Pumping her wings as hard as she could, screaming in pain and effort Rainbow tore through the skies above Canterlot. If she had had the ability to focus on anything else she'd have seen the iconic Mach cone starting to form in front of her. Normally she'd never been able to pull it off so close to the ground and without a gravity assist, but a combination of fear, pain, and adrenaline mixed perfectly to help her escape.

With a near ear-shattering bang, Rainbow shot away from Canterlot castle in a blaze of color, a scream of agony tearing its past her lips from the extreme increase of strain on her wounds. But she didn't stop, She didn't think, her mind focused on the ancient enemy of all cognitive thought. Fear. And not just any fear, but a fear she had never experienced before. Rainbow feared she would die.

She'd had close calls before, more than she'd be able to count, but never had the possibility of death even entered into the equation. Now it was all that was driving her to get away. Her primitive instincts over rid everything and told her that if she got caught, she would die, fighting wasn't even an option at this point.

Rainbow started to think for herself again only because she blasted through the wall of her home at full speed, shattering the cloud stone, the experience jarring her back into the world of the thinking. All the pain her mind and adrenaline had been suppressing quickly started to come back in waves, crashing against her thoughts like a raging storm.

She lay on the floor of her home, surrounded by rubble and broken furniture, trying to find some kind of rhyme and reason in the situation to latch onto, but she couldn't. She just continued to flounder in confusion, pain, and despair.

"How did this happen? Why did this happen? What the fuck is going on?!" Screamed out her unanswered questions to the air, hoping, praying, pleading for someone, something to give her answers. All she got back was crushing silence interrupted by her grunts and hisses of pain.

Rainbow gritted her teeth in an angry snarl at the silence, like it was mocking her pain and despair. She pushed herself upright, just barely biting back another scream as a fresh wave of agony washed over her. Taking heavy breaths she paused to try to form some semblance of a plan. As her thoughts rattled around her pain influenced mind all she could deduce at the moment was one fact more painful than she thought at first.

"I can't stay here." That simple truth spoken out loud tore at her heart, tears of pain were reinforced by tears of heartbreak as that horrible truth blared in Rainbows head. It took all her will power to push through the pain and sadness as she took that first step toward her kitchen.

Her hoof fore hoof nudged something on the floor drawing her attention down. There on the ground, leaning on some cloud stone rubble was her saddlebags, the things that had carried her damnation without her knowing to Canterlot with her. Her first thought was to tear the things to shreds but her needing something to carry supplies stayed her hoof.

Picking them up made her wound flare up something fierce, making her first stop be the bathroom where she kept her medical supplies. She'd crashed so many times in her life she'd become an old hoof at patching herself up. Carefully, she poured alcohol and spread antiseptic cream on gauze and started packing and wrapping her wound up. She tightened the wrapping as best she could but it wasn't the best, though to her credit she'd never been hurt this bad before.

Grabbing the spare bandages and medical supplies, not before she swallowed three relatively powerful painkillers, she carefully shuffled her way back into what was left of her living room. Stuffing what she'd gathered into her bags she went to the kitchen. Grabbing a few loaves of bread and anything non-perishable and edible she had which amounted to, including the bread, three cans of soup, a half-opened box of saltine crackers, a small box of instant rice and a bag of oats cereal. She had never been as upset with herself for not going grocery shopping when she needed it as now.

Rainbow grabbed the few fresh carrot and celery sticks she had in the fridge and quickly scarfed them down to try to keep her energy up. Finished eating she took her food supplies and carried them back to her saddlebags. Shoving them all in and painfully pulling them on she took one last look around her home. This would probably be the last time she'd see this old place.

Pushing her feelings of sadness and heartache as far down as she could, she started walking out her self-made door when her hoof stepped on something with a crunch. Looking down her eyes gushed fresh tears as she saw the picture of her and all her friends together. It was the first picture they'd taken as a group, right after they had helped Twilight and stopped Nightmare Moon together. Carefully Rainbow dislodged the slightly crumpled picture from its busted frame and got lost in the smiles and happy memories they had all shared.

Pulling herself out of memory lane she carefully folded the photo and placed it gently into one of the free side pouches. Stealing herself Rainbow slowly extended her wings, dreading but determined to do what she'd have to do to get down from her cloud house.

Not giving herself time to think, she jumped. Pain seared her mind, forcing a small scream from her, barely muffled from her clenched teeth and pursed lips. Landing wasn't much better as her legs buckled when she hit the ground making her trip and land on her wounded side. White enveloped her eyes, and she struggled to gasp in a single breath. The pain not even letting her scream for relief.

The seconds she lay there felt like hours but like all things the pain faded, and she was able, albeit slowly, to get to her hooves. Taking a some deep breaths to clear her head as much as possible forced herself to start walking away from town.

"Those over the counter painkillers aren't gonna cut it. I'll need something stronger." She thought as she moved as quickly as her injured side would allow through the fields outside Ponyville. She racked her brain trying to think of someplace she could get better meds when out of the corner of her eye Fluttershys' house came into view. She quickly made a beeline for her fellow Pegasuses' sod home.

Fluttershy took care of tons of animals, she'd have dealt with broken bones, cuts, bruises and illnesses all the time. She was certain Fluttershy would have stronger meds and better medical kits. A yucky feeling settled into her stomach as she made her way to Fluttershys' door. She was going to have to just grab the things and run. Stealing things from a friend just made her feel sick.

'Former friend.' A dark part of Rainbows' mind whispered to her. She forced that thought away, they were still friends in her mind. She'd figure out what the hay had happened and show them she wasn't the element of loyalty for nothing. Pushing open the door, mentally thanking her lucky star that Fluttershy didn't have a lock, Rainbow walked to the back room where Fluttershy kept all the medical stuff. She had to weave around the bodies of different animals to get there, all of them staring at her and making her very nervous.

Something bumping her hoof made her look down. Rainbow felt her heart start to break again as she looked into the worried eyes of her own pet tortoise, Tank. She carefully sat on her haunches and grabbed her beloved reptile in a deep hug. In all the pain and panic, she'd forgotten all about him and that she was supposed to pick him up from his check-up today.

"I-I'm sorry buddy, but... but you're gonna have to stay here for a while." She said, doing her best to sound tough even with tears pouring from her cheeks. Tank still looked worried now mixed with confusion.

"I got dumped into some hot water Tank, some deadly hot water." She looked at the gouge in her side before taking a shaky breath.

"You need to stay here Tank. They'll be coming after me and I can't risk you getting hurt or worse. I'd never be able to forgive myself if that happened." Her eyes shined with determination and sad resignation. Tank wasn't happy about this decision, not one bit and the way his eyes hardened and glared slightly at her made her heart swell with pride for his loyalty and ache because she'd still need to leave him behind.

Oh, a seventeen? A good role. Damn!

"Tank I..." She started but was interrupted by a strong flash of light from the front window followed by familiar voices, causing her blood to turn to ice.

"I'll try and see if I can get my animal friends to look for Rainbow Dash, Twilight."

Fluttershys voice, though soft-spoken, carried well through the air, making Rainbow jump to her hooves in panic, barely keeping quiet from the painful flaring of her side. How had she forgotten Twilight was able to Teleport their whole group back and forth between Ponyvillie and Canterlot?! She wanted to punch herself in the face for being so stupid, but she couldn't afford to waste time. Leaning down, she gave Tank a quick kiss on the head, the tortoise looking even more concerned by the second.

"Be a good boy Tank, don't make too much trouble... I love you." She whispered before she rushed across the room to the back and into Fluttershys' med room, shutting the door behind her as quickly and as quietly as possible. Frantically, Rainbow flitted over all the bottles and packs of meds. Most ponies didn't know it, but she was very knowledgeable about what which meds and pills did, she had to be with how often she got injured.

Grabbing multiple bottles of burns salve, painkillers, antibiotics and anything else that might be useful, she stuffed them into her pouches.

"Hmm, I didn't leave my door open when I left." Hearing Fluttershys' voice say that made Rainbows's blood turn to ice as panic reared its ugly head.

Nat twenty, Damn! You're too lucky if you ask me.

Her eyes whipped back and forth before landing on Fluttershys' back door. Perfect. Her new-found exit calmed her rising panic enough that she could carefully and quietly make her way past all the bags of pet food on the ground. She was careful not to trip, as any noise could alert Fluttershy to her presence.

She breathed a sigh of relief as her hoof landed on the door nob, only to freeze as she heard Fluttershy again.

"Is anyone here hurt?! There's some blood on the carpet?! Oh! I better get my first aid kit just in case!" Followed by a fast trotting hooves. Not wasting any more time, Rainbow opened, exited and closed the back door before crouching down below the doors window to remain hidden. Her heart hammered so hard and fast it felt like it would crack her ribs.

"Oh my, I didn't realize I was so low on supplies! I could've sworn I just had a new delivery of burn salve though. Strange." She heard Fluttershy talking to herself as she rummaged around in her back room. Hearing the steady retreat of hooves, she let out the breath she'd been holding since she closed the door, gulping air to try and steady herself.

She carefully got up, quickly and quietly making her way towards the Everfree forest. Rainbow took one last peak behind her at Fluttershys' hut, desperately wishing this was just a bad nightmare. She never noticed two beady eyes staring at her with anger from the bush in front of her.

A Seven. My, my, my, That won't cut it against the spawn of Caerbannog.

Rainbow turned away, only to get a face full of angry, white bunny clawing at her face. With a yelp, she shook her head trying to dislodge Angel so she could run, but the little rabbit was persistent and hung on. She heard a gasp from behind her, fear and anger swelled in her breast. She'd had the worst day of her life, and now this stupid rat was making it worse!

"GET OFF ME!" She roared, teeth bared in a nasty snarl, before they clamped down hard on something soft.

Sixteen, a good role. Somethings not right here.

With a vicious twist of her neck, she pulled at whatever she had in her teeth, anger clouding her mind to such a degree that she held nothing back. The sickening sound of ripping flesh rent the air, followed by a squealing scream of pain. The coppery taste of fresh blood filled Rainbows' mouth, making her gag in disgust as she spit out what she quickly deduced was a rabbit ear.

A scream of shock and worry snapped her head back toward the cottage where Fluttershy was cradling a blood covered, one eared rabbit and doing what she could to staunch the bleeding. Guilt tore through her already ravaged heart, seeing her oldest friend and her beloved pet hurt adding to the disgusting taste of blood in her mouth, she spat as much out as she could. The noise drew Fluttershys' attention to her. Setting Angel bunny down softly, the look she gave Rainbow was anything but kind.

"You..."Her voice was soft, but it carried far, making Rainbow all the more terrified.

"I-I..." Rainbow tried to stammer out, but her courage failed her at the absolute hate filled snarl on Fluttershys' face.

"YOU!" She pounced at Rainbow like a starved tiger, teeth bared and eyes a light with such murderous intent, Rainbow was frozen with fear, unable to move.

Eighteen. Okay, something is going on here and I will find out what it is!

Much to Rainbows' shock and relief, Fluttershy didn't get far and face planted hard into the ground. Rainbow blinked, her brain quickly assessing her surroundings and to her shock she found Tank standing behind Fluttershy, her pink tail clamped tightly in his mouth and his feet dug firmly in the ground. Their eyes met and Tank's seemed to smile sadly and his head jerked to the side as if to say, 'I got this, get outta here'.

Pride bloomed and she smiled at him. Fluttershy groaning quickly reminded Rainbow of her priorities, and she Bolted from the clearing as fast she she could. She tore through the bushes and started down the North-east road out of Ponyville. Her plan originally was to disappear into the Everfree but with her getting caught by Fluttershy it'd be the first place her former friends would check, so she had to scrap that plan.

She'd run for maybe a half a minute when a pink blur smashed into her making her yelp in pain and fear. She knew only one pony who could catch her when she was determined to get away. She was afraid. Quickly finding her self pinned to the ground on her back as a pair of bloodshot, pain filled baby blue eyes bored into hers. She Struggled, wiggled, even tried to bite her way to freedom but she couldn't break free.

"Did you do it?" Pinkie demanded, her voice cracking slightly. Panic gripped Rainbows mind, not allowing her to rationally think. Her thoughts going back to Celestias' attack at the castle. She was caught. She was caught and she was going to die. The fear of death is a powerful motivator, it's called 'fight or flight' for a reason. She was trapped. Trapped was death. RUN! ESCAPE! FLEE!

Her struggling increased tenfold and as Rainbow nearly went completely feral in her attempt to escape the iron clutches of Pinkie Pie. Rainbows struggled did more harm than good though, as even more blood seeped from her hasty bandages. The Pain was just more fuel to the fire as she increased her struggles to escape. Above the struggling pegasus, Pinkies' eyes flashed angrily.

"DID YOU DO IT!" Pinkie screamed, pain and despair fully displayed in her voice.

A nineteen... This is NOT according to the Plan! What is going on?!

Something in Rainbow mind snapped. All the pain and trauma, physical, emotional and mental boiled over and using every speck of air in her lungs she screamed.

"NO!"

The world around the two mares seemed to dim and fade into the background. One stared down in anger and desperation, hoping beyond any semblance of reason that the world was mistaken, that it was all a lie and everything would go back to normal if she blinked. The other glared up in rage and pain, her very soul burning in anger, cursing the world for the hell it had made of her existence. But anger cools in the face of reality, and hers was no different. Seconds passed and the world snapped back into focus as Rainbow broke down into quiet sobs beneath Pinkie.

"No." she hiccuped again, her struggles gone as she limply laid on the ground, in her own blood, just wanting it all to stop.

"Pinkie promise?" Pinkies's voice was soft, soothing and caring like a mother embracing her child after they'd been hurt. Without thinking, Rainbow curled into Pinkie slightly, instinctively seeking any comfort she could.

"Pinkie... P-promise." Rainbow said, all fight gone, as she sobbed. She felt two limbs wrap around her and soft fur press against her face. A feeling of love and safty seemed to blanket Rainbow, calming her hesterical fears.

"I believe you." Pinkies firmly said as she held Rainbow to her barrel in a tight but gentle hug. Hearing it shocked Rainbows brain back to working order, her head jerking up and staring at Pinkie is confusion.

"W-wha..." She tried to get out, but a pink hoof pressed against her lips, stopping her.

"No time." Pinkie said. She jammed her snout into Rainbows saddlebags as she quickly pulled Rainbow upright. A pink blur surrounded Rainbow and she felt a harsh sting of her wound, making her look and she was shocked to see fresh bandages covering it.

"I've done what I can for your wound, but you'll have to find a real doctor to see to it soon." Pinkie said calmly, quickly securing Rainbows bags to her back in a way that they wouldn't aggravate her injury as much.

"Go Rainbow, I'll distract them." Pinkie pie said, giving Rainbows' rear a small shove away as she turned and started heading back toward Ponyville.

"Pinkie?" Rainbow was so confused. Pinkie turned her head and smiled. It was a slightly broken smile, one forced, brittle and cracked by pain.

"I won't let my friend be killed if I can help it." Pinkies' smile brightened slightly at her declaration and shook Rainbow back into focus.

"Run Rainbow, go." Pinkie said once more before she tore off like a bat out of Tartarus toward Ponyville.

"I saw her! I saw her! Rainbow Dash went into Whitetail Woods! She went this way!" Rainbow watched in surprise as Pinkie screamed to get any ponies attention on her as she lead pursuers in the wrong direction. Rainbow decided not to wait and see if Pinkies ruse worked so she quickly started to run again. As her hooves pounded the dirt and grass, she swore she'd find some way to make it up to Pinkie. To her only friend that believed her. She'd not let Pinkies' mercy be in vain.

She was going to survive. She was going to live.

Author's Note

I FINALLY FINISHED IT! Took e long enough to get back to writing. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. it was a pain to write, mostly to my heart, as writing these scenes hurt. a lot. Thank you to those who haven't given up on me and to those that did... Glad I could prove you wrong. I hope you have a great day/night and don't forget...

Evil, always finds a way.