Rainbow Dash & Lightning Dust vs. Evil

by Argonaut44

Rating: teen
Tags: Rainbow Dash, Thriller, Spitfire, Scootaloo, Lightning Dust, Adventure, Violence, Thunderlane, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mystery
Length: 47031

Venturing to a mysterious island of monsters, mystery, pirates and witchcraft, Rainbow Dash joins forces with her old enemy, Lightning Dust, to rescue their friends and save Equestria from total destruction.

Venturing to a mysterious island of monsters, mystery, pirates and witchcraft, Rainbow Dash joins forces with her old enemy, Lightning Dust, to rescue their friends and save Equestria from total destruction.

* Lightning Dust vector in thumbnail made by CloudyGlow on DeviantArt

Published 2023-07-27 23:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-05-24 02:10:44 UTC

02: The Truce

Below black sails and bronze lamps dripping oil, Spitfire kept her eyes fixed on the floorboards. She was trapped on her knees, her legs clasped in irons, her wings tied down with itchy rope. Her cerulean suit was torn at the sides and along her left foreleg, stained with blood.

Spitfire shot a quick glance at her companions - Vapor and Soarin were tied directly to the great oak mast a few feet away, while Thunderlane was kneeling right at her side.

Soarin had still not woken up, not since their captors carelessly dropped him on his head upon boarding the great vessel they were trapped on. Vapor had finally stopped begging for somepony to help him, resigning instead to sniffling and trembling against her ropes. The other few hundred captives had been stored in the galley below, and Spitfire could still make out the sound of muffled wailing from right beneath her.

As for their captors, no two of them were quite alike, she had discovered. Some wore pairs of black horns, others had red skin cracked like molten rock, and some hardly resembled ponies at all.

She glanced at Soarin, sound asleep and Vapor, pale-faced and trembling like it was forty-below, and Thunderlane, stretching his jaw in spite of a new bruise. What made these four special? she wondered. Why keep us above deck?

“There’s more of us than there are of them,” Thunderlane muttered to her. Spitfire had thought the black eye he was sporting would have reminded him not to open his mouth again, “All it’ll take is one of us to spring open the hatch to get below deck, free the others, and we’ll overwhelm them.”

Spitfire fought herself to keep from replying, though she realized Thunderlane was intent on following through with this plan of his, with or without her.

“The only ponies down there who can stand a chance are the rest of the team, and the Washouts. I saw them put all the soldiers somewhere deeper in the ship, someplace we won't reach easily. Everypony down there are civilians. They’ll scream, they’ll run, they’ll freeze. They won’t fight.”

“Washouts,” Thunderlane laughed, “I saw a rat run past my hoof earlier. He’d be better use to us than the Washouts.”

“They can fight.”

“For themselves, maybe. They’ll leave us stranded here if it gives them a chance to run off,” Thunderlane said, “We don’t need them, Spits. We just need to-”

“Shut your mouth!”

It was Grimbol who had barked at them from across deck, that hulking thug with the wet snarl. The spiked ring of a buzz-saw was half-stuck in his forehead, but his skull was so thick it could not be removed. The skin had grown back right around the metal.

He stormed toward the pair in his clunky suit of gun-metal armor. Thunderlane’s smile fell from his face, but only for a moment. For all his faults, Spitfire thought, he never let his fear take the better of him.

“Grimbol!” Thunderlane smiled, “Careful now, I’ve only got one eye left to bludgeon.”

“No worries. I’ll be ripping out that glib tongue of yours next,” Grimbol laughed. His hoof landed against Thunderlane’s skull with an audible crack, and in a single blink Thunderlane’s head was bouncing against the splintery floorboards.

Vapor was still shrieking when Spitfire finally opened her eyes. She first caught sight of the small puddle of blood draining through the boards, though Thunderlane was already teetering back to his knees. Spitfire gritted her teeth. Stop talking, you idiot.

Thunderlane could barely see, she realized, as he laughed off a second black-eye drenched in blood drizzling down his forehead. He turned to where he thought Grimbol was, as more of the black-armored soldiers began to draw in closer. The scent of blood seemed to lure them in like moths to flame.

“Many a mare would go begging from north to south, without that glib tongue of mine. For their sakes, I’ll ask for mercy,” Thunderlane grinned.

One of the other creatures, a small filly with a ghostly white coat and bouncy sky-blue curls, started giggling, and the host of soldiers slowly came around, grinning, bellowing, and stomping their hooves, rowdy like a wild pack of dogs. Even Grimbol gave a snort. For a second, Thunderlane could laugh as well. Everypony always came around to him eventually, after all.

He kept thinking as much, even when Grimbol picked him up by the scruff of his throat, lifting him up into the air.

“Leave him alone!” Vapor yelled. Spitfire glared at her. Don’t follow his example. The girl had pissed her suit at the sight of the blood, and her shaking seemed to have gotten worse. Luckily Grimbol seemed to only care about Thunderlane.

The other creatures descended on Thunderlane, who seemed to have finally given into the pain in his forehead, struggling to keep that stupid smirk on his face.

“Make way!” boomed a new voice from behind the crowd of soldiers. Spitfire glanced up, alarmed by the sudden silence that swept over the ship.

Grimbol threw Thunderlane down to the ground. Spitfire could not look at him for long, that bloody mess of purple pulp that used to be his face. Thunderlane coughed and reeled on his side, struggling to move as his head began pounding harder and harder.

The crowd broke apart as a new creature stormed down the deck.

His skin was black leather, buried under a coat of blood-matted black fur. His skull was sharp, studded with three pairs of purple serpent’s eyes. Along the edge of his jaws were spider-like pincers, or fangs maybe, and his drooling red maw was guarded by rows of pointed teeth. He was larger than all of the others except Grimbol, but had a sturdier rhythm to his strut. Heads came bowing as he trotted past, until he came to a stop before Thunderlane.

“What is the meaning of this?” he asked in a cold voice.

Grimbol had never seemed smaller, shrinking at just the creature’s voice. Nobody dared answer, not that Gorgo had a need for one.

Gorgo’s six eyes darted down to Thunderlane.

“Tender flesh might have done nicely, for the journey home,” Gorgo supposed, “But this one is too broad of shoulder. He will stick in my throat. This will not do.”

Spitfire’s eyes widened. She caught herself before her jaw could drop. He’s just trying to scare us. They’re ponynappers, not cannibals.

Grimbol glared at Gorgo. The six-eyed beast truly did live up to that moniker of his. The Insatiable. They had a great many captives, and already Gorgo could hardly keep himself from picking out his next meal.

Vapor shut her eyes when Gorgo caught sight of her. He slithered towards her, sticking his six eyes just inching away from her, examining every part of her.

“This one,” Gorgo grinned a sickly, twisted grin, “Slender and fair. She will go down nicely.”

Vapor kept her eyes shut, trying her best to be brave, though she felt her spine shiver and her skin turn pale.

“These ones are not for you. None of them are to be spoiled before we reach the island,” Grimbol reminded. He was the only one brave enough to deny Gorgo his lunch.

“Her time will come,” Gorgo promised, “Now…Where is he?”

The crowd rustled to produce a familiar face.

“Forecheck!” Spitfire exclaimed. She was too shocked to remember to keep her mouth shut. What is he doing here?

Forecheck, the president of the Equestrian Athletic Association, had been an old friend of the Wonderbolts. Spitfire could feel her heartbeat hasten, as hope returned. Perhaps Forecheck had made a deal of some kind, to earn them their freedom.

“Change out of that ridiculous disguise,” Gorgo scoffed.

Forecheck sighed.

Spitfire’s smile dropped in an instant, as she watched Forecheck’s flesh begin to draw back against the muscle. She heard bones snapping, organs popping, and a low grunting sound, before a new form remained, a red muscly creature with sad eyes and raspy breath.

He was some kind of shapeshifter, Spitfire deduced, but not like a changeling, who could revert to an original form. This creature had no true form, able only to adopt the guise of others.

The shapeshifter, whose name was Mimic, meant to address Gorgo, before he noticed Spitfire glaring at him from the floor.

“Ah,” Mimic said, “My dear, I do apologize for ruining your afternoon. Though I will say, your Wonderbolts were not having such a good day to begin with.”

“Forecheck - he…you-...” Spitfire stuttered.

“There never was a Forecheck,” Mimic said, bluntly.

Spitfire shook his head, laughing in disbelief. How long has he been running this ruse?

“Why are you doing this?” Spitfire yelled, “What do you want?”

“Why, it’s you that we want, my dear,” Mimic replied, “You and all your friends below. But even all the mighty Wonderbolts won’t make up for the last pony left that we need.”

Mimic turned back to Gorgo, who seemed so frustrated he could hardly breathe.

“Rainbow Dash,” Gorgo said, “No one can seem to find her.”

Mimic twitched.

“These ponies will make a sorry substitute if we can’t find her,” Mimic said, approaching Gorgo with a furrowed brow.

Gorgo growled something under his breath.

“These four are her friends, you said,” Gorgo recalled, “Wrap some rope around their necks, and the Element of Loyalty might be more willing to show her face.”

Mimic raised an eyebrow.

“What creature would be weak enough to fall for that?”

“A pony of Equestria,” Gorgo guffawed. The crew of black-armored soldiers roared in laughter, while Spitfire’s eyes narrowed.

“Scour the city!” Mimic yelled, laughing to himself, “Find Rainbow Dash and inform her what will happen to her friends if she keeps playing hard-to-get. Find her and bring her to me, alive.”

Spitfire shuddered as Gorgo’s cloven hoof came stroking against her cheek.

“Pray for our safe return, girl,” Gorgo grinned.

The soldiers broke out into a frenzy, spreading their wings or teleporting away or jumping overboard to swim the way back to the island.

He stormed off, leaving Mimic alone, while Thunderlane remained writhing and groaning, lying on the deck. Spitfire shook her head, laughing to herself. Of all the ponies in Equestria, Rainbow Dash would not make such easy prey.

They’ll have to catch her first.

The scrambling streets of Messara were a flood of screams, bodies barreling over one another, thrashing through for air and dashing for cover. The sky had begun to sour overhead, a pink and gold sunset.

Ponies scurried to the scanty shelters and makeshift markets. The merchants had remained as they were, oblivious to the madness that had swept the arena.

Lightning Dust staggered along behind Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. She left a trail of blood behind her, and she could feel herself lose her strength with every step. Those devils had poked her full of holes, and she was bleeding right into her sweaty suit.

Rainbow and Scootaloo were sprinting along up ahead, taking care to make sure Lightning had not fallen too far behind.

“For once you can’t keep up,” Rainbow laughed.

“Stuff it,” Lightning growled.

They had wound away from the main crowd of ponies, taking refuge in a dank cobblestone alley, sitting in the shadow of a ruinous bathhouse.

Lightning caught her breath, leaning against the wall for support.

Rainbow’s smirk dropped, when she finally noticed the extent of Lightning’s injuries.

“They got you bad,” Rainbow realized, “Lightning! Why didn’t you say anything?!”

Lightning ignored her, glancing over her shoulder to scan the skies.

Rainbow trotted towards her, frustrated.

“Hey. I need you to work with me, OK? We have to help each other.”

Lightning glared at her.

“I don’t need your help.”

“I seem to remember saving your skin back there! They were turning you into a pony-pin cushion!”

Lightning scoffed.

“Look out for yourself, Rainbow Dash. I’m surprised you can string a sentence together, after that fall you took.”

Rainbow shook her head, and flinched abruptly. Scootaloo, who had been trembling on the ground, suddenly became alert.

“I’m taking Scootaloo to the palace. If you’d rather fend for yourself, be my guest. But if you’ve got any sense left, you’ll come with us. My friend Twilight’s probably there right now, she’ll know what’s going on. Now, if you would kindly….A-Augh.”

Rainbow’s shoulders suddenly fell slack, and she lost her balance completely, lunging forward off her hooves. She would have landed flat on her face, if Lightning hadn’t been there to catch her.

“Rainbow!” Scootaloo cried, rushing over.

Lightning set her down on the ground, gently, and backed away.

Scootaloo pounced over Rainbow, examining her with shaky hooves.

“She’s…She’s-”

“She fainted,” Lightning determined, “Head trauma. She’ll wanna get that checked out.”

Lightning’s wings stretched out, and she turned back toward the street, while Scootaloo glanced up at her with tears in her eyes.

“Wait! Don’t go!”

Lightning eyed her, skeptically.

“Look kid, I’ve had as much of a rough day as everypony else, OK? I’m bleeding out a bit here, and if I don’t get stitched up, I won’t be much help to anypony. The palace isn’t far from here, you can make it.”

Lightning crouched down to propel herself up, until Scootaloo lunged toward her, wrapping her hooves around Lightning’s leg.

“What the-Hey! Get off!”

“Please Please Please don’t! Please!”

Lightning’s glare softened, and she glanced back at Rainbow, whose mouth hung open, whose eyes were glazed over.

Her eyes fell back to Scootaloo, and she gave a muted sigh.

Lightning bent down beside Rainbow and tore off the grass-stained cerulean suit drenched in sweat, handing it to Scootaloo.

“Help me pick her up,” Lightning said.

“Oh thank you thank you thank you!” Scootaloo exclaimed, rushing over back to Rainbow.

Lightning grunted, crouching down to her knees beside Rainbow’s slumped over body. Lightning winced. Both of them reeked after a day of racing in the summer heat. Scootaloo helped push Rainbow on top of Lightning’s back.

“Keep an eye out for trouble, OK?” Lightning said, struggling to keep her balance.

Scootaloo nodded her head, too terrified to speak.

Lightning led Scootaloo further down the alley, emerging at the other side.

Lightning’s ears perked up, as the screaming returned from afar.

“Don’t slow down,” Lightning cautioned, ushering Scootaloo alongside her.

They soon came to another alleyway that emptied out down a flight of steps into a street, and continued on into a narrower lane crowded with dumpsters and debris.

“It’s that way,” Scootaloo said, pointing towards the narrow lane.

They passed by the steps, until the sound of metal scraping against stone brought Lightning to a sudden stop.

“Wait!” Lightning yelled, sticking her hoof in front of Scootaloo. The arrow shot right past Scootaloo’s snout, and would have plunged through her right ear if Lightning hadn’t caught her first.

Lightning turned to face him, the lone archer in black armor.

She found him an underwhelming sight at a closer glance; he resembled a pony, only his skin was blackened and coarse like ash. He wore a set of red horns, and a pair of ruby-red eyes. He was short of stature, not much larger than Scootaloo. His teeth were pointed, his tongue forked, and his tail was leathery like a reptile, pointed at the tip. His wings were bristled with angry red veins, frayed and scaly like that of a dragon.

“You guys are a lot uglier up close,” Lightning admitted.

“Speak for yourself, pegasus,” the creature hissed. He was glaring at her, until he noticed the pony slumped on her back, and Scootaloo beside her.

“R-Rainbow Dash!” the creature exclaimed, frantically searching for his radio, strapped somewhere to his belt.

Lightning heard him clear as day, and acted before she could think about it too much.

She dumped Rainbow on Scootaloo’s shoulders, nearly crushing the poor filly under her weight.

“Leave the suit,” Lightning instructed. Scootaloo obliged, dropping Rainbow’s suit to the ground.

“What are you-” Scootaloo began.

“The palace is just one block away. You’ll make it. Find your friends,” Lightning said.

Scootaloo’s eyes darted back over to the creature in the alley. He had been muttering something into his radio, and quickly stuck it back into his belt, with shaky hooves.

“First day on the job or something? You look terrified,” Lightning laughed.

“You and the girl are free to go. As long as you hand over your friend there,” he said.

Lightning glanced at Rainbow.

“And what do you want with her?”

“That’s none of your concern,” the creature snarled, “Now play nice. My friends are on their way here. Make it easy on yourself.”

Lightning bit her lip and glanced down at Scootaloo.

“Run, kid, go! Take her,” Lightning said.

Scootaloo shook her head.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Yes, you are. If things go south, find me at the eastern boardwalk. Now go.”

Scootaloo gulped, and nodded her head.

“Oh, and when she wakes up, tell her we’re even now, got it?”

Scootaloo jogged off, struggling to make any speed with Rainbow bouncing on her back.

The creature in the alley shook his head, regretfully.

“She won’t make it far. One last chance. All we want is Rainbow Dash,” the creature said.

“She would’ve been too easy of a fight, trust me,” Lightning said, “Unlucky for you, you’re stuck with me instead.”

The creature hissed and lunged forward, his wings buzzing like a hummingbird.

Lightning straightened herself out and stuck her hooves wider apart. He arrived quicker than she had anticipated, darting toward her like a hornet with its stinger, only he wielded a short-sword.

Lightning threw herself out of the way, and dodged the follow-up strike, spinning around him in a circle, trying her best to wear him down as he sprang towards her with blade in hoof. He hissed with each slice, and managed to nick her across the chest three times in all. But Lightning was larger as well as quicker, and with his first misplaced step, she pounced on him from the side, tackling him against the wall.

He reeled back against her hoof, which caught him by the helm, smashing his head into the brick. His body froze as the disorientation swept through him. His legs started scrambling, kicking and clawing in every which way, only Lightning had time to throw him down against the cobblestone, rattling his armor.

He groaned in agony and reached for his blade on the ground, only for Lightning to kick it away.

Lightning knelt down beside him and pinned her foreleg against his neck.

“What’s your name?”

The creature grunted in pain, and glared at her, struggling against the pressure on his neck.

“Gump!” he cried, “Gump!”

Lightning stared at him. She pitied him even more now. What kind of name is that?

“OK, Gump. Listen to me. I’m not gonna hurt you. As long as you do exactly as I say. Got it?”

Gump convulsed on the ground, groaning in frustration.

“No, you listen to me. We have hostages,” Gump spat, “Hundreds. If you don’t give her up, we’ll slaughter them all, one by one. It’s Rainbow Dash we need. Her and her friends!”

Lightning eyed him. Rainbow and her friends. Sometimes it really felt like the world revolved around them.

“For all I know you’ll slaughter them anyways,” Lightning argued, “You’re not getting Rainbow.”

“Let her decide for herself! She might not be so willing to let her friends die!”

“Right. Lucky for her, I am,” Lightning said, “Now you’re gonna call up your friends again, Gump. And you’re gonna tell them that Rainbow got caught in a fire, and that she didn’t make it out. You’re gonna tell them to give up the search, because she’s dead.”

“There is no fire, pegasus!”

“Leave that part to me,” Lightning assured, “Do it. Now.”

Gump hesitated, until Lightning increased the pressure on his throat.

“Alright! Alright! Let go!”

Lightning released him, but kept a watchful eye, as he reached for his radio.

He flipped a switch and held down a button.

“Basilisk-Six. Four-Zero-Four. Dash was caught in the fire. She didn’t make it out. Dead, presumed. Over,” he said.

Before he could receive any response, Lightning retrieved the radio and crushed it under her hoof.

“Wicked pegasus!” Gump cried, “They’ll find out, they’ll have me killed!”

“No they won’t,” Lightning replied, rising to her hooves.

Gump meant to reply, before Lightning kicked him right in the head. His words slipped back down his throat, as he fell back in a slump.

She dragged Gump over back to the dark alley, hiding him beside a dumpster, burying him in trash bags. She found a pair of hoof-cuffs in his belt, and latched one end to the leg of the dumpster, and the other end to his hind leg. The keys, she kept for herself.

Darting back to retrieve Rainbow’s suit from the ground, Lightning left Gump and scurried off, thinking along the way of what the fastest method of starting a fire might be.

“Dead?!”

Soarin awoke to the shriek, jumping beneath the ropes that held him to the great oak mast. Vapor was quivering beside him, when Soarin caught sight of Mimic smacking the messenger across his face.

“I don’t believe it,” Mimic roared, “This needs to be confirmed by an officer.”

“It has, sir,” replied the ghostly-white filly, Specter, who stepped forward to take the place of the messenger, “It was the private who had first reported what happened. Then the Twins reported the fire in the markets, and Alcazar found charred bones in the wreckage.”

“That’s not enough,” Mimic said, “Bones could belong to anybody.”

“They found scraps of her Wonderbolt suit still intact. We have all the Wonderbolts except for her, sir. It had to have been her.”

Mimic hesitated, and glanced at the ground.

“We needed her alive.”

“The Queen will understand,” Specter insisted.

Mimic shook his head, unconvinced.

“If she’s dead, there’s no more we can do. Burn the island to be sure. Then call them all back,” Mimic commanded.

“And what of these ones, sir?” Specter asked.

Mimic glanced at Soarin, Vapor, Thunderlane, and Spitfire.

“Give the girl to Gorgo. Throw the other three into the sea.”

Spitfire felt her breath give out, while Vapor began thrashing against her ropes, desperately trying to break free.

“Sir,” Specter said, hesitantly, “If Dash has survived somehow, we’re going to need them to get her to give up.”

Mimic eyed her.

“You pity them, is that it? You take pity on the ponies?” Mimic demanded.

“No, of course not, sir,” Specter replied, catching the eye of Spitfire for a brief moment, “I only fear that we should not waste our hostages without the Queen’s approval, since we’ll be returning short-handed.”

Mimic’s breath was jagged and rippling with rage.

“Very well. The Queen will decide their fate. Stick them with the others below, then send out the order.”

“At once, sir,” Specter replied, bowing her head.

Specter glided over toward Spitfire and the others. She was semi-translucent, Spitfire realized, and her hooves did not quite touch the ground. In all other ways, however, she resembled a typical earth pony filly, especially in comparison to the bloody monstrosity that was called Mimic.

Specter gently lifted Thunderlane up, and grabbed a hold of his leg. With her other hoof, she reached for Spitfire.

Soarin watched the three of them descend straight through the wood as if it were a layer of seawater. Soarin glanced at Vapor, who felt too ill to be shocked at such a defiance of natural law.

Specter emerged back up from below deck, phasing through the wood. She reached for Soarin and Vapor.

“Don’t you dare put your-” Soarin attempted, before her hoof wrapped around his leg. He felt the air around him become denser, shifting like a current. He felt as though he was submerged underwater, and yet could still breathe. The filly seemed amused by his confusion, and before he could quite get used to the feeling, he was falling, deeper and deeper, farther than the ground his legs had dangled against. He slipped right through the ropes, and Vapor beside him.

They emerged through the wooden floor of the deck, and found themselves below in the dark of the galley, gliding down deeper and deeper, until Soarin could feel the breath of the ponies packed in alongside each other, crammed like sardines.

Specter released her grasp on them, dropping them a few inches beside Spitfire and Thunderlane.

“He meant to kill us,” Spitfire said, staggering up to her hooves, staring up at Specter, who was hovering in the air, “Why did you stop him?”

“Did I need a reason?” Specter replied, curtly, “...I’m sorry about your friend.”

She had little affection or respect for Mimic anyway, though Spitfire did not need to be made aware of it. Mimic was not truly one of them, after all, just a freak experiment.

Spitfire did not get to reply, before Specter flew off back up through the ceiling, disappearing.

“What was that?” Soarin said, “What was that?”

He found himself surrounded by sixty or seventy other ponies, cluttered together for warmth or comfort.

“Captain,” came Sky Stinger, followed by Fleetfoot, Surprise, Misty Fly, and a dozen other Wonderbolts, excusing their way through the crowd.

"Sky!" cried Vapor, leaping into his embrace.

"You're not hurt!" Sky remarked, relieved. He held her close to him, while Fleetfoot and Misty immediately began fretting over Thunderlane, who groggily assured them he was fine.

Spitfire checked in on each of them, but was grieved to learn that the rest of the team was being held in another compartment of the ship, with the other eighty-odd captives.

“Where are they taking us?” asked one colt from the back of the galley.

“Listen, everypony, we’re not sure. I need all of you to be brave, and be calm, and stick out the ride for a little while until we can get some answers,” Spitfire said.

“And who put you in charge?”

Spitfire had dreaded the rebuke, having noticed that familiar toxic green and black pattern from the furthest corner of the room.

Only four of the Washouts were present in the galley to challenge the Wonderbolts, who, as usual, outnumbered them.

She recognized Rolling Thunder as the one who had spoken; the mare’s accent was unmistakable. Beside her was the one they called Breakbones, a pale yellow pegasus with a thick black mustache, itchy stubble, and a curly black mane. Spitfire recalled he was rejected from the academy because of his startling propensity for injury. Even now, the stallion wore a bandage around his left foreleg knee. Spitfire had never relished in rejecting trainees, though she understood the hard truths of her job. Not everypony was cut out to be a Wonderbolt. End of story. Still, she felt a tinge of regret to look them in the eyes after the fact, knowing it was her who shattered their dreams.

Madcap was the other Washout, and next to her was Hat Trick, both rejected academy applicants from the class of ‘79. Hat Trick was the youngest of the Washouts, sporting a wavy mane of bronze locks, and a lighter orange coat. Madcap was not much older, with a pale green coat and a curly mane of baby blue and lavender, and a pair of wild eyes.

Thunderlane grunted something under his breath from the ground, and sat himself up as if to meet the challenge.

“Go back to lurking in your corner of shame, Washouts,” Thunderlane coughed.

“Pretty shiner they gave you, Thunderlane. And here I didn’t think that face could get any uglier,” Hat Trick laughed.

“Somepony has to take the hits so little girls like you don’t have to,” Thunderlane sneered.

“What did they want with you?” Rolling Thunder asked Spitfire, ignoring the japes. Rolling might have been the most reasonable of the bunch, though that wasn't saying much. Still, Spitfire had no intention of perpetuating any bad blood between anypony, not while they all remained locked up in the dark.

“They thought they could lure Rainbow out if they threatened our lives," Spitfire explained, "Now they’re saying Rainbow’s dead,”

“But you don’t seem to be grieving,” Rolling Thunder said, suspiciously.

“I know Rainbow better than they do. She got out. I know she did. And she’s coming for us,” Spitfire insisted.

“...Ms. Spitfire, did they mention Lightning Dust?” Madcap asked, hesitant to speak up to Spitfire, “Did they take her too?”

“I don’t know,” Spitfire said, gently.

“If Rainbow’s really dead, it should’ve been Lightning Dust to take her place,” Fleetfoot said through a heavy lisp, “That blonde bimbo who calls herself captain almost got Rainbow killed.”

“Lightning had nothing to do with that crash,” Breakbones said, and he happened to be an expert on the subject of crashing, “We all saw what happened. Dash tensed up, lost control, spiraled off into the dirt. Happens to the best of us."

"Maybe for the likes of you," Misty said, eyeing him up and down, "The Cloudsdale paramedics know you by name. Rainbow doesn't make those kind of mistakes. Unlike you all she takes her job seriously."

“Keep telling yourself that," Hat Trick grinned, "Sorry your hero isn’t all she’s cracked up to be."

“One more word from you and you’ll be a few teeth shorter,” Thunderlane said, struggling up to his hooves. Soarin helped him up, standing beside Sky Stinger and Vapor. Breakbones and Hat Trick were right beside Rolling, while Madcap nervously hung back. The crowd of civilians backed away from the centerfloor of the galley. Nopony had expected an encore of the fight from earlier that day.

"Sky, tell them to stop," Vapor pleaded. But Sky seemed only concerned with the two of them, keeping away from the confrontation.

“Stop! All of you,” Spitfire yelled, “We can’t be fighting with each other. Not right now. For Celestia’s sake, we have no idea how much danger we could be in! Ponies could die if we’re not careful.”

“They can find their own way out of here,” Fleetfoot turned toward Spitfire, before turning back to Rolling, “You won’t get any help from us.”

“Good thing we didn’t ask for any,” Rolling Thunder pointed out, “I reckon we get out of here first, in fact. And you’ll be wishing you acted nicer.”

“As if,” Misty Fly recoiled, “You’re not a team. Just a collection of rejects.”

“We’ll see about that,” Rolling said, turning and leading the other three back to their corner.

Spitfire glared at the others.

“We’d be better off all working together,” Spitfire insisted.

“We won’t be at each other’s throats, if we work separately. That’s the best we can do,” Sky Stinger supposed, “We won’t have to put up with them much longer. Let’s find a way out of here.”

Scootaloo tugged on Rainbow by her shoulders, struggling up the marble steps. She had made it two steps with Rainbow on her back before she had to give up, resorting now to dragging her up all the way to the palace.

The higher she rose, the more devastation she could make out - fires had started to the west, east, north and south, and she could make out the sound of ponies’s screams coming from all directions.

She thought of Lightning Dust, of where she might be. I left her.

Scootaloo jumped when she heard Rainbow cough, and let go of her, rushing down to her side.

“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo yelled, shaking Rainbow awake.

Rainbow’s eyes slowly opened, and she seemed alarmed, confused as to where she was or how much time had passed.

“Scootaloo,” Rainbow gasped, sitting herself up. She realized that was a mistake, as a deep pressure overcame her around the front of her skull.

Rainbow turned her head and saw they were near the palace.

“What happened?” Rainbow stammered, “Where’s Lightning?”

“We have to get inside! They’re after you, Rainbow! We have to get out of the open!” Scootaloo wailed.

Rainbow grunted as she struggled up to her hooves. Her head was pounding, along with the rest of her body. She could feel every bruise.

“C’mon,” she said, scooping up Scootaloo and dashing off up the steps.

At the top of the palace steps, they were met by a lone royal guard, a broad-shouldered stallion colored off-white with a stubbly face of faded black. Beneath his silver helm, his mane was all shaved off.

“You look lonely up here,” Rainbow remarked, setting Scootaloo down on the ground. She approached the soldier, who had yet to acknowledge her.

He did not budge from his post, blocking the path to the doors.

“That’s far enough,” he said at last.

“What’s the idea? I need to see Twilight.”

“You won’t find her here. The princesses have all been taken,” the soldier replied, grimly.

Rainbow’s mouth tightened; she did her best to appear unphased, while Scootaloo’s trembling returned.

“Who’s left, then?”

“The chain of command has left Princess Twilight’s assistant as the interim sovereign.”

Rainbow and Scootaloo shared a look.

“Spike?” Scootaloo figured, raising an eyebrow.

“Let me inside, I need to see him,” Rainbow said.

“I don’t take orders from you,” the soldier rebuked, “Nopony is allowed entry. Word is there’s a shapeshifter lurking about.”

Rainbow gestured to Scootaloo.

“Did they mention two?”

“Might be the girl is fool enough to trust in an illusion,” the soldier supposed.

Scootaloo marched right up to him, scowling all the way.

“If you don’t let us inside, I’m going to let Spike know it was you who left her outside to be ponynapped like everypony else!” Scootaloo barked, “Do you understand me?!”

The soldier glanced up at Rainbow, who was too exhausted to match Scootaloo’s frustration.

He shook his head.

“Follow me,” he said.

The soldier, whose name was Dire Strait, led the pair deeper into the palace, up a winding flight of stairs to the solar, where Twilight had taken as her personal quarters.

There were roughly thirty-or-so survivors, sprawled around the floor in filthy heaps, mending wounds or strategizing for where to run next.

“Miss Cheerilee!” Scootaloo exclaimed. She found the schoolteacher wrapped in a blanket by the western window, her mane a mess, her eyes red and runny.

Cheerilee leapt up from the ground in time to receive Scootaloo, who embraced her like a lost dog coming home.

“Scootaloo, dear, you’re alright!” Cheerilee exclaimed, holding the quivering filly to her chest.

Rainbow staggered in, catching the eyes of the other survivors. She recognized a few faces - Paint Job and Feather Flatterfly, Sunshower, Fancy Pants, Orange Slice, and Party Favor. But it was Spike who she was most concerned with.

To his left was the Treasury Secretary, Posh Paramount, and the Chancellor of the Equestrian Academic Association, Neighsay; and to his right was Moonbeam, the Colonel of the 19th Lunar Regiment, and the Royal Physician, Dr. Bone Marrow. They were huddled around chalkboards and maps, and she caught them in the midst of a terrible argument.

“Rainbow?” Spike exclaimed, loud enough to be heard over the others’ bickering, “You’re here!”

Rainbow wrapped her foreleg around Spike’s head as he came in for a hug.

“So you’re running the show now, is that right?” Rainbow asked Spike, glancing over his head at the disgruntled quartet of government officials.

“On a technicality,” Neighsay growled, “Princess Twilight’s emergency powers were to be given to Princess Cadance, then to Starlight Glimmer, and finally to him.”

“And we’re all better off for it,” Spike smiled, “How did you make it out of there?”

“I had help,” Rainbow said, glancing at Scootaloo, “Is it safe here?”

“It is now. The enemy has begun to withdraw,” Moonbeam said, “We’re not sure why. They were last seen sailing southwest.”

“They’re taking a a few hundred ponies back with them on that ship of theirs,” Posh said, “They took Celestia, Twilight, Luna, Cadance, even little princess Flurry.”

“Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, what about them? And my parents, they were here too…Are they…” Rainbow asked, glancing down at Spike.

Spike shook his head.

“I was looking for Celestia and Luna when it happened, but I was too late to help anypony. They’re all gone, Rainbow. Your parents too,” Spike said.

Rainbow’s face twitched with rage.

“We can’t wait around here or we’ll lose the trail,” Rainbow said, “We have to follow that ship.”

“We can’t,” Moonbeam said, “They disabled all of our ships. Civilian boats too. We’ll have to wait for ships from the mainland to reach us, until then we’re stranded here.”

“Even if we could catch them, we wouldn’t stand much of a chance,” came Posh, “Our standing army is depleted, and the citizenry is too terrified to leave their homes.”

“We can’t just do nothing,” Rainbow said.

“We’ll do what we can,” Spike replied, “We have to try and figure out where they’re sailing to, who they are and what they want.”

He glanced over at the maps that lay strewn about Twilight’s work tables.

“They couldn’t have come from Zebrabwe or Evenchain,” Neighsay said, “Not Saddle Arabia or the Grey Isle.”

“An island then. The Storm King’s domain, maybe. Some acolytes of his seeking revenge,” Moonbeam posited.

Rainbow shook her head, unconvinced.

“Those creatures weren’t like anything I’ve seen,” Rainbow said, “Something tells me we won’t find them on any map.”

“They weren’t sailing for the Gap of Aashtethos,” Moonbeam recalled, “They mean to remain in the Meditermarian. Sailing to some uncharted isle, if we’re to believe our friends on the west continent really have nothing to do with this.”

“Let’s not create more enemies than we already have,” Posh counseled, “We should contact the Zebras and the Saddle Arabians, see if they know anything about these creatures. They may be able to help us locate them.”

“I’ll handle that,” Neighsay said, slipping off from the group.

Rainbow stepped closer to Spike.

“We might not have time to figure things out, Spike. We don’t know what those creatures are or what they’re planning,” Rainbow said, “All those ponies could end up dead by the time we finally reach them, if we don’t follow them while we can.”

“Rainbow, I would if I could, but-” Spike said.

“I’ll go. Me alone,” Rainbow said, “I can fly after them, follow them to their island, and report back. Otherwise we’ll never be able to find out where they are.”

“Rainbow, that’s crazy. Way too dangerous. You? By yourself? Against all of those creatures? You’re hurt anyways. You’re not going anywhere. We need you here,” Spike said.

“I wasn’t asking for permission,” Rainbow said. Posh and Moonbeam glanced up at her.

“Twilight left me in charge,” Spike reminded, glaring at her, “You’re not going, Rainbow.”

Rainbow glanced around the room, and could feel their stares.

She turned away and stormed out of the solar.

Scootaloo scampered after her, glancing over her shoulder one last time.

Spike, meanwhile, lowered his head and sighed, and glanced over to Dire, who had been lingering in the doorway.

“Sergeant, follow her. Don’t let her leave this island.”

The barracks were a mess, even by the Washouts’ standards.

None of her teammates had made it back, or if they had, they hadn’t stayed long.

Maybe they made it out. Maybe they flew across the sea, all the way back home.

Lightning winced. It was a fool’s hope. She had seen them take Rolling Thunder, Strawberry Switchblade and Loudmouth. Breakbones had been with the trainer, Sugar Rush, and the team coordinator, Snapwing. They were gone too, they all were.

She dragged Gump behind her, just as he began to stir awake.

She cuffed him to a radiator by the window of the lounge, and even flipped on the television to keep him company.

Lightning sulked off to Sugar Rush’s office, and raided each drawer for medical supplies. She first took to cleaning her many wounds, before promptly moving onto the stitching.

She climbed out of her bloodied suit and leapt into the shower, eager to scrub off all of the dirt and blood.

Unlike the Wonderbolts, each Washout had a collection of a spare suits, an unfortunate necessity considering how often disaster would strike the group. She slipped her fore legs inside, shimmied her hips around and reached back with her aching wings. Gripping each end of the suit, she slid the suit over her muscular, tone hindlegs. Whatever fat remained to her only ever seemed to end up in her rump, providing a tired challenge to squeeze her suit over. She thought of Hat Trick then, how’d he be sure to make some perverted comment, or, if he was feeling bold, some proper advance on her. She hated him for that, but she missed him. Fuck, why did she miss him?

She was worried about them all, she realized. They’re not my friends. She kept reminding herself of that, but it did little to quell her concerns. They would find a way to escape, she thought.

She thought of Strawberry’s dry humor, and Loudmouth’s semi-accurate stories of his past. She thought of Feather Twirl’s hypochondria, Indigo’s afternoon brooding sessions, and Breakbones’ newest injuries.

She thought of Rolling, who always knew what to say to help Lightning's mood, and of Short Fuse, who always had her back when she was in trouble.

They were all one in the same, and had found each other on such grounds. Cast-outs and second-stringers. They were practically a family. But not friends. I don’t need friends.

She found Gump awake, his eyes fixed to the TV.

Though she had come into the room with a burning rage, her heart softened at the sight of Gump. He was not quite so repulsive anymore, if anything, somewhat pathetic. He was a stunted creature, with a head too large for his body, and legs too short. His face was shrunken and twisted, but his eyes were a marvel of a sight, endless shimmering stars, precious gems. He was some sort of dwarf pony, she thought, though she could not be certain. His species was alien to her, after all.

“Enjoying yourself?” she asked, catching Gump by surprise. He had been engrossed with the television, not unlike a child admiring a ring of jingling keys.

Gump immediately began wrestling with the cuff around his hoof, to no avail.

“Free me, witch!” Gump roared.

Lightning stood in front of him, staring him down. She could see the fear in his eyes, but did not relent.

“Your friends are all gone,” Lightning said, “They left you. Now you’re stuck with me.”

“Liar!” Gump yelled, “Wicked little pegasus! Unchain me!”

Lightning grunted, feeling a sting around one of her wounds.

"You think your little trick could fool us? Stupid pegasus. They know exactly what you've done!"

"Yes, your friends' brilliance is astounding," Lightning japed, "Some discard butcher's bones and a torn-up Wonderbolt suit, and they're content to give up and go home....Gump, what are the chances they come back for you?”

Gump’s face fell, as realization overcame him.

“My duty is to fight and die for the Queen. There’s no honor to be had as a prisoner! Kill me now! As long as I live in chains, I’ve disgraced myself!”

“I’ll take that as not anytime soon….” Lightning reasoned, “Alright. Well if they won’t come back, then I’ll have to go to them.”

“Your friends will all be dead soon, pegasus. Their fates are sealed. You should consider yourself lucky. When the real war begins, you might be made into a slave instead of a corpse. Wouldn’t that be a sight,” Gump snarled.

Lightning smacked him across the face.

“You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Lightning spat. She tensed up at the thought. She scowled; she refused to let Gump succeed in scaring her. "And they’re not my friends. They’re my teammates,” Lightning corrected.

Lightning stuck out a map of the South Lunar Sea, which she had taken from Snapwing’s office.

“Where exactly are you taking all those ponies? Point out the place on the map,” Lightning said.

Gump guffawed.

“The island is not on any map. It can only be found by those who have been there before,” Gump said.

“Then I suppose I’ll be taking you with me,” Lightning figured. “Still. I’ll be needing a heading.”

Gump shook his head.

“Never. I’ll never help you, pegasus!” Gump spat.

“You’re going to tell me what I want to know, or I’ll snap every bone in your body,” Lightning threatened, “So what’s it going to be?”

Gump gulped, as the sweat dripped off his chin.

At the Wonderbolts' barracks, Rainbow was grieved to find she was indeed the last Wonderbolt remaining. Scootaloo had tagged along with her, unwilling to go anywhere else but Rainbow's side.

Rainbow slid into her blue jacket with the fur around the collar and the Wonderbolt insignia on the breast, and filled a bag with a first aid kit, bottles of water, protein pills, rope, and matches.

"That ship can't be more than a few hours out," Rainbow said, "I can catch it. No problem."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know how far it'll be, and you'll have no place to rest over open water," Scootaloo pointed out, "We all saw that crash, Rainbow. Maybe it's not such a good idea to go out alone to a place you don't know, miles and miles or leagues away."

"You sound like Spike," Rainbow muttered, cramming in the last of her supplies into the bag, "They have my parents. They have all my friends, and they have my entire team. The longer we wait, the harder the trail will be to find. I have to go."

"I know, but....You're not the only pony on this island who'll try to catch up to them."

Rainbow eyed her, after stuffing her bag with the last of the barracks' Munchos dried-fruit jerky.

"...Lightning Dust?" Rainbow supposed.

“She told me to find her at the boardwalk,” Scootaloo said, “...She wanted me to tell you that the two of you are even now.”

Rainbow scoffed.

“Well there you have it,” Rainbow said, “Scootaloo, I’ve warned you about her before. Lightning Dust is a pony who doesn’t care if ponies get hurt. She's reckless and arrogant and only cares about herself."

“She didn’t have to help me,” Scootaloo said, “She could’ve left me right then and there. She could’ve left me when that creature found us, too. But she didn’t. You know that she’s going to want to find her friends, just as much as you do. We should all be working together.”

Rainbow sighed, unconvinced.

“You’re forgetting that we can’t work together,” Rainbow said.

"Can't you at least try?" came Scootaloo.

Rainbow laughed.

"I did try. When we first met, I couldn't sleep at night because of how excited I was. A friend my age who was as fast as me, who was as determined as me, who loved flying as much as me. She was supposed to be the friend I'd always wanted. I was her wing-pony, and that meant something to me. But it didn't mean much to her, in the end. I trusted her, and she took advantage of that. She almost got my friends killed, and didn't show a hint of remorse. She wouldn't even speak to me, not until the Washouts showed up at Ponyville. And then she tries to turn you against me, and almost gets you killed too! Just to get under my skin! I've been as nice as I can be to her, Scootaloo, because that's the right thing to do. But I won't put my trust in her. Not again. Not for something as important as this, when my real friends are in danger."

Scootaloo sighed.

“If you really plan on flying off into open water, searching for an island that may or may not exist - then you’re gonna need help," Scootaloo said, "That's the plain truth, and you know it. Everypony else is gone, Rainbow Dash. I know you don't like her, and I'm not saying you don't have a good reason, but Lightning Dust is all that’s left."

Rainbow glanced down at her. She gritted her teeth.

“Alright, Scootaloo. I’ll talk to her. But if she won’t play nice, this isn’t happening, got it?...”

Scootaloo smiled.

The sun had nearly sunk past the edge of the sea, when Rainbow touched down on the boardwalk.

The docks looked abandoned when they arrived; Rainbow and Scootaloo parked themselves on the roof of one of the shops. There was no sign of Lightning, and though Rainbow’s patience was razor-thin, Scootaloo had a talent for persuasion. After the first hour, though, even Scootaloo had begun to doubt herself. Perhaps that creature had killed Lightning after all, or taken her hostage, or perhaps Lightning had already left the island.

But her fears were put to rest, when a familiar green blur shot through the wispy rose clouds that hovered over the sunset.

Scootaloo shook Rainbow alert, and pointed to the sky.

Rainbow sighed, and took to her hooves.

They followed Lightning to one of the wooden garages closer to the beach. The sky turned from pink to purple, and the garage’s orange oil lamps left it a beacon by the shoreline.

Rainbow led Scootaloo down to the edge of the garage, staking out behind a boat engine large enough to obscure the both of them. They were only a few minutes behind Lightning, whose voice became clearer the closer they crept.

But she was not alone, they discovered. She had come to visit somepony, Rainbow realized.

The garage itself was closer to a scrapyard, littered with rusty tools and black oily rags.

At the center of it all was a boat, or something close to a boat - a collection of scrap metal and driftwood, fixed with a strange kind of engine, rivets and two funnel-shaped exhaust vents in its rear. Up on its helm, a pair of canvas wings folded neatly on either side, clutching to fixable metal poles.

Rainbow could only barely peek into the garage without revealing herself. Scootaloo, meanwhile, was intent on marching right inside to confront Lightning.

“Wait,” Rainbow said, catching Scootaloo in her hoof, “Not yet…”

They crouched behind the engine. Rainbow noticed a large box near Lightning Dust’s hooves, and another pony, an earth pony stallion, with an orange mane, a short, scruffy beard, and a pale tan coat.

“I could’ve sworn the last thing you said to me was, ‘I never want to see you again,” the stallion grunted, fiddling with the open hatch beneath his monstrous ship.

“I heard you’d come to watch my race,” Lightning said.

The stallion laughed. Lightning blushed beet red.

“There’s tens of thousands of ponies on this island, some of them with deep pockets and generous spirits, in need of a ride home after a well-deserved vacation. They’re why I’m here, not you,” he corrected, “I watched your race. You were good.

“I know I was,” Lightning snapped, though she seemed to crave his validation.

Rocket glanced at her.

“I’m surprised that ass of yours still fits in that suit,” Rocket laughed, “I’m kidding. Not about your ass. That I’d be surprised.”

“Shut up,” Lightning replied, promptly, “Where’s Harefoot? Wrench?”

“Got held up in the markets, they haven’t come back. Same as your friends, no doubt.”

“They’re not my-....Look, I have something to show you,” Lightning said.

The stallion glanced at her.

Lightning kicked over the box, and the lid promptly fell off. Out fell Gump, tumbling over his head into a heap.

From the engine, Rainbow's eyes widened.

"She took one captive," Rainbow whispered, and she could feel her heart fill with hope. The creature could lead them right to where they needed to go, nevermind the ship's trail.

Rocket Fuel backed away from the ship, and from Gump, who was stretching his legs in a pair of manacles.

“Of course you took one as a pet,” Rocket remarked, “Does it speak?”

“Of course I speak,” Gump spat. He spun around to face Lightning Dust, “I told you what you wanted. Set me free, pegasus!”

Lightning smirked.

“That was never the deal. The deal was you do what I say, and I don’t beat you bloody.”

Rocket laughed.

“You haven’t changed at all.”

“I have, actually. I know better than to ask you a favor without you expecting something in return,” Lightning said.

He grinned.

“You know what I want, Dusty,” Rocket said.

Lightning sighed.

“I’m not…We can’t. You know we can’t,” Lightning said, “Rocket, listen to me. You’re the only pony left on this island with a working boat.”

The stallion’s eyes wavered back and forth, before he came to a grim understanding.

“You want to follow that monstrous ship of theirs, is that it? I think you’ve had one too many crash landings, Dusty. You’re nuts. They’ve got an army. And nopony knows where they’ve gone, anyhow.”

“I do,” Lightning declared. She reached into her satchel and snatched her map, laying it out on Rocket’s workbench. “Do you know anything about this?”

Rocket humored her, trotting over to inspect the map. He narrowed his eyes, before glancing over to Gump.

“Your little creature here is suggesting we sail to the Sirius Circle," Rocket said, "Fishwives’ tales tell of ships disappearing there, for hundreds and hundreds of moons, they say. A death trap of jagged stone, crushing waves, and fog so dense you can’t see your own hoof in front of you. Nothing to be found there but certain doom."

Lightning frowned.

“Is that right, Gump? You’re trying to play a trick on me? What did I say would happen if-”

“Stupid pegasus! Are all ponies as thick as the two of you?! The Circle guards the island, protects us from the outside world, and protects the outside world from us. That’s where they’ve gone. Back home,” Gump snarled.

Lightning glanced at Rocket.

“Oh no, don’t give me that look,” Rocket said, “That boat is my livelihood, Dusty. I’m not crashing it into the most cursed place in the sea just so you can get slaughtered by that army of flying devils.”

“Oh for Luna’s sake. You’re scared, that’s it,” Lightning laughed.

“You call it scared, I call it common sense, something you still haven’t seemed to pick up.”

“Gump. Say we do find a way to reach the island,” Lightning said, “What will be waiting for us?”

Gump laughed aloud.

“We are all damned, and the island is our hell. The ground will quake and devour you if you take the wrong step. Even the plants will try to kill you if you trot down the wrong path. Some of us have minds of our own, but some are savage beasts who ravage whatever comes their way. Every pony who winds up on our shores has never lasted longer than a day.”

“Sounds like a pleasant place. We should set sail immediately,” Rocket laughed.

“If it’s so horrible, why do you stay?” Lightning said, skeptically.

“The Circle compels us to stay,” Gump said, “Any monster who manages to break free has but three days before they crumble to ash. A wicked curse, cast by a cruel Equestrian king of a bygone age to punish us and keep us trapped.”

“So if I don’t return you back soon, you’d-”

“Die. As I was meant to, the moment you strapped me in chains. There is no place for the weak in the Queen’s Army.”

“A queen, you say? How old?” Rocket wondered.

“Three-thousand, two-hundred and seventy-two,” Gump replied. He seemed proud to have answered so promptly.

Rocket glanced at Lightning and shrugged.

“I’ve had worse.”

Lightning glared at him.

“They have your friends, Rocket,” Lightning reminded, “Don’t you want to get them back?”

Rocket scratched at his ears.

“Harefoot’s a lousy mechanic. And Wrench is dull as dirt. I can find better.”

“I can’t believe you,” Lightning said, “I need your help. You won’t have to pull your boat to shore. Just get me close, and I’ll fly the rest of the way myself. I can pay double whatever fare you’d earn for the same distance. Rocket. Rocket, please.”

Rocket smiled. He had such an easy smile to him.

“Well, I never could deny you anything.”

Lightning smiled, but only for a moment, before she noticed a strand of purple hair sticking out from behind a tarp-covered engine outside.

Lightning was on them in an instant, darting through the air to catch Scootaloo by her hoof.

Rainbow Dash was at her hooves already, while Lightning led Scootaloo into the light.

“Eavesdropping, huh?” Lightning growled.

“Lightning, put her down now,” Rainbow warned.

“More friends. Great,” Rocket muttered.

“Rocket, this is Rainbow Dash,” Lightning said. Rocket raised an eyebrow.

“This is the one you’re always harping on about, Dusty? Doesn’t look so tough,” Rocket said, “And the twerp?”

“I’m not a twerp, I’m Scootaloo,” Scootaloo said.

“Haven’t you got something better to do than spy on me?” Lightning demanded.

“It just so happens I was planning on flying after that ship," Rainbow said, "Seems like you’ve got the same idea.”

Lightning laughed.

“Me saving your butt back there does not make us friends,” Lightning said.

“Like I'd ever want to be friends with you," Rainbow snapped. But she saw Lightning's mouth tighten and her cheeks burn red with embarrassment. Rainbow's own face flushed with regret, "Look, both of us want the same thing - our friends back. If what your little prisoner there said about that island is true, then you’re going to need my help."

“I don’t need anypony’s help!” Lightning barked.

“Except for me and my ship, of course,” Rocket reminded, “And considering I’ve got the only good ship on the island, my rates are about to go up. There's a few thousand terrified ponies left on this rock, desperate to get back home…I’m about to be rich. Very rich. For Celestia’s sake, why would I give that up?”

“For me,” Lightning said, eyeing him.

Rocket hesitated, and glanced down at Gump. His eyes drifted over to Rainbow, and a smile found its way to his face.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” he announced, “I’ll ferry you to the Circle. But that’s as far as I’ll go. And you’ll be paying triple the fare.”

He slid his way toward Rainbow Dash.

“But if I do it, she comes too.”

Lightning’s face reddened again. Rainbow eyes darted from Lightning to Rocket.

“Rocket,” Lightning said through gritted teeth.

“For Dusty’s safety, of course,” Rocket said, turning back to Lightning, “I wouldn’t have you journey to that island by your lonesome. And after all, when you’re getting liquefied in some carnivorous plant’s stomach acids, you’d at least do it with some company.”

“No way. She’s not coming,” Lightning insisted, “She’ll be trouble.”

“Like you’re not trouble enough?” Rocket laughed, “It’s my ship. And world-famous beauties like Rainbow Dash are always welcome on my ship. You call her trouble, I call her a sight for sore eyes…I’ve got a few repairs to make before we can set off. Shouldn’t take long.”

Lightning grumbled something under her breath, while Rainbow ushered Scootaloo to sit herself down on one of Rocket’s benches.

Rainbow and Scootaloo served as something of an audience for Rocket, who toiled with his beastly ship, sporting a pair of bulky black goggles.

But after twenty minutes, Rainbow could not avoid some strange sense of guilt; from the corner of her eyes Lightning had been sitting silently by her lonesome, picking at her wounds.

Gump refuses to speak with anybody, brooding in chains by his toppled-over crate,

Rainbow sighed to herself, and stood up from the bench.

“Scootaloo, go see if he needs any help,” Rainbow instructed.

Scootaloo acquiesced, skipping off toward Rocket.

Rainbow, meanwhile, glided over to Lightning.

“Scoot over,” Rainbow said.

Lightning glared at her, but after a brief hesitation, she complied, making room on the bench for Rainbow.

“I never said thanks for what you did,” Rainbow said.

“Don’t mention it. Seriously,” Lightning muttered, “...You never found your friends?”

“They’re all gone,” Rainbow said, “My parents too. And unlike you I actually like my friends.”

Lightning glared at her.

“...I shouldn’t have been the only Washout to make it out,” Lightning confessed, “It shouldn’t have been me. It’s not right. I brought them all together, I brought them here. I’m supposed to be responsible for them. That’s why I have to get them back, get it? By all rights I should be in chains with them. And what’s worse, it was you who pulled me out of there.”

“You did me a favor, too,” Rainbow reminded, and by the softness in Lightning's voice, she began to wonder if she had judged her old rival too harshly.

“You know I can’t stand you,” Lightning said, quickly changing Rainbow's mind, “...But I’m sorry if I gave you a hard time earlier, OK?”

“Me too,” Rainbow conceded, “I’m angry too. They took all my friends, and I might never see them again.”

“We’ll find them,” Lightning said, firmly.

“We?”

Lightning sighed.

“I don’t trust you,” Lightning said, “But I guess it wouldn't hurt to have somepony to check my back. And Celestia knows - you’re gonna need me.”

Rainbow smiled.

“All aboard,” Rocket said from the ramp of his ship, “She still isn’t pretty, but she’ll fly.”

“Fly?” Lightning said, rising from the bench with Rainbow.

“There’s a reason I charge double,” Rocket grinned.

Rainbow followed Lightning toward the ramp that led inside the vessel. But she stopped short, when she heard Scootaloo skipping along beside her.

“Where do y’think you’re going, Scoots?” Rainbow said, catching Scootaloo with her hoof.

“Wherever you go,” Scootaloo said, “Don’t even think about leaving me here.”

“Scootaloo, you saw what those creatures can do,” Rainbow said, shaking her head, “The place we’re going is dangerous. And I can’t be worrying about you while I try to get everypony back.”

“I’m not gonna get in the way,” Scootaloo said, shoving Rainbow’s hoof away, “They took my friends too. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle need me. I can help. You know I can.”

Rainbow sighed.

“Yeah, I know you can. But maybe I’m not brave enough to take that risk,” Rainbow said, “For all I know, you’re all I have left, Scoots. I won’t let them take you too. You’re safest here.”

Scootaloo scowled, but seemed to concede, remaining as she was while Rainbow boarded the ship.

Gump crawled up after Rainbow, taking care to hiss at Scootaloo before boarding.

The inside of the ship was cozy - too cozy. The front portion was all glass, held together by warped black steel. The cockpit was fitted with a dozen blinking control panels, flashing red, green, blue, gold. Levers and pulleys and dials protruded from the console. In the rear, there were two more compartments, storage areas.

“I’ll be shocked if this hunk of junk can float, let alone fly,” Lightning said. Rainbow and Gump piled in behind her, while Rocket took his seat behind the control panel.

“She does more than that,” Rocket laughed.

With the flick of a few switches, two pairs of wheels popped out from the underbelly of the ship. They extended outward on either side.

Rocket pulled down on a lever, and the ramp the ship was resting on began to rise at an incline.

“You built this thing?” Rainbow wondered, as the ship began to descend down the rank, as gravity took its toll. The ship landed on its wheels, and Rocket took a firm grip of the steering wheel. He pressed down on the gas pedal, and the ship began rolling forward, right out of the garage.

“Bought the prototype off some crackpot Casaflankan. His greatest work ended up his undoing, it didn’t pass regulation, and he lost his license. He thought I’d break it down for spare parts. But I had other ideas.”

“Does it have a name?” Rainbow asked.

Rocket meant to answer, before the words stuck in his throat, “Uh, no.”

He steered the ship to face the boardwalk.

“Better hold onto something,” Rocket advised.

He flipped another switch and slammed a button, and the canvas wings promptly extended from the bow, bending and stretching out, covering a great many yards in its total wingspan.

“This cannot be legal,” Lightning muttered.

“Funny. That’s what the port authority told me,” Rocket said.

The ship set forward down the boardwalk, building speed as they went.

“R-Rocket, I don’t th-” Lightning stuttered, as the ship sped up more and more.

“Don’t get cold hooves now, Dusty. This was your idea.”

The edge of the boardwalk was fast approaching. The sea beyond was deep enough, though with the speeds they were going, the collision would not be pretty.

“Here we go!” Rocket grinned, pulling the lever to his right.

The ship began to rise, first gradually, and then at a steep, steep climb, clawing up through the air.

Rocket gritted his teeth, holding the lever and keeping a firm hold of the steering wheel.

The turbulence came quickly, as the ship bounced through tunnels of wind, gaining great swathes of altitude with each passing second.

Rainbow shook her head in disbelief.

“This thing really flies,” she said, shocked.

“This thing really flies!” Rocket exclaimed. He sounded somewhat surprised himself.

Lightning glared at him.

“It gets off the ground alright. But can you land it?” Lightning asked.

Rocket’s smile dropped.

The ship returned to a straight course, as the thrusters coughed up fire and smoke, swimming through the air currents half-a-mile above the crashing waves.

“Well, that’s the trouble,” Rocket admitted.

“You don’t know how to land it. Am I right?” Lightning scoffed, “You neglected to mentionthat.”

“I have landed it. It’s just…It never goes well.”

“Great,” Rainbow said, “I guess we’ll just have to - whooaoa!!”

Against a particularly strong bump in the air, Rainbow came flying forward, right toward the dashboard.

But before she could land face-first against the glass, it was Rocket who caught her, setting her back on her hooves.

Rainbow glanced at him, and he seemed reluctant to say anything. She did not pull away, however, remaining in his hooves.

Lighting, meanwhile, had turned red again.

She meant to step forward, until she heard some rustling from behind her. Scootaloo and Gump stepped out of her way, as she investigated.

She reached for the handle to the storage closet, and opened the hatch.

Lightning screamed and swung her hoof into the compartment. A stallion came stumbling out, only to suffer another blow from Lightning.

She had him pinned to the ground soon enough.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

Lightning lifted her hoof off of Dire Strait’s neck and backed away.

Rocket Fuel checked over his shoulder, and had to glance again to see if his eyes were tricking him.

“Tell me that’s not who I think it is,” Rocket remarked, having checked his mirror.

“How did you get here?!” Lightning stammered.

Dire leapt to his hooves, backed against the rear wall of the ship. His silver armor clanged and creaked as he straightened himself out.

“I was supposed to be keeping tabs on her,” Dire said, glancing at Rainbow, “I was gonna surprise you earlier, but I…I got stuck.”

“That’s Equestria’s finest for ya. Defeated by a broom closet. Still wearing that polished suit of armor, huh soldier boy? Not a scratch on it, I see,” Rocket said from the pilot’s seat.

“Ponies like you keep trying, but they always seem to miss,” Dire replied.

“There are no ponies like me, soldier boy,” Rocket spat, “You don’t have permission to be on my ship. The exit is to your left. I’m afraid it’s a long swim back to Messara. You might have to lose that armor, unless you’d prefer drowning. I would, if I looked like that.”

“All bark and no bite. Same as always,” Dire spat, “Lightning, what are you doing with him? And you, Miss Dash, why in Celestia’s name are you doing this? Spike commanded that-”

“I know what Spike said. But I have to do this,” Rainbow said, “You all know each other?”

“She and me…” Dire began.

“He and I, we…” Lightning said, glancing to the side.

Rainbow shook her head.

“Is there anybody on that island you haven’t dated?” she said, incredulously.

Lightning crossed her hind legs, embarrassed.

“She’s a vicious little thing, isn’t she?” Rocket said, “Plays with hearts like a lyrist picks strings.”

Lightning glared at him. She turned to Dire, taking care to make sure Rocket could overhear her.

“Actually, I’m so glad to see you, Dire,” Lightning said, wrapping her forelegs around his shoulders, nuzzling under his chin, “Take that helmet off. I want to see your face.”

Dire was hesitant, but relented, unstrapping his helmet and setting it aside.

“I missed you,” Lightning whispered.

“I…missed you too,” Dire replied.

“That’s enough, I get it,” Rocket muttered, “I can still turn this ship around, Dusty.”

Lightning smirked and released Dire, stepping off toward Gump.

“Rainbow, I have to bring you back,” Dire said.

“How do you plan on doing that?” Rainbow asked, “We’re not going back. So you can either help us find our friends, or swim your way home.”

Dire shook his head in disbelief.

“This is madness. There are three of you, against an army? This is brazen, even for you, Lightning,” Dire said, “Not to mention this island you speak of is unnavigable.”

“For a lesser captain, maybe,” Rocket said.

“You require a ship to be a captain,” Dire pointed out.

“And what do you call this?” Rocket guffawed, glancing around.

“Certainly not a ship,” Dire said, “Our tomb, maybe.”

Dire’s horn came alive with blue light, aimed right for Rocket’s head.

“I’m under orders to bring her back to Messara.” Dire said, “Lightning, tell him to turn the ship around.”

Lightning hesitated, though Dire’s horn had begun to frighten her.

“Rocket, you heard him,” Lightning said, “And I think he means it.”

“Mr. Gump, please tell Lightning to tell Sergeant Dire that the captain is extremely busy at the moment,” Rocket said.

Gump glanced at Lightning.

“The captain would like me to tell you to tell Sergeant Dire that-” Gump began.

“I’d be just as glad to put a hole through your head, if it pleases,” Dire warned.

Rocket meant to retort, before the distinct sound of metal against bone cut him off.

Dire fell to his knees, while Scootaloo stood behind him, triumphantly wielding a steel pipe.

“Scootaloo!” Rainbow exclaimed, “What are you doing here?”

“Are there any other stowaways I need to be aware of?” Rocket said.

Lightning knelt beside Dire, checking the bump on the back of his head.

“Nice swing, kid,” Lightning muttered. She turned to Rocket. “Why did you have to provoke him?”

“Because he’s easy to provoke,” Rocket said, “Sirius Circle is about an hour’s way. Get comfortable. And have your friend be ready with that pipe, if soldier boy gets an early break from his beauty sleep.”

Rainbow rushed to Scootaloo, snatching the pipe out of her hooves.

“I told you to-” Rainbow began.

“You disobeyed Spike, so I disobeyed you,” Scootaloo smiled.

Rainbow shut her eyes, realizing her hypocrisy.

“You do exactly as I say now,” Rainbow instructed.

“I’ll do exactly as you say,” Scootaloo confirmed, “Except when I have the better plan.”

Rainbow shook her head, and smiled.

Rainbow sat herself down on the floor against the wall, where Scootaloo promptly followed.

She watched Lightning sit herself near Dire. Lightning could hardly take her eyes off of him, even while he lay unconscious. Gump grumbled some curses under his breath and rested his legs near Rocket, who kept his attention on the sea below and the storm brewing in the distance. Rainbow shut her eyes, hoping to get some rest in after the exhaustion of the day.

Rainbow Dash awoke to a sudden jolt of the ship.

Lightning and Gump were standing behind Rocket, who was gritting his teeth as a torrent of rain slammed against the windshield. The sky had darkened into a near pitch-black, and the ship’s headlights did little against the fog, that seemed to suck up all the light it touched.

Rainbow scurried up to her hooves, with Scootaloo at her side.

“Is this it?” Rainbow asked, terrified, “I thought you were only taking us near it, not into it!”

“It's a ways off, still!” Rocket yelled, “Lightning! Get the lifeboat ready, you’ll have to jump ship sooner than later!”

“Without you?” Lightning stammered.

“If I can drop you down and steer this ship out of here somehow, I can pull around to pick you up in open water. But I’ll have to land it!” Rocket said.

Rocking by the black, the storms roared above and below as Rocket’s hooves began to slip off the steering.

“How close are we to land?” Rainbow demanded.

“We’re close,” Rocket said, “Fuck! I can’t see a thing!” he yelled, “The wind’s gonna spin us into the sea! We’ll crash!”

“Bring it down!” Lightning advised, “Bring it down into the water!”

“The rocks!” Rocket yelled, “We’ll smash right into them!”

“If you’re as good of a captain as you say, we won’t,” Lightning said, grabbing his shoulder.

Rocket felt emboldened with the simple touch of her hoof, and he promptly reached for a series of buttons, switches, and a slow-pull lever.

Rainbow held her hoof around Scootaloo’s head.

Gump cackled to himself nearby.

“What just deserts!” Gump grinned, “What joy that I may watch the wicked pegasus die!”

“Gump!,” Lightning yelled, “Not now!”

By the time Lightning caught sight of the blue water ahead of them, the ship had already smashed into the sea, sending all of them flying backwards.

The ship settled straight atop the water, while Rocket reached back for the steering. He flipped the switch to pull the ship’s wings in, and noticed the many flashing lights on his console, indicating the extent of the damage to the ship.

In the rear, Dire Strait lifted his head, slurring his words as he pulled himself out of his slumber.

“What’s happened?” he muttered, “Did we land?”

“More or less,” Rocket replied.

The ship broke against the ruthless waves, crudely splintering forward at a wild speed. The sea had teeth of a cruel kind - jagged sharp rocks jutting out with the waves, pointing in every which way. Rocket had avoided them as best as he could, though their number was increasing the further he sailed.

“This is it!” Rocket said, “The island! The island! This is where it should be!”

“Then where is it?” Lightning demanded. She turned to Gump, “There is no island, is there?” “You made it all up. You just wanted us dead!”

Gump flashed his fangs.

“Scootaloo, don’t let go of me,” Rainbow said.

“We’re gonna hit the rocks!” Rocket yelled.

“There’s nothing here. There’s nothing!” Lightning exclaimed.

Then the greatest of the waves came hurling overhead, capsizing the ship in a heavy, heaving throw. Scootaloo was screaming, Gump was praying, Dire was trying to figure out what was happening. Rocket’s head smashed into the console with an audible crack, and Rainbow meant to unbuckle him from his chair, before she too lost balance, spinning upside down into the ceiling of the ship. Lightning fared not much better, and she heard the hull of the ship crack open against one of the rocks, tearing right through the frame. But before the black overcame her, Lightning’s eyes widened at a speck of shore, some dark beach biting through a hole in the fog.

Land.

03: Chaos Keep

The floodwater rose to Spitfire’s waist, as she stood knocked-kneed by the hole in the wooden hull, there in the bowels of that fearsome warship. Through that splintery window, she could glimpse out at the furious sea and the torrent of rain, beyond where the sun and the stars had slipped away into faraway voids. The black of night was what remained, a midnight sea without mercy, a tossing tempest of churning channels. In those murky depths, shapes and shadows swam just below the surface, ghosts if not for the flashes of lightning that revealed their ghastly forms, glittering green or oily black. Great monsters of the sea they were, some with long necks and knives for teeth, others stocky and sturdy and steady swimmers. Their captors had not been lying, Spitfire thought; they had really sailed to the end of the world.

Nightbound and narrowly weaving through a labyrinth of jagged crags and cliffs that rose from the shallows, the great iron warship sailed through the storm undeterred. The ship, a sea monster in its own right, had slowed its pace as it approached the reef ahead, where great stones sprang from the water like the teeth of some prehistoric beast. There was land ahead, or so their captors were counting on, somewhere buried in the mad maze of rock and the muddy grey fog.

Eventually the stones became too many, and the ship could pass no further. As they weighed anchor, Spitfire could hear the creatures up on the deck scamper and scuttle about, and all the while her fellow prisoners were cowering in the dark, trembling for fear of what awaited them ashore.

Pairs of their snarling captors trotted down into the galley to retrieve the ponies, gradually filling up smaller boats to make the journey to shore. The rest of the army of devils were content to fly the rest of the distance.

Spitfire fell in line with the others, as the few hundred pony prisoners were marched back up to the deck, fettered and whipped, and packed into the boats.

The deck was a cluster of bodies, all of them drenched in the rainfall and hard of hearing, what with the raging tides and ear-splitting strikes of thunder. The sky was coming apart above them, where bolts of lightning erupted from clouds stained purple, black, and blue. The downpour made Spitfire even more sluggish than before; her cerulean suit was now twice as heavy. Brushing against a slick floorboard on the deck, Spitfire lost her balance completely, twirling in the air towards the deck. She thought she had heard her skull crack open, but it was only another blast of thunder. She had not reached the ground, in fact, as somepony’s hoof had a hold of the scruff of her neck, catching her before she could wipe out.

Spitfire steadied herself and glanced behind her. It was Breakbones who had rescued her, the stallion Washout with the pale yellow coat and the black mustache. She hardly recognized him in the rain, and had little time to offer any thanks before the guards came to hurry them both along.

She staggered along in line to her designated longboat, where she was joined by a half-delirious, blue-bruised Thunderlane, a seasick, despondent Soarin, and a handful of other hostages. She got to reunite with some other Wonderbolts as well - Meadow Flower, Fleetfoot, Blaze, Sightseer, and High Winds, all of whom were trembling in the rain. They were joined by two of the Washouts, as well - Madcap and Breakbones, who were by all accounts two of the more tolerable ones, Spitfire thought.

Spitfire dreaded which of their captors they would be stuck with on the turbulent trip to shore. Between the monstrous shapeshifter Mimic, the sadistic brute Grimbol, and the pony-eating arachnid demon Gorgo, she was not sure who would be the least unpleasant prospect.

Luckily she would not have to know, upon finding an unfamiliar face, a spindly insect with a pony’s legs and stature, but with the head of a moth, complete with two huge eyes, antennae, and a pair of moth’s wings, who was called Midge. Some other soldiers filed in behind them, likely to keep the captives in line and help with the rowing and navigation. Two of them were variations of the same demonic species many of the creatures seemed to derive from, complete with pairs of black horns, bat’s wings, forked tongues, and pointed leathery tails.

Despite how close they seemed to be to the shore, the waters remained as restless and wrathful as they had been in the open ocean. This place is cursed, Spitfire thought.

Meadow and Fleetfoot seemed to be faring the worst, sitting in pools of water that had splashed into the longboat, shivering and shrinking in place, with such grim expressions they seemed to have accepted their fates already. High Winds was crying silently into her hooves.

Spitfire crawled further ahead down the longboat. She exchanged a look with Breakbones, who was holding a quivering Madcap in his forelegs. Hat Trick lay nearby, trying his best to hide his fear. Rolling Thunder would not meet her gaze, stubbornly gripping the edge of the longboat and peering off into the mist.

She found Soarin and Thunderlane at the helm, near where Midge kept a watchful eye over the waters ahead. They were still stuck in the endless fog, and how these creatures were able to navigate at all was a mystery.

Spitfire knelt beside Thunderlane, who, despite a face of bloody pulp, two missing teeth, and a pair of blackened eyes, still couldn’t help himself from smiling.

“This trip better not count as vacation time, Captain,” he laughed under his breath. His voice was haggard like an old pony's.

Spitfire put a hoof on his shoulder before sitting up in the boat, glancing past Midge at the helm.

The ship had broken through the wall of fog, and they found themselves in a murky cove. The sea was deep blue here, calmer than before but still wily. Past the mist was where Spitfire could make out the island, with its snowy peaks, treacherous jungles, ancient castles, and charnel pits of fire. At the center of the island was a great mountain, or rather a volcano, whose infernal innards lit up the night sky. The storm clouds remained above, twisting and battling with one another for dominance of the sky, bleeding purples and maroons and blacks, though the rainfall had been reduced to a diminutive drizzle.

Then she saw the winged things flying high above them, and all around the island itself. More creatures like before, black-eyed or red-eyed and all bloodthirsty, gliding in the night. Serpents slithered mid-air, their scaly hides all scattered in the wind. And the sea itself seemed to tremble with life, where schools of strange fish swam in bioluminescent swirls, setting the waters alight with bright blues, greens, and pinks. More creatures revealed themselves from beneath the waves, some with spiked backs or curved fins, and some with tentacles or tendrils that twisted up from the tide.

Midge made a clicking sound, what might have been laughter, as he glanced down at Spitfire, whose eyes were fixed upon these unearthly wonders, the nightmare that lay ahead, to which they rowed closer and closer.

“Welcome to Pandemonium.”

All she could taste was sand and salt, when a sharp pinch to her thigh sent her jolting awake. Scootaloo swatted at the crab that had a hold of her, before spinning over to cough out half-a-liter of water that had wound up in her lungs, retching into the sea.

Hammers were swinging down on her skull, and she was so weak she could hardly even stay up on her knees. She felt herself bake on the sand, as the sun beat down on her from above. Thirsty, was all she could think.

The tide rocked her about from behind, knocking her back down a total of four times before she mustered up the strength to climb to the steaming hot sand, where she collapsed on her back again, exhausted.

Her eyes fixed toward the sky, she saw that the storms from last night seemed to have mostly cleared, as the rosy fingers of dawn stretched along the horizon further ahead. Threads of vapor were stained pink and lavender by the sun, while the billowy bursts of storm-clouds lingered on in the distance, content to rage on endlessly around the perimeter of the island.

As the fog began to clear, she remembered the crash, and the sound of her own screaming, and the crunching of metal and snapping of wood. She remembered the thunder and those sharp rocks that seemed ready to tear them all to shreds. Where are the others? She felt her throat tighten up and her shoulders fall slack. She was alone. Completely and totally alone.

She wanted nothing more than to collapse right then and there, for how weak she felt. Rainbow wouldn’t give up. Neither will I.
She reached to brush the sand off her coat before inspecting her newest bruises. She thought of Apple Bloom then, who would surely know a quick fix to patch it up, and of Sweetie Belle, who would be scolding her for having snuck on board that insane pilot’s flying machine in the first place. I made it this far. I have to finish this and find them, and bring them all home.
With that thought, she felt some of her strength return, enough to stagger up to her hooves, as the tide brushed against her hooves. She scanned the beach, which stretched to her left and right for miles on end.

A quarter mile from the beach, verdure was plentiful. Beyond the brush, there was bulbous foliage the hue of red or purple or gold, near where serpentlike vines strangled the tree trunks and slithered across the forest floor.

Beyond and above the granite plateau she had washed up beside, several miles deep into the center of the island rose a glittering white summit that reflected the sun’s rays. The lofty, lonely mountain was capped with snow, and so tremendous that its peak was visible from any vantage. There were other mountain ranges that poked their heads out from the canopy, gleaming grey giants hiding in the midday mist.

The remnants of Rocket’s ship were strewn about the sand - chunks of metal and wood were buried in the beach, and fragments of the ship’s canvas wings were ripped to shreds, now decor for the tree branches that grew close to the shore.

“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo yelled, as loud as she could, out into the sea. “Rainbow Dash! It’s me, Scootaloo!”

She went on for several minutes, while a squabble of seabirds was gathering overhead, all wondering whether she had any food.

Scootaloo wiped the sweat from her brow and decided she would have to start scouring the beach. The others couldn’t be too far, she hoped.

Scootaloo climbed up the sandbank that ran with the incline of the beach, grabbing onto patches of moss and dusty ferns to avoid tumbling down on her head.

She reached the top after a few minutes, fluttering her wings every now and then to give her an extra boost. Scootaloo hated her wings, more than anything in the world. She could obsess over the Wonderbolts, over Lightning Dust’s stunts, over Rainbow Dash’s records, all as much as she liked, but in the back of her mind she knew would only ever be a spectator stuck on the ground.

At the top of the dune, her eyes widened in relief, when over the edge she caught sight of smoke - a fire had been started on the opposite coast of the bay, somewhere near a huge cliffside. Above the ridge there, the jungle had taken over, and vines and roots hung down along the stone, hidden now in the column of thick grey smoke.

Scootaloo could hardly contain her excitement, squeaking in delight before galloping off down the sandbank.

She had come across countless oddities as she trotted by the edge of the bay - oysters the size of china plates, cyclopean seagulls, and strange shapes in the sea beyond; there were sails and fins and flying fish springing out from the breaking waves, and above, small winged reptiles soared beneath the shade of the marine forests further along the coast. Once or twice, Scootaloo swore she saw what had to be giant flying insects, as big as cats, clicking and flitting across the brush.

The face of the limestone ridge was covered in greenery and birds’ nests, and was a weathered, storied beast, overlooking a narrow shore that wove around the bay towards another far-spanning beach. She approached the smoke with deliberate caution. There were markings in the rock, made with some sharp object. Runes of some kind, like those that she might have seen in one of Sweetie Belle’s Magic For Dummies books, or on a scroll in Twilight’s library.

Scootaloo listened for voices or hoofsteps, but returned with nothing but the crackling of the fire that lingered ahead right near the foot of the ridge. From a distance, she saw the fire was a measly attempt, made with rotten twigs and stray kindling. Still, for as far as she had traveled this was the only sign of intelligent life she had encountered, and so she approached it anyways, with a curious glimmer in her eyes.

She made it one step past the jagged edge of the ridge before she felt herself fly off her hooves.

Scootaloo shrieked at the speed of the attack, before finding herself suspended in the air, trapped in a net. And she found herself a foolish little girl then, strung up helplessly in the air, for the trap that she walked right into unwittingly. She recalled all the things that Gump had said about this place, about savage beasts and killers, all with a thirst for blood.

“Help!” she cried out, flailing her limbs in the net, trying to reach for the edge of the stones nearby. But she was too far from anything to grab on, and she went slack in the net, sighing aloud in dismay.

She had made the mistake of stepping on a trigger-trap, she discovered, prompting a series of knots and ropes to draw her up in the net, strung up along the side of the cliff. She glanced over at the tide strolling in, and she could at least be content to have a pleasant view of the sea, the lone prospect of her predicament.

Scootaloo fought against tears, realizing that she had failed her friends before she even got to begin trying to help them. Who was she kidding, she thought. I’m not like Rainbow Dash. I never will be.

Sulking in indignation, Scootaloo again began wrestling with the net, and even began chewing on the rope in hopes of breaking free. Whoever set this trap up, they appeared to have gone away somewhere, so she might just have some time left to her. That was her hope, which was quickly crushed in a matter of moments.

“Got you! You little - wait…,” came a voice from behind her.

Scootaloo chewed harder at the rope, relentless, as she felt the sweat pour off down her face.

She heard the sound of metal sliding against leather - a knife, it had to be, and she hastened her attempt at biting her way free.

Then she heard the slash of a rope, and in an instant her world turned upside down, as she collapsed down into the sand, hard on her side.

Groaning in pain, she was slow to pick herself up, before scampering out from the netting.

She was still on the ground when a hoof came down towards her, offering her help back to her hooves.

Rocket Fuel was impressed. Partly that the girl had survived that crash landing, and partly that his trap had worked exactly as he had intended.

“I was hoping for a nice meaty jackalope, but instead I end up catching you,” Rocket laughed.

“Not funny,” Scootaloo hissed, swatting his hoof away and jumping up from the ground.

“Sorry about that, kid,” Rocket said, “Here, drink this.”

He offered her a canteen of freshwater from his belt, which she eagerly accepted.

“I gave you up for dead,” Rocket admitted, “I’m glad to be wrong. How in Luna’s name did you make it to shore?”

Scootaloo gulped down the whole canteen in a matter of moments, before glaring up at him. There was sand in his orange mane and there were blue bags beneath his mossy green eyes from exhaustion, but she could still consider him handsome. He had an easy smile to him. She would have much rather have been found by Rainbow, or even Lightning, but he would have to do.

“Just because I can’t fly doesn’t mean I can’t swim,” Scootaloo said, defensively, “Where’s Rainbow Dash? And Lightning Dust and the others?”

“Dead, most likely. Serves them right for getting me stranded on this Celestia-forsaken island,” Rocket said, blowing a wad of snot out of his snout whilst filling up his bag with stray debris that had washed up on the shore nearby, “I think I’ll miss that little demon creature the most, actually. Gromp? Gimp? Luna rest his soul, he was the least trouble, surprisingly. Anyways, we should get moving. I don’t want to sit around here waiting to get caught. Who knows what else has seen that fire.”

Scootaloo felt herself go pale, as a thousand thoughts ran through her mind. What if Rainbow drowned? What if she ran into those creatures already?

“If I made it back, then so did they,” Scootaloo insisted, “We all got separated is all. They’re alive, I know it.”

“I hope you’re right. Somepony’s gotta pay me when this is all over,” Rocket grumbled, “Building a raft will go quicker with more hooves, too. The sooner we get off this island, the better.”

“We can’t leave,” Scootaloo said, “We have to save Princess Twilight, and all my friends, and all those ponies that those creatures captured! We’ve got to search the island. And first we have to find Rainbow! So c’mon, get up! We have to go now!”

“Now look, don’t get any funny ideas. I’m not going anywhere.”

“What?” Scootaloo exclaimed, “A second ago you said you didn’t want to wait here to get caught, and now you don’t want to leave?”

“Wandering around the island and letting every one of those damned creatures know we’re on the menu is not what I had in mind,” Rocket replied, “I’ve gotten more than I bargained for already, kid. You can go rescue your princess and your friends if you want, but me, I’m finding a way off this island.”

“But those creatures are gonna kill them!”

“Better them than me,” Rocket said.

Scootaloo turned away, irritated, before an idea came to mind, and she glanced back at him.

“Princess Twilight is rich,” Scootaloo said.

Rocket glanced at her.

“....Rich?”

“Mm-hm. Rich, and powerful too. Look, if you were to rescue her, and everypony else too, the reward would be … more than you can imagine!”

Rocket glanced at her.

“I don’t know. I can imagine quite a lot,” Rocket said, warily.

“And you’ll get it,” Scootaloo replied, confidently.

“I better,” Rocket said.

“You will!” Scootaloo assured.

Rocket scratched at his beard.

“Alright kid. You better be right about this.”

Scootaloo squeaked in delight and helped pull Rocket up to his hooves.

She led him back across the sands, passing by more debris, bones, and seaweed that had arrived with the tide. Scootaloo scampered along, glancing up to squint at the sun. They only had a few hours before the sun would set, and they would have to hurry if they were to have any hope of finding the others alive. Alive, Scootaloo thought, they’ve got to be alive. She could not fathom being trapped on this island without Rainbow at her side. I’ll find you, Rainbow. No matter what.

Lightning Dust tried to keep her head tilted back so as not to drip blood onto the oaken deck. Her nose had been bleeding profusely ever since that crash, and the whole left side of her head was beginning to ache.

Broken spars swung in the netting overhead, and the ship’s deck was in dire disarray; halliards lay where they fell. The hull was riddled with barnacles and weeds, and there were barrels of salted fish, fruit, flour and water haphazardly arranged around the rear deck. The sails flapped madly in the wind above Lightning's head, and the ship grunted and groaned like an old stallion. Seagulls followed them as they went, circling restlessly overhead, stealing fish from the barrels when the pirates were not looking. The air was thick with the taste of salt, brine, sour puke, rum and smoke.

The splintery wood of the center mast was scraping her back and tearing into her wing tendons. She was tied to the wood with thick wooly rope; her chest was being squeezed by the pressure, though the crash had robbed her of so much energy she could hardly struggle at all. She had spent the last of her strength unsuccessfully fighting off her captors, who had discovered her floating adrift in the sea, within sight of the island.

The sloop had found her not long after dawn. Her captors had not been entirely cruel, having gone so far as to have fed her, let her change out of her soaking wet flightsuit, and given her some new clothing to keep her warm. The dress they gave her was golden like her own mane, with three overlapping folds that fell over her rear, and a satin bust done with lace. She would never have been caught dead wearing such a thing back home, though she had been so cold she eagerly accepted it.

Her captors were not like the ones that had crashed the Equestria Games. The mare, Rogue, resembled a pony, and had a pale tan coat with a curly mane of oak and mahogany. She wore a brown shirt and golden jewelry, including several piercings in her ears. She had a red cloth wrapped over the top of her head. She appeared to be an ordinary pony, until Lightning caught sight of the mare’s head toppling over to the side during one heavy collision with a large wave. The mare seemed to be able to detach her limbs at will as well.

The stallion, Cutjack, was more obviously a monster, an equine creature with the head of a shark, complete with two huge black eyes, rows of pointed teeth, and bluish-grey, slick skin.

They were still in open water, near the edge of where the storms raged on in the distance. They were sailing toward the island, though the pirates wanted to fill up their nets with fish before returning home.

She listened with curiosity to the pair's stories of ships crewed by zombies and glimpsed only at midnight by doomed sailors, of various magical precautions that would be necessary on the far side of the island, so far from the protection of the vodun lwas; of the harpies they might encounter in Blood Moon Bay, and what tactics to use against them; old legends were retold, and Lightning heard the story of the pirate Teacup Jenny, who with a tiny boat and a hoofful of creatures stole a galleon of the royal fleet fifty years earlier. The two pirates tried to outdo each other with stories about the sirens, the female demons that erotically occupied the last hours of ponies marooned on the northern side of the island.

And the sloop, called the Split Decision, was supposed to rendezvous with Captain Bravado's Queen Virgo's Revenge in Gunpowder Reef, and so the two shared much gossip about that most colorful pirate chief, and speculations about why he was returning closer towards the island shore, where, a year or two ago, he had gone far inland in search of some sort of sorcerous power and had come limping out days later, unsuccessful, sick, and infested with the ghosts that now plagued him like fleas plagued a dog.

While her captors rambled on and failed at fishing, Lightning gritted her teeth, humiliated at having been defeated before having even stepped hoof on that cursed island. Part of her wanted to kill Rocket if she ever saw him again, for crashing that ship, though she knew she couldn’t blame him entirely. This was all her idea after all. She sighed and shut her eyes. She was not entirely sure why she was still trying. Trying to win the respect of ponies who would never, ever respect her. Trying to win over her father, who would never get to know all of the things that she had accomplished, all the things that he said she would never, no, could never do. Maybe they were all right about me, she thought. The Wonderbolts, mom, dad, Pixie, Rainbow Dash. Maybe they all really did see her for what she was, and no matter how hard she worked, how much she thought she was making a difference, nothing would ever change. She buckled against the ropes, helpless. Lightning gritted her teeth, and felt like crying then, but she got control of herself, recalling that there were more pressing problems at hoof.

Further up on the deck, Rogue and Cutjack's endless arguing had now encountered the question of what to do with their new captive.

“Finders keepers,” argued Rogue, “The Queen’s dogs and all those horned fuckers lost her. She’s ours now. We’re not just turning her back in.”

“If the Queen finds out we had her and kept her for ourselves, she’d have our heads,” Cutjack countered.

“She wants our heads already,” Rogue spat, “The Captain will like her. She looks strong enough to work, and she’s pretty, too. And if he doesn’t want her, well, we’ll sell her to someone who does. Or we could keep her for ourselves - you could use a friend who isn't me.”

“Not to butt in, but…” came Lightning, catching the pair’s attention from the mast, “I’m not for sale.”

“See that? She’s got an attitude. Captain doesn’t like it when they’ve got an attitude,” Cutjack pointed out.

“Better to have an attitude than to be boring, Cutjack, maybe take some notes,” Rogue laughed.

Lightning sighed in dismay, helpless.

“Ponies are gonna be looking for me, y’know,” Lightning said.

“What ponies?” laughed Cutjack, finally acknowledging Lightning, “You’re the only one who got away, as far as I can tell.”

“I wasn’t a prisoner,” Lightning said, “I came to rescue them.”

Rogue and Cutjack shared a look.

“You don’t say. Good job, then,” Rogue laughed.

“You don’t like the Queen, right? Well neither do I. We could get along, you and me. I could help you.”

Rogue laughed.

“We don’t like the Queen, yeah, that doesn’t mean we want to pick a fight with her,” Rogue said.

“See that? She’s got no brains. Captain doesn’t like it when they’ve got no brains,” Cutjack said.

“Captain kept you, didn’t he?” Rogue laughed.

“None of you move,” came another voice.

A creature had just climbed over the railing of the sloop, an equid, a male, in a suit of polished silver armor.

“Dire!” Lightning yelled, smiling ear to ear.

Dire Strait’s face was hidden underneath his helm, and his waterlogged armor made it an effort to propel himself over the railing. He fell over in a clanging crash on the deck, much to Lightning’s chagrin.

“My hero,” Lightning said, rolling her eyes.

“There are two of them,” Cutjack said.

“Now I know you can count,” Rogue muttered, taking a step back, “We’re in open water, and he’s wearing plate armor. Chromedome here should’ve drowned, unless he were a - …”

Dire climbed up to his hooves, and revealed his horn, which coughed up some sparks.

Rogue’s eyes widened in realization.

“Unicorn,” Rogue said, terrified. She took a step back, cowering behind Cutjack.

“Dire, don’t do anything stupid,” Lightning warned.

“Nothing could be more stupid than having joined you on this little excursion, Lightning,” Dire grunted, “Looks like it’s off to a great start, as well.”

“Shut up,” Lightning spat, struggling against the ropes, “Get me out of this, please.”

“Hey, tinhead, careful where you point that thing!” Rogue yelled, quivering behind Cutjack.

“She doesn’t like unicorns,” Cutjack said, dryly, “And the longer you aim that at me, the more I agree with her. We don’t want any trouble.”

“Neither do I. So cut her loose,” Dire commanded.

“Do it,” Cutjack said, glancing at Rogue.

“But Captain will-”

“Do it,” Cutjack repeated.

Rogue sighed and trotted over toward Lightning, slowly. She drew her cutlass from her belt, and lowered the blade against the ropes.

Then the growl came, some deep bellow from beneath the waves, far away in the distant sea. It was a low rumbling sound, so powerful that the boat began to rock.

Dire almost lost his balance on the deck, while Rogue and Cutjack shared a terrified glance.

“Shit.” Rogue said. She slashed the ropes around Lightning, but didn’t let the pegasus get far, before putting the blade against her neck.

“Hey!’ Lightning winced. The blade had already cut into the flesh of her neck slightly, drawing blood.

“What are you doing?” Dire demanded.

“Toss her,” Cutjack demanded, “Toss her, do it now.”

“Toss me where?” Lightning stammered, “Dire, do something!”

Rogue hesitated, as Dire took a step closer.

“Throw the chum and the gruel first,” Rogue advised. Cutjack took off into the ship cabin, desperately clambering around his cluttered mess of supplies.

“There’s something out there,” Dire remarked, glancing over into the open water.

“Get us inland! Now!” Rogue yelled.

Cutjack returned with buckets of the aforementioned chum and gruel, and promptly threw it all into the sea over the rear railing, before darting back up to the stern to increase their speed. They were coming upon the island now, closer and closer to a river inlet that bled into the jungles.

“Will it follow us?” Cutjack asked.

“It follows scents that it likes,” Rogue remarked, "You should be safe, Cut."

Lightning glanced back at the sea, from where they were fleeing, and finally saw it - below the thunders of the abysmal sea, came the beastly terror, winnowing with its giant arms the slumbering blue. Battening upon the breaches, it was a sickly pink monster, slick with slime and dangerously dextrous. The size of a school bus, it moved at an incredible pace, distant for now but not without motive; the beast was racing right for them.

“Toss her, do it!” Cutjack insisted.

“What? Are you insane?” Lightning exclaimed.

“I don't know, Cut, we can't just-” Rogue said.

"Damn it, girl, it's her or us!" Cutjack roared.

Rogue bit her lip, and glanced at Lightning, before sighing.

"Sorry, pegasus, we don't have a choice," Rogue said, "Don't let it eat you too fast. We need you to buy us some time."

“Wait, wait, c’mon, can’t you outrun that thing?” Lightning demanded.

“Nothing can outrun a kraken,” Cutjack corrected, “Sorry, lass. It’s you or us.”

“Don’t,” Dire warned, “Don’t or I’ll-... Wait!”
Rogue ignored Dire completely, before slamming Lightning over the edge of the railing.

Lightning landed in the water with a heavy splash. She surfaced in time to see the murky shadow of the beast darting beneath the waves a half mile off. The current was strong, and it did not take her long before she found herself in the shade of the marine forests, the edges of the jungle.

“Lightning!” Dire yelled. Without thinking, he dove in after her, stumbling over the railing right as the ship entered into the river. Cutjack glanced over his shoulder, while Rogue bit her lip in regret.

“See that? She can barely swim. Captain doesn’t like it when they-”

“Just drive!” Rogue yelled.

In the water, Lightning was struggling to stay afloat. Her body was so tired that she could not manage to tread water for long, before sinking back down.

Then she felt something grab her by her leg. She screamed, thinking it was one of that beast’s ghastly tendrils, but it was only Dire, swimming up from the depths he had sunk down into. The spell he was using to keep him above water was not made for two ponies, however, and he had trouble keeping them both afloat.

He led them to the roots of the mangroves, where Lightning promptly climbed onto.

Dire followed her, and they climbed up higher until they were a ways away from the water.

Lightning glanced back to see that the beast had disappeared. She saw that the ship had progressed further down the river.

She glanced at Dire, who had to remove his helmet to drain it of water.

She gasped for breath, and smiled, falling into the grass.

Dire laughed too, wiping his face of sweat and saltwater.

“You look adorable dressed like that,” Dire grinned. Lightning's smile dropped, and her face flushed red.

Dire turned to face her and gently reached for her hoof.

"You're OK?" he asked.

Lightning felt her face continue to redden, as she glanced at him and sat back up.

“Yeah,” she said, “...How’d you find me?”

“I was out there clinging to some driftwood,” Dire said, “I saw that ship and swam to it, and snuck on by the prow. I wasn’t sure they were friendly, and it was a good thing too, or I’d be on that mast alongside you.”

“Well, thanks. I owe you one,” Lightning said.

“You owe me more than one,” Dire smiled, stumbling up to his hooves, “We’ve got to find the others. I have to bring Rainbow Dash and the rest of you back to Messara, or Spike will kill me.”

Lightning followed him up, as Dire began to trot through the jungle.

“We’re not leaving until we find where all those ponies are being kept,” Lightning said.

“You couldn’t handle two cutthroat pirates,” Dire pointed out, “Now you think you can take on an entire army of those creatures?”

“I fucked up back there, yeah. But I have to try,” Lightning insisted, “And you’re not stopping me.”

“I never could,” Dire sighed, “...Perhaps Rainbow will see reason. You clearly can’t,” Dire grumbled.

Dire continued on, while Lightning glanced one more time back out toward the sea. She thought she saw that shadow once again beneath the waves, but it had disappeared just as quickly as it had revealed itself. Lightning crossed her hind legs for a moment before jogging to catch up with Dire, eager to put as much distance between the sea and herself as possible.

Sprawled out on the beach, Rainbow Dash could only open her eyes for a few seconds before she went under once again. Her mane ran with the tide, back and forth, though while she laid on her back, she could breathe well enough. The crash had knocked the wind out of her completely, and when she drifted awake, she could feel a rumbling, aching pain that cried out from every inch of her body.

Then she felt something, no, somepony, grab her by her hindlegs, dragging her up the beach. She might have screamed or asked where she was being taken, before the world went black again.

Rainbow stirred awake when the pressure in her throat became too much, and she had to cough out the water that had ended up in her lungs. She sat herself up too quickly, and winced in pain, grunting and gasping for breath. Her eyes stung from all the saltwater, and she shut them to try and ease the pain. Her vision slowly returned, and she was at a loss to find herself in some sort of shelter. A chamber built right into a foundation of solid rock, by the looks of the walls, which were lit with bronze torches.

Sitting upright, she found she had been propped up on a featherbed draped in soft satin sheets. There were ornate columns near either end corner of the bed, carved from the stone. The cave floor was covered in red and green carpets, and there was a sweet smell to the air, like cinnamon and cloves. Behind the bedframe was a window that looked over the sea. She was several stories in the air, she realized.

She was still clad in her bomber jacket, which stunk like saltwater. Her entire body ached. If Fast Clip or Whiplash were here, they’d surely tell her to rest, to avoid putting any stress on anything. But she could not lie idle, not while her friends remained in certain peril.

Still, there was a gnawing thought in the back of her mind, that no matter how hard she pushed herself, it would all be for naught. Determination and discipline hadn’t saved her when she had to beat Lightning Dust. Rainbow gritted her teeth in anger. Lightning Dust. They were only a few weeks apart in age, and of similar size and build, and yet Lightning seemed to not be suffering to anywhere near the same degree as Rainbow. Even after all those stunts, and accidents, and crashes, Lightning seemed to never slow down.

Part of her felt grateful for the attack at the games; it had the inadvertent effect of distracting everypony from her defeat. She quickly buried that distasteful sense of indignation away. She would prove herself this time, she thought. I shouldn’t be doing this for me. I should be doing it for them.

Rainbow staggered off the bed, struggling to put too much pressure on her legs so soon. Her crash at the games had been bad enough to ensure a week’s stay in the hospital, and that crash landing had done almost as much damage. She could feel her heart beating too fast, even at rest, and she was already short of breath. Was it just nerves?

Glancing around, Rainbow was impressed by the curious decor, though she cared more about what had become of her companions, and who was responsible for bringing her here.

She stumbled over towards the doorway, and pushed against the wooden door, which led to a much larger, open area of the cave. Rainbow stood on a stone path above near the ceiling, which gave her a full glimpse at the chamber below.

A great golden chandelier hung from the cave ceiling, near the stalactites and columns. The floor below was furnished with wood and more carpet, and resembled something of an antique manor, complete with luxurious furniture, paintings hung on the walls, and strange displays. Among these were jewels in glass cases, swords and daggers held in wooden fixtures, a chess board, a giant gold coin bearing the face of some bearded alicorn wearing a crown, and, most striking, a taxidermied dragon, the size of a building, posed with its wings spread and teeth bared. The dragon was a monstrous, devilish thing, with its green scales and orange eyes that glowed in the chandelier light like two miniature furnaces.

“Hello?” Rainbow called out, hesitantly. The chandelier’s fires were all lit, and so somepony had to be nearby, somewhere.

She proceeded down the stone path to a spiraling stairwell, where she got a closer look at the many strange displays. She saw a model of a great warship resting on a table near the lifeless fireplace, and three solid stone statues, each depicting a mare with their hooves raised and their eyes wide with terror.

There was a library nook near the fireplace, with bookcases packed to the brim and chalkboards cluttered with strange symbols written in chalk.

“Anypony?” Rainbow asked; she could hear her voice echo through the chamber.

By the library, however, Rainbow noticed something even stranger. One of the bookcases was left ajar from its place on the wall, only behind it there was no wall, but a passageway. A secret path, Rainbow suspected, that led to where?

“Hello?” she called out again down the passage. She pressed on the bookcase to create a larger opening, and slid herself right along inside.

Torchlight was her guide as she crept down the passageway, which led to another huge cavern. She heard the rushing waters of an underground river somewhere further on, and the cave itself was well-lit with oil lamps hung from wires all along the walls.

In one corner of the cave she saw some huge brass contraption, pumping and smoking and spinning, with its dials and levers and valves and wheels, all moving in a bizarrely orderly fashion.

She inspected the machine briefly, before she continued up towards the edge of the cavern ridge. The cavern continued further below, and she could even make out sunlight at the end, from where the underground river must have gone onto meet the sea. And by the river there sat a boat docked in its calmest rush, some metal monster that managed to float. The boat was half-submerged in the water, and light from its interior shone out through a series of portholes, further illuminating the cave.

Rainbow stretched out her wings, and gave a small groan before taking flight, as her body urged her to take a rest. No time for rest. I have to find the others.

She landed on the wooden dock below, which ran up and over the cave lake.

Trotting towards the ship, or rather, the submarine, as she quickly confirmed, she felt a strange chill run through the air, and she no longer felt entirely alone.

She heard the spark of a horn ignite, and she turned to see a creature’s silhouette back by the edge of the dock, their horn burning bright red.

“Who are you?” the creature asked, in a stallion’s cool low voice.

Rainbow still had a hoof on the ship’s hull, when she gulped and turned to face him completely.

“I’m…Lightning Dust,” she introduced, reflexively choosing the first name other than her own that came to mind.
“Go on then, Lightning Dust, get back on the dock,” the creature commanded.

Rainbow complied, stepping off the edge of the ship to return to the wooden dock. She approached the creature, whose horn was still alight.

“How did you get here?” the creature demanded.

“I should be asking you that,” Rainbow replied, “Where am I?”

The creature took a step forward, into the torchlight. He was draped in thick black robes and a billowing black cloak that concealed most of his face. He had a pair of huge night-black horns that poked at the edges of his hood. His eyes glowed red, like two dying stars contained in a pair of pearls, spinning and dancing and weaving flames that seemed to set his entire skull ablaze. He was broad-shouldered and of a considerable size, twice as large as Rainbow. There was a trembling grey frailty to him as well though, in spite of his size. His beard was dark grey, his coat was a lighter grey, and wisps of his long mane seemed to be an even paler shade of grey. His face was leathery and burdened, grey and rigid like a boulder.

Rainbow watched as the creature’s face began to darken, and he stared down at her with his sad, red, mad eyes.

“This is my home,” the creature said, “The penalty for trespassing is death.”

His horn glowed brighter.

“Whoa! No,” Rainbow said, raising her hoof defensively, “Look, I didn’t mean to end up here, OK? I’m looking for my friends, they’re on this island too, somewhere.”

“Friends?” the creature repeated, “There are more of you?”

The creature’s horn glowed so brightly she was nearly blinded, and Rainbow braced herself to dodge the oncoming attack.

“Wait,” came a new voice, this one from higher above in the cavern, “Don’t.”

Her rescuer was not a pony, not anything close. He resembled a fox, red-orange in color, with a large, slender body, bigger than an adult stallion. He wore a blue cloak and white robes underneath, but what was most peculiar was his nine bushy tails, which curled and danced in the air as he floated about. The creature flew in the air without any wings, sliding and slinging about as if he were swimming in a pool of water. The fox had such a delightful grin on his face, it seemed as though just about anything and everything could make him laugh.

“This one is not an intruder,” the fox smiled, “This one is our guest.”

“I will have no guests,” the horned creature growled.

“You will tonight,” the fox laughed, “Lightning Dust, is that what you call yourself?”

“It was you…You found me on the beach,” Rainbow supposed, “Who are you? Why did you help me?”

“I am Zuki,” the fox introduced, bowing in the air, “And this is the curmudgeon of Chaos Keep, my dear friend Caligo.”

“Why have you brought her here?” Caligo grumbled, “And why did you not consult me?”

“Because I knew you’d say no,” Zuki grinned, “It’s been so long since we’ve gotten to host a pony of Equestria, I simply couldn’t resist. Don’t you trust me?”

Caligo growled and dimmed his horn, finally allowing Rainbow to sigh in relief.

“Only a fool would trust a yako, least of all a conniving pest like you. But I do trust your self-interest, and so I wonder what value she has to you. I’ll soon find out. Bring her to the wailing tower,” Caligo commanded, “Keep her locked up there until I decide what is to be done with her.”

Zuki bowed his head, obediently.

“As you wish.”

With that, the fox snapped his paw, and Rainbow’s world disappeared in a flash of light.

When she opened her eyes next, she was back in the bedchamber she had awoken in, only Zuki was beside her. He appeared smaller than before, and somewhat less evolved.

“How’d you do that?” Rainbow asked.

“Tsk tsk, Rainbow Dash, It’s been so long since ponies came to rule the world, you’ve even forgotten you’re not the only race with magic coursing through your veins,” Zuki giggled, “Yes, I plucked you out from the sea. No need to thank me.”

Rainbow gave him an odd look.

"How do you know my name?"

Zuki giggled and flew off to another corner of the room.

“Look, furface, I appreciate the help, but I really have to go find my friends. You haven’t seen them, have you?” Rainbow asked.

“Hm,” Zuki said, “Yes, I have seen them. But they are not what you should be worrying about right now.”

“Gonna have to disagree,” Rainbow said, taking an aggressive step forward, “If you really want to lend me a hoof, er, paw, then why don’t you do that teleporting trick again, but take me to where all my friends are being stowed away.”

Zuki laughed aloud.

“That would give away the game rather easily, don’t you think?”

“This isn’t a game. My friends could be in mortal danger!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“More than you know. But I’ve helped you quite a bit already. I owe you no more than I owe my dear friend Caligo, or our wicked Queen, who loathes me so. Once you’ve ascended to a high-enough plane of reality, all the choosing of sides becomes rather droll. It’s much more entertaining to watch you lesser beings all squabble among yourselves. Every creature on this island has gone mad as of late, madder than usual. When I found you, an Equestrian castaway, I couldn’t resist throwing you into the fold.”

“Is that why you brought me here? To amuse yourself?” Rainbow said.

“My singular goal,” Zuki smirked.

“Why here? What’s so special about this place in particular?” Rainbow asked.

“Chaos Keep has been Caligo’s home for many years. He is known to welcome outcasts and castaways, like yourself. He is not fond of the island’s other denizens, the ones who ponynapped all of your poor friends.”

“Then we ought to get along great,” Rainbow supposed, “Here’s hoping he’ll warm up to me. It’d be nice to have a few friends on this rock.”

“Do not overstep the bounds of his hospitality. He is fickle and his mind is scattered. This castle is his way of escaping the rest of the island. It also serves as a place to conduct his experiments,” Zuki said.

“...What kind of experiments?” Rainbow asked, hesitantly.

“Unsavory kinds. So tread lightly or you’ll become one,” Zuki warned, “Try reasoning with him tonight at dinner, if you like. But the years spent in this place have turned him cold and unforgiving, and quick to insult. He’d have killed me a hundred times already if he could manage such a task.”

“You brought me here for a reason, but won’t tell me what,” Rainbow said, “If I screw everything up and get myself killed, that wouldn’t go well for your little game, would it?”

Zuki shrugged.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash, If I could control everything, it wouldn’t nearly be as fun,” Zuki said, “Though I doubt you’re arrogant enough to die just to spite me. If you would, perhaps I should have left you in the sea to drown.”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes, as Zuki’s grin grew along his face.

“Well, here’s hoping your gamble will pay off.”

I have to be strong for them, Spitfire thought, glancing back at her companions - Thunderlane and Soarin, Sightseer and Blaze, High Winds, Fleetfoot, and Meadow. They were all too terrified to speak; instead they did their best to comfort each other and remain at each other's sides. The journey down the murky green river had taken all night, and only when the dawn came did they reach their destination.

The Citadel stood in the center of the island, right beside that great igneous peak that coughed out clouds of black smoke. Along the cove, Spitfire saw the skeletal remains of ponies strung up in spiked gibbet cages. Some ponies seemed to be half-alive still, covered in rot or missing limbs. The living had lost the urge to cry out in pain any longer, even while crows came to peck the flesh off their bones, or while the flies and maggots crawled about their exposed innards.

It took Spitfire all she had to avoid vomiting into the water.

There was a city surrounding the citadel, a bustling hive of torchlight and strange smells. The city descended right into the earth, leading to a red subterranean realm, a city right beneath their hooves.

In the dawn, Spitfire’s eyes wandered over to the waterfalls that cascaded off the cliff into the great pits below.

At the docks, they saw other longboats making port, where clusters of captives were rushed along by more spear-wielding sentinels.

The harbor was crowded with sloops and schooners and brigantines, and even a few triple-masted ships, and cooking fires still smudged the air far above the huts and shacks and sailcloth tents that had been pitched on the beach. There were strumpets and black market wholesale buyers sauntering among the crews and watching for incoming craft. The stench of the harbor contended with the clean sea breeze from downriver, for added to its melange of tar-smoke, sulfur, old food and countless informal latrines was the often startling olfactory spectrum of inexpert cooking: the smell of feathers-burnt-off chicken by creatures too impatient to pluck them, of odd stews into which the enthusiastic hoof of the amateur had flung quantities of hijacked mint and cilantro and Xiaomese mustard to cancel the taste of dubious meats, and of weird and explosive experiments in the art of punch-making. The old fort that stood at the end of the docks led into the great citadel; the fort was a towering terror of black brick and torches, where huge flies and fluttering foes darted along and past the colonies of castle moss.

Midge led the ponies out onto the boardwalk, where they were promptly re-shackled and forced into an orderly line.

“I’ll take these ones,” came a voice from ahead of Midge, who turned to find the translucent, ghostly filly with the doe eyes, Specter, hovering in the air.

Midge spat at the ground.

“Fuck off. They’re mine,” Midge growled.

Specter’s face darkened. She was only a little thing, but for some reason she instilled a strange sense of dread in all present.

“Mimic wanted you for something,” Specter said, “I’m supposed to take them off your hooves.”

Midge’s antennae twitched at the mention of Mimic.

“Fine,” he growled, leaving the ponies on the dock with Specter, whose eyes darted over towards Spitfire.

“Are any of you hurt?” she asked once Midge was far enough away. Spitfire eyed her, uncertain of Specter’s intentions.

“Not too bad,” Spitfire replied, hesitantly.

“Consider yourselves lucky. We almost lost an entire longboat to a bog serpent,” Specter said, turning to lead them away. Spitfire struggled to keep up, having to walk twice as fast while fettered and chained.

“Where are you taking us?” Spitfire demanded.

“To your cells, to await adjudication,” Specter replied.

Up the ramparts, Spitfire saw packs of horned creatures toiling in the tar, shoveling and sweating.

“There’s thousands,” Soarin muttered under his breath. All of his escape fantasies seemed to crumble away, the more he saw of this place.

“A bit young to be serving the whims of a murderous despot, no?” Thunderlane said, trying his best to annoy Specter, for his own amusement, “A foal like you should be playing with dolls and doing homework, not wielding a warhammer.”

“Not all of us are so lucky to get to have normal lives,” Specter said, "All of us must serve however the Queen sees fit. Being a foal is no excuse."

“You lied, earlier,” Spitfire said, “When you took over from that bug freak. What for?”

“She was drawn to your magnetic charms, no doubt, captain,” offered Thunderlane.

Specter glanced around to see whether any other creatures were nearby to overhear her; she waited until she could lead the group down a stone causeway that brushed against the docks and led up into one of the fort's firelit passageways.

“I know Rainbow Dash is alive,” Specter said.

Spitfire’s eyes widened.

“You do? How?”

“The way she supposedly died was suspicious. My superiors were in a hurry to get out of there, though, so they went along with the story they were given. But I haven’t. She probably had help, too. If I had to guess, it’d be the Washout Captain. Lightning Dust.”

From behind Spitfire, the young Washout Hat Trick raised an eyebrow.

“Captain? Fat chance. Rainbow Crash and her hate each other,” Hat Trick said.

“She’s the only Washout we couldn’t find,” Specter pointed out, “If they are working together, and if they do find a way to get here, then the Queen will need to be prepared. That’s why you all need to get to her unspoiled, so we’ll have some valuable hostages to bargain with. Midge was going to bring a few of you back home for his supper tonight, and sell the rest of you as slaves.”

“This place just gets better and better,” Thunderlane laughed in disbelief, “Well, I suppose slavery beats cannibalization. Tell me, do slaves get any benefits? Workers’ comp?”

Specter giggled, to Thunderlane’s triumph.

“She laughs at my jokes more than you do, Spits” Thunderlane remarked, while Spitfire rolled her eyes.

“Not all of us are cruel,” Specter said, “Fear and power is what compels creatures to stay in line, even if it means following the worst monsters of the island. Mimic and Gorgo most of all.”

“I knew Forecheck for years,” Spitfire said, frustratedly, “You’re telling me the entire time it was just some shapeshifter?”

“Mimic isn’t like the rest of us,” Specter said, “He was genetically engineered by the Queen’s top scientist with the explicit purpose of breaking through the seal and surviving its effects, as well as adopting the guise of any creature. He was instrumental to the Queen’s plan, to eventually become the president of the Equestrian Athletic Association, to arrange the Equestria Games to take place as close as possible to our island, and to make sure that the Games had all of our targets present in the audience.”

Spitfire shook her head in disbelief. How long have they been planning this?

“What is this place?” Spitfire demanded, “Why are you doing this to us?”

“I can’t say too much,” Specter said, “We’ve been trapped on this island for three thousand years. Generations upon generations of monsters have worked to discover a way to break free. Only a lucky few have succeeded, and always with grave side effects. But our Queen has devised the final solution, what might be our only chance at breaking the spell permanently and going home.”

“I imagine this final solution bodes well for us, yes?” Thunderlane asked, sarcastically, dreading what her answer would be.

“There is power in blood,” Specter said, “Royal blood, holy blood, the blood of the innocent especially. A sacrifice might be enough to weaken the curse and open the seal, but only for a short while. That’s how we were able to leave on the warship yesterday. But to draw the magic from five alicorn princesses and all six elements of harmony? Even the curse’s magic won’t be able to withstand that. Once we sacrifice the princesses and the bearers of the elements, the curse might finally be broken for good, and we'll be free.”

“OK….but why exactly are we here?” Thunderlane laughed, “Last time I checked I wasn’t an alicorn, or a priest, and definitely not a virgi-”

Spitfire jabbed him in the gut, glancing at Specter, who she still saw as a mere foal.

“The more blood the better,” Specter said, “We couldn’t find your friend Rainbow Dash, so a few hundred ponies might just be enough to make up for the missing element, and complete the sacrifice.”

“There must be another way,” Spitfire said, “These ponies are innocent. They shouldn’t have to die because of what some ponies did three thousand years ago. You don’t have to do this, and I don’t think you really want to, either.”

Specter glanced at the ground.

“It doesn’t matter what I want. This is the Queen’s decree. I have to do as she says,” Specter said, “It’s her you’ll have to answer to.”

“Forget the Queen. Where's the king,” Thunderlane said, “I think I’d rather talk to him.”

“The king was deposed and killed many years ago,” Specter said, “It was his own wife and daughter who did it. He was weak, and wanted to embrace peace rather than take revenge on our enemies.”

“We’re not your enemies,” Spitfire said, aggressively, “I’ll tell your queen as much when you take us to her.”

“Save your breath,” Specter mumbled, “We’ve been here for thousands of years. We’ve exhausted every option. This is the only way. I wish that the cost wasn’t so high, but we don’t have a choice. You ponies took everything from us, and now we’re finally taking it back.”

From the green turmoil of vines and palm boles came the breeze, a mild respite from the sun’s endless gaze. The humid air and the heat of the sweltering sandy beach made Scootaloo’s face gleam with sweat. Ahead, Rocket hefted his piece of scrap iron and peered uneasily into the jungle that awaited them further along the beach. He’d heard stories about this island, stories he had opted not to share with Scootaloo, though her imagination might not have been much kinder. Cannibals and giant snakes seemed as plausible as ever to lurk in that primeval rainforest, and the thought gave Scootaloo cause to drag her hooves as they went, hoping to slow their pace.

They found their first sign of ponies after three miles into the trek - hoof prints leading further down the southern edge of the coast.

“Rainbow or Lightning,” Rocket determined, relieved that at least one of them had survived the journey to shore, “Whoever it is, maybe they’ll find the others and save us the journey.”

He glanced up ahead at where the hoof prints led, over a large sand dune.

“How far do you think the trail goes?” Scootaloo asked.

“Far. We might find them today, tomorrow, who knows? All I’ve found so far is more and more pieces of my poor ship,” Rocket said, glumly.

They continued on in pursuit of the tracks, beside the jungle susurrating restlessly in the breeze, which kicked up clouds of sand that wafted over the tide.

“I’m sorry about your ship,” Scootaloo said, “...I shouldn’t have snuck on. A pegasus who can’t fly is bad luck.”

Rocket had only just then noticed her pair of stunted wings, and he slowed his pace, slinging his bag around over his shoulder.

“I consider it lucky enough that we got here each in one piece, and so should you,” Rocket said, “I always wanted to fly too, like a pegasus. That ship was the closest thing to it, and even then it…”

“Wasn’t the same,” Scootaloo continued.

“Yeah,” Rocket said, glancing down at her, “You try to fit into a world you can never belong to, you’ll only wind up like my ship. Completely totaled.”

“Except I was supposed to fly,” Scootaloo said, raising her voice, flapping her wings, “I’m supposed to be just like them.”

“You’re not supposed to be anypony,” Rocket corrected, “That’s what Lightning’s always harping on about to her team of belligerent foundlings.”

“Lightning Dust….We’re not exactly friends.”

Rocket chuckled.

“She doesn’t exactly do friends, as she’s always been so keen on reminding me.”

Scootaloo eyed him.

“You and her, you…”

“A long time ago,” Rocket said, “She left me behind. She left everything behind. All for a slim shot at making it big, and….what d’y’know, she actually pulled it off. One in a million, I told her. Now, was that before or after she told me to go to -”

“She almost got me killed, y’know,” Scootaloo interrupted. She could hear Rainbow’s voice coming out of her then, and she had to bite her tongue.

“It’s a miracle she hasn’t gotten herself killed,” Rocket said, “Maybe I beat her to it. I’ve had a lot of crash landings, but that one might’ve topped them all.”

Scootaloo hung her head low, her eyes fixed on the sand beneath her hooves.

“Don’t look so glum, kid. I’m sure your friend made it out. She’s been through worse, hasn’t she?” Rocket asked, “We’ve got bigger problems right now. I don’t know how long I can live off of mussels and berries that have an above-zero chance of burning my stomach full of holes.”

“I don’t need to eat much,” Scootaloo assured, “Freshwater would be a nice start.”

“Might be some rivers going through the woods further ahead,” Rocket said, “Might be some game there, too.”

He lifted up his jagged blade of scrap metal, proudly.

“This might do well for hunting,” Rocket declared, “What are we feeling? Fish? Crab? I might even be able to spear a seagull. I wish Dire was here, I could use him for target practice.”

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shudder and shake, and Scootaloo almost lost her footing, before Rocket steadied her with his hoof. She fell into his forelegs, as he adjusted his hooves. The portion of the ground they were standing on, roughly six yards wide, was rising up from the beach up into the air, in jerky, shifting motions.

Rocket lost his balance completely, tumbling off the risen portion onto solid ground. Scootaloo wasn’t far behind, tumbling down after him.

Rocket turned to see the beast in all its hideous fury, a crab the size of a carriage, with two huge clawed arms and six muscled, pointed legs. Its shell was covered in sand from where it had burrowed itself underground, and its face, a chirping horror of clicking pincers, sent Rocket jumping to his hooves, shoving Scootaloo behind him.

The beast began to turn toward them, as Rocket began backing into Scootaloo.

“Run,” Rocket advised, right as the creature began lunging towards them.

Rocket stuck a shrieking Scootaloo on his back and began galloping off.

But the beast was nimble for its size, and Rocket could sense the crab’s claw darting down towards them. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed Scootaloo and threw her further ahead into the sand, before stumbling to his knees. He turned around right as the giant crab came upon him, and he swung his scrap metal blade against its hard exoskeleton.

The crab hissed and clicked at him as it hesitated against the blade. Rocket had meant to throw the blade right between the beast’s eyes, but the creature was quicker, scooping him up in its monstrous claw. Rocket cried out in pain as the claw crushed his ribs and lifted him up into the air.

Ahead, Scootaloo had reached a large stone to hide behind, and stopped running at the sound of Rocket’s grunting and the crab’s victorious clicking. She glanced back, her whole body trembling.

“Go!” Rocket yelled, hardly able to breathe as the claw crushed him and swung him around in the air. Scootaloo picked up Rocket’s scrap metal blade and ran for the beast, attempting to stab it right through its beady little eyes. The crab backed away and hissed, while Scootaloo continued prodding at it. All the while, Rocket was flailing around in the air as the crab tossed him about.

Scootaloo dodged the other claw as it came down to slice her in half; she tumbled through the sand and immediately returned to stabbing at the crab. She was so small the crab seemed to have difficulty catching her, she realized. Then she noticed the crab almost lose its balance while rearing up to shake Rocket around, and an idea came to her.

Scootaloo darted for Rocket’s bag, where she retrieved his spool of rope. She was so small, that the distracted crab hardly noticed her, as she came sprinting underneath its body. After wrapping the rope around one of the crab’s hind legs, she darted back out in front of the beast, holding the other end of the rope.

Scootaloo took the rope from her hooves and stuck it in her teeth, trying her best to hold the crab back from running off with Rocket. But the crab’s strength was too much, and she quickly lost her grip.

Scootaloo practically dove into the sand to grab at the rope, as the crab began scurrying off backwards to make its escape.

Shit.

Scootaloo pursued the crab over to the cliff they had passed earlier, and a grin quickly found its way to Scootaloo’s face, as an idea came to mind.

Scootaloo scrambled to pick up the rope. She ran in the other direction with all her strength, and found an upright rock to tie the other end of the rope around, tethering the crab near the edge of the cliff.

Scootaloo returned to the crab to stick her blade up from underneath near the beast’s head. She stabbed and prodded some more, and with one hard shove, she thrust her weapon up against the beast’s head, compelling the beast to rear up on its hind legs. Scootaloo then thrust forwards with her blade, sending the crab toppling backwards.

The beast landed on its back, its legs panickedly darting about in the air.

Scootaloo rushed over towards Rocket, who was lying semi-conscious in the crab’s claw, whose grip had finally loosened.

Using her blade, Scootaloo severed the rope with a mighty swing, and began to tilt the crab forwards towards the cliff’s edge.

On the decline of the cliff, the crab eventually began to slide right off the edge, and Scootaloo caught her breath once she watched the crab land in one of the hot springs below. The boiling temperatures were enough to silence the beast after a few minutes of agonizing screeches.

“I never cared much for seafood,” Rocket grunted, picking himself up off the ground, “Thanks for the rescue.”

Scootaloo smiled, wiping the sweat from her brow, exhausted. She wished Rainbow had been there to see that.

He smelled the cooked crab before he could see what had happened. Rocket began to laugh, triumphantly.

“Well, I suppose that solves dinner.”

Murmuring among the castle stone, the afternoon rainfall was revealed by the torches lit near each window, beyond the tin-wire shutters that were propped open. There, birds had found refuge from the torrent, darting through the windows to make their perch in the rafters high up in the great hall of Chaos Keep.

The hall itself was a cozy place, cluttered with bookcases and wax candles, with globes and maps and collections of strange ornaments.

Six soldier columns stood solemnly on the edges of the hall, which were cluttered with all manner of strange creatures. There were huge torch pits around the edges of the hall, and tapestries and paintings hung about the walls. Light poured in through reflective stained glass from somewhere in the ceiling, casting the hall in red, green, and purple.

With each flash of lightning Rainbow could make out more of the castle, which had been built right alongside the edge of a storied cliff, facing the sea. Gargoyles and grotesques served as brooding crenellations along the curtain walls, overlooking the sea. Among these looming statues were depictions of basilisks, cockatrices, demons, griffins, hounds, manticores, wyverns, and other strange creatures, all with hunched backs or snarling grins. They were a few stories up from the breaking waves, though Rainbow could still taste the salt wafting in through the windows.

In the rainfall, the towers seemed to creak and sway, and the bricks seemed to move and come apart, though after a second glance, Rainbow Dash concluded it was only in her mind.

While her host’s humble abode gave her pause, his companions unsettled her to a far greater extent.

A rowdy collection they were; she saw wispy, flaming, translucent visages of dancers in silks and ribbons strutting about near the fire, bending and buckling in turn with the restless flames.

The harpers, meanwhile, were all arachnid creatures, plucking instruments wound up with spider silk. And in the crowds of the hall there were creatures of all kinds, pony-sized sentient rodents, and birds, and all manner of devilish, horned beasts.

And near one of the columns was a huge pot containing six huge flowers, each the size of a foal. There was a rose, a tiger lily, a yellow daisy, a tulip, a pansy, and a bluebonnet.

“Hello,” the rose spoke, “Welcome!”

The other flowers tittered on in unison, speaking without mouths, looking without eyes, and Rainbow recalled the strange experiments Zuki claimed Caligo had conducted here.

“You can see me? You can hear me?” Rainbow asked, fascinated, but also wary. She could not be certain how friendly any of this island’s inhabitants really were.

“Of course,” replied the tiger lily, curtly.

“You’re the first pony we’ve ever seen,” said the tulip, “We all thought you’d be uglier.”

The flowers all giggled, while Rainbow laughed in disbelief.

“Uh, thanks,” Rainbow smiled.

But among the strange collection of monsters, there was one face she recognized, one face she had not thought she would be glad to see again. Pouring himself a cup of wine, Gump was alive and intact, catching Rainbow’s eyes from across the room.

“Gump!” Rainbow exclaimed, darting over toward him, “You’re alright!”

Gump growled in response, hardly sparing her a glance.

“That crash should’ve killed us all,” Gump mumbled, “The gods love tormenting me. Why else do they insist I live?”

“I see your sense of humor survived the crash,” Rainbow smiled.

“That’s about the only thing,” Gump muttered.

“How’d you get here?” Rainbow said.

“The fox left a trail for me,” Gump said, “Duplicitous sorcerer, he is. Of course he’d be in cahoots with the wicked pegasus and her foolish friends. Our host, the mad warlock, took me for a deserter, and let me stay.”

“Well, we can’t stay here too long,” Rainbow said, “We still have to find Lightning and the others.”

Gump snickered.

“We? There is no we, stupid pegasus,” Gump spat, “And you won’t find your friends. Not alive, anyway.”

Rainbow glared at him, taking an aggressive step forward.

“You know the land, Gump. I’m gonna need you,” Rainbow said, “...Or, I guess, you could head back home without me, but I wonder what your queen would say when she finds out you let me slip right through your hooves.”

Gump’s grin fell from his face.

“Curse you, pegasus, curse you and your black heart!” Gump growled, “I’m dead no matter what I do. So are you. Once the Queen finds out you’re here, she’ll spare no expense in hunting you down. There’s nowhere on this island you can escape her wrath. She will find you.”

Rainbow rolled her shoulders back and laughed.

“I’d like to see her try,” Rainbow said. As if to punctuate her sentence, the ringing of bells indicated that the feast was ready. Rainbow sat herself beside Gump on the great dinner table that had been brought out into the center of the hall. The table was draped in a huge red tablecloth, sprawling out haphazardly like the tongue of some giant serpent, and it held an impressive bounty of delicacies and exotic cuisine, some of which made Rainbow’s nose curl in disgust.

At the table on her right was Nimbla, or the Killer Mouse, as she had introduced herself. She was indeed just a little grey mouse, ordinary in size, but imbued with the power of speech. She wore a red satin dress with golden fringes, a golden belt fixed with a scabbard, all overtop a white petticoat. Twice already had Nimbla drawn her sword to challenge Zuki to a duel, though the celestial fox would only ever laugh and laugh.

Next to Nimbla was Twitch, a sentient rabbit who dressed himself in a plaid vest and a bowtie, and, as his name derived from, had a dreadful nervous twitch. Each time Rainbow spared him a glance, he was busy checking his pocket watch or thumping his foot in anticipation of something horrible befalling them all right then and there.

But by far the most peculiar dinner guest was the flying head, who only spoke his own name, Tue Tué. Trapped inside a bird cage, the creature appeared to be the severed head of a pony, but adorned with feathers and talons that stuck out from under its chin. The creature had wings in the place of ears, and it seemed to yearn for freedom, though Caligo was content to keep it trapped and feed it his scraps.

“Don’t pity this one,” Caligo growled, noticing the concern on Rainbow’s face, “It thirsts for blood. My blood, to be exact. It does speak, only it chooses who can hear it. Daily and nightly it screams at me through my own thoughts, making its threats, speaking its spells, and casting its curses.”

“And you decide to keep it as a pet?” Rainbow asked.

“The thing does not die,” Caligo said, bluntly, “Believe me, pegasus, I’ve tried.”

Rainbow had nearly forgotten to make pleasantries with each of the creatures, unable to stop herself from tearing into the feast that had been laid out before them - buttered beets and herby bread, dark gravy and roasted red potatoes. She had been starving after consuming too much saltwater in the wake of that crash, and Caligo’s feast hit every spot.

“The creatures who ponynapped my friends,” Rainbow said, “They won’t think to look for me here?”

Caligo grumbled something under his breath.

“The inlanders do not rear their heads past my gates,” Caligo said.

“That’s true,” Gump said, “And for good reason. Every creature’s heard about the mad warlock of Chaos Keep, who steals away children to torture and test upon.”

Caligo guffawed.

“Mad warlock, hm?…What nonsense. The inlanders invent these stories to distract from worse monsters who dwell in their very midst, and fools like you are too blind to see it,” he said, before laughing to himself, “Yes, blind. All of them….You, Miss Lightning Dust, tell me how you came to my island.”

“You don’t have the slightest idea?” Rainbow asked, skeptically.

Caligo’s glare hardened.

“Ponies wash up on my shores every now and then. Most are already dead,” Caligo said, “I expect you flew too close to the storm.”

“You expect right,” Rainbow said, grimly, “There were others with me. What are the odds they made it to land, too?”

“Slim,” Caligo said, “But stranger things have happened, and these are strange times already.”

“I had no idea there was an entire island hidden away past that storm,” Rainbow said, between bites of bread, “It’s not on any map.”

“What? Of course you knew-ow,” Gump attempted, before Rainbow jabbed him in the side.

“Where are we, exactly?” Rainbow asked, glancing up at Caligo.

Caligo stared at her, blankly. He glanced at Gump.

“Could your imp companion not tell you his own history?” Caligo laughed, “Fair enough, he is only a young thing. Who better than I to recall how this place came to be? I was there after all. I watched this island be raised up from the sea, and I watched the storm gather around it, sealing us away for eternity.

“Centuries ago, the first alicorn king, Arcturus, made it his mission to rid Equestria of all monsters. He gathered every wicked creature he could find and banished them here, to this island, what we call Pandemonium,” Caligo said.

“You’ve been here for centuries?” Rainbow said.

“My species do not age like you ponies do,” Caligo said, “In ancient times my race was widespread, but after countless wars, we were whittled down to those that remain on this island still. I am one of the Leliurium, the greatest of our race, the Children of the Night. Your imp friend here is a relative of my kind, slower and weaker and sooner to die of old age.”

“Only the age part is true,” Gump said, defensively.

“We were kept from escaping the island by an unbreakable spell, cast by Arcturus himself. Even if a creature manages to break through the seal, if he should not return in three days’ time, he will surely die,” Caligo explained, “Now that you have crossed the seal, I regret to inform you that the same result will befall you as well. You are trapped here like the rest of us.”

“So no one’s ever escaped?” Rainbow asked.

“Some have, but always at a terrible cost,” Caligo said, “The centaur lord, Tirek, and the gargoyle, Scorpan, both escaped and survived. But to live freely in the real world, they required a constant supply of magic to withstand the effects of the spell, which kept them weak and starving. Scorpan returned here after some time. He could not live such a life, one where he could only survive by draining the magic from other living beings.”

“Tirek,” Rainbow whispered, horrified to think of what other monsters dwelled on this island.

“So I just have to find a way to break the spell and then I can get out of here,” Rainbow said, deciding on the plan on the spot.

Caligo only laughed.

“For centuries, generations of creatures have sought the same thing. I am sorry, but no, it cannot be done. Our fate was sealed long ago. This is where we belong,” Caligo said. He returned to his bottle of rum, and began muttering under his breath.

He took another swig of his cup.

“Feed yourselves, and rest. You may stay as long as you like. You’re safer here than anywhere else on this cursed island, trust in that,” Caligo said, before stumbling off to fetch more rum for himself.

When he was gone, Rainbow and Zuki glanced at one another.

“I hope he’s a liar as well as a crazy drunk, otherwise I’m kinda screwed,” Rainbow said.

“He speaks the truth,” Zuki sighed, “But it’s not so bad, trapped on this island. It only takes a few thousand years to get used to it.”

“I’m sure there’s a way out of here,” Rainbow insisted, “First I have to find Lightning. And the boys. And Scootaloo. Your friend Caligo is gonna help me, I’ve just got to convince him somehow.”

Gump coughed, aggressively, to Rainbow’s annoyance.

“Yes, Gump?” Rainbow said.

“Oh, nothing,” Gump sighed.

“Go on, Gump,” Rainbow said, irritated.

“Don’t believe his lies!” Gump hissed, “You’re not safe here, and neither am I. This creature has been living up here for years. He’s completely insane, and powerful, too. We need to leave.”

“He’s old. Like, centuries old, apparently,” Rainbow recalled, “He seems harmless to me.”

Gump was dumbfounded, though Rainbow seemed to be affected by his warnings.

“He’s letting us stay here instead of throwing us out to get eaten by who-knows-what. How bad can he be?” Rainbow reminded, before grabbing another roll off the table.

It’s too hot.

The forest grew denser along the southern stretch of the island. Mosquitos warded the mangroves. For half-an-hour the pair splashed, prodded and stumbled through one claustrophobic tangle of vegetation after another; Rocket’s foreleg was shaking with fatigue from chopping vines and tree branches with his sharp piece of scrap metal, but he drove doggedly on, climbing up out of the pools he blundered into and forcing himself to breathe in the harsh, humid air.

Scootaloo scampered along behind. With the setting sun, the fungus heads had begun sneezing, and a grainy powder of spores puffed out from their mouths, like a cloud of pollen.

The sense of a vast, invisible presence was intensifying, and Rocket could feel something bending down out of the sky above them, glaring at these Equestrian intruders with alien outrage.

To the tune of croaking toads and cicada songs, Scootaloo and Rocket continued toward an inlet that fed into the sea. The inlet was the mouth of a narrow, warm-water river that was so clear Scootaloo could see it was teeming with fish, crustaceans, and huge aquatic insects with claws and clicking mandibles.

The river was only about ten yards wide and five feet deep at its deepest point. Wading through the water, she was relieved to find it a cool source of refreshment, as the afternoon sun beat down on them.

They continued on over a log to cross another wide river, and they came to a larger creek clearing on the other side, surrounded by trees and wild vegetation; the river descended down a pebble shore that fed into the forest once again.

Sticking his scrap metal into a tree for a moment, Rocket knelt down to open up his bag, recovering some of his flammable jelly that he had been saving for a fire. But even in the afternoon, beneath the shady canopy it seemed closer to nighttime, and he thought it wise to carry a torch with them before continuing.

“It might attract something,” Scootaloo warned.

“It might scare something away,” Rocket countered, proceeding to rub the jelly on a thick stick, before setting it alight using flint and steel. He might have miscalculated his measurements, however, when after a moment a thick eruption of smoke billowed up and nearly blinded him as he recovered his scrap metal; but when the smoke disappeared up into the canopy, the forest shook with a low roar - a boot-shaking, wrathful rumbling, uttered with undeniable fury, and, just as clearly, having emanated from no organic throat.

Rocket glanced at Scootaloo, who had a concerned look on her face.

“Alright, no fire then,” Rocket said, promptly dousing the torch in the river water.

Rocket glanced at the web of vegetation in front of them, and was the first to notice by a second or two that the vines and branches were moving - twisting - in the still, stagnant air.

Rocket stuck a hoof in front of Scootaloo, planting himself between her and the vines, which had begun to weave away from the wood in their direction.

Gritting his teeth, Rocket lunged forward to heave his scrap metal blade against the vines, slicing the tentacle-like creature in half. Its severed remnant began flopping on the forest floor like a fish out of water, wriggling restlessly for something to snag. Rocket bent down to inspect the vicious tendril, as close as he could without sticking himself in its reach. He noticed small hook-like feelers etched along the vine’s exterior, razor-sharp and miniscule.

“The tracks stop at the river,” Scootaloo realized, having scanned the area for where the hoofprints picked up again, only to find nothing, “...What do we do?”

Rocket glanced around, scratching at his head.

“She can’t be far,” Rocket said, confidently.

“I hope so. I’d rather not spend the night this deep in the woods,” Scootaloo said.

“Lightning!’ Rocket yelled, abruptly, calling out into the jungle. .

“Yelling might not be a good idea,” Scootaloo warned.

“Lightning Dust!” Rocket continued.

“How many Lightnings do you think are on this island?” Scootaloo muttered.

“Lightni-!” Rocket tried once more, before both of them took notice of a rustling in the brush to their right.

Rocket rose up to his hooves, as Scootaloo stood beside him, petrified.

Ahead down the river, the brush was ripped apart by the emergence of great hulking beasts, elephants, Scootaloo quickly realized. Only, they were slightly smaller versions of common elephants, each about as big as a small carriage. There were at least six in all, wading across the creekbed just ahead of them. The creatures each had a rotund body and huge heads, massive ears, and distinct, long trunks. Two of the six appeared to be toddlers, who waddled by on thick blubbery legs, struggling to keep up with their elders. Rocket lowered his guard, realizing the herd was a family of some kind. The beasts each gave a low trumpet as they crossed the creek, crushing the saplings that got in their way underneath their mighty weight.

Scootaloo’s mouth was agape, marveling at the majesty of the titanic terrors that paid them no notice as they moseyed on by.

Scootaloo went alert when she felt a cloud of hot breath of another creature catch her by surprise from behind; she spun to see another of the beasts storm by right behind her and Rocket, swatting its trunk at its neck to relieve itself from a pesky swarm of insects.

“Don’t even think about keeping one as a pet.”

Rocket froze when he heard the voice from behind him. He turned to find Lightning Dust standing on the log they had crossed over, smirking down at him. She was wearing a yellow dress, something from the Elizabethan era, a bundle of soft silks and petticoats stained with dirt and grass. And, to Rocket’s annoyance, Dire Strait was beside her, clad in his silver armor and brown buckles.

“Lightning Dust!” Scootaloo exclaimed. Lightning had to stop herself from smiling. Dire had set his helmet aside in an aura of magic to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Scootaloo had never seen him without his helmet on, and was taken aback, having expected something far worse given Rocket’s many derogatory remarks.

Dire had a slightly larger build than Rocket, and a sharp jaw, shadowed by stubble. He wore a coat of white and a pair of grey eyes. He had shaved off his mane, though a thin lair of grey stubble remained. He is face was gleaming with sweat, which Scootaloo had expected; he must have been cooking alive in that polished suit of silver armor. Scootaloo only looked away when he noticed her staring at him.

“Dusty. Soldier boy. Fancy finding you out here,” Rocket said, “We’ve been searching all over. You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Worry about yourself,” Lightning said, “You’re bleeding.”

Scootaloo glanced at Rocket, whose sides had been slashed by the edges of the crab’s claws.

“I’ll be fine,” Rocket assured. He glanced down at Scootaloo, and suddenly his memory returned. “Where'd you find that fabulous thing? You're almost making this trip worth all the trouble."

Lightning rolled her eyes and crossed her hind legs, though had to hide her smile. Dire, meanwhile, glared at Rocket with contempt.

"Thanks for keeping her safe," Lightning said, ignoring the compliment, glancing at Scootaloo.

"Have you seen Rainbow?" Scootaloo asked.

“Nope,” Lightning sighed, “We’ll keep looking. If she doesn’t turn up, then we’ve got to go on without her.”

"What?” Scootaloo exclaimed, "No we are not. We're not going anywhere until we find her!"

“We’re losing the light," Lightning said, "We need to find somewhere to hunker down for the night. I have a feeling this place gets even uglier when the sun sets."

“She’s right. We don’t know what’s out here,” Dire said.

“You’re paranoid,” Rocket said, waving him off, “The locals don’t scare me. That face of yours does, though, Dire, for Luna’s sake put that helmet back on.”

“You’re welcome to swim home, if you’d prefer,” Dire said, glancing at the river, “I’m confident Lightning wouldn’t mind.”

“Oh, please. She might have spent a summer knocking boots with her knight in lackluster-armor, but I was on her mind the whole time, don’t even try to deny it,” Rocket said.

“I’m right here,” Lightning grunted, planting her face in her hoof.

“She brought you up from time to time,” Dire admitted, “Usually in the form of I can’t stand him.”

“It was me she came to when she needed help.”

“She needed your ship, not you,” Dire corrected.

“A ship’s only worth as much as its captain,” Rocket countered.

Dire glanced around at Rocket’s piece of scrap metal, the last remnant of the ship, while Rocket growled something under his breath and took a step forward. Lightning jumped between them, however, shoving them away from one another.

“For the record, I can’t stand either of you. We have to work together to save all those ponies, so that means you two need to stop bickering like an elderly couple,” Lightning said, “We should probably get away from the water, too, and find somewhere to make camp. From now on, you two do as I say, got it?”

“Why are you the one calling the shots?” Rocket laughed, “How many times has that team of yours broken up again? Some captain you turned out to be, Dusty. The only place you’ll lead us to is an early grave. I know you get off playing ding-dong-ditch on death’s doorstep, but I’ve got to take care of myself.”

“That’s all you’ve ever done,” Lightning snapped, “Go on, see how far you get without me holding your hoof like always, Rocket.”

“We wouldn’t be here if you had listened to Spike’s orders and stayed put on Messara,” Dire reminded.

“Oh, don’t you start too, Dire, y’know you really oughta-” Lighting began, before she froze, when she felt the first drop of some sticky liquid splash onto her forehead. She reached for the slime, grimacing as she retrieved a string of sticky green goop. She felt her heart skip a beat, as her head began tilting back. She glanced up just in time for another drop to land right in her eyes, though she had gotten enough of a glimpse to know to start screaming. The creature’s gaping maw was hovering right above her, hanging from the trees, drooling liters of thick green mucus all over Lightning’s shoulders and face. Before she could take flight, the worm released its grip on the tree branches above, colliding down towards the log Lightning was standing on. Its mouth enveloped Lightning’s entire head, landing with a wet smack, silencing her before her scream could reach the others’ ears.

Scootaloo shrieked, as the worm’s body fell down over the log and into the creek below, wrapping around the base of the log to steady itself.

“Lightning!” Scootaloo yelled; the worm was already down to Lightning’s neck. Lightning flailed her wings and legs, screaming bloody murder as she helplessly struggled against the worm’s strength.

“Lightning, hold on, I’ll-” Dire attempted, leaping towards her to rush over to help.
He did not make it far, before the worm whipped its tail around to smack him across the face.

He fell into the creek below with a splash, and stood above the four-foot depth.

In the corner of his eye he saw more movement in the creek - something no larger than his hoof, but quick, and green like the color of the water. Whatever it was, it was quick, propelling itself out of the water with open jaws, aiming itself straight for Dire’s snout. But Dire was quicker, swatting the bite-acuda with his hoof, sending it flying over to Rocket. The fish landed right on Rocket’s foreleg, chomping down on his flesh. Rocket growled in pain, while Dire turned his attention down to the creek, which began to churn with more and more ravenous fish.

Above him, the worm had looped itself around the log some more, strengthening its grip as it began to lift up into the air, using gravity to help ingest Lightning’s squirming form.

Lightning glanced up through the tunnel of the worm’s gut, which was a spasming pink blotchy hell. She used her forelegs to try and grab and tear at the beast, though the creature wouldn’t budge. The worm shook Lightning back and forth, disorienting her. All Lightning could see was the slimy red walls of the worm’s body, covered in grey sores and green growths. She was drenched in its vile mucus, which made it easier for her to slip down into the creature’s stomach.

Dire, meanwhile, was dodging more of the bite-acuda that came leaping out from the river. Ferocious little beasts, they had scales of green and pairs of miniature dragon wings, and of course full rows of knife-like teeth. They came in bursts at first, before they began to surround him, swarming together and turning the river into a frantic frenzy of foam. Dire fired his horn and kicked them away, all while wincing and yelling in pain with each bite and scratch. His armor was riddled with bite marks.

Rocket, meanwhile, was trying his best to pull the bite-acuda off his leg. The little beast’s bite was so deep he thought he’d lose an entire chunk of flesh if he wasn’t careful. But the fish refused to let go, even as Rocket began smashing it with a rock he found nearby in the grass.

Dire tried to continue making his way toward Lightning, who was still squirming as the worm stretched its mouth over her wide hips. The worm yanked up at her body, preventing her from sliding down out of its mouth. The worm spasmed again, reaching to her hind knees as she continued kicking futilely. Even as Lightning kicked and fought, the worm showed no mercy, engulfing her all the way down to her hind ankles. It spat up more and more of its mucus, lathering up her body. The warmth of the flesh was disgusting, and the smell was even worse. Lightning gritted her teeth as the pressure overcame her. Get this fucking thing off me!

The worm raised her body up horizontally, before slurping up the remaining portion of her wiggling hooves, slamming its mouth closed around her body, now fully consumed. Lightning squirmed inside, the flesh unbearably tight. She screamed, louder than she ever had before, as she encountered true terror, the threat of no escape.

“Lightning!” Dire yelled again, horrified to find that Lightning had disappeared completely up the worm’s gut.

The river had turned red as the bite-acuda ravaged Dire Strait, who was still struggling to reach the opposite shore. He had begun to stumble and stagger in the water, as more of the bite-acuda found vulnerable spots in his armor, flaying him alive as he desperately trudged on towards the log.

He had lost so much blood he thought he might have fainted right into the river. But before he could, the bite-acuda suddenly began to retreat back upstream. Above, the worm began to groan and grumble, and its body began to convulse upon itself. Before Dire could register what the creature was doing, he watched as Lightning emerged from its maw in a huge splash of green slime, landing in the creek, gasping for breath. The worm’s breath was ragged after vomiting up its lunch, and it scurried away back into the brush. The light behind them began to wither away, just as Lightning sat up to spit out all the stomach acid she had been forced to ingest, and rub at her eyes, which stung like mad.

Rocket, who had smashed the fish on his leg into pulp, rushed to Lightning’s side, along with Scootaloo, who had been cowering behind a rock the whole while, having worked up the courage to help just as the wildlife had all fled.

“You’re alive!” Dire exclaimed, holding up Lightning and helping her to breathe better.

“....If….you ever….say a word about that to anypony, I’ll-....” Lightning warned, before she followed Dire’s gaze up back down the creek, in the direction of the sea.

Dire practically dropped Lightning into the creek, before rising to his hooves and readying himself for another confrontation.

Rocket noticed the water begin to ripple further ahead where the creek was deeper, and he quickly grabbed Scootaloo and stuck her on his back.

Lightning recognized that shadow from ahead, and glanced at Dire, who stood where he was. Lightning shook her head in disbelief. He was the bravest pony she knew. That, or the dumbest. They often coincided, she thought.

“Out of the water,” Lightning said, grunting as she pulled herself to her hooves, “Dire! C’mon.”

Lightning dragged Dire by his hoof back to shore.

Rocket rushed over to embrace Lightning as soon as they reached each other. Scootaloo glanced up at the sky, awkwardly, still sitting on Rocket’s back.

Dire joined them, gasping for breath as she struggled out from the water.

“We need to go now,” Lightning advised.

The ripples in the water grew in strength ahead, and Scootaloo’s eyes widened, as she caught sight of some beastly tendrils poking out from the river.

“It can’t follow us in water this shallow,” Dire said.

“Apparently it can,” Lightning said, realizing that giant squid beast was following her, “Rainbow might have looked for a freshwater river too. We should follow it, but keep away from the shore, or else that thing will grab you.”

“Yes ma’am,” Scootaloo replied, too terrified to do anything but obey.

Rocket sighed.

“Alright, we’ll do it your way. Oh, and by the way, I’m charging you triple what we agreed to.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself” Lightning said, “If we don’t find the others soon and get off this island, you won’t be around to spend it.”

Rainbow Dash returned to the feast to find Gump chatting with Nimbla the mouse, who was in the middle of instructing him on some advanced fencing techniques.

“Miss pegasus,” Nimbla said, bowing when Rainbow arrived, “Master Caligo has taken a liking to you. This is a rare thing, you must know. He has never been fond of ponies.”

“I’m grateful for his hospitality,” Rainbow said. Nimbla smiled and left her with Gump, who downed his third cup of wine.

“Be careful here,” Gump advised, “All the creatures of the island are wary of Caligo. It is said that the hermit was driven mad after staring into the sun too long. Or was it gazing into a cracked seeing stone? I cannot remember. The point is, he’s completely insane.”

“Completely insane to you and your little horned friends might just mean totally normal to me,” Rainbow hoped.

Gump grumbled something under his breath.

Rainbow sat beside Caligo near his seat at the head of the dinner table, for the concluding course of the feast.

“Tell me, pegasus, why did you come to Pandemonium?” Caligo asked.

“In peace,” Rainbow replied.

“I said why, not how,” Caligo replied, “...You said you were not alone. Altogether, how many ponies came with you?”

“Enough,” Rainbow said, curtly.

“And you say you are no threat to us,” Caligo said, “You say you washed up here purely by chance.”

“If you were telling the truth about that curse, then it was bad luck that brought us here, not just chance,” Rainbow said.

“You are more correct than you know, Rainbow Dash,” he growled, “Yes, I know who you are. I am not so easily tricked, pegasus. Know that those who come to me in deceit will remain in death.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened, and she felt her grip on the chalice go limp.

“I know you’ve come for your friends,” Caligo said, “And I know too that if you cannot save them by bargaining, then you plan to steal them. But the Queen will never part with them, pegasus.”

Caligo glared at Zuki, before rising up from his seat, taking a few steps forward into the hall.

“We can no longer welcome or entertain you,” he roared, loud enough to silence the entire hall, “Bear witness! The Element of Loyalty. The final part of the Queen’s plan.”

Chaos filled the keep then; creatures were jumping to their hooves, drawing weapons and yelling all at once.

Rainbow planted herself in front of Gump, who felt his teeth chattering in terror.

“She’s supposed to be dead,” came Twitch.

“No matter. She will be soon,” barked Nimbla the little mouse.

“Put away your blades,” Caligo spat, “She is mine to deal with.”

“You’re going to turn me in?” Rainbow asked, gulping.

Caligo’s eyes darted back and forth, and his wrath began to weaken.

“No,” Caligo said, “...I have foreseen what fate should befall us if the Queen successfully breaks the spell. Arcturus spared no expense in exacting his twisted justice. Even if his spell is ever broken, then the island will sink into the sea, along with all its inhabitants. Tens of thousands of creatures will die, all in a vain attempt at defying fate. If the Queen captures you, she will kill you and all your friends, along with all of the monsters that call this island their home. If she wins, everyone loses. I will not let that happen.”

Rainbow smiled, relieved, until she noticed the fury in Caligo’s eyes.

“My friends, where is she keeping them all?” Rainbow asked.

“In the Citadel, I expect, at the center of the island,” Caligo said, “To get there, you would have to travel through the mountains, and then the Haunted Forest, and finally through the City of Dis. Perhaps your companions will find the way there, but you will not join them.”

Rainbow shifted her footing, uneasily.

“Why not?” Rainbow asked, hesitantly.

Caligo sighed.

“Each and every pony that washes up on this island always meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They stay here in my hall. They leave to go scour the island for treasure, for glory, for escape. Then they die.”

“I can’t just stay here and do nothing while my friends are in trouble,” Rainbow said, glancing at Gump, who began putting space between her and Caligo, who set his mug of rum down on the table.

“Listen to me, little pony,” Caligo growled, “If you leave this place, they…Nyx will kill you. I am protecting you, don’t you understand? You cannot defeat her, and once she has you….everything and everyone will be lost. As long as you stay here where it’s safe, Nyx can’t complete the ritual. Now, go back to your chambers. I will not ask again.”

“You can’t keep me here as a prisoner,” Rainbow said.

“We are all prisoners here,” Caligo growled, rising to his hooves, “Soon the way will be shut. Do not stand in my way, little pony. This is your final warning.”

Rainbow glanced at Gump, who was quivering in the dark. Rainbow glanced back at Caligo with a furrowed brow.

“If you go out there, you will be the death of us. All of us. Pony and monster alike,” Caligo said.

“Only if I lose,” Rainbow said.

Caligo seemed distraught at Rainbow’s decision, and he set his cloak down on the table. He revealed a pair of great huge red wings that batted a gust of wind down upon them.

“You want to leave so badly?” he asked, drunkenly slurring his words, “You are just like all the others. I am saving your life, and your friends’ lives, but like all the ponies your hubris and your stubbornness has taken your better. You think you have what it takes to survive the island? Prove it then, Rainbow Dash.”

She glimpsed the flash of light before the air was set on fire, and that flaming fist of red magic came darting across the dinner table.

Rainbow took flight just in time to launch herself up into the air; the fires singed her feathers, as she looped around in the air and landed down on the tablecloth. She kicked one of the dinner plates up in the air, catching it with her wing and spinning around to toss it straight towards Caligo’s face.

Caligo’s horn glowed brighter, and the plate burst into a frenzy of porcelain pieces, most of which landed in the Talking Flowers’ pot.

Another torrent of red magic erupted from his horn before Rainbow had a chance to fling anything else. She tumbled off the table onto the ground, and heard the impact of the blast create a crater in the brick behind her. One of the tapestries had fallen off its golden rail.

“It’s just like you said, he’s out of practice,” sighed Twitch.

“Fool. He’s drunk,” Nimbla snapped.

Rainbow glanced away from the bickering pair and saw the mouse might have been correct; Caligo could hardly keep himself upright after that last blast, teetering away from the table with a deep grunt.

“We don’t have to fight,” Rainbow said, “I just want my friends back.”

“Your friends are dead already,” Caligo growled, “I see you’re eager to join them.”

Rainbow caught her breath, before she had to dodge another blast of fire that shattered a marble bust behind her near the fireplace.

The pain in her chest had returned, she realized. She almost lost her balance as her knees had begun to weaken, and no matter how many deep breaths she took she was still straining for air. He’s faster than I thought.

Caligo’s horn sliced through a painting hung up on the wall, its remains toppling down onto the carpet of the library nook.

“Sloppily done, Master Caligo,” complained Twitch.

“Quiet, rabbit,” grumbled Caligo, who was staggering towards where Rainbow had retreated to, back around the dinner table near where Gump was cowering.

“I know a way out,” Rainbow said, “I’m taking you with me.”

“The sun’s about to set,” Gump reminded, “We can’t go out there, the j-j-jungle, it’s a d-d-death trap.”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I think we’ve worn out our welcome. So are you coming or not?”

Rainbow saw the shadow of the table slip away before she could turn to see the entire dinner table was hovering in the air. Caligo stood on the opposite side, a grizzly silhouette against the fireplace. His horn glowed red like his eyes did, and his cloak was billowing in the stormwind that had crept in from outside.

“If you insist,” Gump squeaked.

Rainbow picked up Gump and took flight just as the dinner table came crashing back down towards them. The table split into a splintery barrage of wood, silverware, and torn tablecloth, after an ear-splitting crash that sent most of the creatures in the hall running for cover. Only the brave little mouse Nimbla remained as she was, hopping along after Rainbow with her sword stuck between her teeth.

“Don’t let them escape!” Nimbla exclaimed, pursuing Rainbow and Gump out through the dining hall into one of the adjacent corridors.

Caligo sighed in exhaustion, as his horn began to dim. His face darkened after catching wind of Zuki’s chuckling.

“She’s quick for a pony,” Zuki admitted.

“She’ll be dead all the same,” Caligo retorted, before storming off towards where the others had disappeared.

While Gump was screaming his lungs out in her arms, Rainbow darted across the labyrinth of Chaos Keep, desperately searching for a familiar cavern.

She eventually located the chamber she had been to prior, and sprinted towards the secret library passage that snuck behind the wall of the rock.

“We’re dead. We’re dead!” Gump screeched.

“Not yet,” Rainbow assured, carrying him through the dark tunnel and out into the larger cavern, where the underground river rushed along below.

Gump’s eyes widened at the sight below.

“A submersible!” Gump exclaimed.

“Can you pilot it?” Rainbow asked, “Please say yes.”

Gump was sweating buckets.

“Gump!”

“I can try,” Gump said, gulping.

“Get in there and get it going, hurry! I’ll hold them off,” Rainbow said, practically shoving Gump down the dirt path that led below to the dock.

Just as she turned her head, he was upon her.

She felt the ground give out from beneath her, slipping backwards with her hooves up in the air. She landed right on her right wing, with an excruciating crunch.

Shrieking in pain, Rainbow had no time to inspect her newest injury before tumbling over to her stomach to dodge the next strike.

She scrambled up to her hooves, wiping the blood from her nose, as Caligo studied her from a few yards away.

“You have courage, pegasus,” Caligo acknowledged, “Tell me, did you really come here to save all those ponies? … Or was this effort all to prove something to yourself? That you’re some kind of hero? Is that it?”

Caligo’s laughter unsettled her, as she took a step backwards towards the edge of the cliff. Below, she could hear Gump had swung open the hatch to the ship, scrambling inside to find the cockpit.

“You are no hero. You’re weak,” Caligo growled, “Just like all the ponies. It was treachery and deception that trapped us here, not strength, not courage.”

“I don’t want to hurt any creature,” Rainbow said, through rasped breaths, “It was your Queen who started this, by ponynapping all my friends.”

“They are beyond your reach. All you will accomplish by going is giving the Queen exactly what she wants,” Caligo spat.

“I’m not afraid,” Rainbow insisted.

“You should be. The Queen will stop at nothing to catch you once she discovers you’re here. She will send every monster she has at her disposal,” Caligo said, “You think you can withstand her? I should put you out of your misery right now. It would be a kinder end than what the Queen has planned for you.”

Rainbow dug her hooves into the dirt.

“Come and try it,” Rainbow warned.

Caligo’s eyes seemed to glow brighter, and he rushed towards her.

But Rainbow was quicker, darting down low to trip him by his forelegs. In the same motion, she snagged a rock with her left wing and swung back around, clocking Caligo in the back of his skull.

Thrown off balance, Caligo spun around to blast Rainbow through the head. Rainbow launched herself backwards off the edge of the cliff, catching the edge of the blast right against her cheek, scalding her flesh bright pink.

Below, Rainbow glided down to the ship, landing against the black steel with a smack.

She glanced back up, expecting him to follow after her, but he remained where she was.

Rainbow forced herself up to her hooves.

“Gump! Anytime now!”

“I’m….trying!” Gump replied; she watched him fiddling with the control below in the glass of the cockpit. She heard the engine come alive not long after, and glanced back up at Caligo up on the cliff.

Rainbow almost fell off the slick edge of the submersible, when out of the corner of her eye she realized Zuki had appeared beside her.

“He will not follow,” Zuki assured, “He fears the jungle. Though I would not dawdle. If you get him irate enough there is nothing that can stop him.”

“Peril awaits you, pegasus,” Caligo said. “This island will be the death of you, when all manner of monsters rouses with the setting sun.”

“I never said thanks for dinner,” Rainbow smirked, “I’d say it’s been lovely, but…”

“You must stop her,” Caligo gasped, “Nyx. You must stop Nyx, before she claims your soul and completes the ritual. It’s your soul she needs, your blood. All of us will die if she succeeds. And should any monsters survive, your friends in Equestria will never know peace again. But…. please, do not think of her as so wicked. There is good in her. There is good in her. I know it.”

Rainbow darted back down into the submersible hatch, and found Gump in the cockpit.

“You did it!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Must hurry,” Gump said, “Bad to be in water. Never the water…”

“That could’ve gone better,” came Zuki, who had appeared behind Rainbow abruptly.

“You told him who I was!” Rainbow yelled, enraged.

“I did no such thing. He could sense your thoughts, I expect,” Zuki said, “You are bolder than I anticipated, Rainbow Dash. You amuse me, as well, so I will help you. But only three times. Simply say my name and make your request, and I will offer you guidance.”

“Why should I trust you?” Rainbow demanded.

Zuki giggled.

“You will not find many friends on this island, my dear. Use me, I beg you, and you might prevail where countless others have not,” Zuki said.

“We’ll see,” Rainbow said, skeptically. Zuki smirked, and disappeared in a cloud of pink smoke, leaving Rainbow to watch Gump struggle with the steering. Rainbow crouched down beside him, peering out the cockpit window as the ship began to submerge underwater.

“Let's get the hell out of here."

To Rainbow Dash’s right lay the vast swamp that penetrated the jungle - a region where land and water blurred into each other, where snakes swam in the pools and fish crawled along the banks, where the very arrangement of channels and wooded islands would, like a diabolically animate maze, change. This land was unnavigable, Rainbow thought, if anypony were to try.

Gump had advised they ditch the submersible as quickly as possible. He seemed terrified of water, a phobia of which Rainbow found bizarre, yet she acquiesced to his demands. He knew this island better than she ever could, she reminded herself. They left the ship in the river once Gump thought they were suitably far enough from Chaos Keep.

Aside from Caligo’s castle, she had encountered no other signs of intelligent life. The jungle was just as Gump said, an unruly, savage place, where only the strongest and the smartest could endure for long. The still air became stagnant like still water, so miasmally thick that large, crawling insects could manage the otherwise-impossible task of flight. Deeper in the marsh she saw emissions of phosphorescence that lifted beyond the wispy surface of the fog and bounced about cypress branches and dangling masses of moss, and then, just as slowly, returned to the river, where the glow turned too nebulous and faded away.

“Keep up,” Rainbow chided, noticing Gump beginning to lag behind.

“Not all of us are professional athletes,” Gump growled between gasps for breath, “We shouldn’t be down here, anyway. This is a bad way to go.”

“How’s that?” Rainbow asked.

“Mustn’t go near the water!” Gump hissed, pointing at the swamp and the creekbed nearby, “Never in the water. Creatures are drawn to it - creatures that would be glad to make a meal out of you. Cragadiles…spitslugs….eels…No shortage of wicked things dwell in the woods. It’d be smart to go back to the shore, pegasus.”

“The others might have gathered near a river, to have access to water,” Rainbow said, “Don’t drag your hooves. We’re not stopping until we find Scootaloo and the others.”

“Of course. What do I know? It’s not like I’ve lived on this rock my entire life,” Gump mumbled.

The first wild creatures they came upon were a pair of giant birds, as large as a full-grown pony, each with purple feathers, long ostrich-like legs, and a crest atop their heads.

“They look friendly. They are friendly…right?” Rainbow asked.

“As friendly as things get around here,” Gump said, putting Rainbow at ease, “They’re anzu birds. We use them as beasts of burden. Powerful beasts. Ugly to look at, though.”

“Aw, don’t say that. They’re actually kind of cute, sort of,” Rainbow said, admiring the squawking beasts as they grazed on ground-bound seeds and slurped up mouthfuls of puddle water, “Fluttershy would love this.”

“Flutter-shy … the element of kindness?” Gump recalled from his pre-mission prep, “...Er, tell me, pegasus, what is this kindness?”

Rainbow laughed and glanced at him, while Gump’s frown hardened.

“Oh, you’re serious?” Rainbow said, “Um, kindness. It’s like, y’know, being nice to creatures. Being there for your friends, through thick and thin.”

Gump rubbed his chin.

“What if the creature is a rank below me? I owe them nothing,” Gump said, confused.

“It’s just a general thing, like treating every creature with basic respect and politeness. You could learn a thing or two about that, Gump,” Rainbow said.

Gump spat at the ground.

“Friendship is the way of the ponies,” Gump scowled, spitting at the ground again, “Here, a creature only gets what he earns. He is given nothing, and no one owes anyone else a thing. That’s our way.”

“No wonder you’re so miserable,” Rainbow said.

“Wha-? I am not - …. Listen to me, idiot pegasus,” Gump growled, “You’ll never find your foolish friends. If they were lucky they drowned. Otherwise they’ve been ground to bloody bits, rotting in the belly of some monster. You’ll end up the same, no doubt about that.”

“You’d think surviving that crash would have made you a bit more optimistic, Gump.”

Rainbow felt her heart skip a beat, turning to find Lightning Dust standing on the ridge above them. And she was not alone - Rocket and Dire were with her, and….Scootaloo!

“Scootaloo!” Rainbow exclaimed, darting up to reunite with the squealing filly.

Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs tightly around Rainbow, who was laughing in relief.

“Looks like you’ve had a rough time all on your own,” Lightning smirked.

“Speak for yourself. You’ve got slime in your mane,” Rainbow said, bluntly.

“I do?” Lightning said, her smirk falling off her face as she felt around her mane for any of the worm’s residue.

Storms were gathering overhead, and the air was warm and humid. Rainfall was imminent, as the sun finally slipped out of the sky, and faint glimmers of faraway stars began to shimmer in the sky.

Lightning led Rainbow and Gump to the cave her group had found earlier, where a fire had been left to ward off any predators. Rocket and Dire had already spent an hour or two inspecting the caverns inside, and found no sign of life, sentient or not.

They had found evidence of former occupants, however. A firepit in the dirt, some maps carved into the rock, and dusty bags of supplies. And, strangest of all, a guitarrita, still intact, left near the stones of the pit.

Lightning shared her bounty of berries and leaves with Rainbow, who insisted that they save the food for themselves, as she was still full after Caligo’s feast. The six of them sat around the fire, anxiously, as the sounds of shrieking beasts and crooning creatures in the wilderness beyond kept them alert.

Rocket plucked at the guitarrita, serenading Lightning who pretended not to enjoy it. He actually knew how to play, to some extent.

“Just don’t start singing,” Lightning warned.

“Now that you mention it...” Rocket laughed.

They had locked eyes for a few moments, and Lightning quickly turned away, curling herself up by the fire. Her flightsuit was hung up by the fire, drying off, and Lightning had climbed out of the golden dress the pirates had given her. Rocket had insisted on holding onto it. Lightning watched him play the instrument, and after minutes of no talking he finally opened his mouth.

“...I’m sorry I called you a lousy captain,” Rocket said, his smile fading as Lightning eyed him and sat up a bit, as Rocket continued. “I didn’t mean it. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you're right. I am a lousy captain," Lightning sighed. From nearby, Rainbow's ears perked up.

"Who else would let their entire team get ponynapped?" Lightning groaned, "I...I'm not the pony who should be doing this. I'm a fuck-up. Everypony knows it."

Lightning glared at Rainbow, whose eyes fell to the ground.

"Hey, whoa, only I get to talk that way about you," Rocket said, stopping his plucking, "There was nothing you could've done back there on that island, Dusty. A lousy captain wouldn't have come all the way out here to rescue them, that's for sure. We're gonna rely on each other - that's how we're gonna survive, and that's how we're gonna get them all back. They need us, Dusty, so don't start the pity-party until this island finally kills us."

Lightning sighed, and wiped her eyes, exhausted.

"Thanks," she said, "...I'm...I'm glad you came with me."

“I thought you didn’t need any help,” Rocket said.

“I don’t!” Lightning insisted, blushing beet red, “But I-...You....Fuck, just shut up and play!"

Rocket smiled while Lightning hid her grin.

“As you command, Captain,” he said, resuming his strumming.

Rainbow sat herself down beside Lightning, who pulled herself away from staring at Rocket.

"Hey, it’s good to see you in one piece,” Rainbow said, glancing over at Lightning.

“Yeah, you too,” Lightning said, begrudgingly, “So? Any sign of our teammates?"

“I know where they are,” Rainbow replied, “But even if we do find them, we’ve got bigger problems.”

Rainbow took the time to inform them all of what she had learned from Caligo, of the curse and the Queen and the perils ahead.

“So that’s it? We’re trapped here forever?” Scootaloo asked.

“Unless we break the spell for good,” Rainbow said.

“And by doing so, release all these monsters out into the world?” Dire said, “We’d be bringing about the doom of Equestria!”

“There’s got to be a way to save our friends and get off the island,” Rainbow said.

“One problem at a time,” Lightning said, “How do we get to where they’ve stowed away everypony?”

“Into the mountains,” Rainbow said, recalling what Caligo had told her, “There might be creatures there who could help us, too.”

“Foolish pegasus,” chimed in Gump, “No island-dweller would ever betray the Queen.”

“Only because they live in fear,” Rainbow said, “Once we show them there’s another way, they might be willing to lend us a hoof.”

“Please, tell us of this other way you speak of,” Gump laughed.

“I don’t know, but I know that the Queen’s way isn’t right,” Rainbow said, “Even if it does work, hundreds of ponies will have been murdered to make it happen. Nothing could be worth that. We’ll do what we can. Together.”

Lightning winced at the utterance of together, but nodded her head, reluctantly on board.

“My orders were to -” Dire began.

“Forget about your orders,” Lightning said, “Are you with us or not?”

Dire glanced at Rocket, who was smiling with his eyes closed, picking at his instrument. Dire frowned.

“Well, I’m surely not going to leave you to roam this island with him,” Dire said.

Rocket laughed, but gave no reply. He seemed to be lost in another world then, and the only time he would look away from his music was to steal a glance from Lightning.

Rainbow Dash glanced over at the entrance of the cave as Scootaloo crawled over to rest her head on Rainbow’s shoulder.

Rainbow saw the snowy peaks of the mountains beyond. She took a great deep breath and narrowed her eyes. They would find them, she told herself, they would make this right. No matter what.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading!! Feedback always welcomed! With everyone being split up in this one the length got to be big, hopefully should cut it down in future chapters.

01: The Equestria Games

The light-bulb briefly blinked to life, before its pulse again began to fade and wither into oblivion. Its glass was half-shattered, dangling in the draft by the bathroom mirror.

She was alone in the dark, having sought out some much-needed isolation after a day’s work under the sun.

Lightning Dust pawed at her eyelids, inspecting her reflection before it disappeared with the light. She could still feel her flesh cooking, clad in her black spandex suit. The air was just as stuffy in here as it was outside, she realized, and her attempt at escaping the heat was all but in vain.

She sighed in exhaustion, yawning and reaching down for the tin flask in her duffel bag.

“Dang it,” she muttered, having forgotten she had drunk it dry that morning.

She had better not take too long, she reminded herself - the others were probably waiting for her.

There’s still more work to do.

Her legs were jittery, and she could hardly stand still while she went about washing her face and fixing the creases in her suit.

Part of her still thought this was all some elaborate prank.

But the others were well-convinced the letters were real. Invitation after invitation, each from the Equestrian Athletic Association. They were practically begging for a yes. A slot in the Equestria Games, the greatest sporting event in all Equestria.

Lightning scoffed. It was more of a joke, to think she needed the approval of some pompous, prissy executives, the same ones who had once turned a blind eye to her expulsion from the Wonderbolts all those years ago.

But the Washouts were all the rage nowadays, the closest thing to a rival the Wonderbolts had ever known.

And though Lightning may have been content to turn the Association down and keep some scrap of integrity, her teammates outnumbered her on the matter. The money happened to speak louder than she could ever have hoped to.

This year’s games would be held at Messara Island, a tropical ruin off the southwest shore of the mainland, baking in the summer sun. Ponies from all across Equestria had made the trip south for the games, including Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadence, and the now-retired princesses, Celestia and Luna.

With their newfound global popularity, the Washouts had welcomed some new teammates to round out a proper roster. They currently sat at nine, though if their newest prospect’s broken tailbone healed a bit sooner, that would make ten.

There had been pressure to sign new contracts, expand management, and sanitize their image, but the last thing Lightning wanted was for them to turn into a Wonderbolts 2.0.

At the end of the day, it was Lightning who had the final say on the team’s decisions, and she tried her best to not let that power go to her head.

It was a miracle the Washouts were still together at all; the team had developed a bad habit of infighting, an unavoidable consequence of ten supersized egos colliding with each other on a daily basis. After three break-ups and three reunions, the only thing that seemed to keep them united was contempt for the Wonderbolts.

It had been three years since the Washouts first started making waves, though Lightning still had trouble opening up too much to her teammates, even to Rolling Thunder and Short Fuse, the two closest ponies she could call friends.

Friends, Lightning thought to herself, rolling her eyes.

Friends just slow me down.

Still, she could not deny the begrudging affection she had for them, especially for the younger team members, who had half the skill and twice the arrogance.

Whether it was recklessness, anger issues, or ego, Lightning had an easy time understanding why her teammates were given the boot at the academy. But the way she saw it, anypony could be the best of the best - something the Wonderbolts seemed to never have understood.

This would be the team’s first-ever race against the Wonderbolts, and together they had helped draw the largest crowd in the Games’ history. Among those in attendance were her teammates’ families and friends from far and wide.

Lightning’s scowl hardened.

She tried not to think about her father, about what he would have done. There was no point in it.

But maybe, if he could see her somehow, he would know she had made it here, she had come all this way.

She bit her lips and crossed her hind legs, laughing at herself for wanting to cry.

She shook her head in frustration, wishing she could have earned him some more years, if only to bring him here today, if only for a single race. The best she could do was pretend.

There was a time when this was all she ever would have wanted, before the Wonderbolts closed the door to those dreams forever. She would never fly with them.

Perhaps flying against them was the next best thing.

She still remembered those smirking faces, and the rumors that she had drunk herself to death, or skipped town, or disappeared entirely. Blacklisting her from the Weather Factory, turning her friends against her, nothing was ever enough for them. Every time she thought she had found stability, the Wonderbolts reared their head in one way or another, eager to knock her back down.

She laughed to herself in disbelief.

Like they even think about me at all.

She had tried her best to forget it all, to leave the Wonderbolts as a thing of the past and focus her sights on a new future. But though she would never admit it, there was still a terrible anger inside her, a need for revenge.

She could have been so much more.

Maybe the others were right, she thought to herself, maybe these games won’t be a waste of time after all.

Time to show the world what I’ve got.

Old bandages came tumbling into a pile on the floor, where Rainbow Dash had a shaky grip on her back hind leg, stretching it forward in cruel contortions.

“Ow!”

Vapor Trail and Soarin had just arrived in the locker room. In unison, they came to an abrupt halt, when the rank scent of sweat and blood hit them head-on.

Rainbow glanced up at them from the bench, wiping her forehead with a rag.

“Oh, hey,” she grunted, while writhing in agony.

“My head’s still a little foggy from last night, but I’m pretty sure Doc said to let that heal,” Soarin said, bluntly, trotting over to his locker. Vapor Trail followed suit, climbing out of her jumpsuit.

“I know what he said,” Rainbow snapped, grunting in pain as she readjusted her leg. The bruise on her leg was still visible, even after a week since the accident. “But I’ve got to be back in action by tomorrow. Can’t exactly wait around for a miracle.”

“The miracle was you surviving,” came Vapor Trail, “Forget the games, Rainbow. You’ve gotta take it easy. You might make it worse.”

“Not happening,” Rainbow rebuked, “The team’s counting on me. And all my friends already made the trip over here. I can’t let them down.”

Soarin shut his locker door, before chomping down on a sour green apple.

“Your funeral, Crash,” he laughed, “C’mon. It’s OK to sit this one out, it’s not a crazy big deal, y’know.”

Rainbow glared at him.

She eased up the tension on her leg, and sighed.

“Do you guys remember that last exhibition at Baltimare?”

“Sure. Fleet’s wing got stuck in the roller. I was laughing about it this morning, actually, D’ya remember the sound she was making?”

“Not that,” Rainbow said, shaking her head while Vapor Trail contained her giggling, “I finished fifth in my heat. I lost to the Baltimare Rec ponies!”

“So?”

“So, they used to never come close to me! Now, I could barely keep up!”

“No kidding. I wonder what those Baltimare ponies get fed.”

“It’s not just Baltimare. I can’t hit the same times anymore, you’ve all seen it. I get the wind knocked out of me, and-”

“You spin out of control, and almost get yourself killed,” Vapor Trail concluded.

Rainbow nodded, glancing at her bruised leg.

“We’re all getting older, Rainbow,” Soarin said, shrugging, “Can’t stay on top forever. Keep your head up. I won’t stop you if you try to race tomorrow. But the next time you have an accident, you might get less lucky than just a hit to the leg.”

Soarin trotted out of the locker room with Vapor Trail, while Rainbow remained on the bench.

She let out a string of curses under her breath, forced herself to her legs, and scooped up her bag.

Between sea-stained marble pillars, across broken battlements of limestone, hordes of ponies had drawn up together in the thousands, wading through pink clouds of sea-salt, sugar, and alcohol.

Messara Island, once a derelict ruin of antiquity, had undergone a metamorphosis, now a bustling festival city of music, color, and delectable treats from near and far. Flags of royal purple, icy blue and sandstone orange billowed by the causeways and storied heights, overhead where ponies trotted through marketplace delights and hazy tufts of lavender fog.

The ruins rose above steep cliffs that ran straight into the sea, whose wrathful tides splashed and scored the rock with feral ferocity. The arena itself, the centerpiece of the ruins, had required major reconstruction to provide for a proper sporting event. A field of grass had been planted in its center, surrounded by a rubber track, with each of its lanes colored pink, gold, red, and green.

The Association had taken a risk with the choice of location; the island was previously uninhabited and over one-hundred miles off the mainland. But that risk had paid off, with tickets having completely sold out, earning a packed stadium of over 75,000 creatures.

And one of those creatures, still exhausted after an early outing at the beach, still parched after hours spent wandering the festival, was particularly anxious to rush past the arena gates, as the midday crowd of ponies filed into the disorderly queue at a snail’s pace.

“Hurry up!”

Scootaloo darted through the crowd, careful not to let go of Sweetie Belle’s hoof. In turn, Sweetie was meant to hold onto Apple Bloom, and together they had weaved their way through the crammed cluster of creatures.

“Slow down!” Sweetie Belle squeaked, nearly losing her grip over Apple Bloom, who was busy apologizing to each and every creature they had bumped into.

“We’re gonna miss it!” Scootaloo cried, clawing her way through the pack.

There were dark bags sagging under Scootaloo’s eyes. Sleep was hard to come by these days, with the excitement having snowballed with each passing hour, each tedious moment before the first blow of the whistle, the first cry of the horn, the first shot of the gun. To bear witness to the Equestria Games was an honor that she did not take lightly.

A ticket and the price of travel cost her 3,200 bits, and three months of hard labor. Her aunts had insisted she earn the bits herself, a challenge that Scootaloo had stubbornly accepted.

She had considered asking Rainbow Dash for some help, though Rainbow had been so preoccupied with training, she was rarely able to spend much time in Ponyville any longer.

Slipping out of the crowd in a huff, stumbling and landing square on her face, Scootaloo was the first to emerge before the proper line to the arena gate. Apple Bloom fell out beside her, and Sweetie Belle came next, gingerly prancing out from the crowd.

“Do you two always have to make a scene?” she groaned.

Apple Bloom beamed and rose up beside Sweetie, while Scootaloo took her time picking herself up to her hooves.

Sweetie gasped, noticing a sandy scratch on Apple Bloom’s foreleg.

“Oh my stars! We have to get you to a hospital now!”

“Don’t freak. Watch this,” Apple Bloom cautioned, before hacking up some spit to rub into the wound.

Sweetie’s jaw dropped in despair.

“Agh!” she choked in disgust, while Apple Bloom snickered away.

They both noticed Scootaloo, whose eyes were still locked on the colosseum ahead, mesmerized by its sheer size. She may have never seen a thing so big. It was not of this world, she believed, rather some piece of forgotten lore, some divine seat of power, some celestial vessel of impossibility.

Towering statues of ancient gods stood on great stone pedestals on either side of the gate. The left, the stallion, was shaped with a coarse beard and eyes that pierced, his horn pointing to the east. And on the right, the mare, a pegasus with an angel’s wings, and a river-current mane flowing right back into the stone.

“Hey, Scootaloo, anypony home?” Apple Bloom smiled, knocking on Scootaloo’s skull.

“My mom and dad visited this place once,” Scootaloo murmured, still fixated on the grandeur of the arena, “They never said anything about all this…”

“Better to have seen for yourself anyway,” Sweetie said, ushering Scootaloo to march up in the line.

Apple Bloom reached the ticket booth first, checking her shoulder to make sure Scootaloo wasn’t still daydreaming, and Sweetie Belle wasn’t still examining herself in her portable mirror.

“...You didn’t forget the snacks, did you?” Sweetie asked, nudging Scootaloo in the side while Apple Bloom began chatting up the ticket pony.

Scootaloo’s eyes widened.

“Scootaloo,” Sweetie said, her eyes widening in fear.

“I thought you had them!” Scootaloo cried.

“Scootaloo! I’m gonna-” Sweetie began, before Apple Bloom grabbed her by the hoof.

“I’ve got the snacks. Jeez. You two need to relax!” Apple Bloom laughed.

They skirted up a short flight of stairs to reach the stadium seats. The arena was packed to the brim, ponies sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, theri chatter amounting to a thunderous rumbling that seemed to shake the ground.

The turnout was twice as much as the last games Scootaloo had attended. And below in the field, were the competitors, working through drills and setting up tents to escape the blistering summer sun.

“Scoots, c’mon!” Apple Bloom called, realizing Scootaloo was still lingering behind, her head swiveling all about, overwhelmed by the scope of the scene.

“Are you alright?” Sweetie asked, as soon as Scootaloo could rejoin them.

“I’m just a little on edge, is all,” Scootaloo said, following the others through the gate, “...I mean, y’know, in her past three races, Rainbow Dash’s time in the exchange zone has been an average of two seconds slower! They’re gonna take her off anchor, I know it! And who’s gonna take her place? Fleetfoot? Thunderlane? What a joke! Have I even mentioned how badly Spitfire is running the Wonderbolts into the ground?!”

“Only about thirty times a day,” Sweetie rolled her eyes.

“Actually this’ll make thirty-two, ah reckon,” Apple Bloom said, counting off in her head.

“I’m just saying, it’s only a matter of time before - oh my gosh! Mr. Hothoof! Mrs. Whistles!”
Darting up two rows in the arena, Scootaloo practically leapt into the lap of Windy Whistles, who promptly spilled half of her popcorn.

“Hey kiddo!” bellowed Bow Hothoof, roughing up Scootaloo’s mane with his hoof. Windy was too excited to form any words, shrieking in excitement as she squeezed the air out of Scootaloo’s lungs.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle joined them nearby, waiting for Windy and Bow to finish fussing over Scootaloo, for nearly three minutes straight.

“We’re so happy you were able to make it!” Windy exclaimed, “Good heavens! We should’ve brought you with us! We just got so distracted!”

“Don’t worry about it, Mrs. Whistles,” Scootaloo laughed, “Rainbow’s gonna do great!”

Windy had practically burst into tears, and hugged Scootaloo again.

“Stay out of trouble, now, OK?” came Bow, leaning in for a very formal hoofshake. Scootaloo giggled and nodded her head, before scampering off to join her friends.

They continued up the steps, up and up and up until Scootaloo felt like fainting. The stairs were seemingly unending, or at least until the glimmering gold railing of the royal pavilion revealed itself in the sun’s glare.

“There they are!” came a voice from above, the bearer of whom was obscured in the blinding sunlight. Apple Bloom recognized the voice without hesitation, as that of her own sister.

“Hey, sis,” Apple Bloom grunted, exhausted after the fatal climb up the stairs.

Applejack had jogged down the steps to inspect the three of them, and she didn’t take long to notice the scratch on Apple Bloom’s foreleg.

“I’m fine,” Apple Bloom said, before Applejack could even open her mouth.

Scootaloo felt the blood rush faster through her veins, as she caught up to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, closer to the very top of the stadium seats.

“Sweetie Belle!” exclaimed Rarity, with her hoof clasped over her mouth, “I was just about to phone the police! What could possibly have kept you so long!?”

Rarity flew down the steps beside Applejack, both of whom were glaring down at the trio with contempt.

Sweetie Belle turned back at Scootaloo.

“It was my fault. Sorry,” Sweetie said.

“No, it was mostly my fault,” Scootaloo interjected.

They glanced at Apple Bloom, who already had her mouth stuffed with popcorn.

“Don’t look at me. It was your fault” Apple Bloom laughed.

Applejack shook her head.

“Don’t do that again. You had us worried,” Applejack said, wagging her hoof at each of them.

Up on the gold pavilion, Twilight Sparkle sat on a purple marble throne, beside her fellow guests of honor - Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, Luna, and Celestia. They sat in a golden pavilion, beneath a velvet awning meant to spare them from the sun’s heart. Nearby, at the topmost seats, Fluttershy, Spike, and Pinkie sat together. Starlight Glimmer sat close by, along with Trixie, and the two of them were bickering nearby, caught in an intense argument over who had the better claim to the last crackerjack.

Practically bouncing up and down in excitement, Scootaloo eyes scanned the field below. They may have missed the opening ceremony, but she was just in time for the main event.

She analyzed the Wonderbolts’ area of the field, watching as they completed their warm-up routines. She couldn’t find Rainbow Dash among them, however, to her confusion. Was she hurt? Would she be able to race?

Then her eyes fell further down the field, and she saw a familiar face, one she had dreaded having to see again.

Lightning Dust.

The Washouts had grown since the motley trio she had first been introduced to, though she recognized their leader as clear as day. As often as she would keep track of Rainbow Dash’s progress, she kept an additional, less-discussed record of Lightning Dust, whose stuntwork exploits were still as alluring as they had always been. The danger may have been daunting from a distance, though Dust’s sheer recklessness and neglect for the rules was like a breath of fresh air at times, amidst the increasingly stagnant Wonderbolts arrangements.

Scootaloo’s eyes wandered back to Twilight Sparkle’s pavilion. Twilight herself was standing now, pouring a tall glass of champagne for Rarity, careful not to spill any in the wind.

There was another pony beside her, laughing and grinning and pouring the rest of the glasses. Scootaloo did not recognize him at first, a tall stallion with a wispy grey mane, thin beard, and bright green eyes. That was, until she heard his voice. She had seen him on the television before - the president of the Equestria Athletic Association, the architect of the newly-invented games. Forecheck.

“Highness, I trust everything is to your liking,” he cooed, dragging the last glass of champagne through the air in an aura of red magic. He planted the glass in Twilight’s lap, and waltzed around to her left side.

Twilight allowed herself to take a sip, taking a sigh into the high-rise breeze.

“You’ve outdone yourself,” Twilight admitted, her eyes fixed on the fields below, “I only worry what plans you have for next year. I’ll remind you that the treasury’s nearly bone-dry already, thanks to these games.”

“Perfection requires sacrifice,” Forecheck grinned, scurrying back to Twilight’s front, “I assure you, the costs will be paid back tenfold, once all our revenue is collected. I’ve pictured it already. Your throne might be remade in solid gold, beneath chandeliers of moonglass and jewels from the east. No Equestrian queen will ever have known such grandeur. This, I swear to you.”

“A lovely dream,” Twilight said, retreating into her chair, “I’ll be happy to enjoy the show for now. And perhaps we can worry about the finer details at a later time.”

“I wholeheartedly agree,” Forecheck said, bowing, “Fortune awaits.”

Twilight smiled, weakly, hoping Forecheck would flee the pavilion and free up her view of the games.

Scootaloo watches the stallion skulk out into the sunlight, his plastered smile slipping off his face, his eyes darting wildly back and forth like a clock pendulum.

“...C’mon, I wanna get a closer look,” Scootaloo said, turning back to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

“Sure,” Apple Bloom asked, rising out of her seat.

The three of them dashed back down the steps to the front railing, struggling to see over the edge.

Scootaloo had to stand on her hooves to see over the pony in front of her, scanning the field beyond.

She turned back to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, too excited to choke out any words. However, her smile began to crumble when something caught her eye in the crowd.

A creature among the crowds, gun-metal grey in color with a night-black mane, and red eyes that glowed in the sunlight. Scootaloo had never seen such a species before, though she supposed such an event would include a variety of creatures whose origins eluded her. She found it a sad thing, that the creature stood by his lonesome.

Against her better judgment, she convinced herself to turn away, presuming that the creature was merely some foreign mystery. While she may have half-desired to interrogate the creature, or even befriend him, there happened to be more pressing matters at hand than a potential friendship mission.

Her eyes darted over to the clock.

Ten minutes to the race.

Lightning Dust glanced up at the sun, which had welded her suit to her skin, leaving little to the imagination. She was soaking wet with sweat, so much that beads had begun to form outside her spandex suit, which hugged her curves so tightly the suit had might as well been a part of her body. She might not have noticed or cared, if not for the occasional instance of her male teammates staring for too long.

“Hat Trick,” Lightning barked.

Hat Trick, the youngest member of the team, a bronze-colored stallion with a curly, reddish-bronze mane, adjusted his gaze, terrified of incurring Lightning’s wrath.

“Don’t get so easily distracted during the race,” Lightning warned, rolling her eyes.

The heat would prove an additional challenge, though Lightning had ensured the team would be supplied with ample ice water and cooling equipment.

“Strawberry, keep your back straight,” Lightning said, turning her attention back to the team’s warmups, “Or I’ll ring your head like a bell, got it?”

Strawberry Switchblade, the recruit in question, weakly managed a smile while maintaining her form.

“Loud and clear, boss,” Strawberry croaked.

A crack in the sky signaled the arrival of Rolling Thunder, met by an uproar of applause from the crowd. Short Fuse tailed after her, sparks of fire erupting in the air as he tumbled down to impact.

“Dusty!” Thunder exclaimed.

Lightning smiled and trotted up beside Thunder and Fuse, the latter of whom was already posing for the fans in the front rows of the arena.

“Never dreamed of flying for a crowd like this,” Rolling Thunder remarked, in awe of the stadium, “‘Spose we can’t make too much of a mess, or we won’t be invited back. Right?”

Short Fuse laughed, as did Lightning, who quickly regained her composure.

“Don’t get too distracted,” Lightning advised, “We came here to win.”

“You don’t gotta tell us twice,” Short Fuse grinned.

Rolling Thunder noticed Lightning’s smile slip, as her eyes drifted off to the crowd.

“Y’alright, mate?” Rolling asked, lightly punching Lightning in the shoulder, “You look a little green. Greener than usual, I mean.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” Lightning said, dismissively.
Rolling Thunder glanced at Short Fuse, hesitantly.

“Look, er, I know things have been tense a little lately,” Rolling Thunder said, “And maybe it’s none of our business, but…If y’need to talk about anything, about your folks, or anything at all, you can-”

Lightning glared at her.

“Focus on the race. Not on me,” Lightning said, “I don’t need either of you to worry about me. We’re here to do a job. Forget about everything else, and let’s get this done.”

Rolling Thunder glanced at Short Fuse, and the both of them reluctantly nodded their heads.

Lightning’s relief was short-lived, however, when she felt a shift in the air from behind her.

“What’d you know? The circus really is in town,” boomed a new voice from behind them,

Lightning Dust slowly swiveled her head, catching sight of the new arrivals touching ground on the field just a few yards away.

Lightning straightened herself up, and shut her gaping mouth before any of them could tell she had been caught off guard.

Sky Stinger, Fleetfoot, Thunderlane, Misty Fly, Surprise, and Rainbow Dash descended to the grass, clad in their spotless blue uniforms.

The other nine Washouts all left their equipment to join Lightning, while the crowd began to rumble in anticipation.

“Thought it was better to pay you a visit before you end up in a full body cast this time,” Fleetfoot snickered, “Lightning Dust and her team of rejects. It’s even sadder than I thought it’d be. You can play at racing all you like. But you'll never ever be the best of the best.”

Short Fuse began to twitch.

“When I heard you were showing up, I didn't believe it," Thunderlane said, "You belong in a nuthouse, not on a racetrack."

Lightning could feel her heart race, and forced herself to avoid meeting Thunderlane’s eyes, while he laughed and laughed. She could feel her stomach churn, and her hairs begin to stand tall.

“Now you've found a collection of freakshows to make you feel better about yourself. They must be as dumb as they look, to follow a little lowlife like you, Lightning Dust. Y’know, there might be a mistake. The Special Equestria Games are still a month away,” Thunderlane laughed.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at Thunderlane’s remark, while the rest of the Wonderbolts broke into a fit of laughter. Lightning could only sigh, unimpressed.

“Don’t know who would want to be a Wonderbolt, with ponies like you wearing the uniform,” Rolling Thunder scowled, “A dainty bunch of has-beens afraid to get their hooves dirty. Stick to your boring old airshows, it’s all you know how to do.”

“What kind of sorry excuse for fliers are any of you even supposed to be?!” roared Short Fuse, “If your racing is as pathetic as your trash talk, we’ve got nothing to worry about!”

“Stop,” Lightning said, sticking her hoof over Short Fuse’s mouth before he could release anymore of his rage, “There’s no time for this, we’ve got warm-ups.”

Lightning turned to lead the rest of the Washouts back to their equipment, while Thunderlane’s smirk sharpened.

“Good luck, Lightning, I know you don’t want to mess this up. Your dad’s up there watching, right?” he grinned, pointing to the sky.

Lightning froze, as did the rest of the Washouts.

She turned back to the Wonderbolts, and marched four steps up to Thunderlane.

The six of them became alert, despite Lightning approaching them by herself.

Her eyes were locked onto Thunderlane, who seemed delighted to have earned Lightning’s ire.

“I’ll see you all at the race,” Lightning said, her voice thin like a razor, “I hope you’re still smiling then.”

Thunderlane scoffed, trying his best to hide the fact he was slightly disturbed by the madness swirling in Lightning’s eyes.

“C’mon, guys, let’s leave ‘em to it,” Fleetfoot snickered, spreading her wings, “They need all the practice they can get.”

The Wonderbolts all took flight and left Lightning where she was. All of them, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who found her hooves were still stuck on the ground.

Lightning glanced at Rainbow, struggling to keep from lashing out.

“I, uh-...He shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry,” Rainbow said, weakly.

“Get out of here, Rainbow Dash,” Lightning spat, “Your friends are waiting for you.”

Rainbow opened her mouth to fire back, but decided against it, sighing and taking flight.

Lightning turned back to the others, who were all staring at her.

She realized her face was bright red, and tears had formed in the corners of her eyes.

“What are you all looking at?” Lightning barked, wiping her eyes before any of them could speak up, “I never said you could take a break! C’mon, all of you, get back to it!”

The Washouts all lingered for a few moments, watching Lightning’s face continue twisting in anger. But they all gave in eventually; despite their concern for their captain, they had a greater fear of earning her wrath.

The team dispersed, leaving Lightning to sigh again and glance back across the field where the Wonderbolts had made camp. They took up a full quarter of the space.

Lightning narrowed her eyes. If she had any doubts before, they were long gone.

She was getting some payback.

Rainbow Dash tightened the band around her knee, buckling against the turf with trembling legs. The wicked glare of the sun had set the field ablaze, and to merely brush up against anything metal meant suffering a scathing wound. She was sweating buckets, her soaked Wonderbolt suit now half-translucent and twice as heavy as normal. Her cutie mark was partially visible through the lining of the suit, where her suit clung to her skin like fly paper. Her teammates were in a similar situation, taking turns dousing themselves with ice water and wet towels.

They were approaching the sixth hour of the game. With each race, the team’s morale seemed to crumble into smaller and smaller pieces, with every new loss against the Washouts. Soarin had managed to grab a second-place title behind Rolling Thunder, the best anypony could manage. Even that spunky little stallion Short Fuse had dusted all of his Wonderbolt opponents.

And, to Rainbow’s horror, the greatest obstacle to her team’s hope of victory was Lightning Dust herself. Her former wingpony had outraced the Wonderbolts at every turn. She was not only plainly quicker than the competition, but also utilized a strange set of flying positions, transitions, starts, finishes, and so on. Rainbow recalled having heard of such methods, and that they were strongly discouraged at the Wonderbolt Academy, on account of the risk of accident.

Six hours. For six hours, nopony could touch her. But that was about to change.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Soarin was lying on his back, still out-of-breath from his most recent race. Vapor Trail was sitting on a metal bench nearby, picking at her suit and fanning herself off in the heat.

“The 1200 is in twenty minutes,” Rainbow said, repeating what the stadium announcer had earlier revealed, “It’s the last race. I’m subbing in,” She tossed a sweaty towel over top of Soarin’s head, right as he sat himself up.

“You’re serious?” he asked, incredulously.

“Forget about your comeback tour, Rainbow,” Vapor grunted, “Even if you weren’t crippled, we’ve got no chance against that Washout friend of yours.”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes.

“We’ve finally been knocked down a peg, and you all just want to give up?” Rainbow stammered.

“No,” Soarin said, leaning against the bench as he struggled to stand up to his hooves, “One of us will race. Not you.”

“I’m the only one who can beat her,” Rainbow insisted, “We’re losing this anyway, right? What does it matter?”

“Because you’re hurt,” Soarin said, sternly, “It’s not worth the risk, just to stick it to a second-rate rival.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed.

“It’s not about that,” she said, “All of Equestria is watching. Do you really want them to think that we can’t win a single race against the Washouts?”

Soarin shook his head, too exhausted to argue.

“Y’know what? Knock yourself out. One more loss won’t hurt, right?” he laughed.

Vapor Trail stood up beside him, biting her lip in dismay.

“Rainbow…this is a bad idea. Your leg, you shouldn’t be-”

Rainbow stuck her hoof over Vapor’s lips.

“You can scold me after I win the race.”

Vapor couldn’t help but smile, although she had trouble believing in Rainbow’s optimism.

“Final call for the 1200 meter flight,” came the echoey voice of the stadium announcer.

Rainbow glanced over at Soarin, who at last gave a sigh of defeat.

“Spits is gonna kill you.”

“Then make sure to bury me with my medal,” Rainbow said, before spreading her wings.

Soarin laughed and gave a withered salute, watching as she ascended up into the air.

He glanced at Vapor Trail, whose smile began to fade.

Standing on the tips of her hooves, Scootaloo could just barely grasp a glimpse of the field, over the frontmost brick edge of the arena seating.

She could spot Lightning Dust down below, stretching by the start line, as the minutes before the final race dwindled.

Despite her irritation with the Wonderbolts’ management, she was still distraught to bear witness to the slaughter. It was a disaster, put bluntly, one that had the added misfortune of being broadcasted worldwide. It was as if the Washouts had meticulously studied the exact flying style of each Wonderbolt, and learned to exploit their weaknesses. Whatever their strategy, there was no doubt the Washouts had earned the right results.

Naturally, a part of her wanted to despise Lightning Dust, the pony solely responsible for the Wonderbolts’ crash and burn. But she found herself in begrudging admiration, for the pegasus who had been discounted, demeaned, exiled. If a pony like that could end up flying in the Equestria Games, then maybe anypony could. And the thought gave Scootaloo comfort, albeit bittersweet, knowing that her own hero had to take second place for such a dream to be realized.

And where was Rainbow Dash, anyways? The games were nearly over, and she had yet to make an appearance. If there was ever a time for an emergency rescue, it was already overdue.

Down below by the racetrack, Lightning Dust hacked up a wad of phlegm, shooting it out her snout into the grass.

The other racers all stuck together on the opposite side of the track, glaring at her between sips of water.

Lightning had kept her victory celebrations to a minimum, and had encouraged her team to do the same. She had insisted they remain professional, in spite of the thrill they were all experiencing, walking off with twenty-two medals already. She felt no need to relish in it. The results would speak for themselves. That’s how it always should have been, she reminded herself. If the Wonderbolts really understood that, she’d be flying with them right now.

Lightning shook her head, scolding herself. No matter how far she came, that old sting of failure seemed to creep up on her, tying her down to a rock slowly sinking deeper into a sea of regret. She might have been able to keep herself afloat for a while, but gravity always prevailed.

“There she is, sitting by herself,” came a voice from up in the air.

Lightning’s skin began to crawl, and she scampered up to her hooves, like a cornered animal on the run.

Him.

Thunderlane descended down in front of her. Lightning did not typically feel conscious of her height, except for when Thunderlane was near her. He seemed to tower over her, his neck lurching forward like a bird of prey.

“Some things never change,” he smiled.

“What do you want?” Lightning managed, struggling to keep her voice from cracking. She was inching to dart away, though some stupid sense of pride kept her where she was. They’re watching, she thought to herself, Everypony is watching.

“They saved the best for last,” Thunderlane grinned, “You’ve been making quite the fool out of my friends.”

“They do that by themselves,” Lightning said, narrowing her eyes.

“The race doesn’t matter so much to me,” he said, glancing around at the packed stadium with contempt, “They wanted a show, and you gave it to them.”

He took a step closer toward her.

“But I’m more interested in what you want.”

Lightning crossed her hind legs. She couldn’t move, as her throat began to close up and sweat blinded her in one eye.

“Stop,” Lightning replied, though it came only as a whisper. Her eyes fell to the ground, meekly, as she stumbled backwards.

“Lightning,” he said, lifting her head up by her chin.

Lightning perked up as the calling of her name, shuddering at his touch.

She opened her mouth to speak, but was paralyzed. He held her hoof in his, and held her captive to his gaze. Lightning felt filthy then, sweaty and dirty and pathetic, the longer she looked at his eyes, the longer she let him hold her. No, she thought, Let go. Everypony's watching. Please let go.

He moved closer towards her, and Lightning snapped out of the trance, discovering the strength to pull away.

“I said stop,” Lightning said, swatting his hoof away.

Thunderlane laughed, finding some charm in her stubbornness.

“Come back,” he beckoned, “I never got to-”

Lightning turned around, in time to see another pony touchdown between them.

“Oh, great,” Thunderlane said, rolling his eyes.

Lightning narrowed her eyes, confused.

“What are you doing here?” Lightning demanded.

Rainbow Dash brushed her mane out of her eyes, ignoring Lightning. She turned to Thunderlane, who had a half-grin stuck on his face. Rainbow glanced at him, warily. There was a hot hunger in his eyes, and conversely, Lightning was blushing like a schoolgirl, her eyes cast down to the ground.

“I’m subbing in for Misty. Told her to take the day off," Rainbow said.

Thunderlane glared at her in disbelief.

“I thought your leg was busted,” Thunderlane reminded. Lightning’s ear perked up.

“Not bad enough to keep me away. Consider yourself lucky,” Rainbow smirked.

Thunderlane glanced over her shoulder back to Lightning.

“See you at the finish line,” Thunderlane said. Lightning winced, avoiding his gaze.

Thunderlane turned and trotted off past Rainbow for some last-minute warm-ups. He eyed her, unsure whether she was making the right call. He opted not to argue, however.

Rainbow turned around to face Lightning, who seemed confused as to what was happening.

“Uh…Are you OK?” Rainbow asked. Lightning's face was still bright red, and she was on the verge of tears.

“What? No, I-” Lightning sputtered, struggling to collect herself, “...What are you doing, Rainbow Dash? This isn’t your race.”

“Change of plans,” Rainbow shrugged, “What’s the matter? Nervous?”

Lightning scoffed and sniffed up some snot, amused by Rainbow’s challenge.

“I just spent the whole day putting your team six-feet-under. What exactly have I got to be nervous about?”

“That your streak is about to be cut short,” Rainbow grinned, "Y'know, I won't lie. You put on a good show. You always have. But risking your life, breaking the rules, at the end of the day it's the only way you'll make it close to what you could've had as a Wonderbolt. But it will never be the same thing. The Washouts are just a lousy Plan-B."

Lightning's face fell, and she frowned and turned red again. Rainbow hesitated, and may have felt regret over being too harsh, though she held her ground.

"You put my life, my team's lives, and my friends' lives at risk," Rainbow said, taking an aggressive step towards Lightning, "And you put Scootaloo's life at risk. I won't ever forget that."

"I never asked you to forget it," Lightning managed, her voice cracking slightly as she tried to speak over her shame.

Rainbow eyed her.

"I never meant to hurt your friends. You know I didn't," Lightning sighed, "And Scootaloo, too. I wanted to get back at you, but...I should never have gone that far. OK? Happy? Nopony actually got hurt, except me. You love to pretend you're some hero, and that you're so much better than me, but you were fine looking the other way when my life fell apart. So stop holding the past over my head all the time."

"I never wanted us to be enemies," Rainbow said, "But you've crossed one too many lines, Lightning Dust. You brought everything on yourself, and you might've done worse if I didn't try to hold you accountable. You're lucky all you got was a discharge and not a conviction, which is what you deserved. What you did was serious, Lightning, and you have to live with that. I'm never going to let you put ponies in danger again, and I've got a hard time giving you any benefit of the doubt, not after everything you've done."

"I've got an entire team whose lives I put in danger," Lightning laughed, "The same team who's beaten the Wonderbolts at every race."

"There's still one race left," Rainbow reminded, "Sorry to knock you off your pedestal, but I'm about to put your string of luck to an end and show all these ponies what a real flyer looks like."

Lightning sighed, and struggled to keep herself from smiling.

“In your dreams, Dash.”

The bells began to ring, as if punctuating Lightning’s final barb. The two remained locked in a fiery stare, and they could each recall a sense of urgency, of desperation, of finality that had eluded them for years on end. Nopony else in the world could bring out such rage and courage from either of the two. To be reunited meant putting everything they had back on the table.

There were six of them lined up on the track, its shiny white paint already scuffed with hoofprints and dirt. Rainbow and Thunderlane were stuck in the first and second lanes respectively. A half-measure at evening the odds, Lightning suspected. The closer lanes may have been of higher preference, though Lightning was hardly concerned.

She allowed her Washout teammate, Madcap, to occupy the closer lane. Madcap, a lavender mare with a wavy mane of blues and greens and a pair of wild eyes, was one of the younger recruits on the team, and as such Lightning thought it unnecessary to burden her with any extra distance to cover. Racing against the likes of Rainbow Dash was a challenge in and of itself.

“Ms. Dust, I’m serious,” Madcap whispered, shuddering in fear while the racers anxiously waited for the officials to be situated. Lightning had told the girl to stop calling her Ms. Dust forty times already, but the girl's memory rarely prevailed. “I can’t!" Madcap said, "That’s Rainbow Dash. You didn’t say anything about Rainbow Dash!”

Lightning took a deep breath, forcing herself to collect her own scattered state of mind before attempting to console her teammate.

Lightning swiveled Madcap towards her by the shoulders, and waited for Madcap to muster up the courage to make eye contact.

“Don’t think about what they do. Or what I do, for that matter. Don’t waste a second thinking of anypony’s race other than your own.”

“But, Ms. Dust! I-”

“I’m right here with you. This is what we practiced for, right?” Lightning said, forcing herself to smile. She jostled Madcap by her shoulders, forcing her to break a smile.

“...Right.”

“Now get yourself together. Show everypony what you’re made of.”

“Yes ma’am,” Madcap replied, nodding her head, "Thank you ma'am."

“Racers!” boomed the loudspeaker, sending a shiver down Madcap’s spine, “On your mark!”

Lightning Dust perked up, while the crowds all rose to their hooves, setting down their food and drink. Foals had climbed on their parents’ heads for a better view, and in the front row, ponies began to cluster in dense droves, wrestling with each other for an ideal vantage point.

Scootaloo could hardly stand still, bouncing up and down, leaning across the edge of the railing. The scores didn’t matter. The heat didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Nothing except the race.

“What kept her so long?” Sweetie Belle wondered aloud, finishing off her vanilla ice cream cone. Scootaloo had been wondering the same, watching as Rainbow Dash waited patiently behind the starting line.

Scootaloo’s eyes darted between Rainbow and Lightning. She had never seen the two of them go head-to-head, and consequently she was not sure what to expect. Of course, she was inclined to side with Rainbow, however considering Lightning’s unprecedented winning streak, her confidence had begun to quiver.

Up above in the top row of the arena, atop the gold pavilion, Twilight Sparkle had finally finished her popcorn. She snickered to herself, shocked that she alone was the last princess standing. Cadance had just left with Shining Armor and Flurry Heart, the latter of whom had trouble sitting in one place for too long. Celestia and Luna, meanwhile, had remarkable trouble holding their liquor, despite how much of a hobby they had made it during retirement. Twilight glanced at the arena clock tower, and realized it had been over an hour since the two of them had stumbled off to clean themselves up.

“Spike,” Twilight beckoned. Spike was begrudged to answer, consumed with anticipation for the race.

“Can it wait ten minutes?” Spike muttered.

“Spike.”

“Sorry,” Spike grumbled, spinning around to stand at attention.

“Go find Celestia and Luna. I don’t like the idea of them wandering around and getting lost.”

“Twilight, I think they can take care of themselves,” Spike said, desperate for a worthy excuse.

“Not in their…er, present condition. Don’t dawdle.”

Spike cried out in despair, but complied, scampering off to complete the task.

Just as Spike escaped down the pavilion steps, Rarity came strutting in, followed by Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack.

“This heat is criminal,” Rarity groaned, “Tell me, why couldn’t you or Celestia do something about that wretched sun?”

“All the weather ponies are down there, racing or spectating,” Twilight deduced.

Twilight cast an aura of magic, dragging some of the extra chairs beside her for her friends.

“There she is!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, pointing down at the track.

“For a second I thought she wouldn’t show,” Applejack said.

“I don’t know if I can watch,” Fluttershy murmured.

Twilight noticed Forecheck leaning near the edge of the pavilion. She had not heard him enter.

Her ears perked up, with the first sound of the horns. Beastly, roaring things they were, like some nuclear alarm or cavalry cry. With each blast of the horns, the crowd gradually fell silent, until there was little to be heard above a low murmur.

On the track, Rainbow Dash felt the ache in her leg intensify, as she fixed her hoof-placement and aligned her eyes with the lines.

She glanced to her left, and caught Lightning Dust’s glare. Lightning left her with only a scowl and a bitter gaze, leaving Rainbow to smile and scoff it off.

Rainbow glanced to her right as well, to Thunderlane, who seemed suspiciously relaxed, laughing and waving to the crowd. Rainbow glared at him with contempt, before settling back on her own thoughts. If he was to treat this like a joke, then it was clear that Rainbow alone truly represented the Wonderbolts, or rather, what the Wonderbolts were supposed to be. She would not let them down. She would not let herself down.

“Racers!” came the loudspeaker again. The voice came three times as loud, against a nearly-silent crowd, “Ready!”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes, glancing briefly at her hooves, at the lines, at the crowd, at the air in front of her. Three laps was all it was. Ten seconds on the first lap. Twelve on the second. Ten again on the last. That was the plan. That was always the plan. Except…that wasn’t good enough. It was obvious to her that Lightning Dust had studied the Wonderbolts’ strategies, rigorously, at that. If Rainbow was to win, if she was to do this right, she would have to try something different.

“Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow felt the color drain from her face. She knew that voice.

Spitfire was storming down the field toward the track, shoving ponies out of her way.

“Rainbow Dash! Get off that track immediately! You’re not fit to-”

Spitfire’s voice had already begun to slip away, when the first crackle and pop of the loudspeaker microphone graced Rainbow’s ears.

Rainbow fixed her hooves one last time and centered herself, waiting for the signal, waiting for the mildest hint of alarm. Her muscles were tender, tense, desperate for the start.

From a great high-reaching white-wooden chair near the starting line, an official gave a wave of his hoof to one of the linesponies, whose horn promptly ignited.

His horn glowed, a spectacular shade of white, like a star fallen to earth, held there in a steady grasp.

The crowd’s breath all seemed to give out at once, as they watched and waited eagerly.

Then the rush came, first before the sound even hit anypony’s ears.

The linespony’s aura burst into a pure white fire, booming loud enough to send a shock through a good half of the crowd.

Rainbow lifted off her hooves with her wings spread, and broke out into a low glide, propelling herself forward to build momentum.

Lightning Dust had done the same, though did not have to twist as hard off the start; she had a longer while before the curve of the track became relevant.

The crowd erupted, cheering and roaring while the racers’ glide quickly picked up into a sprint, faster and faster with each thin flutter of the wings, until each racer resembled little more than a blur.

Time was of a strange substance at such speeds; the noise of the crowd became distorted, and the lines of the track seemed to wobble and move.

The first lap proceeded just as Lightning Dust had expected. The eight racers were all within near-distant stride, with the exception of Thunderlane, who had begun to sink back. By his own design, Lightning figured. He never took anything seriously.

Not now, Lightning scolded herself.

Most of the racers were left exhausted after just the first lap, having futilely attempted to make pace with Lightning and Rainbow.

Lightning noticed Madcap begin to slip behind, and considered slowing her own pace, until she noticed Rainbow Dash and three of the other racers still on her heels.

Lightning gritted her teeth and picked up speed, twisting harder on the turns. She refused to enter a closer lane, despite it being allowed at this point.

She could hear the other racers’ breath, heavy and drenched and desperate.

Lightning was not keen on counting her times in her head, though by sheer intuition, she supposed the second lap was approaching ten seconds. Why was Rainbow still so close? Maybe she’s catching on, Lightning thought. Or maybe she’s getting sloppy.

Either way, Lightning embraced the challenge. She had been holding the lead since the start, though Rainbow happened to prefer it that way. Rainbow was not straining for space, not quite yet. The adrenaline had blocked out the ache in her leg, and her heart was beating so fast, she wondered if it might leap right out of her chest. Rainbow hoped to appear weak enough to feed into Lightning’s overconfidence, while simultaneously keeping a close distance, not allowing too much room for a breakout getaway.

Lightning could not pinpoint Rainbow’s motives; such a task was a waste of precious time, after all. Madcap was gone, sinking fast in the clouds of dust. Thunderlane might as well have just started, for how far behind he was.

Rainbow had kept pace the entire way into the third lap, and now it was only the two of them left in the front.

The crowd was loud enough now to shake the very foundations of the arena. Rainbow had begun to close in, it appeared, inch by inch the gap began to shrink.

Lightning winced, her twists and turns beginning to feel stale. Rainbow was not thrown at all. She wasn’t distracted, or confused, or intimidated. Was this even a challenge for her? Thunderlane had said she was hurt. She didn’t look hurt.

Lightning felt her heart race faster. Too fast. She couldn’t stop herself now, even if she wanted to. She could feel the flesh on her face tighten from the impact of the high wind-speed, and specks of ash slip off her coat, from where sparks of fire began to strike.

Halfway through the lap, Rainbow was right beside her. Lightning felt her eyes sink in her sockets. This was the fastest she could go. This was the fastest anypony alive could go. Everything she had, every muscle pounding and wrenching and tearing itself apart just to gain another inch. Her wings would soon be ground down to the bare cartilage, with such intense pressures.

But right there beside her, Rainbow Dash flew the same race. No, not anymore. Had she gained another inch? Lightning could go no further. But Rainbow climbed and climbed.

Rainbow, throughout the race, had felt a strange sense of delight, a euphoric radiance of determination that seemed to mask whatever physical ailments her friends had been so worried about. Her only affliction was the unthinkable possibility of failure.

She had the lead. She had the lead, and she would not be losing it. She could go faster, faster, and faster still. Lightning Dust, meanwhile, was not going anywhere new, not even as she strained and gasped and tore through the air with a furious stride.

Rainbow had an eye for the finish line. The crowds’ cheers were no longer distorted. She heard them loud and clear. Chanting her name. She could see Twilight and her friends, she could see her parents, she could see Scootaloo.

The record would show, there was one pony who could beat the Washouts.

She wasn’t past her prime. She wasn’t a has-been. Nopony could tell her as much, not after this. Her great race was not yet run.

Then she felt something else. Something unfamiliar. Something sharp, something cold, something from inside.

The smile on her face began to fade, and the world began to spin, to the left and around, over and around, as the colors all began to mash together, as the sounds began to pull each other apart. The pain grew sharper, and sharper, until the world faded away completely, a black curtain slipping over her eyes.

Lightning Dust caught a glimpse of the collision, as Rainbow spiraled out of her lane, crashing straight into the dirt on the edge of the track, shredding off skin as she went.

Lightning’s breath gave out; the sound of the impact was enough cause for concern. She only saw it for a moment, a blue blur veering off the track in front of her. Rainbow. Lightning grinded to a halt, trying to turn and drift down to a slower speed, but her efforts were all in vain. Her speed was too great by then, and within the span of a second, she had already barreled across the finish line.

Lightning slowed down and collapsed on the track; her legs were too exhausted to support her. She had done it. That was all she could think, all she could register.

Dad and Mom and Pixie and everypony in the whole world would see. They would hear about what she had done. The pony who defeated the Wonderbolts. She had imagined such a victory to feel more triumphant. But there was a hollowness that remained as it was, unmoving. This was what she wanted. Why didn’t she feel any different?

Dad’s not here.
Lightning lowered her head, as her muscles burned in agony.

None of them are here.

It was Madcap who crossed the finish line next, and Lightning Dust turned in relief, glad to have somepony else to fret over, a welcomed distraction.

Clawing through the blurry patches of black, the roaring of the crowd inched its way through her ears, reaving and raging. They were all on their hooves, half-stuck over the edge of the railings, barking at the wind.

Drunk on delirium, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to find the world as a thick veil of fog, masked in shadow. She had gone blind, she thought. She had hit her head so hard, her eyes had popped right out of her skull. No, no, that wasn’t right. The image was returning, slowly, coming into focus with a shaky, trembling twist. The pain revealed itself unexpectedly; the disorientation had distracted her at first. There might have been splinters in her skull, if it hadn’t been cracked open like an egg.

The sky, as she saw it through the shifting patterns of static, had turned to a more nebulous shade of grey. Just a moment ago the sun had been shining, as it had all day. How many hours had she suffered in the dark? Or perhaps what she was seeing was not even real, a strange illusion.

The crowd was only a muffled droning, and it felt as though her ears were flooded. With blood, perhaps, though she was in no state to think much on the matter.

Against the grey skies, a blurry face popped into frame - the spiky shocks of orange meant it had to be Spitfire.

“Dash! Dash! Hey! Wake up! Dash!” Spitfire wailed, propping Rainbow’s head up on a wound-up towel.

Soarin, Vapor Trail, Fleetfoot, and the entirety of the Wonderbolt team had flown to the scene, taking care not to surround Rainbow too closely, and to allow space for the paramedics.

Thunderlane had come up on the growing crowd, now blocking the track. He slowed to a stop, gasping for breath while trying to deduce what had happened.

Ahead at the finish line, Lightning Dust collected herself, and stuck her foreleg on Madcap’s shoulder.

“Thatta girl,” Lightning smiled, between gasps for breath. Madcap sunk into Lightning's arms, laughing between her breaths.

Lightning had meant to usher Madcap back to the Washouts’ warm-up area, until discovering the entirety of the Washouts team had come to them already. Breakbones barreled into her for a bear hug, along with Strawberry, Loudmouth, Indigo Dusk, Feather Twirl, Hat Trick, and of course Rolling Thunder and Short Fuse.

“Look at this pair of drongos! Way to bring it home!” Rolling Thunder beamed, rushing Lightning for an embrace.

Lightning shrunk in Rolling Thunder’s grasp, uncomfortable with such unrestrained show of affection. Short Fuse was on top of her as well without much delay, as was the rest of the team, all laughing and hollering out in celebration.

Lightning remained silent while the rest of the team broke out into a rowdy explosion. But, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the crowd of ponies fixed on the track further back.

Rainbow?

Lightning felt her throat close up, and she quickly freed herself from the clump.

"....Wait," Lightning murmured.

The Washouts’ cries of celebrations simmered down as soon as Lightning broke off, sauntering off toward the scene back down the track. The crowd too, seemed to have calmed down, murmuring in discomfort, unable to catch sight of Rainbow through the huddle of paramedics.

The other nine Washouts began to follow after Lightning, glancing at each other with wariness.

Lightning came as close as she could to the scene, and felt her skin turn pale, as the rush of the race escaped her at last.

Fleetfoot was the first to notice Lightning, and was quick to alert her teammates.

Lightning’s attention was focused only on where Rainbow was lying on the track, and she was caught by surprise when Fleetfoot marched right up to her.

Behind Fleetfoot came Soarin and Vapor Trail, Sky Stinger and Surprise and the majority of the team.

Too enraged to speak, Fleetfoot glared directly at Lightning, with eyes that accused.

You almost got her killed was written on her face, while more and more Wonderbolts began to follow up around her, approaching like a pack of wolves toward wounded prey.

Lightning was too stunned to defend herself, still too exhausted to even think properly.

Soarin and Vapor Trail had joined the growing crowd of Wonderbolts, glancing at each other with uncertainty.

Lightning flinched, her eyes darting between each of them. They were all staring directly at her, eyes burning bright with hatred. Lightning could hardly keep herself together; her body was so sore she could hardly keep her weight on any one leg for too long. Her neck was strained, and the nausea in her gut had begun to increase in pressure, rising up toward her chest.

Lightning sighed, silently, while the Wonderbolts remained as they were, watching her every move, trembling in anticipation.

Lightning glanced behind her, catching the eye of Rolling Thunder, who, along with the rest of the Washouts, had stuck themselves right behind her.

Lightning glanced back to Fleetfoot, and the hints of a smirk began to form around her lips. Her eyes briefly traced the crowd of Wonderbolts, dismissively, and perhaps almost amused.

“So much for the best of the best.”

The noise of the crowd had subsided, and the last inhale of air through Fleetfoot’s nose was the last thing Lightning could make out, before a hoof landed right across her face, knocking her right off her hooves.

Lightning fell to her knees, semi-conscious, as the Washouts behind her immediately sprung to action.

Over the railing, the crowd had erupted, rising to their hooves to watch the two sides clash into one another, tearing at each other’s suits, scratching and clawing and kicking and swinging. Broken bones, blistering bruises and splashes of blood were masked behind clouds of dust, loose teeth, and torn strands of hair.

Lightning pawed at the fresh bruise on her face, as her vision began to resettle. She staggered up to her hooves, dizzily searching around for any of her teammates.

She found Short Fuse just in time to save him from a punch to the skull.

The crowd was the loudest they had been all day, watching as the racers pummeled each other into the ground.

Up on the golden pavilion, Twilight Sparkle rose from her seat, frantically watching as the fields below became a battleground.

“I have to get down there,” Twilight said aloud. Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were already at her side, eager to check on Rainbow’s condition.

She made for the exit of the pavilion, only to find Forecheck blocking her path.

“Your grace,” he said, his voice trembling, “It’s much too dangerous!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Twilight said, ignoring him and making for the pavilion steps.

“Your grace, please,” Forecheck said, terrified.

Twilight continued past him, desperate to reach Rainbow without any delay.

But she had not made it far, when a sharp, searing shock made contact with her left shoulder.

Twilight cried out in surprise, thrown off her hooves over the pavilion edge.

“Twilight!” screeched Pinkie Pie, darting off after her.

“What in the-” Applejack began, scanning the pavilion for the source of the attack.

Her answer came when a trio of creatures revealed themselves from around the pavilion’s rear, blocking the exit on either side.

Two were like pegasi, nearly, with blood-red wings. Only, they were not a pegasus’ wings, or a griffin’s or hippogriff or anything Applejack had seen before. They resembled something more of a fruit bat, of a vampire. And the third was a burly thing, a pony with a black deformities, a pair of spider-like black pincers along his jaw, and three pairs of purple serpent’s eyes.

Twilight lay unconscious by the steps of the pavilion, near where the serpent-eyed pony stood.

Pinkie Pie slowly retreated away from Twilight and back toward Applejack, Rarity, Forecheck, and Fluttershy.

“What have you done?” Rarity demanded, hesitantly sticking herself beside Applejack in front of the others, “I dare say, if this is some kind of joke, I should have you know, we are not-”

Rarity never got the chance to reply, when the serpent-eyed pony ignited his horn.

In a flash of light, the ground was graced with three more bodies. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy had all collapsed, just meters away from where Twilight had been overtaken.

Forecheck remained standing, glaring at the serpent-eyed pony with staunch conviction.

“Gorgo,” Forecheck said, “You idiot. This was not the plan.”

Gorgo growled in response, while the bloodbat ponies began dragging the four bodies into a neat pile at the center of the pavilion.

“We needed all four princesses together,” Forecheck barked.

“They’ve already been taken care of,” Gorgo confirmed, “All we need left is our Wonderbolt.”

Forecheck sighed, shaking his head in regret.

“That won’t be possible. Not now. Look down there, tell me what you see. She’s injured, surrounded by tens of thousands. Every broadcast in Equestria has their eyes on her, at this very moment. To take action now would require a public spectacle. This was supposed to be covert.”

“No going back now,” Gorgo said, glancing down at Twilight and the others, “We brought back-up for a reason, no?”

Forecheck grabbed at his jaw, frantically deliberating on a plan.

“You two,” Gorgo said, turning to the two bloodbat ponies, “Give the signal.”

Forecheck narrowed his eyes, while Gorgo began to grin.

“Listen to me. Our choice is to either come back short,” Gorgo said, “Or we get what we came for, with a little extra on the side.”

“We’re not ready, it can’t be done.”

“We are ready,” Gorgo insisted, “We cannot wait any longer. We have to act now.”

The two bloodbat ponies stood by the pavilion steps, waiting for Forecheck’s leave.

He glared at Gorgo, furiously.

“If we fail. It will be both of our heads.”

Gorgo smiled, and gave the nod to the two bloodbat ponies.

“We have to do something!”

Scootaloo leaned over the edge of the railing, watching the brawl below with eyes wide with terror.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom spectated the chaos, unsure what to do.

“I’ve got to make sure Rainbow’s alright!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“Scoots, I’m sure she’s fine,” Apple Bloom insisted, “If we go down there, we’ll get our faces stomped in!”

Scootaloo glared at Apple Bloom, and then over to Sweetie Belle, who backed away from the railing. Sweetie appeared paler than normal, and the violence on display seemed to have rattled her into silence.

Scootaloo growled some curses under her breath before turning back to the railing.

“Suit yourselves.”

Scootaloo had a grip of the railing before either of her friends could properly react.

“Scootaloo, wait!” Apple Bloom yelled, dashing to grab a hold of Scootaloo.

But Scootaloo was quicker, swinging herself over the railing. Sweetie Belle shrieked, as Scootaloo disappeared over the edge.

Apple Bloom felt her heart skip a beat, slowly leaning over the edge.

Scootaloo had just landed after a ten-feet drop, groaning as she picked herself off the rubber track.

“Are you alright?” Apple Bloom yelled.

Scootaloo groaned something resembling a ‘yes,’ staggering up to her hooves.

“I’m adding that to the list of the dumbest things you’ve ever done!” Apple Bloom barked, shaking her head.

“We’ll have enough for a novel, soon,” Sweetie said, turning away from the edge to calm herself down.

Scootaloo managed to stand up straight, shaking away the bells circling her head. The impact of the fall had shaken her guts and rattled her bones, though she had suffered no serious injury, as far as she could tell.

She had gone unnoticed by the track officials, who were busy attempting to break up the brawl further up on the track.

She had meant to spring off after Rainbow Dash, before she tripped over her own hooves, landing face first on the track.

Apple Bloom may have wanted to crack another remark, if she hadn’t also toppled off her hooves onto the ground. Sweetie Belle had suffered the same, as had almost everypony in the stadium. The earth itself had begun to move, a furious quake and shiver. Dust fell in heavy clouds from the edges of the stadium, where the rocks had all shifted in their stead or begun to collapse. On the grass, roots had begun to reveal themselves, splitting up from the dirt. The island itself was tearing itself apart, throwing its ponies from side to side, sliding down the stadium rows, falling into each other, hanging on for dear life.

Scootaloo felt nauseous, unable to lift herself off the ground while the earth continued to shake like mad. The vibration was so intense, she felt a dense pressure pushing down on her, locking her against the scorched rubber track. She grunted in agony, terrified of being unable to move.

The quake had begun to subside before long, however, and Scootaloo could finally manage to lift her head up off the track.

She saw black smoke billowing out from somewhere else on the island, visible from over the tip of the colosseum.

She lifted herself to her hooves, as the sounds of ponies screaming and groaning began to double in decibel. Further on the track, the Wonderbolts and Washouts all struggled up to their hooves, and had come to an unspoken standstill, too disoriented to fight any longer.

Then came the humming of flapping wings, roaring like the low growl of some gargantuan beast, crooning and creeping and surrounding the stadium on all sides.

Scootaloo’s mouth hung open in despair, as the light of the sun began to wither, as the sky began to move.

A hundred or more, there had to be. Hovering like vultures, descending together in strange formations. Blood-red in color, or gun-metal grey, or black like the night. They came in ferocious tides, winding and weaving toward the ground like a living twister. Scootaloo narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the specks and spots, trying to gauge how soon to start running.

Then she recognized the red eyes that glowed, pairs of them that decorated the sky like hellborne stars.

She spun around toward the stadium, struggling to see over the edge where she had jumped from.

“Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo screeched, only to receive no answer.

The sound of ponies screaming shot down at her from all sides, as ponies began fleeing toward the stadium exits in droves, while the army of flying devils was en route. Few ponies had the stomach to run far, limited to limping leaps and panicked jogs. The exits soon became flooded with ponies, barricaded inside the tunnel where the doors remained shut and locked.

From the pavilion, Forecheck watched on with a shaky hoof pawing at his jaw. Of course, the doors had been the first order of business. Nopony could be allowed to leave.

Below, Scootaloo at last mustered up the courage to dart off toward where Rainbow Dash was.

Rainbow Dash had just recently found herself able to stand up without any support, as the sharp pain in her head continued to die down.

Spitfire was close beside her, relieved that Rainbow appeared to be in serviceable condition.

Rainbow had meant to offer some gratitude, only for Spitfire to disappear from in front of her, in the span of a mere blink.

Rainbow’s jaw dropped, glancing up in time to see the black blur drag Spitfire up into the sky.

“Rainbow!” yelled out Fleetfoot, who had just flown over to the scene, “Where’d Spits go?”

“She-” Rainbow began, until Fleetfoot’s legs flailed up in the air, and a familiar black blur had a grip on her neck. Rainbow was quicker this time, jumping over to reach Fleetfoot. But she was too late; Fleetfoot had been dragged up into the air, yelping in shock as the air slipped out of her lungs.

Rainbow glanced around her, watching as the black figures descended from the air, dipping down and back up like insects, snatching unsuspecting ponies with creeping hooves. The screams of the crowd grew and grew, as the hundred-or-more army of creatures picked them off, lifting them up into the sky. They flew off with their captives, past the edge of the colosseum, and, within a short while, had promptly returned to continue their assault.

Rainbow’s eyes shot up toward the golden pavilion where Twilight had been. But she did not see Twilight, only the Association president, who seemed strangely calm about the whole situation, watching the stadium fly into a frenzy from his storied perch.

Rainbow blinked in rapid succession, hoping she was not experiencing some grim hallucination. Across the track, she saw officials and racers fleeing toward the exits, as more of the creatures began to descend upon the stadium.

Twilight must have been taken already, Rainbow supposed. The rest of her friends as well, probably. She could try following after them, she thought, fly after the snatchers and rescue her friends. Only, she had little idea what kind of threat this happened to be; such a plan may very well be suicide, or at the very least a sure way to end up captured like the rest.

Her decision was made without her input, ultimately, when a pair of black hooves had a grip on her shoulders. Rainbow yelped, before she felt her hooves be lifted off the ground.

The speed of the creature sent her into mild whiplash, as its hooves shifted towards her throat, suffocating her as they flew together up into the air.

Rainbow had enough strength left to resist the urge to black out, glaring up at the creature, hunting for some vulnerability. The creature itself was a horned pony with a coat of black. He had eyes that glowed ruby-red, and a pair of bloodbat’s wings.

Rainbow grunted in exhaustion, before lunging for the creature’s wings. She grabbed at one, throwing the creature off balance. He cried out in pain, as a tendon of his left wing began to bend and blister beneath Rainbow’s grip.

His grip fell apart over her throat, and Rainbow promptly planted a kick directly to his gut, successfully breaking free.

She caught herself in the air, springing her battered, bruised wings.

She was far enough up now to grasp a better glimpse of where the creatures had flown off to. Over the bay, sitting in the bitter blue waters, there lay a proud black ship, made for war. Its hull was thick and sharp with spiky battlements. The ship stood tall like a floating castle, or a nest of hornets.

Rainbow turned her attention back down to the stadium, and shakily glided back down toward the ground.

Her landing was more of a crash, tumbling back down into the rubber track, right near where the brawl had first broken out.

Most of the Wonderbolts and Washouts seem to have vanished.

Scootaloo had endured the onslaught, struggling to hold back tears as she cowered by the edge of the stadium wall. The screams from above kept her petrified, as she frantically scanned the sky. The creatures flew in precise movements, never once colliding into each other, despite their numbers.

Further ahead on the track, Lightning Dust had never precisely stopped fighting; though her opponents had abruptly shifted from the Wonderbolts to these strange hell-spawn creatures.

Rolling Thunder was at her side, swinging madly as a cluster of the creatures began to draw down upon them.

“They got Short Fuse,” Rolling said, weakly.

Lightning gritted her teeth.

“When we get the chance, we all fly back to the apartment, we barricade ourselves in there until we’re clear to fly off this island,” Lightning said, deciding on the plan right there on the spot.

“Sounds like a-” Rolling began, before the words fell trapped in the back of her throat.

Lightning glanced over her shoulder, just in time to see Rolling Thunder be dragged up into the sky, cursing into the wind.

“Rolling!” Lightning yelled, spreading her wings to try and fly after her.

But she found herself tethered to earth, when a pair of creatures below had a grip on her hind leg.

She fell to the ground in a heap, as the creatures behind her rushed to hold her down.

Lightning frantically kicked the closest one away, and jumped up to her hooves. She swung her hoof into one of the creature’s stomach, sending him spinning around to the ground. She kicked him square across the face, knocking him out cold.

Lightning bent down beside him. He wore a dark steel helmet, obscuring part of his face. He was shorter than the majority of his companions, and a bit stout as well.

Lightning grabbed him by his throat and dragged him along with her, limping off toward one of the ground exits.

Nearby, Scootaloo desperately searched for a possible escape route, as more and more ponies were plucked off into the air.

On the other side of the track, she spotted an open gate, surrounded by royal guards wielding spears and swords, escorting what few survivors.

Gasping in relief, Scootaloo worked up the courage to free herself from the faux protection of the wall, sprinting off toward the gate.

She did not make it far.

One of the creatures already on the ground had directed his attention toward her, standing up straight.

Scootaloo came to a halt, before backing up in her tracks, as the snarling creature began his pursuit.

Scootaloo shrieked, and shut her eyes.

But the strike never came, and, after an anxious few seconds, Scootaloo opened her eyes, only to find Rainbow Dash standing there. She had her hoof on the creature’s neck, pressing down until the creature succumbed and went under.

“Are you alright?” Rainbow stammered, wiping a sprinkle of blood off her face.

Scootaloo frantically nodded her head, while Rainbow bent down in front of her.

“We’ve gotta go, OK?” Rainbow whispered.

“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, we can’t l-”

Rainbow shook her head.

“They’re gone, Scoots, now we’ve got to go, got it?”

Scootaloo noticed the blood on Rainbow’s face, her eyes widening in shock.

“It’s not mine! it’s OK,” Rainbow assured, before standing up to her hooves.

She picked up Scootaloo with her forelegs, and bolted off from the track.

Clearing the length of the field in five seconds flat, Rainbow came to a stop in front of the dozen-or-so soldiers who had managed to arrive on the scene in time.

“Where the heck have you guys been?” Rainbow demanded.

“We were delayed,” one soldier explained.

“Rainbow,” came Scootaloo, grabbing at her side.

Rainbow glanced down, and followed Scootaloo’s hoof over toward the field.

There was Lightning Dust, stumbling backwards, fending off a growing horde of the creatures.

Rainbow’s eyes fell to the ground, and she noticed Scootaloo’s pleading stare.

“We can’t just leave her.”

Rainbow’s eyes darted back toward the field.

Lightning Dust still had one hoof on the throat of her captive, dragging him through the dirt while she kicked back at the pursuing creatures. They carried a variety of weapons, attempting to prod and poke her.

A few had managed to make contact, slashing her suit, shredding her skin, sticking her full of holes. Her suit was soon stained crimson red, and her pace began to weaken, as she struggled to fight off their impressive numbers.

That was, until a prismatic blur came barreling out from behind her, slamming into the horde of creatures, knocking them off balance.

Rainbow Dash appeared beside Lightning Dust, who glared up at her rescuer with hatred.

“You can thank me later,” Rainbow smirked, extending a hoof for Lightning to grab onto.

Lightning scoffed and swatted away the offer, staggering up on her own.

“Let’s go” Lightning muttered, waiting for Rainbow to leave with her, returning toward the gate.

The ache in Scootaloo’s chest was alleviated somewhat, when she caught sight of both Rainbow and Lightning returning from the field.

“C’mon, Scoots, let’s get the heck out of here!” Rainbow yelled, passing by Scootaloo with Lightning half-resting on her foreleg.

But Scootaloo remained for a few lasting moments, glancing back at the field.

The creatures’ onslaught had not dissipated; if anything it had intensified.

While some ponies had managed to find an escape, the sheer speed and efficiency of the enemy had proved to be near-inescapable. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, they were both gone, that was what Rainbow had said. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy, perhaps they had gotten out. They must have, they were with Twilight. Only, Twilight may have been the first to be taken. Cadance, Celestia, Luna, Starlight, perhaps all of them had. She would have thought there would be more resistance, otherwise, but the crowd remained sitting ducks, almost.

What a strange gift it was, to have gotten away. What a strange guilt it was, at that. One brave blunder had maybe saved her life.

Equestria was defenseless now, and her friends were all gone. But she could do no good waiting around here any longer.

Holding back tears, Scootaloo spun around and slipped between the wall of royal guards, following after Rainbow and Lightning.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading!! Feedback always welcomed!