Unusable Story Husk

Rainbow Dash stood in the Everfree forest, thinking about the event that took place. If everything had gone as planned, Rarity would be dead, she would have answers and she would've killed herself already. Only one of these things were true, and the fact that the other two weren't true made her regret wanting Rarity dead. Now Celestia would die, because Rainbow was in no condition to save anyone, or save herself frankly. She'd need answers to do anything but hunt down answers, really.

Rainbow realized that she hadn't had food for days, but at this stage, her mind couldn't focus on it at all. She decided that in order to get focused on something else, or if she wanted her rational conscience to come back so she could save Celestia, she'd need to discover answers for herself. Every answer answered would free her mind more, and she needed that very much then.

"Let's start with some easier questions... Why'd he kill my friends?" That one was easy enough. His interest in Rainbow seems to be a reason, possibly to get her attention. Well, if that's the reason, it was very effective. She certainly noticed her life essentially end with the colt's appearance.

"How does this colt teleport so well and so quickly?" Rainbow had no idea, and the only way she'd get this huge question answered is through Dawson himself. So the only plan of action she could make now was getting to the caves so she could reach Dawson. Perhaps he'd be stupid enough to give her some answers before he murders Celestia so that Rainbow can save her. Everything is so confusing at this point...

Rainbow began to fly in the direction of Canterlot, with her course heading at the base of the mountain where the caves are. She never really thought about what was inside, but that didn't matter as much as getting answers. Tell her a couple of weeks ago that she'd let her friends and a princess die over answers and see what she would've said then...

A day passed, and Rainbow became very tired as her wings drooped in exhaustion. Her dedication kept her going, and by the following morning she had arrived within viewing distance of Celestia's tower. Sure enough, the force field surrounded the city, most likely in light of the recent murders in Ponyville. Rainbow headed down to the caves, not allowing herself to be seen by anyone in the city while still outside.

When Rainbow arrived at the caves, Her first rational thought in days sprung in her mind. She would not be able to get the answers she needed if she was dead, so any creature that could kill her in there was surely on the ground. Rainbow decided to rest her wings so that later, she could fly the entire way through no problem.

It came as a surprise when she woke up, because she was well rested, but she found her first deadly creature was flying fast towards her. Flying. Never had she expected to have competition, because this hulking creature that ressembled a bat and a bear in a freak combination was speeding towards her with wings. This wasn't part of the plan.

Rainbow bolted up with her trademark speediness, and dashed into the cave, desperately trying to escape the death she was so afraid of getting right now. The bearbat was in hot pursuit, probably not having seen any prey in months to eat. Rainbow wouldn't give up to this foe, just as she had not given up to attempt to save her friends before. "Hmm", she thought. "More rational thought."

As the hours droned on, she was still trying to escape the persistent bat, dodging to and fro the many stalactites and stalagmites that littered the cave walls. Any move to get it off her tail was no good, and it was keeping the same pace no matter how fast she went.

Another hour passed, and Rainbow felt the tiredness kick in. Maybe the rational thought should leave again, she thought. Then she wouldn't feel the pain and exhaustion. But when things looked grim for Rainbow, she finally reached a part of the cave with a completely level ceiling, clearly being the way to burst into the city. Sure, she didn't have enough speed and strength to bust through, but the bat probably could. But there was the problem of getting the wrong place, to her death by guards. Then again, if she didn't bust through, there'd be a 100% chance of death by that bat. She'd have to decide fast...

Before she mustered her last bit of energy, a glimmer of hope came from the barrier over her head. It was a loud, booming voice, that of Princess Celestia. She was muttering something unintelligible, but the voice was unmistakable. And wherever she was, surely the pony with all of the answers was right with her.

Rainbow looked back at the bearbat behind her, and devised a plan that could get her through the barrier. She flew up, latched onto the ceiling, and saw the bearbat speeding right to her.

"Come and get it!" Rainbow yelled.

The bat charged right at her, and she moved to her left ever so slightly, not changing the path of trajectory that the bat was following. It crashed into the ceiling, and was injured for a few seconds before it recollected its bearings and prepared to kill Rainbow. But before it could, rocks and gems from the ceiling came crashing down on top of it, crushing it on the floor of the cave segment. It was dead, and Rainbow was relieved. Although it had caused some damage to the ceiling and made a lot of noise, the ceiling still had a little bit of rock left, so Rainbow took a short rest to recuperate and prepare to charge the ceiling herself.

She woke up, but this time, her rational thought was lost yet again. She had taken a look at the fallen bat, and had flashbacks of Rarity under the branch that looked eerily similar to the rocks on top of the bat, and eventually the rest of her friends' demises were trailing in her mind again. This trauma always seems to do the trick for Rainbow, because it eliminated her rational thought, preventing her from getting sidetracked or distracted from her mission to get answers.

Rainbow got up with her slightly stronger self, still starving beyond belief. Her mind didn't register the pain of starvation, but her body did. No matter how determined or how hard your body pushes, there is always limits.

Rainbow was still able to muster enough strength to break through the barrier, but she was surprised to discover that she had exited a couple of blocks down from Celestia's chambers. A guard nearby was walking along, and when Rainbow crashed through the cave ceiling, the guard had fallen down the new hole. He dropped his spear before he fell, however, so Rainbow grabbed the mechanism the guard used to hold it properly and wielded the spear for herself. She wasn't noticed by any guards yet, but it was only a matter of time before she will get noticed. Besides, a big hole is sure to be noticeable, and the body of the now dead guard at the cave floor through the hole is suspicious.

Rainbow quietly entered a nearby closed shop before anypony could see her. She climbed up to the roof, and began to think about her plan. The quarters were two blocks away, there was no way she could cross a street or fly without being seen. On the other hand, Celestia's quarters were locked securely, as she saw when the wedding took place for princess Cadence and Shining Armour. If she were able to get to the quarters somehow, maybe by flying through a window, she could  get in without interruption...

Rainbow decided to rest before heading out with her plan, waiting until nightfall before flying in. She ate some pastries she found inside the building, which was most likely a family bakery. After a while, she felt like the old Rainbow Dash, physically anyway.

When nightfall hit, Rainbow was well rested and well-sustained, making the objective possible. Celestia would be in her chambers at night, since Luna will be watching in her tower. She needed to work quickly to avoid Luna intruding on things, although with the ease of killing Dawson has shown, it wouldn't be a surprise if he could kill them both.

Rainbow waited until Luna was looking away, then she took a running fly straight into Celestia's window, surprisingly not having been seen. When she busted through the window though, the guards surely saw and Luna would know in a minute or two, not giving Rainbow much time. She landed on a large, red rug, and quickly got herself back up. She looked around and saw a big ornate door, probably the door to Celestia's room. As she approached the door, she thought to herself; "I want my answers, Dawson H. Arib... Dawson... Wait...".

After a few seconds of this, something became clear. Rainbow burst through the door as fast as she could, with Celestia's almost completely understanding face glaring at her. Dawson was right with her, and Celestia must know what will happen.

"Hello, Rainbow. I assume you just figured something out, didn't you?" Celestia said. "I'm afraid that I have no choice about my fate, but please, don't kill anyone else. No one else needs to suffer.."

Her sentence fully confirmed it. This wasn't Dawson H. Arib. No, it's just a silly anagram used as a cover for something much more sinister.

END OF CHAPTER FIVE