The sun enters through the stained glass at Canterlot Castle's court room, and reflects on the white fur of Princess Celestia. She sits on her throne, listening to her nephew go on and on about his supposed "improvements" on the way she and Luna run the country. She feels thankful that she managed to come up with the spell she now used.

"...and finally, after the relocation of those bloody peasants off Canterlot, and to somewhere more fitting, perhaps Ponyville, you should appoint me as yours and Luna's Councilor and Vizier."

She had divided her mind, one part focusing on Prince Blueblood's droning about the lower classes, while the other distracts itself, checking the balance of the Harmonic Plane. She finds odd the new arrangement the place took, with many floating white panels of energy through a hallway. As she nears one of the panels, it presents her an image of herself, sitting on her throne at Canterlot Castle's court room.

"For the 74th time, Blueblood, those good ponies you referred to as 'bloody peasants' are going to stay. Not only they remind us of the place we would be if we hadn't been born in this luxury, they do most of the hard work around here. Or do you wish to relocate the staff that serves you on your home to Ponyville?"

Blueblood puts his hoof on his chin, looking as thoughtful as he can.

In the planes, Celestia feels something; a dark, looming sensation washing her over. Something is amiss. She looks at the panels, hoping they, perhaps, would tell her what caused this strange shift in balance.

"Nephew, I must go."

"But auntie, you haven't even told me if you would accept me as your vizier. I demand you answer me!"

"Guards, please escort Prince Blueblood out of the castle."

Celestia fuses her mind together into one. Her horn projecting a golden aura, she slides the throne and reveals a door, with a hole in the center. Celestia puts her horn in the hole, and the door glows golden, revealing a coffer studded with diamonds. She opens the chest and looks at the Elements of Harmony.

Her jaw drops in horror at the sight. The tiara emblazoned with Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark, once golden and shiny, is now a dull gray, with a crack in the middle.

This... This cannot be!

A day had passed. Or at least Twilight thinks so. It was hard to tell without the sun, or the sounds of the animals. Time seemed to be meaningless in the cave. Her mind tortures her with images of things to come; Of Princess Celestia’s reaction, of the possibility that the very presence of the princess would harm her, of what she may do to her friends. She noticed, a while ago, an intoxicating smell. She assumes it is blood. She feels weak, and hungry.

I can’t feed. I won’t. She thinks.

The smell tempts her. Twilight knows it won’t harm anypony now, since it was stored now outside their bodies, but still, she refuses to fall in temptation.

“You still don’t drink. I must ask ‘why?’” says Reißzähne. “You have become a superior being, even in servitude to me. We are as gods. And you still care for the lesser races. We are the future. This, you must accept. To your desires, you must now submit.”

“You’d wish that, wouldn’t you? Well, I won’t! I won’t betray Princess Celestia, I won’t betray my friends, and I won’t bow down to you!”

“Kneel.” He orders, his voice full of hatred. She grudgingly obeys.

“And yet you say you won’t bow to me. You are lucky the only thing I can’t make you do is feed. Still, it is a two edged sword. It will be so much more satisfying to break you. Starve, if that’s what you want. Maybe your friends will even forget that you ever existed.” He speaks, an unbearable rage in the coldness of his voice.

Twilight:

I must ask for your and your friends’ presence in Canterlot Castle as soon as possible. I'm afraid something has happened to the Elements of Harmony. This must be resolved as quickly as possible. Please come as fast as you can.

Princess Celestia

An hour has passed since Celestia sent the letter, and no answer has come. Worry painting her factions, she closes her eyes, holds the coffer in her hooves, and disappears in a flash of light. She opens her eyes, knowing her teleportation has been a success. She is in the middle of Ponyville.

"What the..." A passerby mutters, speaking the thoughts of everypony else, before bowing.

"No time for pleasantries, my subjects. Where is Carrousel Boutique?"

Everypony points with their hooves to the carrousel shaped building. Celestia gallops at full speed. She stops to knock on the door, but the door opens by itself.

"What's going on... Princess Celestia?!"

"Time is short, Rarity. We must find the rest of the elements now. I'm afraid something terrible has happened."

"What do you mean, Princess?"

Instead of replying, Celestia opens the coffer, revealing the broken jewel laying within. Rarity's pupils shrink as pinpricks. Without a word, she runs towards the town's library. She opens the door, to see the place is empty. She runs around, opening every door, but no Twilight is to be found, and for that matter no Spike either.

She runs back to the streets. Princess Celestia waits for her there.

"She's not here. She's not here!" She cries.

The words echo in Celestia's mind for a second.

"Let's go get everypony else, quickly!"

"I can't find her! She's not here!" Fluttershy cries out, standing atop Rainbow Dash's house, which is made of clouds. Her voice has become a high pitched shrill from the worry. In the ground, two earth ponies, a unicorn and an alicorn receive the news, their hearts heavy with sorrow.

"What in tarnation should we do now? We can't just wait for them to arrive!" Applejack says, as she held a sobbing Pinkie Pie, her pink hair falling in flat strands, pointing straight to the ground.

"Princess, don't you have a way to search for her? To sense her magic or some fancy stuff like that?"

"I'm doing exactly that, Applejack. However, her magic print is strangely weak. She must be underground, in some sort of cave, with her magic weakened. It's the only way this makes any sense." Celestia says. This only causes everypony to be more worried.

"Wait. What is that..." Everyone looks at her with a glimpse of hope shining in their eyes. "Dragon magic? It's getting close. Everypony, go southeast!"

They gallop southeast, to the border of the Everfree forest. They hear voices yelling.

"HELP! HELP!"

They run to the voice. Flying out of the forest comes a cyan figure, screaming for help, as a purple one rides over the cyan.

"Princess Celestia!" Rainbow Dash and Spike say. "Twilight's been kidnapped!"

"How... How can this be happening?!" Rarity cries, as she turns to comfort Pinkie.

"Rainbow Dash, what happened?" asks Celestia.

It was a nice, pleasant day in Ponyville. The sun shone through the thin clouds that the weather team had laid, the air was dry, but not too much, and the temperature was cool, but not too cold. A rainbow trail moved through the sky, finally landing in front of the door of the library.

This is it, Rainbow Dash. You've been doubting yourself for weeks, but now you're here. You're gonna ask her out. Just, don't screw it up, okay?She thought to herself.

She knocked on the door, and was answered by a voice that said "Coming!". The door opened, and she saw a purple dragon behind it.

"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash"

"Hi, Spike. Is Twilight in here?"

"Yeah, I'll call her. Say, you've been coming over a lot recently."

"Oh, really? I didn't notice." Rainbow Dash said, a bit flustered.

"Wait a second." Spike said as he turned around and went into the tree. Half a minute passed, and a lavender unicorn came out of the library.

"Hello, Rainbow Dash. How are you doing?" Twilight Sparkle said. Rainbow Dash didn't respond, instead looking at her with her mouth slightly ajar, like she had just been subject to an anaesthetic spell. After a few seconds, she shook her head and answered.

"Hi, Twilight..." She said, awkwardly avoiding her friend's gaze, which made her seem a bit like her friend Fluttershy.

Oh crap, I can't do this. I can't! What if she doesn't like me? I don't even know if she likes mares! For all I know, she's straight! What am I going to do?!

She didn't show her nerves, her face instead looking at nothing in particular.

"Rainbow Dash, you're sweating."

The pegasus shook her head twice, suddenly aware of the beads falling from her forehead.

"It's... from flying here. Anyway, I wanted to tell you something..." Her voice trailed off.

Suddenly, the sound of books hitting the floor, followed by Spike's annoyed groan saved Dash from the awkwardness. Twilight quickly turned her head.

"Spike, what happened?"

"Sweetie Belle, that's what!"

"I'm sorry, Spike! I thought I could levitate it!"

"Well, at least it isn't on fire like last time." He deadpanned

Twilight turned around, and walked inside the library. Rainbow Dash's eyes laid on Twilight's form, unfettered by the looks of those passing by, until she caught herself doing so. With Twilight gone for a few seconds, she could put her thoughts in order, steel her resolve and just tell her already.

Seventeen seconds passed before Twilight returned, seemingly satisfied by Sweetie Belle's apology, followed by the white unicorn filly, who ran off to Carrousel Boutique.

"So, Rainbow Dash, you wanted to tell me something?" Twilight Sparkle inquired. Rainbow Dash gulped and sighed.

"Well... IhavesometicketstoagigbyabandandIwantedtoaskyouifyouwantedtogowithmeifyoudon'thaveanythingelsetodo!" Rainbow Dash said. Then she Closed her eyes and looked away, blushing, expecting rejection to hit her, her hopes withering in the air. Twilight stood silent, her brain struggling to process what Rainbow Dash had said, mostly because she spoke quite fast.
A few seconds passed with no answer. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and turned to look at Twilight.

"I'd love to go with you."

HELL YYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rainbow Dash thought eloquently.

"Why did you have to bring Spike with us?"

Why are you so naïve, Twilight?! This was supposed to be a date!

"I just couldn't leave him alone. And Rarity was too busy to take care of him."

Dusk painted the sky red as they waited in line. The auditorium was a tall, grey building made out of concrete. It had windows without glass so the wind would pass easily through the building. One of the walls was covered with a pink banner, with a distorted photograph of the torso of a pony holding a guitar in his hooves. The banner proudly stated "Hearts and Hooves Massacre! Only Tonight!"

Rainbow Dash couldn't avoid feeling strangely neglected by her friend, her plans to woo Twilight Sparkle shattered by her beloved's ingenuity. The tickets felt heavy in her saddlebags. She wondered, exactly, where she had gone wrong.

Perhaps she thought I invited her as just a friend. Hell, I'm not even sure that she likes mares. I should have thought this through. What the hell was I thinking?!

"Tickets, please." She heard a mare say.

She suddenly noticed that she had dozed off, and that she had reached the end of the line.

"Tickets, please." The mare repeated. Rainbow Dash pulled out the tickets from her saddlebags, and handed over to the ticket mare, who then moved aside, revealing a turnstile. Rainbow, Twilight and Spike walk through it, and then walk through some stairs. At the door to the seats was a stallion giving out earmuffs he had in a bucket.

"What are these for?" Twilight asked the stallion.

"The band is legally obliged to give them out in concerts, lest they be sued." The stallion answered. Twilight picked up two pairs of ear muffs, put one on and gave the other to Spike. Rainbow Dash scoffed at the precaution, but still took a pair, putting them in her saddlebags.

At last they took their seats. They were marked G41, G42 and G43. Through the glass ceiling, Rainbow Dash looked at the night sky. Today was a dark night, lit only by numerous stars, as there was no moon. Rainbow Dash frowned and squinted when she saw something floating over the auditorium. The silhouette had the shape of a pony. Rainbow Dash blinked, and the silhouette was gone.

Must've been my imagination.

After a few minutes of waiting, the lights were turned off at the seats, and turned on at the stage. From the left entered two unicorn mares, a unicorn stallion and an earth pony. The earth pony walked to the drums, and the three unicorns proceeded to levitate two guitars and a bass guitar.

"I don't know why they gave us the earmuffs, Twi. I mean, the albums are rather soft sounding, you know?" Rainbow Dash said. She was gathering her resolve to do something, anything, to show what she felt. She shifted in her seat, moving closer to Twilight, until she could almost feel the warmth of her body. Twilight turned to look at her friend, now so close, theey could almost touch. A spark of recognition started to shine in her eyes.

Then, the band started to play. A wave of sound suddenly assaulted Rainbow Dash's eardrums. A scream of anguish left her throat, but went unnoticed by everypony but Twilight and Spike. Twilight's horn lit, a lavender aura inside Rainbow's ears appeared, reconstructing flesh and organs, while Spike took Rainbow Dash's earmuffs and put them in her head.

Damn it, I was so close! Stupid timing!

"Wait for me, I'm going to the bathroom." Twilight said, leaving Rainbow Dash and Spike alone at the exit. They were in the path just outside the concert hall, which was close to the forest. The trees threw shadows that seemed to move, and, though she wouldn't admit it, scared Rainbow Dash a bit.

"Thanks, Rainbow Dash. And I thought you just invited her to, I don't know, date her or something."

Rainbow Dash looked at him, a miserable look on her face.

"I was that obvious, huh?"

Spike blinked, then stared at her for a few seconds, mouth wide open.

"Holy crap, you were?! I was joking!" He finally said, still staring at his friend.

"Hey, It's not like you ruined everything, or something like that. It's just... well, Twi's so naïve, you know? I thought I was being clear with her, about this being a, um, what's the word, uh... intimate thing."

"Well, I heard you and her talk, and you didn't say anything about going with just her. You should've been more obvious about it."

"I was relying on clues, okay?"

"Why?"

"I don't know. I asked Rarity to lend me some of her sappy novels, to prepare myself. It obviously didn't work, though. What do I do?!" She yelled.

"I don't know. You could kiss her, or something." Spike answered.

It was so simple, and yet she hadn't thought about it until now. If her beloved was so innocent, she would state the obvious in an unmistakable way. It was perfect.

This is going to go so well!

Rainbow Dash and Spike heard some steps nearing, and turned around. It was Twilight Sparkle, who walked across.

"Do it now." Spike whispered to Rainbow Dash.

"Hey everypony, ready to leave?" Twilight asked to her friends.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to show you, Twilight. Just close your eyes, and wait."

"Okay... I just hope it isn't some kind of prank." She reluctantly closed her eyes. A few seconds passed before Twilight's curiosity got the better of her and she slightly opened her right eye. She saw for a fraction of a second cyan fur, and felt for a second warm breath in her muzzle.

"Wh-" was all Rainbow Dash heard before her lips smashed against Twilight's. It felt so good, to finally share her feelings with her, to not be misunderstood, to feel the warmth of her skin on her lips. Twilight hesitated for a moment, stunned at the realisation, but then kissed back, opening her mouth a little, running her tongue over Rainbow Dash's. She was enthralled by this new sensation, by the warmth of Rainbow Dash's fur. A minute had gone by, but it felt like hours, hours neither of them would've minded to have passed kissing, until Twilight started to feel out of breath, and broke the contact.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked softly. They heard a loud thud, and before Twilight could turn around, she fell to the floor, knocked out. Over her loomed a large unicorn stallion, covered in dirt, whose horn shone a dark blue and lifted Twilight Sparkle.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!!" Rainbow Dash and Spike both screamed as they lunged over the stallion, but in a flash of light, he disappeared, and then appeared back thirty meters away, covered in the shadows of the trees of the Everfree.

"Be lost, you fools, lest you suffer her fate." He said, before running to the insides of the forest.

Spike jumped over Dash's back, and they followed the white stallion into the shadows of the Everfree.

"...and then, after we reached a spot where there wasn't as many trees as before, he just teleported again, and he was gone. We couldn't find him or Twilight anywhere, so we ran, trying to get out of the forest and get a way to contact you, princess. Do you know where se is?" Spike says. He took over the recapitulation of what happened last night, because Rainbow Dash stopped to cry halfway through.

"I don't know that, yet. But, if you could point to the direction from which you came from, I may be able to find her. I hope you didn't get lost." Spike turns around and points ahead.

"Lets go, everypony!" The princess exclaims as she charges on through the trees.

Twilight's stomach roars, desiring to be filled. To distract herself, she focuses on regaining her magical faculties. She tries to pull one of the dangling roots that hang from the ceiling. A lavender aura, covers the plant, and with some effort, it falls to the floor of the cave. She lifts it to her mouth, and bites it. She retches and spits it.

What the hay...? Why was that so bitter? It's a root. It should be only a little bitter, not taste like that! She thinks.

"Did you not like the roots? I myself have sampled them. Sadly, blood does not fully nourish the body. Solids must be taken from time to time. These Everfree trees taste delicious, don't you think?" Reißzähne speaks mockingly, while he lifts a golden vial. The smell that comes from it is amazing.

Twilight refuses to answer to him.

"Answer me." He growls, his voice deep and cold.

"It's bitter."

"Ah, yes, I keep forgetting. Everything tastes bitter, when you haven't drank." He levitates the vial closer.

The smell is irresistibly wonderful. It smelled like one of Pinkie's cupcakes, only a thousand times better. The smell promised warmth and pleasure should it be drank, and Twilight's stomach roars. She walks near, almost touching the flask with her muzzle. She sees the crimson ichor move inside it, oh, so tempting.

"NO! I won't drink it!" She hits the flask with her muzzle, causing it to spill its contents on the floor of the cave. She then eats a bite of the bitter root.

"Suit yourself, my dear." Reißzähne says, and walks until he is facing her. "Such a beautiful face you posses. It's such a pity to see it consumed by hunger." He speaks as he strokes her cheek, leaving the cold trail of his hoof over her face. Twilight shivers. "Why must you do this to yourself? Why do you self inflict this pain? Why do you deny yourself this pleasure?" He continues, his hoof rubbing Twilight's neck.

"Stop it! Get off me!" She screams. She tries to fling him away with her magic, almost by instinct, but to no use. His horn flashes, a ghostly light filling the cave. Twilight is covered in a pale aura. She tries to scream, but her mouth is kept firmly shut.

"Stop me." He mocks, his voice hopelessly cold, as he runs his hoof over Twilight's stomach, slightly prodding, until he finds a soft spot. He then forcefully hits her, knocking the air out of her, then lifts her in his hooves and throws her to the floor.

"I'll break you, through any means necessary. You will obey my every whim." He says as he comes closer. "After this, you'll drink, or else, I'll do it again, and again, and again." Twilight's eyes show her fear, but she can't scream. She stares with growing horror at the stallion, and tries to close her eyes, but he forces them open, as he walks closer.

"I'll fucking break you, and you'll grow to love it." He triumphantly states, as he turns around, and kicks her with all his might, sending her flying across the cave, the sound of cracking bones filling the air. He walks to her, and hits her face with his hoof, leaving a red mark as tears flow over her face. Then, he kicks her, shifting her position with every blow, until they both are looking at the same direction.

"You are mine now." He whispers to her ear, but before his torture could truly begin, they hear the sound of ground being lifted, and see a glowing light entering through the ceiling.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay. I got stuck thinking on how the fuck I was supposed to continue the story. You may think it was the bit about rape, but no. It was the Rainbow Dash flashback. Hope you liked the chapter. Will be posting chapter III before Halloween.