As her vision slowly came back to her, Rainbow Dash swayed her head around. She tried to remember the recent events that led up to this point, but the last thing she could recall was when she watched Carter fighting against the ursa major. She tried to figure out her current location. The room she found herself in was dark, void of any source of light.

Instinctually, Rainbow Dash attempted to get herself off of the floor, but something prevented her from doing so. She tried to pull her left arm closer to her side, but it was held in place. She tried moving the rest of her limbs, but they too proved to be restrained.

A strong sense of fear fell over the mare, as she couldn’t even make her wings do anything besides shift them around about an inch or two. She tugged against the restraints, but they were too tough for the pegasus to break free. Rainbow Dash looked down at the rest of her body, analyzing the situation. She was locked in place, hanging from a fairly large wooden table.

The fur along her right front leg came in contact with some foul smelling liquids. She turned her head and found dried blood resting under her appendage, clinging to the wood beneath her. Her breathing intensified, and her sanity was already leaving her. She began to scream out for help, violently shaking in her restraints in a futile attempt to free herself.

The sounds of distance hoofsteps echoed through the dark room. Rainbow Dash went still, silently praying to Celestia that somepony would come to her rescue and free her from this cursed place. What instead followed was something she could never expect. The creaking sounds of a wooden door opening across the room rang through the pegasus’ ears.

“Oh boy, you’re awake! No, we can get started!”

Rainbow Dash's eyes shot open after hearing the voice. There was no way that she was to believe that the killer was her own friend, but there was no denying that this was farther from any dream she could possibly have.

“Pinkie Pie?” The words slipped out of the blue mare’s mouth with an ultimate fear seeping through her tone. Still in denial, she held onto the little faith she had.

“In the flesh!” Her faith faded in an instant. Rainbow Dash searched for the source of the voice, but the lack of light was making it too hard for her to identify even a faded silhouette of sorts.

“Pinkie Pie, I can’t move!”

“Well duh. You can’t move because you’re held in place. I don’t think I need to tell you that.”

“Pinkie, I don’t like this at all. What’s going on?”

“Oh Dashie, always getting to the point.” The cheery sound from the other pony moved to the left of the room. “I have run out of the secret ingredient for my specialty cupcakes, and I need you to get more of it.”

“Special ingredient? W-w-what special ingredient?” Rainbow Dash was confused. If all she needed was some more ingredients for some cupcakes, then why was she placed in such a strange and malicious location.

“You, silly!”

The pegasus’ eyes grew wide within seconds. She pulled in her stomach and swallowed heavily. This was not the Pinkie Pie that she knew, and something wasn’t right. But knowing the pink party pony, did the creation of a cupcake require so much? Rainbow Dash laughed to herself, calming her fears and loosening her muscles.

“Oh, Pinkie Pie. You and your outrageous pranks. Thinking that you would turn me into a cupcake? Ridiculous. This has to be your best prank, yet!” Silence filled the room for a few moments before the other pony’s voice was heard once more.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash. I thank you for saying that, but this is not one of those pranks of mine.”

“W-w-what?” The once-gone fear returned to the sky blue mare. “Pinkie Pie, this isn't funny anymore. If what you’re saying is true, then you won’t get away with this. My friends will come for me once they notice how long I’ve been gone, and when they see what you’ve done with me, they will never forgive you.”

“I know, but they haven’t yet, have they?”

“What are you saying?”

“I have been doing this for a while now. I mean, how do you think I have been making cupcakes for this long?”

A lever was heard moving in position. Shortly following the sound of the metal crank, a bright light illuminated the stone room, revealing everything inside. The sudden burst of light momentarily blinded Rainbow Dash, making her shy her head away and squint. She opened her eyes once her eyes adjusted to the new level of brightness, but it was by that point when she fully understood just how serious Pinkie Pie was about this.

Rainbow Dash looked all across the room, finding the bones and flesh of ponies strewn across the vicinity. Pinkie Pie’s face could finally be seen, and it looked creepier than any other time the pegasus laid eyes on it. The pink mare was in some unorthodox attire, colored with many different pigmentations, with minor blood splatter along the bottom rim of the dress.

“Pinkie Pie, please. You don’t have to do this!”

“But I do. This is all part of the process.”

Rainbow Dash began to tear up. The severity and level of violence and gore that the situation brought upon her innocent mind was just too much for her to bear. The pegasus pony broke into a soft cry.

“Pinkie Pie, you will not get away with this!” The fear in the pegasus’ voice grew exponentially by the minute. It was evident that Pinkie Pie was intending to begin dissecting Rainbow Dash very soon.

“Quit your whining, Dashie. Now, let’s begin the operation.” Pinkie Pie leaned down and looked upon a set of surgical tools. She grinned as she picked up a scalpel, turning to Rainbow Dash and slowly walking up to her, never once losing her gleeful expression.

“Hold still, Dashie!”

“No! Pinkie, please! Don’t do this, I am your friend!”

Pinkie Pie walked over to the right side of the pegasus and lifted the scalpel. Without any more words, the sharp blade penetrated Rainbow Dash’s flesh, cutting deep into her skin. Rainbow Dash let out a sharp cry as she felt the tool violently enter through her body. She dared not move nor say another word, as she thought it would only make the pain worse.

The scalpel traveled down the length of her side, slowly cutting away at the pegasus’ skin. Blood leaked from the wound, spilling out onto the table and even the blade. When Pinkie Pie got about half way down, she quickly and painfully pulled the scalpel out of the mare’s flesh. Another quick scream escaped from Rainbow Dash’s lungs.

Staring directly at her adversary, Rainbow Dash watched Pinkie Pie lift the scalpel to her mouth. She stuck out her tongue and licked the bodily fluids off of the blade. Her mind was in complete shock, and a most appalled expression swept over her face. With all of her sanity gone from her conscience, she vigorously shook herself in her bindings.

“Help me! Somepony, anypony, save me!”

“Oh, Dashie. Now one is coming to save you.” The pink mare stuck out her scalpel at Rainbow Dash once more, but the blade’s path was interrupted by her wings, which she flailed about in a futile attempt to keep the weapon away from her wounded body. This action proved to be a terrible idea, as the blade simply stabbed through her wing, embedding itself in the cartilage.

“Get away from me, you sick freak!”

“No no no, this can’t happen.” Pinkie Pie walked back to her table of tools and placed the scalpel back in its original position. She swapped it out with a menacingly large hoof saw. Rainbow Dash continued to struggle in her bonds, trying everything she could think of to escape her impending doom.

“Rainbow Dash, I cannot allow you to continually interrupt my procedure with your annoying ways. I am very sorry, but I have no choice but to cut off your wings.

“What!?” Rainbow Dash froze in place as she watched the saw lower to the part of her where her wings joined the rest of her body. “No! Stop it! Please!”

With a swift and sturdy pull of her hoof, Pinkie Pie began to cut through Rainbow Dash’s flesh once more. Unlike the last time, massive amounts of blood poured from her injuries, spilling out onto the cold, stone floor. Rainbow Dash could do nothing but watch the party pony’s tool cut through her means of flying. It was about half way through the limb.

“Carter! Help me!”

Pinkie Pie stopped her movements, staring angrily at the pegasus. She dropped her saw and drove her two front hooves around Rainbow Dash’s neck. The sky blue mare gagged, trying desperately to inhale.

“There is another pony here!?” Rainbow Dash could not reply due to the lack of space in her throat. “Where? Where is this other pony!?”

“I’ll never tell you.” The sky blue pony’s voice fought through the pain, taunting the enemy in a rather intimidating tone.

Pinkie Pie pulled her hooves away from Rainbow Dash, placing them back on the floor. She picked up the saw and threw it at the pegasus. The sharp blade embedded itself into Rainbow Dash’s unharmed wing. While the saw didn’t land in such a way that the blade separated the wing from the rest of her body, her appendage lowered to the ground, dangling by only a few layers of skin left to hold it.

“Why is it that you are being such a troublemaker!” Pinkie Pie stormed across the stone room, walking towards another level on the other side. She struck the ground with her hoof in frustration while she glared back at Rainbow Dash with a menacing expression on her face.

“Pinkie Pie… stop this.” Rainbow Dash was beginning to feel cold due to the blood loss she was experiencing.

“No! I have tried to cope with your irritating ways, but I have drawn the pinkie line here.” She lifted her hoof, flipping the switch in the process. An immense amount of electricity traveled through Rainbow Dash, forcing her to twitch with extreme force. Not even a scream could escape her as the level of voltage consumed her being.

Once the electricity died down, Rainbow Dash lowered her head in pain and exhaustion. Tears fell from her eyes, blood dripped from her wounds, and the sound of crying echoed around the stone walls of the room.

“Where is this other pony!?”

Rainbow Dash stayed silent, more because of her current state rather than keeping the stallion free from the same fate. Pinkie Pie growled in anger and flipped the switch another time. The same painful shock swept over the poor pegasus, resulting in more twitching and contorting from her out-of-control body.

“I will say this again. Where is this other pony?” Pinkie Pie furrowed her brow and gritted her teeth. Nothing was said from Rainbow Dash, which resulted in yet another wave of electricity travelling through her body. The pain that came over her was beyond anything she had previously experienced, and even then, she endured through every second of the torture. The lever was pulled down, shutting off the electricity. Pinkie Pie stared at Rainbow Dash, waiting for an answer.

“I hope… I hope that my friends… put you in Tartarus for your crimes.”

The pink mare lost all control (or at least, what was left to control). Pinkie Pie picked up the bloodied scalpel and ran over to Rainbow Dash. With little time between each of her actions, Pinkie Pie took the weapon and continually drove the blade into Rainbow Dash’s abdomen, each strike landing in a different yet still effective spot. Rainbow Dash screamed out in agony. Blood flung out of her mouth as the blade made quick incisions in her stomach.

“This is your last chance, Dashie!” Pinkie Pie’s normally gleeful attitude was overthrown by an immeasurable amount of rage expelling out of the pink mare’s voice. She pulled the scalpel out and stabbed the pegasus’ neck. Rainbow Dash cried out in pain as Pinkie Pie grabbed her by the throat, forcing her eyes to meet with hers. “Where is he!?”

Rainbow Dash could not focus on anything, as the blood loss had taken too much of a toll on her. The only thing she could visually comprehend was Pinkie Pie, and a small shadow of another pony running at her.

“Carter…”

“Yes, I know! Where is he!?”

“Wait… Carter!” Rainbow Dash realized the silhouette in the distance. Her eyes widened and a small smile of relief came over her face. Pinkie Pie was tackled to the ground by some other pony. She turned her head towards the figure once she hit the ground, and saw a familiar red stallion on top of her.

“Carter!”

The enraged stallion lifted his hooves and threw them down upon the pink mare’s face. Repeated blows followed suit, the mare unable to block his immeasurable strength. Pinkie Pie picked up the scalpel with her hoof between strikes and stabbed Carter in his right side. He growled at the pain before using his right hoof to punch the weapon out of him, dislodging the embedded blade inside him and destroying it in the process. He continued delivering heavy blows to the party pony’s head.

With a mighty war cry, Carter lifted his hooves above his head and smashed the mare with all of his might. The force of the concussive attack resulted in the stone floor beneath them crumbling, sending the three ponies falling into a darkened void. As they fell, Carter punched Pinkie Pie one more time, sending her hurling towards the walls, while he fell towards Rainbow Dash, who was still stuck in her bonds. Carter used his strength to break apart the wooden table and free the pegasus. Due to her injuries, Rainbow Dash could not use her wings to save herself from falling. Carter, still unable to fly in his own right, had no choice but to wrap his front legs around the pegasus and take the impact. With a violent landing, Carter’s back met with the ground. He shouted in pain, letting go of Rainbow Dash and rolling her off to the side of him.

Carter gritted his teeth, bearing through the seemingly insurmountable pain that shot through his spine. After rolling his shoulders to check for any broken bones, which he had none to his surprise, Carter got up on his hooves and came over to Rainbow Dash. He sat down beside her, placing his right hoof under her head for her to rest on, while his left pulled her closer to him.

“Rainbow Dash.” Carter could not think of any soothing words to calm the poor, injured mare. Rainbow Dash was shaking in place, due to a mix of insanity and low blood levels. Carter just sat there, holding her tightly against his chest. “Are you feeling ok, Dash?” The pegasus did not respond. The only thing that came from her voice were random, sporadic groans.

Carter felt horrible. If it wasn’t for the fact that he had no knowledge of any magic spells, nor the ability to fly, then the situation would’ve had a better chance of turning out to be less gruesome in the aftermath.

“C-c-carter.” A familiar call was heard coming from Rainbow Dash.

“Dashie! It’s me, Carter. I’m right here.” The stallion tried to bring the mare back into reality, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that there was nothing he could do to successfully fulfill that task. “Hang in there, Dashie. I will find you help, just you wait.”

A loud crash from nearby rocks came behind Carter’s back. Returning Rainbow Dash softly on the ground, he turned his head over his shoulder. A bright light illuminated the caves, lighting up the area. Carter looked up towards the skies, finding that part of the castle had collapsed in on itself, resulting in a giant hole in the surface above them. The sun was visible, shining its light ever so graciously upon his fur coat. Carter spotted a large vine that was wrapped around a stone pillar that precariously hung over the edge of the cave opening, which hung down near the bottom of the caves. With hopes that it could support their body weight, the stallion looked at the vine as a means of escape.

“Rainbow Dash, I think that I have found a way out of here.” Carter turned back to find the mare, but was instead greeted with a sledgehammer coming directly towards his face. The impact of the weapon was enough to send Carter to the ground. Carter swore aloud as he felt his nose fracture. He looked up at the weapon’s wielder, unhappy to find a familiar face.

“You took my only means of cupcakes, and that makes me angry!” Carter, though still dazed by the effect of the sledgehammer attack, was able to spot Pinkie Pie in his field of view. He watched the psychotic mare lift the weapon above her head once more. The same painful force grew on his back as the hammer came crashing down onto his spine. The stallion yelled out in anger as the pain traveled through his veins.

Do not lose yourself, Carter. Get up, but do not fight out of anger.

“You just love ruining things, huh? Well, let me ruin something of yours.” The hammer once again made violent contact with his body, this time on his right hind hoof, splitting the hard outside and moderately squishing the inside tissues. Another dark and explosive shout of pain escaped Carter’s lungs as another wave of pain came over him. He tried to get up to fight the mare, but he felt his unyielding anger rise in his body.

Come on, Carter. Get up. Do not lose this battle, but do not act out of anger! Your friends wouldn’t want that. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t want that!

“Friendship is nothing but a lie! You only think that you are happy because of it. Truth is, nothing about friendship is magical. Nothing!!!” Another forceful blow came to Carter’ skull, putting the stallion in a state of extreme dizziness. After that, Carter was feeling unable to do anything. His mind was no longer in his control. As the pink mare once again held the weapon above her head, a blue appendage wrapped itself around Pinkie Pie’s throat, choking the pony.

“Leave him alone!” Rainbow Dash used all of her strength to force the murderous mare into a blackout, blocking air from flowing through her windpipe. Even through all the pain and damage that the pegasus endured, she was determined to save Carter and end the mare’s reign of terror and bloodlust. Pinkie Pie shouted in anger and reached behind her back. Her hooves got a hold of the pegasus and threw her across the way. Rainbow Dash went flying into the cave walls, hitting them with an intense force of impact. The rocky wall behind her split, enlarging itself in a web of cracks.

Screw it!

Carter shot up to his hooves from where he laid. He eyed Pinkie Pie and reached out with his hooves towards her throat. Once he got a hold, he slowly lifted her off the ground. As the earth pony kicked around in the air, Carter merely stared into her eyes with a most malevolent and vindictive expression upon his face.

“Let me go, you animal!” Pinkie Pie screamed in anger, trying to get out of his grasp.

“I. Warned. You!” The red stallion shouted as loud as he could while lifting the psychotic earth pony above his head and throwing her onto the stone floor, head first. A sharp cry of anguish came out of Pinkie Pie as her nerves pulsed with immense pain upon contact. Shortly following, Carter bit down on her mane and threw her across the way. The pink mare hit the wall with a loud crash before falling to the floor.

Carter ran over to Rainbow Dash. She was still alive, and still just as much ready to fight. He held out his hoof for her to hold. She got a good grip around it with her hoof as she got up from the ground. The two turned to Pinkie Pie, who was already back on her hooves, eagerly wanting revenge. Carter and Rainbow Dash furrowed their brow and stared straight into her eyes.

“What do we do, Carter?”

“We have no choice, Rainbow Dash. She is quite determined to kill us. Make her death short and painless; we mustn’t let her escape.”

“I am right behind you, Carter.”

With that, the three charged at each other, shouting and sweating in defiance. Carter watched as Pinkie Pie swung the sledgehammer at Rainbow Dash, knocking her to the ground after hitting her jaw. Carter grabbed a hold of the weapon and forced it out of her hooves. He thrusted the front of the weapon against her stomach like a spear and followed up with a quick haymaker to her face. While she was dazed, Carter went to strike her back legs from behind with a heavy kick, trying to break them. Pinkie Pie dodged the attack with astonishing speed, countering the stallion with a swift jab to his jaw.

Rainbow Dash got back on her hooves and noticed Carter whipping his head back after getting hit. She rushed herself back into the action and jumped onto Pinkie Pie’s back. She wrapped her front legs around hers, restricting Pinkie Pie from movement and forcing the pink mare onto her back hooves. The pegasus nodded at Carter, who got up and took the opportunity to deliver three consecutive cross punches toward her gut. The second hit echoed with the sound of a broken rib.

Pinkie Pie was not having any enjoyment come out of this fight, and knew that she must end it sooner rather than later. She put her mouth over Rainbow Dash’s front right hoof and bit down on it, sinking her teeth into the flesh beneath its boney exterior. Though it was difficult to do so, the brave pegasus kept herself wrapped around her adversary, screaming in pain in order to cope with its intense discomfort.

Carter saw this and immediately reacted by grabbing onto Pinkie Pie by her jaw and lifting her whole body into the air. As swift as her ascent was, she was forced to the ground all the more forceful. The stallion went to strike her with another cross punch, but she was quicker, delivering multiple jabs to his face before he pulled his head back, using his front legs to block the rest of her punches.

Rainbow Dash ran over to Carter’s aid to try and free him from the onslaught of attacks, but her attention was pulled towards her left. She saw the sledgehammer lying by itself on the ground. She ran over to retrieve it, holding the weapon between her teeth. She rushed over to Pinkie Pie, lifting the sledgehammer over her head and dropping it towards her head.

Though it seemed the fight would end there, Pinkie Pie swiftly moved her head just before the weapon came in contact with her face. She kicked Carter off of her body with her hind hooves and grabbed Rainbow Dash by her head. Pinkie Pie took the wooden end of the sledgehammer and forced the pegasus’ face directly against it with much strength. A loud snapping of bones was heard and her teeth spewed much blood before Rainbow Dash’s eyes went cross. The sky blue mare fell to the ground, unable to stand after all of the pain she had just experienced.

“Rainbow Dash!” Carter felt something inside him grow in his spirit. It was the familiar sense of extreme anger. However, unlike all of the other times it came to him, this one felt different. It felt more concealed, more tame, and ultimately more controlled.

Carter threw his front hoof at Pinkie Pie, forcing the bloodthirsty mare onto the ground. He picked her up and ran towards the wall where the vine hung from it. With a loud war cry, Carter rammed her head into the stone wall, shattering all of the surrounding rock. While she was stuck in place, the stallion looked up and saw the massive stone pillar that the vine was wrapped around.

That is it! The end is near!

With no time to waste, Carter grabbed onto the vine with his teeth. He pulled against it, using all of his strength to force the stone pillar out of the ground that it embedded itself in and make it fall onto Pinkie Pie. There was no other way to kill her, as she felt too quick and too crafty for the two to fight her up close and personal any longer. They would eventually fall to her.

While Carter continued to pull against the weight of the stone pillar, Pinkie Pie freed herself from the stone wall. She growled at Carter with immense anger visible in her eyes. Carter saw this and his eyes dilated. He pulled harder, trying to get the pillar to fall on her before it was too late. Pinkie Pie pulled out a large knife from the inside of her dress. She ran towards Carter with haste, holding the blade in her teeth as she charged at him.

Just before the weapon could penetrate Carter’s flesh, Rainbow Dash delivered a mighty wind-up kick with both of her hind legs, similar to Applejack. The pink mare fell to the ground, but quickly got up to avoid Carter’s plan of attack. Rainbow Dash mounted herself on top of her, forcing Pinkie Pie to stay in place.

As tiny rocks fell onto Carter’s head, the pillar began to move. He grinned to himself, knowing that his efforts were working in his favor. Rainbow Dash continued to keep the psychotic mare still through constant punches across her adversary’s face. Blood began to seep out of Pinkie Pie’s nose as each punch connected.

Carter looked down to warn Rainbow Dash to move out of the way, but he was distracted by something he did not expect, yet knew all too well. The look on Rainbow Dash’s face presented anger in its truest form. It was all too similar to what he went through when he got in the heat of battle. She showed no mercy towards the pink mare, and while he knew that killing her was the goal, he also knew that Rainbow Dash would destroy herself mentally if she continued to act out of anger, like what he did in his past. She was lost in her mind, not dealing with her actions correctly.

“Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!” Nothing he said could get the pegasus to stop. He was beginning to feel anxious, wanting to intervene with her attacks. That would have to happen, as Carter looked up to find that the stone pillar was already dislodged from the dirt it clanged to, closing in on its target by the second. With little time to react, Carter dropped the vine from his mouth and ran towards Rainbow Dash. He used his shoulder to push her off of Pinkie Pie, but it was too late.

As a large cloud of dust filled the area around her, Rainbow Dash looked towards Pinkie Pie’s location. What she instead found was the remnants of a stone pillar that fell from the surface. As her emotions continued to come back to her, she noticed that Carter was nowhere to be found. She began to panic, tears filling her eyes. She began calling out for her ally. Nothing was heard until after her third call.

“Rainbow Dash! Over here!” A red hoof raised itself in the air behind the stone pillar, notifying Rainbow Dash that Carter was still alive. She ran over to the stallion’s aid, looking down at her friend. His hind legs were stuck underneath the massive weight of the stone. She gasped in horror thinking that she saw them flattened underneath.

“Carter, what did you do!?” Rainbow Dash screamed in utter horror.

“It’s fine, they still work. Grab my front hooves and pull.” Rainbow Dash did as he said and pulled his legs out from under the stone pillars.

“Carter, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to-”

“Rainbow Dash,” Carter stared at her with anger in his eyes, disappointed with her actions. He realized that he came off with too much emotion, so he took a quick breath to calm himself. He propped himself back on his hooves. “You must not act out on your emotions. You will lose control, just like what you presented right now. You must be better than this, Rainbow Dash.”

“But… I-”

“I know that you wanted revenge. But this path you choose, it is not right. I know. You must be better. Anger is a weapon, and one that we must learn to control. Leave this path and go back to being the sweet, loyal Dashie that I know you are.”

Rainbow Dash stared at Carter for a moment. Within a few seconds, all of the anger she previously felt faded to tears and mental pain. She dropped her head toward the ground and cried softly.

“I am sorry, Carter.”

“Do not be sorry, Dash. Be better, and be the mare you want to be.”

Rainbow Dash looked down at her blood covered hooves, shaking violently.

“What happened to me?”

“You lost control. I can tell that you have never had to do anything like this in your past, which is ok, but you must not let the guilt of taking one's life overcome your mind. Killing is something that we can never imagine until we do it, and our mind fills itself with dozens of thoughts and emotions that we have never felt before. It is during this moment that we must calm down and not act out on all of the adrenaline and emotion that we carry afterward. Do not let this affect you, Dashie. Merely take this as a lesson to be better.”

The sound of a moan came from behind their backs. They both turned their heads to find Pinkie Pie’s head sticking out from underneath all of the rubble. She smiled with a maniacal laugh forcing itself behind her bloodied teeth. The two injured ponies walked over to her location. While Rainbow Dash stared at her with an expression of betrayal and hurt, Carter looked down upon the nearly deceased mare with one of disappointment and disgust.

“You are too late.” Pinkie Pie said, her voice sounding breathy and forced out.

“What do you mean to tell us?” Carter asked.

“The end is coming.”

“The end?” Rainbow Dash shouted at the pink mare, tears dripping from her eyes. “Pinkie Pie, I have officially lost my ability to understand you, especially after these events.”

“Friendship will not save you, this time. The wrath of the true leaders of Equestria will rise up and claim their rightful kingdom for themselves. It is only a matter of time before all of you fall to their mighty forces, and friendship will be wiped out from every being once and for all.”

“You listen here, Pinkie Pie.” Carter lowered his head towards the psychotic mare’s and stared her in the eyes with his stoic look. “Whatever you are trying to tell us, I won’t let that happen. With my friends by my side, and my unyielding determination carrying me through even the hardest of trials, you’d better be damn sure that I will not let a single soul harm any creature in Equestria.”

“You idiot.” Pinkie Pie went back to her mindless laughter, staring up at the sky. “You should’ve joined them while you had the chance. But now, you will be the first to fall.”

As the sun fell behind the tree’s leaves from above the cave opening, Pinkie Pie’s body slowly morphed from a mass of flesh and blood to an alternative pool of black liquids. Carter and Rainbow Dash took a couple of steps back, analyzing the mysterious substance. This event alone opened up many questions for Carter to think over.

The true leaders? The end? A matter of time? God, is this even Pinkie Pie?

Carter and Rainbow Dash watched as the black pool of liquids evaporated into thin air, blowing away like wind in the sky. The stallion looked over to see if the pegasus had any answers, but her mind was just as unknowing as he was. Something was not right, but what that could’ve been was beyond their knowledge.

Carter looked up to the giant hole in the surface, trying to figure out an alternative route upwards since their only method of escaping was destroyed in the fight. He looked for any possible means of travel, but lost focus after the sound of rushing water quickly grew in volume from behind his back.

Oh no!

Through the cracks in the stone walls where Pinkie Pie was hit when she was thrown, water poured through them at an insane pace. Nothing could’ve warned the two ponies about this, and they were soon sucked under the ever growing body of water.

Carter spun out of control once the water was high enough to send him upward. He flailed his hooves around, trying desperately to reach the surface. He opened his eyes and noticed the top of the water was just above his head. With one swift stroke, his head pierced through the watery surface, giving the stallion ample time to regain some much needed oxygen.

Once his head rested above the water, he looked around for Rainbow Dash. He had yet to see her come out herself, and he was beginning to worry. He spun around, trying to find the pegasus. With panic growing within him, he dunked his head under the water, hoping to find her under the mass of liquid. The blood from her wounds created a cloud of red mist that surrounded her.

As a worried expression came over him, Carter swam to the bottom of the water, where he found an unconscious Rainbow Dash laying at the bottom. He continued paddling over to her, reaching his hoof out in front of him so that he could grab a hold of her and pull her up to the surface the first chance he got.

Carter wrapped his hooves under Rainbow Dash’s front legs and began swimming to the surface. The remaining air inside of his lungs began to take a toll on him, yielding him from using any more of his strength. He kicked his legs with haste, hurrying towards his destination before he’d blackout.

With only seconds of strength left in him, the red stallion broke through the surface of the water, once again gasping for air. Pulling Rainbow Dash’s head above the water, he noticed that they had reached the top of the caves and back to the surface of the Everfree Forest. He swam to shore, holding the unconscious pegasus close to his side as he continued swimming towards safety.

The energy in his body and the mental stability he had before entering the castle left him once he successfully crawled onto the dirt. He pulled himself and Rainbow Dash onto the land and laid on his back. He could not go on, not like this. He had to find help, and fast. He looked over at the sky blue pony, hoping that she was still ok. No signs of life came from her body, and her face turned pale over time. Her blood, along with his, slowly poured out onto the grass beneath them.

“Rainbow Dash… no.” Carter felt horrible. The pain of watching her slowly die before him was not something he ever wished to see, yet it was inevitably presenting itself before him. “I have failed you.”

With the little energy left in him, he rolled over onto his stomach and crawled over to her. He placed his hoof over her body and buried his face onto her side. His faith for their survival brought itself back to him, like a light at the end of a tunnel. He felt something in a small zipper pouch along Rainbow Dash’s suit. He opened it up and sighed in relief. There was still hope.

A flare! Perhaps I haven't failed just yet.

Carter raised the red stick into the air and used his bloodied teeth to trigger the effect. With a loud fizzle, a bright red light shot up into the air, floating around for a moment before leaving a trail of smoke as it fell back to the ground. He laughed to himself, knowing that there was still a chance that both of them would live through this.

“Don’t worry, Dashie. There’s still hope.” Carter looked over at her with a fatigued look of joy on his face. He reached out for her front hoof and held it with his. “There is still… hope.”

As his eyes slowly shut themselves, Carter was left unconscious, along with Rainbow Dash, in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Their only hope of survival was the hope that somepony would come to their rescue and bring them to a means of safety. Until that moment would come, their lifeless bodies laid against the grass, cold and pale.

The wind that passed through the Everfree Forest was the only thing giving off any kind of sound as the land laid quiet for many moments. The two unconscious ponies' bloodied, lacerated bodies laid along the grassy surface, tainting the natural green colors of the forest floor with their blood; the bright sun shining down upon their coats, drying up the water that clang to their tainted fur.

“We have two visuals, Captain!” The sounds of wings flapping through the air filled the nearby area as the rest of the Wonderbolts came to the location where the flare was shot.

“Who is it, Private?”

“One is a ponyville citizen, the other is Private Rainbow Dash.”

“Private Dash? Damn, I knew it was unsafe for her to come here. Quickly, everypony start getting these two to the Canterlot hospital. If we are lucky and they live, they might have some answers for the princess.”

Captain Spitfire came over to Carter’s body and aided another Wonderbolt member in putting Carter on a transportable hospital bed. She placed him along the top and nodded to the Private to begin their move to Canterlot. Carter opened his eyes for a brief moment, looking at the Wonderbolt member as they took him to the hospital.

“Hang in there, sir. You will be okay, we have you in our safety.”

“Make sure… make…” Carter mumbled out random gibberish as his eyes began to close themselves once more.

“Just stay calm, sir. We will get you the help you need very shortly.”

“Please… make sure… she lives.”

Author's Note

It would seem an unlikely threat has been purged at last. But with Equestria taking the victory, Carter and Rainbow Dash now seem to be hanging onto life by a thrrad. It is up to the Wonderbolts to save these two before it is too late .

I was so ready to write this chapter, and I sure hope you all enjoyed reading it as much I did writing it. I'm glad that the villains of this story are finally starting to be revealed.