Twilight Sparkle looked down from her chariot at the sprawling land below her. Every time she flew as high in the sky as she was now, she was struck with amazement by the vastness of Equestria. It really helped to put her problems and worries in perspective. Nothing that was worrying her could possibly be that important when compared to the sheer number of problems that so many other ponies in the world faced each day. Even as a princess, she was just so…small. Why then, was the fate of Equestria so often placed in her hooves? She was nothing special, other than her ability to use and understand magic a little better than most. It was her friends that brought out the best in her, and made her who she was today. And yet, here Twilight was on her way to Canterlot at the behest of Princess Celestia, with only Spike in tow. What was so urgent that she needed to leave Ponyville right away—in the middle of the night—without speaking to anypony?
Twilight sighed anxiously. She had started observing the landscape to try and distract herself from the fears filling her mind on the ride to Canterlot. Yet here she was, back to worrying over something that she could do nothing about until she arrived at the capitol.
“Spike, I need you to read Princess Celestia’s letter to me one more time… Spike?”
Twilight looked down at the small dragon, and found him curled up, sleeping with the letter resting in the crook of his arm. She smiled gently and shook her head. Even in the middle of this urgent situation, Spike had managed to find some peace. The sight of this tiny, sleeping dragon brought her a little serenity, and calmed her already frayed nerves. Still, she wanted to have one last look at Celestia’s note, so she used her levitation magic to gently coerce the scroll from Spike’s arm. The small dragon stirred, mumbled something about Rarity, and then settled back into a deep sleep with a smile on his face. After waiting a moment to make sure that Spike had really gone back to sleep, Twilight opened the scroll and began to read:
“My Dearest Princess Twilight,
Your presence is needed immediately at the castle. I have a matter of utmost importance to speak about with you that cannot wait. I have sent a chariot to retrieve you and bring you back to Canterlot. Do not delay for any reason. Do not speak to anyone.
Hurry, Twilight.
Celestia”
Twilight couldn’t understand, this letter was so uncharacteristic of her former teacher. Through the many years and countless potentially world-ending situations, Princess Celestia had never written anything that sounded this desperate before. What could have possibly frightened her this much? Twilight felt the old, familiar fear and confusion come flooding back, invading her very bones. As far as she was concerned, they could not arrive at the castle soon enough.
Rainbow Dash rolled onto her back as she began to stir from sleep. What a nightmare she just had! In the dream, she had done her appointed rounds and then flew over to Sugar Cube Corner where Pinkie was waiting for her. Pinkie had then brutally murdered her, and baked pieces of her body into various pastries around the shop. Worst of all, the entire time Rainbow felt like she was being watched. Even now that she was awake, and with her eyes closed, she had the distinct feeling that someone was watching her. The thought made every one of Rainbow Dash’s muscles tense up. Surely it was all in her head, a result of the nightmare that she had just experienced. Yeah, that must be it. Rainbow opened her eyes.
“Hiya, Dashie!”
Rainbow screamed at the top of her lungs, and bolted out of the door. As she flew at a lightning pace, the image of Pinkie Pie floating above her, a ton of different-colored balloons wrapped around her waist, flashed through her mind. Gradually, as Rainbow separated her dream from reality, she slowed down to a halt.
It was just a dream, stay cool, she thought as she took a few deep, calming breaths.
After she gained her composure, Rainbow Dash decided that it would be best if she started to head back. Pinkie would be waiting for her. She also decided that she would go at a slower pace than she normally would, so that she could come up with a decent excuse as to why she ran out of her house in that way. Telling Pinkie she flew out of the house like her mane was on fire because she was convinced that Pinkie was going to cut her up and cook her into some rainbow-colored muffins probably wasn’t the best way to start out a conversation with her friend. Not to mention that it was totally not cool. Rainbow turned around, and was met with a face-full of bubblegum pink mane.
“WOOOOW Dashie! That was Uh-May-ZING!! I was like ‘Hiya!’ and you were like ‘MUFFINS!’ And I was like ‘Huh?’ and you were like ZOOOOOOM!! Gone before I could even blink! But I had something super-duper important to tell you sooo I followed the sound of you shouting ‘MUFFINSMUFFINSMUFFINS!’ You must really have a craving for muffins! Here I was thinking that the only pony I knew that was that obsessed with muffins was D-“
“What was so important that you woke me up in the middle of the night Pinkie?” Rainbow asked with her face in her hoof. How could she have possibly been afraid of Pinkie Pie, even for a second?
“Oh yeah!” Pinkie got incredibly serious, “You need to come with me, my Pinkie sense is telling me that something is really wrong at the castle… I think that Twilight is in danger.”
As soon as the castle was in view, Twilight felt an almost irresistible urge to jump out of the chariot and fly the rest of the way. However, she knew that would be inappropriate. She was a princess, and according to Celestia, a princess always needed to present herself with grace and decorum, especially in a crisis. So, she waited, and when the chariot landed, she stepped out of the chariot as gracefully and calmly as she could muster. With a pace that pushed the border between a trot and a gallop, Twilight approached the doors of the castle. After the doors of the castle closed behind her, Twilight dropped her composed demeanor and began to run as fast as she could to the throne room. She burst through the door and ran toward the monarch who was resting on her throne.
“Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed.
Celestia looked up and smiled wearily. She appeared to be half-dead: her mane did not have its usual shine, her fur was matted and course, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her shoulders were slumped, looking as if the weight of the entire world was resting there. Celestia was surrounded with ancient-looking books and a clearly worried Luna at her side.
“Twilight, I’m glad that you came so quickly. We have something of the utmost importance to discuss,”
Celestia staggered as she rose.
“Sister!” Luna exclaimed with worry etched across her face, “You need to rest! You haven’t slept in days!”
“I’m fine, Luna.” Celestia smiled at her sister, “Thank you for your concern, but I must speak to Twilight. Please, go. There are ponies across Equestria who need you tonight.”
Luna begrudgingly left her sister’s side and began walking toward the door.
She paused at Twilight’s side, “Take care of her Twilight…It’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen her like this.”
Luna then spread her wings and after one last worried glance back at her sister, she flew through the doors and into the night.
“This way, Twilight.”
Celestia selected a few of the books from the pile, and walked out of the throne room. Twilight followed as her former teacher led her through the halls of the castle to a room which had a guard on either side of the door. Twilight was shocked when the guards barred Princess Celestia’s entrance, though the princess herself seemed to be unfazed.
“The dawn will end in glorious day,” Celestia stated matter-of-factly.
At the sound of these words, the guards lowered their weapons and allowed Celestia and Twilight to pass. They entered into a very long hallway in which Twilight could sense a powerful magic resonating. After several minutes of walking, Celestia stopped at what seemed to be simply the middle of the hallway. She looked over her shoulder.
“Twilight, what I am about to ask you to do won’t make much sense right now, but please, I ask you to trust me…stick out your hoof.”
“Of course, Princess,” Twilight responded, and stuck out her hoof.
“Thank you. This is going to hurt a little bit.”
“Wha- Ow!”
Something nicked Twilight’s hoof, blood dripping onto the floor.
“Now please, flick some of your blood in front of you.”
Confused, Twilight complied. She was surprised when the blood instead of falling to the ground, stopped, and seemed to levitate in front of her. Then to her surprise, the blood and the area around it began to glow. Twilight watched as the entire area in front of her began to solidify into what appeared to be a large stone door. There was writing etched on the arch of the door which Twilight could not understand. Two of the most majestic alicorns she had ever seen graced each one of the doors, however, the one on the left caught Twilight’s attention. The alicorn appeared to be male, which had a mar where the cutie mark used to be. More notably, the male alicorn’s horn appeared to be broken.
“Princess, who are these alicorns?” Twilight asked.
Celestia, with more sadness than Twilight had heard in her lifetime replied, “All in due time, Twilight.”
She approached the door and inserted her horn into a small hole in its center. The door began to glow, then it opened, and Celestia stepped through the door. With only a slight hesitation, Twilight followed. As she stepped through the precipice, what she saw caused her eyes to widen in disbelief.
“Princess, what is this?”
“This, Twilight, was a prison of sorts built to hold the immortal beast known as Radiant Dawn. He’s a fallen alicorn who is better described as a living demon who leaves nothing but death and destruction in his wake. And as you can see, he’s escaped.”
By the time that Rainbow Dash and Pinkie arrived at Twilight’s castle, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy were there waiting for them. Pinkie must have gathered all of them before coming to get her.
“Really, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity scorned, “What in the wide world of Equestria took you so long? I know that you sleep like a log, but this is ridiculous! Twilight could be in danger!”
“Oh! She had to go on a muffin run,” Pinkie replied.
“Say what now?” Applejack asked, confused.
“Never mind that,” Rainbow replied curtly, “Have you gone inside? Where’s Twilight?”
“Um…Well, when I got here, I knocked and there was no reply. So…um…I guess she’s still asleep.” Fluttershy answered.
“Or she could be in real danger! Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“Now hold on, Sugar cube,” Applejack said patiently, “We don’t know what’s going on in there. For all we know, Fluttershy is right. If we go barging in hoopin’ and hollerin’ and nothing’s wrong, we’ll wake her and Spike up for no good reason.”
“But Pinkie said that Twilight was in danger! We’re wasting time just standing around here talking!” Rainbow said, incredulously.
Applejack nodded, “I understand. But, if there’s something in there that’s threatening Twilight, we need to come up with a plan, so that they don’t get scared and hurt h-“
Rainbow Dash burst through the front doors of the castle, “TWILIGHT?!”
“Or we could just bust in and start yelling…” Applejack said, shaking her head with her face in her hoof.
The rest followed Rainbow Dash into the castle, and started making their way through its many rooms.
“She’s not in her bedroom…or the library!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed from the hallway.
“She’s not in the dining room or kitchen either!” Applejack said as she ran to join Rainbow.
Fluttershy and Rarity ran out to meet the others in the hall.
“I couldn’t find her either!” Rarity said.
“I’m really starting to get worried,” Fluttershy said, anxiety etched all over her face.
“Well if she’s not here, where in tarnation could she be? It’s the middle of the night for Pete’s sake!”
Rainbow Dash looked around, “For that matter, where’s Pinkie?”
All of them looked around, noticing for the first time that their energetic, pink friend wasn’t with them.
“PINKIE!”
“Um…Girls…you might want to see this…” Pinkie’s trembling voice came echoing down the hall from the throne room.
The four mares ran as fast as they could to see what the matter was. As they ran into the room, they saw Pinkie staring straight ahead, not daring to move. They followed her gaze and saw what she had called them into the room to see. An unknown male alicorn appeared to be sitting on Twilight’s throne.
He was beautiful to behold. His fur was as white and pure as freshly fallen snow. As the light of a nearby lantern danced across his body, it shimmered with a slight golden hue. Although his mane was not as long as Celestia’s or Luna’s, it did not contain any less grandeur. Its color was that of the sky at the moment the sun first appears on the horizon. His mane seemed to shine, bringing the same intensity and expectation the birth of a new day brings. The alicorn’s build was strong, but sleek, and he seemed to carry himself with an air of great self-confidence, composure, and dignity usually found in members of the royal elite. Judging by where his head fell on the throne, the alicorn was slightly taller than Celestia. However, this was where his breath-taking beauty began to take a turn toward the unsettling. On his head rested a foot-long, jagged remnant of a horn, which appeared to have been intentionally sharpened. His eyes were crazed, filled with a terrifying fire that seemed to laugh unceasingly at anyone who dared look into them, while simultaneously seeking to drag them into the depths of their insanity. The girls were sure that if they looked into his terrifying eyes too long, they would lose all grips on reality. These traits alone told them that he was not royalty from Canterlot. They all stood there for a long time, staring at the seemingly uninvited guest, filled with a mixture of awe and terror. All the while, the mysterious alicorn simply stared right back, a mischievous, knowing grin frolicking on the corners of his mouth.
“Now, now…It’s rude to barge in to someone’s home uninvited. Especially in the middle of the night!” the alicorn said scornfully, as if chastising a bunch of fillies he’d caught doing something naughty.
His baritone voice was as sweet as honey—melodious even—but his words were oozing with venom.
Rainbow spoke up, “Speak for yourself! Who are you, and what have you done with Twilight?!”
“Done with Twilight?” the alicorn asked, snorting with derision, “I haven’t DONE anything to her, and I would never dream of laying a hoof on her.”
The alicorn stood up and walked around the map of Equestria, his fur shimmering with golden light with each graceful step, “I simply thought that I would pay her a visit tonight to show my respects to her as the newly crowned Princess of Friendship. I understand that she is a student of magic. I intend to teach her a new, more powerful magic that will dwarf any she knows now.”
“Then where is she?” Rarity demanded.
“Call it a hunch, but I believe that Princess Celestia has summoned her to Canterlot,” the alicorn smirked.
As he walked around the table and started walking toward the girls, they noticed something truly disturbing: there was a massive, disfiguring burn on the alicorn’s flank where his cutie mark should have been, and on top of his burn it appeared that someone had carved a crudely drawn image of a crown with five stars forming an incomplete circle around it.
“Horrifying, isn’t it?” the alicorn said with an almost insincere sadness in his voice, “It used to be a breath-taking image of the sun just as it began to rise—or was it set? I never could tell.”
Although the alicorn seemed contemplative, his intense gaze never left the girls for a second. He slowly turned, and began to approach them.
“Regardless, they took it the same day they took my horn,” he said in a biting tone, “You’d think that slaughtering a few hundred useless ponies was a crime or something.”
The girls all took a step back, unsettled by what the alicorn just said.
At the sight of their reaction, a wicked, unnatural smile broke out across the alicorn’s face.
“Are you frightened now?” he asked gleefully, “Good. You should be.”
“Wh-what are you?” Applejack inquired.
“Oh, that’s right, I never answered your earlier inquiry into who I was,” the alicorn said, his disturbing smile growing ever wider.
“In regard to whom I am, my name is Radiant Dawn,” he bowed ever so slightly, “As to what I am…Well, I guess that you would call me a monster, as I intend to kill each and every one of you.”
Twilight flew faster than she ever had before in her life, teleporting every few seconds to expedite the process. She hadn’t waited on a carriage, she didn’t have a second to lose: she had to get back to Ponyville now! The conversation she’d had with Celestia and the things she had seen at the castle kept replaying over and over again in her head:
“Princess, what is this?”
“This, Twilight, was a prison of sorts built to hold the immortal beast known as Radiant Dawn. He’s a fallen alicorn who is better described as a living demon who leaves nothing but death and destruction in his wake. And as you can see, he’s escaped.”
Twilight had felt tremendous amounts of magical energy radiating from the massive, shattered crystal object in front of her. She walked up to a fragment and tried to pick it up with her magic. When she did, the fragment had flown across the room and embedded itself in the wall, as if it were rejecting her magic completely.
“You put him in a magic nullifying crystal barrier…But, these fragments act as if they’re completely full of magic… That’s impossible! The amount of magic that would be needed to destroy a container this size would have to be massive…” Twilight had said in disbelief.
The lines in Celestia’s face deepened, “You’re correct Twilight, but this is no common barrier, and he was no mere prisoner.”
Twilight was confused, “No mere barrier, what do you mean, Princess?”
“This,” Celestia looked up at the mass of shattered crystal, “was the Dunamire Heart.”
“The Crystal Empire’s legendary prison? But, that makes even less sense than before,” Twilight said, “I read that the Crystal Empire once stored droves of dangerously powerful magic users in it at once, without one single escape. So that would mean…”
Twilight trembled with fear at the terrible realization that struck her; she could not bring herself to speak it aloud.
Celestia nodded, “Yes, he is much more powerful than all who had been placed in the Dunamire Heart before him. It appears that somehow he managed to find a way to store magic power and then release it in one mighty blast.”
She approached the large crystal, “This prison was supposed to hold him for all of eternity…It only managed to hold him a few thousand years…and it all happened under my watch. I have failed my people.”
Twilight’s heart ached as she saw her mentor’s heart shattering right in front of her.
“It’s not your fault, Princess,” Twilight said as she went over to console Celestia, “And don’t you worry. I know that my friends and I will be able to find and catch him. There’s nothing we can’t overcome with the power of friendship!”
Celestia look at her former student, tears appearing in her weary eyes, “I’m afraid, Twilight, that you and your friends are his first targets,”
Twilight pushed herself harder than ever. She had to get home!
Rainbow Dash flew in pursuit of the living nightmare, Radiant Dawn. She did her best to suppress the memory of the horrific scene that had followed the male alicorn’s introduction at the castle. To be honest, Rainbow wasn’t sure if her friends were alive or dead. The thought simultaneously filled her heart with fear and rage. After he was through attacking them, Radiant Dawn had looked over the fallen mares and approached a bloodied Fluttershy and Applejack, whom he had picked up and flown away with. Seeing this, Rainbow had forced herself up on her hooves and followed after him as fast as she was able. However, she had been injured; he had clipped her right wing and managed to land a couple of minor blows. Fortunately, Rainbow had proven to be too fast for him for the most part. However, her injured wing was definitely slowing her down a bit. She pushed through the pain: her friends’ lives were in danger!
Rainbow caught up with Radiant Dawn just in time to see that he had flown into the Everfree Forest. She pursued him. She weaved in and out of the trees with relative ease, watching for any sign of the monster and her friend. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow caught a glimpse of his uniquely colored tail. She made a sharp turn and pursued the tail. She knew that if she lost him in here, she could lose him for good…and with him, Fluttershy. She pushed past the pain, and flew as fast as she could. She could see him just in front of her! She just had to push herself a little harder…
*SNAP!*
Rainbow felt as the bones in her wings gave way. She crashed violently into the ground and slid a few feet before smacking her head into a tree. This disoriented her, sending her mind reeling, however, she managed to stay conscious. Through her blurred vision, she saw a shimmering figure standing over her. Was this what an angel looked like?
“Well, that was quite the fall, wasn’t it?”
The voice brought her vision to crystal clear focus: this wasn’t an angel, it was a demon! At the sight of Radiant Dawn’s wildly wicked smile, she used every ounce of her strength to try and push herself up and attack him. With every ounce of effort she put out, she was met with a pound of pain. In spite of this she gradually continued to rise to her hooves, screaming in frustration and pain. While she was rising, Radiant Dawn placed a hoof on her back and pushed down on her back, at the base of her broken wing. Rainbow’s pain doubled, and although she fought back against him with everything she had left, Radiant Dawn slowly pushed her back down to the ground. Tears formed in her eyes as she screamed harder than ever before.
“Shhh! It’s okay, it’ll all be over soon,” Radiant Dawn said in a faux comforting tone while he ground his hoof into the point where her wing was broken.
Rainbow cringed in pain. When she reached the ground again she looked up at his hateful face and glared.
“Twilight won’t let you get away with this! She’ll find a way to stop you,” Rainbow said through gritted teeth.
“I’m counting on that,” Radiant Dawn said with anticipation dripping in his voice, “But in order to properly motivate her…”
Radiant Dawn used his magic to unfold Rainbow’s good wing, then yanked it out of socket. Rainbow screamed again, her voice raw now. Her throat felt like it was bleeding.
“You have to suffer,” Radiant said as he stomped on her now dislocated wing and ground it into the dirt, “and die.”
Rainbow looked up at the monster through her tear-soaked eyes.
“You’ll… never…win,” she rasped.
The alicorn used his magic to levitate her limp head, brought his face right in front of hers, and smiled maliciously, “But I already have.”
As she looked into those crazed, demonic eyes she felt her neck snap sharply to the left. She experienced a moment of blindingly white-hot pain, then her body began to slowly grow numb. Her face hit the ground. She was so…cold. As Rainbow’s vision blurred, she saw two sets of legs run up to her: one orange, the other yellow. Warmth filled her final moments: her friends were safe.
Ponyville was on the horizon. Twilight pushed herself, teleporting more frequently than before, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her mind was still on what Celestia had told her.
“According to the records, just before he was placed into the Dunamire Heart, Radiant Dawn’s eyes shone with a bright light, and he spoke these words:
‘She who rules with friends on high,
Will be filled with hate as her friends die,
One by one she’ll see them fall,
Even as she gives her all,
Desperation and sorrow will fill her eye,
She will be able to do nothing, not even say goodbye.’”
Twilight couldn’t believe her ears, “Princess, what does this all mean? How could he possibly have known about me?”
“His magic is like no other you’ve faced before, Twilight. He uses a magic that is completely based on hatred, fear, and pain. It preys on the mind of those it comes in contact with, and gradually destroys them. Those who imprisoned him believed that he was just playing on their fears in an effort to escape. The only reason they wrote it down was for the official record, because they were the words he chose as his last. I found it when I was reading the official records shortly after Radiant Dawn escaped.”
Celestia levitated one of the books she had brought with her over to Twilight. It appeared to be an old book of records for prisoners who had committed various crimes. Twilight opened the book to the place Celestia had bookmarked. There it was, under the heading "Radiant Dawn"… Then it was all true!
“I have to go…now! My friends could be in danger!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Twilight, wait!” Celestia exclaimed.
Twilight paused at the door.
Celestia leaned her head back with her eyes closed, “His magic is of the darkest kind. According to the records, one of his abilities is to take the skin of his victims, change his size to fit the skin, and mimic the victim almost perfectly. It allows him to infiltrate any circle almost flawlessly. Not only that, but in order to amplify his powers, and to get an idea of who his victim truly is at their core, he often tortures them for extended periods of time before killing them. He is cruel, a master of illusion and shadow. Be careful! He will not be easy to defeat.”
The sound of a sharp, pain-riddled scream broke Twilights contemplation and filled her heart with dread. She sped through Ponyville, desperately looking for the source of the scream. She stopped by Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie wasn’t there.She stopped by Rarity’s dress shop and couldn’t find Rarity. Where were they? Then it occurred to her…what if one of them had seen her leave Ponyville? They might have gone to the castle to make sure everything was okay when she got back. She rushed to her castle, and found the doors sitting wide open. She had closed them when she left for Canterlot.
She rushed into the castle, “PINKIE! RAINBOW DASH! APPLEJACK! FL-”
“In here, Twilight!” a voice called from the throne room.
Twilight ran to the voice, and found a bloodied Rarity cradling an unresponsive Pinkie Pie in her hooves.
“Is she?”
“She’s breathing, Twilight, she’s pretty badly beaten, but she’ll be alright. Listen, a male alicorn who called himself Radiant Dawn attacked us after we found him in here. He took Applejack and Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash flew after him. Please, you have to find them Twilight!”
“Are you s-“
“We’re fine, just go!”
Taken aback, Twilight nodded, “Okay, Rarity. I’ll be back as soon as I find them.”
She teleported out of the castle and then flew up above Ponyville to see if she could spot the three missing ponies and Radiant Dawn anywhere. Twilight felt uneasy: something about this was wrong…really wrong. She flew about, hoping to find a single, solitary sign of one of them.
Suddenly, while she was flying near Fluttershy’s Cottage, she spotted Applejack stumbling out of the Everfree Forest. Relieved to see another one of friends safe and sound, she flew down to meet her.
“Applejack!” Twilight shouted.
A relieved smile started to break across Twilight’s face, however, her smile quickly faded after one look at her friend. Other than her obvious physical injuries, Applejack was pale, and looked as if she was about to throw up at any second. Emotional pain, sorrow, and shock were written across every centimeter of her body. Applejack looked up at Twilight, her eyes blank, almost as if she was looking straight through her.
“Oh, hey Twilight…TWILIGHT!” Applejack seemed to come alive, and embraced her friend, “You’re safe! I’m so glad to see you’re alright!”
“I’m happy to see you’re okay too!” Twilight’s smile returned as she hugged her friend back.
Applejack was cold and trembling.
A pit formed in her stomach, “Applejack, where are Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash?”
“Oh,” what little color had returned to Applejack’s face quickly drained away, “I think you’d better come with me, Twilight.”
Without another word, Applejack turned around and went back into the Everfree Forest. Twilight followed behind her friend, anxiety building with every step. They walked for what seemed like an eternity, until Twilight heard a high-pitched, guttural wail resonating from a few feet deeper in the forest. This gave Twilight pause, the cry was so animalistic and drenched in sorrow, it chilled her to her very core. But Applejack did not hesitate, she simply continued forward.
“Applejack, should we be going that way? It sounds like that could be something dangerous.” Twilight said.
Applejack froze for a moment, as if struck by Twilight’s words, and then continued forward without looking back or saying a word.
Although she was unsettled by Applejack’s response, Twilight continued onward, lest she lose Applejack in the forest. After a few more seconds of walking, getting ever closer to the unearthly wailing, Applejack stopped, turned her head as if she couldn’t stand to look at what was in front of her and pointed with her hoof.
“There,” she managed to choke out.
Twilight walked past her, her eyes following the direction which Applejack was pointing. As she did, what Twilight saw caused her to go completely numb. The source of the unearthly wailing was Fluttershy. Just one glimpse at her face told Twilight that as of this moment, Fluttershy knew nothing in this world but pain. In her hooves, she was desperately clinging to a huddled blue mass.
Twilight couldn’t move, it felt like her hooves were made of lead. It couldn’t be…there was no way! She had spoken to Rainbow Dash about this year’s Winter Wrap-Up just yesterday. She was so full of life! No…it was impossible…she was fine…this was all just a bad dream. On trembling legs which seemed incredibly heavy, Twilight made her way toward the grief-stricken Fluttershy and what she was holding in her hooves. She stopped short behind the yellow pony, from underneath Fluttershy protruded two blue legs which lay eerily still. Twilight closed her eyes…it wasn’t true! Yet she could not bear to walk one more step. She forced herself to continue onward, until Fluttershy’s body no longer obscured her sight. What she saw caused the world to crumble out from underneath her.
There Rainbow Dash lay, her eyes open, glazed over and unseeing, staring ever to the sky. Her head was lying at an unnatural angle from her neck. Rainbow Dash was clearly and undeniably dead.
Twilight collapsed, her ears ringing with the sound of Fluttershy’s screaming. So much pain…and no relief, the image of her dead friend burned into her mind. The sound of Fluttershy’s screaming had gradually become a form of release in Twilight’s mind. After several moments of seemingly unending pain, she realized that the screaming was no longer coming from Fluttershy’s mouth, but hers. At this realization, Twilight stopped screaming, her throat already sore. She couldn’t bear to look at Rainbow’s body any longer, but she couldn’t look away, so Twilight fixed her eyes on the tree under which the body lay. Twilight’s eyes widened in horror, and she began to scream again.
Above Rainbow’s body, inscribed on the tree was a simple message written in jagged letters:
“One down…”
“Ouch!” Twilight winced as the needle jabbed her in the flank again.
She looked down at Rarity who was trying to put the finishing touches on her dress for Rainbow Dash’s funeral which was scheduled for the next day. Rarity’s eyes were full of tears and the look on her face was distant and disengaged.
"Rarity, are you sure you want to do this?" Twilight asked, concerned.
This seemed to snap Rarity back into reality.
"Sorry dear, what did you say?" Rarity asked, focusing again on her friend.
Twilight smiled sadly, "Rarity, Rainbow's death has been devastating to all of us, and with Pinkie still in the hospital..."
Rarity flinched at the mention of Pinkie Pie, tears welling anew in her eyes.
"...no one would blame you for, you know, taking a break from the boutique for a little while. We can each wear something nice that we have in our closet already."
The white unicorn looked incredulous at the suggestion, "Absolutely not! I will not have a single one of my friends showing up to Rainbow's funeral with anything less than the absolute best! I know that Rainbow Dash was not really into fashion, but how else am I supposed to honor her memory? How else am I supposed to show her how much she meant to me? How else, Twilight? Can you tell me?!"
As the last word came out of her mouth, Rarity wailed, sorrow overwhelming her once again. Twilight quickly stepped down off of the stool she was standing on and embraced her friend. She drew her in as tightly as she could, as if through their closeness Twilight might somehow take away all of Rarity's sorrow and make it her own. Rarity hugged her back just as tightly, and they stayed like this for several minutes silently sharing in one another's sorrow.
After their crying had subsided, Twilight gently wiped the tears from her friend's eyes.
"Well then, shall we finish this beautiful dress you're making for me?" Twilight said, mustering a smile.
Rarity smiled weakly, "We shall."
After Rarity finished making the alterations, Twilight marveled at the results. However simple, it was by far the most beautiful dress Rarity had ever made for her. She thanked her and said that she was on her way to visit Pinkie Pie.
"Do you want to come along? I know that Pinkie would appreciate it," Twilight asked.
"No, Twilight, thank you. I have far too many things to do around here. You run along without me," Rarity said.
She then started to work on a piece of cloth that had been lying around, attempting to look busy.
"Okay," Twilight said reluctantly, and began to make her way out of the door, "I'll see you tomorrow."
Rarity waved in response, pretending to still be engrossed in the task at hoof.
As she trotted off, Twilight felt a knot form in her stomach. It had been nearly a week, and neither she nor her friends had been able to convince Rarity to go visit Pinkie in the hospital. Rarity had even made Pinkie a dress for the funeral, even though Pinkie had not woken up since the attack. It was like she was in some kind of denial, accepting Rainbow's death, but refusing to acknowledge the fact that she might lose Pinkie too, and there was a very real possibility that they might. With the condition Pinkie was in, the doctor had given her a fifty-fifty chance to survive, and even lower odds of her ever waking up again.
In a way, Twilight understood how Rarity felt. It was hard enough to accept the fact that Rainbow Dash was dead, much less the fact that Pinkie, who was still alive, might not be with them for much longer. It was difficult to see the pink pony who had always been bursting with life, lying on a hospital bed struggling to keep breathing. However, Twilight realized that there had never been a time that Pinkie and her friends needed her more than at this moment. She couldn't stay away. Not now.
As she arrived at the hospital, she noted the Pie family's rock cart. Once they had heard about Pinkie's condition about a week ago, the whole family had rushed over to Ponyville Medical, in spite of it being the middle of rock harvest, and the cart had not moved since. In spite of not being a very emotional group, the Pies had proven to be very family-centric.
When Twilight entered into Pinkie's room, she took note of those standing in the hall, waiting for a chance to see Pinkie, as well as occupying the room. The Pies were all there--with Maud steadfastly by her sister's side and Gummi resting at the foot of her bed--as well as some of the ponies from around town and Applejack who was sitting stoically in one of the chairs. The sheer number of flowers, candies, balloons, and baked goods that filled the room was a testimony to the number of friends Pinkie had, not just in Ponyville, but all over Equestria who wished to see the party pony healthy and active again. The Cakes had taken cartloads of gifts to Sugar Cube Corner so that people would have room to visit, and still there was just barely enough room for six ponies to stand comfortably in the large room.
Twilight walked over to Applejack and gave her a hug.
"Any change?" she asked.
"Nope," Applejack replied, "she's still sleepin'."
"How are you holding up?" Twilight asked.
She was concerned about her friend. After all, Applejack and Fluttershy were the ones who found Rainbow Dash.
Applejack shook her head, "As good as can be expected I suppose. There are moments when all of this doesn't feel real, like it's some kind of dream that I'll wake up from soon. Then other times it's too real, too painful to bear. But no matter how I feel I can't ever get rid of the image of...you know, what we saw...out of my brain. It's like it's been branded onto my eyes."
Applejack's words brought the painful image of Rainbow's broken body to the forefront of Twilight's mind. She winced at the thought and gritted her teeth in anger.
Twilight nodded, "Same here. No matter what I do, I can't get what that monster did to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie out of my mind."
Applejack laid a reassuring hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "I know sugar cube, and I can't stand the thought of him either. But, you’ve gotta make sure you don't let your anger get the best of you. From what Celestia said that's exactly what he wants. Guard your heart, sugar cube, or we might lose you too."
Twilight sighed, "Thanks Applejack. I know that you're right. It’s just… it isn't easy, especially seeing Pinkie like this..."
She looked over at her sleeping friend. Pinkie’s face, once consistently highlighted with a soft smile, was now hardened and withered. Her bright eyes shut tightly, possibly to never open again. Her body had been bruised, and several bones broken when Radiant Dawn attacked. By the time medical help reached Pinkie, she had bled so much internally that the doctor said she was lucky to be alive at all.
Twilight walked over to Pinkie’s sleeping form, and put her hoof on her friend’s foreleg. She stood like this for a while and spoke to Pinkie, telling her all about her day, the beautiful dress that Rarity made her, and the party Twilight had planned for when she woke up.
“You need to wake up soon, or the cake for your party will get stale,” Twilight teased, “and I know you wouldn’t stand for that.”
She rubbed her friend’s foreleg, patted it gently and began to stand.
“Stop him.”
Surprised, Twilight looked over at Maud. Though the grey pony’s face remained as stoic as ever, but her eyes had a burning fire of anger and sheer force of will that shook Twilight.
“Whatever it takes,” Maud said, “Bring him down.”
Twilight nodded, “I will Maud. You can bet on that.”
All too soon, the next day arrived, and with it came Rainbow Dash's funeral. Almost all of Ponyville showed up for the somber event, with several of Rainbow Dash's Cloudsdale friends showing up as well.
The event was flashy and over the top, just like the cyan pegasus would have wanted. Even though Rainbow was only a member of the reserves, the Wonderbolts showed up, and performed a special tribute. Usually reserved for full-fledged members, the routine which they flew was beautiful, and was designed to make it readily apparent that one member was missing. After the graveside services concluded, and everyone who wanted to say something about their departed friend had spoken, the Wonderbolts presented the family with an Equestrian national flag. A visibly shaken and broken-hearted Scootaloo accepted it with trembling hooves. She clung to it as though it were a lifeline, as if it and it alone could rescue her from this tragedy. Closing remarks were made, and then everyone disbanded, on their way to the meal that was being held for family and close friends at Twilight's palace.
In spite of this, Twilight remained for a few minutes more and numbly watched as the casket containing Rainbow Dash's body was lowered into the ground. This was it. Her friend was dead and would soon be buried. When she had become a princess, Twilight had, with much difficulty, come to terms with the fact that she would eventually outlive her friends, but in all of her wildest imaginings she could never have dreamed of this. Never this.
Twilight lost track of time sitting there alone, listening to the sound of the three grave diggers shoveling dirt into the grave.
Plunk. Plunk. Plunk.
With each shovelful hitting the casket, Twilight's resolve grew stronger and stronger.
Not. One. More.
She would not let any more of her friends die.
Not. One. More!
She would do everything in her power to subdue Radiant Dawn.
Not! One! More!
And if she couldn't find a way to subdue him…
NOT! ONE! MORE!!
She would… she would….
“T-Twilight?! What are you…”
Twilight slowly turned toward the terrified voice. Fluttershy stood a few feet away trembling from head to toe, staring wide-eyed at Twilight as if she were some kind of monster. This confused and disturbed Twilight. Why would her friend ever look at her in such a terrible way? She quickly took in her surroundings.
Her face was wet. She had been crying. No surprise there.
At some point without realizing it, she had stood up, every muscle in her body as taut as a bow string.
The gravediggers were nowhere to be found even though the grave was not yet full. Their shovels were strewn haphazardly on the ground, as if they had dropped them fleeing from something that had frightened them. But, if they weren’t shoveling any longer, why could she still hear the cadence of the shovelfuls of dirt hitting Rainbow’s coffin?
The land around her, previously covered in soft, green grass was now scorched black and cracked, devoid of life. Floating above her, encased in some black and purple magic, rocks and dirt flew in a whirlwind of motion. Who was using such terrifying magic? With a knot in her stomach, she looked up and, to her horror, she saw her horn ensconced in the same black magic as the rocks.
The sight terrified Twilight, snapping her completely out of her cloud of blind rage, and breaking her singular focus. Rocks and dirt flew in every direction. Some debris which had been floating particularly high in the sky came plummeting down to the ground.
“FLUTTERSHY!”
Twilight dove and tackled her friend, sending them both tumbling several feet. Milliseconds later, a large rock plunged to the spot where Fluttershy had been standing, narrowly missing its would-be victim.
“Ngh-Fluttershy, are you okay?” Twilight inquired as she rose to her feet.
She stretched out a hoof to her friend.
Fluttershy dragged herself away from Twilight.
“Wh-who are you? And what have you done with Twilight?!” Fluttershy asked, staring at Twilight in abject horror.
“What do you mean, Fluttershy? It’s me! I’m Twilight! Your friend!”
“You are not, you…you liar!” Fluttershy said, seeming to gain a little confidence and adopting an accusatory tone, “Twilight would never use magic like what you were using! It was pure evil!”
Of all the pain Twilight had experienced in the past two weeks, nothing she had experienced had cut her so deeply as Fluttershy’s piercing look of horror and her accusatory words did now. They eviscerated her already bleeding soul.
Tears poured anew down Twilight’s already tearstained cheeks.
“Fluttershy…it’s me!” Twilight gasped between heavy sobs, “I don’t know what just happened! PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME!”
Twilight wailed and then collapsed onto the ground in a ball of mind-numbing sorrow. Between each desperate sob, she repeated her plea, over and again, until all she could manage was a simple, “Please…”
Just as Twilight became convinced that her sorrow would swallow her whole, somepony embraced her, hesitantly at first, then pulled her in close and gently began stroking her mane.
“There, there…it’s okay, it’s all going to be okay,” Fluttershy’s familiar, soothing voice calmly reassured Twilight.
Twilight nuzzled into her friend’s chest and whimpered, trying to catch her breath. Fluttershy continued to soothe her until she calmed down and had regained a semblance of composure.
“Thanks Fluttershy,” Twilight whimpered.
Fluttershy blushed, “Good or evil, I just can’t sit by and do nothing whenever somepony is hurting as badly as you are.”
Twilight’s heart warmed at the purity of Fluttershy’s actions. Not just anypony would have gone out of their way to comfort someone who they thought might hurt them. Fluttershy was truly special.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Well,” Fluttershy replied, “When you didn’t show up at the castle, everypony started to worry, so I volunteered to find you.”
Twilight frowned, “How long has it been since the funeral ended?”
“About thirty minutes.”
“Thirty minutes?!”
Fluttershy nodded.
“Wow. No wonder everypony was looking for me,” Twilight said, “We’d better head over there so that they know I’m alright.”
“Well…um…about that…I was wondering if you’d be willing to go back alone,” Fluttershy said bashfully, “You see, I don’t like crowds…and um…I thought that since most of the ponies who would usually be at Pinkie’s hospital room are at the castle now, I might go see Pinkie Pie instead…”
Twilight smiled, “I understand, Fluttershy. Tell Pinkie, Maud and the Pies hello for me.”
“I will,” Fluttershy said, reciprocating with a gentle smile.
Exhausted, and emotionally drained, Twilight steeled herself on her way to the castle. She purposefully took a longer route, and walked slowly so that she would have time to regain her composure. Everypony would be looking to her for strength, so she couldn’t show up looking out of sorts.
After several minutes, she arrived at the castle. Twilight was as composed as she would ever be. She took a deep breath, and opened the door.
“Twilight!”
Twilight was flooded by ponies from all over Ponyville, all expressing concern, asking where she had been, and if she was okay.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. Thank you all,” Twilight said.
She was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of ponies who were hugging her and checking on her well-being. Although, she soon realized that some very notable ponies were missing from the crowd.
“Where are Applejack and Rarity? Has anypony seen them?” Twilight asked.
“They were here,” Applebloom answered, “but Rarity left to go see Pinkie Pie pretty soon after the meal started, and then after a bit Applejack went to check on her.”
Twilight was stunned—pleasantly surprised, but stunned. Applejack made sense, after all, she had almost kept a constant vigil on Pinkie since she had been injured. But Rarity had refused to visit Pinkie Pie at all. Up until this point, she wouldn’t even acknowledge Pinkie’s state. Maybe the funeral and facing Rainbow’s death had given Rarity the courage to face Pinkie Pie’s mortality. Good. Pinkie Pie needed Rarity.
“Twilight?”
Applebloom’s voice snapped Twilight back into reality.
“Huh? What did you say, Applebloom?”
“I asked if you knew where Fluttershy was,” Applebloom looked at Twilight, concern etched across her young face, “Are you sure you’re alright, Twilight? You don’t look alright.”
“I’m fine,” Twilight responded, “Actually, I’m doing better now that I know that Rarity is…”
Twilight froze.
“Everypony is here.”
“Twilight?”
“And my friends are all over there…unprotected.”
“You’re scarin’ me, Princess.”
Twilight put her hooves on Applebloom’s shoulders, “Applebloom, I need you to find as many of the royal guard as you can. Tell them to go over to the hospital…now. Can you do that for me?”
“But-“
“Applebloom!”
Applebloom flinched, “Yes, I can.”
“Good. I have to go. Now.”
“What’s going on?”
But before Applebloom could finish asking her question, Twilight had disappeared in a flash of purple and black.