Mad World

by Adaptive

Rating: mature
Tags: Adventure, Tragedy, Dark, Sad
Length: 17128

A telling of events that lead a majority of the Mane 6 into either insanity or madness.

The tale tells of the Mane 6 as their world is torn apart through a dramatic twist of events. One by one the ponies of the Elements of Harmony are forced into scenarios that will push their boundaries. For some it will make them choose what is more valuable, their friendship or their own survival. Meanwhile who is pulling the strings?

This story will be done in parts and will often change PoV so I can work on my ability to write stories in that way. Their will probably be some sequences where it is in narrative third person, but most will be done from the PoV of one of the Mane 6.

The wonderful image is from KittyIsAWolf over at Deviantart.

Now freshly edited Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 Part 1 by Echriedz and The Grey Pegasus. Yay!

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-07 21:16:54 UTC

Chapter 1: Awakening

Mad World

Awakening

   Twilight awoke to find herself alone, unaware of what had transpired. Examining the room, she took interest to the lack of a roof and the room being scorched at one time previously. The banners, charred and brittle, were of royalty and the throne belonging to that of Celestia herself, Twilight quickly figured out she was in the Royal Canterlot Palace throne hall.

   Trying to think back to the previous days, she attempted to put the pieces back together. But to no avail. Her mind couldn’t recall anything of the past few days or farther. Standing back on all fours, Twilight shook herself off and illuminated her horn in an attempt to brighten the room. The night sky was nice and all, but didn't provide the necessary brightness.

   "Hello?! Anypony here?!" The words rang through the building. Twilight waited a moment, but received no reply. It occurred to her that she could be the sole survivor of whatever catastrophe happened here. In a shiver, Twilight drove the thought of her friends and what may have befallen them from her mind.

   The doors to the hall were closed and barred from the inside. It appeared that the previous occupants had tried to stop the entry of something, but by the condition of the room, failed. Whatever had wanted in simply went through the roof instead of dealing with the door. Most likely due to a magical enchantment of some sorts.

   Though Twilight feared so, she tried to lift the bar locking the door with a levitation spell. It refused to budge, indicating someone with much stronger defensive magic than her own did this. She would have to lift it manually, despite her stature.

   Twilight thought for a moment on the dimensions of the bar and the best way to lift it. The bar sat horizontally across the set of doors, held in place by racks one in the center of each door.  It was apparent she wouldn’t be able to lift it on her own, but Twilight only needed to get it out of the way enough to open one side of the door.

   She decided lifting one side up high enough to slide it to the other end and standing it up would be her best bet. Upon lifting one side up high enough to slide, she did exactly that. The bar gained momentum and tumbled out of it's rack, sending it crashing into the parallel wall. The noise generated sung through the palace.

   "Well if anypony is still in here they surely heard that."

   Twilight opened the door to reveal a hall of horrors. The smell hit her first. Iron resonated through the air with a mix of charred remains. Her vision registered after. Throughout the hall lay deceased, rotting corpses of fallen ponies.

   Out of the dead, Twilight recognized that both Fancy Pants and his wife lay slain. Holding each other in hoof in a most dramatic of poses. They were muzzle to muzzle looking into each others cold, glass eyes. Twilight guessed they died at the same time, but it was hard to tell since she didn't want to get to close to their bodies for fear of what she'd find.

   A flashback began playing through her mind like an old film reel she was reliving. Her body fainted as her mind recapped some of the events of the night.

"Run!"

All the ponies raced down the hallway looking for a retreat from the death that had been trailing all of them, including Twilight. She and the others sped through the corridor. Some had fallen or tripped but no pony stopped to help another out. It was everypony for themselves. The screams from previous pathways could be heard ringing through the palace. They chilled the very soul of the others, knowing that the same will probably happen to them.

Even Twilight had turned to pure instinct and no longer cared for the survival of the others. Her friends were nowhere to be found and rightfully shouldn't be. They had all had other plans than to follow their friend to Canterlot for a celebration. She was thankful they wouldn't have to endure the same fate as her.

The path led to many turnoffs, which some ponies took in a thought of escaping the assailant by hiding out of the line of pursuit and who knew, maybe it did. Twilight didn't want to stop to check, she only wanted to advance to the throne room. Hopefully Shining Armor had set up some sort of defense. Her brother was able to hold out the changelings even when he was weakened by Queen Chrysalis, if anypony could hold out the evil it was him.

Twilight considered teleporting to the throne room but she wasn't familiar enough with her surroundings to guarantee she would hit her mark. She also considered that if Shining had put up a barrier, her spell would rebound, probably sending her back to her doom.

The screams became louder. One by one the fellow ponies around her succumbed to the fatigue of the trot. All the pegusus ponies had already flown away to Cloudsdale, abandoning the rest to deal with their own problem. A few stayed to help their friends or were too weak of flyers to get away. Most of those though suffered an unfortunate end.

Twilight did take notice that earlier a pony that looked like Spitfire crashed into a pillar and everypony ran past, not even Twilight stopped to check on the famous Wonderbolt. Apparently fame didn't give premise to concern in this scenario. Rainbow Dash would've probably stopped even if it cost her life. The loyal cyan pony wouldn't have thought twice about it, but Twilight wasn't Rainbow Dash now was she?

She couldn't just stop, Twilight had to make it to the throne room. It was her only chance at making it out of this. She headed down the last hallway to her destination. She had noted earlier that Fancy Pants and his wife had been running along with the group. His wife tripped a ways from the door. In the only show of care anypony had exerted, Fancy Pants turned back to help his wife. Apparently she wasn't as shallow as Twilight had presumed to be if he would stop for the likes of her.

The throne room doors were closing for the last time. Twilight had to hurry. She could see the royal guard preparing the bar to lock the door. If it closed she would surely die at the hands of her attacker.

"HEY, HOLD THE DOOR! WE’RE ALMOST THERE!" She screamed out as loudly as she could muster, while she was running. She heard her brothers voice, loud and aggressive, ordering them to hold off closing the door. He had recognized her voice. There was no way he would have held open that door any longer than possible if it wasn't for her.

The remaining ponies sped through the gap in the door. Fancy Pants and his wife, along with a few others, weren't so lucky. They pounded on the door in hopes of them opening it back up, but to no avail. Screams of the doomed thundered through the door into the throne room.

"You've killed us!"

"Why!?"

"It's coming!"

"Oh my..." The last scream was cut short. Whatever was out there didn't wait for final request. Twilight imagined the horror that awaited them on the other side of those doors. The room was sealed magically thanks to Shining Armor. He was the strongest defensive magic specialist in all of Equestria, rivaling Celestia herself.

"Twilight, are you okay? I heard you yell in the hallway and got them to delay closing the door. Not long enough to save everypony though." He looked saddened by the thought of it. His mane was distressed and he appeared to have been in a fight with another pony at some point today.

"I'm fine. How many ponies made it?"

"Not as many as I hoped. Also I'm not sure my magic can keep us safe. That thing out there is powerful beyond my comprehension." The doors bent and shook as whatever was out there tried aggressively to break through. The crashes beckoned a shred of worry from the group. Debris fell from the ceiling with each impending shock.

"Listen, I don't know how much time we have till it breaks through. I need you to know that if it does, try and get away. If you can survive it'll mean everything I've done was not in vain. Please just go if it comes to it. Don't worry about me, I'm your big brother. I'll be fine." He was fixated on his little sister.

"NO, I WON'T LEAVE YOU HERE TO DIE! I'll stay by your side till the end of this and we'll be fine." Her voice was shaky and had traces of grief. Fear was apparent on the face of the lavender pony. That combined with sadness as she knew what the likely ending to this event was. She began to cry. Tears streaming down her face, she hugged her brother.

"I'm sorry Twilight, but that's not going to happen. Please listen to me, go! Get out of here while you can. We can't all leave. Some of us have to stay and defend against *her*."

"Twilight, your brother is right. You need to go. Maybe you can get help and save as many as you can." Cadence walked up next to her husband. Her usually fine mane was in worse condition than when Chrysalis had trapped her. The alicorn's coat had tints of dark red, most likely from blood.

The pounding on the door had ceased. The ponies in the room had become a bit nervous as to why. Had she gone away? Was she gathering strength? Was it safe to open the door? These were some of the questions running through everypony’s mind. With the exception of Twilight, Shining, and Cadence. They were too focused on their conversation.

"But... I... c... cou... couldn't li... live with myself if... if..." Twilight had broken down into straight out bawling. She could barely manage to speak and what she could say was only unintelligible cries. Shining gave his little sister a loving embrace.

After thirty seconds or so he released her and held her shoulders with his hooves. Staring straight into Twilight's eyes, "Go. Now, before it's too late. Make your big brother proud."

"K, I'll go." Wiping tears away from her eyes, she nodded in agreement. She had started to trot over to the window as to use a teleportation spell, but she required a direct line of sight to her target. The room began to shake before she could get to the window.

"THE CEILING! SHE'S REMOVING THE CEILING!" The ponies were screaming in fear as their impending death dealer swooped into the room. Twilight turned to get a look at the assailant, but her memory wouldn't let her see the villain. She only saw a black silhouette of a tall alicorn.

"Go! Twilight go now!" She turned to see the silhouette throw Shining against the door behind her. Cadence tried to run to his aid, but was stopped by the figure. The shadow lifted Cadence by the throat and intended to finish her here and now.

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU HURT THEM!" With all the strength she could muster, Twilight teleported every pony in the room to who knows where. As long as it wasn't in the presence of that beast anymore. After using that much energy Twilight collapsed to the ground. Her eyes fixated on the figure. She was barely holding consciousness. The silhouette began her approach to the defenseless unicorn. She stopped just short and rose her head in a proud manner.

"Hahaha! How trivial of you Twilight. You really think I was even after them. Just call them collateral damage. My real intent was to drive you here. Away from your friends and allies. The real game will begin, but all in good time. For now I will see how long it takes to get your friends to crack." The voice was familiar, but demonic nonetheless. It had a double tone to it. A high pitched, normal pony voice with an underlying deep, dark tone.

"Haha!" The figure took flight and left just as Twilight lost consciousness. Her last sight was that of the night sky and the black silhouette ascending towards it.

   Re-awaking, Twilight noticed that it was still night out. She had no way of telling how long she had been asleep or how long it had been since the events of her flashback.

   The flashback. It scared her. "What was all that? Were did I send Shining and the others? Who was the alicorn that did all of that?" These questions began to plague her mind. She wanted to know the last above all things. Her mind was oblivious to her surroundings. The thoughts were consuming her subconscious. It was impossible for her to concentrate on anything outside of what the answers could be.

   "Aaaaahhhhh!" The scream broke Twilight out of her trance. Who in Equestria could still be alive? Twilight stood up, staring down the hallway from which the voice came. A sickening crack rang through the halls. The sound resembled that of breaking bones followed by a loud thud. It had gone back to being silent. Who ever had screamed was surely dead at this point.

   The walls began to shimmer from a light source that was moving towards the throne room. The light was a vibrant red and became brighter the closer it came. She was running out of time. Twilight searched the room for a hiding place. She noted a bookshelf that was knocked down. Levitating it as carefully as she could, Twilight slid into one of the gaps in the shelves and replaced the shelf.

   There was a gap at the base of the floor. Twilight could only see the floor, but that was enough to see the hooves of the pony that would enter the room any minute now.

   The figure trotted into the room, pacing itself with elegant strolls. Twilight seen the hooves of the figure. They were stained with blood and had slight traces of different coats of other ponies. There was no doubt in Twilight's mind that this was the murderer that did all of this. Near the higher part of the hooves there were small portions of uncovered coat. It was a glimmering white color. The white reminded Twilight of Celestia, but there was no way she could have done all of this, right?

   The mare stopped directly in front of the bookcase. Turning so it was facing the bookshelves, Twilight could hear the breathing. It was less than a foot away. She had only one chance. Focusing her energy on concealing the glow of her horn, Twilight levitated a book near the back of the room and sent it flying out the window into the streets below. A resounding thud soon followed, grabbing the attention of the mare.

   The figure turned around with cat-like reflexes and flew out the window in pursuit of the noise. Twilight let out a sigh of relief. That was too close. Whatever was out there was powerful beyond comprehension. It had recognized her hiding place almost instantly upon entering the room. She was lucky that the book decoy had worked.

   After about ten minutes or so of waiting to see if the mare returned, Twilight deemed it to be clear enough to come out. She had started to lift the bookcase when a voice startled her and made her return to her hiding hole.

   "Psst...hey you under there, can you hear me?" Wait a minute, that sounded like... no it couldn't be, but it did sound like her.

   "Trixie?" Twilight whispered to the pony across the room. There was no way that could be her. She must be imagining things.

   "Hold on a minute, is that... Twilight? Oh crap, I'm outta here." A sound of fear ran through Trixie's voice.

   "Wait! What's going on?" Twilight was whispering as loudly as she could. Even though this is the first breathing pony she had met since she woke up, she still feared the return of whatever was out there.

   "What? You don't remember what went down here the last couple days?" Trixie seemed a bit confused, but nonetheless concerned.

   "No, I don't. And I would really appreciate it if you could tell me why I'm surrounded by dead ponies I once knew!"

   "Aaauuuggghhh! Fine, hurry up. And keep your voice down. We have to leave before that thing comes back and we don't want to draw her attention now would we." Trixie may have been a cold hearted boaster when she was in Ponyville, but she was Twilight's best chance at figuring out what happened over the course of the last couple days. At least without relying on sporadic flashbacks.

   Twilight lifted the shelf off of her and placed it back in the same position as before after getting out. Looking over at Trixie, Twilight noted that her appearance had changed drastically. She no longer donned the cape and hat of a magical wizard and simply appeared as all other ponies in Equestria, clothesless. Her coat and mane was unkempt and had traces of ash and rubble. Small glimmers of blood and other things were also apparent in the blue mare's coat and mane.

   "What are you staring at?" A quizzical look came over the former magic show performer. Twilight hadn't realized she had been staring at Trixie.

   "N... nothing, I was just looking at your coat. What's been going on here?" Twilight tried to change the subject away from Trixie's appearance. She felt kinda foolish for letting herself look like an idiot to her former rival.

   "I'll tell you, but first we have to get to a safer place. We don't have time to discuss things like that while she's around. We better get moving before it comes back." Trixie had turned around and headed for the exit. Twilight trotted up next to her, careful not to be too loud.

   "Why don't we just teleport out of here? It would be safer and much quicker." Twilight was afraid of the blue ponies response. She feared Trixie would say something like there is a teleportation blocking spell or something like that over the city.

   "Too risky, if you use any form of advanced magic that requires a lot of energy she'll pick up the energy and trace it to where you went and *slice* that's it." Trixie made a cutting motion with her hoof over her throat to further indicate it was a bad idea. Twilight pondered how it didn't notice her energy when she was concealing the glow of her horn and when she threw the book out the window. Also how had she not noticed all the other things Twilight did?

   Wait, does that mean that she followed Twilight's magic and went to where the ponies she teleported were and killed them? Oh no, what if she did. What if Twilight had inadvertently killed her brother and the others. Twilight drove those thoughts from her mind. She needed to focus on the task at hand.

   "Oh, I see. So do you have a place where we can go to? Like a hideout or someplace safe."

   "No, I was just going to track her like I was doing before." Trixie replied without turning to face her companion. Her eyes were fixed on her surroundings.

   "Wait, hold on here. You were tracking that thing. Why?" Twilight was dumbfounded by her response. Was she really that smart as to follow it without being noticed?

   "Yeah, I was. I want it to be ahead of me at all times to know what it does and when it leaves. She won't think to look behind her. She's all powerful, so who would follow her, right?" It actually made sense. Twilight grasped the concept rather easily actually. Stalking the stalker was easier than avoiding being stalked.

   "So how do you plan to follow it if it flies away? I mean you don't exactly have wings and a tracking spell would be to hard and to risky to do."

   "Simple, I don't. I merely watch the direction she goes and keep an eye out for her."

   "You said we were going to someplace safe. Where exactly?" Twilight knew Trixie wasn't in pursuit of it anymore and figured she planned on going to a hiding place 'till she was back on the trail.

   "The old library. Even though it was abandoned before any this happened, it is even more so now." Twilight noticed Trixie was surprisingly calm in comparison to when she had come face to face with the Ursa Minor back in Ponyville. What changed about her? What happened to make her this... good. Trixie knew exactly what she was doing and had as much control of the situation as she could. That's probably why she's still alive and not one of the unfortunate.

   They headed down the hallways, littered with the dead and burnt. This once beautiful place had been completely destroyed by that thing. The walls were desecrated, windows were shattered, textiles splattered by blood. The entire feel of the building made Twilight cringe.

   After sometime they came to the entrance of the building on the base floor. The doors were wide open like every other part of the building. Apparently Shining didn't use any magic on other rooms, just the throne room. The night sky shone brightly through the gaping doors.

   A flash of bright light in the night sky went by. Trixie dragged Twilight off to the side in a hurry. The overall shock of what just happened got the better of Twilight and she lost her composure. A face of bewilderment came over her as she began analyzing the situation.

   "What was that? It looked like a shooting star, but was far to close to be one. Was it a pony? No way, that was way too fast to be a pony. Not even Rainbow Dash could move at such speeds." Twilight had begun to talk aloud to herself. Trixie stuck a hoof in her mouth indicating to be quiet, and she knew Trixie was right. Trixie made a zipping motion to Twilight and she nodded that she understood.

   The duo waited for about ten or more minutes on the edge of the doorway, eyes and ears peeled. They determined it was okay to proceed and headed out the palace. They didn't talk again till they reached the library.

   The city was burnt to the ground with very few buildings still structurally sound. Flames still burned in some places and the streets were littered with the dead. The cause of the their deaths appeared to vary widely. Some were burned alive, while others appeared to have been beaten to death. Others didn't look like they suffered any physical damage and were probably choked or killed with magic.

   They traversed the streets, turning down different pathways. Trixie lead the way, making sure to keep Twilight close and to stay out of the open as best she could. It was apparent her instincts were better than the average ponies. Twilight deemed it was probably from years of running out of towns, being chased by mobs. Trixie had probably learned what to do when your being chased to get out of the situation many times over.

   After an hour of trotting through the destroyed remains of Canterlot, the pair ended up outside an old broken down building Twilight recognized as the old library she went to when she was still a filly. The city didn't tear it down over the years nor had they attempted to repair it. They were probably going to leave it up as a landmark for the rest of its days.

   Trixie took one last glance around to see if they had been followed and headed inside. Twilight headed in after her, making sure to avoid knocking anything down. She didn't want to draw any attention to their location. They had no idea how far away she is.

   The interior of the library hadn't been destroyed like many of the other buildings they crossed to get here. The same couldn’t be said about the outside. It had been torched and shattered like the rest of the buildings in the area, but that was more from collateral damage than anything.

   The east side wall of the entrance had suffered minor fire damage. Some holes letting in moonlight were apparent too, which meant the duo wouldn't have to risk using magic for a light source. Heating was another thing. How were they going to stay warm overnight if they couldn't light a fire without it risking bringing attention to themselves?

   Trixie had begun searching the rest of the library for supplies, while Twilight's old habits got the better of her. She began taking books off the shelves and scanning them for any hint of a prediction or myth leading up to the events of this or if this was something sporadic. The process took quite a long time though, due to the lack of magic.

   Twilight's search had produced no results. The only books left in the library were children's tales and other non essential novels. Anything of worth was taken to the new library which had burnt down along with the rest of Canterlot. Nonetheless, Twilight still searched on. She didn't want to think there was no prediction or things of that matter that might tell her what to do to correct this. It was simply her nature to do so.

   Trixie returned with a few blankets and pillows for them to use, but chances are they wouldn't sleep for quite a while. Twilight had too many things to ask Trixie to go to sleep. They set up on the floor across from each other, but no where near a window or door.

   "So... what has been going on?" Twilight whispered over to Trixie.

   "... I don't really know for sure. All I can say is that she went berserk and hasn't stopped trying to kill everypony yet."

   "How did you avoid being killed? I mean, you aren't the greatest magic user in the world and you didn't seem to be the brightest pony when you were in Ponyville." Twilight tried to avoid sounding rude, but it was hard.

   "What's that supposed to mean? You think  you’re so great when in reality I saved your life!" Trixie was annoyed at how Twilight stated her last question.

   "Nothing, I just wanted to know how you survived while so many others perished. I didn't mean any offense. Sorry." Trixie calmed herself a bit.

   "Well it started out I was performing a show here, and next thing you know ponies were screaming and running around. I don't get it though. Do you really not remember anything? Anything at all?"

   "When I awoke I couldn't remember anything. I had just gotten outside the throne room when..." Twilight got cut off.

   "Wait, hold on. You were inside the throne room when you awoke? The last place she was before she left for a couple hours. How'd she not kill you?"

   "Wait a minute and I'll tell you."

   "Kay, sorry." Trixie was a bit sheepish after interrupting Twilight's story.

   "As I was saying, I had just gotten outside the throne room when I passed out and had a flashback. It didn't show everything. Just what happened about ten minutes before I passed out in the throne room. She chased us through the building, killing any stragglers. I had gotten to the room and me and Shining Armor had been talking when she lifted the roof off." Twilight got cut off again.

   "She tore the roof off?! That's crazy." Trixie was becoming less careful about her voice as the conversation continued.

   "Yeah, Shining placed a defensive spell on the doors and windows, but didn't realize she'd just go over and remove the roof. We were all really surprised." Twilight had also become more comfortable talking with her former rival. It was easier now since Trixie wasn't all boastful.

   "So how many of them were there? And how do you know Shining Armor, is he like your distant boyfriend or something."

   "No, oh gosh no. He's my BBBFF."

   "...Huh?"

   "Big Brother Best Friend Forever."

   "Okay that makes more sense. I didn't rea-" They were interrupted by yelling outside the library.

   "You bitch, let's do this! Come on, let's go!" The duo quickly headed over to separate gaps in the building. There was a single white pegasus staring down a pony who was out of Twilight's view. She searched around for a view to see who it was, but when she moved, the pony made her move and tackled the pegasus. The fight had proceeded and they could hear hits coming from either side.

   After sometime of going back and forth, they heard a sickening snap and the pegasus’ body came flying into the open of the street. The assailant took off over the night sky, but to Twilight's dismay she didn't get a look at her. It appeared that the white pegasus didn't stand a chance and he was once one of the royal guard. Those ponies are trained thoroughly to beat any normal pony in a fight in order to protect their princesses. How strong is she?

   The white pegasus appeared to still be breathing, but neither of them were planning to go and help him. It was too risky. They watched the lone pony die slowly in the middle of the street. The blood dripping from his unconscious skull, forming a pool.

   Ten minutes had passed and they still watched. Waiting for his chest to stop and indicate his perish. Out of the shadows, two ponies approached the dying guard. Twilight recognized one of them as Minuette, a pony who Twilight knew from her years in Canterlot.

   "Should we go help them?" Twilight thought it might be a good idea to get as many ponies as she could together to form a group to hopefully fight her off if it came to that.

   "No, terrible idea. She never leaves survivors." Trixie's eyes were fixated on the duo attempting to help the guard. Twilight's mind went back to how she had left her alive. Why?

   Just like every other pony she had seen, Minuette was injured, bloody, and her face was fear stricken. Twilight couldn't tell who her colleague was. Minuette began removing his armor. The other stood watch, keeping his eyes pinned to the direction the attacker left to. She got the guard out of his armor and called her friend over. They began to pick up the guard.

Twilight looked over to her fellow unicorn. Trixie’s eyes showed study, something Twilight could easily spot. She knew what she was looking for. Triggers. Anything that could alert the attacker to their presence.

Minuette’s acquaintance turned and yelled at the sight of the returning attacker.

   Twilight turned her attention back to the group only to catch a glimpse of the killer. She ensued to throw the injured guard into the library they were hiding in, crumpling the building and closing the lines of sight. They only heard a distant scream and a thud as she killed Minuette. A few seconds later, a sickening snap and closure. They were dead.

   Twilight heard her elegant strides closing in on their building. The assailant trotted over to the somehow still breathing guard. Even though they couldn't see what was going on outside, Twilight and Trixie still had ears. They heard the next conversation from less that five feet away.

   "Wh...why,... why would yo... you do this?" The raspy, blood stricken voice of the guard was faint. He was going to die regardless of what he did. He wasn't even honored with a reply. They heard her begin suffocating him. His struggles for any air he could get grew weak till eventually... it stopped. He too died at her hooves.

   "Because... I need to free you all before it's too late." Her voice was soft, nothing like what Twilight remembered in the throne room. It reminded her of Celestia. No. Twilight refused to believe her princess would... could do something like this to her subjects. She had to confirm it with her own eyes first.

   The figure stood there in silence for some time before finally leaving. The fading steps and following flight were enough to tell the two she was gone. Frozen like stone, neither of the two dared to move. The fear stuck in their minds. How could anypony, any...thing be so powerful? It wasn't natural. Wouldn't she need time for rest?

   Twilight and Trixie waited in complete silence for almost an hour. By this time they had deduced that the sun wasn't coming back up. The duo spent the next day approximately in the library taking turns sleeping and watching. They didn't say a word to each other, but they concluded they needed food. They set out to find food. Preferably preserved such as cans or frozen.

All The fires had burnt out at this point and the moon was the only form of light. It was difficult to travel in the darkness. They had to be careful to avoid staying out of the open while also not bumping into anything that could draw attention to their location. She could still be around somewhere. Regardless, they needed food.

   They traversed the remains of Canterlot. Twilight led the way due to her years growing up here. She knew her way to the stores and markets that had been established. One by one though, they had been destroyed, burned down, and/or collapsed. The city was dead.

   Trixie was beginning to grow distant to her companion. They didn't speak at all through their trip and Trixie avoided any form of contact with Twilight. She didn't wait for Twilight to catch up or help her through an obstacle. She no longer guided Twilight like she did when they started off. The blank stare, the methodical trot, the unresponsive reactions. Trixie had become absent.

   Entering the remains of what was once Canterlot’s largest grocery store, Twilight noticed the entrance had been forced open. When? She had no idea. It was far too dark inside the building then what allowed them to see. Anything could be in there.

   The warm air of the building was refreshing. It was nice not to be freezing. Why was it still warm in here though? There wasn't a fire in view of the building and Twilight didn't think anypony was in there. Well, alive in there at least.

   "What's the plan?" Twilight turned to the unicorn by her side. Trixie just kept walking in. She didn't look back at Twilight or give a reply. She merely just kept walking. Walking. Walking forward into the darkness, the unknown. They had no warning of any danger, yet she delved into the abyss.

   "Wait. We can't get split up or we may never find each other." Twilight said while trying to rush back up to Trixie. The former show mare had disappeared into the dark. Twilight couldn't see her. She had to follow the sound of her hoofsteps and where she last seen her go.

   Twilight chased her companion through the darkened aisles of the supermarket. Trixie's sounds were growing fainter and the structure of the building wasn't helping. She was clearing ground on Twilight. Why was she doing this? Did she want to be free of her traveling companion? Had her mind finally succumbed to the horrors of this chaos?

   The echos of her trot bounced around the store. The acoustics of the building caused Twilight's mind to go into confusion. She no longer had any idea where either she or Trixie were. She simply listened for any signs she could use to find Trixie.

   "Ahhhh!...*snap*" It sounded like Trixie. Twilight rushed to the origin of the sound. Dodging down the aisles, she came upon her friend laying in the middle of the isle. A figure stood above her, wings erect. This wasn't the killer from earlier though. This pony was much to small. Even though she knew it was risky, Twilight had to know who this was.

   Twilight lit up the aisle with a glow of her horn. She dropped to her knees almost instantly. What she just saw, it shocked her more than anything than she could imagine. The pony that stood there, the pony that just murdered her rescuer, was one her friends. A pony she had known for some time. One she helped with many problems back in Ponyville.

   The pony stood there in a stance of glory with a crazed smile. Her magenta eyes were constricted to the size of pin dots. Her cyan feathers matted down with blood. The rainbow had a larger dose of red than usual. Her face, her wonderful face, was twisted from the apparent psychosis she was suffering from.

   "Dash?!"

Chapter 2: It's Not A Farewell

Adaptive here: "Same as last time for the tunes. And as usual, I hope everyone who reads this has a good day."

Mad World

It's Not A Farewell

   Her heartbeat was slowing. Her breathing was faint, like that of a foals. Her unconscious body being huddled by her friend. Her mane was fringed and covered in blood. The blood. It dripped from the open wound on her chest, falling to the ground with resentful force. These were her last moments.

   "She's dying. She's dying and it's all my fault. I caused this. I was the one who wanted to take this stupid trip! I was the one who made you come! I couldn't stand to go alone so I made you come! Why?! Why you?! Why not me?!"

   Her friend was crying. The tears flowed down her cheeks. Falling on her face, the tears rolled down. They had an effect. The dying pony opened her eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes looked up at the pony who held her in her last minute. A weak smile formed on the lips of the doomed pony.

   "Dash, it's not your fault. You couldn't have known." She was staring deep into her magenta eyes. "Please Dash, leave me. You need to go. Just leave." Her voice, her soft sweet voice, traveled up to Rainbow Dash's ears. She couldn't stand to see her friend in pain over her.

   "NO! I won't! It's all my fault! I can't! You can't die! You'll be o.k. We just need to get you back to Ponyville. Then you'll be fine. Come on, I can do it. You'll be all right. You'll..." Dash's mind wouldn't let her acknowledge her impending death.

   "No Dash." Her eyes told Dash there is no way that was going to happen. She embraced Dash with the last few bits of strength she had. She nuzzled her mouth to Dash's ear.

   "I love you. I've always loved you Rainbow, even before we were brought together by Twilight in Ponyville. I've loved you since when you and me where together in flight school. The way you were. The way you are! Dash, you stood up for me when nopony else would. You have always been so brave, protecting me from any harm, encouraging me to push onward, even taking the time to help me with my animals or anything else. I guess all I can say is... I love you."

   She craned her head around and kissed Rainbow Dash on the lips. Tilting her head back, once again looking into the eyes, those confused, beautiful eyes, of her love. With one final smile, she let her head fall back and relinquished her last breath. She was gone from this world, never to see her love, Rainbow Dash, again. She couldn't have died happier.

   "No. NO! NOT YET! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME AFTER THAT! PLEASE! PLEASE COME BACK TO ME!" Dash buried her head into the chest of her love. She leaned in close to her. "I love you too." She sobbed over the lose of her love. "Why. Why, why you. Anypony but you."  She raised her head to the sky.

   "Flu-tt-er-shy-y-y-y!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Earlier that day.

   It was a bright sunny day out. The breeze, smooth and gentle, smelled of flowers. Her animals all tended to, Fluttershy had time to relax. She laid down in the empty spot of grass a short ways away from her home. The world was quiet for the time being. It was completely serine-

   "Hey! Fluttershy!" Guess not. "Wanna come to Cloudsdale with me for a show? The Aviators are supposed to perform and I got two tickets from a competition as a prize." Rainbow Dash came flying over to the resting pegasus. A face of excitement shown brightly and apparent on Rainbow's face. That was always cute of her.

   "Oh, I don't know Dash. Who is going to take care of my animals?" Fluttershy wanted it to look like she didn't want to go. She had lots of time to practice that since she became a Element Of Harmony and had to spend a lot of time helping Dash with all sorts of things. They had spent tons of time together since Twilight showed up. One day she would have to go and thank that unicorn.

   "Don't worry about it. The show ends way before dark and we'll have plenty of time to make it back to Ponyville. We should be back in time to care for your animals. But we need to get going quickly if we want to make it in time." Rainbow started tugging at her hoof.

   "O.k. I guess." Fluttershy gave in and started following Dash. Rainbow had to keep it slow so Fluttershy could keep up. It was nice of Rainbow to think of her like that. Dash could easily make it to Cloudsdale in less than ten minutes if she wanted to, but Dash waited for her. While they flew, Fluttershy admired how elegant Rainbow Dash was. The way she moved, it was beautiful. Dash's elegant flight in her empty skies.

   "Um... hey, Dash?"

   "Yeah, what's up?"

   "Who are the Aviators?" Fluttershy had never heard of them. Were they similar to the Wonderbolts?

   "They are this team of flyers like the Wonderbolts, but instead of choreographed stunts they try and break different records at each show. This time they’re going for the team speed record. If the three of them can exceed 63 wing power they'll do it." Rainbow Dash's eyes gleamed with joy at the thought of seeing them attempt that. Fluttershy didn't really care about who they were, she just enjoyed seeing Dash happy.

   "Oh, o.k. So, why didn't you mention them before?"

   "Well, it seemed no pony wanted to talk to me about the Wonderbolts so why would I bring up another team if no pony bothered to listen." Rainbow Dash seemed to be annoyed by that. She didn't like that no pony shared the same main interest as her. Shy couldn't stand that.

   "I'd listen." Dash's ears perked up a bit. She got this curious look about her as to say "Really, you?! You wanna talk about stunts and acrobats?!". She sped ahead of Shy a ways and turned around right in front of her. Dash pressed her head against Shy's, staring directly into her eyes with a questioning look.

   "Who are you and what happened to the real Fluttershy?" Dash was pulling one of those jokes, just a bit more seriously than others. It didn't matter. Fluttershy lost herself in Dash's eyes. They resonated beauty to Shy. She got so caught up in looking in her eyes the rest of her body shut down.

   Including her wings.

   Fluttershy began free falling, forgetting how to fly completely. She screamed out to the stunned pegasus for help. She was going to plummet to the ground below if she didn't get saved, saved by the only pony she trusts to do so.

   "Oh, snap!" Rainbow Dash shot down and in a flash of the color spectrum, scooped up the frightened Fluttershy. The scarred pony buried her face into Rainbow's chest, avoiding the latter's gaze. She didn't want Rainbow to know how embarrassed she was that she let herself get caught up in her stare.

   Dash carried her down to the ground with the gentlest of landings. She landed on a hilltop surrounded by trees. Setting Fluttershy down, Dash turned to where Cloudsdale was. They could see it. The magnificent floating city was less than a mile away. Only a minute or two flight for an average pegasus.

   "What happened Fluttershy? You just suddenly... lost it." Dash had turned back to the still shocked Fluttershy. She was looking away, avoiding the glare of her rainbow maned friend.

    "I... I don't... sorry." She feared ridicule from Dash. Rainbow walked over and took a seat next to Shy. She turned her head away from Dash. The latter did her best to coax the frightened pegasi back to normal.

   "I'm sorry Fluttershy. I know you're not the greatest flyer and I asked you to make such a long trip on such short notice. If you want we can go back. The show's not that..." Fluttershy turned and look Rainbow Dash in the eyes. Her face showed she didn't want Dash to finish that sentence.

   "No. I'm fine. Can we stay here for a while though? I want to enjoy the view, with you."

   "Sure, Shy. We can take a break here for a moment. I don't think the show starts for some time and we’re pretty close to Cloudsdale anyways." RD turned and stared at the home of Equestria's best fliers. Fluttershy scooted closer and rested her head on Dash's shoulder. This caught Rainbow Dash off guard to say the least.

   "Um... hey, Shy? What are you doin'?" The pale yellow pony instantly turned away, again fearing what Dash was going to say.

   "Sorry... I was just resting... we should get going." Still looking away, Fluttershy stood up and stretched out her wings.

   "You sure? I mean we can stay a bit longer. It's not gonna make us late to wait a few more minutes." Dash was looking back at her traveling companion. She didn't want for them to go just yet.

   "I guess..." Fluttershy's eyes turned to Cloudsdale. "Um, hey Dash? What's that about?" She pointed into the sky were a large mass of black had accumulated. It wasn't a cloud though, it was a group of ponies. No, not ponies. Griffons. They were quite a ways off of the city.

   "I don't really know. It looks like a gang of Griffons, but what would they be doing here at Cloudsdale? Maybe they came to watch the show. Oh, I know. I bet they’re the opening act. Dang it, we’re gonna miss it. Let's go." With a spring of motion, Rainbow Dash took off. Soon followed by Fluttershy.

   Fluttershy was pondering how much of an idiot she had been. How could she act like that? She had spent lots of time around Dash lately and yet she still couldn't prevent herself from acting that way. She had acted like a foal. And to top it all off, Rainbow Dash barely showed any emotion for her. Or at least in the manner she had. Dash only thought of her as a friend, not in the way she does for Dash.

   Why couldn't Rainbow Dash show if she felt the same? Did she? What if she didn't? These questions drove Fluttershy mad on a daily basis. Very few circumstances had Dash ever showed compassion to her. Even then she usually changed the subject quickly enough it didn't last.

   They soared the remaining distance to Cloudsdale fairly fast. The trip was nice. They had shared time together Fluttershy wouldn't trade for the world. Any time spent with Rainbow Dash was great to her.

   The pair entered the lovely floating city and headed for the sports arena. So many ponies had came to watch the show. There were many flying high above the crowd, guiding them down the correct lanes of traffic to make sure everypony made it to the arena in time.

   It had appeared that the entire city was going to attend the event. Nopony was on outlying paths. It was a ghost town outside of the main group. Not even the worker ponies that manned stations at the weather factory were exempt. They too were approaching the lavish stadium.

   Thanks to mandated organization rules, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had to walk amongst the others instead of flying there. Even though Dash looked a bit annoyed by this, Fluttershy was o.k. She was forced into vice-like press between Rainbow and the crowd. The immense aura Dash emitted was something Fluttershy never wanted to go away.

   Slowly, they traversed the remaining distance to the stadium. Even with the density of the crowd dispersing, Fluttershy still hugged tightly to  Rainbow. She had no intent of getting any farther away than she had to be. Rainbow Dash was too focused on getting to their destination to even notice the yellow pony. Nevertheless, Shy still loved being this close to Dash. Even if it wasn't fully mutual.

   They came up to the entrance of the arena. Dash broke free of Fluttershy's love grip, even if Rainbow couldn't tell that was going on in the first place. She trotted up to the ticket checker and presented the two tickets. Her face had a happy glow about it as the mare running the check in office gave them the o.k. Fluttershy had only seen Rainbow so happy when ever she had met the Wonderbolts in person right after pulling off the Sonic Rainboom. This must be an even more special day than Shy had originally guessed. Fluttershy lavished in the thought of spending one of Dash's most memorable days with her.

   "Come on Shy! Let's go find our seats before the show starts!" The excitement was very apparent in her voice. Dash had been waiting a long time to see an event like this and Fluttershy had no intention of ruining it for her. She deserved it to much. Always looking out for her friends, keeping everyponies morale up by being so awesome, and needless to say, saving her on countless occasions. Yup, Rainbow Dash definitely deserved a day like today.

   The stadium was just as beautiful as last time they had been there. The cloud seats, the open arena with a gorgeous view of the ground below, and most importantly, Rainbow Dash. Just seeing her there, in her home, made Fluttershy smile. Dash was so happy, which in turn, made Fluttershy happy.

   The duo made there way over to their seats and got settled in. Cloudsdale's architectural marvel was almost completely filled with pegasi from around Equestria. They all waited anxiously for the show to begin.

   A lone pegasus flew out to a stand where announcements were usually made. He was one of the leaders of Aviators. The outfit he dawned was a flat black. No symbols or images. Just black. A simple style actually. Efficient, effective, and most importantly, protective. It had every inch of his body covered with the exception of his face and wings. The fabric looked like it was spandex like material. Probably for aerodynamics. A pair of flight goggles sat atop his head. They were also black with tinted glass. Apparently they like black.

   The style would either amaze or appall Rarity. Fluttershy didn't really know. She had been spending so much time around Dash as of late, she had been missing or just plain skipping her and Rarities spa sessions. The couth dress pony didn't really mind. According to her, whenever Shy couldn't make it she just got somepony else to go. Apparently not a big deal then.

   "Good evening mares and gentlecotls, and welcome to the show." His voiced was refined. Almost as if he had lived in Manehattan or Canterlot. "Today, we will be attempting to break the wingpower record which currently stands at 127 for three ponies. If successful that will be our sixth flight based record. The show will begin in about ten to fifteen minutes, so if anypony needs to get refreshments now would be the best time to do so. We thank everypony for coming out today and we hope you all enjoy the show."

   Dash got up and turned to her timid friend. "Hey I'm going to get some popcorn. You want some?" Fluttershy thought for a while. She thought of how she wanted to just go with her, never leave her side. She fought these urges though, concealing them to depths of her mind. She couldn't act like that. Not at least 'till Dash showed the same feelings.

   "No, it's o.k. I'm fine." Fluttershy sat there staring into Dash's eyes once again. Something she had done many times, yet never seemed to get over. But unlike other moments, this time Dash noticed.

   "Um..." Rainbow tried to look away, nervous of how her friend was acting. Fluttershy was too locked in her gaze to notice Dash's uncomfortableness.

   "Hey Shy..." Still the comment just fell on deaf ears.

   "What'cha doing?" Rainbow's words finally snapped her out of it. Fluttershy turned away, not wanting to embarrass herself further after today's events. After all the time she had spent with Dash she figured she could stop doing this. It's not appropriate.

   "Sorry, I just got... distracted. That's all." Dash once again gave her a puzzled look. She really didn't know how to take Shy's behavior.

   "You sure you don't want anything though?" Dash changed the subject, mainly for Fluttershy's sake.

   "No, no. I'm fine. You go ahead and get your popcorn. Just hurry back, you don't want to miss the show." Fluttershy watched as her friend trotted down the aisle, glad that whole ordeal was all over. She let out a sigh of relief, knowing Dash didn't view her as some sort of weird stalker pony.

   She was a little worried as to how Rainbow would act the rest of the night. Whether she would ignore the incident, push it further, or ridicule her for her odd behavior. These thoughts bothered her to say the least. She didn't want to drive away her closest and dearest friend with her love. That would be a bit ironic to say the least.

   Fluttershy sat there, waiting for Rainbow's return. Not focusing on anyone thing in particular. The vibrant sun beating down on her. The wonderful breeze cooling her as she watched the horizon of the sky. Blissfully unaware of her surroundings.

   Thinking back to the days events. Recalling on how Dash asked her, and specifically her, to go with her. Not Twilight, not AJ, not Rarity. Just her. It made her happy to think of how Rainbow cared for her. Even if it wasn't the same way she did. Nevertheless, it made her smile. The way Dash saved her. The time they spent on the hilltop, looking at the great city of Cloudsdale from afar. She thought back on the griffons they had saw.

   The group of griffons they had seen earlier had arrived and arranged themselves around the stadium. They all donned matching uniforms. A simple, yet pleasing design of golden colored vest and berets. Rarity might have had to had a word or two with them if she was here. She probably wouldn't be able to control her urge to give critiques on there outfits. Rarity definitely loved helping anypony, or griffon in this case, look their best.

   They were high above the crowd. In preparation for the opening act, or so Shy assumed. Though ponies around her in the crowd did seem confused as to what was going on. There was nothing in the opening introduction about a beginning act by a group of griffons.

   One of the griffons went over to the stand were the announcements were made, only to be confronted by one of the security team for the stadium. In one quick, brutal movement, the griffon pounced on the guard. Sending him falling to the distant ground below. He was far too out of it to recover and the crowd merely watched as the poor colt fell.

   Fluttershy and the rest of the ponies present all let out a almost simultaneous reaction to what they just witnessed. A unison gasp. Some ponies fainted. She herself almost did. All she could do was stare in horror as he plummeted to his imminent doom.

   One single stallion did try and help the poor colt. In a blur of motion, he shot out of the stands. Only to meet a similar fate by a similar assailant. He was slammed into by another of the bystanding griffons. The sound of the screams drowned out the bones crunching under the vicious hit. The valiant pegasi withered into the unforgiving abyss below. His limp body following the one he only wanted to help.

   No one moved, all too frightened by the unexpected events. A few ponies cried out for the two who fell. Only to be silenced by menacing looks from the exceedingly larger griffons. Everypony doused any thoughts of making a break for it. They were surrounded, forced to listen to any demands the griffons had to make.

   The initial griffon who began the entire incident continued her flight to the podium. She blatantly ignored the the scene she herself started. Upon reaching the podium, she gathered her composure and began her speech. A speech that would leave the residents of Cloudsdale in complete and utter shock.

   Fluttershy did notice something about the head griffon though, something familiar. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it. She had encountered a few different griffons in her days, but this one in particular she knew. The way the griffon moved, her actions, her pride. They were all too familiar to Fluttershy.

   "Welcome again..."

   It was Gilda.

   She wore a black vest with a matching black beret. Her vest was decorated gaudily with ornaments and medals. A lone patch with "Gilda" stitched into it told the world her name. Her beret had a symbol on it of a golden griffon, indicating her affiliation with the rest of the group. If it wasn't for the circumstance she was currently under, Fluttershy would have been inclined to compliment the griffon, despite their past.

   Fluttershy reconciled the last time they had met. The way she treated her, the way she treated her friends, the way she treated Dash. They were all terrible memories. Ones she'd soon forget then recall on.

   "...to a great day in Equestria history. To all of you dweebs we have here today. I say thank you. Thanks for being too stupid to realize what was going on before it was to late." Fluttershy looked around again, seeing more and more griffons than before. Their numbers were massive. Even though there were still less than the ponies present, they definitely had enough to wipe Cloudsdale and anypony with it out of the sky. Gilda still ranted as her fellow griffons closed in on the stadium.

   "Thanks for all of you rounding up in one spot for us. That makes things even easier. First off, my name is Gilda and my colleagues are simply known as 'The Birds of Prey'. Today we will be killing our prey. Understood? Good." She looked over to a fellow griffon, giving him a nod. He dawned golden gauntlets, indicating he was a superior in the group.

   "So let's begin. Why don't we boys?"

   In an instant, faster than Fluttershy could comprehend, all the griffons above them dove down in uniformity. Tearing into anypony unfortunate enough to be in the way of there descent. Gilda merely stood watch as her fellow murders took to killing everything. A smirk was apparent on her evil face.

   All the ponies in the crowd who weren't taken out at first had begun scrambling like rats. They didn't care for safety of others anymore. They simply wanted to get away in the confusion, hoping to escape to the mountains or earth below. Away from this treachery.

   Fluttershy had broken down into tears, her mind was shutting down. All around her ponies were being ripped to shreds by the griffons. She thought of how they were closing in on her. How she would never see Angel or any of her animals again. How she would never see her friends again. She thought of how she would never see Rainbow Dash again.

   "No."

   She wouldn't merely die off as her closest friend was in danger. She wouldn't, nay, couldn't stand by. She had to try and save her, prevent her from being one the unfortunate. Her best friend needed her and she needed Dash.

   The canary pegasus thought of where the concession stands where. They were placed just around the entrance of the stadium, just a hundred or so yards away. She had to make a break for it, she just had to.

   A streak of yellow came flying over to the exit. She was moving at speed that no doubt impress Rainbow. If it weren't for the circumstances, Fluttershy would be pretty proud of herself. But this was no time to think of how fast she could fly. She had to focus on getting to Dash. Focused on not getting caught as well.

   Fluttershy may have just jinxed herself.

   She was a mere five yards away from the exit when she was stopped, denying her escape. The griffon came out of nowhere, landing in front of quickly halting pegasus. Shivering, Fluttershy stared up at the griffon who towered over her. Her mind too frightened to let her move. The griffon grew a menacing smile while raising up one of his claws high above his head. Preparing to strike her down where she stood.

   Fluttershy tried to force herself to at least try and get away. But all she could do was step back slowly, her legs shaking horribly. She looked at the griffon with all the courage she had.

   "Pl... plea... please, d-don't do th-this..." Her voice shook, it's rattling far beyond her control at this point.

   "Sorry hun," His voice was menacing. He had no intention of sparing her now, not with others he must... attend to. "It's a little late for pleas. Don't’cha think?" His question was rhetorical, demented in his tone.

   His smile grew wider as his claw went higher till he stopped. A glare of pure evil and brutality shown in his golden eyes. This wasn't an act of peer pressure or orders, this was by his own twisted will. His need for power over others, a need for the right to harm, to destroy, to kill.

   She turned away, expecting to meet her end. Waiting for that final moment. The moment she died, the moment she lost everything she looked forward too, the moment she would never see Rainbow Dash again.

   That moment hadn't come here.

   In a loud thud, she turned back to see that her assailant had been driven away by a lone pegasus. He was black with a silver mane. His cutie mark was of a single lightning bolt. His golden orbs stared at her, full of desperation.

   It was Thunderlane.

   He was standing over the now knocked out griffon. He had hit the attacker by surprise. It was the only hit he could possibly land and he knew it. They both knew that he couldn't possibly handle the power or shear size of the full grown griffon that lay on the ground, groggy and beginning to wake up.

   "GO! NOW! GET OUT OF HERE WHILE HE'S DISTRACTED! GO FLUTTERSHY! GO NOW! I'LL BE RIGHT BEHIND, BUT YOU NEED TO GO!"

   His voice boomed through her eardrums as she tried to comprehend what just happened. He saved her, Fluttershy, for no reason. He owed her nothing, he didn't have a past with her, heck she barely knew him. Her thoughts were shattered by another cry by Thunderlane.

   "COME ON! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! GO! I CAN'T FIGHT HIM WHEN HE GETS UP! COME ON WE HAVE TO GO! NOW!"

   That was enough wasting time to Thunderlane. He flew over in a flash and picked up the still stunned pegasus. With the strength he didn't know he had, Thunderlane barreled out the exit of the stadium at record speeds, heading into the unoccupied Cloudsdale that lay outside the desecrated stadium.

   The sounds of others still fighting for their lives trailed behind them. Echoing off the walls of the labyrinth they exited. The sounds of the enraged griffon followed, though too far back to catch their trail. They ducked into an alleyway just outside the stadium.

   They seen an enraged griffon fly past in a flash, not checking any alternate pathways. He was determined to head for the formal exit of Cloudsdale, where he assumed they had headed to. Thank Celestia there are so many different streets and such here.

   Thunderlane set the still shocked Fluttershy down, letting her rest against the clouds around them. Her mind began to process what just happened for the first time. The blood, the horror, the murder. They were all very prominent in her mind now.

   She had seen one griffon literally tear a pony’s leg off and proceeded to beat him with it. The poor colt was dead long before then though, yet the evil, murderous griffon continued regardless. Fluttershy had seen the true, merciless evil in the griffons black eyes. He had no intent to do anything but kill this day.

   Her mind was flooded with emotions. Sadness, shock, anger, but most obvious of all, angst. She wanted to know where Rainbow Dash was, what happened to her. Was she okay? Had she been injured? Then Fluttershy had a frightening thought.

   What if she left already, abandoning her?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adaptive here: "So if your wondering, this chapter will be done in parts. Most likely 2 or 3. If you have any questions feel free to ask me any time. I'll avoid any spoilers as best I can. And sorry for the lack of overall gore in this section. That is one thing I've been called on as lacking. Maybe I need to remove the gore tag until later chapters are released? Eh, buck it. It'll be fine. And I hope everyone who reads this has a nice day."

Chapter 2: It's Not A Farewell Part 2

It's Not A Farewell

Part 2

Fluttershy started to cry. The watery liquid running down her saddened face. Her lip curled, she wouldn't break down in a situation like this. She needed to be strong, like Thunderlane over there. He had selflessly risked his life for her, a pony he had barely spoken to. She couldn't cry, not here, not now. She must hold herself together.

"Fluttershy?" Thunderlane was looking over at the canary pegasus. He had placed himself so he could see the path they had taken, in case a certain griffon decided to try and follow. He showed concern for his fellow pegasus. The look in his eyes was obvious enough, even if he didn't save her.

"Y-yes?" Her voice was laced with the obvious fear that made itself apparent. There was a small choke in it from trying to fight back her tears. Her efforts were valiant but nonetheless, not good enough. Tears had been streaming down her face for some time now and she couldn't get them to stop. No matter how hard she wanted too.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your mourning, but we need to move. It's not safe here." He trotted over to the crying pegasus, with cautionary strides. He didn't want to bother her anymore then she already was. But the circumstances demanded they both get out of here.

"O... okay. B-but, um, w-were are w-we going?" Fluttershy was still crying, but not nearly as harshly as she was a short while ago. She was beginning to get ahold of herself. The canary mare stood up from her place on the clouds, shaking as she did so.

"We can't leave the city, that would be suicide. They are no doubt watching all the perimeters of Cloudsdale. I say we head to the factory, maybe we can hide out there till they leave. If they don't leave then I guess we'll just have to try and sneak out later. Regardless, one of us has to make it out of here in order to inform the princesses." Thunderlane was assuring in his words no doubt, but she had one thing on her mind.

"What about Rainbow Dash? She could still be around here and I have to look for her. I won't leave till I know what happened!" Fluttershy's eyes showed determination unusual for her. Her legs no longer quivered or wavered. Her stance was proud and tall. There was no way she was going to run away while Dash was still out there. It just wasn't going to happen.

Thunderlane looked a bit shock by the statement. The entire time they had been talking she had been on the verge of tears or was crying and now... now she was strong. Like she was a whole new pony. Never in the time Thunderlane had been around her, as limited as that was, had he seen her act so brave. Apparently, they were going to go look for Rainbow Dash.

"Okay, okay. Let's just start by you telling me where you last saw her. I can't help if I don't know where to look." He was trying to be as nice and friendly as possible, but he knew they couldn't stay there anymore. No doubt the griffon that went by earlier had figured out they didn't head to the exit. He was most definitely on his way back by now. They had to leave.

"W-well, I... she..." And just like that her confidence was re-broken. "um... Oh! The concession stands! That was where she said she was going before this started." Fluttershy had almost a happy look on her face, like she was going to do something she really wanted to do.

Despite that though her fear and anguish over today's events was still abruptly apparent. She had never even seen a pony die, let alone witnessing the travesties that plagued Cloudsdale. This place, once riddled with conversations of friends and family, now only a token to the damage the griffons were capable of. Even the sights of the clouds around her reminded her of the horrors she had witnessed.

"Okay, so we know she went to the concession stands before this started, but there is no way we can go check there. First of all, she wouldn't still be staying around there at this point. Secondly, we need to think like her, imagine what she would have done. This leads up to a problem though." Thunderlane had obvious distress about him. He knew trying to imagine exactly what she would do is improbable, nay impossible.

"The amount of time I've spent with Dash tells me she could have done a multiple of things. She may have left to inform Celestia, knowing her speed was great enough to beat any followers. Rainbow Dash could have fled to a different part of Cloudsdale, hoping to find refuge or a way to contact Canterlot. We can’t just try and guess where she went. That's far too dangerous. I think we should try and look for her at the factory first and move from there." Thunderlane trotted over to the shy pony, hoping to comfort her as best as he could. While still trying to get her to move from this place. It was getting less and less safe by the minute. He could just tell.

"Be confident Fluttershy, Dash is way too tough to let these brutes get the better of her." A timid smile formed on the lips of the canary pony. Indicating she believed in Thunderlane. Though by choice or by the fear that she may not find Dash without his help was another matter.

"Now come on. We're going to the factory for now. It's safe there and we can search for her on the way. If Rainbow decides to go looking for you it'll be in the safest area of the city. We have to hope she thinks of the factory before she goes searching the stadium. It would be a death trap for her in there." At the comment, Fluttershy made a vaguely obvious wince. The thought of Rainbow Dash getting killed once again made her want to collapse. She couldn't though. She had to stay strong. Keep hope.

Thunderlane looked over to see the scared pegasus was shaking again. Without a word, he walked beside her and placed a wing around her. Attempting to comfort the poor girl. Though it was a bit expected, her reaction was normal. Fluttershy simply embraced him, the protective grasp of a big brother figure to her.

She felt safe. Like nothing bad was going to happen now. Nothing bad could happen. His wing felt like it created a barrier of warmth and security. Fluttershy slowly began to press herself against the side of Thunderlane. She wanted to feel as shielded as she could. To let her mind escape the environment around her.

The area around them, riddled still with the faint roars and cries of the stadium, had never seemed so frightening to her. This act of kindness by Thunderlane meant far more to her than any item ever could. His willingness to risk his safety and delay his path in order to make sure she was o.k. was invaluable.

A couple minutes passed while she stayed in the protection of him. The surroundings around him plagued his mind in this time. He knew they had to get moving. To make it to somewhere safer than an alleyway outside the stadium.

"Kay, you better now?" He looked down at the canary mare. She glanced back and gave a nod, indicating she would be o.k. to move now. Thunderlane lifted his wing, breaking that protective wall he had set up for her. At first she gave a whimper, a whimper due to the loss of protection she had felt. Then she slowly embraced the cold, bitter world around her. Giving up the comforting protection of Thunderlane's wing in order to accept the harsh city.

Thunderlane gave one more stare at the shy pegasus before giving a nod and turning to head away from that place. She quickly followed, not wanting to get any farther from him then she had to be. The city was beginning to dimmer with the approaching night. The sun's descent towards the horizon only leading further to make way for the moon. Neither knew what the night would bring to them. Safety? Protection? A means to hide from the fears that built in their minds?

As they began to move away from the stadium, she started to feel terrible. Not physically, though what had happened at the stadium did make her wanna vomit. Fluttershy didn't like this feeling. It was one of fear, sadness, angst, and paranoia. The feeling drove deeper into her mind, growing as it did so.

While they traveled, she couldn't stop from peaking behind her from time to time. Taking small glances at her own shadow, only to realize what she had just looked at. Every so often she would stop, drawing the attention of Thunderlane with the ceasing of hoofsteps behind him. He too would cease, waiting to move like her.

She listened for a second with each stop. Trying to spot any unknown sounds around them. Every so often they would hear a small, faint scream from a dying pony, only to be followed with shouts of praise for the victor. This only pressed to feed the paranoia.

One such case, she stopped as they passed a closed athletic goods shop. She turned towards the way the sound came, staring directly towards the path they had traversed. In the silence they heard a yell no more than 50 yards away.

It came to them as a surprise, such a close cry. It came from the pathway just to their right. It was followed by some resounding thrashes and a couple more calls for help. It took all his will to not just fly over there and at least try and help the poor soul, but he couldn’t. He had to protect the one in his care for the moment.

Thunderlane knew for certain that Fluttershy couldn’t hold her own at the time being. He’d basically be throwing her to the claws of death if he left her now. They had to find Dash first. Only then could he leave to help others. Maybe sneak out of Cloudsdale to try and gather the help of the princesses.

They had maneuvered their way to the edge of Cloudsdale, just a short ways away from the factory. The what was normally short trip had taken them little over an hour by her best guess. It had been filled with fear, distress, and major cases of paranoia on both their parts.

The factory stood a mere hundred, hundred-fifty yards away. They weren’t too far away. The only thing was that the space remaining to the factory was completely open. No cover, no clouds to hide them. Just pure, clean air.

“Okay, this is the deal. We have to cross at the same time. If we don’t, we may very well get split up if any of those ‘Birds of Prey’ show up. It’s gonna be dangerous. If you didn’t look around there is nothing between us and that factory. We have to move fast. As fast as you can, k Fluttershy?”

Thunderlane spoke as kindly as he could to her, but he needed her to know it was dangerous. That if they weren’t careful, weren’t observant, they could very well join their fellow pegasus who have since passed.

“Oh, umm…” She wasn’t ready. She knew it. Fluttershy wasn’t brave enough to go across that gap if it meant they could die. “… I can’t do it.” She hung her head in shame. She knew they had to, but she just couldn’t. She was too scared.

“You can. You handle this Fluttershy. I’ve seen you tough out worse. You are an Element of Harmony. You helped save all of Equestria on multiple occasions. I once even heard you stared down a mighty dragon and made him whimper like a baby. If you can handle that, you can surely just pass over this gap.

“But those were different. My friends depended on me. They needed me to do those things.”

“And I need you now. I won’t leave you here, but we have to get over to that factory. It’s safer there. We just have to cross this open plain. After that we’ll be fine. Now come on, you can do this.” He could see the fear beginning to dissolve from her. It worked, his little pep talk.

“Okay, you’re right. I can do this. It’s just a gap. That’s all. Just a short flight.” She stood up tall, wanting to believe she can do it. To make that short, open trip to the factory that awaited them. Flexing her wings, she nodded to the dark grey pegasus beside her.

“Now that’s the spirit, let’s do this.” They took to their stances like they would before a race, preparing to take off in a flash of black and yellow. He started the countdown to their flight across the open space.

“3…” They simultaneously flexed their wings in the air.

“2…” Identical warm up flaps.

One never came.

In a blink of an eye, two twin griffons landed before them. They both donned that basic golden armor and black berets. They placed themselves in the flight paths of the two, aggressive gazes locked on their prey.

“Well, what do we have here. Two lucky fools who have lasted long enough to survive till night.” The griffon on their right spoke up. His voice, mocking in its tone, was brutish. He had them right where he wanted. Cornered away from the rest of Cloudsdale. In their total control.

Fluttershy dropped back to the ground, covering her face from the predators that stared them down. She was once again scared for her life and for the life of her savoir. Her shaking would impress an earthquake.

Thunderlane took a couple steps to the side, placing himself between her and their surprise attackers. There was no way he would allow them to hurt her on his watch. That simply wouldn’t happen.

“Now hold on fellas, we can work this out. I’m sure we can talk about this and come to reasonable, sensible compromise.” He was trying his hardest to seem composed, collected in his thoughts. Trying to prevent himself from faltering, but their sheer size was imposing. Let alone what they planned to do to them. He didn’t even want to think about that portion.

Fluttershy had recovered enough to stand back up and get in the protective grasp of Thunderlane. Semi-safe from them. She didn’t want to be by herself physically. She wanted the comfort he provided. To feel safe, even if they were in an extremely dangerous predicament.

A glimpse of curiosity came over the griffons. They first shared a glance towards each other, then they turned back to him. A compromise huh, they never considered that. Wonder alone was strong enough  to have a listen.

“So, a deal… hmm. What did you have in mind? It’s not like you have anything of value to offer us. What could you possibly do to prevent us from slaughtering you here and now?” The other griffon had spoken up for the first time. He sounded eerily similar to his counterpart. Even just their physical resemblance was odd, but this on top of it. One would guess they were related.

“I… I… I don’t know. To be honest, I have no idea what I could do for you. I was kinda hoping you would suggest something.” He looked at them with a gaze of wonderment. Thunderlane wanted them to know he would be willing to do anything, anything at all to get them to let them go.

The two griffons looked the pair up and down a few times. Their glances seemed playful, but nonetheless evil. They weren’t here to make deals, only to torment. Misleading them for the fun of it. They conversed in secret for a minute, coming up with a truly evil and twisted plan.

“Well… there is nothing you can do for us. That female on the other claw, she would be an excellent mate for either me or my brother here. Give us her and we’ll spare your life. Refuse and we kill you both.” A twisted, cruel smile came over their faces. They wanted something only thought to be taboo to the pegasus kind. To pair a pony to a griffon, that was something that just wasn’t right.

Her face locked in horror. Her eyes, wonderful blue eyes were widened to the size of saucers. She truly feared what they would do to her. Another fear ran through her mind. One she hadn’t thought of yet.

He might just do it.

Thunderlane barely knew her. What would stop from just simply agreeing, giving her to them in order to spare his own life. There was no way she could fight them and no way to prevent him from just giving her up. It was a horrifying fear. And on top of the fear was the practicality of it. He wouldn't lose anything. He had nothing from stopping him from doing so. She just had to hope. Hope he was a kind as he appeared to be.

“No. No, that is not gonna happen. I didn’t risk my life twice today to simply hand her over to the likes of you. I won’t allow it. I guess you’ll just have to kill us then, ‘cause you’re not getting her.” Thunderlane strengthened his stance between them. He would die long before they ever put one devious claw on her.

A wave of relief came over her. To know there was no way he was gonna give her to them. She couldn't possibly thank him enough for that, despite the fact they were both doomed now. It may be selfish of her, but she didn't want to be a play thing for them. Even if that meant she could save a life.

"Oh, well that's just too bad. I guess we'll just have to kill you and have our way anyways. That seem fair to you brother?" The griffon on the right turned to see his brother scanning their prey, the young Fluttershy. Licking his lips in anticipation, he could see the fear in her. They thrived off it. Fear, a simple emotion, yet they craved it like the animals they are.

"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!!" Thunderlane attempted to barrel into the griffon who last spoke, only to be batted into the cloud street beside them. The griffon that hit him pinned him to the street, preparing to deliver the finishing blow. He brought one digitized claw back, only to be stopped by his fellow griffon. A sparkle of a demented, evil idea shining in his eye.

"Actually, I have a better idea. Hows about we make him watch. Watch as we do what we want to her. Make him feel the terror in her heart as we ravish her. Let him stare on as we slowly kill her after, then we kill him. We'll give him more then enough time to understand that he killed this poor mare." A crazed smile came across both their faces. The idea had hit the mark they expected it to.

"NO! DON'T YOU TOUCH HER! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU BOTH! I SWE-" He was cut of by a claw to the chin. It cut deep down his face, leaving an open gash in its wake. Despite the blood draining from his face, he held his resolve.

"FLUTTERSHY!! GO! Get outta here! You ne-" Again he was hit into shutting up. This time the claw came across his eye. He was blinded from the hit. Having no idea if the effect was permanent or not, he didn't care though. He was dead. His only wish at this point was for her to go, atleast try and make a break for it. She had to atleast try.

She couldn't though.

Fluttershy merely dropped to her stomach, covering her head with her hooves. Her sobs extremely apparent. The shaking which had ceased earlier, started up again without Thunderlane's protective grasp to stop her. The griffon that had been stand up, not holding down Thunderlane, started his slow, methodical waltz to her position in the clouds.

"Pl-please... please don't... please don't do this." It took all her effort just to state the simple plee. What little tears she had left were being shed now as he made the short distance to her her. He let the fear build as he closed the gap. Once solidly stationed above her, he began his final rant.

"Well, now aren't you a cute one aren't you. I think we'll have lots of fun with the likes of you. You know, this is the first time I'm going to get to feel the touch a soft pony. Usually I deal with the harsh, bitterness of the griffon kind. You know our leader is basically the average female in our kind. Rough, brutish, not at all like you. You look so timid, so shy. This'll be fun." As he reached down to grab her by the neck, a flash of blue shot out of nowhere and sent him flying into a neighboring building.

"What the fuck was that?!" The griffon that had been holding down Thunderlane was shocked to say the least. "Hey... bro?! You there?!" He called out to the now gaping hole in the building's wall. He received no reply. No call back from his kin.

An eerie silence came over the three. They sat waiting to see what had happened. No one left the building, no sounds escaping the walls. Just simple, almost peaceful silence. Then a sickening snap. The sound it generated stopped even the breathing in the group. It was followed shortly by more and more snaps. None compared to the first though. It was so ferociously loud.

"Um... ar-are you okay?" The fear that laced the griffons voice was so obviously apparent. He was shaking trying to hold Thunderlane down. The once strong griffon began backing away from Thunderlane and the hole. As he was about to turn and run like a coward, another flash and he was sent kareaming into the open abyss below.

Thunderlane got to his hooves and headed over to the edge in a heartbeat, wanting to see their savior. In the distance below them he could see what looked like... Rainbow Dash!? Did she really just do this?

She was mercilessly beating the griffon to death as they fell. Hoof after hoof hitting its mark on there descent. The griffon attempted to fight back, but to no avail. Her hooves were moving at speeds fast enough he couldn't see them, let alone defend himself.

At the last moment, she delivered a buck that sent him skyrocketing into the ground. Enough force behind it to double or even triple his current velocity. He hit the ground with an amount of force to send neighboring trees crumpling in the wake of the impact. His body was no doubt obliterated in the impact.

Thunderlane looked on in horror, understanding the lengths Rainbow Dash would go through to defend those she deemed fit. To think such a nice, friendly pony could now relentlessly kill and destroy anyone she wanted too was terrifying. She had the speed, the smarts, and the will to do exactly what she wants. Should she completely lose it they could very well be doomed.

For now though, he had to hope she was here to protect Fluttershy. Most likely she didn't care about him, though she'd most likely defend him if he would defend 'Shy. From what the shy pegasus had told him, they were close. Too close to just leave either behind if it came to it.

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash shot back up to the clouds they had been on before she showed up. A happy, cheerful tone to her voice. To think her friend, the Element of Kindness was now safe was a huge relief. She did, however, not even acknowledge the last minute or so of time. Ignoring the fact she just brutally murdered two beings, extinguishing their lives by her own hoof.

"Rainbow Dash?" The canary pegasus's ears perked up a bit. She still had her head buried in the cloud, avoiding the events that had happened. The sound of Dash's voice was similar to music to her. "Rainbow Dash!" She shot from her place in the cloud to meet her rainbow maned friend

Flying towards each other, the happiness each was experiencing was ever apparent. Huge smiles and anxious eyes on either's part had made a home on their faces. Wings beating as fast as they could, the two pegasus were closing the gap to each other.

Thunderlane watched on as he seen that little canary pegasus who was usually so timid fly at a speed he hadn't seen her go before. Far faster than when he had seen her ever go before. Apparently adrenaline is an amazing thing. If only she could have used some of that adrenaline earlier, when she was in danger. Some ponies just freeze up under serious pressure he guessed. Nevertheless, he seen she was now happy. The morale boost will be a good thing.

They collided in the air, falling back to the clouds with a loving embrace. Each holding the other in their hooves. Not wanting to let either go. If she had any left, Fluttershy would have been crying in joy. The reuniting with her fellow Element was something she had hoped for since this began.

The same could be said for Dash. Only, how she achieved this goal was a bit more brutal than Shy's way. Dash could very well have killed off more of the griffons in her wake. They had no way of knowing. To Fluttershy, it didn't matter. She could honestly care less as to how she survived, as long as she did. For Thunderlane however, he wanted to know. To know the level of hostility she presented. If she could be trusted to not crack and turn on him or her timid friend.

That didn't matter now though. What mattered now was that they were together. Joined again after each dealing with dilemmas that had threatened to not only harm them, but also to kill them. It was something they had been anxiously awaiting for the entirety of the time they were separated. This moment was joyous.

"Thank Celestia you're not hurt 'Shy! I was so worried! I don't know if I could've lived with myself if you'd have gotten hurt. I'm so happy I found you!" She was hugging her canary pegasus friend. A moment neither she nor Fluttershy wanted to end. Dash's voice was laced with the ever apparent joy she was displaying for them reuniting. Basically encasing her, Dash had wrapped her wings around Fluttershy.

"I don't know if I could've lived with myself if you'd have gotten hurt." The line ran through Thunderlane's mind. Ever feeding his paranoia for his fellow pegasus. If something should befall Fluttershy, Dash will most likely not be able to handle it. To be honest, he had no idea as to what she would do.

"Thanks Rainbow, for saving us. If you hadn't came along when you did, I'd... I'd..." She couldn't finish the sentence. Not wanting to further remind herself of what would've happened if Dash hadn't shown. To think she was a mere few moments away from death was frightening. Fluttershy began shaking in Rainbow Dash's hooves from the thoughts.

"Hey, hey. Calm down now. I'm here and I won't let anything hurt you. No one is going to lay hoof or claw of you from now on. Kay?" She looked the pegasus in the eyes with sincerity and compassion. Dash wanted to make clear that she would never, ever be in harm around her. She would make sure of that.

"K-Kay." The timid pegasus stared down at the ground, away from the caring eyes of her friend. She didn't want her to see the fear that was still apparent in her. Fluttershy wanted to atleast seem strong for her friend, when in reality she was weak. She hadn't even been able to run away when she was told so.

Thunderlane decided to go and take a look at what Rainbow Dash had done to the other griffon. The one she killed in the building when she first arrived. As he approached the home, he noted the utter lack of light. He would have to enter the building to see.

Once in, Thunderlane started looking around in the direction in which Dash had sent the griffon flying. After a short search, his eyes landed on what he'd been looking for. In the corner of the room lay a limp, motionless body. Walking towards the griffon, he noted that the clouds around him had turned a deep shade of red. Most likely from the griffon. Upon getting close enough to see the details, Thunderlane was horrified.

The griffon's neck was basically severed in two. His severed head lay a yard or two from his body. The vertebrae stuck out of the gaping hole that was left. This must have been the first initial snap they heard. Then why the rest of the snaps if he was already dead? This only feed Thunderlane's fears. The griffon's wings had been broken back towards his tail. The base of the wings had snapped, the bones protruding outward away from him.

Thunderlane could see that there were claw marks running down his spine. Did Dash rip of his own claw after killing him and proceed to beat his corpse with it?! His question was answered once he looked under the side of the griffon. There, buried deep in the ribcage of the griffon, stuck a lone claw. Its form barely outside of the body of the lifeless griffon.

The last thing he noticed was that the griffons spine had been snapped just above the hip. If he had to guess, Thunderlane figured this was due to the initial hit sending the griffon into the building. Dash had hit the griffon with enough force to shatter a wall. A spine wouldn't have been hard for her to break.

It disgusted him really. To think she would do such cruel, vile things. She was an Element of Harmony, yet she murdered with surprising force and power. How did she get this way? What acts against her would drive such a seemingly normal pony to the brink of insanity like this?

That was enough of that for him. Thunderlane backed away from the corpse slowly and turned out the hole he came in. When he returned he seen the pair were still in there embrace, the same as they were when he went in. Just sitting there holding each other, blissfully unaware of the ever present danger that could be eying from a far.

"Um... sorry to interrupt but we need to move. Now. It's not safe here." Thunderlane tried to induce the duo out of their hold. He would feel much safer if they were just out of the open. In the factory.

"Oh, sorry we..." Fluttershy had begun to speak up, but Rainbow made it her job to reply. She wouldn't be interrupted by the likes of him.

"Hold on 'Shy." She broke her embrace with the timid canary pegasus and turned to Thunderlane, anger in her eyes. "Now who the hell do you think you are?! Telling us when we need to do this and that. I'll decide what to do and what's best for us. You got a problem with that?" Rainbow Dash put her face right up to Thunderlane's, staring him straight in the eyes.

"... No. Actually you can decide what's best for her from now if you want. I think I'll be taking a trip to Canterlot. I need to find out what's going on here. You two can do whatever the hell you want from here on. I don't really care." With that, Thunderlane turned and started to heading for the edge of the cloud. A satisfied grin came across the lips of the rainbow maned pegasus. She had won her bout with him and she knew it.

"Wait! We need you. You saved me and I need you. We need you." Fluttershy began trotting up next to him, only to be stopped by a cyan hoof. The anger that had vanished off her face a second ago made a second appearance. The thought of Fluttershy being saved by someone other then herself infuriated Dash.

"What's this you saved Fluttershy? That's my job and mine alone." Thunderlane turned back to her with a pretty pissed off glare.

"Well where the buck were you then?! Fluttershy was about to get murdered by a griffon back at the stadium and if it wasn't for me she would've died. Would you have wanted that for her?!" He gave a slight pause, waiting for a retort. None came. The pegasus in question simply looked down at her hooves, defeated. "Exactly. You wouldn't have wanted that and neither did I. So I saved her. You're welcome. Now," he turned to Fluttershy. "I'm heading to Canterlot in order to see if I can get the princess's aid in this whole predicament. You two should just go wait it out in the factory till I return. Got it?"

"Y-yeah, I got it." Rainbow Dash admitted in a weak, fragile tone. She didn't like admitting that she was wrong, ever.

"Kay, good. Also Fluttershy, make sure to stay alive. For her sake." He gave Dash a nod and turned back towards the edge of the cloud. With a few flaps of his wings, he was off. Heading away from that terrible place. He hoped the cover of the night would be enough to hide him from the eyes of the griffons. If not well, he just had to hope luck was on his side.

Thunderlane was gone.

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Adaptive here: Yeah, yeah I know. A terrible spot to leave things off. But this is only part 2. There is another part coming. Also, sorry for the overall terrible writing in this chapter part. Sorry for the delay in this release as well. It shouldn't have taken this long. I haven't felt myself these last few weeks and thus it has lead to terrible writing. Sorry. The next part will conclude this chapter and we'll go to a different portion. K? I hope everyone who read this has a wonderful day or night.