Author's Note

Thought I abandoned this, Didn'tcha?

MORE TO COME!

Song of the Stage

Next on our list of delightful horrors is dear Rainbow Dash. Oh, I do so love her tight little - Ah ah, for another time, lovelies.

Sometimes I think she tries too hard to reach her goals of fame and glory to the point where she is truly obsessed by such things at times. And when your deepest desires run close to the dark parts of the soul, you can sometimes attract unexpected attention...

Nothing was better than flying for an audience.

Not flying for her friends, new Daring Do books, chocolate, time spent with Tank, or even doing sonic rainbooms. There was just nothing like the thrill she got anytime she was in front of a crowd, a feeling of tension that buzzed somewhere deep in her gut. It was indescribable, something she’d never been able to talk about even to her closest friends.

How could she, after all? Even Rarity - who was as close to another ‘performer’ amongst her tight-knit friends as she had - never did her sewing or designing in front of a crowd. All of her hardest work was always done behind the scenes, where she could make mistakes with time to fix them. But Dash didn’t have that luxury, nor that of making mistakes in the first place. At least, not the kind of mistakes that would give Rarity more than a moment of frustration.

At the highest speeds - the only speeds Dash was really interested in - one major mistake was the difference between the show’s after-party and the emergency room. And when she was pulling the most impressive and incredible tricks in her arsenal, those mistakes became the difference between life and death.

Some claimed she had a death wish, that she was an adrenaline addict. Dash wasn’t sure if she agreed, but she would absolutely admit that only the highest level of performance could ever possibly satisfy her. It was just a fact of life. She wanted to be the absolute best, the very apex of her craft, and that meant she had to fly higher and work harder than anypony else in the business.

And her reward for that hard work was this; the roar of ten thousand ponies screaming their lungs out as she pulled a ninety-degree turn at speed, the shearing force of which shaved a perfectly square corner into the cloud she’d just passed. Seconds later, another defenseless cloud was blown apart as Dash passed through one end and out the other, leaving a ripple of air that turned it into a puffy explosion.

The noise went up a notch as she slipped into the first set of maneuverability rings and began the seemingly impossible loop-and-climb maneuvers they would put her through. The spiral up into the heights began to glaze the air behind her in a rainbow stream which grew longer and longer. She’d always been fast, but learning how to turn on a clipped bit like this was the result of endless hours of training.

But that wasn’t going to be enough, not by a longshot. She’d have to carefully regulate every breath she took as she spiralled up into the air, the combination of the ridiculously tight turns and thinning oxygen bringing her closer and closer to the limits of her endurance. Her lungs began to burn, her wings began to ache as the oxygen got thinner and thinner, and at last she came to the top of the rings. The world laid out like a carpet of green and blue and white clouds, the sound of the crowd almost imperceptible.

Rainbow Dash felt the gentle ache of her wings as she slipped them close to her body and completed the arc of her gentle turn back toward the ground. And she began to fall with a smile on her face as the pleasure of rushing back to earth began to take hold.

Thirty seconds later, everything exploded in a flash of rainbow light and the roar of the crowd, and her world was perfect.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slow and deliberate breathing. That was important to do as the hot water soaked into her feathers and aching muscles, the feel of the unforgivingly hard tile floor beneath her equally sore butt a reminder of how hard she pushed herself. All of her limbs hung limply around her as she simply let the heat of the water soothe her muscles, trying to keep her breathing regular and slow like the doc had told her.

She reveled in the nigh limitless hot water, a luxury she had gotten used to at home but rarely could indulge in when she was on the road. Usually because the hotels she could afford at this point in her career weren’t what you would call ‘luxurious’ by anypony’s standards. They had hot showers, sure, but they didn’t last nearly long enough for somepony like herself. Her mom had often accused her of being part seagull given how long she’d spend in a shower if allowed to.

She was alone in here, since most of the other performing athletes had gone out to hit bars or sign autographs. Normally she’d be right behind them, but not here and not tonight. The Wonderbolt Trials were mere days away, and the last thing she wanted to do was anything that could risk her chances of making the performing squadrons. Being an Academy Graduate and a member of the Reserves was a powerful bonus, but it didn’t guarantee bupkis in terms of a squad slot.

The sound of the water filled her ears soothingly, and she sighed in satisfaction. A good show and a good shower and a good meal to follow. Sushi, of course, since there was really no better way to cap off a perfect evening than a nice plate of tuna nigiri. Then maybe she’d-

“Nice show out there, cutie.” There was suddenly a mare with a very cute, very smooth voice speaking to her from the far end of the shower room. Somepony not immediately familiar to her. “You’ve got a real talent for wrapping the crowd around your hoof.” The unfamiliar somepony continued, and the soft click-clack of hooves echoed off the shower walls.

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash responded brilliantly, trying to focus on the new somepony. Technically there was nothing stopping her from coming into the locker room so long as she had a pass, and sure enough the little square of paper was hanging properly around her neck. She was definitely some kind of pegasus, despite the obscuring nature of the steam, and she was cute too. Long ponytail of multi-hued mane, and a bright smile.

Her guest giggled a little. “You look beat up though. All that effort.” The mare shook her head slowly. She had a seriously pretty voice Dash noted from somewhere in the haze of her exhaustion. “You could do so much better than that, you know. You’re much too pretty and much too talented not to do better.” The mare smiled at her, and Dash could’ve sworn she’d seen fangs in that smile. “You should come with us. We could teach you so much...”

Dash opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t seem to form words “Us?” she asked, wondering why she was quickly becoming so dizzy. Had she spent too long in the hot shower? Or was she way more tired than she’d thought?

“Don’t waste words on her, dear. She won’t be able to appreciate them right now anyway.” A second somepony spoke, appearing out of the foggy haze of steam. “Quickly, get her hooves. We’ve not much time before somepony notices she’s gone.” Dash wanted to yell, or scream, or something. But suddenly words seemed a little unimportant given how pretty the other pony’s voice was. The world started to pitch and roll and send her crashing to the ground in a painful heap, and before she could really think of much more than that, the world faded to black.

~~~~~~~~~~

When she finally came to, she still felt warm and wet, even if she was now laying on something much nicer than bathroom floor tiles. Whatever it was, it was squishy and soft and perfect for taking a nap on. It was dark but she didn’t so much mind that at the moment, not with the sweet scent of seawater and flowers filling her senses and the sound of gentle singing trying to lull her to sleep. Even though she really oughta wake up.

The singing caught her attention more than anything else around her did. Two voices singing in nearly perfect harmony with one another, wordlessly weaving a tone that felt formless and primal in a way she couldn’t quite describe. The notes almost felt like words to her.

One and the same, blood of our blood…

She felt tense and excited, as if the show she’d put on earlier today was still going strong. It felt like somepony had taken hold of that thread of tension that ran through her and was strumming it like a harp.

The notes rose together, the sound filling her ears completely and Rainbow Dash could’ve sworn there were lyrics. But they weren’t singing any words, just sounds that felt like they were physically brushing against her with each passing moment. They felt first like hooves then like something else, something she couldn’t quite put her hoof on. Why was she so sleepy again?

She didn’t know, and that was kinda worrying, but it wasn’t all that important. Especially not with how nice it felt to get this sort of massage, like little hooves were pressing into her sore muscles in concert. They soothed away the ache and pain, and it made it ever so much easier to just snuggle into the warm and wet thing she was laying on.

The song was nice to listen to, too. Why should she worry?

It was odd though, how familiar the music seemed yet at the same time she couldn’t recall ever hearing it before. Especially as the gentle hooves that had been working on her muscles started working on other things.

Dash’s breathing quickened, the darkness of this strange place swimming in front of her shut eyes and the notes sounding more and more like real words. Faint at first, she began to extract meaning from them even as her body writhed against whatever thing she was laying upon.

Sister, Sister, join our song... they whispered within the notes, intoned softly and sweetly. Dash wanted to be closer to whoever was singing like this, wanted to hear those notes rumble out of the chest and straight into her ears. Whoever was singing had to be absolutely gorgeous since nopony with a voice like these could be anything but. She wanted to sway to the beat, but her body would not listen to her.

It was listening to other things, to ghostly touches that stroked along her spine.

And all at once, the haze of desire lifted for just a moment and the singing stopped. “Bring me the ruby,” somepony spoke, sounding as though they were speaking from deep within a cave.

The voice echoed within itself, and Dash felt her heart clench with fear. She didn’t understand why she was afraid, or what she ought to be afraid of, but she did know she needed to wake up and wake up right now.She struggled to open her eyes and to unfurl her wings from her body, but everything felt sticky and unnatural. Her muscles screamed at her with ache and a strangeness she could not wholly understand.

Her heart hammered in her chest, and her body wracked with pain, but she planted her hooves beneath her and forced herself to stand. Something was horribly wrong and she wasn’t going to stick around to find out what it was.

Then something soft and moist touched her back that felt like a hoof yet unlike a hoof. “Hush now,” a soothing, gentle voice sang into her ears, and a soft cheek nuzzled up against hers, “quiet now, time to lay your sleepy head.” It was Fluttershy’s lullaby, but it was not Fluttershy’s voice. It was somepony else and that just frightened her more. “No need to fear, no need to fret, it’s time to go to bed.” The voice kept singing sweetly to her, and it became harder by the moment to struggle.

But even as her muscles betrayed her, Dash could feel her heart beating harder with every second. Her lungs desperately heaved for more air, trying to force her body back to readiness. “No…” she blurted weakly and tried to flap her wings as hard as she could. But they weren’t listening to her, and all she felt was a pitiful sweep of air past her trunk. She couldn’t give up now, not when she had clearly fallen into some kind of trap. “Stop… Help!” Her voice cracked mid-word, but the force of it was far greater than she’d expected. The word echoed away from her, bouncing off walls and ringing in her ears like she’d stuck her head in a bell and smacked it.

A second set of hooves took hold of her, and Dash could feel something soft and strong slipping around her neck. Panic took over then, and all the calming music in the world could not keep her limbs from flailing to and fro. “Calm yourself, Sister.” Another gentle voice spoke in her other ear. “Hush now, quiet now…” She sang and as the other voice joined her in the perfect dual-chord harmony, every one of her muscles went limp.

Something that was cold and warm at the same time settled against her chest, and the wordless singing continued. The warm darkness came back, the sleepiness and the lethargy with it. But this time she had company, in the form of two strange someponies who sang sweetly into her ears and lulled her off to sleep with a lullabye that felt like it had two entirely different sets of lyrics to it.

Words jumbled over words and the darkness claimed her again.

~~~~~~~~

Rainbow Dash felt her eyes snap open. She was back in her room. Her chest heaved with sudden breathing as she hauled herself up to a seated position. It was definitely her room. The smell of wet towels and sweat permeated the air, and the room was a mess of posters and other paraphernalia scattered over dressers and desktops. She was alone, just like she was supposed to be. What had happened?

Nothing seemed to be wrong. Her practice flight suit hung next to the door alongside the Wonderbolts flight suit she’d brought with her for the trials. A stack of letters from Ponyville lay creased and weighted down with a Daring Do figurine. Her necklace was pulled snug and the gem warmed against her chest.

Yep. Everything was exactly where it was supposed to be.

Wait.

Necklace?

Dash tried to haul herself out of bed, only to tangle her legs up in the sheets and go crashing face first into the floor. The fall didn’t so much hurt as did the knowledge that she was just as clumsy as ever sometimes. It took her a full thirty seconds to untangle from the bedsheets, but she finally got herself free and hauled her sorry pegasus butt up to the vanity to look into the mirror.

A tight black choker was snug about her neck, like something a filly might wear to a club or a really wild party. Attached just above the hollow of her neck was a shimmering red ruby, beautifully faceted and glittering even in the dim light of her hotel room. It looked like the kind of thing Rarity might wear to a fancy dress party, or maybe something Vinyl would put on Octavia when they went out on the town.

Whatever it was, it sure as heck didn’t belong on her of all ponies. Of course, there was a teensy weensy problem in that the damn thing didn’t seem to have a clasp or any way to actually take it off. Worse still she couldn’t slip so much as a smidgen of her hoof under the thing or get any kind of purchase on it at all, and the blasted thing was too high up on her neck to reach with her teeth.

Dash ground der jaws. It wasn’t like the damn thing was uncomfortable either. It felt pretty nice, actually, though she couldn’t even begin to guess what it was made out of. “The fuck is this thing!?” she growled in frustration.

Okay. She intended to growl in frustration, then to yell and scream and smack the desk. That was what she was supposed to do. Instead, her voice came out like some Hollymare actress delivering a sultry and angry line in the middle of some movie. In fact, her voice seemed to have gone from high-pitched and a little on the scratchy side to as smooth as whipped honey butter and a much more sensual tone that didn’t belong coming out of her face.

It was such a dissonant feeling that Dash was sure she’d just heard somepony else saying it from another room. She licked at her lips and tentatively spoke again, “My name is Rainbow Dash,” she said, and once again that stranger’s voice came out of her as sweet as cider.

This was bad. She tried again. “I’m from Ponyville, and I love to fly.” It was very tough to keep from clutching at her throat or cover her mouth in terror. If it hadn’t been her voice she might’ve even found it really sexy, but as it was she was just… Ugh!

Damnit, she was going to need to get back to Ponyville and fast. Twilight would know what was going on and could probably even fix the problem once she stopped being fascinated by it. But that would mean missing the Wonderbolts trials, and there was just no telling how long it would be before she’d get another shot like this.

Ergh, why did life have to be so freakin’ difficult!?

Still, there didn’t seem to be anything else wrong with her, just her stupid voice. That was okay, she could pass that off as cloudthroat or something given how much she’d been practicing. Given that she was an Academy Graduate, they’d probably put her on the first day of trials so they could get the impressive stuff out of the way first. And there was no way in heck Twilight or her friends would miss that.

So that meant, what? Three or four days to tough it out? That didn’t seem like too much. She’d muscled her way through worse to make it to a race or a major show-event. And she was absolutely sure Twilight could take care of this before she had to take to the sky.

She scrubbed at her hooves for a moment then nodded. She’d send a letter ahead to Twilight. That would give her time to get over her egghead phase and start figuring out what’d happened to her. She’d hide the necklace under a scarf or something, nopony should care too much.

She’d better make sure nopony else saw it, though. They might tell somepony else who would start asking questions.

Just to be sure, she cleared her throat, and it didn’t sound that much different than her normal voice. Good, she could make grunting noises to get through the rest of it; she was sure it was gonna be a long three days, though.

~~~~~~~~

She’d been right, of course.

And if it hadn’t been for that bottle of sleeping pills, today might’ve ended up being an even longer day. For three solid days and nights, every time she tried to fall asleep she could hear singing. The first time it was just startling, but every time thereafter it had gotten more and more maddening.

It wasn’t that it was bad singing - actually it was really really good - but she couldn’t sleep with those strange notes that sounded like words in her ears all night long. She hadn’t gotten a reply from Ponyville yet, but that wasn’t much of a surprise. It was a long flight there, even with courier ponies doing hoof-offs. But even without even the merest words of encouragement that this thing wasn’t some kind of elaborate prank, Dash wasn’t about to give up.

In fact, it had only been the thought of putting on a show for the massive crowds at Hurricane Stadium that had kept her sane. The Wonderbolt Trials were the kind of event that didn’t come around that often, and Hurricane Stadium was going to be stacked to the brim with ponies come to see who’d be the next Wonderbolt. That included her five closest friends, which meant that this stupid necklace was coming off anytime now.

The knocking at her door was enough to make her give a little spin in midair, and she rushed over to it. “Girls, you have no idea-” She snapped her mouth shut as she found not her five closest friends at the door but a nervous looking bellhop colt holding up a tray with a much crinkled scroll on it.

Half glaring at the poor colt she snatched up the letter and unrolled it. ”Rainbow, there’s been an unexpected delay. I’ve been in contact with Princess Celestia re: your problem, and she’s summoned me to speak with her at once on the matter so we might devise a means to help you. We will still be arriving in time for the show, but we’re going to be cutting it close and there likely won’t be time to see you beforehoof.

I’ve made arrangements to ensure there will be no problem with you attending the trials under these circumstances. But I must warn you to not come into direct contact with any fans of yours who might hold you in particularly high esteem. The consequences could be great. I will explain as soon as I am absolutely sure what’s happening.

Yours,

Twilight Sparkle

Not interact with her awesome fans? That was super lame! And really kinda disappointing given how big of a crowd was gonna be out there today. No way she was gonna be able to avoid the crowd, but she could probably dodge the post-game buddy buddy stuff. So lame, though. That wasn’t gonna look great on her resume.

Whatever. She’d just have to turn up the juice extra hard on her performance. If everypony thought she was exhausted, they’d cut her some slack and she could get back to her new friends’ rooms alone and learn their names. That was the ticket. Everything was gonna be fine.

~~~~~~~~~

The ready room was dark and cold and smelled of fresh spring rains. The only sound other than her breathing was the gentle ticking of the precision clock bolted to the wall with magic. Twenty-eight seconds from now, it would buzz and the cloud wall in front of her would fall away to reveal the trials course.

Dash took two of those seconds to adjust her flight scarf, and four of them to make certain her goggles were snug. Three more seconds were devoted to reminding herself of Twilight’s warning, and five seconds spent repeating the emergency instructions she’d been given before they walled (walked?) her up in here.

Her pegasi senses told her she was way higher up than she’d ever been before. The first Wonderbolt trial was always a dive from ‘apex height’ to prove the candidate could handle the stresses at these altitudes, but Dash wasn’t worried about that.

Much.

What was worrying her was that she could swear she was hearing singing. It was faint, sure, but it was persistent. It wasn’t going away. It hadn’t gone away since they’d started moving her up here.

But all of her previous thoughts had eaten up the rest of her time, and she didn’t have time to worry about that. A harsh buzzing sound set her wings to tension. The cloud wall dropped away and a perfect blue sky stretched out before her. She launched herself with a push of her hindhooves and tucked her wings in against her body as she soared over a thin red cloud.

Beneath her, the world was the size of ants and she started to fall.

The wind whipped past her cheeks with the kind of force she associated with being punched. Her body accelerated faster and faster, and her wingtips twitched relentlessly to keep her from going into a spinout. Her concentration was total. It was absolute. The singing was getting louder, and that fracking ruby was getting warmer against her chest even against the stinging chill of the wind.

Then she heard the cheers.

It was like she’d dunked herself into the spa twins’ hot tub. All of the icy cold vanished in the space of a heartbeat as the roar of the crowd reached her ears. Ahead of her, more maneuverability rings doing a complex corkscrew pattern. It was meant to be taken at speed, but Dash had an entirely different definition of the word than most ponies.

She extended her hooves forward and felt the magic inside take hold. Her wings snapped out and quickly began to pump back and forth, building up the speed for the final few hundred feet of the dive. Every moment bringing her closer to the roar of those crowds.

It was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. She was practically getting drunk on the screams, the cheers, the applause. And the music and singing filling her ears roared in a triumphant crescendo as she pulled a perfect turn at the end of the dive and began to truly fly.

The rings were a joke for her when they should’ve required far more attention. One turn let her see the course in her wake, and her rainbow-colored magic was staining every single cloud she flew past. She actually giggled as the music rose to another height, and it became clear what the voices were saying to her at long last.

You will be adored.

Of course she would. She was the best damn flyer in the world! And she was going to prove it, pulling out of the maneuvering rings and into trick course. The tricks weren’t even important or difficult, but every flourish she added to them made the cries louder.

They will all love you.

It was easier than it had ever been before, the turns, the loops, the sudden shifts in her momentum. It was as effortless as breathing. A good thing too, because the music in her ears was so utterly overwhelming her other senses.

You won’t be ignored.

Her magic shifted. It was subtle at first, but then it got pretty obvious really fast. And she didn’t care. She wanted—more—Yes, more. More of this. More of this wonderful feeling surging through her. Her wings felt stronger, her body more graceful… Her tricks got more daring by the moment, but she didn’t know how.

Now you’ll break on through!

Her speed picked up. She knew what had to come next, because it was what always came next. Her finale, her best trick, the one everypony wanted to see: the sonic rainboom. She wasn’t even conscious of flying anymore, just wingbeats, cheers and music that went on forever. Sound itself would surrender to her, just like everypony down in the stadium as she dove down through the center of it.

And become our Sister too!

The world exploded in light and a reverberating chord, sending a wave of her power over the fans.

Then again, as she shattered the air itself below the stadium and kept flying without so much as a care in the world.

The warmth surged through her, and the cheers went on forever and ever.

And before she knew anything else, she knew the sweet kiss of the ocean as the water rushed up to meet her.

~~~~~~~~

It was dark. But she could see.

A world filled with wonderous creatures, as magical and bright as anything in the surface world above.

It was cold. But she was warm.

Her heart pulsed with a magic she had no understanding of and a hunger that clawed deep within her soul for more.

It was lonely. But she wasn’t alone.

She’d heard legends of seaponies, and even met a few in her adventures, but she’d never seen creatures like these before. Scaled in glittering colors and with glimmering eyes that promised and threatened in equal measure. One a shimmery blue, the other a radiant gold. “She’s gorgeous!” the blue one squealed in a language she shouldn’t have understood, but did.

“Much prettier than Aria ever was,” agreed the other, “but she cannot stay for long. They will come looking for her.” A soft hoof-like limb stroked her cheek. “We look forward to welcoming you, Sister. But you must go back now. The worship you so deserve awaits you above.”

“Soooo lucky.” The other one pouted at her, snuggling up alongside with a sinful, toothy smile. “Hope you’re willing to share a little later. I could use a good meal.” She leaned in, and Dash felt her cold kiss as sweet as cotton candy. “I’m Sonata,” she whispered hotly, and Dash’s mind was filled with images she wasn’t terribly inclined to share with anypony else.

“And I am Adagio. We’ll be seeing you after the show.” The other one - Adagio - giggled at her. “Don’t be afraid, Dashie. We’ll explain everything.” She shooed with her forehooves, eyes like glittering fireballs in the sea. “Go. Your adoration awaits.”

Dash didn’t know how to respond to all of this. She didn’t know what was going on. But the word ‘adoration’ echoed in her mind like a rung bell, and she could feel her lips stretching over fanged teeth. “Yes,” she hissed into the water, and felt her wings - as strong and beautiful as ever - surge beside her.

She moved with nearly the same speed in the air and left a trail of bubbles and rainbow tainted water in her wake. The surface came to her so much quicker than she could have imagined, until she realized the elegant tail and hind flippers were boosting her speed. A moment of fear took her, realizing that her changed appearance would frighten her fans.

But the instant she broke the surface of the water, something changed.

Her gem pulsed with warmth, and it was not the strange new creature she was beneath the sea that appeared, but Rainbow Dash the pegasus. Her mane a little longer, a little silkier. Her eyes a little brighter and perhaps a bit naughtier too. She was herself, but she was oh-so-much more too.

She rocketed back up to the stadium, and as she appeared the crowd burst into uproarious applause. She spread her wings and hooves out and soaked it all in, spinning in place in midair and bowing with false modesty to the crowd. And every moment of applause and praise soaked into her like the most decadent apple cider she’d ever enjoyed.

Far away in the audience, she could see her friends equal parts cheering and concerned. Rarity looked decidedly odd where she sat with a boneless grace and eyes that shimmered like sapphires, but Dash really didn’t care. Her praise was a heady as anypony’s was. Even Twilight, whose eyes narrowed with concern, was clapping.

Dash had much to learn. Much to see and do, and much she would have to hide. But she knew one thing hadn’t changed one whit.

Nothing was better than flying, and being adored for it.