Dash from Death

Impending Chaos

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Dash from Death

by Mavaku

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I apologize for the short chapter, I have been very busy lately and have had little motivation to write. Hopefully the quality is still decent however, and you enjoy the story. This chapter may be drastically revised/edited later on, as this was the product of me wanting to at least get something finished by today, and here we are. Now first up, Pinkie's diary entry of the chapter! (expect this to continue for every chapter hereafter)

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The sun rose once again. Its third time doing such since the small group had left Zecora’s hut. Each one of them appeared worn, ragged, and tired. Each one of them looked determined to continue. The lead pony, her rainbow mane once again muted, but rather by dirt than outside forces, turned to look at the rest as she started to speak.

“We are almost to the entrance of the clearing. Once we get there, it should be only a day or two until we reach the farm.”

As she finished speaking the dense forest started to clear, revealing an unusually ornate gate…and a lone guard watching over the entrance. His eyes immediately locked on the five ponies, yet his head and body continued to face directly outwards from the gate. Slowly, the stallion removed his gaze from them and closed his eyes in thought.

Twilight cautiously walked up to the guard. “Excuse me sir, but my friends and I need to go through that gate. Would you please let us past?”

Without opening his eyes to look at the mare in front of him, the guard stoically responded.

“No”

Twilight raised an eyebrow in minor agitation. “No? Why can’t we? This is really important!”

“You have no clearance”

“Of course we don’t, we didn’t have time to get any clearance! But we need to get through! Is a simple piece of paper really that important?”

“Yes”

Twilight’s impatience from the blunt and simple answers was starting to become very noticeable to the rest, and Rarity trotted up to put a calming hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Twilight darling, you are getting too worked up! Go take a quick rest and I will see what I can do about this little…situation.”

The lavender unicorn quickly calmed down, and gave an appreciative glance to Rarity before heading back to sit with the rest of the waiting group.

With a deceptively flattering smile, Rarity turned her attention to the guard, whose eyes were once again open and now sharply focused on her.

“I apologize about that, but you see, this really is important. And I’m sure such a wonderful stallion-” Wings quickly flared from his sides, signifying his building annoyance. Rarity either didn’t notice the annoyance, or chose to ignore it as she continued to speak. “Oh pardon me, such a wonderful pegasus! Now I’m sure that such a wonderful pegasus such as yourself wouldn’t mind if a few lowly ponies went through that gate would you?

The guard relaxed slightly, and then softly chuckled. “As much as I appreciate your flattery…I still won’t let you through.”

“Alright that’s it! I’ve had enough of this!” Rainbow Dash flew up directly face-to-face with the unmoving pegasus, who glanced quickly at her various scars before calmly looking Dash in the eye as she angrily spoke out. “Now listen here, I don’t care under what authority that you can’t let us through, but we know that it is very dangerous and are willing to take that risk. There is some pony we need to reach, and this is by far the quickest way of getting to them! So if you don’t move aside I will make you!”

“Good luck with that.”

The moment the words left the guards mouth, Rainbow Dash flew back, and then bull rushed the still apathetic pegasus. Silently, he stood there, only raising a single hoof as Dash raced towards him. Rainbow Dash raised a hoof to meet his, and in an overly cliché fashion, the two forces collided with explosive results. The guard still stood there, seemingly unaffected, which prompted Rainbow Dash to attempt again, giving similar results.

As the cycle continued, Fluttershy tentatively walked up to Twilight and whispered in her ear. “Um…Twilight? Don’t you think you should tell him that you’re Celestia’s personal student? He is one of the guards after all…he might let us through because of that.”

Twilight’s face brightened upon recognition of the simple, yet possibly effective answer. “That may just work. Rainbow Dash! Stop it! I have an idea! ”

The cyan-grey pegasus halted mid-charge and turned to look at Twilight. “This better work…” She said with a huff, before returning to the rest of the group.

Twilight returned her attention to the still calm guard, whose armor seemed slightly cracked from the short clash. “I know we don’t have any clearance, but I suppose I should have introduced myself first. My name is Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, and these are my friends, also trusted by Celestia. Would that be enough to let us through?”

The guard paused to think, then smiled in recognition before responding. “Ah, the famous Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Yes, the resemblance is adequate, and you may enter. But first, allow me to introduce myself as well, and give you some words of advice. My name is Taren, a member of Celestia’s royal guardians of Equestria. I came here, along with others to keep this…influx, contained. While on duty here, I have noticed some things that may be of importance if you want to cross alive. First of all, I am sure you already know this from your last encounter with the spirit of Disharmony, but forget everything you know about reality, that does not exist past this gate. Second, there will be many distractions placed throughout, and the terrain changes rapidly. We have placed a path designating the safest route, stay on it and your chances of survival will increase dramatically, although still staying relatively low. Third, once you enter I cannot let back in; this gate is protected by a one-way barrier. Anything can go in, but nothing can go out. Finally, similar to the Canterlot labyrinth, your horns and wings could disappear at random times. It would be constant as the labyrinth was, but due to the uncontrolled nature of this area, it seems to be quite random. Because of this, make use of your intelligence and wits, and do not rely heavily on your special abilities...you never know when they might abandon you.”

Twilight frowned at the last revelation, recalling the lack of success when they encountered the dreaded labyrinth. “Thank you, for letting us through, and for the advice. We will be sure to take it to heart, right girls?” The five ponies behind her nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

Taren once again spoke up. “Do you wish some time to prepare, or do you need to pass through now?”

Twilight looked at the others, their faces showed exactly what she was thinking. “Now would be best, we can’t waste any more time. We are already in a hurry as it is.”

“Very well. Just remember, this chaos energy does not have Discord to control it. That means that it is unrestrained, not being used for games. It aims to kill. Always be on your guard.”

With a curt nod, Taren stepped aside and the massive gate slowly swung open, revealing the chaos within. Trees sprouted up from various places, including mid-air, before withering and dying as quickly as they had appeared. The landscape grew hills and valleys spontaneously, twisting like a writhing serpent. Various creatures, some unknown to the ponies, roamed the area, their behavior erratic and ever-changing. Rabbits preyed on bears, while timber wolves patrolled the sky. All the while, a simple cobblestone path lay directly in front of the gate, leading off into the chaotic unknown. The area around the path seemed calm…relatively speaking, as when a hill formed under that path, it stretched along with the hill and only rose at a backbreaking speed.

Rainbow dash stared wide-eyed as such an event happened, then quickly turned to face the once again unmoving guard. “What was THAT?! You call that path safe? A simple hill could launch us all into the air and kill us!”

“I said it was safer…not that it was safe.”

Applejack trotted up to the visibly upset Rainbow Dash and reassuringly put her hoof on the Pegasus’ shoulder. “It’s okay. You said so yourself that we know what we are getting into, and trust me, we understand that it’s dangerous, you just have to trust in us to keep each other safe. Okay?”

Rainbow Dash looked at her, then quickly nodded her understanding. “Ok then…we can’t waste any more time. We have work to do, and the sooner we finish it, the better!” And without any further pause, she trotted into the chaos, followed by four other mares. Each willing to risk everything they had for the others around them.

“Good luck…you will need it.” A loud thud sounded behind the five ponies as the heavy gate slammed shut, removing their last chance to change their mind. With only one direction now available, they galloped along the path…and into chaos.