Echoes in the Stone

Rainbow Dash had awoken once more to find herself still living in her personal Tartarus.  She laid back down on the floor in her cell of stone and mildew.  It was worse than the dark and dank dungeons the diamond dogs had.  How many times had she counted the number of stones that contained her?  She gritted her teeth as she stretched her wings.  The lack of use combined with the torture she’d been through had left ,them weak and bruised. A low grumble emanated from her stomach.  A reminder that her body had taken away a bit of her pride.

How long had it been since she’d eaten all the moss in the cell for nourishment? Was it yesterday she caught and ate a rat?  Her mind wandered to her close friends.  She could imagine Fluttershy frozen with shock and appall, staring in wide-eyed bewilderment.  Rainbow let out a soft sob.  She would believe that Rarity would clean her on the spot, while Applejack would’ve conflicted between comforting her and rushing off in a blind rage to pummel whoever had done this to her friend.  Rainbow’s sob turned into an uncontrollable cry.  A ghostly visage of her friends surrounded her.

Amongst the soothing whispers of her imagination, she heard, “Where are you Rainbow?”  Dash choked up.

“I’m here.”  She said in between sobs in seeing her marefriend.  “I’m here Fluttershy.”

The hallucinations faded away as Rainbow crumpled on the floor.  From the sobs came rekindled Determination. Fury and Desperation burned in her eyes as she glared at the iron bars of her cell. “I’ll find a way back.  I swear it.”

Her friends, her source of hope and motivation in this. The hope she might see them again fueled her mutilated and weakened body.  With that motivation, that desire, she chiseled away at the cell bit by bit, ever so slowly the bars weakened, causing the stone around as the gate grow smaller.

Her determination was fueled by the rage towards the ones that had tricked and mutilated her body. She would expose them for everything they had done to her.  It all started with that Celestia-damned recruiter, promising an adventure worthy of Daring Do. With even more promises of staying young forever and never slowing down.  She should have known that something was wrong with that smile and the silver tongue of lies.  She’d forgotten why she agreed. Faint memories of a half-baked contingency plan of running off and contacting the authorities danced in her head.

She was experimented on and tortured. They forced her to fly as fast as she could inside the field that was designed for her. Involuntary blood sampling and invasive surgeries became the norm, and the fact that this became normal to her fueled her determination even more. They had her blindfolded, shackled, gagged and drugged for every experiment.  She had fought long and hard during the first operation, but they subdued her every retaliation with practiced ease.  They had fed her from time to time. But rare were those times now that the experiments were over. After countless failed attempts, the pony researchers just gave up. Instead of putting her out of her misery, they locked her back in her cell and left her to rot in that prison, alone.

It was time.  Time to run home and expose this horror to the world, one last chip one last shove and bars came crashing down.  A sharp pain shot through her left foreleg when she landed.  She stood still in the hallway, looking left, then right and waiting for the guards who must have surely heard the crash.

The walls here were different, vines and roots crept between the stones, and the occasional plop of water echoed up and down the hall. With a limp she began to move, favoring her right foreleg.

She barely heard the click before she dove sideways.  Bullets whizzed by her side as she ducked to cover

“Code red, I repeat, code red! Use of lethal force is authorized! Fire at will! Over!” She heard one of the guards yell. She needed to get out of here as fast as possible, ran out of cover and down the hall. “Target is moving East! Over!” She heard the same guard yell, right before the bullets rained down on her. Despite her malnourished, weakened state, she was able to dodge them.

She didn’t come out of the firefight unscathed, though. One left a new bright red line along her coat just under the wing. Flaring her wings she took off at a gallop, the pain in her ankle forgotten as she reached takeoff speed and made for a nearby door. She reached the door, but barely.  She noticed it was aluminum and screamed in frustration and looked towards the ground.

“You can do this Dashie,” she told herself. Lifting head she looked about and saw no other way, the guards were small in the distance, not yet firing due to how far away they were. Taking a deep breath, she mustered her strength and thought of Fluttershy. The time spent helping her with taking care of her animals, the time spent in her loving company, she just wanted it all back.

She flung her back legs out and was rewarded with the screech of metal tearing free from stone and light flooded the hall around and smiling to herself she turned and bolted out the door, raising one hoof as she took off into the air to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight and smiling for a brief moment.

“Good. That hasn’t changed”, she thought as she looked around at the jungle under her. She didn’t have any time to spare, however, moments later she could hear the guard yell.

“Target has escaped the compound! Elevating status to Code Black! Over!” The Guard yelled. Dash took this as her signal to start moving again. Right before the bullets started raining down on her, she crouched down and bolted into the sky. The moment she hit the tree line, her vision was momentarily obscured with leaves, but before she knew it, she was above the trees. Smiling to herself, she started flying east. She put on a burst of speed and flying as fast as she could away from that place.

Adrenaline is a marvelous chemical, though it’s effects are temporary, it can numb or eliminate pain altogether, it can grant creatures the power to have strength far beyond what they thought they were capable of.

What it can’t do is reverse bone damage in your wings due to a stray bullet.

Pain rocketed through her right wing as she felt it tear from her body. The smell of burnt feathers and flesh invaded her nostrils as she spiraled out of control.  Noticing her current trajectory would be sending her head first into a tree, She gained back control of her body and positioned herself so that her shoulder would take the brunt of the damage. Hitting the tree, she plummeted through the canopy like a ragdoll, bouncing on the ground multiple times, each accompanied by sickening crunches, before skidding to a halt.  Dash moaned in pain and fought to get back to her hooves, only to collapse on the ground once more, sending pain rocketing through her body.  Her breath got caught when she looked up.  A finely dressed earth pony stallion stared down at her and smiled wickedly.

“Perhaps I underestimated you Miss Dash.  Think you still have enough fight to sing a few more songs for me?”  The stallion pulled a device from his sleeve.  Before Rainbow had a chance to react her vision was blinded by a bright flash of light.  She slumped to the jungle floor, suddenly feeling drained.  “I eagerly await to see what becomes of you. How far will your wings of loyalty fly, I wonder.” She tried to say something, but couldn’t find the energy to even moan in pain. The stallion raised his hoof to his neck and pressed down on his collar before speaking. “Target apprehended.”

Dash’s world faded in and out as the stomping of hooves through the forest echoed around her. All she could see was the earth pony above her and the device he held. A strange mechanical pen by the looks of it. She wondered what shot her before the stallion disappeared and after what seemed like hours another stallion or dragon appeared, she couldn't tell, as she faded into unconsciousness.

~

Twilight watched the scenery fly by as she gazed out of the train car window. Her thoughts were dwelling in the past. While four of her friends were happily conversing with themselves behind her, it felt wrong that their loyal prankster wasn’t with them. Despite the fact that it had been five years, the pain that came with Rainbow Dash’s disappearance had still not left.

After the events of Tirek, something had struck the multi-chromed pegasus deeply. That feeling of helplessness when someone else controlled your fate, and there was nothing you could do to stop or save yourself came at a lofty mental price. Soon after the fight, Dash had put up her normal act of arrogance and stoicism for a while, but all her friends could see the truth behind the act.  Just before the group decided to intervene with Dash’s problem, she disappeared without a trace and never told anyone where or why.

Twilight immediately began searching for her close friend.  She used every possible means and sought every feasible and improbable place.  With the help of the solar and lunar diarchy and the Crystal Kingdom, they searched for weeks.  Weeks turned into months, and months, into a year.  The governments eventually stopped their search and turn back to governing the ponies after exhausting every lead they could find, no matter how minuscule or benign they were, to begin with. Twilight thanked them for their time and effort before continuing her search for another year. She held faith that she was still alive. Even after she stopped searching, she would wait in Ponyville and gaze into the sky for any trace of her cyan coat.

It wasn’t till she received a letter from Spitfire three years later did she find out her fate.  She had been found on a jungle island, dead and mutilated. Twilight was so distraught with grief and denial that she took it out on Spike. Her denial led her to draw elaborate equations, and theories all coming back to the same, conclusion that Dash was still alive, despite her corpse being proof otherwise. Her denial eventually resulted in her absence from Rainbow Dash’s funeral.

In the privacy of their home, Twilight yelled, screamed and begged Spike for the truth.  In her broken mind, she felt justified hurling insults and accusations at her foster younger brother.  Spike, for his part, knew Twilight needed to vent her stress, but after being the brunt of her anger for long enough, he stormed out of her life.

“Twilight darling.  Are you alright?”  Rarity’s voice snapped Twilight back to the present.

She felt the tears rolling down her cheeks.  She hastily wiped them away with her hoof before responding, “Yes.  Everything is just fine.” She replied, a fake smile plastered on her face. Every time she thought about that day brought tears to her eyes and Rarity knew it. Rarity knew better than to salt healing wounds.

“If you say so.  By the way, Twilight, are you looking forward to my sister’s performance?” Rarity asked, hastily changing the subject, something that Twilight was silently thankful for.

Twilight’s gaze shifted from the Royal blimp in the distance to her friend.  On board, the blimp was the Princesses and her five-year-old niece being taking to her first ever Equestrian Games, and other government officials who wanted her to come along. Twilight, on the other hand, decided to use the Ponyville Express because she wanted to spend time with her friends. The chatter of the brown nosing nobles and the rabid press would just ruin the moment. “Yes I am Rarity and this her first huge performance too,” Twilight added. The funeral and Spike’s departure had hurt Rarity as well.  She saw the beginnings of old age in her friend.  The subtly hidden wrinkles under the eyes and her mane had few hints of gray.

Sweetie Belle was the talk of Equestria, some even saying that she was the next Sapphire Shores. Twilight would agree that she was a talented singer, and she did enjoy hearing her.

“Oh, I am so nervous for her.” Rarity said while falling back into the car’s padded bench.

“Don't worry Rarity she’ll do fine,” Twilight assured her and put her hoof around her friend’s shoulder.

“You're right,” Rarity said, “But I can’t help but feel proud of her.  So soon after finding her extraordinary talent, she’s singing in front of the whole nation.”

Twilight nodded and watched her other friends converse.  Pinkie had never slowed down her antics while Fluttershy had watched in quiet fascination.  She was getting better at opening up to others.  Twilight even heard a rumor that she had a colt friend now, but had yet to figure out who.  No stuffy noble blimp could compare to the warm reception of her friends.

~

The 100th Annual Equestrian Games was held in the grand city of Manehattan.  Ponies and griffons came from all corners of the country.  The air felt somehow subdued.  What normally was an exciting event filled with cheerful boasting and friendly competition felt more like a routine tradition.

They got off at the Grand Central Terminal; it had been years since they had come to Manehattan.  The crowd was far larger and louder now than it was back then. As they walked outside, they took in the changes the city had made since the last time they came here, together; Oh, Rainbow. No matter how many times Twilight tried to move on after the funeral, she always looked back on that day. How did this happen? She always thought that somewhere, Rainbow must have tried to comeback,  but whatever happened to her? As she kept losing herself in the sea of thought. Applejack figured this was the best time to snap her out of it.

“Twilight!”

“Wha.. huh!?” Twilight sputtered out of her thoughts.

“Is everything alright, sugarcube?”  Applejack asked with concern.

“I…” Twilight knew she had been caught and could not lie her way out of it.  “No.”  She replied, sadly.

“Care to share?” Applejack asked her, tilting her head a little bit.

“It feels, empty.”

“Come again?” Applejack asked tilting her head.

“Rainbow, then Spike. Without them, it isn’t the same Applejack. I just can’t help this feeling.”

“Twi, we all miss them. But we have to face facts. Rainbow is gone. Whatever took her-”

“Applejack, it doesn’t feel like Rainbow Dash just, died.” Twilight interrupted, this caused Applejack to pause, giving her time to draw up one of her many theories from memory, “If that happened, then her magic would have dissolved instantly.”

“What are you getting at?” Applejack asked carefully.  She knew that given the chance, Twilight would go off on a tangent and spiral down into a maniac depression.

“That her cloud home, it’s still there.”

Applejack wondered at how a cloud house had any significance to a ponies demise but decided to let Twilight explain it, “And that means….”

“It means that she may still be alive.  Cloud homes are magically tied to their owners!”

“Hold on a minute sugar cube.  Or, maybe the new owners have been maintaining it. Maybe she died sometime after they sold her property.”

Twilight shook her head. “Then, explain to me why the magical charge feels the same as Rainbow’s and not Scootaloo’s.”

“You know I can’t answer that. So you’re sayin’ that Rainbow is…”

“Twilight! There you are.” A familiar voice called out.  Sparkle and her friends saw Princess Mi Amore Cadenza waving ecstatically towards the group while Princess Celestia and Princess Luna gave a curt nod to her.

Before any other pleasantries were given, Cadence and Twilight rushed to each other to perform their special greeting ritual.  Both bursting into laughter soon afterward. “I'm so glad you could make it. I haven't seen you in a long time.”

“I'm sorry Cadence. I've been busy reviewing my friendship notes and adventures and hadn't time to hang out with my little niece.  And considering that Discord just up and disappeared recently, I think Fluttershy is starting to worry.”  Twilight paused to look around for her brother. Normally he'd be right by her sister-in-law's side.  “Where's Shining and Skyla?”

Some of the joy in Cadence's face faded. “There were some urgent matters that Shining had to take care of.”   She saw concern suddenly envelop Twilight and her friends, but was quick to dismiss it.  “Nothing bad, I assure you.  Just something that was unavoidable. On the other hoof, Skyla is waiting for you in the seats already; a guard is already looking after her.”

“Come, you two.  The games are about to start.  We mustn't be late for the opening ceremony” Celestia said to them.  The group nodded in agreement and walked, or in Pinkie’s case hopped, to where the royalty and honorable guests would preside.

~

The subdued atmosphere from before erupted into unconstrained excitement once the opening ceremony began.  Each event, race, and competition were met with fierce determination from all athletes. The fans from Ponyville cheered loudly for Scootaloo when she got silver in the flying games, more so than those from other cities. For once in a long time, Twilight was enjoying herself as she watched her hometown play. She didn't care if they won or lost, it only matters if they were having fun. Then came the halftime show.  A pony with gray fur and darker gray mane with a business suit on came on stage and spoke into the microphone.

“We are pleased to present for the last time on stage Sapphire Shores and first time here, Sweetie Belle!” He announced. A thunderous cacophony of cheer followed that announcement which didn’t quiet down till the lights dimmed. Two spotlights shined upon the musical diva and her protégé.  The song was on drums, and their voice filled the stage making sure no one was exempt from hearing them.

The stadium was buzzing with commotion. It was a performance beyond anyponies expectations.  Rarity was shedding liquid pride.  “That’s my sister!” she shouted over the crowd, much to everyone’s surprise.

The games continued on its agenda.  The next competition was the flyers relay race.  Twilight was wondering how well the new Wonderbolts would do against the griffon kingdoms best.  She found herself staring at the attention grabbing eagle/lion hybrids when one of them looked at her.  She felt a rush of air and liquid blow over her from her left side just as she heard a sickening sound of flesh being ripped. Before she could react, less than half a second later the sound of two gunshots echoed across the stadium, silencing everyone, including the currently competing athletes. She turned to where Cadence and Skyla were sitting.  Twilight’s eyes shrank to pinpricks at what see saw.

Skyla had fallen off of her chair, slumped down onto the floor as blood flowed freely out of her body, she wasn’t moving. The bullet had decapitated her, essentially eliminating any chance of survival. Cadence, however, was doing better, but not by a lot. Even though the bullet had not completely destroyed her body, the bullet had blown a hole right where her heart was. Cadence in shock of what just happened, could do nothing but stare blankly as the truth of what had just occurred settled in.

The short silence after the bangs exploded into screams of terror and fright as Twilight rushed over to Cadence, while Luna and Celestia rushed over to Skyla. All sense of reason was thrown away as thousands of ponies ran in a panicked frenzy out of the stadium.  The guards tried to maintain order but were overwhelmed by the masses.

Twilight noticed that Princess Celestia and Luna were attempting to keep Skyla alive, or at least try to bring her back to life without resorting to necromancy. Because of this, Twilight focused her magic on her former foal sitter while holding her hoof, Cadence gripped Twilight back out of reflex. She kept pumping more and more recovery magic into her body. But it was all for nothing. Seconds later, Cadence’s grip on Twilight's hoof slackened completely, and her head fell limply without control forward, causing the tiara on her head to fall to the floor. As Twilight tried to shake Cadence awake, akin to how a filly would shake their parents awake, the tiara slowly rolled to a stop.

Twilight looked at her old mentor for help and was frightened to see the fury burning in her eyes.  Her expression shared by her sister Luna who just left in an attempt to help the guard control the crowd.

She felt her heart tear into more pieces.  Someone had just taken a dear friend of hers away right in front of her. Rage boiled within her and began to consume her heart. She would not let this go unsolved. Not after what happened to Rainbow Dash, and not after what happened to Spike. She had lost too many friends. But there was still a chance to catch the murderer.  Blinking back the tears in her eyes, she quickly scanned the chaotic scene before her and cast tracing spells over the fragments of lead located near both Skyla and Cadence.

Despite how well hidden the assassin was when committing the act; the griffon, now exposed, as he hastily tried to pack his gear.  Twilight spied him on the rooftops outside the stadium and teleported to him in an instant.

Twilight charged her telekinesis spell, “Hey!  Where do you…”  Her magic gripped the griffon as he spun around and attempted to knock her out with a punch.  However, he was slammed into the ground before he could. “Think you’re going!?”  Twilight finished.  “Do you know what you took from me?” She screamed in fury, her coat had turned white, while her mane and tail were now on fire due to the emotional overload. She lifted him into the air and slammed him harder into the ground.  His body was crushed over his right wing as his head banged against the floor. “How could do it!?  Why did you do it!?”  Twilight was screaming through her tears.  Sorrow, rage, and revenge battled in her head until finally, she let him go from her magical grip, her mane, tail, and coat returning to normal and she stared down at the griffin with fury.

Blood spilled from the griffon's wounds where bone and broken through. Despite the pain, the assassin glared at the small princess.  Ever so slowly, a cruel smile crept upon his beak as he reached under one of his wings and pulled out a small capsule.

“What are you doing?” She received no answer as the assassin popped the capsule into his beak and bit down on it. Moments later the griffin began laughing maniacally a crazed look in his eyes, right before convulsing violently. Twilight stared in horror as the murderer of her friend and niece violently shook on the ground while foaming at the mouth. Eventually, the body became still, the final indication of his death being his eyes finally rolling into the back of his head. The foam from his mouth dripped out of his mouth, mixing with the fragments of bone from her attack, and the slowly growing pool of blood below.  Twilight was shocked, confused, terrified, and angry, but none of what she felt gave her the answers she wanted.  Amidst the chorus of screams below in Manhattan, she could swear she heard a small chuckle.