Equestria's Doom

“So what now?” exclaimed a breathless Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash stood in the doorway in confusion. After she had galloped to the entryway to try to greet their mysterious savior, she was instead met with a depressing solitude that failed to alleviate her confusion in the slightest. The deck of the ship was as empty as it ever was, except now it was studded with the corpses of zombies.

Dash took a moment to observe the precision with which their bodies had been cut apart. She concluded in a moment that it was no act of brute strength, or act of powerful magic that had destroyed the zombies, but the work of an expert swordsmare of some sort. Their bodies lay in symmetrical segments across the deck of the ship and the wood beneath bore deep gashes, as if accidentally penetrated by a swinging blade.

“I think I’m more confused than when we got here.” said Dash in a frustrated tone. “Either way, we’re both soaked in gore, so I think a bath may be in order.”

“Down by the lake?” asked Fluttershy.

Dash responded with a nod of her head.

Fluttershy paused for a moment, causing Dash to turn towards her out of curiosity. “What’s the matter?”

“Even if we are...gross, it feels wrong to just leave without finding out what happened to Twilight.” asserted Fluttershy.

“Sorry to be stubborn, but we’re both kinda dripping with blood. This is probably like, really unhygienic.” responded Dash.

Fluttershy shrugged and wordlessly bounded off the deck of the ship, touching down on the shore with a gentle flap of her wings. Dash followed her in turn and they began to bathe themselves in the waters of the lake. It was a ceremony entirely devoid of affection as they both reeled from the shock of the previous battle. They shared a kiss once, but besides that, they focused on the task at hand with an emotionless, robotic execution.

When they were both done and had cleansed themselves of blood, they turned towards one another. Fluttershy held her words, as did Dash.

“Got a plan?” asked Dash to Fluttershy, only for her to shake her head.

Dash sighed. “Well, I guess we could-”

“Dash, LOOK!” exclaimed Fluttershy suddenly.

Her hoof pointed to the deck of the ship above them and Dash followed her gesture.

She gasped at what she saw.

A unicorn that was unmistakably Twilight stood on the edge of the ship and stared at them with wide, empty eyes.

Fluttershy and Dash both stood still, awaiting an attack or an explanation. Neither came and Twilight retreated further onto the ship’s deck and vanished from the pair’s sight from below the ship. They looked at one another and locked eyes without speaking, then both spread their wings and quickly ascended onto the deck of the ship.

Twilight’s chest was covered in vomit and her fur was matted with sweat. There was no sign of her magical armor. Tufts of her mane were missing and she panted as she listlessly wandered the deck. Her eyes focused on Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Both of them could sense a vague emotion of distress radiating from them, though Twilight’s facial expression was unfocused and aimless.

She tried to speak, but her voice was too low for either of them to discern the meaning of her words.

“Fluttershy, I don’t know what the hell this is, stay behind me.” growled Dash. She took a deep breath. “Twilight, I’m giving you ONE chance to explain.”

Twilight looked up to Dash with an open mouth and wide eyes.

Then she spoke once more in a voice so quiet Dash barely heard it, despite the silence of their surroundings. “Dash, break my horn.”

‘W-what? Break your horn?” sputtered Dash.

“I was...I was wrong about the armor. It served as an anchor for him to-” started Twilight.

She collapsed into a ball on the deck and began to writhe in pain. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both gasped in fright to see a black swarm of energy tainted with red streaks materialize over her body.

“It has to be broken while I’m in control. If you break it when he gets through, then-” said Twilight in a brief moment of panic.

Twilight’s body grew limp and she flopped on the deck like a gutted fish.

Dash and Fluttershy both took a step back to the edge of the ship.

Fluttershy was the first to speak to Twilight. “Twilight, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” growled Twilight’s body.

Her eyes were shut, but Dash and Fluttershy could see a smile playing across her face.

“I don’t like this.” said Dash with a frown, protectively stepping in front of Fluttershy again. “Fluttershy, go to the treeline and wait for me, I’ll-”

“We’re in this together.” said Fluttershy. “I’m not leaving you.”

“I’m just tired from how long I’ve been waiting for you, Rainbow Dash.” muttered Twilight’s body. “Now, I need you to tell me where the elements of harmony are on this ship, since I’ve forgotten.”

“Um, actually, I don’t know. Twilight never mentioned it to us-” started Dash.

“You mean I never mentioned it?” spat Twilight’s body. “I’m Twilight. Nothing suspicious is going on. Now tell me where the elements are.”

“Oh, fuck this.” shouted Dash.

Dash pinned her wings to her side and launched herself into the air with her hindleg. She felt the wind whistle through her mane before she collided with Twilight’s body. There was a loud cracking of wood and then Dash was alone on the deck, a hole in the side of the ship marking where she had shoved Twilight’s body through a wall and into the depths of the ship.

She sat up in a daze and reeled briefly from the impact. Fluttershy rushed over to her and wiped the blood off of her nose.

Dash felt her heart pounding as if it was trying to part the walls of her chest and burst out in an explosion of blood. “Fluttershy, get out of here, now. I can handle this-”

As she spoke, an eerie glow emanated from inside of the ship. The light possessed the unmistakable glow of Twilight’s magic, but its light lacked the brightness and purity of her magic. Something about it was far dimmer, as if she had forgotten how to use it properly.

“Rainbow Dash.” snarled a deep, booming voice from beyond the shattered exterior of the ship.

The sound pounded through the floorboards of the ship and felt as if it was echoing in Rainbow Dash’s skull itself. It was all-encompassing, hypnotizing Dash and slowing her reflexes. Fluttershy reeled from the terrifying intonation of the speech as well and swayed on her hooves.

“You’re going to bleed. Then you’ll be my dumb little fucking slave.” said the voice once again in a snarl that barely rose above a whisper.

Fluttershy turned to run, only to bounce off of a magical barrier that had arisen over the walls of the ship. Dash rushed to her side and began to pound on the barrier, only to get violently repulsed onto the deck of the ship. Fluttershy yelped in pain as Dash clambered to her hooves.

“We’re trapped.” breathlessly exclaimed Dash.

Fluttershy began to sob, though Dash had no time to comfort her.

Dash watched the hole she had made where Twilight’s body resided and was greeted with a bizarre period of total silence.

The silence was molested by a series of loud pops and cracks as the floorboards of the ship were sheared into pieces.

Twilight’s body arose from the wreckage. Its eyes glowed a deep, crimson red as if a fire had been ignited inside her irises. A wicked grin was stretched across her face and her teeth were so tightly clenched that they seemed ready to shatter inside her jaw itself.

Dash prepared for another assault, but before she could act, Fluttershy flew past her and was brought up into the air with the creature.

Dash fell to the ground and screamed as she felt the muscles in her face stretching and twisting. The pain was nearly unbearable and she felt bile rise in her throat from the alien sensation of the magical onslaught.

“Hmm? You bear her pain?” hissed Twilight’s body in its bestial pitch. “Then this shall be more fun than I imagined.”

“I’m sorry, love.” said Fluttershy through choked sobs.

Dash tried to stand, only for her legs to twist out from underneath her. She looked upwards to see Fluttershy writhing in the magical grip of the creature. Dash used the last of her strength to stand, only for blood to pour from her nose as something deep inside her nose popped. She fell to the ground and shrieked in pain.

“HELP US!” roared Dash with the last of her strength. “COME BACK!”

No matter how loud she cried, or how much pain rocked through her body, there was no sign of the alicorn who had saved them before.

Fluttershy fell onto the deck with a loud thud and Twilight’s body collapsed on the deck. The red light vanished from her eyes and she began to cough.

“Are you back?” asked Fluttershy, hurrying over to Twilight.

Dash clambered onto her hooves and shook her head. She realized with gratitude that the injuries inflicted on her were only superficial and then joined Fluttershy in front of Twilight’s crumpled body.

“Yes...” uttered Twilight in a pathetic, weak voice. “Break it. I can’t keep him out again.”

Fluttershy grabbed a brick from nearby and sniffled before raising it over Twilight’s head. She brought it down with a sudden motion, only to graze the side of Twilight’s head. The unicorn yelped and then sobbed in pain as blood streamed down her forehead and Fluttershy dropped the brick with an exclamation of panic.

“Dash, I can’t- I can’t do it-” she said through panicked sobs.

Dash pushed her over with a hoof. She grabbed the brick and took in a deep breath.

“Love you as a friend, Twi.” she said under her breath.

She slammed the brick down over Twilight’s horn, only for the brick itself to shatter. Twilight writhed and moaned in pain beneath her blow with what little consciousness she had left. Dash scrambled to find another implement and found a bayonet from a nearby rifle stuck into the ship’s floorboards. She drew it out and began to saw furiously at the base of the horn.

No matter how fast she whittled at the protrusion, the knife failed to penetrate, though it sent plumes of horn-dust into the air.

“Oh no, this isn’t good.” said Dash with a sharp inhale.

Fluttershy let out a roar and began to pound the horn with her hooves. Dash dropped the bayonet and joined her.

Their hooves struck the horn over and over again as Twilight writhed under their hooves. Their strikes did nothing and Twilight’s eyes rolled into her head.

“He’s...he’s…” stuttered the mare. Her mouth filled with drool and the black energy from before began to materialize again in a crackling hum of malice.

“NO!” shrieked Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash again in unison.

“I’m still in control...you can still…” whimpered Twilight.

The energy threatened to surge into Twilight once more and Dash let out a scream from frustration.

Then a force coming from nowhere swept her aside.

She saw enough to perceive that Fluttershy was sent tumbling across the deck as well, then her gaze was met with the darkness of the night sky above.

Dash heard a loud crunch ring out and finally managed to turn her gaze back to Twilight.

A massive pair of studded brown boots met her gaze, but as soon as she began to focus on them, they were gone.

Fluttershy lay still on the deck and sobbed gently, tucking her head into her legs. Dash rushed over to check on Twilight and let out a sigh of relief to see that her horn had been crushed into powder. The unicorn let out gentle breaths as she fell into a deep slumber from exhaustion.

“She’s okay, it’s all good.” exclaimed Dash loudly as she scampered over to Fluttershy.

The mare nodded and continued to sob. Dash spat out some blood on the deck beside her and then turned to Twilight.

“Twilight, can you hear me?” said Dash in a gentle tone to Twilight’s still body.

Twilight sat still with her eyes closed on the deck. Fluttershy strode past Dash and began to inspect the sleeping pony.

After a moment, she came to her conclusion. “She’s in a coma.”

Dash nodded. “How can we fix her?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “It’ll just take a little bit of time.”

Dash sighed and then squinted as a bright light came over her vision. Fluttershy gasped and turned her head to focus on something behind Rainbow Dash. She whirled around and her eyes widened at the sight that she beheld.

The World Nymph hovered over the lake and Dash could see Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie floating at its side. Their eyes were shut and their bodies hung horizontally in the air with their hindlegs hanging down. Each pony had its head bowed, though their mouths were shut. Streams of energy seemed to flow from them to the World Nymph and a soft hum rang over the waters of the lake.

Rainbow Dash roared and shot out with a furious speed. She quickly broke through the sound barrier and howled during her charge at the World Nymph.

Her attack led her into empty air as the World Nymph vanished in a bright poof of light, taking the three captive Elements with it.

Rainbow Dash hung in the air defeated and turned back towards the Majesty. Before she flew back, something on a far shore of the lake away from the Majesty caught her eyes.

It was the alicorn from before and she twirled a sword about her that sparkled in the light of the moon. A hulking beast covered in swathes of green and brown armor bore a glowing, red blade of its own and countered each of her sword’s blows with expert precision.

As Rainbow Dash watched the strange display, she realized that there was no true malice in the fight. Each fighter took a brief moment after exchanging swings of their weapons, as if to contemplate their next move before once again committing to the duel.

Though they fought like enemies, thought Rainbow Dash to herself, their spar also had the appearance of two friendly warriors meeting once again after a long time apart.