Doctor Jekyll and Mister Shyde

Rainbow Dash groaned, trying to open her eyes against the pain in her head. She tried to bring her hoof up to gently rub her temple, but found that she couldn’t move. “What the hay?” She exclaimed loudly, now trying to move anything. The shock was enough to open her eyes and she quickly assessed her surroundings.

Trees, trees, and more trees. Am I in the Everfree Forest? Ohh, I must have just crash-landed and got myself tangled up.

This thought quickly left as she craned her head to look herself over. The first thing she noticed was that there was a thick rope around her midsection, effectively immobilizing her wings. Each of her hooves were wrapped with similar-looking ropes, effectively preventing her from any movement below her neck. Her cerulean blue coat was ruffled and covered in grass and dirt, hinting that she was dragged here. But Dash didn’t pay attention to the details. All she knew was that she was trapped and needed to get away from whoever did this to her.

“HELP!! SOMEPONY HELP ME!!” She screamed, hoping that somepony would be able to hear her. She screamed and screamed until her throat couldn’t stand any more than a loud whisper.

“Rainbow…”

The Rainbow-maned mare stiffened as she heard a low, yet chilling voice drifting through the trees.

“Raaaainbowwwww Daaaashhhh…”

“Who’s th-there?” She whispered, the cold sensation of fear settling heavily on her fur. She craned her neck again, attempting to spot the pony who was calling her name.

She heard a rustle and then soft hoofsteps directly behind her. “Whoever you are, I demand that you show yourself!” Rainbow said as loud as she could, mentally pushing the fear down.

“Mmmm… No. I think that I’m fine right here.” The low voice said.

Rainbow strained her mind, trying to think of a pony that spoke like that. The voice was low but definitely female. The pony spoke slowly and deliberately, yet had a sense of power that made the Pegasus mentally shrink in fear. Outwardly, though, she writhed and thrashed against her bonds.

“Sshhh.” The voice murmured, placing a hoof on the bound mare’s back, still standing directly behind her, so as not to be seen. “If you don’t calm down, I’ll have to make you. I don’t think you want that.”

The struggling mare immediately stopped moving, not only because of the power in her captor’s voice, but also because of the sharp blade she had just felt against her side. Rainbow was hyperventilating, still wondering who in the wide world of Equestria would do something like this.

“That’s better, isn’t it?” The voice said, soothingly. “Now, I have a little something for you.”

Rainbow suddenly felt a blindfold being lifted over her head and secured around her eyes. She was trembling openly now, terrified. “What are you going to do to me?” She asked, tears threatening to escape from her eyes and soak the blindfold. She heard the mystery pony slowly walk around to Rainbow’s front.

“Mmmm, I would tell you, but letting you figure it out is just more fun! Now, open wide.”

The trapped Pegasus, trembling openly now, complied, opening her mouth as wide as possible. She decided that it was best to not disobey the mare with the knife, regardless of who it was. She suddenly felt something being stuffed into her mouth, preventing her from speaking.

“I’ll be back later to give you food and water,” the voice spoke once again before trotting away into the trees.

Rainbow whimpered, hoping that she would be rescued soon.

“Now where the hay is that durned Pegasus?” Applejack asked herself, eying the clouds that had settled over Sweet Apple Acres. “First mah apples go missin’, now Dash.” The apple farmer sighed and shrugged, dismissing her thoughts and turned back to bucking. Ah’m sure she’ll be back tomorrow.