Rainbow Dash grumbled and said, “Fine, I’ll WALK there…”.
Rainbow Dash looked over the steep cliff into the waters of Cocytus, which held Lethe at the very bottom. The way was paved with crags and drop-offs, but Rainbow decided it was for the best. For her, and for Vinder. She wanted to help him, and she couldn’t stand seeing him in such horrible pain from the other side of the mirror, a mirror thoughtless and cruel but merciful and just at the same time.
Rainbow jumped down several feet, shakily landing on a rock, and slowly went down the crag that led to her goal several thousand feet below. As lava splashed up onto the rocks, Rainbow gulped, knowing a misplaced hoof meant either falling to death or boiling alive.
Minutes became hours, and Rainbow kept walking, more than she ever had before at any given time, wondering just why she was doing this. Was it for the thrill of change and adventure? Was it that she was being softened by the tragedy that she saw, one that would rock the world of anypony? Was it, perhaps, love? As the last thought went through her head, she shook it off. She couldn’t be in love. She barely knew him… but at the same time, she remembered Zecora said the mirror bound them by destiny.
As Rainbow kept walking, these strange thoughts and feelings seemed to occupy her mind. Maybe her mind was telling her to give love a chance. Perhaps all those years of being obsessed with flight school made her miss her window of opportunity. Maybe she avoided colts who liked her because she was afraid of hurt, afraid of rejection. She always had had that fear… that she would be rejected, that nopony would want her. Maybe destiny had its own plans… just maybe.
These thoughts so greatly preoccupied Rainbow Dash that she wasn’t watching where she was going. She tripped over a stalagmite that was jutting upwards, and fell a while before hitting her head on a slab of rock, knocking her out cold. Her cold, limp body slammed into the icy waters of Lethe, and she slowly drifted downstream, entirely helpless.
End of Chapter VII
END OF BOOK I
The Mirror’s Blade
Book II
Chapter I – Fortune’s Scales
Rainbow Dash came to, feeling the mystic waters of Lethe trickle around her, and as she looked up to see Vinder smiling. Vinder helped her out of the water and said, “You okay, Rainbow?”. Rainbow just jumped on him and embraced him tightly, in a bittersweet conflict of emotions both glorious and tragic.
Vinder laughed and said, “Heh, as much as I love the warm welcome, you shouldn’t be moving about. You broke both your wings.”. Rainbow looked at her wings, badly crunched and beat up from her impact. Rainbow asked, “How long have I been here for?”.
Vinder said, “Not long… only a few hours. Come on, let me get you some shelter.”. He then draped Rainbow over his back, and walked the mile or so to his rough house, a beaten down little shack mangled in a wicked morass of overgrowth, roots, and vines. Vinder set Rainbow down on a more or less clear spot on the floor and said, “It’s not much, but I couldn’t find anywhere else.”.
Rainbow said, “I… I… I wanted to take you back to Equestria… If I stay here, it will just waste away your supplies.”. Vinder sat beside her and said, “You must understand… Here, we watch out for others as well as ourselves. How can we truly be good if we reject those more unfortunate than us?”.
Rainbow said, “But I’m not more unfortunate! I’m TOO fortunate! Don’t you see, Vinder? You opened my eyes! I no longer see the same… I no longer selfishly want more than I already have. I learned that I’m very fortunate. I was awoken… awoken to the reality that a nightmare existed beyond my world. Every night since we met, I’ve had nightmares about this world… I’m not a fearful pegasus, but I can truly say… when the hurt I saw hit home, I was scared…”.
Vinder said, “You must understand our sacrifice though. We live in this hellish cesspool so you don’t have to. We take upon ourselves Equestria’s burden, so that your minds and hearts can stay pure. We must be strong to stand our ground against the violent natures of all sins, and we must fight to keep your world safe.”.
Rainbow said, “I just thought… Speaking of my world, how do I get back?”. Vinder said, “I don’t know. But right now, I can’t give a flying feather. We kind of have bigger problems…”. Rainbow was somewhat appalled at the colt’s language, but said nonetheless, “What problems?”. Vinder said, “When you got here, demons leaked out of Tartarus. Their sins shall consume them, and The Darkness shall grow beyond belief. We have, at best, two weeks.”. Rainbow said, “So this has become a waiting game?”.
Vinder said, “Until the portal to Tartarus is opened again, three days from now, we must heal. Once it opens, we will ascend Lethe and Acheron, and get out of Tartarus in hope we can trap The Darkness there.”. Rainbow said, “So, what am I supposed to do now?”.
Vinder said, “I’ll help you tend to your wounds. After that, rest for a few days.”. Rainbow said, “A few days? Doing nothing? Ugh, might as well be-“, before Vinder interrupted with, “-A few months or a few years?”. Rainbow Dash and Vinder both smiled at the remark, and laughed for quite some time.
End of Chapter I
Chapter II – On A Broken Wing and Tons of Prayers
As Vinder tried to wrap Rainbow’s wing in bandages, her wincing in pain caused the job to be tough to complete. Once he bound the first wing, Vinder said, “Rainbow, stay still! I can’t bandage you if you fidget!”. Rainbow said, “Sorry, I can’t really help it…”. Vinder wrapped her second wing and said to Rainbow, “You okay? You’ve been sort of down since you got here. I would have thought you would have been more excited to see me…”.
Rainbow just looked at him, the sadness in her eyes crystal clear, and said, “I do love that I can see you. But I think about the pain and madness I have seen. I think about if I’ll ever get back home… I wonder if I’ll even survive…”. Vinder laid down beside her and said, “It’s okay to be scared. Even the bravest of ponies have a fear. And I think that yours is the fear of pain.”.
Vinder continued, “You fear the agony and hurt others may receive but that you cannot help them with, and more than anything, I think you fear that YOU might get hurt by somepony if you make yourself vulnerable.”. Rainbow said, “It’s true. I fear darkness and hatred others might have for me. I always was a loner, practicing alone, where nopony could touch me… where nopony could hurt me. I never got a boyfriend, because I was so scared of the hurt he’d give me if he left the moment I made myself vulnerable.”.
Vinder said, “I’ve known you for so short a time, but I have learned beyond your tough shell, there lies the heart of a little filly just wanting to be loved, and not hurt. I don’t see your flaws. When I first saw you, I already knew you were leagues better than anypony I knew. Everypony I knew wanted me to die. But all you were was this beautiful mare before me. Well-trimmed, showered, and beautiful… None of those are here. But you had everything going for you. In short, you’re a buckin’ knockout.”.
Rainbow blushed slightly and said, “Oh, well… I can’t remember the last time anypony was showering me with compliments like that.”. Vinder just smiled and said, “They aren’t compliments. To me, they just feel like truth. And no, it’s not my hormones at work.”.
Rainbow laughed and said, “Sometimes, I have a hard time believing you are only a 15 year old. You’re a whole lot wiser than me, that’s for bucking sure…”. Vinder said, “Restraint and a controlled heart are needed here. If I don’t control my thoughts, I can’t control my heart. If I can’t control my heart, then how can I give it to somepony like you?”. Rainbow said, “I swear, there can’t be anyway a little charmer like you is 15…”.
Vinder and Rainbow both laughed. The hours seemed so short, as they spent their time talking and telling stories about their adventures. Every passing tale, they only were more enraptured by each other. Slowly, they very much grew on each other, and it felt like they were the last two pegasi left, in their own little world.
But that world would not last long, for their days seemed to become shorter and shorter. Soon, the time to act would come. For now, however, they just curled together, savoring their final moments of peace before the violent storm that was to come. A moment of tranquility… before the winds of death would shatter this world.
End of Chapter II
Chapter III – Hell’s Rising
Vinder and Rainbow woke up, and looked each other in the eye with a warm smile. Vinder said, “Good morning.”. Rainbow laughed and said, “Yeah, if it’s even morning.”. The two pegasi got up, and Rainbow said, “I thought we had three days? It’s been four.”. Vinder said, “It was an approximation. Who knows what the demons have been planning.”.
No sooner than the end of that statement, as if perfectly timed by fate’s machines, the earth beneath the shack quaked and a fierce roaring shattered the sky above. Vinder, now alert, said to Rainbow, “Come on, we have to go!”. Rainbow and Vinder went outside, to see a massive funneling cloud of demons cross the skies, being sucked into The Darkness, which grew into a colossus unparalleled from the monstrosities it absorbed.
Vinder said to Rainbow, “We don’t have any time to lose! We have to beat it to Lethe!”. Rainbow and Vinder went into full gallop towards Lethe, as The Darkness finished collecting the demons of Tartarus, and slowly proceeded towards Lethe, laying waste to all for miles around its destructive wake. Rainbow and Vinder just kept running, as the black wisp cloud of The Darkness crept across Nega-Equestria, inciting everypony to murderous rage.
Vinder saw a great mass of the barbaric ponies of Nega-Equestria rushing their way, and Vinder said to Rainbow, “Hide!”, as he lunged into Rainbow and sent them both to the floor of an old wine cellar below, in hope of losing the ponies’ trail on the surface. However, there was another pony in the cellar, who started flinging knifes toward Vinder in mindless brutality.
Vinder ducked and dodged the knives, and pulled out a rock-pistol, firing a clip of stones into the chest of his assailant. The crazed assailant slowly slid to the floor, and Vinder said, “There’s no hope of avoiding a fight. You need some armor and a weapon, pronto!”. Vinder looked around, and found in a chest, just lying around the cellar, a battlesuit, leather coat, and a katana.
Vinder helped Rainbow into the battlesuit and said while he tightened and sealed it, “Sorry for it being a colt’s suit, but we can’t afford to be picky.”. Rainbow said, “Don’t worry, I kind of like it.”, admiring the suit. As Rainbow sheathed the katana in the sheath on back of the suit, Vinder put on the coat and said, “As for me, my armor won’t be very helpful. Now, the way I see it, once we get in Tartarus, we have seven days. However, it’s a three day climb. We’ll try to take as many breaks as time allows. After all, we’re both still injured pretty badly.”.
Rainbow and Vinder then got out of the cellar and got to ground level, where the feral mob was closing in. Rainbow said to Vinder, “Ready?”. Vinder responded, “Ready as I ever can be. Rainbow unsheathed her katana, and Vinder cocked his shotrocker, as Rainbow said, “Let’s do this.”.
End of Chapter III
Chapter IV – Blade’s Edge
Rainbow and Vinder rushed the fray, and very quickly, a bloodbath started. Rainbow was meeting every blade with perfection and left pony after pony cleft in two. Vinder, impressed by the mare’s natural skill, said, “For a girl, you sure can put up a pretty decent fight!”. Rainbow, trying to concentrate on the battle, said, “If you knew me well enough, you’d find the fact I’m a mare quite surprising.”, as she impaled her current foe, or victim as it would seem.
Vinder said, “You know, a thank you would have sufficed!”, as he bashed down a pony with the handle of his shotrocker. Rainbow said, “Less talking, more killing?”. Vinder said, “Fine by me!”, as he unloaded shot after shot into the crowd. Vinder said, “Why are there so few?”. He turned around and saw most of the crowd was rushing Rainbow. Vinder yelled, “Rainbow!”, as he galloped to her.
Rainbow was already getting overwhelmed, and soon ponies piled on top of her and viciously started stabbing her in the chest. Vinder loaded obsidian into his shotrocker, and let the pile of madponies get both barrels of the sharp rocks. Rainbow took advantage of the situation, bit the handle of her katana, and delivered a maelstrom of slashes all about, dicing everypony around her.
As the last mares and stallions fell, Rainbow stood, blade in mouth, heavily panting, and Vinder was speechless save the words he uttered, “That’s just buckin’ impressive.”. Rainbow, short of breath, said “T-Thanks…”. Rainbow’s eyes started to close slowly, and her knees started quivering, but she didn’t know why. Vinder said, “Rainbow… you’re bleeding… a lot…”.
But by then, it was already too late. Rainbow didn’t hear anything but slurred speech and garbled sounds at that point. She winced in pain and fell unconscious, and Vinder yelled out, “Rainbow!”. Vinder tore off part of his coat, and stitched it on top of Rainbow’s wounds, locking the fibers of the battlesuit and the coat tightly.
Vinder then bent down, and got Rainbow on his back, before galloping off full speed for Lethe. When he arrived, he strapped Rainbow on tightly, and he jumped right into the waters, swimming with all his might against the strong rapids of the current. Vinder said to himself, “Please let her be alright… please… For all she cared when I was hurt… don’t let that care be why she dies!”.
End of Chapter IV
Chapter V – From Closest to Closest Part I
Rainbow slowly came to, and saw Vinder walking slowly up the rocky crags along Lethe, the waters of which were pounding against the rock and against Vinder’s hooves. Rainbow said, “We made it?”. Vinder shushed her and said, “Try not to talk right now. You’re pretty badly wounded.”.
Rainbow decided it was best to follow Vinder’s directions, so she decided to remain quiet for a while. The journey up Lethe was long and arduous, but eventually, the two pegasi made it to a small cliff face which had a fairly small ground area they could rest at.
Time seemed eternal, probably due to the nagging pains of the two ponies’ injuries. After a while, Rainbow asked Vinder, “Hey, Vin, I never asked you… What’s your cutie mark?”. Vinder seemed upset by the question and said, “I don’t remember anymore…”. Rainbow, puzzled, said, “Um, Vin, you kind of have them your whole life. Can’t you just check it?”.
Vinder got slightly angered, and said in a fairly hostile tone, “No, THIS is why!”, as he turned and took off his coat and his battlesuit to show Rainbow his undercoat. Rainbow was horrified when she saw his coat, slashed and torn, bruised and beaten, with cuts all over it. In fact, almost all of it was cuts and wounds. And where he cutie mark would have been, a gaping wound had been carved.
Vinder said, “This was all from fights. Seven years ago, I got knifed in an alley while walking home from what you could ROUGHLY call school. Somepony slashed me across the leg to steal B3 from me. People will kill for that, because that is enough to be the difference between living and dying. So I’ve been a vagabond since my parents have died. No kin, no purpose, and almost never a place to rest my head. You at least get a purpose. I’m worthless even in Nega-Equestria’s pathetic standards.”.
Rainbow said, “You’re wrong. You DO have worth. When I looked in that mirror, I saw more than a scared colt. I saw a world that had wronged you. I saw that deep inside, there was somepony worth fighting for. I may be cocky, I may be selfish, but you can bet your flank I am NOT heartless! Now get your coat back on, we have a buckin’ cliff to climb!”.
Vinder got his coat back on and said, “You’re right. We still have two days more of climbing to do.”. Vinder strapped Rainbow onto his back, and started scaling the cliff face, as The Darkness started entering Tartarus through Lethe. Vinder looked down and said, “Shoot, we’ve got to pick up the pace!”, and he started climbing as fast as he could up the canyon of Cocytus.
End of Chapter V
Chapter VI – From Closest to Closest Part II
Vinder and Rainbow were almost through to the top of Cocytus, taking their last break. Vinder sat down and said, “Whew! We’re almost there, and making good time to boot.”. Rainbow asked, “How much longer till we are at the top?”. Vinder said, “About fifteen minutes.”. Rainbow said, “Yeah, you’re right. We ARE making good time.”.
Rainbow noticed a necklace around Vinder’s neck. It was an onyx amulet with a lightning bolt shaped ruby outlined in onyx pointing skyward… almost like her Element of Loyalty necklace, but black instead of gold, and the lightning bolt was mirrored and flipped.
Rainbow asked, “Hey, what is that necklace you are wearing, Vin?”. Vinder said, “Dunno, Rain. It-“, but Rainbow laughed and interrupted, “Rain? Since when did you decide to call me Rain?”. Vinder said, “Well, you’re calling me Vin, so I figured calling you Rain would be a good idea. Anyway, do you want to hear about the necklace or not?”. Rainbow said, “Yeah, yeah, sure. Sorry.”.
Vinder continued his earlier story, and said, “Anyway… For some reason, I just found this lying about in a ruin that I was scavenging for food inside of. I put it on, hoping I could sell it, but nopony would buy it. Turned out to be something called the Element of Honour. The Element of Honour is said to be the counterpart to something called the Element of Loyalty, because without loyalty, there cannot be honour.”.
Rainbow said, “That’s interesting… I have the Element of Loyalty!”. Suddenly, a peal of thunder cracked below, presumably from The Darkness, and Vinder said, “We’ve got to keep moving, Rain.”. At this point, there weren’t any truly steep slopes, and the pegasi went full gallop to the rim of Cocytus.
Rainbow and Vinder soon got to the rim, where Twilight had been waiting, and Rainbow shouted, “Twi, cloak us!”, and Twilight cloaked the three, and they galloped through to the gate and started to leave Tartarus. Vinder knew, however, that was a grave mistake indeed.
End of Chapter VI
Chapter VII – Everypony’s Grudge
As the group got outside Tartarus, Vinder yelled at Twilight, “Why didn’t you seal The Darkness in BEFORE we left?”. Twilight said, “I was supposed to?”. Vinder barked, “Yes, you were supposed to! That was our only hope of defeating that thing!”. Twilight said, “Relax, it can’t be that bad.”.
Vinder shouted at her, “You don’t even know how bad this is! Do you have any IDEA what that thing has done to my world? It incites everypony to murder, it leaves the lands it passes bare, it is a pestilence of hatred and death!”. Rainbow said, “Enough, Vin! Yelling won’t solve anything! We can’t change the past!”.
Twilight said, “Actually, you –”, before Rainbow said, “Twi, shut it. You’re not helping here.”. Vinder said, “You don’t seem to understand. Once that thing gets in Equestria, nothing can kill it. The Darkness will rot this world as it did mine.”. Twilight said, “Can’t Cerberus ward it off for a while?”.
Vinder said, “Yes, but not too long. The Darkness has a power where it can kill any one being, but it can only work once a week. Last time I saw it use it was two days ago. In five days, it will be able to use the spell on Cerberus, and then it can enter Equestria. Seven days later, it can use the spell on Celestia. Once it does that, The Darkness has won.”.
Rainbow said, “So, that’s it? We just wait for the end? Twelve days left to live, and then we’re gone?”. Vinder said, “I’m afraid so… There’s nothing we can do…”. Twilight said, “Can’t we at least go out fighting?”. Vinder said, “Wasted breath. Nothing works on The Darkness.”.
Rainbow said, “So what do you suggest, then, Vin? Just stay here and wait to die?”. Vinder said, “No. All we can do is spend our last days happy. The end is coming, there’s no two ways about that. But we can at least make the most out of the time we have.”. Rainbow said, “Well, in that case, I’m going home.”.
Vinder said, “Actually, is it possible I could stay with you? I’d love to have a nice bed for once in my life. To me… if I could live like you guys… you know, running water, plenty of food, a nice bed, the ability to shower… I’d be the happiest pony alive. Besides, you need someone to fly you up there. Considering you are a pegasus, I assume you have a cloudhouse.”.
Rainbow said, “Good point. There’s just one issue… I only have one bed. I only really needed one bed.”. Vinder said sadly, “Oh… never mind then. I guess I’ll find somewhere else…”. Rainbow said with a smile, “Hey, I may only have one bed… but I’m more than willing to share.”. Vinder smiled, and he strapped Rainbow on his back and flew her to her home.
End of Chapter VII
End of Book II
