The Everfree Slayer

Rainbow Dash frowns as she stares at the magenta unicorn with the wide-open grassy meadow behind her, swaying in the breeze, and asks, “Why did you make me kill?”

Starfall continues smiling while the grass on the ground blows and her bluish-white mane whips to the right in the wind, “Well, the fact that it happened to be you, the Rainbow Dash, was just a happy coincidence! The truth is, I had been trapped in that cave for some time, just waiting for a pegasus to fly overhead... But, when your zebra friend performed an exorcism, that freed me!”

Rainbow narrows her eyes and lowers her gaze, “But why do you kill?”

Starfall tilts her head to the right slightly, “Well, I wanted revenge! So…”

Rainbow widens her eyes and leans forward slightly while her rainbow mane flails to the left, “Revenge for what?”

Starfall straightens her head as the wind dies down, “Well, for the way I was shunned by most ponies and only befriended by users and worthless ponies who wished to take advantage of me, of course! All ponies are awful! And well,” she blinks, “since I can’t think of a way to kill all of Equestria, you taking them out one at a time, shall have to suffice, I suppose…” she smiles, “For now…”

Rainbow corrects her eyes and frowns, “Uh, didn’t you already promise Twilight that you wouldn’t kill anymore?”

Starfall’s cerulean eyes go skyward, and she sighs as her mane falls on her shoulders, “Well, yes. I suppose that’s true…” her eyes go back down to Rainbow, “But, I did wish to speak with you…”

Rainbow corrects her posture and eyes, and frowns as her own mane falls as well, “About what?”

Starfall smiles, “Oh, I just wanted to see how my killer was doing?”

“I’m not a killer Starfall! You are! You made me kill!”

Starfall leans forward slightly and widens her eyes, “But whose body was doing the killing?”

Rainbow frowns, “That’s not the point!”

“I did notice that you stopped trying to resist me, after a while…” Starfall states, while wistfully looking off to the right as the wind picks up and blows her mane slightly to the right.

Rainbow starts and leans forward slightly with wide eyes as her mane flows left, “Well, whenever I tried to resist, you always managed to take complete control anyway! I was trying to think of something else to do!”

Starfall turns her neck to stare downward, “Oh, right! Your fashionista friend!” her eyes look up to the pegasus as her head turns that way, “How is she doing, anyway?”

“You leave Rarity alone!” Rainbow shouts as the wind blows her mane, slightly left again.

Starfall lifts her chin up and grins as her mane falls once more, “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it, dear husk! I know how important and precious the darling Miss Rarity is to you, after all!”

Rainbow narrows her eyes, “Why don’t I believe you?”

Starfall looks up with her eyes again, “You know, I’m actually not sure?” she brings them down to Rainbow as the wind starts to pick up again, blowing her mane right, “I mean, I’m a vicarious killer, sure!” she widens them, “But this whole time, I never once revealed myself to be a liar!”

Rainbow normalizes her eyes while her mane falls to her shoulders, “So you admit that you’re the killer, huh?”

Starfall smiles again, “Well, partially,” she leans forward slightly, “but you know, I couldn’t do it without you!”

Rainbow cringes, “Yeah, but it was YOU who made me do it! I wouldn’t be killing ponies without you!”

Starfall smiles wider while the wind picks up again slightly, “We are quite the team, aren’t we?”

Rainbow leans forward angrily with wide eyes and shouts, “That’s not the point!”

Starfall widens her eyes as the wind dies and she says, “Oh, but that is the point, dear husk!” while staring at Rainbow and taking a few paces in her direction. “The point is, I wouldn’t be able to do it, without you!”

Rainbow recoils again before staring back at the unicorn, “So, is that what you wanted to say to me?”

Starfall blinks, “Not exactly, dear husk! I wish to make an arrangement with you! A proposition!”

Rainbow narrows her eyes and frowns, “And why should I listen to a word you say?”

“Well…” Starfall’s eyes go up, “I suppose you don’t have to? I suppose I could always just take what I want?” her eyes go back to Rainbow, “I agreed not to kill, and I’ll honor my word! But there are other things I could make you do, after all…” before staring at the pegasus with a wicked grin on her face.

Rainbow squints her eyes and narrows her mouth as she says at a slightly lower volume, “Okay, fine! I’m listening…”

“Well, it occurs to me that you’re quite possibly the best flier in all of Equestria!”

Rainbow blinks and says, “Well, I don’t mean to brag, but…”

Starfall cuts her off with a stern expression, “Bullshit Dash!” she corrects her face and shakes her head, “And since I can take control of you anyway, why don’t you show me what it’s like to be you?”

Rainbow blinks and narrows her mouth, “W-what?”

Starfall smiles, “Simply release part of your consciousness to me while you’re in the air doing all of your tricks and stunts! Let me have that experience and I promise that I won’t kill anymore…”

Rainbow frowns, “How do I know you’ll keep your word?”

Starfall widens her eyes, “Well, that’s the thing, isn’t it? You already don’t trust me. So, what difference does it make?” and she shrugs while looking casually off to the right.

“How do I know you won’t make me brutally murder the Wonderbolts or something like that anyway?”

Starfall sighs at Rainbow, “Why do you keep bringing up such fun and interesting activities?”

Rainbow leans forward defiantly with wide eyes, “See! I knew it! You just want to kill some more!”

Starfall squints her eyes, “Okay, let me put this another way… Relinquish part of your consciousness while you’re doing your tricks, and I won’t take complete control over you.” She leans forward with wide eyes, “You know, I could easily just take complete control over you while you’re doing your tricks! And I don’t have the experience with your body that you do…”

Rainbow corrects her posture and narrows her eyes, “Meaning, you’re more likely to make mistakes during the routine!”

Starfall widens her eyes, “Exactly!”

Rainbow widens her eyes, “Which means, I really don’t get a choice!”

Starfall smiles, “Now, she gets it!”

Suddenly, a fog begins to overtake the pegasus as it rises from the ground. Rainbow begins to shout as she returns to the waking world, “Hey! I wasn’t done speaking with you!”

As the fog completely envelopes her and she wakes up, she hears a soft feminine voice shout, “See you in the air, dear husk!”

Rainbow wakes up underneath the blue covers of her bed in a cold sweat with a start as her head shakes suddenly on her blue pillow and her left hind hoof almost kicks the tortoiseshell underneath the blankets. “AAAAAHHH! Oh gosh! I need to talk to Twilight!”

<*****>

Twilight frowns on her chair at the Cutie Map, “So, what did Starfall say to you, Rainbow Dash? I did think it was odd that I didn’t meet her in my dreams last night…”

Rainbow shakes her head from her chair to the right of Twilight, “Just that she couldn’t kill those ponies without me! She said that I’m partially responsible!”

Twilight raises her left eyebrow, “You know, she could just be trying to get into your head?”

Rainbow frowns, “Psych me out, huh?” she nods, “Yeah, that’s probably it!”

Twilight normalizes her mouth and leans forward, “Right, so the worst thing you can do right now is think about what she said to you! Although I’m still not sure exactly what she hopes to gain by telling you these things?”

“She could just be trying to throw me off my game. Keep me guessing, so her next move won’t be expected?”

Twilight frowns, “Maybe? Did she say anything else?”

Rainbow sighs, “Yeah, that she wanted me to give her part of my consciousness while I’m in the air, doing my tricks!”

Twilight blinks as she starts, “What?”

Rainbow nods and leans forward, “Yeah, she said she wanted to experience what it was like to be me, or something?”

“Well, if what she said is true, it stands to reason that she had a pretty boring life?” Twilight nods slightly, “I say, why not? Just give her what she wants…”

“But what if she takes me over completely and makes me kill again?”

“Well…” Twilight says while normalizing her eyes, “do you trust her?”

Rainbow frowns, “I don’t think I really get a choice? She already said she can take control, whenever she likes…”

Twilight leans forward slightly and widens her eyes again, “But, do we really know that for sure?”

“Well, no! Not really?”

“Meaning, she could be bluffing?” Twilight straightens her neck and eyes to the pegasus, “Still, I think you should give her what she wants! Let her experience the thrill and exhilaration of flying in the sky as you!”

Rainbow narrows her eyes, “Why?”

Twilight smiles, “Because, if she experiences something other than death, she might not be so interested in killing anymore…”

Rainbow raises her right eyebrow and narrows her mouth as she suppresses a giggle, “Might?”

Twilight sighs, “Look! We need to trust her at some point, anyway, right? And we don’t know for sure what she is capable of…”

Rainbow widens her eyes as she throws her forehooves in the air and exclaims, “Great! I might kill the Wonderbolts tomorrow morning!” and lowers them with a grimace. “Fantastic!”

Twilight stares at Rainbow intently, “Did she actually say that she was going to murder the Wonderbolts, though?”

Rainbow corrects her eyes and frowns, “Well, not exactly?” she leans forward slightly with wide eyes and says louder, “But I wouldn’t put it past her!”

Twilight frowns, “But, she never said she was going to do that?”

Rainbow sighs as she looks off wistfully to the left and her ears fall to the sides of her head, “That’s technically true…”

Twilight nods, “Okay, so the only reason you believe that she’s going to kill the Wonderbolts is because that’s the thought that entered your mind and nothing she said, correct?”

Rainbow stares at Twilight and blinks, “Well, yes…”

Twilight frowns, “So I say, just give her what she wants tomorrow morning… If I sit in the bleachers and watch you, to make sure you don’t kill anypony, would that make you feel better?”

Rainbow frowns, “Well, while I am pretty awesome, you can just stop me with your magic, right?”

Twilight smiles, “Exactly! Think of this as training wheels for Starfall, so she doesn’t kill again!”

Rainbow grimaces as she tries not to smile, “Why is that funnier than it should be?”

<*****>

Rainbow Dash stood there on her hooves on the tarmac in the Delta formation with the other Wonderbolts. They were all in their tight black uniforms as she was just to the left of the point in the V-shaped formation as Spitfire stood there holding the clipboard in her right forehoof and took roll with the white pen in her mouth.

Suddenly, Rainbow hears a familiar soft voice in her head, “Hello again, dear husk!”

Rainbow’s magenta eyes widen as she whispers, “Ah! Well, you said you’d show up!”

“And so, I have!” The voice casually replies in her mind.

“Ugh!” Rainbow softly groans out the right corner of her mouth, while strategically leaving most of it closed, “Could you uh, stop calling me ‘husk’ please? It feels so impersonal!”

“Well, that’s fine, I suppose. I’ll just call you Dash then!”

Rainbow lightly sighs, “And another thing, if you’re gonna be in my head like this, I’d at least like to know who you are?”

The voice is silent for a moment, “My name is Starfall Twinkles…”

Rainbow says in a slightly louder and more irritated tone, “I know that! But you’re in my head now and I don’t know anything about you! Feels so weird and intrusive!”

“DASH!” Spitfire barks out from her position in front of Rainbow, to the right.

Rainbow starts and looks at her with wide eyes and tensed body, “Yes ma’am?”

Spitfire lowers her head so her steel-rimmed aviator shades are lower than her eyes “I called your name twice and you didn’t respond, and yet, I can plainly see you standing there! Are you here today, Dash, or do you require more time off for psychological reasons?”

Rainbow’s eyes widen as she hears the voice in her head calmly say, “Don’t you dare!”

Rainbow blinks, “N-no ma’am! Sorry! I uh, have a lot on my mind!”

Spitfire blinks, “Well, you better get all that crap out of your noggin right now Dash, because you need to be focusing on the routine!”

Rainbow blinks again and stares back wide-eyed with a sober expression on her mouth, “Yes ma’am!”

<*****>

As Rainbow soared in the sky just to the left of the point, and still in the V-shaped Delta formation, rainbow streaks trailed her body alongside the smokey trails of the other fliers. She soon soars into the sky at a steep climb.

Starfall says in her head, “I don’t think you can keep this up, Dash? You’re about to stall!”

Rainbow smiles, “That’s the point! Watch and learn!” as her body’s ascent slows and she curves to take a J-turn and her form soon drops towards the ground at high speed!

She hears Starfall screaming in her head, “AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!” but focuses her magenta eyes dead center and her mouth smirks as the ground comes close to her and she vectors her wings to suddenly streak parallel to the ground as gravity slingshots her forward!

Rainbow smiles as her body slows and she begins flapping to ascend again over the treetops, “That’s called the Herbst and it’s about letting gravity do all the work to make you go fast!”

“Interesting…” Starfall chimes in Rainbow’s mind. “Now, what else do you do?”

“Next up is the Cobra and that always wows them at shows!” Rainbow says as she slows her flapping slightly to slow down so that she’s back in her spot in-formation. Suddenly, the Wonderbolts all begin to ascend once more into the sky as they accelerate rapidly.

The wind blows through Rainbow’s mane and the velocity is almost visible on her goggles as the wind streaks through her body and the rainbow streaks from her tail as she climbs farther and further so that her body is almost vertically going straight up!

Suddenly, Rainbow and the other Wonderbolts flip back upside down in the air as they streak their smokey and rainbow-colored trails behind them, so they are now heading the opposite direction that they started!

Twilight Sparkle can only stare in awe from the bleachers at this point as she sees the amazing rainbow streak accompanied by the many smokey trails of the other Wonderbolts overhead.

“WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” Starfall screams in Rainbow’s mind as the pegasus vectors her wings upward, so her body begins to fall, and she goes streaking back towards the surface at high velocity.

“Another slingshot, coming up here, Starfall!” Rainbow says as she angles her wings to narrowly miss the ground and fly straight ahead, parallel to the ground, once again as rainbow streaks fly behind her.

She and the other Wonderbolts begin flapping all their wings again to gain altitude.

“What’s next?” Starfall excitedly asks inside Rainbow’s thoughts.

Rainbow frowns as she flaps her wings, “Well, just a quick Immelmann to return to base and that’s pretty much it for now! Yeah, we just do this stuff during the off-season, so we stay in shape and trained, but the really fun stuff doesn’t start for another month!”

Rainbow hears Starfall snort, “Okay, but I want a Sonic Rainboom soon!”

Rainbow spreads her wings to her sides once she reaches a terminal velocity with the other pegasi in the formation before they all angle their right wings upward and left wings downward, so their bodies begin to turn around completely and they streak back towards the compound in another J-shaped maneuver in the sky. “Well, I can’t say I blame you? It is my signature move!”

<*****>

Rainbow flies forward and flaps her wings in the opposite direction to slow down over the tarmac, in front of the bleachers as Twilight trots her way down the aisle to the surface below.

Twilight looks up and begins flapping her wings to fly forward the necessary 20 feet to land next to where Rainbow Dash is lowering her body as she flaps her wings and descends from the air to the ground, on her hooves.

Rainbow turns her head left to see the purple alicorn landing there and faces her body to Twilight, “Starfall! Did you have a good time?” she whispers.

There’s no answer in Rainbow’s head as Twilight takes 3 paces so that she’s 5 feet from Rainbow, “Uh, Rainbow?”

“Starfall?” Rainbow says at a louder volume with her eyes to the sky.

“Rainbow?” Twilight exclaims as she leans forward slightly.

“STARFALL!?” Rainbow shouts as two other Wonderbolts look her way from behind.

Twilight frowns, “I don’t think she’s there anymore, Rainbow?”

Rainbow frowns back at Twilight, “Well, I think she had a good time?”

“You gave her what she wanted, right?” Twilight says as she leans forward slightly with her head tilted right.

“Well, yeah! I did our entire short routine with her in my head, just like she wanted!”

Twilight normalizes her body and sighs, “Well, all we can do now is hope!” before widening her purple eyes.

<*****>

That night, Twilight slept deep underneath the covers of her pink frilly princess bed as her head lay on one of the soft fluffy off-pink pillows and her shut eyes began to twitch as she dreams…

Twilight once again, emerges in a wide-open field, surrounded by pastures. The wind blows her azure mane to the left and she sees the back of a magenta unicorn standing there on the other side of the hill her hooves are on, about 10 feet from her.

Starfall turns her head to Twilight so her smile is now visible underneath her wavy bluish-white mane, “Hello Twilight! I wish to make an arrangement with you! A proposition!”

(To be continued…)